[mythtv-users] OT: DirecTV STB, Lease vs Own?
Brian Wood
beww at beww.org
Sat Apr 8 03:34:04 UTC 2006
On Apr 7, 2006, at 9:22 PM, Kichigai Mentat wrote:
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> On Apr 7, 2006, at 22.03, Jeff Simpson wrote:
>
>>>> Do I save any money by purchasing my own box?
>>>
>>> Unless DirectTV starts charging you for not using their leased box,
>>> the thing should pay for itself in as little as three months or so
>>> (based on the numbers you give).
>>
>> Yeah, I checked on it. It turns out that the $5 is a the service fee
>> per-box, and the box was actually given to us with the package, so I
>> already own it. So much for that plan!
>>
>>>> Can I buy more than one and use them, or is there a fee associated
>>>> with each of them?
>>>
>>> Well, can your satellite dish feed multiple signals to multiple
>>> boxes? That would be the big catch. I know that in the past, it used
>>> to be you needed a satellite dish per box, but I don't know. If you
>>> have the physical capability of hooking up multiple STBs to one
>>> satellite, you're probably in the clear. As above with ComCast, we
>>> already had the line running into the room, so it didn't matter that
>>> we hooked something up to it.
>>
>> No, I'm positive that we can use one dish for multiple boxes, unless
>> they put 4 dishes on the roof (we already have 4 STBs, and one of
>> them
>> is a DirecTivo with 2 tuners). I was just curious if we could add
>> more
>> boxes with no fee if we own them, but I see that is a resounding no
>
> Just out of curiosity, how did you come up with that "resounding no"?
> I'm kind of curious how DirecTV can track that, or enforce it.
> ComCast can't do it, and they run physical lines carrying data (in
> some cases, two-way data) into the house.
A satellite receiver uses "addressable" technology. Each receiver has
a specific address and it has to be addressed by a data stream coming
from the satellite that tells it what channels it is authorized to
receive (among other things, like when to dial or answer the phone).
So you could own a receiver but unless your provider specifically
authorizes it you can receive nothing with it.
That was the basis of some of the early attempts to steal satellite
service. Somebody would obtain legitimate service and order full-boat
"everything" service, then clone that receiver's address and sell
receivers that would authorize along with the real one.
ComCast *can* "do it", if they use addressable STBs, it's basically
the same technology, and this sort of box has been around since the
early 1980s. What ComCast can't control (easily) is your hooking up
boxes that do not need authorization, or connecting a TV/Cap card
directly to receive unencrypted signals.
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