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From: rp321@uiucuxa.CSO.UIUC.EDU
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: Re: Are pay TV decoders legal?
Message-ID: <5800005@uiucuxa>
Date: Thu, 21-Nov-85 11:29:00 EST
Article-I.D.: uiucuxa.5800005
Posted: Thu Nov 21 11:29:00 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 23-Nov-85 05:42:50 EST
References: <2700003@prism>
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Nf-ID: #R:prism:2700003:uiucuxa:5800005:000:1759
Nf-From: uiucuxa.CSO.UIUC.EDU!rp321    Nov 21 10:29:00 1985


/* Written  3:42 pm  Nov 16, 1985 by dan@prism in uiucuxa:net.consumers */
/* ---------- "Are pay TV decoders legal?" ---------- */

    For the last month or so there has been an ad in the Boston
Globe advertising "subscription TV Decoders."  I thought these
were illegal.  Apparently they're not since this is a good sized
ad (4 x 5 inches), and has been running for awhile.  Does anyone
know anything about these things?  If they're legitimate they sound
like a pretty good deal.  It sounds especially enticing since we
don't yet have cable in Cambridge.

    Here is some of the information given in the ad:
*****************************************************************
PREVIEW -- Vancouver Video Enterprises, Ltd. presents
              Zenith SSAVI 1  Descrambler System
                   Subscription TV Decoders

[...]

Is this too good to be true? or what's the catch?
---------------------
  Dan Solis             {mit-eddie, ihnp4!inmet, wjh12, cca} !mirror!dan
/* End of text from uiucuxa:net.consumers */

Vancouver Video Enterprises?  Sounds like a Canadian company to me.  However,
as far as I know, unauthorized pay-TV decoders are illegal here.  If it's not
a Canadian company, it just might be a government scam.  I remember that
in _Popular_Science_ a while back they had a little notice in the "Chemicals"
section of the classified ads that there had been a report in the _New_York_
Times_ to the effect that one of the chemical supply ads had been placed by the
Drug Enforcement Administration.  Perhaps the pay-TV ad is something similar.
I hope not, but it seems like the Feds are pretty fond of scams.

			Russell J. Price
			University of Illinois
			{ ihnp4, pur-ee, convex }!uiucdcs!uiucuxa!rp321
			rp321@uiucuxa.CSO.UIUC.EDU