Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 (USS@Tek, v1.0) based on 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site tekcbi.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!bellcore!decvax!decwrl!pyramid!hplabs!tektronix!tekcbi!jimb From: jimb@tekcbi.UUCP (Jim Boland) Newsgroups: net.video,net.politics Subject: Re: Satellite Signal Scrambling Message-ID: <541@tekcbi.UUCP> Date: Tue, 11-Mar-86 16:16:32 EST Article-I.D.: tekcbi.541 Posted: Tue Mar 11 16:16:32 1986 Date-Received: Fri, 14-Mar-86 06:31:17 EST References: <156@jc3b21.UUCP> <733@ihlpm.UUCP> <453@ccivax.UUCP> <747@well.UUCP> Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, OR Lines: 110 Xref: watmath net.video:2139 net.politics:13892 Summary: HBO stereo(?) and scrambling and various Mr Video claimed: >> HBO is currently not in stereo. >>They don't send it out in stereo from New York. Currently, only Movie Channel >>has stereo. >HBO is distributed in digital stereo. A direct result of the M/A Comm >Cypher IIencoding/decoding system. But, not all cable companies (mine >included) do not put up the stereo audio on the FM band. >One of the guys at our head-end put up HBO on the FM band, while it was still >mono. After the scrambling went 24 hours, he put in the spare stereo exciter >and we had stereo. But, the powers that be said that it had to be pulled, as >further study was needed. For no extra cost we had stereo. Oh Well!!! I knew that HBO intended to go digital stereo when they started scrambling. Therefore, I called them when they did and they said it was in the plans but they were not stereo as of yet. Occasionally they feed concerts in stereo for the cable systems, but that is on a separate feed with separate audio. When David Anthony of DataSpan said (on the net) that he had a Cypher decoder, I asked if it were in stereo and he said replied no. Then I saw your Mr. Video's posting that his cable company had it for a while and I said to myself, "Self, what gives?". So, once again, I called HBO and put the question to them again. The answer from them is "No. We are not in digital stereo yet. We have not fed it yet. We intend to but the date is unknown". I don't know what Mr. Video's cable company did. HBO 1-800-426-3474. In article <747@well.UUCP>, tenney@well.UUCP (Glenn S. Tenney) writes: > > A cable company charges each customer for a premium service (eg. HBO) > a fee; the provider (HBO) charges the cable company that same amount, Nope. I don't know what the fee is now, but a few years ago it was appx. $3-$4 per customer depending on cable company. > but only up to a certain number of subscribers (say 3,000) with the excess > being pure profit for the cable company. (These figures were accurate > when last I checked.) Nope. As above, per customer. There may have been special "deals" as incentives for some operators, but that is not the general rule. > Now the question: When a dish owner subscribes > directly they pay the "full" amount regardless of how many dish owners > subscribe; That's right. They pay the same average going "retail" price. > Why can't there be a dish clearing house (a dish "cable" company) That's being discussed and planned. > I think > the amounts HBO are charging dish owners is ludicrous and exhorbitant > ($12.95 for just HBO) when they don't have ANY extra costs expended to > provide you that service! They have the costs of collecting and administering that fee. Perhaps $12.95 is a little high, but the charge should be higher than the wholesale price. Remember, part of the cable operators "high" price includes his collection price. From <1669@brl-smoke.ARPA> (Brint Cooper) >Heard on late-night, antenna-received TV: "And with every satellite TV >system ordered from BirdView, we'll give you a scrambler absolutely >free!" >I wonder if they really meant that? Sales are down. In order to bring them up, they gotta try something. Either raise the price of the system by about $350 (wholesale price of descrambler), or cut down your margins. or possibly a combination of both. It's legit. from <365@tikal.UUCP> (Roger Lanphere) >Referring to an article on pg. 11 of ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING TIMES, issue >371, March 3, 1986: > The BLACK BOX SOLUTION company claims it has cracked the MA/COMM Video- >cypher II technology for decrypting satellite video transmissions. > BLACK BOX representatives were recently at the conference of Society >for Private and Commercial Earth Stations (SPACE) selling manuals which >detailed how to descramble THE VIDEO PORTION ONLY for a price of $49.95. The details of this were posted to net.video a few months ago. And for free. There is no black magic to the video portion. They are using the same basic methods that ON-TV (Oak) and others have used for several years. There is only so much (analog) that you can do to the video. However, what good is video without audio??? >An estimated cost of building the >descrambler circuitry is approximately $90-$100 in components. They also >claim that their method of descrambling also allows other formats such >as the OAK and ORION formats currently used by X-rated pay TV services >and Canadian satellite broadcasts to be descrambled also. True. In fact, there is a surplus store in Portland that sells old Oak (On-TV) boxes for $10-$15 that can be modified to do that. > Please note however that while this method descrambles the video portion >of the picture, THE AUDIO IS STILL SCRAMBLED. BLACK BOX claims that by >late March they will have the audio solution worked out I doubt it. > BLACK BOX states: "The use of the BLACK BOX solution to decode scrambled >TV signals may be illegal. Let me paraphrase that for you. change the words "may be" to "IS". > Yes, I own a satellite dish and NO WAY will I purchase a videocypher II >box and then pay a cable company for monthly program service!!! I would >really like to see someone prove that I'm using an illegal decoder box As in the case of the rooftop HBO's and court decisions, they didn't have to prove it. Granted, It would be difficult to prove, but seeing as how there won't be any boxes which will have audio, there is no reason to go after you. Yep, I have a dish and I will get a videocyper II when the rest have started using it. Right now, I could care less about HBO/Cinemax. I much prefer the Movie Channel. These are only my opinions.