My friend told me that if i put a bar magnet over my Cable Box (Sintfic Altanta Explorer 2100) that i get like HBO and Showtime etc. is this true , is it legall, dose it work with my type of cable box ? HELP ME, i dont wana get in trouble. - your boy joey aka. JOE FRAIZER
2006-07-09 21:53:57 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Consumer Electronics ➔ TiVO & DVRs
No. Putting a magnet on top of your cable box will NOT enable you to get free premium channels. Your friend is ... what is the expression? Ah yes ... your friend is full of something.
Cable boxes use digital signal encoding to verify that your set-top box is enabled to receive premium channels. The control is provided by the head-end of the cable company.
There is no way that placing a simple bar magnet on top of this box will do you any good to get encrypted channels. The bar magnet won't affect the bits. It may, however, screw up the hard drive on your set-top box if it is a DVR so I don't recommend trying it. A weak magnet might not do any damage but a really strong magnet could interfer with the hard drive significantly.
You should also realize that the set-top box is the property of the cable company and not yours. You are only leasing it. So best to not monkey with the box in the first place.
And, Yes it is illegal. Doing anything to get services for free that you should be paying for is an illegal activity subject to potential fines and or jail time.
2006-07-10 11:33:30 · answer #1 · answered by Knowledge Seeker 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The answer to the first part of the question is no, it won't give you any free channels. Since it won't give you any premium channels for free, you won't be stealing them. Thus, it is legal to put a magnet on you cable box. It would be illegal if it allowed you to steal service you should be paying for.
If you have an old fashioned TV with a picture tube, putting a magnet close to the screen will distort the colors and can cause damage to the tube that may or may not be able to be repaired by a TV repairman.
2006-07-12 02:12:08 · answer #2 · answered by thebossfan 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is illegal.
Cable television signal theft is the illegal interception of cable programming services without the authorization of or payment to a cable system. While laws vary from state to state, according to the Telecom Act of 1996 (47 USC 553 and 605), cable theft is a crime that is punishable by both hefty financial penalty and jail time.
This is called Premium Theft or "Pay Theft". It occurs when someone knowingly and intentionally attaches equipment (i.e., black boxes, cheater box, cube, descramblers, decoders, etc.) for the unauthorized receipt of premium or pay cable services such as HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz, or Pay Per View movies and special events
That being said....Yes it is possible.
2006-07-11 04:56:29 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Edo said
"what it will do is create interference on your box only."
Really?
Perhaps you would be good enough to explain to us why you think that would happen.
2006-07-10 05:35:24 · answer #4 · answered by dmb06851 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your friend is a liar and a trouble maker-find new friends
try it if you want to go to jail for 10 years
2006-07-09 22:02:44 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Valuable replies, just what I was looking for.
2016-09-20 03:13:06 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's illigal and you can goto jail and face expensive penatlies for stealing signals you do not pay for.
2006-07-09 21:56:11 · answer #7 · answered by Jason 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
probably the purely thanks to get them back will be to purchase them. i imagine they gave you the full classification channels first of all because they needed you to attempt them out. and now they need you to purchase them.
2016-10-14 07:27:42 · answer #8 · answered by season 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it wont help...
what it will do is create interference on your box only.
2006-07-09 23:24:29 · answer #9 · answered by Edo 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
are you stupid or what,how can it possibly be legal if you arent supposed to do it.
2006-07-09 21:58:00 · answer #10 · answered by dumplingmuffin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋