How can I watch satellite TV for free in America without monthly subscription?

Question

Hi,
I'm wondered,if there is a way to watch satellite tv channels for free in the US without beign a subscriber to a local cable or Satellite TV company>
I've been to Europe and my friends had some kind of pirate-made cards for receivers to watch satellite tv for free.
Could I buy a satellite system over Ebay?
If yes, could someone suggest me any decent satellite systems on the market?
Thank you

Answer 1

Satellite receivers are addressable and, so, can be controlled by the satellite TV providers. There are receivers in which the control has been removed, and the coding to access the signals has been installed. Problem is, providers change those codes every couple of months, so you need a continuous method to update your receiver.

Unless you personally know someone who has the capability of burning new EPROMS for you cheap, you're probably better off just paying the subscription.

As for the legalities of watching such signals, if I can receive them AND I can decode them, I dare any agent of any legal system to try me in a court of law. They KNOW it will be a waste of their time.

Answer 2

I got this from another website. It's fairly informative. It is, however, against obtaining "free" satellite signals:

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.home-theater.misc/browse_thread/thread/9372652469d0803d/616ea411955a4880?hl=en&lnk=st&q=is+it+legal+to+watch+satellite+tv+for+free%3F&rnum=4#616ea411955a4880

Here is what the blog stated:

" wrote:
> If signals are beaming into my property
> can't I legally view them?

No. "Property" is not an absolute, it is a concept that has evolved.
You can't use your supposed right to your own property to violate the
rights of others (e.g. copyright owners and their licensees). So your
right to your own home and property has been modified over the years by
legislation and regulations. What you are discussing is now illegal.

Related, but really independent of this: the signals you are talking
about are not normally accessible by the type of equipment readily
available to receive communication signals. In addition to the normal
processing of addio and/or video information for the purposes of
transmission, the information is "encrypted" to prevent normal
receiving equipment from recreating the viewable/listenable
information. "Encryption" itself has achieved a legal protection
through legislation that supersedes your property rights.

Finally, the ability to de-encrypt such signals is frequently only
possible through the use of copyrighted computer code, patented
processes, the unauthorized use of protected trade secrets, etc. Your
employment of such methods (possibly even by reverse engineering,
though this is complicated) to view/hear the information would be
illegal, whether done on your property or not; just like murder does
not become legal simply because you do it in the privacy of your own
home.

So there are three totally independent areas of law you would be
violating.

Now contrary to all this goes centuries of common and written law that
supports (though not unconditionally) your basic premise that anything
dumped uninvited on your property becomes yours to use as you see fit.
The problem is that it would take huge amounts of money to assert and
attempt to achieve recognition of this view's applicability to
satellite TV, through litigation in test cases, and unless you've got a
spare billion or three to commit to the process you're out of luck. "

Answer 3

FYI
Its not Pirating, or Stealing, the law states you can listen in view any signals over airwaves, including millitary and police.

Your just not allowed to transmit, block or, jam.

=)

Answer 4

try beating up the cable guy

Answer 5

its illegal to decrypt encoded signals DMCA.
but google FTA, and dish network.

Answer 6

Uhm that would be considered stealing and is illegal.