I've got a question that is sure to stir up a little action from the "do-gooders" but I know the answer can be found in this forum. I am really an honest, but curious, home theatre buff.

If they can build cable signal converters/descramblers,
why can they build them for satellite signals?

They do - they're called test cards and you can find them all over the internet. Watch out there's just as many scams as there are real ones though, probably not worth the effort.

-Jeff

... and they charge enough for them to pay for legitimate programming for quite some time. Then, the program providers occasionally send out an ECM (electronic counter measure) that is intended to knock illegitimate cards out of service - sometimes the ECM works, sometimes not. If your test card gets whacked, then you have to send it in for reprogramming or replacement, leaving you without service in the meanwhile, and maybe with a significant additional fee. Sure seems simpler to get your programming through legitimate channels to me.

Why the card? If that's the answer to signal theft prevention, what is stopping the cable industry from adopting this type of receiver? I mean can't someone just build a box that decodes the signal?