When Noah A., an AT&T Broadband customer, dropped his subscription to DirecTV several months back, he joined a small but growing group of cable TV pirates who use their high-speed Internet connection to pilfer video signals.
Drawing on old-school methods to splice cable TV lines for unauthorized use, hackers say they can buy a splitter at the local electronics store and easily run an additional line from the cable modem line for the computer into the television. Without a set-top box, the result is free, basic, analog cable; with an illegal converter or set-top, hackers say they have access to premium channels such as HBO and Showtime.
Lots of people are doing this, all cable services are run through the same line; they can't just cut power to analog cable and still give you a cable modem."
One long-term solution to such theft would be for cable operators to completely convert their analog feeds to digital. About 13 million Americans get a free ride as a result, compared with the more than 64.5 million paying cable subscribers, according to research firm The Carmel Group. The losses are significant. The firm estimates that the industry misses out on about $6.2 billion annually from piracy.
The way I see it, if I find something is too high a price then I don't buy it. So if a DVD is too expensive for your blood then how about going for the VHS cassette. It's much cheaper. Cable and Internet is too expensive then go for rabbit ears and dial-up.
There are choices; there is
never an excuse for
stealing. The average person doesn't need the newest toys and gadgets. The big corps and media would like you to believe that you must have the newest and latest. But bottom line if you can't afford steak then eat hamburger! At least the hamburger will taste better than the stolen steak.
Source: CNET News
