@John, Let me indulge in some details so you may decide what is going on. My opinion, could be sci-fi .... :-) DTSV is based on the Irdeto encrytion system. This is the heart and soul and worth probably billions now. DSTV's bread/butter is based on the security of its encryption system. During the analogue days, Irdeto made chipsets that were embedded into the decoders. On Digital Sat, they started of with some receiver models that were not too difficult to crack, for a short period. These had removable CAM modules, where the smart card queried info. Some people even went to the extent of getting sim cards from other countries where the subs were cheaper due to lesser channels. In other parts of Europe, some guys wrote SIM card duplication programs while others deviced the famous smart card cloning tools. So you could clone a smart card and pay a single account but use multiple decoders. Now a company that has invested millions in its infrastructure, made long term commitments with channels is not going to let up on its investments or its core, especially when people can find newer ways to open its system. So came the next step to plugging the hacks and also add newer software/channels. Marry the Smart Card and Decoder. This way, even if you insert the smart card into another decoder it will not work. Then there are OTA firmware security checks that are done regularly, probably over a 60 second period where the code changes. So in a very rare event can you open the system, it maybe effective for only 60 seconds. I'm sure they must have brought down this time check to a few seconds. Once would need to be a low level genius, have all the hack tools and you maybe lucky to get the service for a few seconds only. DSTV's existence is because of the encryption system, not its satellite coverage or otherwise so it would protect this very very strongly. Could it be recorded programs below? On Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 6:10 PM, John Macharia <kihahu@gmail.com> wrote:
@aki, I also thought so until I visited a friend sometime last wk. She cannot watch all the channels but most r viewable! I talked to the guy who does that in that estate but he refused to disclose what he uses! All u need is a cable landing on ur TV set.