12 replies to this topic

[haru]

Hi everyone, I am a newbie here and would like to ask the following question;

 

Is it illegal if a customer modifies the software/firmware that is installed inside the his/her set-top box?

 

That is supposing i bought my set-top box from a Pay Tv provider and feel like i would like to change the firmware/software that the set-top box came with, is it illegal if i do change/modify it?

[WanWizard]

If you bought a box from a Pay TV provider that runs OpenPLi, it is illegal to start with, as no legal provider does so.

[haru]

From your answer it means therefore that it will be illegal to change the firmware installed inside the box. But is this information provided/indicated in the terms and conditions?

[Pr2]

What was illegal was to purchase a service from a pay TV service and it provides you with a box that is probably totally locked down so you cannot do anything else with it.

Of course you are the owner of this box so you can do whatever you want with it but you will probably lose access to your illegal pay services.

[betacentauri]

Let's assume it's a legal subscription (like Sky) and it's not OpenPLi or a similar E2 system. In your contract with your provider is most likely a sentence like "you are not allowed to modify/hack the firmware of the box". It's "only" the contract with your provider. If it's your hardware you can hack it, but in some countries you are not allowed to hack a security system. And if the box is bricked you will get no help from your provider.

If it's a illegal pay tv subscription, don't ask here. We don't support this!! You can install a OpenPLi image on your box, but after that you can't watch pay tv anymore and we won't help you to fix that.

[haru]

@betacentauri @Pr2 @WanWizard Thank you for the information.

 

If I may ask. Do different Pay Tv boxes have different softwares or do all box have the same software programming

[WanWizard]

No idea, we don't do illegal here.

[mimisiku]

@betacentauri @Pr2 @WanWizard Thank you for the information.
 
If I may ask. Do different Pay Tv boxes have different softwares or do all box have the same software programming

PayTV providers usually don't advertise technical info. It is logical to assume that each brand has their own 'in house' software development. The CA section of the firmware is most likely 'included' or 'blobbed' by the licensee. The whole is than flashed into the given box(type). CA license is strongly controlled and regularly checked and bound by very strickt contracts. The original closed firmware can only be modified OTA following strickt and very protected protocol.
So Pace will have it's own firmware for SKY boxes, M7 boxes. ZTE will have it's own etc. etc.

[haru]

No idea, we don't do illegal here.

@WanWizard I am not seeking any illegal work from here. In a free world we should be allowed to openly inquire without being suspected to be illegals

[WanWizard]

I may have misunderstood your "Pay TV" remark, on this forum, and with Enigma2 receivers in general, it usually leads to illegal activities. If this is about the receivers supplied by TV providers, I retract my comment.

[haru]

I am sourcing DVB-T2 STBs and the manufacturing company is asking me to tell which middleware i want on the box and with which headend software will be between the broadcasting server and STB.

Our company final target will be to provide push vod services with additional features EPG, Advertising,

 

I have been looking at inview's software solutions and we are really interested in their solution.

 

However i don't know which middleware and headend inview is using. so how do i tell the manufacturer about inview's middleware and headend?

 

I could also appreciate information of any other push vod solution providers

[Pr2]

Hi,

 

Ask inview:

 

http://www.inview.tv/contacts/

 

Pr2

[MiLo]

Hi everyone, I am a newbie here and would like to ask the following question;
Is it illegal if a customer modifies the software/firmware that is installed inside the his/her set-top box?
That is supposing i bought my set-top box from a Pay Tv provider and feel like i would like to change the firmware/software that the set-top box came with, is it illegal if i do change/modify it?

In most European countries it is not "illegal" in a sense that it will be "punishable by law". You are allowed to mess around with stuff in the privacy of your home. If you've bought it (not rented!), you may turn that settop into a robot controller or a nice PVR box for example.

The provider can and will of course void your subscription if you don't abide by their rules, but that's about all they can do. The exceptions are commercial use, so modifying the box and selling it (or even giving it away) may be against the law. And so is watching pay TV without subscription. Use your common sense: If you get something for free you'd normally have to pay for, you can be damn sure you're doing something unlawful.