[mythtvnz] Sky->smart card reader->MythTV ???

[Steven Ellis]

On 1/03/2009, at 8:15 PM, Sam Hadley-Jones wrote:

> (Repost, wrong subject line, sorry)
>
>> Wrong.. Very very wrong.
>>
>> To watch a DVD under Linux you are circumventing TPM as you aren't
>> using a licensed program, likewise if you watch Sky. If sky provided
>> software to do this under Windows/Linux/Mac etc then we could do it
>> legally, methods like ndscam etc aren't just borderline illegal, they
>> are illegal under the new laws.
>
> The Italian government realised the monopoly that News Corp had in  
> their
> country by tying their subscription to their "licensed" set top box.  
> Sky
> was forced to release a CAM to allow competition from other set top  
> box
> vendors. This seems like just pure common sense but no one here in NZ
> has picked up on it. Think of it like buying Shell petrol and being  
> told
> you can only put it in a Honda vehicle.

You can't compare their legislation with our laws. We have numerous  
monopolies operating in this country, and Sky's current position isn't  
officially classed as a monopoly.


>
>
> Furthermore, the method of decrypting a DVB signal (ie: what goes on
> inside a CAM module) is not secret, it is standards based. The problem
> has always been the obscurity or non-conformance of the NDS
> implementation. If Sky were ever to seek a prosecution for someone not
> using their set top box, they would be guilty of using this new
> copyright Act in order to protect a monopoly.



Most of the encryption/decryption systems in use for broadcast TV are  
proprietary closed systems, not open standards. They fact that these  
systems have been reverse engineered in other parts of the world does  
not make then legal to use here, or in a number of other countries for  
example the UK and US.

There are a number of "illegal" acts that you are unlikely to be  
prosecuted for. In some cases this is because you are unlikely to be  
caught, in other cases it is because people turn a blind eye. Neither  
of these things make the act legal, or remove the fact that you might  
at some point be prosecuted.

Steve




Steven Ellis - Technical Director
OpenMedia Limited
email   - steven at openmedia.co.nz
website - http://www.openmedia.co.nz

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