Has the Eye Patch Gang taken over the FTA name?

[SpiffWilkie]

I put up a post on Freecycle looking for some dishes stating they were for FTA use.
I got this reply

I do FTA and it's great. Just find a "DISH" antenna. You need the angled LNBs they use.

Best sites for the downloads
www.***********.com

I think his definition is a little different than mine. I have always thought of FTA as what you guys talk about on this site. Calling blatant piracy FTA is like...well I can't think of a good analogy, but it sort of rubs me the wrong way.

 

[turbosat]

I guess the folks who believe that "the signal falls on my property so I can do whatever I want
with it" don't really mind, though. It does give the hobby a bad name.

 

[Cadsulfide]

Truth of the matter is that business follows the dollars. The reciever manufacturers are aware of what the majority of their users are doing and embed the technology that enables a wider, non-technical audiance to to circumvent signal scrambling. Because "True FTA" requires some effort and a fair amount of effort to build a decent system, we are a small minority in this business.

WE, as "True FTA" users also benefit in that equipment advances like MPEG4, PVR and other features are available at a price point most of us can afford. The "Eye Patch" dealers no doubt have a much bigger profit margin than our site sponsers, having a good moral compass does not always lead to worldly riches.

That being said, who would you feel more comfortable with having over for coffee?

The never ending cat & mouse game is what it is, just another facet of human nature. Some people will always think forbidden fruit tastes better, and will always look for the quick buck.

WE as a group are fairly bright and innovative, and have developed a lot of interesting ways to legally use existing technology, as well as to move it forward. The people you associate with says a lot about your character, I'm privledged to be able to associate with the good people here.

Just my two cents.

 

[skysurfer]

yes, I think the eye patchers are taking over the FTA name.

A few weeks ago, someone posted in the "off topic" section of another one of the hobby forums I visit (my non-technical hobby) about a receiver he just snagged off the bay and asked if anyone did that.

Looking at the receiver, I thought it was a FTA one with PVR built in and said, yes, I do FTA and I enjoy sports and news feeds.

Later in the thread, he was bragging about watching wrastling PPV and mixed martial arts PPV for free with it and that clued me in he was pirating and not doing FTA in the true sense of the word.

I just told him simply "enjoy it while you can because it's going away".

 

[avg1joe]

Its pretty frustrating when you are first learning about FTA over the internet. The majority of your searches lead you to sites that you don't want. Maybe the true FTA community needs to change their acronym to something like LFTA (legal free to air).

How about WMTMIWNSOTRITPS (watching my tv means I won't need soap on the rope in the prison showers). Its kinda long but gets the point across clearly.

 

[glen4cindy]

Its pretty frustrating when you are first learning about FTA over the internet. The majority of your searches lead you to sites that you don't want. Maybe the true FTA community needs to change their acronym to something like LFTA (legal free to air).

How about WMTMIWNSOTRITPS (watching my tv means I won't need soap on the rope in the prison showers). Its kinda long but gets the point across clearly.

This is so true. I love this site, but, I also love information. But, one cannot search FTA on the internet and get good positive hits regarding true legal FTA, even almost every one of them call it "true FTA".

I wish Dish and the Canadian counterpart would take the scrambling IN HOUSE like DirecTv did. Maybe that would put and END to that, because as far as I know, no one hacks DTV especially since they use DSS instead of DVB. If the standard FTA receivers could not be used because the providers all used DSS, it would effectively put and end to most of these sites.

 

[Tron]

"Free To Air" was a term originated by the broadcast industry referring to unencrypted transmissions (either via satellite or OTA). FTA has absolutely nothing to do with decrypting pay channels, since those channels are not, by definition, FTA. Its just a case of a term being hijacked from its original meaning, probably because the receivers they use for piracy are supposed to be used for unencrypted reception (FTA receivers).

 

[eurosport]

Pirates...ARRRGHHHH! -No good, rotten skallywags!!!:yikes They should all walk the PLANK! ....Sorry....got carried away there. I still like the term TVRO.

 

[FTAsquirrel]

Would be great if the hackers all picked up a bug from the services they are stealing from that would wipe out the receivers to the point they are unrepairable in any way.

Truly is sad that that most receivers seems to geared for that bunch and not FTA and when you type in FTA on any search engine you get the eye patch links 90% of the time.

 

[turbosat]

Why don't we just keep calling our hobby fta, and then the thieves can call theirs
TSS (Theft of Services from Satellite) ? I like that one.

 

[SatPhreak]

Would be great if the hackers all picked up a bug from the services they are stealing from that would wipe out the receivers to the point they are unrepairable in any way.

Even if they sent a 'bug' that would totally render the receiver inoperable, it would be temporary for most. A receiver is basically just a computer, and it can be repaired to a working state again with the right tools. The hackers already know how to repair them in this case, it was figured out a long time before FTA receivers were well known in NA. It was figured out on Dish and DirectTV receivers that the programmers did to pirated OEM receivers. It can be done with a JTAG connected to points on the receivers motherboard. The only option viable to stop the pirates is to change the encryption.

 

[FTAsquirrel]

Even if they sent a 'bug' that would totally render the receiver inoperable, it would be temporary for most. A receiver is basically just a computer, and it can be repaired to a working state again with the right tools. The hackers already know how to repair them in this case, it was figured out a long time before FTA receivers were well known in NA. It was figured out on Dish and DirectTV receivers that the programmers did to pirated OEM receivers. It can be done with a JTAG connected to points on the receivers motherboard. The only option viable to stop the pirates is to change the encryption.

Yep, changing the encryption would be far better.

 

[SatinKzo]

I've been getting many emails lately for all sorts of receivers and links to forums and files and dealers. Kind of crazy this blitz all of a sudden. Are they trying to clear inventory before it's too late?

 

[slay47]

hi guys

slay47 here, i'm totaly new to fta and know nothing about it. lots of questions can anyone help

 

[DiscoLoveGrapes]

slay47 here, i'm totaly new to fta and know nothing about it. lots of questions can anyone help

Welcome!

Just start reading, and ask away by starting a new thread. There's a ton of info here

 

[slay47]

not very good on computer. have been looking but can't find where to start a thread

 

[guapoharry]

Yes. The term FTA has been taken over. It is inappropriately associated with piracy, in my opinion.

This is analogous to scams politicians pull when they draft legislation labeled "reform".

Remember the Rodney King trial? Rodney King was not on trial, but the police charged with his assault were. How did the media concoct that stupid misnomer?

It's simple. People are accustomed to refer to or explain things primarily on how the subject makes them feel. It is a lot more work to consider things based on solid, logical definitions and facts that have been vetted for accuracy; in short, thinking things through.

Furthermore, the media has a monetary imperative to sensationalize things. In addition, they want to make the stories as short as possible to keep people entertained.

But back the FTA issue, people somehow feel justified to take something when the deliverable is sort of intangible, regardless of what its true cost is. Take software or MP3's for example:

A related topic of is kind of like the Open Source software philosophical concept of free as in freedom as opposed to free as in beer.

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[Cadsulfide]

Fleaybay is a good indicator of how N3 encryption is going......lots of bargains to be had on decent receivers that are no longer any good to that bunch. Waiting for the migration 2 b complete so I can snag a HD at fire sale prices.......I miss my PBS

 

[Wescopc]

not very good on computer. have been looking but can't find where to start a thread

Slay47
Go to the page previous to this - "FTA Shack" and click on the bar (top right) called "Forum Tools" you will then see "start a new thread" click on that - and you are set to go.
Bob

 

[truckracer]

couldn't have said it better myself

"Free To Air" was a term originated by the broadcast industry referring to unencrypted transmissions (either via satellite or OTA). FTA has absolutely nothing to do with decrypting pay channels, since those channels are not, by definition, FTA. Its just a case of a term being hijacked from its original meaning, probably because the receivers they use for piracy are supposed to be used for unencrypted reception (FTA receivers).

wonder why not on ebay they don't say ....."Receiver ready to steal dish network" and leave true FTA along and out of it? That way just because we all have legal legit true fta boxes for the truely free unencrypted broadcasts - we are not considered theives.

Subscription tv is fine and i wouldn't mind paying at all. True FTA gives you channels that are not provided or carried by the big commercial program providers.
Its essentially the only way to get these channels if you discover and like them.

Cable companies and small dish providers only carry the mainstream channels.
If you want to watch mainstream...you have to pay for it.
Thats how they pay their bills and eat.

I enjoy a lot of non mainstream programming only available on a true FTA system.