[mabarker1]

I can tell You that the New Flatscreen TV’s are DirecTV ready- no need for Box...

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

What are the copyright law implications of providing such information/equipment?

[TomGuy]

It is similar to what my cable company does with modems/routers. You can rent or you can buy, but you must select from a list of preferred.

By January 2016, they are finally dropping the analog TV signal and encrypting the digital TV signal, so a mini-box or regular box are mandatory. Not more watching via a direct cable outlet-to-TV. I knew this day would come when they started pushing HD and digital about a decade ago.

I have a PCTV card in my desktop and a USB TV connection for my laptop. I also have a couple of home DVRs. I think I can get by with 2 boxes, as the cable also offers many of their channels via a PC/Laptop app. One or 2 mini-boxes will be free for 1 year, depending on which ad the local office goes with. Some ads say 1 free box, others say 2 free boxes.

The rental for the mini-boxes will be $1.99/mo each. There is not indication that they are available for purchase. They do have to be activated by the cable service.

[smoothsailing]

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/13118

[Kid Shelleen]

>> Verizon encrypts all of the channels on FIOS <<

I don't think local (over the air channels) are encrypted. In fact I just double checked and I was able to get all my local channels with OUT a cable box. My TV is about 7 years old, nothing fancy. In other words you can get the local channels with an antenna OR just hook the cable directly into the TV and let the TV scan for unscrambled channels.
The over the air content is limited, lots of Spanish and religious stations, BUT some pretty good stations like METV, Decades, PBS and the big 3 broadcasters.

I went with out cable for a couple of years. The only reason I have cable now is because Verizon ran a special and started offering packages (pseudo a la carte). I got basic cable for about the same price I was paying just for Internet. Dont let Verizon tell you that every TV needs a set top or that you need the fastest Internet speeds.

[Hawthorn]

>> Do any of you know if there are any open source algorithms that would accomplish the decryption of the stream? <<

Sounds like theft of service to me. Probably should not to be discussed on FR.