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  1. Member Conquest10's Avatar
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    here in chicago the cable company now is comcast. three months ago it was at&t. couple of years ago, they moved all the ppv channels to digital cable. here, digital cable is worthless. the only difference is that you get to pay twice the regular price to get stuff like the golf and game show channels. the only good thing is multichannel hbo, cinemax, showtime, etc. but you got to pay extra for those channels in addition to what you're already paying for the digital cable and receiver. and then you have the ppv channels.
    His name was MackemX

    What kind of a man are you? The guy is unconscious in a coma and you don't have the guts to kiss his girlfriend?
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    Originally Posted by Conquest10
    here, digital cable is worthless. the only difference is that you get to pay twice the regular price to get stuff like the golf and game show channels. the only good thing is multichannel hbo, cinemax, showtime, etc. but you got to pay extra for those channels in addition to what you're already paying for the digital cable and receiver. and then you have the ppv channels.
    It's similar with Charter Communications in the St. Louis area. 2-3 years ago, "basic" cable was local channels, WGN, TBS, CNN Headline News channel, and a few home shopping and public access channels. Expanded cable had nothing decent, since I'm not much on sports or MTV.

    Then they added a bunch of popular channels (things like sci-fi) to their expanded service. At the same time, they moved Headline News (the only thing I watched at the time) and one or two other popular channels from basic to expanded, and added a bunch more home-shopping and public access channels to basic. Basic cable more or less turned in to an expensive antenna.

    Now they're really pushing digital cable, in some areas new subscribers can't even get analog anymore. Digital cable costs twice as much, and half of the additional channels are music and sports channels - and the MTV/VH1/etc channels outnumber the sports channels 2 to 1, so even sports fans don't get much out of it. The various premium movie channels require digital cable, but cost extra beyond the digital service.

    On top of that, some parts of town where they're trying to force the switch to digital still have enough old equipment and wiring that people get terrible picture quality, can't get cable modem service, etc. Plus they keep raising rates without increasing service, and they rearrange the channels every few months with little warning. They've added more and more channels to the expanded service, but I don't know anybody who would watch the stuff they've been adding. I guess you need 2 weather channels so you can get a second opinion, but do you really need 4 different home shopping channels?
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  3. Chris S ChrisX's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by sterno
    Originally Posted by CJGS
    What about Internet access sharing in a network of computers? Internet access sharing to multiple computers in the home or office is legal as long as one connection at a time with a provider.
    This is a violation of the terms of service for some providers. Today it's more common for them to just say they won't help you if something goes wrong than to say they'll cut you off.
    Yes, I am aware some say no to Internet sharing and others ok.
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  4. @Conquest, interesting because I live in Miami, and a few months ago, Comcast took over down here as well. It was with the whole At&t deal.

    I don't know if anyone is aware, but if i'm not mistaking, there is a law that says "ALL" cable companies in the States must be FULLY digital by 2006.

    As we can see, they are well on there way to complying.

    One thing I have to check is if there is FINALLY "BROADBAND INTERNET" access in my area. For some reason, AT&T continued to drop the ball and I was supposed to have it in my area OVER two years ago. When Comcast took over a few months ago, I checked and the guy said it could take up to TWO years for them to get it in my area...I just laughed.

    But now it appears from my last check on their online site...it is NOW available in my area. I have to check that out some time today and see. That would be great if it is. I would definitely utilitze that service.
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  5. Originally Posted by LanEvo7
    Many schools frequently like to use certain films as teaching material. Elementary schools like to show cartoons from time to time. So are they breaking copyright laws?
    Yes, they are.

    Visit The Motion Picture Licensing Corporation for more info. They call up schools, churches, and other non-profits warning them that they have to pony up.
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  6. Member
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    Why do people care about piracy, Whats the big deal, if you mass product a movie and sell them to your buddies, then hang yourself----YOU WILL GET COUGHT.
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  7. Member northcat_8's Avatar
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    I was just going to let this thread pass by without a response but....

    As far as the cable and dropping multiple lines. I am not going to pay for the same service several times just because it is now in more than one room. That is paying double or triple for the same service.

    Lending a DVD to a friend..........or ripping a rented DVD........my opinion on that is easy, I don't see that as piracy as long as I am not selling the copies for profit. If I'm charging 4.00 the cost of a blank DVD-R then that is not profit that is covering the cost of the medium. I don't see ripping rented DVD's as piracy because I could wait 3 months and video tape the movie off of HBO or Showtime, as long as I am keeping that and not reselling it that is not piracy that's a copy. Renting a DVD cost around 3-4 bucks, about the cost of going to the movie theatre depending.

    Sure the same applies to books the difference is that books don't pay actors millions of dollars.

    I think it doesn't matter, for every person in the industry and for every dollar they spend trying to protect it there are 100 smarter people figuring out how to get around their protection or encryption.
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  8. Hmm... I think I can shed a bit of light on the Cable TV question.

    The reason the cable companies originally considered splitting the cable in your own house as "stealing" from them is that each TV connected to their system requires additional POWER on the cable line. Therfore more expense for them.

    Think of it like having not just 2 or 4 headlights on your car but adding maybe 20 of them. The battery dies faster and they may not even all light up to the expected brightness because each extra 'light' requires some level of power in order to work. The same is true for the Cable signal.

    In the early days of cable, the service providers would have to go out to the local major junction boxes in cities and add hardware in order to support the additional load on their system when new houses were added or if enough people added extra TV's. This all cost them money. They in turn had to charge for the added service (power) level. Just like you would have to pay for more batteries in the car headlight example.

    Most cable companies have better equipment these days and the added TV's don't generally add a significant load to a heighborhood cable system so they don't complain very often. If you run into problems in your neighborhood they come out and add an amplifier to the houses at the far end of the circuit. (I had to have one installed for the cable modem to get enough signal.)

    Hope this helps.
    Only 3 things are certain in life... Death, Taxes, and SPAM. Of these, only Death seems affordable!

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  9. So if you let a friend borrow a dvd its not piracy
    and if you make a backup its not piracy
    if you make a backup and lend to a friend its not piracy
    so what if you make a backup and lend it to a friend and lend the original to another friend is this piracy if so which one of your friends would you be lending the ileagel copy to lol
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  10. Member housepig's Avatar
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    As far as the cable and dropping multiple lines. I am not going to pay for the same service several times just because it is now in more than one room. That is paying double or triple for the same service.
    devil's advocate...

    you're not paying double or triple for the same service, because you can't watch one stream on multiple sets now.

    you are paying for the ability to watch multiple streams - to have your service multiplied onto various sets.

    - housepig
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  11. i remember when i got my first dual cassette deck...i thought it was so neat to be able to copy tapes so easily that i borrowed from friends...especially when you could put it on fast record...that was about 20 years ago...now here we sit talking about copying DVD movies and things from a piece of plastic(cd,dvd)...i think the same rules applied back then as they do now...i have to say that lending your property to a friend is legal..if they make a copy for themselves then they are busted....if we just went back to vynal then we wouldn't have this problem....
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  12. Originally Posted by red lion
    if you make a backup and lend to a friend its not piracy
    so what if you make a backup and lend it to a friend and lend the original to another friend is this piracy if so which one of your friends would you be lending the ileagel copy to lol
    Actually, as I stated before -- being that I am the font of all knowledge -- If you make a copy of the original and lend out the original, that IS piracy. If you make a copy and lend out the copy to a friend, that is also piracy. If they borrow your original and make their own copy, that is also piracy. According to US law, at least.

    It is a "one use at a time" system: you and your friend cannot have access to the music/video/etc. at the same time, unless you have both paid for it.

    Therefore, the answer to your question is: all 3 of you are in trouble.
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  13. 1. If I lend my DVD to a friend, does it amount to piracy?
    If your lending an original: No. If your lending a copy: Yes

    2. If yes, then we do often lend books to each other. Does it also amount to piracy and infringement of copyright?
    You can lend any kind of copyright material without owner authorization except for software. Special copyright laws apply to software.

    3. If yes again, then what about public libraries? They allow borrowing of books and movies to members for free. Are they too indulging in piracy?
    No.

    4. If I have a cable connection at home, do I have the right to run a parallel connection to my bedroom? I think the cable companies do not permit this. Why is this termed as piracy?
    If the cable company allows it, its legal. If the cable company charge for extra computers, its illegal. In Canada, Bell Sympatico (DSL) allows 2 logins to be made with the same account. This allows 2 PCS to be hook on the modem via a Hub, each pc's having its own IP. They also allow routers with no extra cost. In Montreal, cable will charge you for extra PC's but will assign different IP's to each. If you want to share the same IP, they tolerate routers, assuming you dont bust your upload/download caps. By tolerating, I mean they will not do anything even if they know you have one, but its officially not permited. By doing so, they reserved themselves the right to remove services to people exploiting there connections.

    If you make a copy of the original and lend out the original, that IS piracy.
    No its not.

    EXTRA INFORMATION FROM ANOTHER THREAD:

    About "Private Copying" applying to DVD...

    France:
    In france, private copying applies to every type of copyright material, except software. You can translate this http://www.01net.com/article/195431.html article with this site http://world.altavista.com/

    But the interesting part is this:
    Yoda: Hello, is it true that it is regarded as "extreme case" and thus tolerated by the law, the copy of a DVD lent or rented, provided that this copy is not, in its turn, copied? Thank you.
    Yes, if the copy is strictly reserved for the private use of the copyist...
    Canada:
    Now thats a bit more complicated. The "Private Copying" exception was originaly made for music. Here is the article link again:
    http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/cipo/cp/circ15b.pdf
    And this is the organization in charge of collecting the levy on blanks:
    http://www.cpcc.ca/english/
    Note: I just want to point out that "private copying" do allow the copying of loan or rented CD's.

    The CPCC wants to collect a levy on blanks DVDs too, but this is because some people are using DVD's for DVD audio (so they say, but I dont think a lot of people are using DVD's in that matter at this time):
    http://www.cpcc.ca/english/proposedTariff.htm

    The tricky part:

    Look at the french copyright message taken from "A Knight Tale", region 1, Canada: (95% of my DVD's have this copyright text)
    Les droits des auteurs d'oeuvres cinematographiques, musicales ou sonores, enregistrees soit sur film soit sur bande magnetique (videocassettes ou cassettes), soit sur disque, ou tout autre procede, sont proteges par les lois et les conventions internationales.
    Toute reproduction, sauf pour l'usage strictement prive du copiste: tout usage a des fins lucratives ou en public, sont interdites sans l'autorisation prealable et ecrite du titulaire des droits d'auteurs. Les contrevenant s'expose a des sanctions civiles et penales....
    Translation:
    The rights of authors of the cinematographic, musical or sound works, recorded either on film or on magnetic tape (videotapes or tapes), or on disc, or any other methods, are protected by the laws and the International Conventions.
    Any reproduction, except for the strictly private use of the copyist: any use has lucrative ends or in public, are prohibited without the authorization of the holder of the royalties. The contravener exposes himself to civil and criminal charges...
    This is in fact the copyright text for France. But, its on almost all bilingual DVD's sold in Canada because they didnt made a different text for Canada, they just took what was on the region 2 DVD sold in France.

    Nevertheless, this IS the copyright message on my DVD's and according to this, I CAN make a private copy of it! Dont you love to have french Canadian now?
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  14. I have one thing to say about the cable thing...
    Comcast Sucks! There the largest cable provider in the country at this current time they profited about 3 million dollers last year and guess what there getting more customers by the minute and there still charging outrageous prices. And that's all I have to say about that
    don't hang your dirty laundry in public
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  15. codyduck, your watching too much WWE buddy. Pick up a book and do a little reading.

    First, where do you get your figures of Comcast profiting 3 million? lol..you have any clue what they paid their CEO last year? Let me help you..they paid their President/CEO, Brian Roberts, 7.7 Million. Comcast services more then 4 million people and if you haven't noticed, ALL cable companies are a monopoly in some form or another. I don't know anyone down here who has a choice between any two cable companies, let alone several. You either take the cable company in your area, or you go with a satellite.

    Not everyone can have the Satellite either because you have to have an unobstructed view to the sky and face it South or SouthWest from here because the Satellites are over Brownsville Texas for DirectTV. Cable prices over the last 8 years or so have gone up 4 times the price of inlfation. When people can't cancel and just pick up and go somewhere else, they are stuck between deciding on whether to pay what the cable companies are asking, or have no cable at all.
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  16. you're not paying double or triple for the same service, because you can't watch one stream on multiple sets now.

    you are paying for the ability to watch multiple streams - to have your service multiplied onto various sets.

    - housepig
    I’ve been watching multiple streams to quote you for years !! PIP “Picture in Picture” now with my 53”Rear Projection Wide Screen I always run Picture out of Picture that is 2 nice sized Cable channels at once. If I understand what you are saying correctly then this is theft of Service.

    73's Blaze1024
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  17. The rights of authors of the cinematographic, musical or sound works, recorded either on film or on magnetic tape (videotapes or tapes), or on disc, or any other methods, are protected by the laws and the International Conventions.
    Any reproduction, except for the strictly private use of the copyist: any use has lucrative ends or in public, are prohibited without the authorization of the holder of the royalties. The contravener exposes himself to civil and criminal charges...
    My question is how far are we going to allow this to go? And when does it all end. Sure just like most of you I enjoy watching a movies and some TV once in a while.

    Personally I think that the Digital Copyright act is on the verge of being insane.
    I don’t believe or see how it could even be constitutional in the U.S.. As far as I understand it Patents were intended to Encourage Technological advancement. Patents were never intended to give the entertainment industry the right to Screw the public as it see fit.

    Maybe its time the Entertainment industry came down to reality and earned a real living. Instead of screwing the working people out of there hard earned money. Come on now some of these actors are earning over 1 million dollars an episode. I mean let’s be realistic how many people would spend $500.00 for a burger or $200.00 for a soda. I feel that the move industry’s Salary and subsequent pricing is in this same outrages ball park. Maybe if a New DVD cost around $7.00 to $10.00 I would consider buying it but at $25.00 to $40.00 and Up they bumped there ever living heads !! There is to much free entertainment out there for me to spend $35.00 on a DVD and support some movie Execs Cocaine habit. Let him come down to reality and drink a bear like the rest of us. I have to say there is something dreadfully wrong with a society that puts that much value on something that’s not even real its just a movie most of it is fantasy

    If you want some real entertainment try something we have been doing since we were kid’s On the first day of the boating season grab your video camera and take a drive over to the local Boat Ramp, find a comfortable spot with a good view of the Boat Ramp and watch all the morons try too launch and recover there crafts. You will laugh so hard you will forget why you are laughing.

    73's Blaze1024
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  18. Let him come down to reality and drink a bear like the rest of us.
    You are 1 Bad mo' fo' if you can drink a Bear! :biglaugha:

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  19. You are 1 Bad mo' fo' if you can drink a Bear!
    Heck I don’t even like the thought

    I think I’ll leave that up to Mrs. Bear
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  20. Member
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    Oh my god. Some of these answers making me laugh. I have professional media law experience. Most of what I see here is wrong. Entirely wrong. If you don't believe me, please consult a lawyer or find a media instructor at a college. Let's just say I work for a very large company that sells many media services, so I can answer every question I see on this post so far (you may even be one of my steady customers, and I'm sure you've all been one at some time in the past).

    I've got to set some of this straight:

    1. Lending a DVD is not piracy. Lending of ANY media is in itself not piracy. Books, magazines, etc. etc. They bought the media: they can use it to wipe the floor, loan out, or collect dust on a shelf.
    2. Backing up your media is not piracy. You can have ONE backup. ONLY one.
    3. Lending the backup IS piracy unless you loan BOTH the original AND the backup at the same time. It's for BACKUP, not to be confused with having an EXTRA COPY. If you want to legally own and extra copy, go buy one. This is why a library cannot copy books and leave the original on the shelves.
    4. You pay the cable company for service. You can have it one 1 tv set or 100 tv sets. You pay for SERVICE in 99% of all companies. The only catch is that it has to be in the same domicile. Your 99-room house or a apartment efficiency. It cannot leave to another home or apartment. Sharing is not allowed. Sharing in multiple apartments is usually covered by a site license, and included in your rent. Only in the 80s did you pay for connections (usually because of the cable box).
    5. You pay service for cable boxes (aka descramblers, as in the legal one rented to you by the cable company). This is normally a box ON TOP OF the service plan. The extra $5 or so for box #2 is for the box. The service is a separate entity, usually coming with free use of the first box.
    6. It does not take extra power to "take" a cable signal. (FYI: This was the dumbest comment I heard.) Splitting a signal cuts signal strength, usually seen on some channels. You can install good wiring and your own booster in the house, and that clears it up, and it is still NOT illegal to do so. It clarifies, no real boost unless electrically powered.
    7. Selling copies or backups is illegal. Selling the original WITH the copy or destroying the copy after sales of the original is fine. Keeping the BACKUP after the sale of the original is illegal.
    8. No organization is so heartless to fine a school for copyright infringment. They will write a Cease & Desist Order, maybe conviscate any illegal materials. Suing them would be horrible PR, and I've NEVER seen it done. I work in this industry. Suing a school (non-collegiate level) would be as good as death for the company. Disney has come close a few times, but they never sued. Protecting themselves and being the jerk does not have to be the same thing. Educational use may also be able to claim fair use depending on the situation. It just depends. Details are important here, it's not so cut and dry as most consumers think.
    9. No Internet Provider will shut you off for having a home network. They merely don't help you until you put the connection onto a single computer. At least 50% of all customers right now have some sort of home network. They do so at their own expense, as it cuts there connection for each added computer. Fine by us. We sell lots of 1.5MBs cable and DSL data lines because of it.
    10. Having your buds over to watch a rented movie is not illegal. We know more than one person watches the movie at one time. That's not PUBLIC exhibition. You're in your own house.
    11. Boosting a cable signal for internet access is because you have 2-WAY communication and probably cable tv to interfere. Cable tv is only 1-WAY unless you have digital. Even then, it is on-demand 2-WAY, not constant 2-WAY like the internet.
    12. Software is not media. (Media is a term shared by storage and video/audio/written material that usually appear on them. The actual material is intellectual property. Software has its own special category. This is harder to explain, don't think I can address this one as well as the others). It is only stored on media. It is a per-user item, not allowed to be shared unless stated in its license. Usually not.

    FINAL. Please. Please. Please. DO NOT try to be lawyers on this site. Most of you need to just stick with VCD encoding or something until you can get the facts straight. Good topic, but mostly bad answers written here from others.

    This is for USA law. If you live elsewhere, find yourself a lawyer with media experience or a good media instructor at a college.
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  21. Member Conquest10's Avatar
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    that was beautiful, txpharoah.
    His name was MackemX

    What kind of a man are you? The guy is unconscious in a coma and you don't have the guts to kiss his girlfriend?
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  22. @txpharoah, I didn't make any factual statements regarding any of the topics discussed on this thread, so I could care less whether what you said is fact or fiction. I will make a comment for some others that did post what they believed to be fact, and which very well may be fact.

    To put it short, for someone who is quick to call people "dumb" and "stupid" and be in such a "high" position within' your company, you sure can't spell worth shit.
    maybe conviscate any illegal materials.
    The word is "confiscate" and your big time attorney friends would shit on your face if you pronounced that word with a "v" as opposed to an "f." I guess since all of us have been steady customers of yours at one time or another, it's safe to say you've never "conviscated" any of our services, huh?

    Oh my god.
    Also, "GOD" is capitalized, or at the very least, make the "G" capital. I hope he puts a BOLT OF LIGHTNING through your ass for that...and puts it on a "BOOSTER" on its way down! :biglaugha:
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  23. Member
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    And is the "pharoah" in "txpharoah" supposed to be "pharaoh"?
    Hello.
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  24. Member
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    Originally Posted by red lion
    So if you let a friend borrow a dvd its not piracy
    and if you make a backup its not piracy
    if you make a backup and lend to a friend its not piracy
    so what if you make a backup and lend it to a friend and lend the original to another friend is this piracy if so which one of your friends would you be lending the ileagel copy to lol
    Actually, you crossed the line there. You *ARE* pirating the video if you make a backup and then lend the original to your friend because technically, you could watch the movie at the same time as your friend has. You've purchased the right to have one viewable copy and turned that into two viewable copies. I doubt you'd be noticed you lent out one movie and kept your backup on your shelf, but if you lend out a bunch of discs because you have the backups to watch at home you're outside of your rights and shouldn't expect legal protection. Lending that backup to a second friend is getting into the realm of distribution...

    Yea, that's harping on the details a little, but people are getting confused as to where the line is. Software licenses specifically spell out how you can make and use backups, but movies are not so clear (because they'd rather you get confused and buy multiple copies...).

    Also, if anyone is still confused it is not legal to backup rentals. Unless you destroy that backup before you return your movie, you're pirating. The second you have a viewable copy and the rental place can rent that movie to someone else you've violated the license to that movie.

    Eh, I just noticed that I forgot to read the second page and txpharoah already clarified most of this. Oh, well, this is typed so I'll leave it as is.
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  25. With all due respect, you guys should not cap on txpharoah's spelling and listen to what he/she has to say. I would concur that you guys are espousing some horribly uninformed legal advice.

    The most poignant of which is that the idea of a backup. A backup is a safeguard of the content in the event the media which holds the original content becomes unusable. You cannot use a backup to increase the number of concurrent uses. If so, you have infringed on the copyright.

    With regard to libraries - libraries lend physical media - they do not lend duplicates of original media. This is why the ebook debate is so heated currently - with ebooks they could lend multiple copies of a title. Currently that is not possible. If John Grisham has a new whiz bang book out, most people need to wait wait weeks or months to borrow it. Many decide to purchase the book instead of waiting. Publishers do not want to see this change.

    With regard to software: software is not like video, audio and other media. Software is protected by copyright law, but is also licensed. In most cases the license is more restrictive than copyright. Some of the legality of these licenses is currently being tested in the courts. For instance, in all those "AGREE" boxes that get clicked on MS operating systems, users (note they are not called owners) have all agreed never to sell their copy of Windows, and allow Microsoft to examine their PC if suspected of violating the license. Its these draconian measures that are being challenged.

    Finally, to the fine poster ranting on about 'god'. You are incorrect. The capitalization of 'god' is necessary when referring to a specific deity as a proper noun. For example if I say, "Loki was the god of mischief," it does not get capitalized. It was clear txpharoah was using the word in a non-proper context. So in addition to your poor legal advice, your grammar skills are awful, too.

    Marc
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  26. Member rhegedus's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by housepig
    devil's advocate...

    you're not paying double or triple for the same service, because you can't watch one stream on multiple sets now.

    you are paying for the ability to watch multiple streams - to have your service multiplied onto various sets.

    - housepig
    Sorry to ask a silly question, but over here in the UK we still get most of our TV from aerials and transmitters:

    If you hook up your VCR and TV to the cable, does the fact that you only have one stream mean that if you are recording something then you cannot watch another channel?

    Regards,

    Rob
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    Whoever "defense" is, please get a better defense. Seriously? Spelling? At 1 a.m. CST spelling is the least of my concerns. If I were acting in an official capacity, I'd have run spell check. Then again, I also wouldn't be able to be so candid and let all these people know they are morons in terms of media law.

    Again. Everybody here: QUIT TRYING TO BE A LAWYER! You are more often wrong than not. At least from what has been said so far.

    And once more, a BACKUP is NOT the same thing as AN EXTRA COPY. I keep my backups in a safe or file drawer. Being where I work, I have access to things you'll never get. So, they're pretty valuable to a video collector like myself. I can lend out originals just fine. Not illegal. The backup stays in the safe or drawer as the backup. Only illegal if I loan it out too or use it in any fashion that would make it be less of a BACKUP and more of an EXTRA COPY.

    -txpharoah
    (Yes, for the question, as in the great State of Texas -TX-, where I can own a gun, pay no state income taxes, have homeowners protection laws, and we are not afraid to execute our murderers and other degenerate criminals on a weekly basis. God Bless Texas! And then, yes, as in a Pharoah, responding to my interest in movies based on ancient Egyptian culture.)
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  28. Member
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    to rhegedus:

    From my limited overseas knowledge, you guys mostly have air waves and satellite. Cable never caught on much outside North America from what I hear.

    We have broadcast too. But channel 3 on the tv is usually set as the blank channel that receives the non-air signal from the VCR, which has cable or satellite fed into it. It just depends on the amount of video equipment and how it is set up.

    Generally, the cable/satellite box is feeding a signal to the input or AUX channel of your VCR, and must stay that way to record. You cannot change the satellite or cable to another channel, as it will change the recording channel too. No confusion, the VCR is still on input/aux channel, but the feed into it is whatever you see on the satellite or cable box. It's as if channel 3 on your tv now has an additional 100 or 1000 sub-channels on that frequency, just as playing a tape adds another magic channel to channel 3 of the tv.

    To watch something else, the most you can do is change the tv channel (separate from the cable/VCR activity) and try to watch another broadcast airwave.

    I only get 3 good clear broadcast channels on my tv (without antennas), but since FOX is one of them, I tend to watch FOX if I don't want to watch what I'm recording.

    But, yes, you would be correct in that you can watch one broadcast channel, yet record a different one on the VCR. That's because the signals are avilable in the air, and the VCR can get it independently of the tv. The signal from cable is a single cable.

    Personally, at home with cable, I have split boxes and other wires that allow me to watch one channel but record another one, at least on analog cable, because the tv and vcr are both cable-ready. But when you add a satellite or digital cable box, once again, stuck to watching just one channel.

    Of course, unless you have dual cable, with both analog and digital. Then you can watch analog on one tv, and then record the from the digital box. Or vice versa. Satellite just like the digital box.

    In any case, the digital cable boxes and satellite tv are only capable of getting one channel at a time. Analog cable is more like broadcast, just needs a few more wires and some splits to rig it up to act the same on multiple devices concurrently.

    I know. It's complex, and I'm sorry if I added more confusion here than help. I generally avoid explaining tech. I'm better at demonstration, and something like this you'd probably just have to see.

    If you need some clarification, PM me with specific questions.
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  29. Originally Posted by rhegedus
    Originally Posted by housepig
    devil's advocate...

    you're not paying double or triple for the same service, because you can't watch one stream on multiple sets now.

    you are paying for the ability to watch multiple streams - to have your service multiplied onto various sets.

    - housepig
    Sorry to ask a silly question, but over here in the UK we still get most of our TV from aerials and transmitters:

    If you hook up your VCR and TV to the cable, does the fact that you only have one stream mean that if you are recording something then you cannot watch another channel?

    Regards,

    Rob
    What you are refering to is called "time-shifting" and is legal to do here in the states because of a US Supreme Court ruling.
    http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/T/htmlT/timeshifting/timeshifting.htm
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  30. Member rhegedus's Avatar
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    txpharoah and MOVIEGEEK,

    Thanks for the info.

    Over here, we've got used to being able to watch one channel whilst being able to record another but there are only 5 'air to ground' channels so we haven't gained much.

    Satelite took off about 15 years ago with Murdoch controlled Sky, with everything free at first, but then slowly the charges were introduced so what was free 15 years ago is now £50+ a month if you subscribe to everything.

    Cable came in about 5-10 years ago with Cable & Wireless being a big player but now there are quite a few to chose from, with very little difference between them. The problem with cable is that you can only access one channel at a time, and you're limited to viewing what you're offered so if you want to watch any foreign language channels, you can't.

    I'm currently with NTL http://www.ntlhome.com/ntl_tv/index.asp and we get a reasonably good choice of stuff, including a sanitised (European) version of CNN.

    I would go for a satelite dish just for the extra choice, but the block I'm in has building regulations against dishes, so I'm stuck with cable until I move on.

    Regards,

    Rob
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