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Juan
Juan
Supporting Founder
Last reply · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion

"pirates" take european parliment seat

I guess this is one way to change the laws!!

Digital TV - News - Pirate Party wins European seat - Digital Spy
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zamar23
zamar23
Thanks for interesting examples. However, as I understand, the Pirate Party's goal is not to facilitate distribution of content offered by its creators for free, but to offer for public download pirated content protected by its authors via patents and copyright.
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meinename
meinename
What the "Pirate Party" struggle stands for IMHO is a consumer/customer backlash.

For at least the last 10 years, Digital distribution has been feasible.
For 8 years the Hollywood content producers have been sold on a broken system usually refered to as DRM or Digital Rights Management. The Rights enforced are not yours-the purchasers rights-but what the studios want restricted.
I will refer to it from here on out as "Digital restrictions"

Add on top of that fight, the "broadcasting rights" sales delays that plague Europe.
Hollywood movies and shows are delayed or outright not released in Europe at a min. of 6 months for the UK and a year for non-English speaking countries.

If you read nothing else, at least read this paragraph:
The "underground" distribution methods (usually referred to as P2P or file-sharing)
are usually fans of shows or series making sure other fans can watch where there is simply NO Legal Distribution method available.

In the last 3 years there have been some shortening of the delay times.
On the other hand, the Consumer-level digital restrictions have been raised to ludicrous-levels.

  • Mandated Broadcast-Flag (struck down, Thank God!)
  • No-Skip Flag on DVD's (Intended for FBI or equivalent warning, not for previews or the "You wouldn't steal..." video)
  • High-Definition Copy Protection over DVI and HDMI (easily defeated via an insert HDCP insert)
  • BD+ (wonder why your Blu-ray takes 2 mins. to even show a picture? This is why, Has been regularly broken on each update, considered ineffective)
  • Image-Constraint Token (no HDCP? no HD for you, down-scaled to quarter resolution. All major studios agreed to not use until 2010)
  • Selectable-Output (turn off analog output on flagged shows/movies, currently being considered by the FCC at MPAA request)

The best analogy I can give tonight (HA!)
The Freebies are to the Pirate party as the make-pot-legal are to the Libertarian party. An embarrassment...

To me, it is not about gimme, gimme, gimme...
It is the fact that distribution costs have dropped for many things. Prices have not.
International issues that previously existed are no more.
Yet distribution agreements are still dealt with the same as the days of VHS but now a broken string of digital restrictions are tacked on.
The customer base is being persecuted for the failure of an industry to forecast and adapt.

The Pirate party is the customer base getting involved in politics since their normal representatives won't represent their interests over a MPAA/RIAA/(insert local variant here) lobbyist.

The Pirate name came from the MPAA and RIAA referring to the group as "Pirates" or thieves.

The end goal is for industries to offer their wares in a consumer-friendly, standard format. It took 5 years to get the RIAA to allow non-DRM audio to be sold on iTunes and Amazon. The MPAA has not done anything close to that yet.

Digital Copy (included in some Blu-ray movies) is a digitally-restricted iTunes and a digitally-restricted Windows Media files. They become "bound" to a device or account.
The device becomes unusable or an account becomes unaccessable? Tough, buy a whole new copy.

The digital restrictions are more about forcing scarcity where the is a lack of scarcity.
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ikki
ikki
Well said meinename
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GrumpyGuy
GrumpyGuy
Until someone can convince me I was born with a right to be entertained, let them lock-down their content in any way they see fit. If I don't like the terms, they keep their product, I keep my cash - no harm, no foul, liberty and justice for all.
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ikki
ikki
Perhaps GrumpyGuy would feel different about the issue if things like gasoline where controlled the same way. You have the right to buy our fuel but you can only put it in one vehicle. Gas cans are not allowed, and hey if you don't like the terms go with out.

This same type of thinking is what allowed Ma Bell to ban things like phone book covers and owning your own telephone. People had enough and soon we had the carterphone decision. AT&T still didn't get the hint so the DOJ busted them up and we got the modified final judgement decision which broke up AT&T.

AT&T used the same logic in the 50 and 60's, if you don't like OUR terms don't buy our service.
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Scott Greczkowski
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Song Name Game Part 3!

Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
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long_time_Dish
long_time_Dish
Find A Way To My Heart - Phil Collins
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dishstaller
dishstaller
Heart of Glass - Blondie
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long_time_Dish
long_time_Dish
Magazine - Heart
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hwkn
Harden My HEART-Quarterflash
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ClarkGable
ClarkGable
My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
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TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Agentic AI Security: Why Unconstrained Agents Alarm CISOs #shorts

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!


View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/N2oPp-plZEw


Direct YouTube Link - Agentic AI Security: Why Unconstrained Agents Alarm CISOs #shorts
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

AI, Coding, and SpinRite

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHY_0D10LGw


Direct YouTube Link - AI, Coding, and SpinRite
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

The OpenCode Cyberattack

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8ylZleSQCE


Direct YouTube Link - The OpenCode Cyberattack
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Apple's Foldable Phone Is Finally Here

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu8iBMhokOk


Direct YouTube Link - Apple's Foldable Phone Is Finally Here
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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SuperDish_Fan23
SuperDish_Fan23
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Its crazy how the ViP922 is so rare for no reason.

Why are ViP922s So rare? like its crazy how ebay has none, i checked everywhere, also, i got a ViP222k now, which is actually activated!
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S
slow_poke_pete
remembers when ATT had stores and leased home phones
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dishstaller
dishstaller
My Wife was recently in an antique store and saw a rotary desk phone and it had one of those sticker overlays that had a business listed with phone number under each number on the dial. She looked closer and it had my old Radio Shack listed under the 8...she bought it. Pretty cool keepsake. Back then I rented vhs movies as well so I had it listed as Radio Shack / Movie Gallery and then the phone number.
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Almighty1
Almighty1
I remember this in the news too...

www.nbcnews.com

$14,000 spent on rented rotary phone

A widow rented a rotary dial telephone for 42 years, paying what her family calculates as more than $14,000 for a now- outdated phone.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
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Bobby
Bobby
Almighty1 said:
I remember this in the news too...

www.nbcnews.com

$14,000 spent on rented rotary phone

A widow rented a rotary dial telephone for 42 years, paying what her family calculates as more than $14,000 for a now- outdated phone.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
Click to expand...
That is a misnomer. In the old days you subscribed to telephone service. That included the telephone line and one telephone. An extension cost $1 a month extra. So that $14,000 over 42 years was for the service not the leased telephone. There is no way they paid $28 a month for 42 years for a leased telephone.
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HIFI
HIFI
2.webp
2.webp
anybody remember this disaster ?
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meStevo
meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section

NFL 2026-2027 Season

Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.
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rvvaquero
rvvaquero
Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson had an argument about who was responsible for the dynasty building of the early 90's Cowboys.

The rest of us figured it out in about 3 years, Jerry has had over 30 years but still can't admit it. It's all he lives for, to show everyone he can put together a winner. I don't think he can. His kids only know what he taught them.
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HipKat
HipKat
Week Six Balls and Goats and WTH is Going On in The NFL??

Browns. 1st place in the North. Yup. Believe it or not

Chiefs. Undefeated.

Titans. Won a game ! .... Colts I know, but still.

Saints. Won a game after a while.

Steelers. Having the same season they always have. They somehow find wins on their way to an unceremonial 1st round exit. Mike Tomlin is proud.

Cards. Won a game without scoring a single touchdown

Broncos. How they manage to win games with the dogshit offense they have should be studied.

Bears. Caleb's back and so is their mojo.


Goats

NFC East. For the 2nd straight week no team from this clown show of a division won a game. Eagles are cooked without Hurts. Who's not that good anyway. Commanders suck, Dallas is well ..... Dallas and the Giants have no QB.

Ravens. Lamar is out (as usual). But still. Losing to the Browns is never ok.

Chargers. Still can't win.

Rams. So much for the powerhouse team. They are 2 games under .500

Seattle. Lost to the offenseless Broncos.
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Y
Yespage
rvvaquero said:
Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson had an argument about who was responsible for the dynasty building of the early 90's Cowboys.

The rest of us figured it out in about 3 years, Jerry has had over 30 years but still can't admit it. It's all he lives for, to show everyone he can put together a winner. I don't think he can. His kids only know what he taught them.
Click to expand...
Johnson built it, but without the Herschel Walker trade, it never happens.
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b4pjoe
b4pjoe
Yespage said:
Johnson built it, but without the Herschel Walker trade, it never happens.
Click to expand...
Jerry made himself General Manager after he bought the team but make no mistake Jimmy engineered that trade. As well as a lot of others at the time.
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rvvaquero
rvvaquero
Jimmy Johnson is a football guy. Jerry Jones is a marketer (hustler).

When I see a football player get a 15 yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct (like taunting) in a close game, I often wonder what he was thinking. Was he thinking, I'm doing everything I can to make this a better team and help win a championship? Or, was he saying to himself, I want everyone to notice how great I am?

Johnson inspires one, Jones the other.
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meStevo
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S
SatZach
· posted in The Chit Chat Club

Hello again

I haven't posted in almost 17 years. Over the air, sat, offline, anything-but-the-internet is still one of my avid pursuits. Been playing with offline tv viewing and offline web browsing. I have great appreciations for this site still being here. It's so hard to find public communities that haven't sold out to social media company.
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SkyWatcher57
SkyWatcher57
Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion

KOQIT receivers

Hello folks, well my luck ran out last week with a nasty thunderstorm and after 39 years here, finally took a hit. Now, the FTA receivers I had for some years worked great until now. Recently picked up a fairly cheap receiver, online, KOQIT and seems to be good, but for the life of me, I cannot get the HDMI output to work with 3 of my Samsung monitors. I can hook it up to my Samsung TV and its HDMI input and it works fine. The 2 receivers I lost also worked fine with them, so am I going crazy? anyone have come across this or have any suggestions? And, since this is a somewhat cheap unit but works, what is everyone out there using for receivers these days? without breaking the bank? I enjoy watching FTA TV, so I will invest more if needed, what is a really good, detailed unit these days. I'm so use to watching a few of them HD channels. Right now I'm down to composite hookups, yuck! Any help or info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Frank :rolleyes:
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(((Garyd)))
(((Garyd)))
SkyWatcher57 said:
Hello folks, well my luck ran out last week with a nasty thunderstorm and after 39 years here, finally took a hit. Now, the FTA receivers I had for some years worked great until now. Recently picked up a fairly cheap receiver, online, KOQIT and seems to be good, but for the life of me, I cannot get the HDMI output to work with 3 of my Samsung monitors. I can hook it up to my Samsung TV and its HDMI input and it works fine. The 2 receivers I lost also worked fine with them, so am I going crazy? anyone have come across this or have any suggestions? And, since this is a somewhat cheap unit but works, what is everyone out there using for receivers these days? without breaking the bank? I enjoy watching FTA TV, so I will invest more if needed, what is a really good, detailed unit these days. I'm so use to watching a few of them HD channels. Right now I'm down to composite hookups, yuck! Any help or info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Frank :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Take the cover off, show me pics of the board of the bad one and also the bottom of the board. I'm an old hardware electronics tech plus a satellite dealer; I fixed a lot of FTA and regular receivers. I may be able to fix it for you. And yes, they got hit by lightning; it's best to email me the pics at diamondsatellite@snet.net or call me at 203-232-8888. I give you a 50-50 chance of fixing it; I do have spare parts. my phone is a fliptop phone
Gary
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navychop
navychop
More room for the return of the Plague & Pestilence?

;)
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S
slow_poke_pete
SkyWatcher57 said:
Hello folks, well my luck ran out last week with a nasty thunderstorm and after 39 years here, finally took a hit. Now, the FTA receivers I had for some years worked great until now. Recently picked up a fairly cheap receiver, online, KOQIT and seems to be good, but for the life of me, I cannot get the HDMI output to work with 3 of my Samsung monitors. I can hook it up to my Samsung TV and its HDMI input and it works fine. The 2 receivers I lost also worked fine with them, so am I going crazy? anyone have come across this or have any suggestions? And, since this is a somewhat cheap unit but works, what is everyone out there using for receivers these days? without breaking the bank? I enjoy watching FTA TV, so I will invest more if needed, what is a really good, detailed unit these days. I'm so use to watching a few of them HD channels. Right now I'm down to composite hookups, yuck! Any help or info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Frank :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
a good surge protector will help to.
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SkyWatcher57
SkyWatcher57
(((Garyd))) said:
Take the cover off, show me pics of the board of the bad one and also the bottom of the board. I'm an old hardware electronics tech plus a satellite dealer; I fixed a lot of FTA and regular receivers. I may be able to fix it for you. And yes, they got hit by lightning; it's best to email me the pics at diamondsatellite@snet.net or call me at 203-232-8888. I give you a 50-50 chance of fixing it; I do have spare parts. my phone is a fliptop phone
Gary
Click to expand...
Hi Gary, still working on getting you those
SkyWatcher57 said:
Hi Gary, just saw this, ok, I'll grab some pics tomorrow and post them. thx
Click to expand...
Still working getting you those pictures, nice weekends means yard work and fall prep, thanks
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k4otl
k4otl
Anybody know how to add "hidden" audio channels like for 101 W Ku or 105W C band on these recvr's? I've exported the database file but don't have anything that will read or edit it.
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cyberham
cyberham
For 105W C, you scan in the Westwood tp normally. Then select the audio channel you want. Not necessary to manually enter. On 101W, you must manually enter.
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TRG
TRG
Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Prescription drug costs

Now that I'm retired, obviously I have different health care insurance. I take 2 prescriptions. With my old insurance I didn't have to pay for either of them, now I do. It's not a huge amount but it led me to dig a little into the cost of prescription medications. I have been using Walgreens for the longest time. But what I found was that Walgreens price is 4.8 times more for one of my prescriptions and the other is 2.3 percent more compared to the lowest price pharmacy. If you pay for prescription medications you might want to have a look at trumprx and see if you can get a lower price.


Screenshot from 2026-10-22 15-43-53.webp
Screenshot from 2026-10-22 15-23-34.webp
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comfortably_numb
comfortably_numb
I run them through several different providers to see who has the lowest cost

Usually it's Walmart or Sam's + GoodRx

Also...

Homepage of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs

Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug homepage. Provides safe, affordable medicine or medication with transparent low prices.
www.costplusdrugs.com

You can also price them through the CareCard and WellRx apps.

Sometimes Amazon Pharmacy is cheapest.
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T
telstar_1
TrumpRx?!?

I went on Medicare recently (not an "advantage" plan) and my prescriptions at HyVee were very low out of pocket. The clerk said she was putting them on "Good Rx".
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osu1991
osu1991
I take 10mg Rosuvastatin (Crestor). I was paying $34 for a 90day supply at Walgreens last year when I was on Blue Cross. My Blue Cross premiums were going up to $1800 a month this year, so I switched to an Ambetter Bronze plan (I think that's a Cigna company) for $825 a month. I now have a $40 copay for doctors visits which is fine as I usually only see them once or twice a year, so a huge cost savings. My Rosuvastatin was going to go up to around $90 for a 90 day supply at Walgreens and even more at CVS or one of the local family pharmacies. Ordering online thru my insurance portal from Express Scripts it's $0.74 for a 90 day supply.
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comfortably_numb
comfortably_numb
telstar_1 said:
TrumpRx?!?
Click to expand...

Scripts arrive in a gold paper sack.
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dishstaller
dishstaller
comfortably_numb said:
Usually it's Walmart or Sam's + GoodRx
Click to expand...
I'm fortunate and don't take any medications. A couple years ago I had to take some antibiotics and used the GoodRx app. Went to Walmart and the person behind the desk knew me and told me to just buy them outright....the GoodRx price was a LOT higher. She said they aren't supposed to tell customers when they see they are being screwed.
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navychop
navychop
That's ok. I probably take enough for the two of us.

God knows what Bobby takes. Maybe so much they count as a meal?
:D
:devilish
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Bobby
Bobby
navychop said:
That's ok. I probably take enough for the two of us.

God knows what Bobby takes. Maybe so much they count as a meal?
:D
:devilish
Click to expand...
Actually I take just 2 prescriptions, Atorvastatin and Lisinopril. They cost me $6 each for 100 pills. Next year that will be nothing.
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