Strict security for set-top boxes

[Giarc86]

SABC's a load of rubbish anyways... im tired of watching everything in subtitles..I wouldnt mind just having etv and not paying a tv license

 

[Threepwood]

Dunnow why Ivy is causing such a huge hype over a technology that already exists.

I'm still intrigued about this 70% Government subsidy on the DTT decoders. Strange how Government can subsidise things like TV & crap but not lift levies on things like petrol.

TV is a tool that you can use to influence people.

Point-in-fact, most advertising parrallels with propaganda.

 

[kingmonty]

Purely all just a waste of time south africa is the only southern african country which will be broadcasting in hd So the settop box won't work out of the country any way . Also i think R700 is a bit steep analog tv is only gonna be phased out in a few years any way So still lots of analogue watching.
What's a tv licence by the way lol

The STB will be for decoding a digital signal - not for decoding HD. SABC will not be pushing HD sigals for quite some time to come...

 

[Ivork]

are u spanners suggesting blab la bla

Well LarryChang, firstly we don’t speak MixIt on this forum bcause we cn’t dcifer wot u r saying, and most formites will not appreciate been called spammers and/or other generalized offensive remarks about them either.

anyway, wonder if the sabc will take advantage of this & swicth u off if you don't pay ur tv lic.

I think that is what most of us are hoping for btw – no sabc no pay license!

And @ Ivy Matsabushiecassaboerrie: For your strong encryption you’ll be using cams and considering this is not a satellite service, you’ll need to be within reception of a SABC/Sentech tower which you’ll be hard pressed to be in range of across the border, outside the country, in anycase, so what are you going on about you stupid cow!

.

 

[Tns]

A derived advantage of this, might be that you won't need to pay for a TV license if you don't want SABC tv. Not exactly a big loss for many people...

a tv license has nothing to do with watching sabc, you need one cause you are able to receive a tv signal digital or analog.

R700 box vs R300 dstv

 

[The_Unbeliever]

What I'd like to know is how are they going to ensure the device doesn't work outside of SA's borders. Some sort of demented gps implementation?

Put your finger right on it as well...

how can you limit radio/television/wireless signals to within a country's borders?

I would love to see what solution they have...

 

[Syndyre]

Put your finger right on it as well...

how can you limit radio/television/wireless signals to within a country's borders?

I would love to see what solution they have...

I'm guessing they'll just limit it to receiving signals on the frequency's designated for SABC, E etc. so that the subsidised boxes can't be exported.

 

[Turiko]

TV is a tool that you can use to influence people.

Point-in-fact, most advertising parrallels with propaganda.

TV happens to be the ANC's mouthpiece so yes, they will give it every priority.

As for the STB, I resent being called a spanner. Anyhow we will see, trust me on that one, I am defnitely up for a challenge

 

[Wyzak]

So instead of developing a great product which they can market to all developing countries across the world, they instead opted to add extra security features no doubt increasing the cost of the system substantially and also completely limiting the product to SA? Nice going!

Shooting ourselves in the foot, one bullet at a time.

 

[Johan449]

So instead of developing a great product which they can market to all developing countries across the world, they instead opted to add extra security features no doubt increasing the cost of the system substantially and also completely limiting the product to SA? Nice going!

Shooting ourselves in the foot, one bullet at a time.

According to the version of this article in the local newspaper Ivy further statet that the encryption is there to prevent pirate versions of the boxes...

Only need for piracy is when a product is artificially inflated on the price. Guess her doughnut supply will take a dip....

And why not export to the rest of the world? It will boost our economy...

Finally, What about your new tv sets that will have digital tuners already?
Does LG etc. need a special firmware upgrade to be able to receive SA signals since it will be a pirate tuner not manufactured in SA?

Also, now they can cut you of for not paying your tv license (which they said they won't).

/rant of

 

[somnambulist]

How they gonna do that ?

Simple it has a GPS module ! Encryption (Why institute broadcasts flag laws here?) , WiMax module ... the list goes on. Hopefully theres a highend model with a hdd minus da non essential crap !

 

[Wyzak]

A gps module? seriously? It won't work! The simple cost of a gps receiver chipset that will have a high enough sentivity to pick up the signal in most of our houses will cost more than R700 on its own. Not to mention trying to get reception in a farraday cage... aka corrugated iron housing that the majority of STB users live in.

WiMAX? What about coverage? Remember that little article and the ICASA extortion claim of 51% black ownership? South Africans will be very lucky if they EVER see WIMAX.

Why would you want a highend version of this temporary device when you can just get a PVR decoder from NoChoice?

I still feel that this is a missed opportunity for sustainable development. Instead of creating thousands of jobs and giving the GDP a big boost by supplying boxes to all the developing countries and a substantial number of the other countries going through digital migration, "we" have decided to create a proprietary device which can be used nowhere else.

 

[.Froot.]

A gps module? seriously? It won't work! The simple cost of a gps receiver chipset that will have a high enough sentivity to pick up the signal in most of our houses will cost more than R700 on its own. Not to mention trying to get reception in a farraday cage... aka corrugated iron housing that the majority of STB users live in.

WiMAX? What about coverage? Remember that little article and the ICASA extortion claim of 51% black ownership? South Africans will be very lucky if they EVER see WIMAX.

Why would you want a highend version of this temporary device when you can just get a PVR decoder from NoChoice?

I still feel that this is a missed opportunity for sustainable development. Instead of creating thousands of jobs and giving the GDP a big boost by supplying boxes to all the developing countries and a substantial number of the other countries going through digital migration, "we" have decided to create a proprietary device which can be used nowhere else.

I can build a [non-mass-production scale] GPS transmitter unit that sends out it's location, for around R300. Getting it to transmit through a tin roof might be a problem though.

 

[Turiko]

So instead of developing a great product which they can market to all developing countries across the world, they instead opted to add extra security features no doubt increasing the cost of the system substantially and also completely limiting the product to SA? Nice going!

Shooting ourselves in the foot, one bullet at a time.

or protecting their "vested interests" in UEC down there in Mount Edgecombe.

local newspaper Ivy further statet that the encryption is there to prevent pirate versions of the boxes...

Poison Ivy is really thicker than the proverbial brown stuff... I would like to see how SA is going to be this huge "up and coming" market for chip manufacturers to consider making some "unique to SA" ASIC for their little STB. I wait in anticipation to get one of these little STB's That's going to be a really interesting day for me.

As for them not saying they're going to enforce TV licences with this technology- that reminds me of the same line China pulled when they spoke about the censorship of websites at the Olympics. Everyone here knows damn well they're going to cut you off if you don't have a TV licence... simple as that.

But, I think the fur's gonna fly in the hacking community

 

[Tns]

A gps module? seriously? It won't work! The simple cost of a gps receiver chipset that will have a high enough sentivity to pick up the signal in most of our houses will cost more than R700 on its own. Not to mention trying to get reception in a farraday cage... aka corrugated iron housing that the majority of STB users live in.

yup, although my nokia6110 does pick 3 satellites which gives you from about 10 meters average but signal inside a duplex no go.

 

[.Froot.]

I have a proper GPS (it obviously has a much stronger signal than the 6110 navigator or even the Blackberry GPS) and I only get signal at home if I'm smudged against a window...

 

[Tns]

I have a proper GPS (it obviously has a much stronger signal than the 6110 navigator or even the Blackberry GPS) and I only get signal at home if I'm smudged against a window...

only maybe see one satellite with low signal, sometimes two

 

[.Froot.]

Yeah, but you need at least three satellites (even with low signal) to triangulate the signal to an area. If I'm driving at 120km/h and I have a connection to 12 satellites, I can only triangulate to a radius of 20-30m....

 

[demon angel]

LOL!

 

[werner]

Yeah, but you need at least three satellites (even with low signal) to triangulate the signal to an area. If I'm driving at 120km/h and I have a connection to 12 satellites, I can only triangulate to a radius of 20-30m....

your av. gps device updates at 1hz, and at 120km/h you are moving at 33 metres/second..hence your 20-30m accuracy.
dont know about you southern hemisphere types, but here in the north if i have a sat lock of 6 or more i get close to 1m accuracy..(ignoring the 20-30m "lag" from updating)...close enough that the gps device knows which lane i am in on a 4 lane highway. 5hz gps devices are available...so a lag of about 6m when doing 120km/h, assuming my computer can keep up.

either way, this stb sounds like it is dead before it has even begun to be made..or..more likely..ivy mitshbishi is talking k@k.