Internet Cable Box

[Kilgore Trout]

Wasn't sure if I should post here or tech....

Does anyone have any experience with these internet cable boxes? I saw an ad on craigslist selling them for 5k and a monthly fee; says receives english channels and has a picture of a non-thai HBO screenshot.

The maintainence guy in my building also said he could sell me one for 6k.

Are these things legit or is it just a scam?

Thanks for your input.

[NomadJoe]

They are likely legit in terms of the ad being real. But they are not legit in terms of their legality. It's pirating. Commonly referred to as a "dreambox." The people/shops that sell them purchase a single card which is constantly queried by the dreambox in your house via the internets in order to be able to correctly de-scramble the satellite signal. 4000-6000B is a typical price of a box, 8000B for HD, and typically 350B a month and you get potentially 4000B a month worth of programming. There are a lot of problems though. Any time you or the shop lose a solid internet connection, or the shop loses power, you lose picture. Plus the usual problems with heavy rain.

[Kilgore Trout]

They are likely legit in terms of the ad being real. But they are not legit in terms of their legality. It's pirating. Commonly referred to as a "dreambox." The people/shops that sell them purchase a single card which is constantly queried by the dreambox in your house via the internets in order to be able to correctly de-scramble the satellite signal. 4000-6000B is a typical price of a box, 8000B for HD, and typically 350B a month and you get potentially 4000B a month worth of programming. There are a lot of problems though. Any time you or the shop lose a solid internet connection, or the shop loses power, you lose picture. Plus the usual problems with heavy rain.

Thanks for the info; does anyone have this hookup? What channels do you get? Is it worth putting up with the internet issues etc. or just a big headache?