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DREAM OVER
Published on: 11/28/2009.
by BARRY ALLEYNE
DREAM BOXES have been a nightmare for the Caribbean Broadacasting Corporation (CBC), costing them millions of dollars in lost revenue.
But pirates who own the special cable receivers are about to wake up to a new reality.
The country's lone television station and cable service provider is getting tough as it cracks down on thousands of users who "pirate" its MCTV service by using the illegal Dream Boxes, which are usually smuggled into the country.
The CBC recently hired a Canadian company solely for the purpose of providing new encryption software to protect its 25 000 paying customers, and a new system should be in place by the first month of 2010.
That decision was made by CBC management after MCTV's total subscribers dropped from over 28 000 in April this year, to less than 25 000 at the end of August, as customers disconnected and opted instead to pay a one-time fee for Dream Boxes. In addition, the company has to deal with an estimated 10 000 dream boxes being smuggled in annually.
In January, all MCTV subscribers will be upgraded to a new software system which better protects their signal, and new smart-cards will also be provided for paying customers.
"It was a decision management had to make. MCTV is the main money maker for CBC and that money helps pay all the company's bills," an informed source told the SATURDAY SUN.
When contacted yesterday, CBC's chief MCTV officer Andrew Greene noted the issue was a very sensitive one, and he would not be able to comment on the matter.
The SATURDAY SUN has learnt that CBC had been using a compromised encryption system for 18 months, which allowed Dream Box owners free reign on their MCTV signal.
Our investigations also discovered that Dream Box users were able to get a free service since early 2008, because CBC's old encryption software only scrambled their MCTV signal every two minutes, which allowed the Dream Box to recover the signal.
But the new security will leave the Dream Boxes crippled. "This is a money business, and encryption is always changing, and not cheap. The new software will actually scramble the MCTV signal every ten to 15 seconds, so Dream Boxes will not be able to keep up, and eventually lose the entire signal," the source added.
18 comment found!
Common Sense : 3/9/2010
Think it is more economical to go cable instead of wireless, thats the only way cbc can stop the pirating, who is to say that they will get new or old subscribers , always there is more money in the pirate business than in the legal business, so who ever provide that software to cbc will sell a pirate the same software because at the end of the day he will make more money than cbc will ever pay him. someone made radar for police and then made detectors to pick up the radars , this is a world where people are looking to get get more for nothing ,its the way the world going now, quick money poor results,like i said go cable and make it affordable , all other caribbean islands use cable and there is no pirating unless someone will take the chance of climbing a pole and get electrocute just to watch tv, shame on cbc
Crap : 3/4/2010
Monopolies SUCK. Too much money for the crap u have and provide for service
CBC sucks : 3/1/2010
you all show alot of crap on tv barbados is so far in development and we still have one free channel that is crap st.lucia had 8 free when i visited in 1994 study it you all are wasting tome show something that would interest me then i'll watch tv.
Criminals : 12/12/2009
Just to reiterate, cbc are clearly criminals. I swear we're the only idiots that spend money on an already pirated service. I doubt they are really losing nearly as much as they claim. Chances are, that they pay only 5% of wuh we pay dem for. I wasn't aware we were a spanish speaking nation. We shouldn't settle for this trash!
dream boxes : 12/6/2009
lots of people who pay for cable dont know that CBC and other cable companies charge them for watching the basic channels in the massachusetts area. I was over there last year and was shock to find out that cable companies make people pay for American basic channels; and its so much money people have to pay to watch that nonesense. Its about time CBC make basic channels more affordable, or people will find a way to get free cable, also cable is like the radio waves so before you know it people will be getting free cell signals and cable just like the radio waves.
SERVICE : 12/5/2009
I DO SOMETIMES WONDER WHY PEOLPLE IN MANGEMENT ALWAYS SEEM TO THINK THAT PEOLPLE ARE STEALING THEIR SIGNALS, CBC HAS THE MOST SATERLITE DISHES I HAVE EVER SEEN AT ANY TV/RADIO STATIONS IN ALL THE COUNTRIES I HAVE BEEN TO,THE WORST PROGRAMMING FOR A LOCAL STATION, MEDITATION,PLEASE CBC PLAY YOUR PART IN KEEPING YOUNG PEOPLE OFF THE STREETS, DO YOU THINK IF I HAD A GOOD SHOW ON LOCAL TV TO WATCH I WILL BE ON THE BLOCK ALSO DONT YOU REALISE THAT THE SAME PEOLPE THAT SUPPLY THESE ENCRIPTIONS USUALLY HAVE THE SOFT WARE TO STEAL IT FROM THE SKY? AND DONT YOU STEAL SIGNALS AS WELL? SO GIVE US BETTER PROGRAMS AND I WONT HAVE TO TAKE YOUR SIGNAL (ITS IN THE AIR SO I AM NOT STEALING) AND BRING IT TO MY LIVING ROOM
: 12/5/2009
Could I and other land owners charge CBC a fee for using the air space of our properties to transmit signals?
Dream Over - CBC : 12/5/2009
Maybe if CBC & Co. could only learn from the cellphone/telephone liberalization - LOWER Prices & a good product can result in MORE paying customers.
I am sure alot more fellow Bajans would be willing to do the legal thing, if only it was alot more cost effective.
The pay cheque can stretch only so far. Why should we pay out all & at the end of the day unable to save a $$, after all the cripling bills.
CBC : 12/5/2009
cbc need to get real all that money being paid out to someone thousands of dollars just to save a few hundreds I wonder if this station is still subsidised by tax payers money. All over the world people can have access to cable just by buying the right equipment,and you can walk into a store and buy it no questions ask.Make the service more affordable to people.
CBC Foolish : 12/4/2009
Now with the new HD flat screen you can go and get it chip , also the chinese have something better than dream box ,just giving a way money. What they should do is bring more channels free and charge a price year for TV like de english
because them that company locate them dream box ,anything new on the market
Foolish foolish people
DO WITHOUT IT : 12/4/2009
Cost of living is very high in Barbados and will continue to increase. If you can't afford it, DO WITHOUT IT. Watching television is not a necessity.
DREAM OVER : 12/3/2009
CBC should be ashamed. They charge so much damn money for a cheap, spanish speaking feed and they talking bout people pirating. They should be glad that people want to pirate that nonsense. I am a subscriber and I want them to know that I will discontinue my service soon and its not because of pirating, its because it is bear foolishness and the service is piss poor. Deal with that now....steups!!
: 12/3/2009
Folks will always have a choice, do without what you cannot afford! The PM said it do without the bling. Put the cable in the same category as the "bling and new curtains". You don't need it.
DREAM OVER : 12/3/2009
Maybe the CBC will get new customers when they stop putting up these long unsightly poles on people houses in order to get reception and have a neat compact dish like the other company does.
Born Bajan. (Original)
AH WELL!….. : 12/2/2009
There will always be folks who will try to get a deal…something for less...or something for nothing. So let’s hope that the new equipment cannot be that easily penetrated and that CBC revenue will increase, as folks have no choice but to pay for cable service
The Voice : 12/2/2009
i am an uneducated person.
CBC & Poor Service : 12/2/2009
Maybe CBC should action the p---poor quality service they are giving their customers. How do they know that they are losing customers to piracy? How can they make a blanket statement like that? Have they conducted a survey? Do they know who have opted to discontinue their service due to harsh ecconomic times, or who have switched to the competiton? I know they lost me by not re-adjusting my account for two months after not having any service, which falls into another category, disconnected due to bad service and have not switched and still does not pirate. Their private contractors also kept me waiting on the day of the repair without even apologizing, time is money. I don't even bother to watch the stupid TV anymore, it is not informative and the cable was overpriced. I now have a full night's rest. I watched it previously because I paid for it. When I can afford it I will install a satelite dish and pay for my own repairs. Technology is constantly changing and as soon as you buy a piece of equipment it is obsolete. The same manufacturers will produce hardware or software to sell to those who are pirating. With the money saved from paying for and complaining about poor service, one can now afford other tangible things or put it in the bank. Let them wait and see if they will regain their entire lost marketshare.
If you put it in the air they will pull it down : 11/28/2009
Why is CBC spending more money in enhanced encryption for a wireless signal? Encryption can be broken.. just takes time. Once you put the signal in the air someone WILL figure a way to access and view it. Maybe you should check internally to see who is leaking your access codes, because the last change you made lasted about 2 hrs before someone had the codes and was reprogramming the Dream Boxes.
Your only real solution is a physical cable. Move away from the wireless service or accept that your going to face wholesale piracy , both from internal and external sources.
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