If your Byond signal is low or poor, then this will affect ALL your HD channels... not happen only for just one or two HD channels.

Which one is your problem...

(1) Totally cannot watch HBO HD but can always watch FMP HD ?

(2) Sometimes can watch FMP HD but can't watch HBO HD... then sometimes can watch HBO HD but can't watch FMP HD ?

If AXN can receive but not AXN HD, then maybe the signal is low which is caused by bad cable connections or mis-alignment of LNB at dish. Low signals can cause reception interruptions to all the HD channels.

I assume you subscribed to Movie Pack or SuperPack so you can watch FMP HD and HBO HD.

If low signal strength, both FMP HD and HBO HD cannot receive sometimes so during the time you cannot watch HBO HD, you will also at the same time cannot receive FMP HD. It cannot be "can receive FMP HD" all the time and "cannot totally receive HBO HD".

The first thing you must do... is immediately call Astro Customer Support (you are charged only local calls). Tell the support person your problem EXACTLY.

If problem is (1)
IF totally cannot receive HBO HD all the time with the message you mentioned and can watch FMP HD, then request the support person to do a manual reset of your subscribed channels using satellite signal to your Byond box. That person will instruct you on what to do next. Usually will ask you to put your Byond box in standby, maybe wait about 30 minutes or more and then switch on. I think this resets the encrypted channels locks stored in the Byond box or smartcard. It happened to me once before and it was done when one of my 2 astro boxes suddenly cannot watch 2 channels that is already included in subscribed package. Oh... I may sound silly here... Put Byond in standby, remove smartcard, clean the "SIM" area with slightly moist clean cloth (wait until its totally dry) and carefully re-insert it back... switch on and check again. Make sure the smartcard is inserted in the correct way as before.

If problem is (2)
If all your HD channels can sometimes receive and sometimes cannot, then tell the support person that this is your problem. Then maybe your signal strength is low... which could be caused by loose cable connection or the LNB at dish maybe out-of-alignment. So you may need for an installer to come and check the cables and LNB alignment. You can also call any friend who is experienced to come personally to your home to check it for you. A forumer here, 1GTR1, finally fixed his HD channels problem with the help of a friend's friend which the previous TWO idiot installers were NOT able to fix.

I repeat... Low signal strength do not cause only the HBO HD with message "This channel is not included in your subscription". If signal strength is the problem, then all the HD channels will be affected in any time period. Example... at 8 pm, I cannot receive HBO HD, then I also cannot receive FMP HD... then at 9 pm, I can for FMP HD and also I can for HBO HD. Just like the rain interruptions... sometimes this channel cannot, sometimes can but another cannot or many times all cannot... it just don't pick and fixed to only one channel which cannot receive.

To check your signal strength (use remote)...
Press [HOME], select "Settings"... select "Installation Settings"... hit zero (empat kali) then [OK]... select "Satellite Settings"... you are now at the orange-yellow "Universal" and hit [OK]... you are now at "18 MEASAT 3A(VH)" and hit [OK]. You can now see the signal level. For me, its usually around 200 to 214. After checking, hit [OK] to go out. Hit [BACK] many times to go back to the normal channel.

If your setting did not use "18 MEASAT 3A(VH)" setting, then you may have intermittent reception problems with ALL your HD channels. Are you staying in a condo with shared dish which caused other number setting to be used ?

Caution... when you check the signal strength, DON'T change any setting if you are not sure or don't know what you are doing !

Have you called Astro support before and still cannot fix your problem ? If it is... call again.

My apologies first if you or anyone got offended by reading my comments inside this "spoiler"...


This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 5 2012, 12:16 AM

My pleasure and you are welcome.

Just as I suspected. Your problem occurs for all the HD channels, not just for HBO HD only. But it does happen sometimes that one or two channels were incorrectly "locked" so that's why I explained the answer for (1), just in case.

Your signal strength is okay so I think your problem may be caused by the LNB "shaking" during strong winds or rain... or constantly shifting positions slightly due to loose joints at the LNB clamp.

Your problem can easily be corrected by re-alignment of the LNB. Then make sure the LNB is held properly with tightened screws so that it don't move position again. When any Astro installer come to fix it, just be very careful because experience tells me that most of them are very lousy in their work !!! Just absolutely make sure the installer really tightened the LNB clamp properly. Also make sure the cable connected to the LNB is NOT loose too ! If installers still didn't do it properly after coming a few times, make sure you shoot customer support with machine gun ! If you really don't trust any installer, if possible, find any friend who is experienced in this to help you do the re-alignment and tightening of the LNB. Just don't blame me if your friend did not do it properly.

Peace

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 5 2012, 12:39 AM

Before I answered in my earlier post to sniper69, I did ask my friend who is an authorised Astro installer about these group of settings. I will try to use simple explanations from what I am able to understand from this friend. I am NOT an expert in this.

"18 Measat 3A(VH)" is NOT necessarily the best setting for HD channels reception and I did not mention in my post that this is the best. Short answer, no... just keep your setting at No.1. My previous post was to answer Sniper69 post which you have mis-understood me.

I believe that you already knew that the satellites orbiting our earth's outer atmosphere have a life-span and does not last forever. I think that each satellite has about 15 to 20 years of "life" depending on how the on-board fuel is used to "push" the satellite back to proper orbit. The solar panel is used for supplying power to the satellite transponders and other equipment. There are a few thousand working satellites orbiting our earth presently. There are also many more thousands of debris and "rubbish" from unfallen dead satellites too.

Presently, we are using two satellites, named... MEASAT 3 and MESAT 3A. I don't know how long these two will last until its fuel is finished, go out-of-orbit and falls back to earth. New satellites will have to be launched when the time comes, maybe MEASAT 4.

Ok... setting to one from No. 1 to 12 (VL) used one of twelve transponders from MEASAT 3 which have stronger transmission beam so its more suitable for weaker signal reception locations such as condos.

Setting to one from No. 13 to 18 (VH) used one of six transponders from MEASAT 3A which have weaker transmission beam so its more suitable for stronger signal reception locations.

I found out that there are some people who thought wrongly that No.18 has the best signal reception for HD channels. It is not ! So some people with lower signal strength (such as in condo) was already set to use No.1 and some clever people changed the setting to No.18 which caused intermittent problems with their HD channels !

Sniper69 previously did not say his location so this was why I also asked in my previous post... "Are you staying in a condo with shared dish which caused other number setting to be used ?"

Now I know that Sniper69 is not staying in a condo. BUT at the time before I know this... IF the original setting used in condo is No.1 and if he changed it to No.18, then there will be problems. This is also why I did mention... "DON'T change any setting if you are not sure or don't know what you are doing !".

This is why if No.1 was already set, I mentioned that changing to No.18 may have intermittent reception problems with ALL the HD channels.

Yes... you are correct that No.1 has stronger signal reception. The difference between No.1 to 18 may or may not be great depending on each person's location. For strong reception locations, you can use any number. For me... No.1 gave me average 240 signal strength and No.18 gave me average 220. So if you feel No.1 is the best for you, then no problem to use it.

If the signal strength is average 180 with setting No.1 used, then changing to No.18 will cause more problems.

There are many factors or causes which determine whether the signal quality and reception is strong or weak in any location such as a home or condo.

For location like mine in a 3 storey shophouse with cables that are not too long, my signal quality and reception is strong so there is no problem and small difference to choose any one from 1 to 18. Whichever is chosen... I got a difference from average of 220 to 240 in signal strength.



I don't know how accurate it is and true or not, the following below are also more info that my friend told me...

He told me that the 12 transponders from MEASAT 3 used a stronger beam strength for people with weaker reception signal. If this is true, the weird thing is that I have read of unproven reports from some people who have better reception with No.13 to 18 and weaker reception with No.1 to 12 !! I stopped arguing with my kind friend for reports that could be false, hehe.

Each transponder can carry many TV channels and beamed to all the Astro subscribers. Of course has a limit but this also depends on what type of data is transmitted such as MPEG4 compression.

MEASAT 3 have a total of 64 transponders and MEASAT 3A also the same. That means a total of 128 transponders combined.

Presently, MEASAT company reserved 24 transponders to Astro for Satellite TV/Radio transmission (SD and HD). That means MEASAT 3 have fully used up the 12 reserved ones and MEASAT 3A (with 6 used) still have 6 "spare" ones which may already be partly used, such as for updates of decoder box software.

Lets do the maths... 128 - 24 = 104 transponders not for Astro Satellite TV subscribers. Aahh... the remaining 104 transponders are partly or maybe fully "rented / leased" to others for telecommunication use, to other Sat TV provider in other countries, and so forth.

I do have a BIG question here ! I believe MEASAT is making fat cat profits which include transponders leases, Astro Sat TV services and include other profitable joint ventures... then why is it necessary to still continue MONOPOLY protection for over-the-air Satellite TV transmission ? Why the excuse to block out other Sat TV providers with the excuse of protecting the huge billion ringgit investment ? Isn't over 15 years already enough ? Isn't leasing 104 transponders to others helping to make huge profits ? Is it because our government want "some top people" to continue becoming even more richer ?

I am not talking about Cable TV or IPTV which used cables so its in a different category. Absolutely NO ONE can make me believe that fiber cables for Cable TV will be launched nationwide soon. In fact, I will be very stubborn and think that Cable TV will only be fully nationwide after year 2020 or may even stretch to 2050 !! For goodness sake... nationwide Cable TV / IPTV soon... will never come to my small town in Pahang !

As I have said before... I do support more Cable TV competitors to come in to support more locations which can poke Astro with some competition. Since Cable TV won't become nationwide soon, the only serious competition to Astro is to have Satellite TV competitors come in for nationwide coverage now. I think there are 3 Satellite TV competitors in Indonesia. Please don't mix the Cable TV/IPTV together with the Satellite TV providers because Cable TV may never be nationwide !

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 5 2012, 09:49 PM

You are welcome. Just wanted to make it clear that I didn't recommend No.18 as the "best" setting.

I didn't know that yours is PVR as you didn't mention it earlier.

Yes, you are correct as I already knew that PVR used a different signal scale.

I also took the opportunity to point out to some people who still believe that cable TV or IPTV will have nationwide coverage soon. I don't believe its possible and I truly and really wish that I can be proven wrong.

I did post a few times before about my very strong reasons that cable TV/IPTV will never be fully nationwide. It has never been fully nationwide in big countries such as US and Canada, and so will be the same situation for Malaysia. The only way to challenge the bad-a** Assteruk is by allowing Satellite TV competitors to come in, so the main issue is the monopoly of nationwide Satellite TV.

A clear example is... just refer to the Texas state in US. Many large areas of this state located outside of the cities do NOT have fiber cables for Cable TV so the people living in these areas used Satellite TV. An online forum guy whom I knew is staying there and told me that its not economically possible to lay the expensive fiber cables in his small township of only about 30 thousand population.

Its the same situation for our rakyat living in the thousands of kampungs and small towns spread out in Pahang or the East Coast states.

We only need to use common sense to know that nobody will be foolish enough to invest by laying underground fiber cables to any kampung with about 2000 population and each kampung and small town is about a few KM away from each other !

I should believe that its way much easier not to choose fiber cables for nationwide coverage... and much better to decide on having many repeating towers (such as for mobile phone network) or use satellite transmission which easily covers the required large area with low population density. Just not possible to invest in expensive fiber cables for low population areas.

Yes.. I sincerely and truly PRAY that my dream will come true so that IPTV or cable TV will finally be nationwide and then come to my small town soon. But my common sense and my low intelligence tells me that it will never come !

Its different for small countries such as Singapore so its makes more sense to use Cable TV/IPTV and this is why its not necessary for Singapore to spend billions on launching their own satellites.

Peace

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 6 2012, 01:08 AM

Thanks to you, from the link you posted, I found out the exact number of transponders used in the 2 satellites.

MEASAT 3 : 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders
MEASAT 3A : 12 C-band and 12 Ku-band transponders

The total is 72 transponders. The Byond box can select 12 available Ku-band transponders from MEASAT 3 and 6 available Ku-band transponders from MEASAT 3A.

So.. not total 64 transponders from MEASAT 3 & 3A as was told by my friend, hehe. I will give feedback to him and tease him, haha!

Anyway, after reading the info from the various links there... I understood the complicated position about who controls which satellite, who rents the transponders and which satellite was renamed. Thanks again.

Correct me if I am wrong... Africasat 1 & 2 is still operated by MEASAT so I assume that it was not sold, only rented all the transponders in the two satellites. What is funny for me is that MEASAT rented transponders to others and then MEASAT rented transponders from Shin Satellite of Thailand under the name MEASAT 5. First make profit from renting transponders to others and then spend on renting from Thailand. Maybe there are valid reasons that all of us don't know, hehe.

From a business standpoint of making more profits, selling off or renting transponders to others is understandable. In my own personal opinion, I would be more inclined to believe that the "not enough bandwidth" excuse (if used) by Assteruk is to hide and divert attention to the exclusive monopoly it enjoyed and will continue to enjoy until 2017 and which could be extended further.

Anyway, no matter how and in what way MEASAT launches satellites, rents out transponders and then rent transponders from others, and played the "shift here-shift there" game... I should think that MEASAT have a skilled management team that wants to generate more fat profits and should not be stupid enough to make losses for the different strategic changes. At the worst, such strategic changes should be to reduce or cut any losses.

I tend to believe that MEASAT is showing a continuous and healthy profit on investment returns when I see these...
1) Strategic positional changes in the satellite scenario
2) Various successful investments such as the controlling stake of Celestial Pictures
3) Various ventures and joint ventures with Sat TV provider in India and Indonesia
4) Guaranteed profits from ASTRO (All-Asian Satellite Television and Radio Operator) which is fully operated and controlled by MEASAT

... this only shows to me that "the exclusive license aka monopoly" to protect the billions of ringgit investment is only just bull-sh** !

In my opinion... culture is for the rakyat to continue practicing but national heritage is to make fat profits for "you-know-who".

Yes, for the common public, we refer to the two names as 2 different entities which most of us (including myself) understood.

We separated the entities of the two names to avoid confusion, hehe. MEASAT alone means "Malaysia East Asia Satellite" and ASTRO alone means "All Asia Satellite Television & Radio Operator".

Astro Malaysia Holdings Sdn Bhd > owns MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd.
Astro Malaysia Holdings Sdn Bhd > owns the subsidiary company MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems

MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems is the company that fully operates and controls ASTRO

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Asia_Satellite_Television_and_Radio_Company

So we don't say Astro (Astro Malaysia Holdings Sdn Bhd) controls MEASAT (MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems) which controls ASTRO.

So we commonly shortened it and say MEASAT controls ASTRO ! Tada !! Surprised ? Or should I say in reverse ? Astro controls MEASAT ? Or MEASAT controls MEASAT !

So confusing... walauway... it seems I am the one who is causing more confusion... just forget my stupid nonsense here and continue to use your suggested two entity names in the correct way. Mmm... you sure that you are correct that "ASTRO" rents transponders from "MEASAT" ?

Dimanakan ku cari, apa yang ku kehendaki, selepas didapati, kesemuanya hancur sekali !

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 6 2012, 04:14 AM

I hope I understood you correctly... using fiber cables on poles for Cable TV, right ?

I can only express what I believe but I don't actually know whether using TNB poles will contribute or not. Maybe for town areas where digging is not possible, using poles is one method of speeding up cable TV/IPTV access.

Mmm... IF it is to speed up nationwide access to cable TV using TNB poles ? Not optimistic that this can happen. I do recall that it took so many many years during the 19seventies to 19eighties for Telekoms to replace all the phone poles to underground cables along the KL-Karak Highway and all the towns in Pahang. It would be weird for TNB to return back to past dinosaur 19sixties method using overhead cables on poles for cable TV when Telekoms have already moved forward to underground phone cables.

I should think that electrical and phone lines used only a few twisted cables for overhead poles currently installed for short distances in many housing estates, town buildings, etc. If I am not mistaken, there are many fiber cables (maybe 10 to 20 cables) bundled together and laid inside conduit circular tubes of about 60 cm (2 feet) in diameter. If the bundled fiber cables are very very thick, will it be possible to hang them on vertical poles above the ground ? Also, using poles criss-crossing around the country do have problems which is why phone cables have gone underground. These problem may be lots of maintenance due to wear-and-tear caused by weather such as rain and heat, bird shit, etc. I may be wrong but I think that solar and electro-magnetic radiation can pose problems to the digital transmission used in the fiber cables so its not a good way to hang the fiber cables on poles.

It took Telekoms a few decades just to change to underground cables nationwide and that is not 100%. IF and I say if, fiber cables are also laid underground nationwide, then I would suspect 20 years or more to complete only about 70%. It may not even happen because of expensive costs and economics for low population density areas.

In my opinion, using poles for fiber cables for short distances (which may only happen in some housing areas) do not speed up nationwide coverage. I can understand it if its only for short distances to some areas where digging may not be possible. Its the very long distance fiber cables that we are talking about for nationwide coverage.

Mmm.... they told you that... TNB won't use underground cables and chosen to use overhead cables on poles outside the homes ? They are not worried about the interference caused by solar and electro-magnetic radiation, cable corrosion due to rain and other physical damage caused by accidents ? Shouldn't the bunch of fiber cables be very thick that makes it diffcult to hang on poles ? I am not an expert or an engineer so I don't know.

Fiber cables on overhead poles limited to some town areas, yes, I can somehow believe it. But for nationwide coverage, I will not believe it until they convinced me by actually doing it with poles for the whole country.


Ouch !! A good punch, hehe I need to make an appointment with my ophthalmologist to check both of my eyes again to see whats wrong with my optic nerves... or should I go to a psychiatrist to give my brain a full check ?

Sorry for my silly mistake.

Yes, you are right and my only excuse is that I failed to notice the 3 tiny little alphabets "P V R" due to a sudden attack of Carlsberg !

No problem. Joking only

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 6 2012, 08:33 PM

Yes, both of us knew that "reserve" and "spare" transponders mean the same thing. Its logical that not all the transponders will be used and a few are usually reserved and used only when necessary or when the satellite is near to end-of-life.

When my friend told me that there are a total of 128 transponders in both 2 satellites, he did tell me that a few transponders will still remain not used as reserve in case any transponders fail to work. So I would assume that he gave me the actual total including the "spare" ones.

As repeated in my earlier post... He told me that MEASAT reserved 24 transponders for Astro use so with 18 currently used as shown in Byond settings, there are still 6 more reserved for Astro. Maybe there are actually less than 6, as a few more may already be used for other purposes by Astro.

I did a recheck of my earlier post on this... so when you refer to it again, you will notice that my friend had told me a total of 64 for MEASAT 3 and another 64 for MEASAT 3A. The total of 128 transponders for both satellites is way above the actual 72 total for both satellites ! It does not make sense to reserve 56 transponders which is a waste of available costly facilities.

I will grab hold of my friend for clarification. That guy is always busy on field work. Even got many miscalls in the evening. Anyway, not that important as the actual total is already confirmed from the website link that you posted, and not likely the website gave wrong info. When I am able to contact my friend, I will inform him. I will only report here IF he has a different clarification.


When I read the info at ... http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/ipstar-1.htm
... the operator, Shin Satellite (Thailand), for iPStar 1 satellite will rent or rented transponder bandwidth to MEASAT operator using the name of MEASAT 5 !

Its confusing for me when all of these people mixed use names in such manner !

Therefore, I am not surprised when MEASAT could have rented all the transponders from MEASAT 1 and 2 and renamed to Africasat 1 and 2 after these were relocated to a different geographical region to serve the African continent. With no mention of transponder rentals and sale of satellites, I can logically assume that the name change is merely to reflect the proper identity for the 2 satellites serving the African continent. Maybe (right or wrong) there was no satellite sale at all and MEASAT merely sells bandwidth to service providers from the African continent.

Anyway, without further accurate info, I can only assume logically based on existing info.


After about 3 years, Assteruk still did not update their "About Us" webpage to show the license extension in 2009 !

Quote from link at http://www.astro.com.my/portal/about-astro (inside spoiler)...


May I request you to provide me the website link which shows detailed info on the license extension to 2025 by SKMM. Please don't misunderstand me as I am a curious person who likes to enquire a lot and find out more on anything that interest me. My apologies for my ignorance.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 6 2012, 10:06 PM

Thanks for providing me with at least some info on this license extension matter.

I did a very thorough goggle and yahoo search using every type of possible search words such as MEASAT license, SKMM exclusive license to MEASAT, license extended to 2025 for MEASAT, and so forth. Still couldn't find the detailed info about the license extension and 2025 date. Actually I am hesitant to trouble you but when I failed to find the relevant info, I resorted to requesting your help here.

Since Astro webpage at "About Us" can report about the exclusive license till 2017, I see no reason why they did not update that page to show the extended date to 2025. As the extension was issued in 2009, I don't understand why Astro did not update the info after more than 3 years. Therefore I need to be sure before I report this elsewhere.

Please don't mis-understand me that I don't believe it. I just want to be sure when I comment or report this license extension to 2025 at other forums/facebook/twitter/etc so that I can answer when people asked me where I got my info. I never meant any sarcasm or cynicism so I apologise again if I have in any way offended you.

I will go the LYN link you provided and start digging from there.

Anyway, even if SKMM renewed or reissue new exclusive license to MEASAT until 2025... nothing is going to stop SKMM from extending the license again and again after 2025 !! I cannot be blamed for believing that this idiotic monopoly will continue forever !! It sucks !!

Sometimes I don't really blame people for going to piracy for their TV shows or movies !!

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 6 2012, 11:26 PM

When you asked a question using only 3 words message, it will not be easy for people to answer... so more info is needed.

So... with only the 3 words "Copy Protection Failed" message ... I can only guess the reason but I will try my best.

I guess that you did not use HDMI and have chosen to use either (1) or (2) cable connection from Byond direct to TV...

1) Component Video (Red, Green, Blue) cable

2) Composite (RCA Yellow) cable

IF you used (1)... try using (2) because AACS content protection may have caused the message when (1) was used. Component Video can accept a maximum HD 1080i but... in future... this will be totally blocked and we are forced to use HDMI only. Blu-ray players after 2010 is now coming out with such block when HDMI can be used for HD video and Component Video (Red, Green, Blue) is blocked. Mmm... maybe in future, even Composite (RCA Yellow) output will be blocked when HD is played. You will lose video quality at SD when Composite (RCA Yellow) is used.

This "problem" occur for satellite signals received from ALL Satellite TV providers which included Astro, DirecTV and others. You cannot just blame Astro only.

The "copy protection failed" is caused by AACS content protection of video which stops, interfere or blocks video signal output from (1) or (2) when HDMI out is used. This means only 1 output is allowed from HDMI for High Definition only. No problem if the source signal (from Satellite TV or Bluray Players) is only Standard Definition. NO such block for "SD Only" videos. I think Astro presently did not comply fully with the international standard or I guess Astro did not manage to "unlock" the protection fully which caused the message from component video.

Starting from 2010, all video playback equipment such as blu-ray players, satellite decoder boxes (Byond), mediaplayers must comply with the AACS protection which do NOT allow output from Component Video (Red, Blue, Green) when HD video is watched... from blu-ray/DVD players, from Mediaplayers, from Sat TV channels, etc ! You can find many sites mentioning this. You can also refer to the links at the bottom of my post here.

Most of the TV (LCD, LED) today already have HDCP chip which detects the AACS protection. Older TVs without HDCP will be blocked and cannot watch the AACS protected video.

This happens also with Blu-ray Players.

I will give you an example...
I used my Oppo Blu-ray/Media Player to play an AACS protected blu-ray movie "Transformers : Dark of the moon". I connected from Oppo to 2 TVs. One is HDMI cable to my LCD TV and another using RCA (Yellow) cable to another TV. When I play the BD video to watch same video from 2 TVs... first TV using HDMI is perfect BUT the 2nd TV is only black !!

So most (maybe all) blu-ray discs and satellite TV signals have this AACS protection.

Ok... I can explain a LOT more about this but I think I will keep it short in my post here.

I think that you did not use HDMI cable from your Byond to your LCD TV. Many people also connected 2 TVs to the same Byond box.

If you used only 1 old TV with no HDMI, then maybe your old TV do not have HDCP chip in it so this problem cannot be fixed. Buy a new TV. Almost all newer LCD and LED TVs have HDMI input.

This problem is also caused by the Byond settings. Change the settings to "Standard Definition" and resolution at "576i".

People who connected 1 Byond box to 2 TVs can only have ONE of this two choices...

a) Set Byond to "High Definition" and resolution at "1080i". The first LCD TV using HDMI can receive everything okay. The second TV using Composite (RCA Yellow) cable will... ah-hem... "enjoy" the "extra" subtitle called "Copy Protection Failed"

b) Set Byond to "Standard Definition" and resolution at "576i". The first LCD using HDMI will receive... ah-hem.. poor quality SD picture. The second TV using Composite (RCA Yellow) cable will not show the "Copy Protection Failed" message.

I am 100% sure about the AACS Protection BUT I am not sure that setting to (b) can or cannot fix the problem so you can try it. The only problem with (b) is that you lose the picture quality with using SD !!

There are other ways to fix your problem it cost money to buy HDMI converters and others but i can't explain here because its too long to post.

Don't blame Astro... blame the AACS used by the international A**-H*LE groups which includes the Blu-ray Consortium, AMPAS, etc which forced the AACS on us to stop piracy BUT everyone knows that its mostly to make more big fat profits. I can "really" write many many pages on this to explain my reasons why these group are money sucking sharks ! Again, too long to write here.

Whether all the Byond outputs can be used to many TVs also depends on different situations. Example... if you did not subscribe to HD service, then there may be no output from Byond HDMI.

Also... when (b) is used, this problem may NOT be fixed too if the Byond box still continue to use HD to "convert" to SD... because I think the Byond output may unlock only part of the AACS protection which caused the irritating message appear.

The only way out for you is use HDMI and newer TV with HDCP... or use back your same old cables and use black cloth to cover the irritating "Copy Protection Failed" message. Black cloth .... joking only.

I usually believe... when AACS is activated, got picture from HDMI but should be completely no picture for Composite. Mmm... may be the 2nd TV is not HDCP (without the chip) ready ? I am not sure about this but, if possible, you can try switching using composite (RCA Yellow) cable from 2nd TV to the 1st TV and check. If the message did not appear now, then I suspect that the 2nd TV is not HDCP ready.

I am only guessing because you did not give enough detailed info when you used only 3 words (Copy Protection Failed).

I think I can be sure that your problem is because you did not use HDMI cable !

Here are some links with more info...
http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/aacs-hdmi-kill-component-2010
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Access_Content_System
http://www.sevenforums.com/music-pictures-video/61955-understanding-hdcp-blu-ray-copy-protection-its-h.html

AACS : Advanced Access Content System
HDCP : High-Definition Copy Protection

* Please do not be confused with AACS Copy Protection used in DVD or Bluray discs which worked in a different way.

ADDITION
For other people ... mmm... I read a few posts such as... one which complained about the temporary 6 digit watermark, no "subtitles" in HD channels, etc... which I feel... mmm... are "very interesting" personal opinions. I do have "different" opinions. Short examples... someone complained about IR (or phosphor burning) damage on plasma TV from the temporary 6 digit characters that appeared in sports channels BUT did not complain when ALL TV channels, including RTM, TV3, NTV7, CNN, Fox Movies Premium, etc, have their permanent logos on top left or right. Second example... assuming that the temporary 6 digit characters in sports channels may be "to identify who's recorder is recorded from"... when Astro don't need such methods... when Astro can use the already existing lock from the smartcard 12 digit ID combined with Decoder box ID 16 digit number which can be easily detected. And it should not be possible for Astro to detect our decoder because our dish is not big enough to send signal back to satellite AND the LNB we used is a receiver, not a receiver/transmitter. In order for the satellite to identify us, a signal have to be sent back. We can relay from our mobile phone towers to a ground sub-station which can transmit to satellite. BUT Astro only used direct transmission from sat to our Byond box. We need a transmitter similar in some ways to our internet WiFi Modem Router. Many people also did not understand correctly how GPS tracking works from our handphone too... wrongly thinking that our phone can "send signal" directly back to the satellite. Many also didn't understand that the location detection is through triangulation from 3 satellites location detected and received by the phone... the software from the phone calculates our handphone location using the coordinates received from 3 sats... the phone did not send any direct signals back to the satellite... the mobile phone can only send signal to the nearest land-based phone tower. Astro did not use such towers yet because its too expensive to use it just to check the identity of each decoder. I also "see" other interesting posts too but I don't have much free time to post. I always welcome anyone to correct me if I am wrong so no problem for me as I can learn from my mistakes.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 10 2012, 04:23 AM

I appreciate your feedback. I have never been shy to admit my mistakes. I DID make some mistakes when I mixed some facts with my assumptions in my rush to reply. The AACS sunset rules is already explained from the links I posted earlier which specifically mentioned about downscaling to SD when both analog (composite) and digital (HDMI) are both output simultaneously.

I wish to correct my mistake. There is still output from analog connection (composite & Component video) when HDMI is also used at the same time. If the AACS riule is strictly followed, the video should be downscaled from HD to SD for HDMI connection when another analog output is also used together. If any of the equipment is not HDCP ready, have faulty HDCP chip or have handshaking problems, then there will be no video display. Such equipment include the TV, DVD player, BD player or Mediaplayer.

I actually checked again using my Byond to 2 TVs and found out that there is picture from HDMI to 1st TV and also from Composite (yellow) to 2nd TV. No "Copy Protection Failed" message on both TVs.



I think I can safely guess that we both can agree that HDCP can cause problems due to various reasons such as faulty HDCP chip, handshaking problems, loose connections, etc.

If Max204 used 2 HDTVs which are already HDCP ready, I did suggested that the cables be switched between the 2 TVs to check whether a faulty HDCP chip is the cause or not.

Refer to part of my reply inside spoiler...


Anyway, from what I noticed from the picture posted by Max204, the Panasonic HDTV should be HDCP compliant.

When Max204 posted for help with only "Copy Protection Failed" messsage and a picture, I think you can agree with me that Max204 gave too little info. He did not mention whether he used Byond or Byond PVR or whether 1 or 2 TVs is used. He did not mention what actually happened before the message appeared.

That's why I did earlier mentioned that I am guessing with so little info provided.

I should have checked my "facts" first before I replied. And I should have requested Max204 to provide more detailed info before I gave my opinions.

Maybe Max204 is only using 1 HDTV with Byond PVR (with internal harddisk). I phoned to my installer friend and he also don't know the actual reason. He told me a few things... could it be that he have Byond PVR and switched off power completely (not standby) with live rewind still in use ? I am lazy to check what its actually called so I used "live rewind". Example.... this PVR function allows user to immediately rewind to watch a missed goal while watching a Live Telecast of a football match. This means the PVR is actually recording the Live match to harddisk while we are still watching the match. My friend told me that switching PVR totally off immediately without first putting on standby may cause problems and the PVR should always be in standby because switching off may have caused failure to add copy protection to recorded files which may be why the PVR shows the message. Max204 problem may not be due to HDCP.

My friend told me correctly that he can only make assumptions and guesses only. I totally agree when my friend also said... "Why didn't Max204 contact Astro Customer Support first because they are the best party to ask for professional help when Astro spent lots of money in customer support ? Using a forum should not be the first party especially when he provided so little info. Through the phone is different because questions can be asked immediately from the support person and if required, a technician can take over in helping fix any problem." I did also mention this before in my previous post some time ago.

Thanks, RAMChYLD, for correcting my mstake. Yes, its truly unfortunate that Assteruk unfairly and wrongly threw the threatening letter to ask for the recovery payment of RM 80 without first checking their own records properly. If I were you, I would have continued further with a complaint to the Malaysian Bar Council but you have the right to make your own decision not to continue further so I fully respect it. If I had cancelled my Astro account and received the same type of letter, I will also act the same way as you and will NEVER go back to Assteruk ever again!

To Max204... if not yet call Astro Customer Support... please do it first and explain your problem in detail. Thanks.

Peace

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 10 2012, 06:43 AM

Yea, I know.

You quoted and pointed to the following sentence from me...
If the AACS rule is strictly followed, the video should be downscaled from HD to SD for HDMI connection when another analog output is also used together.

The next paragraph below the quoted sentence, I did mention this...
I actually checked again using my Byond to 2 TVs and found out that there is picture from HDMI to 1st TV and also from Composite (yellow) to 2nd TV.

This means that I already knew that the HDMI is still in HD resolution... eventhough I did not mention anything about this.

According to the AACS compliance requirement on or after 2010, such downscaling as mentioned must be followed. This does not mean that everyone has complied.

However, I can only guess that many companies did not follow this strictly yet at the present time... maybe for some reasons that I don't know such as (for example) extension of time for making manufacturing changes to the blu-ray player products. Blu-ray players are also included under AACS control.

I don't even know if Satellite TV broadcast is required or not to strictly follow the AACS rule or whether the rule is relaxed. Or whether some extension of time was given for Sat TV broadcasters to upgrade their broadcasting equipment.

I do know that its a fact that AACS compliance rules have changed since 2010 and will further change to more stricter rules after 2013. IF the new 2013 rules is confirmed later... then all TVs, DVD and Blu-ray Players will either (1) completely not have any composite (RCA red-white-yellow) output connection or (2) completely no output for composite (RCA red-white-yellow) when HD videos are played. Well... 2013 is still the future eventhough its only next year.

With my limited knowledge and with so many "maybes", "ifs", "assumptions", "guesses" and "future time"... this was why I mentioned this (as you have pointed it)... "IF the AACS rule is strictly followed".

I have chosen to use the word "IF" because I found out that Astro did not follow the downsampling compliance.

I should have added another sentence like this...
If the AACS rule is strictly followed, the video should be downscaled from HD to SD for HDMI connection when another analog output is also used together. But I think Astro did NOT follow such a rule when I tested and found that HDMI output is still in HD.

Thanks for your feedback. I can confirm for myself that there is no downsampling of HD from HDMI. Together with your confirmation, I am more confident that its correct.

For everyone who read my post here... please treat everything mentioned by me as chit-chat kopitiam discussion with facts mixed with sugar, milk and teh tarik ! Please use spoilers or just mention my ID name if you or anyone wish to reply my "book" here, thanks.

Thanks for clarifying. Yes, since long time ago I had already believed that they have employees posing as ordinary customers working as "spies". However, honestly I did not realise that they can use such people to check on these places using the trace codes that appeared on the TV screen.

Yes, your explanation makes sense. In the same way our decoder box responds to signal received which block access to channels that are not subscribed... after responding to additional signal received... our decoder box can also generate a unique code combined from the smartcard ID number and the "additional signal" and then display the unique code on the TV screen. I am only guessing but it makes sense and is logical in my opinion.

As far as piracy is concerned, I am not sure how effective such codes help in reducing Astro TV channels from being pirated. For many years, even before Byond was launched, I have already gotten used to seeing the "codes" appearing in all the channels and only recently that such "codes" no longer appear. As you already knew, previously such "codes" continue to change using a few sets of codes but recently the "codes" that appeared in sports channels are "fixed". Anyway, it appeared only temporarily for a few days.

Only my opinion because I am guessing...
If Astro wanted to continue using such "codes" to fight piracy then they should have continued using it on all channels including AOD. When Astro stopped using such "codes", I suspect that such method fail to stop or reduce piracy of their TV channels. I personally believe using such "codes" can never stop such piracy and I think Astro realised it. Why did it fail ? Even if Astro found out where the pirated TV program came from which subscriber, Astro can only terminate the subscription and could not go further to sue for copyright infringement on the subscriber because Astro could not prove a direct factual sequence of events and intent from recording to distribution on websites.

In order to have strong grounds to prove a piracy case, there should be material proof or witness that a defendant have directly commited the illegal act. When a person recorded a TV show, stored it in a harddisk, and then uploads to a website for others to download... it is piracy. However, in order to prove such piracy, more proof are needed such as proof of uploading for distribution using IP detection which points to the defendant AND include proof that the illegal file is found in possession by the defendant. The pirates are not stupid and can go through many ways to avoid being identified by IP and is also not stupid to keep external harddisk with the illegal files in the same location. I didn't say that it cannot be proven, only that its difficult. I believe that ONLY using such "codes" to catch a pirate subscriber is just not enough loh !

Hehe... I am lawyer buruk lah so only my opinion ! Until today, I am not aware and have not heard of any piracy case brought to court by Astro against any subscriber where a pirated file was found with the "code" which points to that particular subscriber. Mmm... I hope others here who knows of such cases to let me know. I am just curious and will definitely enjoy reading the details of such cases, hehe.

I suspect that Astro already knew that using such "codes" do not help to stop such piracy and that I believe (not sure) that is why Astro stopped using the "codes" in all the channels. Only recently, fixed codes were used in some channels for a short period which I think is not to catch pirates.

I think Astro already knew as much as I do that there are many different sources to record a TV channel and then distribute the pirated file. AOD is just one commonly used source so its not necessarily the only one. For example... pirates can record from TVB Pearl HD for a TV drama series.

Actually, at first I did not believe it when a vietnamese friend of my friend told me that its true that he can get 720p HD MKV video downloaded from an "ah-hem" site for the latest episode of TVB drama and don't prefer the low quality AOD ones which are only SD. As usual, lousy english but I can still understand the vietnamese guy. Hehe... I actually watch one video from his notebook, a 720p MKV pirated video from TVB Pearl HD channel where the audio is dubbed in vietnamese language... and it sounds funny when the original cantonese is not used. The vietnamese came to Malaysia for tour, visited my friend and have already returned home a few days ago. Through my friend, I asked that guy to send a few screenshots image by email to help me explain in this post, hehe.

Here's 2 sample screenshot images sent from that guy...


I remember about what my Astro installer friend told me last year when he attended a big meeting for installers. He informed the Astro executives there that he received many requests from subscribers for Astro to launch AOD HD channels. One of the exec answered... "Not possible for AOD HD to prevent piracy of HD for TVB dramas". Mmm... nothing new, all of us already knew about piracy.

I know the exec reply was not an official statement from Astro. I do agree that AOD piracy still continue to exist. But to prevent piracy of high quality HD from AOD HD ? In my opinion... I think pirated files can still be recorded from other sources even if AOD completely close shop. No AOD HD, can record from TVB in Hong Kong... got AOD HD, can record from Astro... so the only difference is how many source is available. As I have shown in my post here, there are still other available sources to record and produce the pirated files. Right or wrong, I personally have the view that launching AOD HD may possibly help to increase more chinese subscribers to this package and also possibly at the same time help to reduce people downloading pirated AOD SD files. Not everyone have the time to download pirated HD files because of the time needed for the much larger HD file size.

Thanks for spending the time to read my "book" here, hehe. Oh... please don't ask me for the links to the "ah-hem" sites because my mummy told me to be a good boy. What I don't do illegally... I won't help others to do it.

Vietnamese Coffee...


Declaration of fair use of the 2 screenshot images from jamesleetech (inside spoiler)...


This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 10 2012, 11:36 PM

Goodness gracious ! I wouldn't want to work for Assteruk Customer Service ! My life will be shortened many years or die of heart attack from handling many complaints from all of you. I don't want to be stuck in the middle between Assteruk who shoots at me for listening to customers and then the customers who shoots at me for not listening to their problems !

Ya... I know you are joking and I am also doing the same here, heha... heha... heheha.

Your existing Astro subscriber account is registered under your wife's name. Get ready your wife's Astro account number and her NRIC number too.

You can personally phone to Astro Customer Support, identify your name and as husband to account holder. You will be asked for the a/c number.

Just tell the support person that a mistake have been made and want to cancel the earlier confirmation by your wife. You will be asked to answer verification questions such as your wife NRIC ... or... I repeat.... OR.... may even want to speak to your wife to hear her confirmation to cancel.

There is no binding agreement before the upgrade installation is completed. Only after the installer came, completed upgrade installation and account holder signed a few forms, then the upgrade contract is completed.

New 1 year Byond contract starts from the date that the upgrade installation completed and any change (if got) in subscription fees will be pro-rata charged.

Call Astro Customer Support now or as soon as possible before the installer come to do the upgrade installation.

More than a year ago, I actually have a friend in Jerantut, Pahang who did confirm to upgrade to Byond (before Astro have Superpacks), installer actually came and before starting installation, my friend was informed that there's installation fee RM 100 and HD service monthly fee RM 20. My friend was ignorant and thought that upgrade installation is free and did not know about the additional RM 20 per month for HD service. Immediately, he did not accept it. My friend didn't sign anything, the installer did not do anything and left. Everything remained as before... no additional charges, no penalties... continue with the same usual monthly subscription fee.



ADDITION : Sometimes those Astro support idiots can misunderstand you... clearly tell the person that you "want to cancel the Upgrade to Byond ... NOT totally cancel or terminate your existing Astro account !

Its a bit different when a subscriber phone to confirm adding or changing packages... in such cases, a binding agreement will only start from the date the channels in the packages is unlocked and can be watched.

Example... I did not subscribe to Sports Package and called early to confirm that I wish to subscribe to Sports Pack starting from 1st August 2012... so, Astro did not do anything yet... later in July I called again to cancel my confirmation... so I will not be charged anything. But... IF I called on 01-08-2012 after the sports channels have been unlocked... then I will still be charged at pro-rata of 1 day subscription + service fee of RM 10 for package cancellation.

Recently, there was the Unmissable Promo to subscribe to Sports Pack before 01-04-12 to avoid additional RM 50 charge for Euro Cup 2012 and London Olympics 2012... so if I called on 28-03-12 to confirm subscribing to Sports Pack... within about 1 to 2 hours... all the channels included in the Sports Pack are unlocked and can be watched... so the contract is already completed... and if I called on 02-04-12 to cancel... regretfully I will have to pay the pro-rata 6 days of the monthly fee + RM 10 service fee. So... in such cases, the contract started on the day the channels are unlocked and activated. The same goes for Astro First... you have to pay starting from the time that the channel can be watched.

Oh... in some cases such as for some promos... I will be charged IF Astro clearly stated that there will be a penalty of RM *** for early cancellation... so if I cancelled early before the channels are unlocked, I have to pay the penalty. Such promos may include Early Bird Confirmation for Live Boxing Match and others so I have to check carefully before confirming.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 11 2012, 10:30 PM

There are 3 types of decoder boxes in use now.

1) Astro DMT decoder box
2) Byond decoder box
3) Byond PVR decoder box

That SIM card is called SmartCard.

Answer...

For (1), yes you can take the smartcard from one box to another one (1) and use it.

If your old decoder is really very old such as those first generation Philips ones that were used in 1998, you may have problems because of the old software that cannot be updated and not enough internal flash memory to store the new software. Many many years ago, I remember that Astro changed all our older decoders to newer ones which have more internal EEPROM flash memory and different chipset. I am not sure for the 1st generation box because I have already replaced my one to newer generation decoder box.

I am not sure but I think it should be okay if the old decoder box is from later years such as in 2006. Just be careful if you have the old first generation decoder box. I cannot help you much as I don't have photo of the 1st generation box. I am not sure so I may be wrong but I think those old decoder boxes that used the "red coloured" smartcards with the old Astro logo are the ones... I think when Astro change this smartcard, the decoder box was also changed.

For (1) and (2), the answer is 100% NO !

The smartcard for Byond and Byond PVR have unique serial number that is combined and locked to the serial number of the decoder box so you cannot switch and interchange the smartcard on different (1) and (2) boxes.

Also... NEVER take the smartcard from (1) and use on (2) or (3)... of course also must NOT take from (2) or (3) and use on (1) ! You may cause damage to the decoder box or the smartcard.

Edit: Corrected mistake... added "NOT" in blue.

I have both (1) and (2) boxes with active subscriptions. One of my sisters who came to stay with my parents during chinese new year have (1) and took her smartcard and used on my (1) box because she subscribed to Sports Pack and I don't. No problem, can watch.

ADDITION : Legality Of Swapping Smartcard
You asked whether its legal or illegal to swap smartcard on different decoder boxes. I am not a lawyer so I cannot answer this. I don't know but I supposed it should be okay. I am 100% sure Astro knows about this... that people swapped the smartcards between (1) boxes... so far, I am not aware whether Astro took any action by terminating such subscribers and hopefully (touchwood) will not happen to me when my sister came to swap her smartcard... AND I believe that is why Astro locked and fixed permanently the smartcard to one specific Byond or Byond PVR box to stop people swapping smartcards ! Damn !

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 11 2012, 11:36 PM

Whatever generation box is used, NEVER try to use smartcard from Byond box to Astro DMT !! The SIM chip on the smartcard used for Byond box is different from the smartcard used for Astro DMT ! Even if I may be wrong, you cannot use the Byond smartcard which is already locked to its own Byond box. Anyway, I am not brave enough to even try using Byond smartcard on Astro DMT !

You can only swap smartcards between one Astro DMT box with another Astro DMT box.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 11 2012, 11:51 PM

You mean... take your Byond decoder box + its own smartcard together to another location and use with a different old LNB+old satellite dish which was previously used for the old Astro DMT box.

Honestly, I have not personally tried it myself. From what I have previously read from a few other websites... yes is the answer.

I believe that this question have been asked a few times here before, so I searched Lowyat.net and found these links...
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1442797/+2194 ... refer to post 2195 from rewlie with replies from eMKs and Neb.
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1358482/+17 ... refer to post 19 from isma45 and reply from Neb

Neb is right when he mentioned that the old first generation black Philips LNB cannot be used for Byond box. This is similar to what I have told you in my previous reply about the old first generation Philips Astro DMT box which cannot use the new Astro DMT smartcard.

Different LNB (Low Noise Block) have different specifications so not all types can be used for Byond especially when the LNB is very very out-of-date. Technology changes so LNB design and specifications also changes.

Previously, I did read about such questions just like yours from a few other websites but I can't remember which websites. I am a bit lazy to google search again, hehe.

I believe you already knew that using the old LNB and old dish together with old satellite cables can reduce or degrade the signal reception to your Byond box and therefore, may cause some problems to the SD and HD channels reception.

If you have not been using the old LNB+dish for a very long time, maybe the old LNB is out-of-alignment, or LNB is spoilt or loose connection at LNB... so please check and correct this. If the old LNB is spoilt, then you need expert help to get replacement! Oh... due to constant wear from weather, the old satellite cables can also deteriorate after many years so signal loss is greater.

Also, the old light-grey dish (60 cm diameter) is slightly smaller than the new black dish (65 cm diameter) used by the Byond box. Using the old dish can also reduce the reception quality slightly.

Reminder : Cannot use the first generation black colour Philips LNB. If you have it, replace this and keep the old one in your personal museum, hehe.

I hope anyone here (who have actually done it successfully) to post your reply here to add more "yes" confirmation.

Although I have not done it before, this is the best I can do to answer you.

Peace

ADDITION
Here are 2 links which tracks the 2 MEASAT satellites orbiting the earth...

MEASAT 3 > http://www.n2yo.com/?s=29648
MEASAT 3A > http://www.n2yo.com/?s=35362

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 12 2012, 05:41 AM

When you stated "our survey"... that means you are an employee, a representative or have some relationship with ABN ?
Taking part in the survey is easy job, won't take more than a few minutes.

Yea, I do know that the survey may not be written by you and also you will not able to answer my questions here... so, if possible, just pass my comments and opinions to your superiors, hehe.

Please accept my apologies if any part of my opinions sound stupid or silly.

Does ABN have any intention to launch fast speed broadband services at the same time as the launching of IPTV ? Or will broadband not be launched presently and will be a future service ? If broadband will be launched together with IPTV, then the survey should include questions related to broadband... such as... which speed is preferred like 5 Mb, 10Mb, 20Mb, etc and what is the maximum price that we can afford to pay per month ? Not necessary exactly like what I have suggested but I think you know what I mean.

Or ABN is only concentrating on cable TV, no internet broadband ? Nothing on broadband was mentioned and I will really be surprised if it is not in ABN's plans.

I noticed that the ABN official website (http://abnxcess.com/) have not been updated for a long time now so it should be much much better to have more constant news updates which will surely help to generate more interest from potential future subscribers. Even the survey link that you posted here, is surely NOT enough and the link should be shown at the official website too. Mmm... is the web admin at ABN website overworked or sleeping ?

I believe that you already knew that ABN will not rely so much on such web survey because its highly not accurate. Example... I like Chinese and Documentary genres and I took the survey more than a hundred times just to make sure these two genres are the most popular ones chosen so... try multiplying this many times with my chinese friends who also answered the survey the same way. Yes... I do agree that such general web surveys do play some role such as for overall general trends and tastes, and such survey forms only a small part of the main total results from professional survey firms.

At present, maybe I am blind but I am not aware of any news about which specific location in Klang Valley that will be the coverage area for initial launch of Cable IPTV. If work is ongoing or about to be completed soon, I should think that such known areas be announced as soon as possible. By early announcements, ABN can attract potential customers to wait to prevent such people from regretting signing in to Byond IPTV or UniFi with 1 year contract. This will avoid ABN having to wait 1 year for such people to change.

Actually I am a bit jealous that people like me in central Pahang cannot expect to get ABN cable TV for at least many many years or totally may not come to my hometown. Eventhough my location is not possible in the near future, I am still hoping that ABN can succeed in big cities which can at least give a bit more competition to Assteruk !

Danny, I am only expressing a little bit of my rubbish here so I don't expect you to reply.



Hehe... yes, the cheaper the better with more channels. Satellite and Cable TV Channels which repeats content is normal and happening globally.

For example... For 50 channels... RM 100 monthly with 70% content repeats OR RM 80 with 85 % content repeats ARE BAD !!!

Hehe... what I want is ... For 50 channels.... RM 100 monthly with 50% content repeats OR RM 80 with 55% content repeats ARE MUCH MUCH BETTER lah !!!

Best of luck to you and all the lucky folks whose homes are within the coverage area of ABN. I am so jealous and can only dream for Cable TV to be nationwide.



This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 14 2012, 12:52 AM

I don't work for Astro and absolutely have NO relationship with them.

Its "change"... not "upgrade" to Dreambox or Openbox decoder box. Some people may misunderstand and think that Astro got such decoder boxes.

As far as I know, such boxes need to have internet connection and need to pay a very cheap monthly fee (to the pirate) to unlock all Astro channels. Once the "authorities" catch the pirate by finding out the server that delivers the unlock decrypted codes, it will be offline and have to find another pirate... but I have not heard news of this happening yet, so I am not sure.

Only buying Dreambox and Openbox decoder boxes may not be illegal. Receiving Astro or Satellite Pay TV may be illegal so be careful eventhough you may not be caught. I am not a lawyer so I used "may" words. I know many people are using this method to illegally receive Astro channels. From my "inside" source information, I can confirm that Astro already knew about this and is still finding ways to block such methods. DAMN! Receiving Free-To-Air satellite TV channels IS legal and you need to know the coordinates of the satellite to position direction of the Astro dish. Some decoder box models do not support HD. I cannot say more and will not answer any such questions on these boxes or how to use them.

I think in 2004, I remember watching from my friend's house a "hidden" horse racing in-house channel broadcast Live from Perak Turf Club with Astro commentators wearing green Astro uniforms and spoke in cantonese. Only available on racing days. At that time, he used "ah-hem" decoder box which do not need smartcard and no internet connection but it cannot be used now after Astro have changed "something" ...mmm... in 2005 or later.

I know that you knew about all this so I am NOT trying to scare you. Its just a matter of each person's choice so you have the right to your own belief and decision. I choose not to support piracy as my own principle and my friends have called me stupid for not downloading illegal full blu-ray videos (about 25 GB or 50 GB per blu-ray disc). Yes... I also hated those "Movie BIG Guns" who always use new protection methods on blu-ray discs that causes problems with some blu-ray players... example... in 2010, some people cannot play the movie "Avatar" and can only play after updating the blu-ray player firmware. At that time, I did have problems ripping my legal "Avatar" BD (REDBIRD) to my harddisk as backup and only solved it later with new version of Slysoft AnyDVD HD. I believe that I am legally entitled to keep a single backup copy so that I can play my collection easily from one harddisk location. Eventhough I really hated those movie big guns, it doesn't mean I can use excuses to support piracy... only my own stupid belief !

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Apr 15 2012, 03:36 PM