Will they find the pirated cable?

April 29, 2008 8:28 PM

Will the cable installation guy find my roommate's pirated cable?

I just moved into a new apartment, and found out from the current tenants that they have pirated cable- a guy who lived there about five years ago set it up, and even though he's long gone they keep using it.

I'd like to get actual cable, since the pirated stuff is only about 20 channels and I want to pay for a zillion channels of HD. My roommates are concerned that if I get someone out to install my cable, they'll find the pirated stuff (it's the same company, since only one company services our area). They aren't so much worried that they'd get in trouble since it's been there for so long and they aren't the ones that did it, but they don't want to lose their free cable. And I don't want to create strife between us, but I want real cable!

Is there a way around this issue? I want to ask if there's a way for my roommates to hide the lines, but I know that's ethically dubious so I'll stick to this- will the cable guy, with the equipment that he has, necessarily find the pirated cable line just in the normal course of installing real cable in my bedroom? ( The pirated stuff comes in through the living room wall, god knows where it originates from). Won't he have equipment capable of detecting that there's already active cable in the building?

Thanks....

posted by anonymous to technology (16 comments total)

Just unhook it when the installers come by - they will continue to get their service and then some. What they are receiving now is the analog unscrambled channels. After you get your cable installed, they will get the same thing.

Worry not - the installers don't give a crap - they get paid to drill holes in walls, not be snitches. If the installer is competent, you could even tip him.
posted by bensherman at 8:31 PM on April 29

what about satellite??
posted by unexpected at 8:31 PM on April 29

This is such a crap shoot. If your cable provider insists on digital cable hookups then the tech who comes out may unhook everything and install all new digital lines. Or he may just run a seperate new line into your room. You could even say something like, "Look, this cable is just for me, I want you to run it straight into my room."

One way around this issue is to offer to pay for the full cost of cable for the remainder of your lease. Say 12 months. If you're not willing to do that then you probably should let your roommates have their way and just forgo having the fancy zillion channel cable.

Go outside and play instead...
posted by wfrgms at 8:34 PM on April 29

If you're getting cable installed, your roommates will continue to have cable, because you're having it installed. All that is necessary for them to continue to have it for free is that they not pay you for it. If you're okay with that, I don't see why they would object.
posted by kindall at 8:40 PM on April 29

Worry not - the installers don't give a crap - they get paid to drill holes in walls, not be snitches.

Oddly enough, the few times that I have represented criminal defendants on theft of services charges in criminal court, the cable company employees were more than happy to testify against my clients.
posted by jayder at 8:48 PM on April 29 [4 favorites]

"but they don't want to lose their free stolen cable."

Fixed that for you.

Are they really going to be upset that you didn't pass on a luxury you want just so they can continue to break the law? If so, you might be living with the wrong people.

Simple solution: agree with them. Then, a few weeks later, call and tell the cable company that you're getting free cable. They'll make it stop. Then order whatever cable you want.
posted by toomuchpete at 9:03 PM on April 29

Yes the cable guy will know.. but out of the 4 residences I've had cable internet in, 2 of which removed filters so I had free cable without even asking. Striking up a conversation with the guy is generally advised and if he's coming out to install cable TV I'm doubting that you are going to be under any suspicion for the current cable theft.

In fact there was another incidence in my college apartment where my roommate had stolen cable hooked up, an installer dropped by one day and said "subscribe to cable or the cops will be by" essentially. The cable companies are more likely to pull that card than a lawsuit, as the amount they would extract from you in such a case would be minimal in almost every circumstance.
posted by huxley at 9:08 PM on April 29

Disconnect it. Honestly, people that want TV for free have so many options (cough torrents cough) that forcing someone else to forego a legitimate service they're willing to pay for is ridiculous. If they're going to "steal", they ought to at least do it in a way that doesn't implicate/disadvantage you.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 9:09 PM on April 29 [1 favorite]

When the guy comes to install, he's definitely going to look for active cables, since he needs an active cable to hook up the digital box. Whether your roommate's stuff is hooked up or not, he'll see the cable coming through the wall. The question is whether he'll care enough to kill the free channels or not.

My guess is that the cable coming through the wall is coming from your apartment's cable distribution plant, which is probably in the electrical room. Usually pirate cable in an apartment building is done by replacing or removing the filter for your suite in that room - normally the filter filters out channels you haven't bought. The installer will probably use that very cable with a splitter to hook up your digital box.

Also, before you worry about this, check with your cable company about the digital service package and what it includes. When you install digital service, the access control happens on the box, rather than needing the filter setup that analog cable uses. Many cable companies, when you install digital cable, will remove the filter entirely, leaving the analog stuff wide open. Call the cable company and ask about hooking up other TVs when you have the digital service on one. I bet they'll tell you you get full analog service on your other sets, which means your roommates will get the same stuff they're getting now, only it will be legit.
posted by pocams at 9:20 PM on April 29

When you get your digital cable, it is my understanding that they will hook up any existing cable drops for regular cable. If the roommies don't want to pay for it, that's your deal to figure out, but it looks like you'll be upgrading their service for free.
posted by radioamy at 9:22 PM on April 29

Oh and if the cable guy says anything, just play dumb and say you didn't know it worked.
posted by radioamy at 9:22 PM on April 29

What they are receiving now is the analog unscrambled channels

That's an important consideration; the analog signal will probably go away next February, anyway. I also agree with the suggestion to just unhook it before the installer comes. If he asks any questions (and if he is like the installers I have known over the years, he will be more interested in getting the job done than hunting down cable thieves; they hire others for that) just say it was that way when you moved in.
posted by TedW at 5:05 AM on April 30

TedW, the Over The Air (OTA) analog signals will go away. Most cable providers, however, will still be downconverting to analog for basic cable. Of course, YMMV, and every provider is different, but most cable providers are like any other utility: hesitant to change.
posted by Xoder at 6:02 AM on April 30

Most cable lines are probably left physically unfiltered nowadays because everyone and their mother gets digital cable. Since only basic cable is available over analog, cable companies let you hook it up to other TVs in the residence as a bonus - the incremental cost to them is in the installation (think about how much you'll be paying them every year). In fact, cable installation usually includes wiring a 2nd or 3rd room for free with 'basic cable', which is literally just a cable, no box, but you may have to ask.

Now onto the arcane:

The FCC's mandated DTV transition is more about broadcast signals than cable. Come 2009, there will be no analog signals sent out by local affiliates - neither to you over the air, nor to the cable companies over a direct feed (thats how you get locals channels on cable).

Cable companies are largely unaffected, except in some logistical ways. Since your cable company will then only get digital signals from your local affiliates, they'll want to send you the same digital signals so they don't have to do any conversion to analog.

But then the FCC decided to require cable companies to support analog (only local channels) until 2012.

By then we'll have TVs in our eyeballs.
posted by pants tent at 6:03 AM on April 30

So you're concerned because some thieves want to continue being thieves and you don't want to rock the thief boat? Just get your cable hooked up. It's not your fault the tenants are thieves and not your responsibility. You're trying to get cable hooked up honestly; tell them to deal with it.
posted by Justinian at 9:13 AM on April 30

Go down into the basement, or wherever the cable is coming into the house, and disconnect it while your roommates aren't home.

When they come in and find the cable disconnected commiserate with them, "Well, the bad'ole cable company must have got wise to us! Oh well, that was fun while it lasted."

Wait a few days and then mention getting the digital cable again.
posted by wfrgms at 1:59 PM on May 2