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Pirate TV boxes may not be safe, IP champions FACT and Westminster Council, in the south of the UK, have claimed. "The safety issues we have found so far are to do with the device's power supply. It is not double insulated nor does it have another grounding system (it only has a two-pin plug) meaning if a short were to occur …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Facepalm

    "Making the pirate experience less fun is part of the strategy."

    How about making the legal alternatives more fun ?

    Like no more :

    - putting ads on content I've paid for...

    - DRM preventing me from playing content on a device of my choosing...

    - constant reminders that piracy=evil even though i'm not a f*cking pirate...

    70 1 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "Making the pirate experience less fun is part of the strategy."

      No, because otherwise shows would be pirated to hell and back, meaning no more money, meaning the series, if not the channels, would be canceled. Shareholders won't stand for it, and THEY are the ones with the money at stake.

      3 44 Reply
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "Making the pirate experience less fun is part of the strategy."

        You've been drinking the kool-aid.

        I think there's now ample evidence (citation needed) that the majority of people will pay for quality content. They just don't want to be jerked around with having to pay for it multiple times on different formats, wait for it to hit their region, sit through enforced trailers and pirate warning shite rather than watching the content they have paid for.

        I believe that in the UK it is still technically illegal to rip DVDs, etc. into a media centre because you are only licensed to watch it from the DVD.

        I finally had enough of sitting through minutes of crap and ripped the lot to a media centre. Best decision I ever made. I've still got the DVDs, I've paid for my access but now I can watch what I want when I want on the device I want and no crap.

        I wish I could upvote the first post 10 times.

        18 2 Reply
        1. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: "Making the pirate experience less fun is part of the strategy."

          "I think there's now ample evidence (citation needed)..."

          Don't think. KNOW. If there IS ample evidence, you should present it. Also consider that "high enough" for the viewers may not be "high enough" for the producers.

          2 0 Reply
    2. blcollier
      Reply Icon

      Re: "Making the pirate experience less fun is part of the strategy."

      Wot he said.

      Let's take GoT as an example. Want to watch that live on normal telly? OK, sign up for Sky TV because you can't get Sky Atlantic on Virgin Media. But wait, there's Now TV as well! OK fine, so now I'm paying for Virgin Media "normal" TV, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and also Now TV. Let's just swallow the extra cost of Now TV for a moment, and actually watch Game of Thrones on a PC using Now TV. Chrome isn't supported, because uses Silverlight to stream the video, so you're forced to use Edge/IE11. Don't want to use Edge/IE11? Fine, install the Now TV Windows app... after you've signed in to the Microsoft Store, of course. Oh, and don't you dare move window focus away from the app while you're watching - like trying to open an IMDB page in a second monitor, for example - because it'll terminate playback and won't resume from the point it terminated itself.

      Or... or... I could download latest episode as a torrent and watch it how, where, and when I want using whatever software I want. Or, better yet, I can automate the whole process so that downloads as soon as it's available - that way it's ready and waiting for me when I get home from work. And then, of course, I'll buy the BluRays when they're available.

      Piracy is a symptom of over-enthusiastic copyright enforcement. Let me watch what I want, when I want, on the device I want, in the highest quality available, and I'll stop using Usenet+Sonarr.

      55 3 Reply
      1. Andrew Orlowski (Written by Reg staff)
        Reply Icon

        Re: "Making the pirate experience less fun is part of the strategy."

        "Piracy is a symptom of over-enthusiastic copyright enforcement."

        Cart before horse there, I think.

        Name an enforcement strategy you could live with.

        1 2 Reply
        1. Paul Crawford Silver badge
          Reply Icon

          Re: "Making the pirate experience less fun is part of the strategy."

          "Name an enforcement strategy you could live with"

          Steam for games seems to work: not too intrusive, not limited to very small subset of PC/consoles/etc due to dumb DRM hardware restrictions on what monitor you can use, etc. Basically you pay your fee and can play on a mates machine or whatever you want by means of your account sign-in (and out of elsewhere of course). Why can't anyone just pay a fee of £1-2 or whatever and see any GoT episode they want? Oh yes, geo-restrictions, channel bundling...

          Nothing will stop the most determined pirate, but there comes a point when the effort/legitimate-user-pain to stop rips appearing is more than many otherwise honest people will put up with.

          1 0 Reply
    3. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "Making the pirate experience less fun is part of the strategy."

      How about getting rid of the antiquated law that prevents football from being broadcast if it it on at 3pm on a Saturday?

      How about forcing Sky/BT to televise every premier league game in the next deal? It doesn't need commentary, although that would be nice. The video is already there ( as it's broadcast in the USA ).

      I'm paying about £140/month to Sky and BT, a large chunk of that to watch the football. And I can't even watch all of it.

      No wonder I feel entitled to stream the 3pm Saturday kickoffs.

      24 0 Reply
      1. Tom 38
        Reply Icon

        Re: "Making the pirate experience less fun is part of the strategy."

        Broadcasters would love to show every single game live, the reason they don't is that they are forbidden from doing so by the clubs and the politicians, who fear that if all the games are on TV, no-one will go to the games.

        In the US, every single game (of basically everything, as far as I can tell) is televised, but you won't necessarily be able to watch it, for pretty much the same reason. In Chicago, if either the Cubs or the White Sox have a home game, you can't televise either of the teams to viewers in the Chicago area.

        5 0 Reply
    4. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "Making the pirate experience less fun is part of the strategy."

      Only pirate master race should enjoy a premium viewing experience. Buying peasants should suffer ads, DRM, and anti-piracy warnings as vengeance for their original sins.

      18 1 Reply
    5. Remy Redert
      Reply Icon

      Re: "Making the pirate experience less fun is part of the strategy."

      How about making the legal alternative available? Where I live, I can only get HBO (well, not HBO, because they're not allowed to use the HBO name even if it is mostly HBO content) through 1 cable provider. Which doesn't provide cable in my area.

      I can't get HBO from HBO directly, I can't buy GoT anywhere else until months after release. So my choices are 'wait months/years until a DVD/Blu-Ray release happens' or 'Pirate now'

      11 1 Reply
    6. phuzz Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Pirate

      Re: "Making the pirate experience less fun is part of the strategy."

      The only legal way of watching GoT in the UK is buy giving money to Rupert Murdoch.

      Lets face it, piracy is the only moral choice in this situation.

      19 2 Reply
  2. K
    Devil

    Mine runs perfectly safely on a Raspberry Pi

    Guess that means they were testing the version that runs on BullShi-te.. I have heard some dodgy and that its not very reliable!

    Typical of that all those organisations, if the legal challenge is too big, then revert to granny scare tactics. I remember the same thing a few year ago about software - not excluding the fact that software was usually obtains from the developer, but just a hockey key was used!

    14 0 Reply
    1. SImon Hobson Bronze badge
      Reply Icon
      Mushroom

      Re: Mine runs perfectly safely on a Raspberry Pi

      I agree - it's scare tactics - but the threat itself is real, just not really related to Kodi players specifically. Certain online trading sites are awash with electrical stuff (lots of power supplies for laptops, LEDs etc for example) being sold by foreign sellers. Some of this won't have a CE mark, much will have a "fake" CE mark, some will be quite genuine and safe - unless you are an expert in the field, you won't know.

      There's a reason some people say CE stands for "Chinese Export" or simply Caveat Emptor.

      9 0 Reply
    2. Aladdin Sane
      Reply Icon

      Re: Mine runs perfectly safely on a Raspberry Pi

      Home taping is killing music!

      23 2 Reply
      1. CAPS LOCK
        Reply Icon

        "Home taping is killing music!" - If only...

        ... have you heard any chart music lately. Effing terrible.

        14 1 Reply
        1. Tom 38
          Reply Icon

          "Home taping is killing music!" - If only...

          So what you're saying is, I need to buy more tape recorders?

          6 0 Reply
        2. mattje
          Reply Icon

          Re: "Home taping is killing music!" - If only...

          Dad, is that you?

          0 0 Reply
      2. Anonymous Custard
        Reply Icon
        Headmaster

        Re: Mine runs perfectly safely on a Raspberry Pi

        And the base irony here is Kodi do not actually make any hardware or "boxes" at all. It's just the software that 3rd party vendors use (as it's free) and stick on there and then pollute with all the piracy add-ons (also not produced or endorsed by Kodi).

        Kodi itself (as downloaded from their website) doesn't come with any media sources pre-installed at all, and is just a very flexible and powerful media player.

        It's even a violation of their trademark policy to do so, not that no-name Chinese vendors bother about such trivial legalities as trademark, copyright or the like.

        9 0 Reply
  3. Your alien overlord - fear me

    Nothing like scaremongering. Was the Kodi box clad in aluminium as well?

    11 0 Reply
    1. Dan 55 Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Devil

      This is a re-release of something that the Murdoch-backed shitrag the Sun was pushing the day after the Grenfell fire.

      And then it was debunked as bollocks (see end of article).

      FACT have obviously decided that the average person is too stupid to remember something from a month ago. I expect your average Currant Bun reader to be shocked, dismayed, and surprised all over again but I don't expect that from an author of your esteemed organ.

      Please imagine the El Reg gravestone icon to the right, if you would.

      9 1 Reply
    2. DropBear
      Reply Icon

      In the "schuko" eu-plug world I have yet to see ANY set-top-box-like plastic gadget with any "earthing" or any particular eleventy-insulation. Everything that isn't a kitchen appliance comes with two-pin plugs, that's it. No earth. Yes, some of it can be shittier than most but that goes for anything coming from China (ie. anything, period). Buzzfeed headlines much...?

      1 0 Reply
  4. TiddlyPom
    Linux

    UK.GOV and Big Media - Kodi is evil because ... we do not control it!

    Kodi is just a highly configurable open source multimedia centre and is NOT responsible for piracy! If somebody CHOOSES to use Kodia in that way then THEY are responsible for their OWN actions! Big media do not like Kodi because they do not control it (and it is pretty easy to write your own plug-ins). UK.GOV (and Big Media) do not like ANYTHING that they do not control. Obviously if you have any freedom of thought (or freedom to use a computer or media centre in the way YOU want to) then it must need controlling or banning - I mean allowing the public to THINK - yikes!. Anybody selling a media PC (Android or otherwise) running software not sanctioned by (1) UK,GOV, (2) Big USA Corporations or (3) Big Media MUST be evil mustn't they...?

    20 2 Reply
    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: UK.GOV and Big Media - Kodi is evil because ... we do not control it!

      "Kodi is just a highly configurable open source multimedia centre and is NOT responsible for piracy!"

      Yep, no different to YouTube and other video/music sharing sites and the browser plug-ins to download the music/video but we don't see continuous tabloid stories about them. Odd considering the installed base is probably much higher.

      I suppose the headlines of "Windows boxes used for piracy" might have the MS lawyers all over them.

      3 0 Reply
      1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: youtube-dl

        I think Google do not hunt down youtube-dl users and bury them in lawyers because people with the brains to use youtube-dl also have the brains to create links to interesting videos. The links bring in more advert watchers than there are youtube-dl users.

        Microsoft tried to become the monopoly distributor of video. They selected patent encumbered codecs and promised unbreakable DRM to content creators. Kodi bashing indicates Microsoft believe their video plan is not yet as dead as Windows Phone. It also indicates who they believe their biggest rival is.

        0 0 Reply
      2. davidp231
        Reply Icon

        Re: UK.GOV and Big Media - Kodi is evil because ... we do not control it!

        "YouTube and other video/music sharing sites and the browser plug-ins to download the music/video "

        Much more fun to do it with VLC... free, no nasties and you get the highest quality by default. At least you can craft your own playlists without having to set up a channel.

        0 0 Reply
  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Quick ban all usb adaptors.

    I can smell something and I'm not quite sure what it is, at first I thought cat then dog but I think it could be bull shit.

    20 0 Reply
  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Something is rotten in the state of Denmark...

    ....when they are stooping to scare strories about the hardware to try and stall its use.

    I'm guessing it is beyond their ken that KODI isn't limited to these boxes and your £35 Raspeberry Pi 3 is quite capable of running this? Or have they suddenly and inexplicably become dangerous too....?

    13 0 Reply
  7. tiggity Silver badge

    Scare stories

    Lots of power supply "plugs" from major vendors have no earth, just 2 wires, Can we expect warnings on various gadgets by big consumer names? Of more relevance would be were the products NOT double insulated or SELV (2 main reasons not to have an earth with CE) - if that was the case then it's an issue, but otherwise, fairly standard. I would guess, with most Kodi devices being low power, low voltage that no earth allowable due to SELV

    9 1 Reply
    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Scare stories

      "Of more relevance would be were the products NOT double insulated or SELV (2 main reasons not to have an earth with CE) - if that was the case then it's an issue"

      As per the article, that is precisely the issue reported. NOT double insulated and no form of earthing. But, of course, that's not limited to so-called "KODI boxes", not by a lock chalk!

      0 0 Reply
    2. Robin Bradshaw
      Reply Icon

      Re: Scare stories

      Given the lack of information its impossible to be certain but the few android powered connect to the tv boxes I have seen use something like a 5v 2A wallwart adapter, the cheap ones of these are all shit and will fail on creepage and clearance and probably also on having undersized copper clad aluminium cables.

      Bigclive on youtube has plenty of teardowns of such grotty adapters if you want to see more.

      eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqJnFhhPAis

      If your really worried have a rummage through that big old box of branded psu's to old equipment you have long since lost and find a suitable one with the same voltage and current rating, just check thay havent done something staggeringly stupid like make it center negative :P

      0 0 Reply
  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Will these boxes also....

    - make me go blind

    - cause psychotic behaviour

    - cause erectile dysfunction

    - make everyone in the house sterile

    - increase the chances of heart disease

    - give me AIDS

    If not, why not? Full spectrum scare tactics or don't bother.

    17 0 Reply
    1. Aladdin Sane
      Reply Icon

      Re: Will these boxes also....

      Good AIDS or bad AIDS?

      5 0 Reply
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Will these boxes also....

        "Good AIDS or bad AIDS?"

        I'm *old enough to remember "Aids" were a chocolate ice cream thing designed to help you lose weight!

        Walls might have done them IMMSMC.

        Late 70's.

        0 0 Reply
    2. Rafael #872397
      Reply Icon
      Trollface

      Re: Will these boxes also....

      - make me go blind

      Depends on the type of movie you're watching.

      5 0 Reply
    3. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Will these boxes also....

      "- make me go blind"

      Yes, from excessive eye strain.

      "- cause psychotic behaviour"

      Yes, from all the violence ingraining into your subconscious so you don't realize you're going psychotic.

      "- cause erectile dysfunction"

      Yes by making anything in reality pale in comparison

      "- make everyone in the house sterile"

      Maybe, though all the radiation.

      "- increase the chances of heart disease"

      Perhaps, though sedantary behaviour.

      "- give me AIDS"

      Don't give the TV makers funny ideas.

      2 0 Reply
    4. Flocke Kroes Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Will these boxes also....

      You forgot: Funds terrorism.

      4 0 Reply
  9. Anonymous Custard
    Trollface

    History repeating itself?

    So we've gone from "let them eat cake" to "let them watch Games of Thrones"?

    The new cry of the out-of-touch elite control freaks...

    8 1 Reply
  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh noes!

    Most TVs sold today similarly have a 2 pin plug, better stop watching legal sources too!

    3 0 Reply
    1. Dan 55 Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Oh noes!

      Don't tell them about Kodi on Android TV, they might be knocking down Sony's door at 3am.

      0 0 Reply
  11. Mage Silver badge
    Flame

    PSU Safety!

    Well, UK and Ireland is rife with phone chargers, TV SMPSUs, vape chargers, SMPSU bricks, Christmas tree lights etc, that either have fake CE, or cost reduced later. Risk of shock, RF interference, fires.

    The Kodi stuff with illegal SW plugins shouldn't be singled out. That's a tiny proportion of the Wallwart/SMPSU/Plugtop PSU issue.

    Also PSUs (double insulated or not) supplied with Euro plugs. OK if it's double insulated and fitted with a UK type 3 pin fused adaptor of the locking type. Even worse is 90V to 240V SMPSUs with USA two pin blades. Yet they have a CE mark! (Even an Amazon branded one ordered with an Amazon Kindle from Amazon). Surely that is neither safe anywhere on 220V to 240V, nor legal to retail?

    2 0 Reply
    1. Francis Boyle Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: PSU Safety!

      I buy masses of stuff direct from Shenzen on the principle that if it's cheap enough it doesn't matter if it fails or never works. Mains powered stuff is the exception. For that I stick to brand name equipment. (I probably shouldn't mention that most of my plugpacks are ex-Galaxy Note chargers.)

      2 0 Reply
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: PSU Safety!

        I took 8 "wall wart" or "pregnant plug" adapters out of my system yesterday, from ext HD's, router, 8port hub, NSA and a few other bits and replaced them with a good quality 12v PSU (good quality PC supply). So that's saved 7 plug sockets, 7 meters of cable and 7 potential fire hazards (although the ones I removed were proper WD etc).

        0 0 Reply
  12. David Lawrence
    Joke

    I want to see that slick GUI...

    Yes you know the one - it was described in this article as follows:- "a slick user interface has animated copyright holders" . Do they dance, rotate or gesticulate? How sophisticated is the animation? What animated copyright holder do I see for Game of Thrones?

    0 0 Reply

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