Cable theft

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Cable theft refers to the practice of cable subscribers obtaining service without paying.^[1] With the advent of digital cable, cases of people obtaining illegal service are rare. Digital cable is more secure and is very difficult to crack. Old cable equipment used an analog signal that was scrambled by tuning the signal so the picture was unsteady, just as Macrovision does at an attempt to copy a video. The equipment would descramble the signal so that it can be viewed by the subscriber. It also is addressable, meaning that it can be remotely controlled by the company's technical staff. The first case covered by the media was when 317 subscribers were caught in 1991 ^[2] when the company they subscribed to sent a "bullet" (a video signal that turns off the equipment) to their cable boxes. The boxes were modified, but possibly belonged to the cable company. Months later, an episode of The Simpsons aired Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment where Homer steals cable and watches a Pay Per View boxing match with his friends at his house.