They should provide two-piece systems, refurbished RAN baseband boxes in conjunction with the latest tech versions. Of course, you get what you pay for. But there are reasonable values out there. 3. Do you need a cable converter if you have the cable company box, VCR or a cable-ready TV?Yes you do. In order to establish a non- addressable system, it is essential to have a cable converter. A cable ready TV, VCR and a Cable Company box do not provide for this feature and in not doing so, cannot replace a cable converter. You must have a converter to use a descrambler. This is especially true if you desire a converter / descrambler that cannot be altered or addressed by your cable company.

Are cable converters legal? YES! cable converters are legal. If your cable TV company can possess & rent the box to you then you can own the cable box yourself. An example in time would be when company rented telephones to consumers. The federal government directed that it was legal for consumers to own their own phone. Now you wouldn’t consider buying only from company. The cable TV industry is in its early stages is relative to this development. It is legal for you to purchase and it is legal for you to own. When you buy a cable box it is your responsibility to inform the cable TV company that you are accessing their signal. It is illegal to receive their transmission without paying for it.

This holds true even if your cable box is purchased as a non-addressable non-detectable, and "bullet proof" unit. 2. Are all cable converters alike? No. Prices can range from $15 to $400 depending on the quality and amount of features included in the equipment. Some companies offer to sell you a description of how you can build (implied), with only 7 parts from radio shack, a converter. Some sell old converters that are barely in date and likely to be replaced by the cable companies by higher technological grades of equipment Some cable box sellers provide systems that hardly provide any benefit to the purchaser where the quality of reception is poor, without recourse. State-of-the-art cable box companies will provide the most recent technology in a variety of packages tailored to fit the customer’s budget.