<s>
Cable	B-Application
television	I-Application
piracy	I-Application
is	O
the	O
act	O
of	O
obtaining	O
unauthorized	O
access	O
to	O
cable	O
television	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cable	B-Application
television	I-Application
piracy	I-Application
is	O
usually	O
a	O
class	O
A	O
misdemeanor	O
;	O
if	O
the	O
service	O
is	O
$500	O
or	O
more	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
classified	O
as	O
a	O
class	O
C	O
felony	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
older	O
analog	O
cable	O
systems	O
,	O
most	O
cable	O
channels	O
were	O
not	O
encrypted	O
and	O
cable	B-Application
theft	I-Application
was	O
often	O
as	O
easy	O
as	O
plugging	O
a	O
coaxial	O
cable	O
attached	O
to	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
television	O
into	O
an	O
apartment	O
house	O
cable	O
distribution	O
box	O
(	O
which	O
often	O
were	O
unsecured	O
(	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
ways	O
of	O
cable	B-Application
theft	I-Application
were	O
using	O
a	O
cable	O
TV	O
converter	B-Device
box	I-Device
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
descrambler	O
or	O
"	O
black	O
box	O
"	O
)	O
to	O
steal	O
only	O
premium	O
channels	O
such	O
as	O
HBO	O
and	O
pay	O
per	O
view	O
by	O
decrypting	O
all	O
channels	O
,	O
whereas	O
a	O
normal	O
converter	O
would	O
only	O
decrypt	O
the	O
ones	O
paid	O
for	O
by	O
the	O
customer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
prevent	O
this	O
,	O
cable	O
providers	O
built	O
stronger	O
protection	O
against	O
theft	O
into	O
new	O
digital	B-Device
cable	I-Device
systems	O
that	O
were	O
deployed	O
beginning	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1990s	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
changeover	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
digital	O
HDTV	B-Device
standard	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
assessing	O
a	O
large	O
fine	O
for	O
the	O
entire	O
cost	O
of	O
a	O
set-top	O
box	O
if	O
the	O
customer	O
did	O
n't	O
return	O
it	O
upon	O
the	O
termination	O
of	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
has	O
greatly	O
reduced	O
cable	B-Application
theft	I-Application
,	O
although	O
pirate	B-Application
decryption	I-Application
continued	O
on	O
some	O
DVB-C	B-Device
systems	O
that	O
are	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
compromised	O
encryption	O
schemes	O
formerly	O
used	O
in	O
satellite	O
television	O
broadcasting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2018	O
,	O
many	O
cable	O
providers	O
have	O
switched	O
to	O
digital-only	O
systems	O
that	O
require	O
mandatory	O
use	O
of	O
either	O
their	O
approved	O
set	O
top	O
boxes	O
or	O
an	O
approved	O
CableCARD	B-Application
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Channels	O
and	O
programming	O
may	O
also	O
be	O
available	O
through	O
digital	B-Application
media	I-Application
player	I-Application
devices	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Roku	O
or	O
Apple	B-Device
TV	I-Device
(	O
along	O
with	O
tablets	B-Device
and	O
smartphones	B-Application
)	O
via	O
provider	O
apps	B-Application
,	O
which	O
confirm	O
subscriber	O
eligibility	O
through	O
a	O
private	O
internal	O
IP	B-Protocol
network	O
and	O
require	O
an	O
on-network	O
connection	O
to	O
the	O
provider	O
(	O
including	O
disallowing	O
connections	O
to	O
outside	O
virtual	B-Application
private	I-Application
network	I-Application
services	O
to	O
emulate	O
a	O
home	O
network	O
connection	O
elsewhere	O
)	O
,	O
making	O
any	O
piracy	O
through	O
that	O
venue	O
virtually	O
impossible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
most	O
modern	O
digital	B-Device
cable	I-Device
systems	O
the	O
signals	O
are	O
encrypted	O
,	O
so	O
cases	O
of	O
people	O
obtaining	O
illegal	O
service	O
are	O
less	O
common	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
older	O
analog	O
set-top	O
boxes	O
,	O
the	O
digital	O
set-top	O
box	O
will	O
not	O
function	O
until	O
the	O
cable	O
company	O
activates	O
it	O
by	O
sending	O
it	O
a	O
unique	O
activation	B-License
key	I-License
through	O
the	O
cable	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
sent	O
only	O
after	O
the	O
subscriber	O
signs	O
up	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subscribers	O
are	O
often	O
provided	O
with	O
several	O
set-top	O
boxes	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
their	O
subscription	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
give	O
or	O
sell	O
unneeded	O
activated	O
boxes	O
to	O
neighboring	O
nonsubscribers	O
who	O
can	O
use	O
them	O
in	O
their	O
own	O
residences	O
,	O
though	O
a	O
provider	O
using	O
IP	B-Protocol
location	O
using	O
the	O
cable	B-Device
modem	I-Device
within	O
a	O
set-top	O
box	O
featuring	O
advanced	O
two-way	O
features	O
can	O
avert	O
this	O
situation	O
.	O
</s>
