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[backflip10019]

I was chatting with a co-worker about TV shows and the topic of black boxes came up. For those who don't know, "black boxes" were cable descramblers that people used in the 90s to get every channel. Cable companies used to restrict channel packages by scrambling the signals for individual channels that you didn't have. "Black boxes" unscrambled these signals, giving you access to every channel, pay-per-view... everything.

Supposedly it was illegal to install them on your cable box, but it seems like everyone I know either had one or knew someone who had one. Apparently it was pretty popular for cable guys to sell them out of the back of their truck for marked up prices (around $200). I guess cable companies were a lot less stringent about inventory back then.

Personally, my friend had a black box. We used it to watch pay per view movies all the time after school and those skin flicks on the Playboy channel. Somehow I don't think his parents ever found out that they had it. I think he got it from one of his sketchier friends.

Anyway, does anyone else remember these things? Any fond memories to share?

 

[FuuRe]

I was poor and always wanted one of those, so i had to squint my eyes and use my imagination to process the awesomeness

fun times

 

[mowho]

I called them black boxes - a cousin who had one called it a scrambler.

Remember watching some witch/vampire movies on it. Witchcraft, Warlock? Some shit like that - they made like 10 sequels.

 

[Sobriquet]

I remember them but never knew anyone that had one.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Supposedly it was illegal to install them on your cable box, but it seems like everyone I know either had one or knew someone who had one. Apparently it was pretty popular for cable guys to sell them out of the back of their truck for marked up prices (around $200). I guess cable companies were a lot less stringent about inventory back then.

I never had one but I saw The Cable Guy which had the above as a big plot point

 

[Dicer]

One of the earliest cable boxes we had as a kid, had a slot underneath that you could slide a can tab into and it would unlock all the channels....must have tripped a dip swithc or something, those were good times.

It was pretty close to this thing...

 

[Vyrance]

My family had some when I was younger. Watching pay-per-view all day and watching Playboy when I could sneak a view in, lol

 

[Valkyr Junkie]

I used to just unscrew the filter(s) in the outside box.

 

[JetBlackPanda]

I remember my uncle had one. I used to watch WCW paperviews with it. I also remember using it to watch the Tyson fight with the ear.

Lol crazy times

 

[JMDSO]

I remember trying to watch wrestling PPVs through the squiggly lines.

And then magically they forgot to scramble a couple of them.

 

[Camoxide]

I know this is kind of still a thing in the UK with the cracked Sky boxes.

 

[PROh1bited]

Yep I had one. I remember it had one problem though. Whenever the screen was too white, it would become all screwed up. But for free WWF and WCW ppvs, it was totally worth it.

 

[Ramsiege]

We had one in our house and it was awesome. I would watch all the WWF pay-per-views that way.

 

[JetBlackPanda]

Damn so much free wrestling PPvs in here.

 

[Col WillieSharp]

The month I got my black box, Armageddon had just came to PPV.
I must have watched it 40 times over those first 2 months.

 

[AwesomePossum]

i was a heavy user of the spice channel. it was my very first introduction to porn, and provided me with great material.

then national geographic replaced it, which was fine with me because that became my fetish.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

I remember trying to watch wrestling PPVs through the squiggly lines.

And then magically they forgot to scramble a couple of them.

This happened once with a Royal Rumble.

I was the man that day let me tell you.

 

[Edwardo]

The month I got my black box, Armageddon had just came to PPV.
I must have watched it 40 times over those first 2 months.

Haha awesome.

I remember my family had one. We kept having to replace some chip that was inside it.

 

[distantmantra]

My aunt had one that she ended up giving to us when I was in high school. That was awesome.

 

[styl3s]

From like 95-2003ish we had those boxes and it's how me and my friends would watch WCW, WWF, ECW and boxing events. I think the last big ppv i watched on our black box was the wrestlemania where Hulk fought Rock.

 

[Krassus]

This and the Direct TV little programmers for sure.

 

[Discotheque]

hell yeah. wrestling and ppv movies all day brah.

 

[mackattk]

Never had one.

My parents blocked MTV because they caught me watching a Michael Jackson music video.

 

[Persona7]

I remember my uncle buying one of those things for direct TV. I think a modified card?

He spent a lot on it and like a month later Direct TV did something to malfunction the cards.

 

[styl3s]

hell yeah. wrestling and ppv movies all day brah.

I remember when Night at the Roxbury hit PPV and i just left it on for like 9 hours straight watching it over and over for some dumb reason.

I remember my uncle buying one of those things for direct TV. I think a modified card?

He spent a lot on it and like a month later Direct TV did something to malfunction the cards.

Buddy of mine started getting those but they started like updating the boxes so frequently it wasnt worth the money or time. I never got into the hacked/modified card stuff.

 

[CitizenCope]

Never had one but I do remember the Index card trick to get free movie channels.

 

[joelseph]

I grew up without cable television. Imagine that.

 

[Sobriquet]

Never had one.

My parents blocked MTV because they caught me watching a Michael Jackson music video.

Wha?

 

[justjohn]

My mum got one installed in my bedroom when I was about 14yrs old because she knew I loved watching sports. What she didn't know was that you could also get porn channels around 10pm every night. I was the luckiest 14yr old ever. UK gaffers will remember television x and red hot tv.

eventually my dad found out, quickly removed it and installed it in his room.

 

[Mookie1515]

My dad got one when I was like 8 or 9. I watched so many WWF Pay Per Views!

Spoiler

Also saw porn. Two thumbs up would recommend.

 

[CharminUltra]

Family I lived with at the time owned two of these. It was amazing at the time.

 

[AnnTiPa]

Completely unnecessary. I watched The Matrix for the first time in negative colors.

Spoiler

No idea how my younger self was able do that.

 

[Wyndstryker]

Never had one but I knew people who did.

Wrestling PPV's as a kid were glorius

 

[Metalmarc]

Never had one but a friend did here in the uk

Of course now it's been replaced by the internet, no need for black descrambling boxes

 

[True Savior]

I had these for sports/porn/movie channels.

It was glorious.

I also remember from time to time receiving a message that i was watching copyrighted property.

 

[Toki767]

Cable companies must be so glad TV signals are digital now.

 

[maquiladora]

I remember we had a card with a chip on it that we brought to some guy every month to update it with the latest decryption key... Back in the mid-90's.

 

[BigBoss]

I remember getting one of these to watch Stargate SG-1 on Showtime, the porn was a nice bonus

 

[crimzonflame]

I was like the only kid in class who didnt have one. I was so jealous of the kids who got to watch WWF pay-per-views and porn.

 

[this_guy]

I used to just unscrew the filter(s) in the outside box.

I did that for TNT and Monday Nitro (Monday Night Raw was on USA and part of the basic cable package).

 

[JinjoUnchained]

Black boxes were the subject of this classic Simpsons episode

I remember a lot of people getting them, but then cable companies trying to counter them by sending around inspectors or using some sort of detection to see who was using them. There were horror stories about people getting busted, but I don't know if it was true or not.

 

[pinsomniac]

Buddy of mine started getting those but they started like updating the boxes so frequently it wasnt worth the money or time. I never got into the hacked/modified card stuff.

Reminds me of the "Black Sunday" kill that DirecTV orchestrated.

 

[Dega]

I had an old tv that you could turn the knobs on to adjust the signal. This tv did a really damn good job with clearing up PPV channels though once I ghetto rigged it with antennas and lots of other stuff.

Was fun.

 

[Slayven]

We had one with a knob on it.

 

[jaypah]

Never had one.

My parents blocked MTV because they caught me watching a Michael Jackson music video.

Were you beating it to Beat It?

 

[gutter_trash]

oh yeahhhh
I remember this giant wired remote control but I don't remember the cable box though

 

[JMDSO]

oh yeahhhh

That rotary cable box. We used to have that exact one!

 

[spindashing]

Never had one but I knew people who did.

Wrestling PPV's as a kid were glorius

Had one for wrestling PPVs. Good times... I'm not entirely sure how my parents even got one. They knew a guy who knew a guy, I guess.

 

[isny]

The month I got my black box, Armageddon had just came to PPV.
I must have watched it 40 times over those first 2 months.

You didn't want to close your eyes...

 

[Corran Horn]

Had one in my room when I was a kid sharing a room with my brother. It was awesome to have.

I got to watch alot of boxing because of it.