What is going on with Coolsat and Visionsat?

Hundreds of thousands of people were happy Coolsat and Visionsat owners, until recently.    Many of you may be wondering why your Coolsat 4000, 5000, and 6000 have been sitting idle while the rest of the FTA world zooms by.    If you don’t own a Coolsat you should know what is going on between the FTA companies and the DBS providers.  The most recent Coolsat bin files were uploaded in late March and the scene has been quiet ever since.    The reason for this well supported FTA receivers sudden lack of support isn’t entirely clear but I’ll offer what I know.

It’s important to understand, if you do not already, that nothing these receiver companies do is illegal as it pertains to FTA hardware.  The FTA hobby is perfectly legal in North America and most parts of the world.   These quality receiver products fill and important gap for those people that are interested in watching television signals freely made available over the air.   Modern FTA receivers also provide excellent support for ATSC over the air digital signals.   Major cities have been increasing the number of free HDTV and DIGITAL signals that are compatible with many receivers.    The grey area most people associate with FTA is the “BIN” releases that allow FTA receivers to decode signals that would otherwise be protected by some type of process.   This is a very secretive process and it’s still unclear to most who actually writes these bin files and who pays for it (if anyone).

It’s a fairly well known fact that some bin files are produced for sport.   For software developers there is a certain level of euphoria associated with defeating the latest ECM and doing it faster than the other guys.   Amateur developers have their own tools and techniques to break the code but the process is basically the same for everyone.   Using a real working card and subscription the developer will look at the signal going into the real card and the signal coming out.   Using this they will adjust the bits and bytes in their code to produce the same results.   The word Amateur is misleading, these guys are very good and they get their “props” from the underground world that supports them.   On the other hand, there are rumors that some of the FTA receiver companies pay top dollar to coders that specialize in cryptography so that their brand can always have the latest bin files.   Once you understand this murky back office relationship you can begin to understand the problem.

EchoStar has a duty to the content providers that zap their must see TV into our homes.   That duty is to make sure each and every person that sees ‘Yet Another Cop Buddy Show’ each and every Monday night is paying the TV Tax.    It’s understandable that millions of dollars have gone into the development of satellite technology and the DVB companies want to protect that investment through subscription services.   As part of that protection, they will take legal action against FTA receiver companies if they find the slightest proof they are involved with something illicit.   Remember, FTA receivers are perfectly legal as is their manufacturing but reverse engineering the signal to provide a way to bypass content protection methods is not legal.   EchoStar (and the other big boys) have law suits against all the manufacturers at this point, some have been going for multiple years.

The latest legal action against Freetech is, in my opinion, what is behind the lack of updates for Coolsat receivers right now as well as other receivers supported by this team.     EchoStar and other plaintiffs (such as NagraVision who makes the encryption system and is partly owned by EchoStar) are represented by Hagan Noll & Boyle LLC in Houston, Texas as well as other high profile legal groups in case CV-07-6124-JW-RW.   Within this legal action they make the following points that I have summarized in my own words.   I’m not a lawyer, keep that in mind.

1. They claim the Freetech, Inc, the makers of the Coolsat products, produce a product with limited commercial value other than to pirate satellite TV.
2. They claim that Coolsat is specifically marketed as a device to pirate DISH Network TV and that Coolsat’s official company support will assist customers in that process.
3. They claim that they are directly responsible for Digital Millennium Copyright Act violations.

While I agree that many people use FTA receivers to pirate TV, I would certainly argue that this not the only use and that it may not be the majority of users. I would also argue that cable TV is something you must bring into your home if you choose to pay for it and satellite signals zap through your body like a hotdog in the microwave entirely uninvited.   This, however, isn’t the problem.   The problem is item number 3.     EchoStar wants to know what role the FTA Company has in getting the bin files published.

Subpoenas were sent to find this information and they have been ignored, as far as I can tell, by all parties so far.   It would appear that the company may be moving development resources or doing something else internally to separate itself from the developers that code the bin files.

To me, this would imply that things are in flux for a while for this development team but they will get back on track.   This is entirely speculation but I would guess that the developers responsible has been told by their lawyers to lay low for a while.   Possibly there are payroll papers or other documents that directly link the developers to Freetech and this would not be good.

Here are some of the questions I keep reading:

Q: Does this mean that EchoStar will try to sue me directly because I purchased hardware from Freetech?

A: This is not very likely.   Buying the hardware is not illegal.   A representative from SonicView has told me very clearly that the majority of hardware they sell is used in True FTA.   With Digital ATSC broadcasting ramping up, more and more FTA hardware is being used as the family entertainment center.

Q: I sent email their support team asking for help and they gave me an answer.   Can I  get in trouble for that?

A: I can’t tell you that it was a good idea to have contacted them directly.   The best place to get any type of question answered is the n2news fta forum or support team.   If Freetech or any other FTA receiver company does give you information on using your hardware in a method that violates the DMCA they would be up a digital creek without a digital paddle and that is not good for anyone.

Q: I don’t have a Coolsat but I have (fill in the blank).   Will my receiver stop getting updates?

A: It’s unclear who programs what bin files in this industry.   If I had to guess I would say that Sonicview, Pansat, Viewsonic, and CNX should have no problem.  These companies are all solid and in a good position to defend themselves.   It’s unclear on how Nfusion or other IKS providers will hold up in the long run.   The best thing to do is get your bin files from a site like n2news that protects the privacy of its members.

There is another theory that is much simpler but not nearly as fun.   Some say the Korean based coders were unhappy with the pay so they went to work for another company.   The KBOX brand receivers are manufactured at the same plant as some Coolsat products and use similar technology (if not the exact technology).    More sources report that Freetech had 30,000 units and sold them off at wholesale prices before going bankrupt but this is entirely unconfirmed.   It’s a confirmed fact that Coolsat Canada is no long in business.

There are some things that you can try.   If you have saved your old bin files you may be in luck.  Some users are reporting success with the 202 bin but others are not.   Sometimes older bin files are able to work well enough that watching TV is still entertaining so don’t delete them for a while.

Don’t fret, true FTA is still a great option!  Point your dish to 123.0 W using Dishpointer.com.   Tune into Transponder 11.720 V, SR 27.692, VPID 0053, APID 0054, PPID 0054 and you’ll fine WNGS.   They are an affiliate of “THIS” network and they have great movies and show on all day and night.   No bin is required.   There are other great channels on 123.0 W so scan it and see what you find.