ReplayTV 4500: No Hacking, or Else

mcglk writes "I was happy to see that SonicBlue had released its new generation of ReplayTV, the 4500. And it was $250 cheaper than the 4000. Except for that $250 one-time service activation fee. Worse is the agreement that goes along with it. Term1A basically says, No more hacking. Term1G says that they can enable or disable anything they want without notice. And Term2C says that if someone even alleges you are infringing on copyright, you can be shut down with no notice, no recourse, and there's nothing you can do about itthe agreement indemnifies them completely. I was really looking forward to getting one of these, too." Under that agreement, SonicBlue claims the right to destroy your device when you connect for updates.

Comments

Re:Is that legal - in the Land of the Free?

[ScottKin]

I'm sure that the legal advisors for ReplayTV researched the indemnification limitations mentioned very thoroughly.

So what if they have, for all intents and purposes provded a legal challenge to hardware/software hacks of their products? The kinds of hacks that are done to ReplayTV and similar devices are usually only those to allow the ILLEGAL RECEPTION of content that the end-customer hasn't PAID for (i.e. "Free" as in "Shoplifting" and "Theft"); but this seems to be nothing new to /. zealots - warez, hacking and other ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES are great bedfellows.

Enjoy the ride!

ScottKin