this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2026
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Piracy: ꜱᴀɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪɢʜ ꜱᴇᴀꜱ
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That was Macrovision, which was a signal inserted into the top few frames that weren't shown on a TV, but which the VCR used to calibrate its black level. I designed a box which removed them so I could make copies of stuff. It was a bit pointless with hindsight, because I very rarely watched the copies I made. I think the enjoyment of getting one over on the man was far more than actually watching the films.
I wasn't even trying to copy, just trying to connect a DVD player to my RF-cable-jack-only TV.
DVD player -> AV cables -> VCR -> coaxial cable -> TV.
Nope! Not allowed! It's 2001 and we're already screaming loud and clear that pirate copies are superior because they just work.
I ended up getting a Voodoo3 3500 TV on clearance sale, and playing movies on the TV through that.
It was definitely a wildly practiced sport for sure. If you had kids like we all were, those tapes got used. But for the adults, yeah it was basically just for sport.
Thank you! I’d forgotten the term. It’s been a solid 30 years since AV class.