Hidden Spy Camera & Mic Found Inside Digital TV Box

Still can't grasp why people keep saying there's no way to transmit the audio and video from the receiver. I do it all the time with my cell phone - I send video and audio. There is no wires, cable or clunky transmitting devices connected to my phone. Sure, it'd be broadcasting on public airwaves, but if you don't know how to decode the signal, it's not going to do you much good when you pick it up.

[edit on 18-2-2009 by tyranny22]

I suggest the "microphone" is really a common electronic component called a potentiometer. The camera( if it really is a camera) is placed far back in the enclosure giving it a very narrow view. I addition, the camera is stuck on the side of a power transformer. These normally get hot in use and produce a significant magnetic field. It is a very poor place to mount a camera.... Fake!
This author has over 30 years experience in the electronics business by the way.

reply to post by Sherlock2009


There are many more wavelengths that can be captured by cameras that can't be seen by the naked eye and you don't need line-of-sight to pick them up. With today's technology even a pinhole in a faceplate along with a high resolution fish-eye lens camera is enough to go unnoticed by the average civilian.

Anyway ... I'm not arguing whether this is a hoax ... or whether this is actually happening.

But, make no mistake ... it'd be very, very easy to do.

Originally posted by tyranny22
Still can't grasp why people keep saying there's no way to transmit the audio and video from the receiver. I do it all the time with my cell phone - I send video and audio. There is no wires, cable or clunky transmitting devices connected to my phone. Sure, it'd be broadcasting on public airwaves, but if you don't how to decode the signal, it's not going to do you much good when you pick it up.

Lol no one said it wasn't possible, just not pratical. Your cell phone is picked up by 100+ foot towers less than a mile away.
Tell me how any government agency is going to monitor all the DTV boxes from one central location? Even if they had an agent in every town to monitor the signals the idea alone is silly.
If the box was transmitting a signal people like me would know about it. It's not that hard to see if something is emitting radio energy. A basic field strength meter can detect that. If the device really does comply with the FCC rules then no radio energy should be detected from the dtv box for a short distance from it. If there was some signal coming out of that box, it would be known and detected. Even if it was a coded signal that is out of the scope of the point. It would still be detectable.
Like someone else said, put a towel over it if you STILL think it's possible and practical haha.

reply to post by Black_Fox


Here is why I believe this to be fake, if you get HD from your cable company and you dont take one of thier boxes and just have a HD convertor box, then you forfiet the ability to get VOD. Video on Demand for those who are unaware of what it stands for, the reason this is so is because the convertor boxes have no way of sending information only recieving information. That is also true for people using just a cable card and thier tv or a tivo unit, There has to be a unit for transmitting the signal back and hd convetor boxes has no means of doing that, the circuitry is just not there. So thats my reasoning why I will call Shenannigans on this one.

Let me just say this as well.

It would be extremely expensive to do this. And with the way technology development is going, it'd be completely ignorant to do this as a company. With in the next 10 - 15 years most media (internet, tv, etc.) will run through a computer and then to your plamsa tv ... and most people will be using their personal computer to do this. iMac's already come standard with microphone and camera built in.

What I'm saying is that a company would have to be crazy to invest any money into doing this when it'll be completely outdated in 10 years. Really all they have to do it concept the delivery process ... they market is going to drive the technology that would be needed to accomplish the feat.

reply to post by darklife


Given my previous post above ... I'd say were on the same page then. Guess I was mis-understanding what was being discussed.

reply to post by darklife


The Homeland Security Department doesn't monitor ALL calls ... just the one's they want to. The same method would apply to this type of situation.

To drsmooth23 you can transmit a signal through the power lines of your house and the grid. Before you start saying no way its science fiction. I have a sling box I have had for a few years. One of the accessories for the sling box is a device that you just plug in to the wall and it connects your sling box to your wireless router or wired router with no wires ohhh, its magic. No it uses the power lines. SO YOU ARE WRONG FAIL!!!!!!

reply to post by AmenStop


You Fail, you just said it connect to your router, which you have control over what connects to it. Running a tv signal over your house electrical system is completly differnt from trying to beam a video signal out with rabbit ears. They have no way of knowing how anyone connects to the internet so to make these devices work with everything is just crazy. I can see R&D working on face recog to set up the tivo to the individual watching it, but all that stays in the unit. What times you watch and what you watch can be transmitted but guys, they have had that ability since the birth of cable tv. hehe

reply to post by housegroove23
Try this..if the box is plugged in and operational, Take the cover off.get your cell phone , and take a video of the "camera"..Ok some may not understand..if its a real active camera, your cell cam will pick up the "camera" IR..I wish i found a camera in anything i bought..I would fry somebody in court. Have a happy...

With all the people that put webcams on there computers why put one in a digital converter box.

There is a way for the government/hackers to tap webcams any time the computer is on without the owner knowing.

www.theregister.co.uk...

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
reply to post by housegroove23

 

Try this..if the box is plugged in and operational, Take the cover off.get your cell phone , and take a video of the "camera"..Ok some may not understand..if its a real active camera, your cell cam will pick up the "camera" IR..I wish i found a camera in anything i bought..I would fry somebody in court. Have a happy...

Not all cameras use IR. Usually the IR in camcorders and cameras are used to auto-focus and for night lighting (seeing in darkness). Doesn't mean a tiny CCD camera needs any means of IR to operate. Not that it matters since once again people are trying to make a cow out of a hamburger with this idea/hoax.

A digital converter box is for receiving broadcast signals after the switch to digital. Satellite and cable are already digital. And though sat and cable boxes can xmit as well as recieve, a converter box can't without an antenna---and not the one it uses to recieve a signal---the interference caused by such would be immediately observable. A sat box can't xmit without a uplink dnb except for the phone connection for purchasing---and that connection is not suitable for A/V uplink, as anyone who has dialup internet can attest.
TiVo though, has already proven to everyone that they spy----remember the infamous superbowl 1/2 time breast "costume error"?
TiVo unwisely reported how many people were watching and how many times they rewound and watched it again.

Originally posted by AmenStop
To drsmooth23 you can transmit a signal through the power lines of your house and the grid. Before you start saying no way its science fiction. I have a sling box I have had for a few years. One of the accessories for the sling box is a device that you just plug in to the wall and it connects your sling box to your wireless router or wired router with no wires ohhh, its magic. No it uses the power lines. SO YOU ARE WRONG FAIL!!!!!!

God i hate sling boxes. i had to fight with mine all day today at work. I have bought 3 over the years and i have never seen what you are talking about.

ok, a wifi sender, i have an idea about what you are talking about, but if you read my WHOLE post, you would have seen that i already acknowledged the possibility of Wifi.

-------------

wanna do some math? lets figure out the percentage of people who PAY for internet, but DONT pay for TV. can you even get Non Bundled services these days?!?!

Originally posted by ANNED
With all the people that put webcams on there computers why put one in a digital converter box.

There is a way for the government/hackers to tap webcams any time the computer is on without the owner knowing.

www.theregister.co.uk...

yep this is true! I see you. Seriously it is true. But wouldn't someone have to have a dediated i.p. address? Or I guess if your computer had somekind of "homing software" nevermind all modern computers do. Thats why I drive a 386 lol

Originally posted by AmenStop
To drsmooth23 you can transmit a signal through the power lines of your house and the grid. Before you start saying no way its science fiction. I have a sling box I have had for a few years. One of the accessories for the sling box is a device that you just plug in to the wall and it connects your sling box to your wireless router or wired router with no wires ohhh, its magic. No it uses the power lines. SO YOU ARE WRONG FAIL!!!!!!

Sure it's possible. On a side note I am glad I don't live next to your house. Do you know how much radio interference those things cause to shortwave radio listening to neighbours? Thank God the FCC hasn't allowed DSL over powerlines in most places yet or there goes everyones AM and shortwave radio for miles on end
Anyways back to topic, you can send signals over the power lines. No one said you couldn't. The problem is sending things like analog video over it for long distances. Okay lets say digital instead.. still you would need to send it via radio frequencies and in less than a few hundred feet it would be useless. You can probably send signals over the powerlines in your house just fine but once it hits those power transformers on the big powerline polls outside your signal will be lost. Don't believe me? Go to your neighbours house and try your BPL (broadband over powerline) computer stuff, it probably won't work unless they are on the same exact powerline feed or in the same complex.
Once again though this is beyond the point of the thread and would be stupid on any company/governments part to try and pull off.

[edit on 2/18/2009 by darklife]

reply to post by Anonymous ATS


Great reply, not to mention with all the mods and hacks out there with tivo units and tech units in general , seems the last place I would try to hid anything, hehe. I have had every electrical item i have torn apart and modded in some way. There is enough of us out there if we found cameras and mics with the ability to send this info out we would make it known to the public.

I think the way these cameras and mic transmit is thru the power outlet. For all of you that dont know this can be done i suggest you look at this link below and see.



Power line Communication en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by drsmooth23


Its called a wall plug bridge... slingbox.wetpaint.com...

I think that is what he is talking about, even though you still have to give your router access to it, and i believe only certain routers can even do it. Nevertheless you have to have some type of 3rd party hardware to connect with your slingbox, I am leaning toward, maybe this guy doesnt have one or didnt actually set his up. lol

[edit on 18-2-2009 by alienj]