I have a patched IRCI 5400z and it's brought me hours of pleasure. With a correctly programmed card (I use a Funcard and, occasionally, a Silver Card with DS9) I can find more English language films than I can easily watch (and I'm a film enthusiast), all the Premier League football my wife can stomach (and I'm a Manchester United fan), several English language channels documentary and news channels and 24 hour mature content on at least 4 channels. After 23.00 hrs its difficult to avoid the mature content on premium and PPV channels.
Rolf is right, of course. There are problems looming as new encryption systems emerge and we may have the inconvenience of inaccessible channels for a while. I'm optimistic that any changes to the encryption systems will be hacked before too long.
However, the really pleasurable, interesting and satisfying part of this hobby is overcoming the difficulties and the learning process itself. I spend far more time looking at satellite sites on the Internet, adjusting, fine-tuning and generally fiddling with my satellite toys than I do watching the television. I know that's sad, but that's the way it is.
wolsty