I would question where this 'unlawful to encrypt' thing comes from. As far as I can see there is a 'must carry' requirement on Virgin Media as part of all subscription levels however that isn't the same thing.
http://www.pedz.uni-mannheim.de/date...-mustcarry.pdf (this is from 2001)
Quote:
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Digital must carry services cover all BBC broadcast services, including teletext, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5,and the Public Teletext Service (specifically the analogue version). The must carry obligation only arises where the service is broadcast for reception in the area covered by the PDSL or LDSL. Widescreen services, whether must carry or not, must be redistributed in at least the widescreen 16:9 format
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I'm happy to be pointed in the direct of relevant information.
TiVo (which is Virgin Media's currently developed platform) works differently to the V boxes. You cannot have a non-subscription TiVo box, as the authorisation for services is internal to the box. TiVo doesn't rely on the Smartcard, and newly installed TiVo boxes do not come with one. Therefore you can't turn a TiVo box into a 'unencrypted only' box. It either is a subscribed box, or it's explicitly de-authorised.
In fact I'm pretty sure that where a customer is suspended, a permanent unremovable message is displayed over
all channels on the TiVo box advising of an issue with the subscription. That's if the box can boot in the first place. It would also end up with box being unable to gain valid data from the TiVo data centre so the box would no longer display any EPG information.