>>25428326No, here in Japan its not one-time, its recurring. I haven't paid it in so long that I don't remember now if it is supposed to be every year or twice a year, but its not just once.
I currently have a computer driving the media in my house and haven't yet bought one of the gigantic flatscreens that seem sort of mandatory now because I don't have time to watch TV (haha, but today I spent some time on 4chan, go figure) -- but I think the decryption card is something you have to renew every year or the TV dies until you do.
Pretty shitty, that. Also, the TV encryption is protected by DMCA style rules about circumvention, which is funny, because taxes I already pay subsidize NHK and they still charge for a lot of stuff too. So does NTT, and they are a state monopoly as well. Other stuff is pretty fair, but those two things really linger here and rub me the wrong way.
