The Max Headroom Incident

Similar incident: in 1985, political opposition in People&#x27;s Republic of Poland &quot;hijacked&quot; TV by broadcasting in sync with the actual TV signal. This allowed them to superimpose things on top of the image (within some range around their transmitter), which they used to broadcast political messages.<p>Differences: not complete replacement, but superposition; &quot;attacked&quot; signal was the final signal to consumers; the hackers were caught (by standard police methods).<p>Some details: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;hackaday.com&#x2F;2016&#x2F;07&#x2F;05&#x2F;retrotechtacular-how-solidarity-hacked-polish-tv&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;hackaday.com&#x2F;2016&#x2F;07&#x2F;05&#x2F;retrotechtacular-how-solidar...</a>

This always reminds me of the 2007 incident on Czech TV, where someone hijacked a weather panorama broadcast: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=ea4eft_3p-I" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=ea4eft_3p-I</a><p>IIRC the panorama cam was connected to the Internet and had been hacked, so no microwave magic there. Good execution nonetheless...

The assumption that the content of the video had something do do with why it was broadcast may not be reasonable. Someone wanting to play the technical prank might well find some of the most random shit available to broadcast, hoping (perhaps mistakenly) that the point would be clear anyway.<p>I think its also possible that the the technically equipped people who did this were perhaps not thinking as clearly as usual that evening. Intoxicants may have been involved. There were some gifted organic chemists working out in the suburbs then.

Hey, you can&#x27;t talk about Max Headroom without talking about The Art of Noise.<p>The Art of Noise (with Max Headroom) - Paranomia (1986): <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=6epzmRZk6UU" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=6epzmRZk6UU</a>

Cool story! I didn&#x27;t know this happened. I don&#x27;t think we ever had such break ins in national TV in the Netherlands.<p>I know some of my friends in the 80s were able to &quot;hack&quot; into the cable network in my town, basically they just broadcast into the terrestrial receiver at the cable station after the real transmitter went down. In those days broadcast transmitters still switched off when programming was finished.<p>Because the air was clear then there was very little power needed and thus little chance of getting caught. I used to speak to them on the legal 27mc CB because I was too chicken and they&#x27;d speak back to me in glorious stereo FM. Full duplex of course. It was fun! Many pirate &quot;radio&quot; stations too.<p>I don&#x27;t think the cable company ever bothered to catch them as it all happened after hours but eventually they added time locks so the uplinks just went down after programming. Still they were lazy so often it was possible to catch an unused uplink or an incorrect timer for years. What helped was that not many people actually used cable for radio. So it wasn&#x27;t complained about much.<p>Eventually the internet happened and people just lost interest...

It&#x27;s always fascinating seeing the internet catalog and consolidate knowledge, especially regarding events that occurred pre-internet.<p>Back when these events happened, a blurb appeared on TV news and in papers, but there was no easy way to get the big picture as the investigations evolved.

A few years ago I saw this documentary on the incident, including technical details on how the video was produced and examining and then debunking a number of theories about the incident: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=Bgbci2Zf7ms" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=Bgbci2Zf7ms</a>

Past related threads:<p><i>Max Headroom Signal Hijacking (2020) [video]</i> - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=25923243" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=25923243</a> - Jan 2021 (1 comment)<p><i>Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion</i> - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=21611551" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=21611551</a> - Nov 2019 (54 comments)<p><i>Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion</i> - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=18167508" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=18167508</a> - Oct 2018 (1 comment)<p><i>The Cold Case of the Max Headroom Signal Intrusion</i> - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=16816663" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=16816663</a> - April 2018 (53 comments)<p><i>The Max Headroom TV Hack</i> - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=9845038" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=9845038</a> - July 2015 (81 comments)<p><i>27 Years Later the Max Headroom Hackers Still Remain a Mystery</i> - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=8889388" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=8889388</a> - Jan 2015 (1 comment)<p><i>The Mystery of the Creepiest Television Hack</i> - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=6824715" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=6824715</a> - Nov 2013 (11 comments)<p><i>The 1987 Max Headroom Pirating Incident</i> - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=1207937" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=1207937</a> - March 2010 (5 comments)

Anything new here from the hundred other posts?<p>Some previous discussions:<p><i>2 years ago</i> <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=21611551" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=21611551</a><p><i>6 years ago</i> <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=9845038" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=9845038</a><p><i>4 years ago</i> <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=16816663" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=16816663</a>

I was interested in finding out how the intrusion was accomplished, but the article devotes only a few words to explaining that, in a sentence that makes no grammatical sense. What does it mean to place a dish antenna “between the transmitter tower”?

Haven’t heard about this before but it reminds me of a scene from the 1995 movie “Hackers”.<p>Scene in question: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=Mdha_OV5saI" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=Mdha_OV5saI</a><p>IMDb page for said movie: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.imdb.com&#x2F;title&#x2F;tt0113243&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.imdb.com&#x2F;title&#x2F;tt0113243&#x2F;</a><p>I wonder if the scene in Hackers was inspired by the real world hacks that the OP article talks about.

<i>They were also able to pinpoint a location where the video might have been shot. Based on the background of the videos, agents from the FCC determined it was most likely the roll-down door of a warehouse and tracked it to a district that had warehouses with doors like it.</i><p>Truly incredible detective work, the kind of insight that is limited to adults of normal intelligence and observational ability. I guess when you don&#x27;t have any ideas you need to fill up the silence somehow.

For anyone wondering, I recently re-watched the Max Headroom series &amp; movie, and it still holds. I recommend you check it out, even if you hadn&#x27;t seen it before.

A compilation of news reports at the time: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=dBOhFGmbSIs" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=dBOhFGmbSIs</a><p>&quot;Captain Midnight&quot; jammed HBO for almost 5 minutes in 86: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Captain_Midnight_broadcast_signal_intrusion" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Captain_Midnight_broadcast_sig...</a>

The Art of Noise with Max Headroom - Paranoimia (Official Video)<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=6epzmRZk6UU" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=6epzmRZk6UU</a><p>Coca-Cola Max Headroom | Max Headroom Coke commercials<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=sUMX6y2glJ8" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=sUMX6y2glJ8</a><p>Max Headroom on Sesame Street<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=_KlfcpUfQCk" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=_KlfcpUfQCk</a><p>The Headroom Collection on Letterman, 1986-1990<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=pd2DztHiSiY" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=pd2DztHiSiY</a><p>Terry Wogan interviews Max Headroom<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=qq8jOBe5E5A" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=qq8jOBe5E5A</a><p>On Max Headroom: The Most Misunderstood Joke on TV<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=GsDrXc94NGU" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=GsDrXc94NGU</a><p>Back To The Future - Cafe 80`s<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=vAEU-Lf60LA" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=vAEU-Lf60LA</a><p>Altered Carbon Carnage: Who is Carnage? Who is Matt Frewer who plays Carnage?<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=T4aM0SiNiB8" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=T4aM0SiNiB8</a><p>Star Trek the Next Generation: A Matter Of Time<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=EgqP5E0Mjxs" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=EgqP5E0Mjxs</a><p>Matt Frewer Interview: Doctor Doctor, Max Headroom, Altered Carbon: Carnage, Orphan Black, Eureka<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=v85tZhiO8Zo" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=v85tZhiO8Zo</a>

Someone on Reddit had a lot of insider knowledge about the max headroom incident and he claimed he was 90% sure he knew who they were. Two brothers if I recall - let me try to find it.<p>Edit: Seems over the years he determined it was not them! Still an interesting read. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;old.reddit.com&#x2F;r&#x2F;IAmA&#x2F;comments&#x2F;eeb6e&#x2F;i_believe_i_know_who_was_behind_the_max_headroom&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;old.reddit.com&#x2F;r&#x2F;IAmA&#x2F;comments&#x2F;eeb6e&#x2F;i_believe_i_kno...</a>

Is there a statute of limitations for a crime like this?<p>I&#x27;d love to find out who did it, how they did it, and why they did it and have no interest in seeing anybody punished for something so harmless that happened a long time ago...<p>Same goes for other famous unsolved crimes like the D.B. Cooper case.

I give you one better: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Metcalf_sniper_attack" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Metcalf_sniper_attack</a>

Couple of comments:<p>- This is posted and discussed frequently<p>- This was a pretty impressive feat of engineering<p>- The most unusual thing is that this remained secret. Because there were a few people involved and three+ can&#x27;t keep a secret. They don&#x27;t even have a reason to anymore. I&#x27;ve often wondered whether this group of folks died shortly after this.

Classic Reddit post on a theory of who did it <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.reddit.com&#x2F;r&#x2F;IAmA&#x2F;comments&#x2F;eeb6e&#x2F;i_believe_i_know_who_was_behind_the_max_headroom&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.reddit.com&#x2F;r&#x2F;IAmA&#x2F;comments&#x2F;eeb6e&#x2F;i_believe_i_kno...</a><p>An update said it was disproven but still an interesting read

Of all the conspiracy theories out there, this one, to me, has the highest coverage-to-interestingness ratio. It just seems like a teen hacked an AV system and did a goofy presentation. I&#x27;m surprised that type of thing isn&#x27;t more common, and I&#x27;m befuddled as to why this one gets so much attention.

I&#x27;ve always wondered what the original character&#x27;s name was, and now I finally know: Max Headroom! I remember being very creeped out by it when I was a kid in the 90s. It&#x27;s one of those things that lots of other shows referenced but I never thought to go find the source.

As a number of TV&#x27;s have an OTA update facility using terrestrial broadcasts, its possible to not only use this as an attack vector into people&#x27;s home &amp; office networks using HDMI, but you could also pull off a local max headroom stunt on individuals if you were so motivated and had suitable SDR equipment.

I only see one version of this video on youtube, the first incident. I swear years ago when this was posted here, there was a different version I saw with more stuff going on and the audio was much more clear than the first. Am I missing something or is there more than one Max Headroom signal hijack video out there?

<i>“I would like to inform anybody involved in this kinda thing, that there’s a maximum penalty of $100,000, one year in jail, or both,” Phil Bradford, an FCC spokesman, told a reporter the following day.</i><p>does anyone ever pay maximum penalty for these cases?

Funny coincidence, I just started watching Broadcast Signal Intrusion[1]<p>1. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.imdb.com&#x2F;title&#x2F;tt11151336&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.imdb.com&#x2F;title&#x2F;tt11151336&#x2F;</a>

If you know what to do you can certainly hijack many TV broadcasts even today, and thanks to destaffing and automation they won’t be noticed or blocked for a long time.

Why is it that Max Headroom, now 35 years old, has more realistic eyes than most video games today?<p>I&#x27;m looking at you, Madden 21.

Has anyone tried re-working the audio to cancel out whatever filters&#x2F;distortions they used?

34th yr anniversary of it yesterday

Notice: The latter portion of the video is NSFW.

obligatory podcast episode: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.omnibusproject.com&#x2F;216" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.omnibusproject.com&#x2F;216</a>

Hacking was different then. I attended a few 2600 meetings in the Citigroup Center building in NYC back in the late 80s&#x2F;early 90s, and HOPE in 1994. Sad to see they are pushing for the vaccine to attend without mention of natural immunity, or lack of long-term studies coupled with yet another $40 to $60bn of booster sales for big pharma. but hey, times change. Yesterday&#x27;s subversive group has been incorporated into the pablum purveyors. Kind of ironic for the group to tow the line without question. I had already done analog red boxing with a microcassette player&#x2F;recorder and a homemade pickup coil at payphones in the early&#x2F;mid 80s. I was working on video tape encryption and satellites where I could then too. No real internet, just BBSs. I loved ECHO founded by Stacy Horn in NYC after coming off of GEnie BBS. I miss those days! I liked the US TV show for what it&#x27;s worth. Very cool for the time and a bit subversive compared to the drivel on TV now.