So long VCR, DVD and even PVR.

A growing number of Saskatchewan residents are buying Android boxes. The $100 devices allow users to watch an almost unlimited selection of free TV and movies.

This week, though, a Montreal judge banned the sale of software that makes the boxes work.

The boxes are still for sale in multiple locations across Saskatoon or online. Users say it's easy to download the software yourself with a simple Internet search.

Robert Bratlien of Saskatoon said cable companies created this mess. He used to pay cable fees, but the same narrow selection of U.S. dramas, comedies and films led him to search for alternatives.

Robert Bratlien displays the Android box he uses to watch free TV and movies. (Jason Warick/CBC)

He'd even consider subscribing again "if the cable companies brought their prices down to Earth and didn't have so many overlapping programs on the different tiers.

"I mean, how many times can you watch all these old movies? How many times can you watch the same TV program on so many different channels. It's very frustrating."

Bratlien said more of his friends are buying the boxes every month.

Android boxes hurt local art, says producer

Not everyone is excited about the spread of free TV and film.

Wally Start, co-owner of Saskatoon's Angel Entertainment, said the spread of pirated TV and movies doesn't just hurt the big cable companies: it hurts local artists.

He cited his company's production of Rabbit Fall. That show is still producing royalties for the company through international distribution deals. If everyone is watching on an Android box, though, his company suffers. That means less investment in Saskatchewan's arts community.

Start said stronger laws are needed to stop people from stealing content.

"Whether it's a singer, writer, actor, director — what they create, there should be copyright on that and there should be returns on that, and it shouldn't be stolen," he said.