diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 77170b0..211d867 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+	xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
 
 	<parent>
 		<groupId>org.sonatype.oss</groupId>
@@ -72,8 +73,8 @@
 				<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
 				<version>2.0.2</version>
 				<configuration>
-					<source>1.6</source>
-					<target>1.6</target>
+					<source>1.5</source>
+					<target>1.5</target>
 				</configuration>
 			</plugin>
 			<plugin>
diff --git a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/BinaryClient.java b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/BinaryClient.java
index 4893cc6..86363ac 100644
--- a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/BinaryClient.java
+++ b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/BinaryClient.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import java.util.Map;
 
 import redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Command;
 import redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword;
+import redis.clients.util.SafeEncoder;
 
 public class BinaryClient extends Connection {
     public enum LIST_POSITION {
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ public class BinaryClient extends Connection {
         public final byte[] raw;
 
         private LIST_POSITION() {
-            raw = name().getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            raw = SafeEncoder.encode(name());
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/BinaryJedis.java b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/BinaryJedis.java
index 8f57a3d..d4a1120 100644
--- a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/BinaryJedis.java
+++ b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/BinaryJedis.java
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import java.util.Set;
 
 import redis.clients.jedis.BinaryClient.LIST_POSITION;
 import redis.clients.util.JedisByteHashMap;
+import redis.clients.util.SafeEncoder;
 
 public class BinaryJedis implements BinaryJedisCommands {
     protected Client client = null;
@@ -2317,8 +2318,8 @@ public class BinaryJedis implements BinaryJedisCommands {
         Set<Tuple> set = new LinkedHashSet<Tuple>();
         Iterator<byte[]> iterator = membersWithScores.iterator();
         while (iterator.hasNext()) {
-            set.add(new Tuple(iterator.next(), Double.valueOf(new String(
-                    iterator.next(), Protocol.UTF8))));
+            set.add(new Tuple(iterator.next(), Double.valueOf(SafeEncoder
+                    .encode(iterator.next()))));
         }
         return set;
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Client.java b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Client.java
index 9e66593..ccb8e98 100644
--- a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Client.java
+++ b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Client.java
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Map.Entry;
 
+import redis.clients.util.SafeEncoder;
+
 public class Client extends BinaryClient {
     public Client(final String host) {
         super(host);
@@ -14,82 +16,81 @@ public class Client extends BinaryClient {
     }
 
     public void set(final String key, final String value) {
-        set(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), value.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        set(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(value));
     }
 
     public void get(final String key) {
-        get(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        get(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void exists(final String key) {
-        exists(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        exists(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void del(final String... keys) {
         final byte[][] bkeys = new byte[keys.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < keys.length; i++) {
-            bkeys[i] = keys[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bkeys[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(keys[i]);
         }
         del(bkeys);
     }
 
     public void type(final String key) {
-        type(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        type(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void keys(final String pattern) {
-        keys(pattern.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        keys(SafeEncoder.encode(pattern));
     }
 
     public void rename(final String oldkey, final String newkey) {
-        rename(oldkey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), newkey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        rename(SafeEncoder.encode(oldkey), SafeEncoder.encode(newkey));
     }
 
     public void renamenx(final String oldkey, final String newkey) {
-        renamenx(oldkey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), newkey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        renamenx(SafeEncoder.encode(oldkey), SafeEncoder.encode(newkey));
     }
 
     public void expire(final String key, final int seconds) {
-        expire(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), seconds);
+        expire(SafeEncoder.encode(key), seconds);
     }
 
     public void expireAt(final String key, final long unixTime) {
-        expireAt(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), unixTime);
+        expireAt(SafeEncoder.encode(key), unixTime);
     }
 
     public void ttl(final String key) {
-        ttl(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        ttl(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void move(final String key, final int dbIndex) {
-        move(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), dbIndex);
+        move(SafeEncoder.encode(key), dbIndex);
     }
 
     public void getSet(final String key, final String value) {
-        getSet(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), value.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        getSet(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(value));
     }
 
     public void mget(final String... keys) {
         final byte[][] bkeys = new byte[keys.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < bkeys.length; i++) {
-            bkeys[i] = keys[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bkeys[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(keys[i]);
         }
         mget(bkeys);
     }
 
     public void setnx(final String key, final String value) {
-        setnx(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), value.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        setnx(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(value));
     }
 
     public void setex(final String key, final int seconds, final String value) {
-        setex(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), seconds, value
-                .getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        setex(SafeEncoder.encode(key), seconds, SafeEncoder.encode(value));
     }
 
     public void mset(final String... keysvalues) {
         final byte[][] bkeysvalues = new byte[keysvalues.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < keysvalues.length; i++) {
-            bkeysvalues[i] = keysvalues[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bkeysvalues[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(keysvalues[i]);
         }
         mset(bkeysvalues);
     }
@@ -97,175 +98,173 @@ public class Client extends BinaryClient {
     public void msetnx(final String... keysvalues) {
         final byte[][] bkeysvalues = new byte[keysvalues.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < keysvalues.length; i++) {
-            bkeysvalues[i] = keysvalues[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bkeysvalues[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(keysvalues[i]);
         }
         msetnx(bkeysvalues);
     }
 
     public void decrBy(final String key, final int integer) {
-        decrBy(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), integer);
+        decrBy(SafeEncoder.encode(key), integer);
     }
 
     public void decr(final String key) {
-        decr(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        decr(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void incrBy(final String key, final int integer) {
-        incrBy(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), integer);
+        incrBy(SafeEncoder.encode(key), integer);
     }
 
     public void incr(final String key) {
-        incr(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        incr(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void append(final String key, final String value) {
-        append(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), value.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        append(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(value));
     }
 
     public void substr(final String key, final int start, final int end) {
-        substr(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), start, end);
+        substr(SafeEncoder.encode(key), start, end);
     }
 
     public void hset(final String key, final String field, final String value) {
-        hset(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), field.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), value
-                .getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        hset(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(field), SafeEncoder
+                .encode(value));
     }
 
     public void hget(final String key, final String field) {
-        hget(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), field.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        hget(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(field));
     }
 
     public void hsetnx(final String key, final String field, final String value) {
-        hsetnx(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), field.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8),
-                value.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        hsetnx(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(field), SafeEncoder
+                .encode(value));
     }
 
     public void hmset(final String key, final Map<String, String> hash) {
         final Map<byte[], byte[]> bhash = new HashMap<byte[], byte[]>(hash
                 .size());
         for (final Entry<String, String> entry : hash.entrySet()) {
-            bhash.put(entry.getKey().getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), entry.getValue()
-                    .getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+            bhash.put(SafeEncoder.encode(entry.getKey()), SafeEncoder
+                    .encode(entry.getValue()));
         }
-        hmset(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), bhash);
+        hmset(SafeEncoder.encode(key), bhash);
     }
 
     public void hmget(final String key, final String... fields) {
         final byte[][] bfields = new byte[fields.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < bfields.length; i++) {
-            bfields[i] = fields[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bfields[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(fields[i]);
         }
-        hmget(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), bfields);
+        hmget(SafeEncoder.encode(key), bfields);
     }
 
     public void hincrBy(final String key, final String field, final int value) {
-        hincrBy(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), field.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8),
-                value);
+        hincrBy(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(field), value);
     }
 
     public void hexists(final String key, final String field) {
-        hexists(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), field.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        hexists(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(field));
     }
 
     public void hdel(final String key, final String field) {
-        hdel(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), field.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        hdel(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(field));
     }
 
     public void hlen(final String key) {
-        hlen(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        hlen(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void hkeys(final String key) {
-        hkeys(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        hkeys(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void hvals(final String key) {
-        hvals(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        hvals(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void hgetAll(final String key) {
-        hgetAll(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        hgetAll(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void rpush(final String key, final String string) {
-        rpush(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), string.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        rpush(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(string));
     }
 
     public void lpush(final String key, final String string) {
-        lpush(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), string.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        lpush(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(string));
     }
 
     public void llen(final String key) {
-        llen(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        llen(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void lrange(final String key, final int start, final int end) {
-        lrange(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), start, end);
+        lrange(SafeEncoder.encode(key), start, end);
     }
 
     public void ltrim(final String key, final int start, final int end) {
-        ltrim(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), start, end);
+        ltrim(SafeEncoder.encode(key), start, end);
     }
 
     public void lindex(final String key, final int index) {
-        lindex(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), index);
+        lindex(SafeEncoder.encode(key), index);
     }
 
     public void lset(final String key, final int index, final String value) {
-        lset(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), index, value.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        lset(SafeEncoder.encode(key), index, SafeEncoder.encode(value));
     }
 
     public void lrem(final String key, int count, final String value) {
-        lrem(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), count, value.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        lrem(SafeEncoder.encode(key), count, SafeEncoder.encode(value));
     }
 
     public void lpop(final String key) {
-        lpop(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        lpop(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void rpop(final String key) {
-        rpop(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        rpop(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void rpoplpush(final String srckey, final String dstkey) {
-        rpoplpush(srckey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), dstkey
-                .getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        rpoplpush(SafeEncoder.encode(srckey), SafeEncoder.encode(dstkey));
     }
 
     public void sadd(final String key, final String member) {
-        sadd(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), member.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        sadd(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(member));
     }
 
     public void smembers(final String key) {
-        smembers(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        smembers(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void srem(final String key, final String member) {
-        srem(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), member.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        srem(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(member));
     }
 
     public void spop(final String key) {
-        spop(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        spop(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void smove(final String srckey, final String dstkey,
             final String member) {
-        smove(srckey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), dstkey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8),
-                member.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        smove(SafeEncoder.encode(srckey), SafeEncoder.encode(dstkey),
+                SafeEncoder.encode(member));
     }
 
     public void scard(final String key) {
-        scard(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        scard(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void sismember(final String key, final String member) {
-        sismember(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), member.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        sismember(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(member));
     }
 
     public void sinter(final String... keys) {
         final byte[][] bkeys = new byte[keys.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < bkeys.length; i++) {
-            bkeys[i] = keys[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bkeys[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(keys[i]);
         }
         sinter(bkeys);
     }
@@ -273,15 +272,15 @@ public class Client extends BinaryClient {
     public void sinterstore(final String dstkey, final String... keys) {
         final byte[][] bkeys = new byte[keys.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < bkeys.length; i++) {
-            bkeys[i] = keys[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bkeys[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(keys[i]);
         }
-        sinterstore(dstkey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), bkeys);
+        sinterstore(SafeEncoder.encode(dstkey), bkeys);
     }
 
     public void sunion(final String... keys) {
         final byte[][] bkeys = new byte[keys.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < bkeys.length; i++) {
-            bkeys[i] = keys[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bkeys[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(keys[i]);
         }
         sunion(bkeys);
     }
@@ -289,15 +288,15 @@ public class Client extends BinaryClient {
     public void sunionstore(final String dstkey, final String... keys) {
         final byte[][] bkeys = new byte[keys.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < bkeys.length; i++) {
-            bkeys[i] = keys[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bkeys[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(keys[i]);
         }
-        sunionstore(dstkey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), bkeys);
+        sunionstore(SafeEncoder.encode(dstkey), bkeys);
     }
 
     public void sdiff(final String... keys) {
         final byte[][] bkeys = new byte[keys.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < bkeys.length; i++) {
-            bkeys[i] = keys[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bkeys[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(keys[i]);
         }
         sdiff(bkeys);
     }
@@ -305,198 +304,197 @@ public class Client extends BinaryClient {
     public void sdiffstore(final String dstkey, final String... keys) {
         final byte[][] bkeys = new byte[keys.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < bkeys.length; i++) {
-            bkeys[i] = keys[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bkeys[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(keys[i]);
         }
-        sdiffstore(dstkey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), bkeys);
+        sdiffstore(SafeEncoder.encode(dstkey), bkeys);
     }
 
     public void srandmember(final String key) {
-        srandmember(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        srandmember(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void zadd(final String key, final double score, final String member) {
-        zadd(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), score, member.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        zadd(SafeEncoder.encode(key), score, SafeEncoder.encode(member));
     }
 
     public void zrange(final String key, final int start, final int end) {
-        zrange(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), start, end);
+        zrange(SafeEncoder.encode(key), start, end);
     }
 
     public void zrem(final String key, final String member) {
-        zrem(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), member.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        zrem(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(member));
     }
 
     public void zincrby(final String key, final double score,
             final String member) {
-        zincrby(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), score, member
-                .getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        zincrby(SafeEncoder.encode(key), score, SafeEncoder.encode(member));
     }
 
     public void zrank(final String key, final String member) {
-        zrank(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), member.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        zrank(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(member));
     }
 
     public void zrevrank(final String key, final String member) {
-        zrevrank(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), member.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        zrevrank(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(member));
     }
 
     public void zrevrange(final String key, final int start, final int end) {
-        zrevrange(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), start, end);
+        zrevrange(SafeEncoder.encode(key), start, end);
     }
 
     public void zrangeWithScores(final String key, final int start,
             final int end) {
-        zrangeWithScores(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), start, end);
+        zrangeWithScores(SafeEncoder.encode(key), start, end);
     }
 
     public void zrevrangeWithScores(final String key, final int start,
             final int end) {
-        zrevrangeWithScores(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), start, end);
+        zrevrangeWithScores(SafeEncoder.encode(key), start, end);
     }
 
     public void zcard(final String key) {
-        zcard(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        zcard(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void zscore(final String key, final String member) {
-        zscore(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), member.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        zscore(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(member));
     }
 
     public void watch(final String key) {
-        watch(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        watch(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void sort(final String key) {
-        sort(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        sort(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void sort(final String key, final SortingParams sortingParameters) {
-        sort(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), sortingParameters);
+        sort(SafeEncoder.encode(key), sortingParameters);
     }
 
     public void blpop(final String[] args) {
         final byte[][] bargs = new byte[args.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < bargs.length; i++) {
-            bargs[i] = args[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bargs[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(args[i]);
         }
         blpop(bargs);
     }
 
     public void sort(final String key, final SortingParams sortingParameters,
             final String dstkey) {
-        sort(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), sortingParameters, dstkey
-                .getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        sort(SafeEncoder.encode(key), sortingParameters, SafeEncoder
+                .encode(dstkey));
     }
 
     public void sort(final String key, final String dstkey) {
-        sort(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), dstkey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        sort(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(dstkey));
     }
 
     public void brpop(final String[] args) {
         final byte[][] bargs = new byte[args.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < bargs.length; i++) {
-            bargs[i] = args[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bargs[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(args[i]);
         }
         brpop(bargs);
     }
 
     public void zcount(final String key, final double min, final double max) {
-        zcount(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), min, max);
+        zcount(SafeEncoder.encode(key), min, max);
     }
 
     public void zrangeByScore(final String key, final double min,
             final double max) {
-        zrangeByScore(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), min, max);
+        zrangeByScore(SafeEncoder.encode(key), min, max);
     }
 
     public void zrangeByScore(final String key, final String min,
             final String max) {
-        zrangeByScore(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), min.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8),
-                max.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        zrangeByScore(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(min),
+                SafeEncoder.encode(max));
     }
 
     public void zrangeByScore(final String key, final double min,
             final double max, final int offset, int count) {
-        zrangeByScore(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), min, max, offset, count);
+        zrangeByScore(SafeEncoder.encode(key), min, max, offset, count);
     }
 
     public void zrangeByScoreWithScores(final String key, final double min,
             final double max) {
-        zrangeByScoreWithScores(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), min, max);
+        zrangeByScoreWithScores(SafeEncoder.encode(key), min, max);
     }
 
     public void zrangeByScoreWithScores(final String key, final double min,
             final double max, final int offset, final int count) {
-        zrangeByScoreWithScores(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), min, max, offset,
+        zrangeByScoreWithScores(SafeEncoder.encode(key), min, max, offset,
                 count);
     }
 
     public void zremrangeByRank(final String key, final int start, final int end) {
-        zremrangeByRank(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), start, end);
+        zremrangeByRank(SafeEncoder.encode(key), start, end);
     }
 
     public void zremrangeByScore(final String key, final double start,
             final double end) {
-        zremrangeByScore(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), start, end);
+        zremrangeByScore(SafeEncoder.encode(key), start, end);
     }
 
     public void zunionstore(final String dstkey, final String... sets) {
         final byte[][] bsets = new byte[sets.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < bsets.length; i++) {
-            bsets[i] = sets[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bsets[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(sets[i]);
         }
-        zunionstore(dstkey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), bsets);
+        zunionstore(SafeEncoder.encode(dstkey), bsets);
     }
 
     public void zunionstore(final String dstkey, final ZParams params,
             final String... sets) {
         final byte[][] bsets = new byte[sets.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < bsets.length; i++) {
-            bsets[i] = sets[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bsets[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(sets[i]);
         }
-        zunionstore(dstkey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), params, bsets);
+        zunionstore(SafeEncoder.encode(dstkey), params, bsets);
     }
 
     public void zinterstore(final String dstkey, final String... sets) {
         final byte[][] bsets = new byte[sets.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < bsets.length; i++) {
-            bsets[i] = sets[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bsets[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(sets[i]);
         }
-        zinterstore(dstkey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), bsets);
+        zinterstore(SafeEncoder.encode(dstkey), bsets);
     }
 
     public void zinterstore(final String dstkey, final ZParams params,
             final String... sets) {
         final byte[][] bsets = new byte[sets.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < bsets.length; i++) {
-            bsets[i] = sets[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bsets[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(sets[i]);
         }
-        zinterstore(dstkey.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), params, bsets);
+        zinterstore(SafeEncoder.encode(dstkey), params, bsets);
     }
 
     public void strlen(final String key) {
-        strlen(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        strlen(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void lpushx(final String key, final String string) {
-        lpushx(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), string.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        lpushx(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(string));
     }
 
     public void persist(final String key) {
-        persist(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        persist(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 
     public void rpushx(final String key, final String string) {
-        rpushx(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), string.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        rpushx(SafeEncoder.encode(key), SafeEncoder.encode(string));
     }
 
     public void echo(final String string) {
-        echo(string.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        echo(SafeEncoder.encode(string));
     }
 
     public void linsert(final String key, final LIST_POSITION where,
             final String pivot, final String value) {
-        linsert(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), where, pivot
-                .getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), value.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        linsert(SafeEncoder.encode(key), where, SafeEncoder.encode(pivot),
+                SafeEncoder.encode(value));
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Connection.java b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Connection.java
index 486ddcf..f3728af 100644
--- a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Connection.java
+++ b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Connection.java
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import java.util.List;
 import redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Command;
 import redis.clients.util.RedisInputStream;
 import redis.clients.util.RedisOutputStream;
+import redis.clients.util.SafeEncoder;
 
 public class Connection {
     private String host;
@@ -53,7 +54,7 @@ public class Connection {
     protected Connection sendCommand(final Command cmd, final String... args) {
         final byte[][] bargs = new byte[args.length][];
         for (int i = 0; i < args.length; i++) {
-            bargs[i] = args[i].getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+            bargs[i] = SafeEncoder.encode(args[i]);
         }
         return sendCommand(cmd, bargs);
     }
@@ -144,14 +145,14 @@ public class Connection {
         if (null == resp) {
             return null;
         } else {
-            return new String(resp, Protocol.UTF8);
+            return SafeEncoder.encode(resp);
         }
     }
 
     public String getBulkReply() {
         final byte[] result = getBinaryBulkReply();
         if (null != result) {
-            return new String(result, Protocol.UTF8);
+            return SafeEncoder.encode(result);
         } else {
             return null;
         }
@@ -177,7 +178,7 @@ public class Connection {
             if (barray == null) {
                 result.add(null);
             } else {
-                result.add(new String(barray, Protocol.UTF8));
+                result.add(SafeEncoder.encode(barray));
             }
         }
         return result;
diff --git a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/JedisPubSub.java b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/JedisPubSub.java
index e0c5dec..6ff0779 100644
--- a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/JedisPubSub.java
+++ b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/JedisPubSub.java
@@ -1,9 +1,16 @@
 package redis.clients.jedis;
 
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.MESSAGE;
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.PMESSAGE;
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.PSUBSCRIBE;
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.PUNSUBSCRIBE;
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.SUBSCRIBE;
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.UNSUBSCRIBE;
+
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.List;
 
-import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.*;
+import redis.clients.util.SafeEncoder;
 
 public abstract class JedisPubSub {
     private int subscribedChannels = 0;
@@ -67,76 +74,54 @@ public abstract class JedisPubSub {
             List<Object> reply = client.getObjectMultiBulkReply();
             final Object firstObj = reply.get(0);
             if (!(firstObj instanceof byte[])) {
-            	throw
-            		new JedisException("Unknown message type: "+ firstObj);
+                throw new JedisException("Unknown message type: " + firstObj);
             }
             final byte[] resp = (byte[]) firstObj;
-            if(Arrays.equals(SUBSCRIBE.raw, resp)) {
+            if (Arrays.equals(SUBSCRIBE.raw, resp)) {
                 subscribedChannels = ((Integer) reply.get(2)).intValue();
                 final byte[] bchannel = (byte[]) reply.get(1);
-                final String strchannel =
-                	(bchannel == null) ?
-                			null :
-                			new String(bchannel, Protocol.UTF8);
-               	onSubscribe(strchannel, subscribedChannels);
+                final String strchannel = (bchannel == null) ? null
+                        : SafeEncoder.encode(bchannel);
+                onSubscribe(strchannel, subscribedChannels);
             } else if (Arrays.equals(UNSUBSCRIBE.raw, resp)) {
                 subscribedChannels = ((Integer) reply.get(2)).intValue();
                 final byte[] bchannel = (byte[]) reply.get(1);
-                final String strchannel =
-                	(bchannel == null) ?
-                		null : 
-                		new String(bchannel, Protocol.UTF8);
-               	onUnsubscribe(strchannel, subscribedChannels);
+                final String strchannel = (bchannel == null) ? null
+                        : SafeEncoder.encode(bchannel);
+                onUnsubscribe(strchannel, subscribedChannels);
             } else if (Arrays.equals(MESSAGE.raw, resp)) {
                 final byte[] bchannel = (byte[]) reply.get(1);
                 final byte[] bmesg = (byte[]) reply.get(2);
-                final String strchannel =
-                	(bchannel == null) ?
-                		null :
-                		new String(bchannel, Protocol.UTF8);
-                final String strmesg =
-                	(bmesg == null) ?
-                		null :
-                		new String(bmesg, Protocol.UTF8);
+                final String strchannel = (bchannel == null) ? null
+                        : SafeEncoder.encode(bchannel);
+                final String strmesg = (bmesg == null) ? null : SafeEncoder
+                        .encode(bmesg);
                 onMessage(strchannel, strmesg);
             } else if (Arrays.equals(PMESSAGE.raw, resp)) {
-            	final byte[] bpattern = (byte[]) reply.get(1);
+                final byte[] bpattern = (byte[]) reply.get(1);
                 final byte[] bchannel = (byte[]) reply.get(2);
                 final byte[] bmesg = (byte[]) reply.get(3);
-                final String strpattern =
-                	(bpattern == null) ?
-                		null :
-                		new String(bpattern, Protocol.UTF8);
-                final String strchannel =
-                	(bchannel == null) ?
-                		null :
-                		new String(bchannel, Protocol.UTF8);
-                final String strmesg =
-                	(bmesg == null) ?
-                		null :
-                		new String(bmesg, Protocol.UTF8);
-                onPMessage(
-                		strpattern,
-                		strchannel,
-                		strmesg);
+                final String strpattern = (bpattern == null) ? null
+                        : SafeEncoder.encode(bpattern);
+                final String strchannel = (bchannel == null) ? null
+                        : SafeEncoder.encode(bchannel);
+                final String strmesg = (bmesg == null) ? null : SafeEncoder
+                        .encode(bmesg);
+                onPMessage(strpattern, strchannel, strmesg);
             } else if (Arrays.equals(PSUBSCRIBE.raw, resp)) {
                 subscribedChannels = ((Integer) reply.get(2)).intValue();
-            	final byte[] bpattern = (byte[]) reply.get(1);
-                final String strpattern =
-                	(bpattern == null) ?
-                		null :
-                		new String(bpattern, Protocol.UTF8);
+                final byte[] bpattern = (byte[]) reply.get(1);
+                final String strpattern = (bpattern == null) ? null
+                        : SafeEncoder.encode(bpattern);
                 onPSubscribe(strpattern, subscribedChannels);
             } else if (Arrays.equals(PUNSUBSCRIBE.raw, resp)) {
                 subscribedChannels = ((Integer) reply.get(2)).intValue();
-            	final byte[] bpattern = (byte[]) reply.get(1);
-                final String strpattern =
-                	(bpattern == null) ?
-                		null :
-                		new String(bpattern, Protocol.UTF8);
+                final byte[] bpattern = (byte[]) reply.get(1);
+                final String strpattern = (bpattern == null) ? null
+                        : SafeEncoder.encode(bpattern);
                 onPUnsubscribe(strpattern, subscribedChannels);
             } else {
-                throw new JedisException("Unknown message type: "+ firstObj);
+                throw new JedisException("Unknown message type: " + firstObj);
             }
         } while (isSubscribed());
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Protocol.java b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Protocol.java
index 7c55fc2..7ec6f20 100644
--- a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Protocol.java
+++ b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Protocol.java
@@ -1,19 +1,19 @@
 package redis.clients.jedis;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
-import java.nio.charset.Charset;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import redis.clients.util.RedisInputStream;
 import redis.clients.util.RedisOutputStream;
+import redis.clients.util.SafeEncoder;
 
 public final class Protocol {
 
     public static final int DEFAULT_PORT = 6379;
     public static final int DEFAULT_TIMEOUT = 2000;
 
-    public static final Charset UTF8 = Charset.forName("UTF-8");
+    public static final String CHARSET = "UTF-8";
 
     public static final byte DOLLAR_BYTE = '$';
     public static final byte ASTERISK_BYTE = '*';
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ public final class Protocol {
     }
 
     private byte[] processStatusCodeReply(final RedisInputStream is) {
-        return is.readLine().getBytes(UTF8);
+        return SafeEncoder.encode(is.readLine());
     }
 
     private byte[] processBulkReply(final RedisInputStream is) {
@@ -122,15 +122,15 @@ public final class Protocol {
     }
 
     public static final byte[] toByteArray(final int value) {
-        return String.valueOf(value).getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+        return SafeEncoder.encode(String.valueOf(value));
     }
 
     public static final byte[] toByteArray(final long value) {
-        return String.valueOf(value).getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+        return SafeEncoder.encode(String.valueOf(value));
     }
 
     public static final byte[] toByteArray(final double value) {
-        return String.valueOf(value).getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
+        return SafeEncoder.encode(String.valueOf(value));
     }
 
     public static enum Command {
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ public final class Protocol {
         public final byte[] raw;
 
         Command() {
-            raw = this.name().getBytes(UTF8);
+            raw = SafeEncoder.encode(this.name());
         }
     }
 
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ public final class Protocol {
         public final byte[] raw;
 
         Keyword() {
-            raw = this.name().toLowerCase().getBytes(UTF8);
+            raw = SafeEncoder.encode(this.name().toLowerCase());
         }
 
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/SortingParams.java b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/SortingParams.java
index 2129025..cfdf03b 100644
--- a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/SortingParams.java
+++ b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/SortingParams.java
@@ -1,10 +1,20 @@
 package redis.clients.jedis;
 
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.ALPHA;
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.ASC;
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.BY;
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.DESC;
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.GET;
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.LIMIT;
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.NOSORT;
+
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.List;
-import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.*;
+
+import redis.clients.util.SafeEncoder;
+
 /**
  * Builder Class for {@link Jedis#sort(String, SortingParams) SORT} Parameters.
  * 
@@ -26,7 +36,7 @@ public class SortingParams {
      * @return the SortingParams Object
      */
     public SortingParams by(final String pattern) {
-	return by(pattern.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        return by(SafeEncoder.encode(pattern));
     }
 
     /**
@@ -43,9 +53,9 @@ public class SortingParams {
      * @return the SortingParams Object
      */
     public SortingParams by(final byte[] pattern) {
-	params.add(BY.raw);
-	params.add(pattern);
-	return this;
+        params.add(BY.raw);
+        params.add(pattern);
+        return this;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -57,13 +67,13 @@ public class SortingParams {
      * @return the SortingParams Object
      */
     public SortingParams nosort() {
-    	params.add(BY.raw);
-    	params.add(NOSORT.raw);
-	return this;
+        params.add(BY.raw);
+        params.add(NOSORT.raw);
+        return this;
     }
 
     public Collection<byte[]> getParams() {
-	return Collections.unmodifiableCollection(params);
+        return Collections.unmodifiableCollection(params);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -72,8 +82,8 @@ public class SortingParams {
      * @return the sortingParams Object
      */
     public SortingParams desc() {
-	params.add(DESC.raw);
-	return this;
+        params.add(DESC.raw);
+        return this;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -82,8 +92,8 @@ public class SortingParams {
      * @return the SortingParams Object
      */
     public SortingParams asc() {
-	params.add(ASC.raw);
-	return this;
+        params.add(ASC.raw);
+        return this;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -95,10 +105,10 @@ public class SortingParams {
      * @return the SortingParams Object
      */
     public SortingParams limit(final int start, final int count) {
-	params.add(LIMIT.raw);
-	params.add(Protocol.toByteArray(start));
-	params.add(Protocol.toByteArray(count));
-	return this;
+        params.add(LIMIT.raw);
+        params.add(Protocol.toByteArray(start));
+        params.add(Protocol.toByteArray(count));
+        return this;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -108,8 +118,8 @@ public class SortingParams {
      * @return the SortingParams Object
      */
     public SortingParams alpha() {
-	params.add(ALPHA.raw);
-	return this;
+        params.add(ALPHA.raw);
+        return this;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -128,11 +138,11 @@ public class SortingParams {
      * @return the SortingParams Object
      */
     public SortingParams get(String... patterns) {
-	for (final String pattern : patterns) {
-	    params.add(GET.raw);
-	    params.add(pattern.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
-	}
-	return this;
+        for (final String pattern : patterns) {
+            params.add(GET.raw);
+            params.add(SafeEncoder.encode(pattern));
+        }
+        return this;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -151,10 +161,10 @@ public class SortingParams {
      * @return the SortingParams Object
      */
     public SortingParams get(byte[]... patterns) {
-	for (final byte[] pattern : patterns) {
-	    params.add(GET.raw);
-	    params.add(pattern);
-	}
-	return this;
+        for (final byte[] pattern : patterns) {
+            params.add(GET.raw);
+            params.add(pattern);
+        }
+        return this;
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Tuple.java b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Tuple.java
index 425748d..6df12d2 100644
--- a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Tuple.java
+++ b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/Tuple.java
@@ -2,75 +2,77 @@ package redis.clients.jedis;
 
 import java.util.Arrays;
 
+import redis.clients.util.SafeEncoder;
+
 public class Tuple {
     private byte[] element;
     private Double score;
 
     @Override
     public int hashCode() {
-	final int prime = 31;
-	int result = 1;
-	result = prime * result;
-	if (null != element) {
-		for(final byte b : element) {
-			result = prime * result + b;
-		}
-	}
-	long temp;
-	temp = Double.doubleToLongBits(score);
-	result = prime * result + (int) (temp ^ (temp >>> 32));
-	return result;
+        final int prime = 31;
+        int result = 1;
+        result = prime * result;
+        if (null != element) {
+            for (final byte b : element) {
+                result = prime * result + b;
+            }
+        }
+        long temp;
+        temp = Double.doubleToLongBits(score);
+        result = prime * result + (int) (temp ^ (temp >>> 32));
+        return result;
     }
 
     @Override
     public boolean equals(Object obj) {
-	if (this == obj)
-	    return true;
-	if (obj == null)
-	    return false;
-	if (getClass() != obj.getClass())
-	    return false;
-	Tuple other = (Tuple) obj;
-	if (element == null) {
-	    if (other.element != null)
-		return false;
-	} else if (!Arrays.equals(element, other.element))
-	    return false;
-	if (Double.doubleToLongBits(score) != Double
-		.doubleToLongBits(other.score))
-	    return false;
-	return true;
+        if (this == obj)
+            return true;
+        if (obj == null)
+            return false;
+        if (getClass() != obj.getClass())
+            return false;
+        Tuple other = (Tuple) obj;
+        if (element == null) {
+            if (other.element != null)
+                return false;
+        } else if (!Arrays.equals(element, other.element))
+            return false;
+        if (Double.doubleToLongBits(score) != Double
+                .doubleToLongBits(other.score))
+            return false;
+        return true;
     }
 
     public Tuple(String element, Double score) {
-	super();
-	this.element = element.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
-	this.score = score;
+        super();
+        this.element = SafeEncoder.encode(element);
+        this.score = score;
     }
 
     public Tuple(byte[] element, Double score) {
-    	super();
-    	this.element = element;
-    	this.score = score;
-        }
+        super();
+        this.element = element;
+        this.score = score;
+    }
 
     public String getElement() {
-    	if(null != element) {
-    		return new String(element, Protocol.UTF8);
-    	} else {
-    		return null;
-    	}
+        if (null != element) {
+            return SafeEncoder.encode(element);
+        } else {
+            return null;
+        }
     }
 
     public byte[] getBinaryElement() {
-   		return element;
+        return element;
     }
 
     public double getScore() {
-	return score;
+        return score;
     }
-    
+
     public String toString() {
-    	return '['+Arrays.toString(element)+','+score+']';
+        return '[' + Arrays.toString(element) + ',' + score + ']';
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/ZParams.java b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/ZParams.java
index a260397..daa6f8e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/ZParams.java
+++ b/src/main/java/redis/clients/jedis/ZParams.java
@@ -1,40 +1,44 @@
 package redis.clients.jedis;
 
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.AGGREGATE;
+import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.WEIGHTS;
+
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.List;
 
-import static redis.clients.jedis.Protocol.Keyword.*;
+import redis.clients.util.SafeEncoder;
 
 public class ZParams {
     public enum Aggregate {
-    	SUM, MIN, MAX;
-	
-		public final byte[] raw;
-		Aggregate() {
-			raw = name().getBytes(Protocol.UTF8);
-		}
+        SUM, MIN, MAX;
+
+        public final byte[] raw;
+
+        Aggregate() {
+            raw = SafeEncoder.encode(name());
+        }
     }
 
     private List<byte[]> params = new ArrayList<byte[]>();
 
     public ZParams weights(final int... weights) {
-	params.add(WEIGHTS.raw);
-	for (final int weight : weights) {
-	    params.add(Protocol.toByteArray(weight));
-	}
+        params.add(WEIGHTS.raw);
+        for (final int weight : weights) {
+            params.add(Protocol.toByteArray(weight));
+        }
 
-	return this;
+        return this;
     }
 
     public Collection<byte[]> getParams() {
-    	return Collections.unmodifiableCollection(params);
+        return Collections.unmodifiableCollection(params);
     }
 
     public ZParams aggregate(final Aggregate aggregate) {
-	params.add(AGGREGATE.raw);
-	params.add(aggregate.raw);
-	return this;
+        params.add(AGGREGATE.raw);
+        params.add(aggregate.raw);
+        return this;
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/Hashing.java b/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/Hashing.java
index 5eaa023..3323347 100644
--- a/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/Hashing.java
+++ b/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/Hashing.java
@@ -3,38 +3,37 @@ package redis.clients.util;
 import java.security.MessageDigest;
 import java.security.NoSuchAlgorithmException;
 
-import redis.clients.jedis.Protocol;
-
 public interface Hashing {
     public static final Hashing MURMUR_HASH = new MurmurHash();
 
     public static final Hashing MD5 = new Hashing() {
-	private MessageDigest md5 = null; // avoid recurring construction
-	
-	public long hash(String key) {
-		return hash(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
-	}
+        private MessageDigest md5 = null; // avoid recurring construction
 
-	public long hash(byte[] key) {
-	    if (md5 == null) {
-		try {
-		    md5 = MessageDigest.getInstance("MD5");
-		} catch (NoSuchAlgorithmException e) {
-		    throw new IllegalStateException(
-			    "++++ no md5 algorythm found");
-		}
-	    }
+        public long hash(String key) {
+            return hash(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
+        }
 
-	    md5.reset();
-	    md5.update(key);
-	    byte[] bKey = md5.digest();
-	    long res = ((long) (bKey[3] & 0xFF) << 24)
-		    | ((long) (bKey[2] & 0xFF) << 16)
-		    | ((long) (bKey[1] & 0xFF) << 8) | (long) (bKey[0] & 0xFF);
-	    return res;
-	}
+        public long hash(byte[] key) {
+            if (md5 == null) {
+                try {
+                    md5 = MessageDigest.getInstance("MD5");
+                } catch (NoSuchAlgorithmException e) {
+                    throw new IllegalStateException(
+                            "++++ no md5 algorythm found");
+                }
+            }
+
+            md5.reset();
+            md5.update(key);
+            byte[] bKey = md5.digest();
+            long res = ((long) (bKey[3] & 0xFF) << 24)
+                    | ((long) (bKey[2] & 0xFF) << 16)
+                    | ((long) (bKey[1] & 0xFF) << 8) | (long) (bKey[0] & 0xFF);
+            return res;
+        }
     };
 
     public long hash(String key);
+
     public long hash(byte[] key);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/MurmurHash.java b/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/MurmurHash.java
index 934f7cd..e9327da 100644
--- a/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/MurmurHash.java
+++ b/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/MurmurHash.java
@@ -20,8 +20,6 @@ package redis.clients.util;
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 import java.nio.ByteOrder;
 
-import redis.clients.jedis.Protocol;
-
 /**
  * This is a very fast, non-cryptographic hash suitable for general hash-based
  * lookup. See http://murmurhash.googlepages.com/ for more details.
@@ -42,7 +40,7 @@ public class MurmurHash implements Hashing {
      * @return The 32 bit hash of the bytes in question.
      */
     public static int hash(byte[] data, int seed) {
-	return hash(ByteBuffer.wrap(data), seed);
+        return hash(ByteBuffer.wrap(data), seed);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -59,7 +57,7 @@ public class MurmurHash implements Hashing {
      * @return The 32-bit hash of the data in question.
      */
     public static int hash(byte[] data, int offset, int length, int seed) {
-	return hash(ByteBuffer.wrap(data, offset, length), seed);
+        return hash(ByteBuffer.wrap(data, offset, length), seed);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -72,97 +70,97 @@ public class MurmurHash implements Hashing {
      * @return The 32 bit murmur hash of the bytes in the buffer.
      */
     public static int hash(ByteBuffer buf, int seed) {
-	// save byte order for later restoration
-	ByteOrder byteOrder = buf.order();
-	buf.order(ByteOrder.LITTLE_ENDIAN);
+        // save byte order for later restoration
+        ByteOrder byteOrder = buf.order();
+        buf.order(ByteOrder.LITTLE_ENDIAN);
 
-	int m = 0x5bd1e995;
-	int r = 24;
+        int m = 0x5bd1e995;
+        int r = 24;
 
-	int h = seed ^ buf.remaining();
+        int h = seed ^ buf.remaining();
 
-	int k;
-	while (buf.remaining() >= 4) {
-	    k = buf.getInt();
+        int k;
+        while (buf.remaining() >= 4) {
+            k = buf.getInt();
 
-	    k *= m;
-	    k ^= k >>> r;
-	    k *= m;
+            k *= m;
+            k ^= k >>> r;
+            k *= m;
 
-	    h *= m;
-	    h ^= k;
-	}
+            h *= m;
+            h ^= k;
+        }
 
-	if (buf.remaining() > 0) {
-	    ByteBuffer finish = ByteBuffer.allocate(4).order(
-		    ByteOrder.LITTLE_ENDIAN);
-	    // for big-endian version, use this first:
-	    // finish.position(4-buf.remaining());
-	    finish.put(buf).rewind();
-	    h ^= finish.getInt();
-	    h *= m;
-	}
+        if (buf.remaining() > 0) {
+            ByteBuffer finish = ByteBuffer.allocate(4).order(
+                    ByteOrder.LITTLE_ENDIAN);
+            // for big-endian version, use this first:
+            // finish.position(4-buf.remaining());
+            finish.put(buf).rewind();
+            h ^= finish.getInt();
+            h *= m;
+        }
 
-	h ^= h >>> 13;
-	h *= m;
-	h ^= h >>> 15;
+        h ^= h >>> 13;
+        h *= m;
+        h ^= h >>> 15;
 
-	buf.order(byteOrder);
-	return h;
+        buf.order(byteOrder);
+        return h;
     }
 
     public static long hash64A(byte[] data, int seed) {
-	return hash64A(ByteBuffer.wrap(data), seed);
+        return hash64A(ByteBuffer.wrap(data), seed);
     }
 
     public static long hash64A(byte[] data, int offset, int length, int seed) {
-	return hash64A(ByteBuffer.wrap(data, offset, length), seed);
+        return hash64A(ByteBuffer.wrap(data, offset, length), seed);
     }
 
     public static long hash64A(ByteBuffer buf, int seed) {
-	ByteOrder byteOrder = buf.order();
-	buf.order(ByteOrder.LITTLE_ENDIAN);
+        ByteOrder byteOrder = buf.order();
+        buf.order(ByteOrder.LITTLE_ENDIAN);
 
-	long m = 0xc6a4a7935bd1e995L;
-	int r = 47;
+        long m = 0xc6a4a7935bd1e995L;
+        int r = 47;
 
-	long h = seed ^ (buf.remaining() * m);
+        long h = seed ^ (buf.remaining() * m);
 
-	long k;
-	while (buf.remaining() >= 8) {
-	    k = buf.getLong();
+        long k;
+        while (buf.remaining() >= 8) {
+            k = buf.getLong();
 
-	    k *= m;
-	    k ^= k >>> r;
-	    k *= m;
+            k *= m;
+            k ^= k >>> r;
+            k *= m;
 
-	    h ^= k;
-	    h *= m;
-	}
+            h ^= k;
+            h *= m;
+        }
 
-	if (buf.remaining() > 0) {
-	    ByteBuffer finish = ByteBuffer.allocate(8).order(
-		    ByteOrder.LITTLE_ENDIAN);
-	    // for big-endian version, do this first:
-	    // finish.position(8-buf.remaining());
-	    finish.put(buf).rewind();
-	    h ^= finish.getLong();
-	    h *= m;
-	}
+        if (buf.remaining() > 0) {
+            ByteBuffer finish = ByteBuffer.allocate(8).order(
+                    ByteOrder.LITTLE_ENDIAN);
+            // for big-endian version, do this first:
+            // finish.position(8-buf.remaining());
+            finish.put(buf).rewind();
+            h ^= finish.getLong();
+            h *= m;
+        }
 
-	h ^= h >>> r;
-	h *= m;
-	h ^= h >>> r;
+        h ^= h >>> r;
+        h *= m;
+        h ^= h >>> r;
 
-	buf.order(byteOrder);
-	return h;
+        buf.order(byteOrder);
+        return h;
     }
 
     public long hash(byte[] key) {
-    	return hash64A(key, 0x1234ABCD);
+        return hash64A(key, 0x1234ABCD);
     }
-    
+
     public long hash(String key) {
-    	return hash(key.getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        return hash(SafeEncoder.encode(key));
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/SafeEncoder.java b/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/SafeEncoder.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3b95395
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/SafeEncoder.java
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+package redis.clients.util;
+
+import java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException;
+
+import redis.clients.jedis.JedisException;
+import redis.clients.jedis.Protocol;
+
+/**
+ * The only reason to have this is to be able to compatible with java 1.5 :(
+ * 
+ */
+public class SafeEncoder {
+    public static byte[] encode(final String str) {
+        try {
+            return str.getBytes(Protocol.CHARSET);
+        } catch (UnsupportedEncodingException e) {
+            throw new JedisException(e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    public static String encode(final byte[] data) {
+        try {
+            return new String(data, Protocol.CHARSET);
+        } catch (UnsupportedEncodingException e) {
+            throw new JedisException(e);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/Sharded.java b/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/Sharded.java
index d0f4f75..41a15ef 100644
--- a/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/Sharded.java
+++ b/src/main/java/redis/clients/util/Sharded.java
@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@ package redis.clients.util;
 
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.TreeMap;
+import java.util.Map.Entry;
 import java.util.regex.Matcher;
 import java.util.regex.Pattern;
 
@@ -22,69 +24,73 @@ public class Sharded<R, S extends ShardInfo<R>> {
     private Pattern tagPattern = null;
     // the tag is anything between {}
     public static final Pattern DEFAULT_KEY_TAG_PATTERN = Pattern
-	    .compile("\\{(.+?)\\}");
+            .compile("\\{(.+?)\\}");
 
     public Sharded(List<S> shards) {
-	this(shards, Hashing.MURMUR_HASH); // MD5 is really not good as we works
-	// with 64-bits not 128
+        this(shards, Hashing.MURMUR_HASH); // MD5 is really not good as we works
+        // with 64-bits not 128
     }
 
     public Sharded(List<S> shards, Hashing algo) {
-	this.algo = algo;
-	initialize(shards);
+        this.algo = algo;
+        initialize(shards);
     }
 
     public Sharded(List<S> shards, Pattern tagPattern) {
-	this(shards, Hashing.MURMUR_HASH, tagPattern); // MD5 is really not good
-	// as we works with
-	// 64-bits not 128
+        this(shards, Hashing.MURMUR_HASH, tagPattern); // MD5 is really not good
+        // as we works with
+        // 64-bits not 128
     }
 
     public Sharded(List<S> shards, Hashing algo, Pattern tagPattern) {
-	this.algo = algo;
-	this.tagPattern = tagPattern;
-	initialize(shards);
+        this.algo = algo;
+        this.tagPattern = tagPattern;
+        initialize(shards);
     }
 
     private void initialize(List<S> shards) {
-	nodes = new TreeMap<Long, S>();
+        nodes = new TreeMap<Long, S>();
 
-	int totalWeight = 0;
+        int totalWeight = 0;
 
-	for (ShardInfo<?> shard : shards) {
-	    totalWeight += shard.getWeight();
-	}
+        for (ShardInfo<?> shard : shards) {
+            totalWeight += shard.getWeight();
+        }
 
-	long oneForthOfStep = (1L << 62) / totalWeight; // 62 vs 64 to normalize
-	// math in Long
+        long oneForthOfStep = (1L << 62) / totalWeight; // 62 vs 64 to normalize
+        // math in Long
 
-	long floor = Long.MIN_VALUE;
-	for (int i = 0; i != shards.size(); ++i) {
-	    final S shardInfo = shards.get(i);
-	    shardInfo.initResource();
-	    nodes.put(floor, shardInfo);
-	    floor += 4 * oneForthOfStep * shardInfo.getWeight(); // *4 to
-	    // compensate
-	    // 62 vs 64
-	}
+        long floor = Long.MIN_VALUE;
+        for (int i = 0; i != shards.size(); ++i) {
+            final S shardInfo = shards.get(i);
+            shardInfo.initResource();
+            nodes.put(floor, shardInfo);
+            floor += 4 * oneForthOfStep * shardInfo.getWeight(); // *4 to
+            // compensate
+            // 62 vs 64
+        }
     }
 
-	public R getShard(byte[] key) {
-		return nodes
-			.floorEntry(algo.hash(key))
-			.getValue()
-			.getResource();
-	}
+    public R getShard(byte[] key) {
+        return getShardInfo(key).getResource();
+    }
 
-	public R getShard(String key) {
-		return nodes
-			.floorEntry(algo.hash(getKeyTag(key)))
-			.getValue()
-			.getResource();
-	}
+    public R getShard(String key) {
+        return getShardInfo(key).getResource();
+    }
+
+    private S getShardInfo(byte[] key) {
+        Iterator<Entry<Long, S>> iterator = nodes.headMap(algo.hash(key))
+                .entrySet().iterator();
+        Entry<Long, S> next = iterator.next();
+        if (iterator.hasNext()) {
+            next = iterator.next();
+        }
+        return next.getValue();
+    }
 
     public S getShardInfo(String key) {
-	return nodes.floorEntry(algo.hash(getKeyTag(key))).getValue();
+        return getShardInfo(SafeEncoder.encode(getKeyTag(key)));
     }
 
     /**
@@ -97,15 +103,15 @@ public class Sharded<R, S extends ShardInfo<R>> {
      * @return The tag if it exists, or the original key
      */
     public String getKeyTag(String key) {
-	if (tagPattern != null) {
-	    Matcher m = tagPattern.matcher(key);
-	    if (m.find())
-		return m.group(1);
-	}
-	return key;
+        if (tagPattern != null) {
+            Matcher m = tagPattern.matcher(key);
+            if (m.find())
+                return m.group(1);
+        }
+        return key;
     }
 
     public Collection<S> getAllShards() {
-	return Collections.unmodifiableCollection(nodes.values());
+        return Collections.unmodifiableCollection(nodes.values());
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/JedisTest.java b/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/JedisTest.java
index 441fb6a..a4b5cc0 100644
--- a/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/JedisTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/JedisTest.java
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import redis.clients.jedis.Jedis;
 import redis.clients.jedis.JedisShardInfo;
 import redis.clients.jedis.Protocol;
 import redis.clients.jedis.tests.commands.JedisCommandTestBase;
+import redis.clients.util.SafeEncoder;
 
 public class JedisTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
     @Test
@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@ public class JedisTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
             bigdata[b] = (byte) ((byte) b % 255);
         }
         Map<String, String> hash = new HashMap<String, String>();
-        hash.put("data", new String(bigdata, Protocol.UTF8));
+        hash.put("data", SafeEncoder.encode(bigdata));
 
         String status = jedis.hmset("foo", hash);
         assertEquals("OK", status);
diff --git a/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/PipeliningTest.java b/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/PipeliningTest.java
index 8df99d6..6fafd08 100644
--- a/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/PipeliningTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/PipeliningTest.java
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ public class PipeliningTest extends Assert {
 	});
 
 	assertEquals(2, results.size());
-	assertArrayEquals("OK".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), (byte[])results.get(0));
-	assertArrayEquals("bar".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), (byte[])results.get(1));
+	assertArrayEquals("OK".getBytes(Protocol.CHARSET), (byte[])results.get(0));
+	assertArrayEquals("bar".getBytes(Protocol.CHARSET), (byte[])results.get(1));
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/ProtocolTest.java b/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/ProtocolTest.java
index 425c465..2d97fd0 100644
--- a/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/ProtocolTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/ProtocolTest.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import org.junit.Test;
 import redis.clients.jedis.Protocol;
 import redis.clients.util.RedisInputStream;
 import redis.clients.util.RedisOutputStream;
+import redis.clients.util.SafeEncoder;
 
 public class ProtocolTest extends JedisTestBase {
     @Test
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ public class ProtocolTest extends JedisTestBase {
 
         Protocol protocol = new Protocol();
         protocol.sendCommand(new RedisOutputStream(pos), Protocol.Command.GET,
-                "SOMEKEY".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+                "SOMEKEY".getBytes(Protocol.CHARSET));
 
         pos.close();
         String expectedCommand = "*2\r\n$3\r\nGET\r\n$7\r\nSOMEKEY\r\n";
@@ -43,7 +44,7 @@ public class ProtocolTest extends JedisTestBase {
         InputStream is = new ByteArrayInputStream("$6\r\nfoobar\r\n".getBytes());
         Protocol protocol = new Protocol();
         byte[] response = (byte[]) protocol.read(new RedisInputStream(is));
-        assertArrayEquals("foobar".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), response);
+        assertArrayEquals(SafeEncoder.encode("foobar"), response);
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -52,8 +53,8 @@ public class ProtocolTest extends JedisTestBase {
                 "$30\r\n012345678901234567890123456789\r\n".getBytes());
         Protocol protocol = new Protocol();
         byte[] response = (byte[]) protocol.read(new RedisInputStream(fis));
-        assertArrayEquals("012345678901234567890123456789"
-                .getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), response);
+        assertArrayEquals(SafeEncoder.encode("012345678901234567890123456789"),
+                response);
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -69,7 +70,7 @@ public class ProtocolTest extends JedisTestBase {
         InputStream is = new ByteArrayInputStream("+OK\r\n".getBytes());
         Protocol protocol = new Protocol();
         byte[] response = (byte[]) protocol.read(new RedisInputStream(is));
-        assertArrayEquals("OK".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), response);
+        assertArrayEquals(SafeEncoder.encode("OK"), response);
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -90,10 +91,10 @@ public class ProtocolTest extends JedisTestBase {
         List<byte[]> response = (List<byte[]>) protocol
                 .read(new RedisInputStream(is));
         List<byte[]> expected = new ArrayList<byte[]>();
-        expected.add("foo".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
-        expected.add("bar".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
-        expected.add("Hello".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
-        expected.add("World".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        expected.add(SafeEncoder.encode("foo"));
+        expected.add(SafeEncoder.encode("bar"));
+        expected.add(SafeEncoder.encode("Hello"));
+        expected.add(SafeEncoder.encode("World"));
 
         assertEquals(expected, response);
     }
diff --git a/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/ShardedJedisTest.java b/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/ShardedJedisTest.java
index 2c23847..e0107e0 100644
--- a/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/ShardedJedisTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/ShardedJedisTest.java
@@ -9,11 +9,11 @@ import org.junit.Test;
 
 import redis.clients.jedis.Jedis;
 import redis.clients.jedis.JedisShardInfo;
-import redis.clients.jedis.Protocol;
 import redis.clients.jedis.ShardedJedis;
 import redis.clients.jedis.ShardedJedisPipeline;
 import redis.clients.jedis.tests.HostAndPortUtil.HostAndPort;
 import redis.clients.util.Hashing;
+import redis.clients.util.SafeEncoder;
 
 public class ShardedJedisTest extends Assert {
     private static HostAndPort redis1 = HostAndPortUtil.getRedisServers()
@@ -143,11 +143,11 @@ public class ShardedJedisTest extends Assert {
         });
 
         List<Object> expected = new ArrayList<Object>(2);
-        expected.add("a".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
-        expected.add("b".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        expected.add(SafeEncoder.encode("a"));
+        expected.add(SafeEncoder.encode("b"));
 
         assertEquals(2, results.size());
-        assertArrayEquals("a".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), (byte[]) results.get(0));
-        assertArrayEquals("b".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), (byte[]) results.get(1));
+        assertArrayEquals(SafeEncoder.encode("a"), (byte[]) results.get(0));
+        assertArrayEquals(SafeEncoder.encode("b"), (byte[]) results.get(1));
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/commands/AllKindOfValuesCommandsTest.java b/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/commands/AllKindOfValuesCommandsTest.java
index 0375080..1aee8b8 100644
--- a/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/commands/AllKindOfValuesCommandsTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/commands/AllKindOfValuesCommandsTest.java
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import java.util.Set;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import redis.clients.jedis.JedisException;
-import redis.clients.jedis.Protocol;
+import redis.clients.util.SafeEncoder;
 
 public class AllKindOfValuesCommandsTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
     final byte[] bfoo = { 0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04 };
@@ -447,8 +447,8 @@ public class AllKindOfValuesCommandsTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
         assertEquals("hello world", result);
 
         // Binary
-        byte[] bresult = jedis.echo("hello world".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
-        assertArrayEquals("hello world".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), bresult);
+        byte[] bresult = jedis.echo(SafeEncoder.encode("hello world"));
+        assertArrayEquals(SafeEncoder.encode("hello world"), bresult);
     }
 
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/commands/SortedSetCommandsTest.java b/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/commands/SortedSetCommandsTest.java
index 7f45f21..76c7796 100644
--- a/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/commands/SortedSetCommandsTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/commands/SortedSetCommandsTest.java
@@ -5,9 +5,9 @@ import java.util.Set;
 
 import org.junit.Test;
 
-import redis.clients.jedis.Protocol;
 import redis.clients.jedis.Tuple;
 import redis.clients.jedis.ZParams;
+import redis.clients.util.SafeEncoder;
 
 public class SortedSetCommandsTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
     final byte[] bfoo = { 0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04 };
@@ -359,7 +359,7 @@ public class SortedSetCommandsTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
         bscore = jedis.zscore(bfoo, bc);
         assertEquals((Double) 0.1d, bscore);
 
-        bscore = jedis.zscore(bfoo, "s".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        bscore = jedis.zscore(bfoo, SafeEncoder.encode("s"));
         assertNull(bscore);
 
     }
@@ -440,8 +440,8 @@ public class SortedSetCommandsTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
         assertEquals(bexpected, brange);
 
         brange = jedis.zrangeByScore(bfoo, 0d, 2d, 1, 1);
-        Set<byte[]> brange2 = jedis.zrangeByScore(bfoo, "-inf"
-                .getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), "(2".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8));
+        Set<byte[]> brange2 = jedis.zrangeByScore(bfoo, SafeEncoder
+                .encode("-inf"), SafeEncoder.encode("(2"));
         assertEquals(bexpected, brange2);
 
         bexpected = new LinkedHashSet<byte[]>();
@@ -601,8 +601,7 @@ public class SortedSetCommandsTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
         jedis.zadd(bbar, 2, ba);
         jedis.zadd(bbar, 2, bb);
 
-        int bresult = jedis.zunionstore("dst".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), bfoo,
-                bbar);
+        int bresult = jedis.zunionstore(SafeEncoder.encode("dst"), bfoo, bbar);
 
         assertEquals(2, bresult);
 
@@ -610,8 +609,8 @@ public class SortedSetCommandsTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
         bexpected.add(new Tuple(bb, new Double(4)));
         bexpected.add(new Tuple(ba, new Double(3)));
 
-        assertEquals(bexpected, jedis.zrangeWithScores("dst"
-                .getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), 0, 100));
+        assertEquals(bexpected, jedis.zrangeWithScores(SafeEncoder
+                .encode("dst"), 0, 100));
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -643,7 +642,7 @@ public class SortedSetCommandsTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
         ZParams bparams = new ZParams();
         bparams.weights(2, 2);
         bparams.aggregate(ZParams.Aggregate.SUM);
-        int bresult = jedis.zunionstore("dst".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), bparams,
+        int bresult = jedis.zunionstore(SafeEncoder.encode("dst"), bparams,
                 bfoo, bbar);
 
         assertEquals(2, bresult);
@@ -652,8 +651,8 @@ public class SortedSetCommandsTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
         bexpected.add(new Tuple(bb, new Double(8)));
         bexpected.add(new Tuple(ba, new Double(6)));
 
-        assertEquals(bexpected, jedis.zrangeWithScores("dst"
-                .getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), 0, 100));
+        assertEquals(bexpected, jedis.zrangeWithScores(SafeEncoder
+                .encode("dst"), 0, 100));
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -676,16 +675,15 @@ public class SortedSetCommandsTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
         jedis.zadd(bfoo, 2, bb);
         jedis.zadd(bbar, 2, ba);
 
-        int bresult = jedis.zinterstore("dst".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), bfoo,
-                bbar);
+        int bresult = jedis.zinterstore(SafeEncoder.encode("dst"), bfoo, bbar);
 
         assertEquals(1, bresult);
 
         Set<Tuple> bexpected = new LinkedHashSet<Tuple>();
         bexpected.add(new Tuple(ba, new Double(3)));
 
-        assertEquals(bexpected, jedis.zrangeWithScores("dst"
-                .getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), 0, 100));
+        assertEquals(bexpected, jedis.zrangeWithScores(SafeEncoder
+                .encode("dst"), 0, 100));
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -714,7 +712,7 @@ public class SortedSetCommandsTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
         ZParams bparams = new ZParams();
         bparams.weights(2, 2);
         bparams.aggregate(ZParams.Aggregate.SUM);
-        int bresult = jedis.zinterstore("dst".getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), bparams,
+        int bresult = jedis.zinterstore(SafeEncoder.encode("dst"), bparams,
                 bfoo, bbar);
 
         assertEquals(1, bresult);
@@ -722,7 +720,7 @@ public class SortedSetCommandsTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
         Set<Tuple> bexpected = new LinkedHashSet<Tuple>();
         bexpected.add(new Tuple(ba, new Double(6)));
 
-        assertEquals(bexpected, jedis.zrangeWithScores("dst"
-                .getBytes(Protocol.UTF8), 0, 100));
+        assertEquals(bexpected, jedis.zrangeWithScores(SafeEncoder
+                .encode("dst"), 0, 100));
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/commands/TransactionCommandsTest.java b/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/commands/TransactionCommandsTest.java
index 00a01c3..ac88554 100644
--- a/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/commands/TransactionCommandsTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/redis/clients/jedis/tests/commands/TransactionCommandsTest.java
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ public class TransactionCommandsTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
         t.set("mykey", val);
         List<Object> resp = t.exec();
         assertEquals(1, resp.size());
-        assertArrayEquals(Keyword.OK.name().getBytes(Protocol.UTF8),
+        assertArrayEquals(Keyword.OK.name().getBytes(Protocol.CHARSET),
                 (byte[]) resp.get(0));
 
         // Binary
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ public class TransactionCommandsTest extends JedisCommandTestBase {
         t.set(bmykey, bval);
         resp = t.exec();
         assertEquals(1, resp.size());
-        assertArrayEquals(Keyword.OK.name().getBytes(Protocol.UTF8),
+        assertArrayEquals(Keyword.OK.name().getBytes(Protocol.CHARSET),
                 (byte[]) resp.get(0));
     }