[mythtv-users] UK Sky Card

[steve at nexusuk.org]

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On Mon, 22 Mar 2004, Alex Petts wrote:

> There is a different problem with UK digital cable (NTL or Telewest).  
> The difference being that there are CAMs available, but the cable 
> company couples the viewing card with the STB (so I've heard - I'm not 
> a subscriber, so I cannot verify this), stopping you using your viewing 
> card in a different STB (at your mate's for example, or in a PC with a 
> digital cable decoder card...)

ISTR that Sky also link the viewing card to the box when you first 
register the card (not that it makes much difference since you can't use 
the Sky card in anything other than a Sky box anyway).  Does the BBC use 
the same encryption as sky on their satellite transmissions? (AFAIK the 
BBC encrypt all their channels to restrict the area they can be viewed in 
but you can get a free viewing card to decode them).

Maybe someone with plenty of electronics experience could take a digibox 
to pieces and see if they can separate the decoder circuit from the rest 
of the box :)

FYI, Sky appear to be using the "Videoguard" encryption - ISTR that 
"Videocrypt" is the old analogue system (chop a scanline in half, swap the 
2 halves and send the location of the cut as an encrypted number)

- -- 

 - Steve                                             http://www.nexusuk.org/

     Servatis a periculum, servatis a maleficum - Whisper, Evanescence

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