Hi! I don't use encrypted channels myself, but I try to clarify some things based on posts what I've read. I hope I don't give you any false information. Simon Baxter wrote: > Has anyone been able to get VDR working for encrypted channels? Whether > it be digital terrestrial, cable or satellite? Many have. AFAIK the encryption system is identical in DVB-S/C/T, so it doesn't matter. > > I'm not wanting to do anything illegal, but I would like to know how > this works. Some providers give you a smart-card, so I guess you'd need > some kind of plug-in to allow validation of the 'key'. You have to have a (supported) CI (Conditional Interface IIRC) in your DVB card (or an interface in which you can buy the CI board separately, as in FF DVB cards). In that CI interface you put a CAM (Conditional Access Module IIRC) which you can buy yourself or sometimes get from your provider. In that CAM there is a smart-card slot, where you obviously put your smart-card. The CAM uses smart-card and the broadcasted stream to generate some "decrypt codes", whatever those are called. Those codes are then transfered to a descrambler chip in the DVB card, which does the decrypting of the broadcast stream. If the user wants to subscribe/unsubscribe channels, the provider sends the updated subscription information over the stream. VDR doesn't require any plugins whatsoever for viewing encrypted channels. > I've also had > cable subscriptions where if you want another channel added, you phone > the provider of your set-top-box and they enable something. How does > this work? Could this be done with a DVB-C VDR setup? Well, you can only use subscriptions which have CAMs with VDR, and as far as I know those are all smartcard-based. -- Anssi Hannula
