Conditional Access - Cool Shows
Conditional access (CA) lets viewers choose what to watch from
thousands of programs at the touch of a button. This pay per
view technology also lets parents block shows and games the
don't want their kids to watch. All thanks to the little top
boxes that sit on their television sets. This non technical
article presents conditional access for home viewing.
Satellite Broadcasts - Conditional Access
Conditional Access enables broadcasters to block programs from
some viewers and charge others to see the show. Broadcast
options such as pay-per-view (PPV), video-on-demand (VOD) and
broadcast video are all based on conditional access technology.
The basis of conditional access technology rests on scrambling
and descrambling the pictures on your screen. Just as important
is entitlement and entitlement management to determine which
viewers are permitted to the see the show and block other
viewers.
Satellite digital TV - Conditional Access
While digital TV and conditional access seem to have been here
forever, they are relative new comers compared to movies. The
conditional access digital TV standards were first finalized in
1993. Since then, conditional access enables broadcasts and
billing for satellite broadcasters, cable and terrestrial
stations. Satellite Digital TV stations are major conditional
access users and vital to their financial growth and product
development.
Scrambling / Descrambling - Conditional Access
Conditional access is the gate keeper that lets subscribers see
the show and makes the show incomprehensible to unauthorized
users. Entitlement checking takes place simultaneously with the
broadcasting of the show controlled by the conditional access
gate keeper. The show broadcast also includes encrypted codes -
"Control Words" - to enable the descrambling for authorized
viewers with conditional access permission. These codes are sent
inside dedicated messages called entitlement control messages
for the "top box" on your TV set to decode.
Entitlement Management - Conditional Access
The entitlement management function consists of distributing
entitlements to receivers. There are several kinds of
entitlements that match different levels of subscriber service:
As we all know, the most popular are monthly and pay per view.
This info is sent inside dedicated messages entitlement
management messages and Shazam! There's the show you wanted to
see, now all you need is a cold drink, popcorn and some friends
to enjoy the show.
NDS is a leading
conditional access solutions provider and Interact
ive TV technology company. For more information, read the
NDS
conditional access white paper.