Conditional-access module

Conditional Access Module

A conditional access module (CAM) is an electronic device, usually incorporating a slot for a smart card, which equips an Integrated Digital Television or set-top box with the appropriate hardware facility to view conditional access content that has been encrypted using a conditional access system. They are normally used with direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) services, although digital terrestrial pay TV suppliers also use CAMs. PC Card form factor is used as the Common Interface form of Conditional Access Modules for DVB broadcasts.

Some encryption systems for which CAMs are available are Logiways, Nagravision, Viaccess, Mediaguard, Irdeto, KeyFly, Verimatrix, Cryptoworks, Mascom, Safeview, Diablo CAM and Conax. NDS VideoGuard encryption, the preferred choice of Sky Digital can only be externally emulated by a Dragon brand cam. The NDS CAM which the Sky viewing card ordinarily uses is built into the Sky Digibox thus not visible. Dragon and Matrix, two popular cams with satellite television enthusiasts are multicrypt meaning each is capable of handling more than one encryption system. Matrix CAMs can be upgraded via the PC Card port in a laptop personal computer whereas a Dragon cam update is done via separate programmer hardware.

The primary purpose of the CAM is to derive control words, which are short-term decryption keys for video. The effectiveness of a CAM depends on the tamper resistance of the hardware; if the hardware is broken, the functionality of the CAM can be emulated, enabling the content to be decrypted by non-subscribers. CAMs are normally removable so that they can be replaced after the hardware security is breached. Replacement of the CAMs in a system is called a card swap-out.

The standard format for a CAM is a PC card which takes a smart card to authenticate, although CAMs with the 'smart card' burnt into memory can be found. In addition, CAM emulators exist for many systems, either providing an interface to allow the use of more than one type of card, or a card not designed for that receiver.

See also

• CableCARD
• Conditional access
• Common Interface (CI)

References

This article about television technology is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: DVB Television technology stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу Preservation survey Conditional Access Directive Look at other dictionaries: Conditional access module — A conditional access module (CAM) is an electronic device, usually incorporating a slot for a smart card, which equips a Integrated Digital Television or set top box with the appropriate hardware facility to view conditional access content that… …   Wikipedia Conditional-Access-Module — Ein Conditional Access Module (CAM) [kənˈdɪʃənəl ˈæksɛs ˈmɒdjuːl] (deutsch Modul für bedingten Zugriff) ist ein elektronisches Bauteil, das über einen Common Interface Schacht in ein DVB Empfangsgerät eingeschoben wird. Die Aufgabe dieses… …   Deutsch Wikipedia Conditional Access Module — Dieser Artikel oder Abschnitt bedarf einer Überarbeitung. Näheres ist auf der Diskussionsseite angegeben. Hilf mit, ihn zu verbessern, und entferne anschließend diese Markierung. Ein Conditional Access Module (CAM) [kənˈdɪʃənəl ˈæksɛs ˈmɒdjuːl]… …   Deutsch Wikipedia Conditional-access module — CAM модуль (наверху) и карта доступа CAM (аббревиатура от англ. Conditional Access Module, модуль условного доступа)  электронное устройство, используемое как адаптер конкрет …   Википедия Conditional access — (abbreviated CA) is the protection of content by requiring certain criteria to be met before granting access to this content. The term is commonly used in relation to digital television systems, most notably satellite television. Contents 1… …   Wikipedia Conditional access system — A conditional access system (CAS) is a system by which electronic transmission of digital media, especially satellite television signals through cable, is limited to subscribed clients. This is called conditional access. The signal is encrypted… …   Wikipedia Conditional Access System — Der Begriff Zugangsberechtigungssysteme (ZBS) (auch Verschlüsselungsstandards oder Verschlüsselungssysteme) bzw. englisch Conditional access system (CAS) bezeichnet die beim Bezahlfernsehen eingesetzten Systeme zur Ver und Entschlüsselung der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia Microsoft Data Access Components — MDAC redirects here. For other uses, see MDAC (disambiguation). MDAC (Microsoft Data Access Components) Microsoft Corporation s MDAC provides a uniform framework for accessing a variety of data sources on their Windows platform. Developer(s)… …   Wikipedia Common Interface — Various components of Conditional Access Common Interfa …   Wikipedia CableCARD — A CableCARD is a special use PCMCIA (PC) card CableCARD is a special use PCMCIA (PC) card that allows consumers in the United States to view and record digital cable television channels on digital video recorders, personal computers and… …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”