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From: doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee)
Newsgroups: net.video,net.tv
Subject: Re: CATV: "Addressable" Channels
Message-ID: <297@terak.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 25-Jan-85 11:05:58 EST
Article-I.D.: terak.297
Posted: Fri Jan 25 11:05:58 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 29-Jan-85 06:38:06 EST
References: <1486@ritcv.UUCP>
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Organization: Terak Corporation, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
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Xref: watmath net.video:924 net.tv:2344

> My cable company is going to start some new pay services, and will be
> doing something called "addressing" which authenticates the receiver,
> and allows it to receive the special channel(s).  They claim it will cut
> down on the possibility of stealing the channel.  It sounded to me
> (from this radio news blurb) that something in the home will TRANSMIT
> to the cable office.

Addressing is really quite simple.  Each decoder box has a magic number
built into it (like a serial number).  The cable company transmits on
each channel (I presume in the blanking, but I don't know) the numbers
of those boxes which are authorized to decode that channel.  This
transmission is continuous.  It takes a noticeable (a second or so)
amount of time to cycle through all of the numbers, so there is a
variable delay from the time you tune in to a channel until the time
your decoder receives the OK to descramble it for you.
-- 
Doug Pardee -- Terak Corp. -- !{hao,ihnp4,decvax}!noao!terak!doug