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From: jer@peora.UUCP (J. Eric Roskos)
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: Re: Re: Cable TV (really satellite TV)
Message-ID: <871@peora.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 29-Apr-85 08:53:36 EDT
Article-I.D.: peora.871
Posted: Mon Apr 29 08:53:36 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 30-Apr-85 07:42:15 EDT
References: <5250@tekecs.UUCP> <847@peora.UUCP> <134@nic_vax.UUCP> <163@anasazi.UUCP>
Organization: Perkin-Elmer SDC, Orlando, Fl.
Lines: 20

[The parent article asserts that HBO has obtained scramblers, but nobody
knows if they will be cost effective or if some company will rent them at
bargain basement prices.]

My original comments on this subject were based on an article in
_Electronics_Week_ magazine, which described the scramblers.  They are not
made by HBO; they are made by another company.  HBO is just their first
major customer.  The scramblers ARE supposed to be very low-cost; I have
forgotten why, I think they use custom VLSI parts or something.  But
renting them to home users wouldn't do any good at all, because there is
essentially a "password" required to descramble the signal, and all you
have to do is change the password (encryption key) and you change the
scrambling.  People would have to keep up with the encryption keys through
some security leak or something in order to "beat the system" with this
method.
-- 
Full-Name:  J. Eric Roskos
UUCP:       ..!{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!vax135!petsd!peora!jer
US Mail:    MS 795; Perkin-Elmer SDC;
	    2486 Sand Lake Road, Orlando, FL 32809-7642