advice needed

howard

hello, I'm pretty new to digital tv but have been dabbling with cams and cards and am thinking of buying a programmer and wafercards. I have now had interface cards brought to my attention. Do they really do away with the need for cams (seca,irdeto etc.) and cards? are they reliable? and are they easy to operate (and files easy to find.)
any help is much appreciated-remember I'm a novice
howard

2old4this

I'm not sure what you mean by "interface cards".
Do you mean Season Interfaces?
They do away with cards, but not CAMs. Tthe CAM is the module you stick the card in. The Season replaces the card so you insert the season into the CAM. But without the CAM (modular or embedded) the season is useless.
2old

howard

thanks again 2old, it is an interface between pc and receiver. I just wanted your opinion whether to go for this option or for programmers and cards. The interface I am looking at is £30 and I already have seca and viaccess cams whilst a millenium programmer costs approx £70. I really want to know which are easier (I'm not very technical) and most reliable.
thanks
howard

2old4this

I'd personally never use a Season for simply watching TV. Far too much hassle first having to fire up my PC & start the emulator software, not to mention the eyesore of having the interface and cables sticking permanently out the front of your sat receiver, and the need to have your PC somewhere nearby. And my wife already thinks our TV/sat system is horribly complicated to use...
A card (or multiple cards) is much easier.
Though I admit that Season is cheaper if you already have the PC, and it is versatile too (can be used for logging)
However, unless you want to buy multiple season interfaces, it can only be used for a single encryption system at once. Whereas you can have multiple cards suimultaneously and seamlessly in operation (one in each of whatever CI- and/or embedded CAMs you have).
2old

howard

thanks 2old, I think I.ll go for cams and cards, by the way what is logging ?
howard

2old4this

logging is the process of capturing (to a file on your PC) the commands/codes passed to/from the card by the receiver. EG the signals sent to activate or deactivate cards/packages. Such signals use keys to identify the card, and it's mainly the keys that people log for (although just externalising the commands strings and responses from the card can teach you a lot about the encryption method).

2old