Dragon CAM - also for NDS/Videoguard

Channel Hopper

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Could it be the NDS system used on the US footprints?

I doubt anyone in Europe will be given the chance to move away from the four manufacturers with inbuillt modules

Maxkings site also has a currency converter making the $ rate for buyers over the pond
 

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@CH
yeah, I wondered about that too, but don't you think it would be odd to combine predominantly European systems with a US system in one CAM? Of course, it could be the Videoguard variant used by (eg) Stream, rather than Sky...

If it is capable of acting as a Sky Videoguard CAM I smell trouble 't mill. NDS aren't likely to take it on the chin.


@cjgall
SCM's POD has been around for a year or so. It's actually intended for the cable market. It's used in (eg) US, India and Korea.
Info:
http://www.ndsuk.com/platforms/us_cable.html

If you check here, you can see that it is not compatible with DVB (satellite): http://www.scmmicro.com/dvb/cam.html

The POD is one of the CAMs covered in the site posted in the sticky thread of our forum (as per link you provided)

2old
 

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I had noticed it was intended for the cable market, but was unsure if cable CAM's are compatible with satellite CAM's or not.

I do hope that the Dragon is capable of acting as a Sky Videoguard CAM, trouble 't mill or not. Its about time Sky restictive monopoly - which in my opinion is illegal - was broken.
 

rolfw

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Well let's just say for the sake of argument that it will work with UK Videoguard, how do you then get the card to work in it?

The new generation of cards, once married to one box, will not work in another box. The activation process requires at least three bits of information about the box, type, software version and serial number, so how do you emulate that information on the standalone CAM for a new activation or for use of an already activated card?
 

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I too was wondering about this. Maybe the card/box marrage is part of the skybox's software and will not effect operation on a box with a standalone CAM, other the box not displaying the sky EPG.
 

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I would expect the checking of those details (box numeber, etc) to be part and parcel of the successful key decryption process that that card has to go through. So it may well be the digibox software specifically which interrogates the card about those details, but it would still nevertheless require a certain reponse in order to continue to the actual key decryption.
In other words, I'd expect that when an official card is placed in a device which does not ask it the right questions, or that does not issue the right "handshake", the card would probably refuse to decrypt the key. After all, we don't know how much intelligence is built into the card itself.

We will see....

2old
 

cjgall

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There is only one way - other than dissasembling the code on the card - to find out. When the Dragon arrives, I might just rush out and buy one. Not my usual style but I am intrigued and if it works it would give me Sky+ funtionality on my Topfield 4000PVR box. Hopefully one of the suppliers will test the Dragon for us first though.

Now if there is a field in the Dragons settings that allows us to add an original Sky box's details. We would still need to have a Sky box married to a card to get the thing to work but I don't consider this to be a problem and it would keep Sky happy I suppose.
 

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We don't know Aistys and won't do until one materializes I'm afraid.
 

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Originally posted by rolfw
The new generation of cards, once married to one box, will not work in another box.

Logically the card would be married to the Videoguard CI CAM. But of course this wouldn't be enough as it is easy to put the CAM in another receiver which would defeat the whole purpose of marrying. I guess the CAM would have to communicate with the receiver to obtain some sort of unique serial number. The card would then be married to the CAM and the box.

I vaguely remember SCM announcing that they had a prototype Videoguard DVB-CI CAM. This would make sense as they would need to be ready for any change in tactics by NDS users. In principle, there is nothing difficult in producing a Videoguard CAM - you just need to incorporate the so-called NDS verifier and smartcard interface on the CAM rather than in the MPEG source decoder chip in the receiver.
 

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easysat. its not easy to remove a videguard cam rom teh box at all, since its embedded into the systemboard.

i have spoken to scm microsystems about the videoguard DVB cam and they say they have developed the card but it is not available for consumers. so if any1 knows any1 that works at SCM microsystems lemme know :D..
 

cjgall

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I just visited the Dragon CAM site to see if it is available, and this is what it says:

Welcome to the Dragon Cam web site.
This web site is under construction and will be available soon.
The Dragon Cam is not available yet as we are taking advice from our solicitors.
 

rolfw

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Follow this link Simo6110 http://www.duwgati.com/uk/index.htm look under the basic information dropdown in the top left hand corner, there is information about Cams, cards and files, all very good for the novice.
 

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Hi,
The first batch of cams was recalled, the welds were loose and the cam incompatible with 95% of the recievers... .

For the N*S i have to see that first, using DES, and Copyrighted chips, and the US peeps not happy to see Defense prohibited software in this.

Then, as Rolf stated, the problem of the married card....

Latest advertisements i saw had no mention anymore of the N*S .....

CHeers,
Cor.
 
S

Stargazer

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rolfw said:
The new generation of cards, once married to one box, will not work in another box.
Would this apply to all cards? Previously Sky dealers were, I believe, able to get cards that were unlocked, so they could use one card to demo several systems.
 

rolfw

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Actually Stargazer, that information was believed to be correct at time of posting, but has in fact been proved to be incorrect. The new cards work perfectly in another box, on all but the premium channels, once activated.
 
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