What is the purpose of a Ci slot on a TV?

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CryingRaven

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Hi all

I am very new to Satellite TV. Here in South Africa it has always been an expensive luxury and when I was in the UK Sky said putting up my Dish was a Health and Safety issue so I couldn't get that either...

But I did buy my TV in the UK and that has a CI slot in the back and absolutely no mention of it in the manual apart from the line saying "This is the CI slot"...

So I went and did some learning and it turns out that this is where I insert a CAM to watch additional subscription channels. But surely the decoder boxes have that already? So what's up? Does this merely offer an additional CAM slot to someone who has used up all their decoders slots or does this mean that my DV has a built in decoder and all I need to do is attach my dish to my TV and voila I have FTA channels?

This seems a bit too easy though. I was wondering if I buy a subscription service and pay my subscription ever month and just insert the smart card into the Ci slot will I be able to watch the channels without a decoder?

On the other hand, if I need a decoder no matter what, and my decoder has a CI slot i assume i will still have to use that one, not the one in my TV... So what exactly is the purspose of the Ci slot in a TV... For the life of me I just can't find any decent info on this subject. Even from Toshiba's own website...

Someone, please clue me in...
 
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Welcome to the forum CryingRaven

Well the slot is for digital terrestrial TV in the UK, TUTV top up tv so will not be much good to you out in SA I'm afraid, and certainly no good for satellite transmissions
 
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CryingRaven

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I see...

So this is a UK-only thing for a TV sold only in the UK...

Well that sucks :(
Thanks for the definite answer though. As much as your answers disappoints me, at least now I know where I stand.

Much appreciated
 
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You can get TVs with satellite tuners and CI slots. These will work anywhere.
 
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CryingRaven said:
But I did buy my TV in the UK and that has a CI slot in the back and absolutely no mention of it in the manual apart from the line saying "This is the CI slot"...
Click to expand...

CI stands for Common interface. This is like a PCMCIA slot on a laptop computer. It allows you to plug in a Conditional Access Module - usually known as a CAM. So, in the case of TopUp TV in UK, you need a cam and an access card (like a S_y card) to watch encrypted channels.
 
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pgh13 said:
CI stands for Common interface. This is like a PCMCIA slot on a laptop computer. It allows you to plug in a Conditional Access Module - usually known as a CAM. So, in the case of TopUp TV in UK, you need a cam and an access card (like a S_y card) to watch encrypted channels.
Click to expand...

There is supposed to be a sky system being launched on terrestrial in the future but I do not know if this will work
 
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Topper said:
There is supposed to be a sky system being launched on terrestrial in the future but I do not know if this will work
Click to expand...
If you mean the $ly Picnic scheme they were talking of using Videoguard so definitely no CAMS available. I think it was goint to be in DVB-T2 so the tuner in the TV probably wouldn't be up to it either.
 
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PaulR said:
If you mean the $ly Picnic scheme they were talking of using Videoguard so definitely no CAMS available. I think it was goint to be in DVB-T2 so the tuner in the TV probably wouldn't be up to it either.
Click to expand...

In which case anyone having a TV with a CI slot for future expansion has wasted their hard earned cash yet again.
On the other hand would the picnic videoguard have to be incorporated in the TV systems or will they produce a freeview videoguard stb
 
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PaulR said:
If you mean the $ly Picnic scheme they were talking of using Videoguard so definitely no CAMS available. I think it was goint to be in DVB-T2 so the tuner in the TV probably wouldn't be up to it either.
Click to expand...

Perhaps BSkyB will be offering people free tuner upgrades.....
 
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As in the satellite area $ly were going to produce their own STB so they could have total control.

No surprise there then...
 
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PaulR said:
As in the satellite area $ly were going to produce their own STB so they could have total control.

No surprise there then...
Click to expand...

They did have a fair sized batch produced for them by Sagem - these were sold off cheaply by Currys a couple of months ago. I bought one and although in a cheap plastic casing it performs well with one of the best looking Freeview EPGs I have seen around. It has a built in Videoguard card-reader and supports both MPEG2 and MPEG4.
 
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davemurgtroyd said:
They did have a fair sized batch produced for them by Sagem.
Click to expand...
Well, I didn't know that!

How much were they going for? What part number do they have?
 
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