What is a Satellite TV Descrambler

Why you need a descrambler for satellite TV

There are two types of satellite TV signal that you are able to access: Free To Air (FTA) and Premium. To cut a long story short you need a descrambler to watch premium and pay-per-view satellite broadcasts but you do not need one to watch FTA transmissions. So what is a satellite TV descrambler exactly?...

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Satellite TV basics

What is a Satellite TV Descrambler

Satellite TV is beamed from a satellite in space to your satellite dish and then passed via a cable to the receiver next to your TV. The job of the receiver is to convert the radio frequency signal from your dish into audio and video signals that you can feed into your home television equipment.

If the incoming signal is Free-to-Air then it will not be scrambled so the job of the receiver is done. You can enjoy the output of the receiver for as long as you like. If the incoming signal is scrambled or encrypted however then you will need to descramble it before you can watch it.

How satellite TV providers make their money

Launching satellites into space and running a huge broadcasting network requires a lot of money so providers generate that money from you, the consumer, in a number of ways. One way they make money is by persuading advertisers to pay them for showing advertising along with their interesting programmes. For some FTA channels this is their only means of generating revenue.

Another way to generate cash from the consumer more directly is to charge you for what you watch. Often a provider will offer a mixture of FTA and chargeable programming. The FTA channels get you hooked then you pay for the more entertaining channels.

What stops you watching premium satellite TV for free?

A provider of premium satellite TV has to have a way to make you pay for what you watch so they encrypt or scramble the TV signal and sell you a key to unlock it. When you have paid your subscription or the fee for a one-time pay-per-view the satellite TV provider sends a signal to your set-top box, which programmes your viewing card to allow the descrambler in the box to decode the signal so that you can watch it.

More information on this in the article Satellite TV Descrambler
Can you own your own satellite TV descrambler and be legal?

There isn't anything to stop you owning satellite TV descrambling equipment but if you use it to watch non-FTA programmes then you must inform the satellite TV provider that you are doing so. I bet they then send you a bill.

It is possible to acquire equipment that enables you to unlock and descramble premium satellite TV but the complexity and sophistication of modern digital TV encryption techniques are making it impractical to do so.

What is a Satellite TV Descrambler

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Does A Satellite Descrambler Let You Watch Encrypted Channels?

Ever wonder how satellite companies make their money? Well, other than that huge check you send them each month in exchange for their programming there are other clever ways satellite companies keep you from "borrowing" their services. One way they do this is by scrambling their satellite signals so that not everyone with a satellite dish and receiver box can pick up programming.

You may remember satellite descramblers from the good old days as huge satellite boxes that sat on your television and were connected to 18 foot satellite dishes, some of which had to be hand cranked. After a while, satellite companies began to notice that more and more people were purchasing satellite receivers. As premium and pay-per-view channels began to spring up satellite companies saw the writing on the wall.

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First, the satellite companies charged you for your programming, and then they scrambled some of the programs so you had to buy another piece of equipment, or a chip to add to your receiver, to be able to watch the programming you had already paid for.

Does A Satellite Descrambler Let You Watch Encrypted Channels?

Generally, satellite programming was divided into two separate categories - Free to Air and Premium. You did not need a descrambler to watch this so-called Free to Air stations, but Premium or pay-per-view channels were often scrambled until you purchased the equipment to descramble the programs you wanted to watch.

Currently, your satellite receiver basically works as a satellite descrambler. All of the signals that come in through your satellite are digitally scrambled until they reach your satellite box. The box descrambles this information and puts it into a form where the satellite programs can be viewed on your television.

While satellite descramblers once were used as a way for the satellite company to make extra money, it is now a way for satellite companies to keep from being ripped off. For those of you who have satellite television, you know that you cannot turn back on a satellite box that has not been paid for, is past due, not activated, or was owned by someone else until you verify the receiver box with the satellite company.

This is so you can not use to box to steal services from the satellite company. This also explains why satellite companies don't mind leaving their satellite dishes in place even after service has been turned off. Since the signals are scrambled, it would take a technical genius to figure out how to unscramble the signals and illegally watch satellite programming.

However, Free to Air is making a comeback but not the way you would think. Some companies are producing what is know as pirate satellite boxes that basically take the digital satellite signal and descramble the signal illegally. People purchase these boxes for several hundred dollars but never pay any money to the satellite company. Satellite piracy is becoming a booming business and satellite companies are scrambling, for lack of a better word, to find a way to secure their signals so that can't be hacked.

Does A Satellite Descrambler Let You Watch Encrypted Channels?

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