up vote -1 down vote favorite
share [g+] share [fb]

I'm looking at replacing a TiVO with MythTV what do these cards do? And, will I need them for MythTV?

link|improve this question
61% accept rate
feedback

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote

M-CARD and S-CARD refer to different kinds of CableCARDs. An S-CARD can decode a single stream of content (i.e. a channel, while an M-CARD can decode multiple streams. CableCARDs are necessary to decode encrypted content, which is increasingly common (my cable company stopped provided unencrypted content about a year ago, except for local stations).

Currently, there do not appear to be any CableCARD solutions for MythTV. The reason is that the DRM requirements for the "copy once" flag is not very compatible with open source.

link|improve this answer
Can these streams be decrypted in software? What do they use to encrypt them? – Evan Carroll Dec 28 '10 at 16:43
I suppose that in theory, software decryption is possible. The issue is violation of copy protection schemes. I don't know the exact encryption scheme, but it appears to involve both public and private key encryption. – erichui Dec 29 '10 at 2:09
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown
discard

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.