Syndicated Hack Watch -May 1992

Newslist generated by NEWS 1.40à   (C) 1990 by änigma Development Center & JLA

     ÖÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ·
ÄÄÄÄĶ April 27.   ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ( 13)ÄÄ
     ÓÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĽ

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*---------------- Syndicated Hack Watch -May 1992 ---------------*
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*-------------- Special Projects BBS +353-51-50143 --------------*
*--------------        SysOp: John McCormac        --------------*
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*------------- (c) 1992 MC2 (Publications Division) -------------*
*--------------- 22 Viewmount, Waterford Ireland ----------------*
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IN THIS ISSUE:
--------------

Why Did Sky Issue The 06 Smart Cards?

PR Technology Liquidated

The Cable And Satellite Show Report

FilmNet Digital Audio Decoders At C&S Show

RSD / Coppull MultiCard Reader

SMART Cards For Sale

FilmNet Digital Audio - Hear Today Gone Tomorrow

When Will CNN Scramble

TRAC DIY D2-MAC Upgrade

Dishes - The Real Way

TRAC D2-MAC Ferguson Review

******************************************************************


     ÖÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ·
ÄÄÄÄĶ April 27.  Sky Issue 06 Cards - Why? ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ( 12)ÄÄ
     ÓÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĽ


The  launch of Sky's new batch of cards seems to have been  rushed
to combat a particularly nasty - problem. The infinite lives  hack
on the decoder seemed to work. This was where the Vpp  programming
voltage  to  the  card  was stopped  from  reaching  the  card  an
therefore  the  card  could not be overwritten. This  is  how  the
plethora of devices on the market, (The Gizmo, the Infinite  Lives
Card etc), operated.

Of course this may not have been the only reason for the launch of
the  new cards. They could be getting ready to upgrade the  system
for  Pay Per View. The fact that VideoCrypt has PPV facilities  is
well  known in the Blackbox industry. The unusual thing  was  that
PPV was not used.

Perhaps  Sky is planning a launch of PPV. This may well  take  the
form of free or complimentary cards to promote the idea. The cards
for  PPV will be cheaper than the ordinary SMART  cards  currently
used on Sky. The present SMART cards cost about œ1.50 or so  each.
The  PPV card may well be an EPROM card as used on  the  telephone
card systems.


     ÖÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ·
ÄÄÄÄĶ April 27.  PR Technology Liquidated. ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ( 11)ÄÄ
     ÓÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĽ


The  announcement by FilmNet of its switch to D2-MAC on  ASTRA  at
the  end  of  the  year may well have been the  last  straw  or  a
convenient  suicide  note for PR Technology, a  company  who  once
billed  themselves as Europe's top decoder manufacturer.  A  claim
that,  like their digital audio decoder, appears now to have  been
just so much hot air.

Initially  the company claimed that it had delivery problems  with
the ICs and that they would have them soon. They continued to take
money  and  were  charging as much as œ500  for  a  FilmNet  video
decoder and an audio decoder. Of course the punter never  actually
saw the audio decoder - this would be delivered later.

As  Christmas  approached, they claimed that  there  were  further
delivery  problems  and that there was a RAM section on  the  ASIC
that was proving most difficult to reverse. They were also placing
adverts  claiming  that they had the product in  stock.  Something
that the Blackbox Industry did not believe.

Then they reputedly had a well timed break-in in which the  astute
thieves  stole the digital audio decoders and some  FilmNet  video
descramblers.  Lately  they had another break-in, a  very  strange
statistical  occurrence. This time the computer system was  stolen
as  well.  Now they supposedly had no way of finding out  who  was
owed  what  and  what product was to be sent to  what  victim.  Of
course  all  of the digital audio decoder design  information  was
supposedly on this computer as well.

Ironically  the creditor's meeting was held on Friday the 13th  of
March.  Those in attendance were informed that PR had  liabilities
of  some  œ160,000. With the sale of assets this figure  would  be
reduced  to  œ110,000. Some may be lucky to get ten  per  cent  of
their  money  back. Other victims are supposed  to  have  received
letters  from  the official receiver stating that they  would  get
neither money or decoder. Luckily those who ordered by credit card
will be covered  but the majority appear to have paid via cash  or
cheque.

Strangely,  the feeling in the Blackbox industry is one of  relief
that  PR  has  been liquidated. There  was  a  growing  resentment
against  their  brash advertising and business practices.  It  was
really  only  a  matter of time before  they  were  liquidated  or
TWEPed. Unfortunately it was the public who were the victims.


     ÖÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ·
ÄÄÄÄĶ April 27.  Cable and Satellite Show ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ( 10)ÄÄ
     ÓÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĽ


This  year's  Cable  And Satellite Show was notable  for  what  it
lacked  more than for what it contained. The of the  major  pirate
decoder   manufacturers  only  Hi  Tech  and   Coppull   Satellite
Television  were  represented.  There  were still  a  few  of  the
stalwarts  such  as  Transat but the general  view  was  that  the
industry had changed.

The   new  Blackbox  industry  has  been  written  off  in   other
publications but the reality is that the Blackbox industry is  one
of  the  most  adaptable industries on the world.  What  to  many
observers   may  have  been  a  disaster  was  in  real  terms   a
metamorphosis.

The  low cost market with a plethora of small dealers is, for  the
moment, gone. Despite the fact that the movie channels would  like
to believe that their counter piracy efforts were responsible  the
real  cause  is  simple economics. Like any  other  industry,  the
Blackbox   industry   has  suffered  from   the   recession.   The
introduction of digital audio by FilmNet last year did reduce  the
sales  of  the FilmNet descramblers but it did more good  for  the
industry than bad.

Channels  like FilmNet used low security systems and as  a  result
anyone  with  a few hundred pounds to spare could  make  and  sell
descramblers.  The  advent of digital audio  and  D2-MAC/EuroCrypt
have removed such players from the game. The cost of getting  into
the  business now is far higher. This also means that the  quality
of the remaining descrambler manufacturers' product is higher.

It  is estimated that there are at least 1.5 Million pirate  video
descramblers  for  FilmNet  in Europe. In the  UK  the  figure  is
estimated to be 300,000. This alone would provide a healthy market
for pirate digital audio decoders.


     ÖÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ·
ÄÄÄÄĶ April 27.  FilmNet Digital Audio Decoders ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ(  9)ÄÄ
     ÓÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĽ


The  first  genuine  pirate  digital  audio  decoder  was   openly
demonstrated  by  Hi-Tech. The unit is designed to plug  into  the
XV2000 and XV200 descramblers.

Though  it was not possible to confirm, it appears that two or  so
of  FilmNet's people showed up at Hi-Tech's stand and were  pretty
depressed to see the actual units and stood there in awed  silence
when they heard the quality of the sound.

The  original FilmNet audio stage owed much to the general  design
of  CD players as it used a DAC more suited to  that  application.
The  Hi-Tech decoder used a well designed audio output  stage  and
that is one of the reasons for the higher quality.

The  decoders on demonstration were the  pre-production  versions.
The  production  versions should be available as you  are  reading
this.  Hi-Tech's  main  objective is to  fulfill  the  outstanding
orders  for their digital audio decoders and then start  retailing
them. Hopefully next month's Hack Watch will carry a review of one
of the first digital audio decoders.


     ÖÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ·
ÄÄÄÄĶ April 27.  RSD / Coppull MultiCard Reader ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ(  8)ÄÄ
     ÓÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĽ


One  of  the high points of the Cable And Satellite Show  was  the
appearance  of the RSD / Coppull Satellite TV  Multi-Card  Reader.
This  unit  allows the use of up to four smart cards. It  is  also
possible to chain the readers so that more than four cards can  be
used.

Ferguson  and Sky are supposed to have show avid interest  in  the
device.  The advance orders for the unit number in  thousands  and
judging  from  the interest shown, it will be one of  this  year's
best selling accessories.

The  unit  was shown working with different Smart  cards  and  the
switching  times were good. Most of the channels locked up  within
five  seconds  with one of the Sky film  channels  locking  within
three seconds.

According to Joe Ibrahim, MD of Coppull, it was a frantic rush  to
get  the demonstration units to the show on time. The card  reader
assemblies  arrived  the day before the show and  the  development
team  worked through the night to get the units ready. This  extra
effort  was worth it as the stand was, at all times,  packed  with
onlookers  and people ordering units. One of these units  will  be
reviewed in the next month's Hack Watch.


     ÖÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ·
ÄÄÄÄĶ April 27.  SMART Cards Freely Available ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ(  7)ÄÄ
     ÓÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĽ


Last year, the subject of Grey Market Piracy was brought to  Sky's
attention.  There was a growing trade in Sky Movies  smart  cards.
The  subscription would be taken out in the UK or Ireland and  the
card  would  then  be posted on to the actual  user  elsewhere  in
Europe. The problem until recently was strictly one way. Sky would
get the subscription and the user would get the card.

The  advent of D2-MAC EuroCrypt systems means that there are  more
smart cards around. These smart cards are for FilmNet and  TV1000.
The current rate of exchange is one Sky card for one FilmNet  card
but the TV1000 card requires a cash payment. The reason being that
the  porn on TV1000 is of a more explicit nature. It was  possible
to purchase a FilmNet card at the show for œ175.00. A TV1000  card
could be purchased for œ250.00.

The channels are benefiting from the whole situation in that  they
are getting increased subscriptions and the users are getting what
they  want. There were rumours at the show that certain  companies
were  about to lose their Authorised Sky Agent status as a  result
of  Grey  Market activity. While it was not  possible  to  confirm
this,  the  move  would  be very  counter-productive  for  Sky  as
according to one source; 'there are more Sky cards in  Scandinavia
that the UK'.


     ÖÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ·
ÄÄÄÄĶ April 27.  FilmNet Audio - Hear Today Gone Tomorrow ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ(  6)ÄÄ
     ÓÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĽ


The audio on FilmNet's PAL ASTRA transponder has been switched  on
and  off  recently. The objective it appears was  to  destroy  the
sales potential for pirate digital audio descramblers at the Cable
and Satellite Show. It failed dismally.

When  the  word got around that the audio was back, there  was  an
increase  in the sale of FilmNet video descramblers.  The  dealers
in  this case were kept well informed of events and were  advising
customers that the audio would probably be switched off after  the
show.

The  latest information on the situation is that  the  PAL  signal
will  be dropped on ASTRA in favour of the D2-MAC signal.  Instead
of  the  D2-MAC  transponder  (Tr.23) being  used  for  the  ASTRA
service,  the  present PAL transponder (Tr.11) will be  used.  The
reason being that this transponder has a better footprint over the
Scandinavian region.

The  loss  of  the PAL transponder on ASTRA will  not  be  such  a
disaster.  the  PAL  transmissions  on ECS2-F1  at  13  East  will
continue for some time yet. This will no doubt lead to an increase
in  the  sales  for second LNB add-on units such  as  the  "Little
Extra".


     ÖÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ·
ÄÄÄÄĶ April 27.  When Will CNN Scramble? ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ(  5)ÄÄ
     ÓÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĽ


The  launch  of  CNN on ASTRA has certainly cast  doubt  over  the
financial viability of Sky News. Sky News is arguably the best  of
Sky's package though it caters for the UK audience rather than the
European audience. One European source likened it to the Daily Sun
with sound.

CNN  will  be forced to scramble to extract  payment.  The  system
they  will  use may  not have been chosen yet but  the  VideoCrypt
system  would be a strong contender. The use of  VideoCrypt  would
guarantee access to most satellite TV equipped homes.

There  may  be objections to the use of VideoCrypt by  CNN  as  it
would be in direct conflict with Sky News should it go  scrambled.
The obvious solution would be a joint CNN - Sky News service.


     ÖÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ·
ÄÄÄÄĶ April 27.  TRAC Receiver / Upgrade ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ(  4)ÄÄ
     ÓÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĽ


TRAC  have launched a DIY Ferguson BSB receiver upgrade.  The  kit
will  enable owners of Ferguson BSB receivers to convert  them  to
D2-MAC  and  D-MAC use. The upgrade consists of an EPROM  and  the
necessary instruction sheets. The reason for the launch of the kit
is to enable the dealer and enthusiast to carry out the upgrade.

A new version of the TRAC upgraded Ferguson will also be available
soon.  The new version will have full on-screen graphics and  full
band tuning. Again next month's Hack Watch will have full details.


     ÖÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ·
ÄÄÄÄĶ April 27.  Dishes - the real way ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ(  3)ÄÄ
     ÓÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĽ


I have been asked by more than a few installers to point out  that
Pearson's  holiday article in last month's "Satellite Trader"  was
typical   of   someone   who   never   installed   large    dishes
professionally. This is obviously a sore point among professionals
when a JAFA starts acting like some kind of expert.

When you are installing a large polar mount dish, the best way  to
do  it is to use a satellite TV receiver and a television  set  at
the dish. This allows you to ensure that you are tracking the  arc
and that the signal on each satellite is good. It also allows  you
to  know  what satellite the dish is aimed at. A trained  eye  can
spot  the beginnings of a tv signal before it will become  obvious
on  a meter. It is also easier to watch a TV screen than  a  meter
when  aligning  the mount. These things tend to  become  glaringly
obvious when you are installing large dishes in a force five  gale
and a couple of degrees below zero.

Perhaps with the exception of the MASPRO signal meter, all of  the
meters  on the market are wideband and it would be  difficult,  if
not  impossible  to  establish the carrier to  noise  ratio  on  a
particular  channel. Of course Pearson was met with  blank  stares
when  he asked about CNRs. The engineers probably thought  he  was
one  of these jumped up little jafas who read a book and  believes
that  he knows everything. The alternative was that they  couldn't
speak English.


     ÖÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ·
ÄÄÄÄĶ April 27.  TRAC D2-MAC Receiver Review ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ(  2)ÄÄ
     ÓÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĽ


At present, you can pick up a D2-MAC receiver for œ60.00 plus  VAT
and  carriage  from  TRAC. (Telephone  0044642  468145)  The  unit
supplied  is  a  modified  BSB Ferguson  receiver.  The  unit  was
reviewed  for  the February issue of McCormac's Hack  Watch  News.
Unfortunately space is limited in this issue so I can not give the
full text of the review.

The TRAC D2-MAC unit actually comes with a 35 cm dish and a K-Band
LNB.  This LNB can be used to receive TDF1 and TVSAT2. There is  a
model  of the unit that has the BSB ACM intact but there seems  to
be  little use for this as the Marco Polo feed will, according  to
Sky,  be  cut  at  the end of the  year.  Sky  are  therefore  not
validating new subscribers via BSB equipment.

The  unit  was modified to receive D2-MAC and NRK D-MAC.  The  BSB
Access  Control  Module was removed. This was no great  loss.  The
original  BSB  ACM is, or rather was, housed in a tin can  on  the
main board. This unit generated the on-screen graphics and set the
remote control functions. It was necessary to remove it to  obtain
NRK D-MAC.

There  are a number of forms of scrambling used on D2-MAC  at  the
moment. There is the clear D2-MAC with video inversion, the  fixed
key open access form of D2-MAC and the EuroCrypt D2-MAC system.

The  clear D2-MAC with video inversion was used on  TV1000  before
they switched to EuroCrypt. The polarity of the line was inverted.
This made the signal unusable on a standard MAC decoder which  did
not have an inversion switch.

The  Open Access D2-MAC is the precursor to hard  scrambling.  The
Control  Word  to reseed the PRBSGs is 60 bits long. In  the  open
access  mode, these bits are all set to one. The control  word  is
stored in the decoder.

The  power  supply is not a switch mode type. This no  doubt  will
come as a relief to those of us who dislike switch mode PSUs.  Its
a lot easier to test an ordinary power supply.

The  receiver  came  with  a  set  of  typed  instructions.  These
instructions were perhaps the clearest set of instructions that  I
have  yet read. The front page listed the receiver  specifications
and  claimed  a threshold of 9 dB. This proved to be  an  accurate
figure.  The number of channels was listed as 20 presets  and  one
tunable in 5 MHz steps.

The   channels on the receiver were arranged in two blocks, A  and
B.  The  first ten channels in each block were  preset.  Those  on
block  A were preset to TDF1 and TVSAT. The first ten on  block  B
were set to Olympus and ASTRA.

On  block  A channels 11 to 99 covered 950 MHz to  1345  MHz  each
channel  representing a 5 MHz step. On block B channels 11  to  90
tuned  1350 MHz to 1700 MHz. The preset channels  were  identified
and   their  frequency  was  listed  along  with  the   particular
scrambling in use.

Rather than begin testing on ASTRA (that was too easy) I tried for
TDF1.  At first the D2-MAC signals refused to lock due to the  low
signal level. This was caused by a rather large tree which was  in
the  line  of sight - I happened to be testing it at  about  three
thirty  in  the  morning and didn't see the tree!  Changing  to  a
larger dish size cured this problem and the pictures were  crystal
clear. The audio quality was similarly as good. It is very easy to
appreciate why the MAC system is a techies' wish list.

Having  accomplished the test of getting TDF1, I tried  for  BSB's
Marco Polo satellite. There was no problem there except they  were
using  a different form of control word so the receiver could  not
lock  the  picture or audio. Then it was back to  ASTRA.  The  TV3
signal was perfect.

TRAC  are  working on a EuroCrypt adaptor for the  unit.  For  the
price  the  package  is excellent value, in fact  it  is  probably
selling below cost. There is a connection on the CCU for an  RS232
interface.  In short this is an unmissable bargain. There is  only
one thing to do - go out and buy one!




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