Most satellite television is encrypted using conditional access systems such as:

To watch these encrypted television channels, you need a box which can decrypt them. This box is sometimes referred to as a satellite television descrambler.

Satellite Television Descramblers

Most satellite television descamblers are legal boxes which are provided by legitimate resellers. These descramblers require valid subscriptions from the satellite television broadcasters.

A few people sell “hacked” satellite television descramblers which are designed to provide satellite television service without paying a subscription fee. These hacked systems typically work for a few months until the satellite television broadcaster figures out how to shut them down.

There are two different types of satellite television signals that you are able to receive and view: free-to-air (FTA), and premium services. Free-to-air satellite broadcasts are channels that can be received by anybody with an active satellite connection, legitimate receiver, and inside the local broadcast region. A descrambler is used to receive finest transmissions, such as pay-per-view or best channels like HBO.

Satellite signals are communicated using an encryption algorithm that foils hacker from receiving and viewing the signal. Unless you have the proper descrambling gear, which include the algorithm keys that permit regular viewing, the signal comes in distorted and twisted form.

Consider a descrambler as interpreter and the satellite signal as a foreign diplomat. The diplomat communicates to the interpreter, who then offers you with the data in a language that you can comprehend. In audio/visual vocabulary, the descrambler facilitates the correct audio and visual playback of the signal that you are receiving.