From darrellreed@doctord.ruhr.deTue Aug 1 16:11:16 1995 Date: 28 JUL 1995 11:26:00 +0200 From: "Dr. D. Reed" Newsgroups: alt.satellite.tv.crypt, alt.satellite.tv.europe Subject: FAQ: Emulator Cards and Software Below I have put together a brief explaination of the common questions associated with the use of PC/Decoder interface cards and the software that emulates a valid smartcard. I have no connection with any of the designs, programs, or the sale of such items. I merely hope to stem the flow of questions on this subject and the number of irratable replies :-) q) What is 'Season'? a) This is a generic name given to a software/simple hardware hack of smart-card based encrypted television. One needs to build (or buy) a simple interface 'card' to put in the videocrypt/eurocrypt decoder slot. This is connected via cable to a serial port on a personal Computer. The software then imitates the operation of a valid smart-card and decrypts the broadcast. 'Season' got it's name from the author of the original hack. He was a fan of Star Trek and wished to see the 7th Season then showing on Sky, the software was known as Season7. By pure coincidence the serial numbers of the sky cards at the time all began 7... Sky combated this (and other hacks) by releasing a new card series this time with all the serial numbers beginning with a 9. After 3 months of work this was eventually hacked and the first versions were named season9. Now there are a proliferation of different authors publishing different 'Seasons'. My personal fave is Voyager 1.0 q) 'Which channels can I decode?' a) With 'Season' and a videocrypt decoder:- All 20-odd BSkYB channels including the more dubios midnight rubbish (TVX), The adult channel, TV Asia (NOT Japanese TV) on Astra and Eurotica on Eutelsat II-F1. a) With 'maccess' and eurocrypt decoder (currently maccess v1.51) Filmnet + on Astra, TV1000 & 3xTV3's on Astra/Intelsat 702, Filmmax on sirius/ Intelsat 601, Canal +/Cine Cinemas on Telecom 2a (NOT on TDF 1/2), and TV1000 Cinema on TV-Sat2. q) 'How do I get started?' a) Get hold of the software package (see below). The details on how to build the interface are contained in ADAPTER.TXT, which is generally included in the archive. If it is not, then it should be available seperately at the same place. It's definately available at ftp.uni- erlangen.de in directory mounts/epix/public/pub/Multimedia/VideoCrypt/ cardadapter q) 'I'm crap at electronics, will someone sell me one?' a)Yes, Various people sell such interfaces and make a tidy sum out of it. My advice is 'Give it a go yourself'. If you really must buy then expect to pay about UKP20-30 (costs less than a fiver to build). Ad's are regularly placed in the alt group. An example follows. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >From: mark@physchem.ox.ac.uk (Mark Jackson) >Subject: Season interfaces for sale. > >If you can't make PCB's, I am offering a kit for 25 pounds or a built and >tested one for 30 pounds. Discounts for more than one card. This price >includes VAT and postage (sorry, but I *AM* VAT registered). >See my web page for prices (because I never remember to change the price >list, it is normally out of date, so prices are normally cheaper). >http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/~mark/prices.gif >--------------------------------oOO--u--OOo------------------------------- Perhaps a better alternative is to buy a 'kit' from Wilhelm von Cleef for DM 28,50 (~UKP13) or a bare PCB for DM 9,80 (UKP 4.50). You'll have to solder the parts on yourself of course! (TelTronic, Grabenstr. 49, 52525 Heinsberg) 100112.2225@compuserve.com q) Why is my season software 'flickering'? a) The effect your seeing is due to a code change implimented by ND to conter piracy of the programming in the BSkyB package (slang 'ECM' or electronic-counter measure). The solution is to procure an updated version of the decoding software. q) 'Can you send me the newest 'Season Software' please?' a) No, After each code change I get progressively more requests and, unlike some, I have to pay for my mail transfers. Try the following: FTP: helvetica-gw.chnet.ch ftp.uni-erlangen.de (mounts/epix/public/pub/Multimedia/VideoCrypt) ftp.paranoia.com (pub/users/defiant) Web Sites: www.paranoia.com/~defiant utelscin.el.utwente.nl/vcrypt q) How do I get 'Season Software'? a)To avoid being called nasty names it is probably a good move not to post a message asking where to find said updated software but to read the posts in this group (alt.satellite.tv.europe now and probably *.crypt in future) and act on the info. A second possibility is to join a mailing list (example below) > To: season-request@helvetica-gw.chnet.ch > Subject: > > ADD myaddress@mysite > ___ > Bruno Amsler Zuerich Switzerland > amsler@helvetica.chnet.ch q) How long will 'Season' software last? a) 'Season' software will shortly end for BSkyB programming temporarily (or permanently at worst) in the near future due to a card-change. The new card codes will have to be hacked and software made available. Last card- change took 3 months to hack :-(. However eurOtica and the adult channel use different codes and may well not adopt the new codes as a card-swap is too expensive for them. q) What is MACCESS and/or why hasn't it been updated for xxxxxxx ? a) Maccess v1.51 emulates the smartcards required to decode the EUROCRYPT scrambled programs as follows:- TV1000, TV1000 Cinema, three TV 3's, Filmnet +, Filmmax, Cine Cinemas (16:9, Telecom 2A) and Canal + (ditto). The author of previous versions (up to 1.50) of this software has made it quite clear that (a) newer versions will NOT be made public (b) the versions currently public were released WITHOUT his/her consent. This makes the recent release of 1.51 surprising, particularly as this version now tends to throw out 'Hash error' messages on a regular basis on my setup and doesn't work on some channels on other peoples setup. It has been reported that this is a modified version of Maccess 1.42 NOT 1.50 and is therefore NOT from the original author. Maccess 1.51 is available at helvetica-gw.chnet.ch and ftp.paranoia.com/ pub/users/defiant. Any comments/corrections to Darrellreed@doctord.ruhr.de Dee Dr. Darrell Reed &/or Lisa-Marie Reed +49(201)68-00-87 Essen, NRW ## CrossPoint v3.02 ##