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GLOSSARY
CA - Conditional Access
- Encryption system
used to secure content and grant access only to
subscribers.
CAM - conditional access module
- is an
electronic device, usually incorporating a slot
for a smart card, which equips a set-top box
with the appropriate hardware facility to view
conditional access content that has been
encrypted using a conditional access system.
CI - Common Interface
- is the slot on a
digital television receiver into which a
conditional access module (CAM) may be
inserted for satellite television. A receiver with a
common interface allows the user to access
encrypted television broadcasts as opposed to
free-to-air (FTA) channels.
DVB-S
is the original Digital Video Broadcasting
forward error coding and modulation standard
for satellite television. DVB-S is used in both
MCPC and SCPC modes for broadcast network
feeds, as well as for direct broadcast satellite
services. The transport stream delivered by
DVB-S is mandated as MPEG-2.
EPG
-
Electronic Programme Guide
, also
known as an Interactive Programme Guide or
IPG, provides an on screen guide to channel
listings, programme information or pay per
view events.
FTA - Free-to-air
- broadcasts that are sent
unencrypted and may be received via any
suitable receiver.
LNB - low-noise block converter
- is used in
communications satellite (usually broadcast
satellite) reception. The LNB is usually fixed on
the satellite dish.
MCPC - multiple channels per carrier
-
several subcarriers are combined into a single
bitstream before being modulated onto a carrier
transmitted from a single location to one or
more remote sites.
Monoblock LNB
- is a unit consisting of two
LNBs and is designed to receive satellites
spaced close together.
Pay-TV - Pay television
or
Premium
Television
refers
to
subscription-based
television services, provided digital cable or
satellite, but also by digital terrestrial methods.
SCPC - Single channel per carrier
- refers to
using a single signal at a given frequency and
bandwidth.
STB - Set-top box
- Receiver device that
processes an incoming signal from a satellite
dish, aerial, cable, network or telephone line.
TP - Transponder
– One of the transmitters on
a satellite. A transponder transmits on a
particular frequency to which a set-top box
must tune to receive a signal. Typically each
transponder can carry multiple compressed
digital television channels.
DiSEqC - (Digital Satellite Equipment
Control)
is a communication protocol for use
between a satellite receiver and a device such
as a multi-dish switch or a small dish antenna
rotor. It is compatible with the actuators used to
rotate large C band dishes if used with a DiSEqC
positioner.
USALS – (Universal Satellites Automatic
Location System)
- is a satellite motor
protocol that automatically creates a list of
available satellite positions in a motorized
satellite dish setup. It is used in conjunction
with the DiSEqC 1.2 protocol.
