DVR Software

Scrambling TV Signal With A Digital Cable TV Filter

A digital cable TV filter is also generally known as a descrambler. To understand how a cable TV functions, you have to understand a little about how a television set operates and how the cable data arrives at your screen. When a cable TV company is granted a franchise to supply cable TV to a specific area, they need to make a massive initial investment.

Their investment involves installing cable lines so that each house can be connected to the system if they choose. Known as a cable network, each cable can carry hundreds of signals. Each signal represents a TV station. These stations are being transmitted all the time, and only the individual cable customer can decide which and how many channels they are prepared to receive and pay for. The way that the cable company has power to prevent random interception of their data is by installing a filter or descrambler in each of their client's homes.

This is a fair and legitimate way for the cable company's to have control on their income, and that each of their many thousands of clients are paying for what they receive. Over a period of time, sometimes maybe years, the cable company will hope to recover their initial investment and even move in to profit.

This explains the role of the cable filter or descrambler and why it came into existence. With the advent of digital television, the suppliers of these services especially satellite had to come up with a whole new range of solutions to move painlessly into the digital age. The principals remain more or less the same. The main difference being that the digital cable filter will be allowing the option of viewing both cable and satellite.

As is the nature of man, many people have been tempted to buy their own descramblers and attempt to intercept and unscramble channels without paying the fees. In most of the Western World this is regarded as a criminal offence. In any event the cable or satellite TV companies are not likely to look upon it in a favorable light. They are liable to permanently suspend their services to anyone caught in the act.