Steve Gee asked:




Why you need a descrambler for satellite TV

There are two types of satellite TV signal that you are able to access: Free To Air (FTA) and Premium. To cut a long story short you need a descrambler to watch premium and pay-per-view satellite broadcasts but you do not need one to watch FTA transmissions. So what is a satellite TV descrambler exactly?…

Satellite TV basics

Satellite TV is beamed from a satellite in space to your satellite dish and then passed via a cable to the receiver next to your TV. The job of the receiver is to convert the radio frequency signal from your dish into audio and video signals that you can feed into your home television equipment.

If the incoming signal is Free-to-Air then it will not be scrambled so the job of the receiver is done. You can enjoy the output of the receiver for as long as you like. If the incoming signal is scrambled or encrypted however then you will need to descramble it before you can watch it.

How satellite TV providers make their money

Launching satellites into space and running a huge broadcasting network requires a lot of money so providers generate that money from you, the consumer, in a number of ways. One way they make money is by persuading advertisers to pay them for showing advertising along with their interesting programmes. For some FTA channels this is their only means of generating revenue.

Another way to generate cash from the consumer more directly is to charge you for what you watch. Often a provider will offer a mixture of FTA and chargeable programming. The FTA channels get you hooked then you pay for the more entertaining channels.

What stops you watching premium satellite TV for free?

A provider of premium satellite TV has to have a way to make you pay for what you watch so they encrypt or scramble the TV signal and sell you a key to unlock it. When you have paid your subscription or the fee for a one-time pay-per-view the satellite TV provider sends a signal to your set-top box, which programmes your viewing card to allow the descrambler in the box to decode the signal so that you can watch it.

More information on this in the article Satellite TV Descrambler

Can you own your own satellite TV descrambler and be legal?

There isn't anything to stop you owning satellite TV descrambling equipment but if you use it to watch non-FTA programmes then you must inform the satellite TV provider that you are doing so. I bet they then send you a bill.

It is possible to acquire equipment that enables you to unlock and descramble premium satellite TV but the complexity and sophistication of modern digital TV encryption techniques are making it impractical to do so.

Home Alarm

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DVD Information

Binding: DVD
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating:
Brand: B & A Computer
Manufacturer: Hardy Classic Video
Original Release Date: 2000-01-01
Actors:

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Johnny Waymire asked:




There are three technologies today that are competing to be the number one TV technology: LCD, Plasma, and DLP. LCD will likely be the winning technology.

LCD TV's popularity has recently exploded. The technology is expanding and is now comparable to that of IBM and DVD. LCD TVs are the most up-to-date high-definition televisions with rich picture and color quality. It is a little known fact that LCD technology actually dates back to the year 1888 when the properties of liquid crystallization were discovered by Austrian scientist Friedrich Reinitzer. That would make the concept of LCD TV at least eighty years old! Probably the first efforts to utilize the process of liquid crystallization for commercial products were taken by George Heilmeier, an Electrical engineer from the University of Pennsylvania. Heilmeier also held Ph.D, M.S.E, & M.A's in Solid State electronics from Princeton University. He went on to work with RCA and while working along side Lucian Barton, Joseph Catellano, Joel Goldmacher, Nunzio Luce, Louis Zanoni and Richard Williams he shaped LCD technology, one piece at a time.

Before LCD TV came together as a whole, individual parts of the technology were first developed. Liquid crystal display (LCD) was the result of experimentation with liquid crystals. While dabbling in this technology RCA found that it was possible to create digital clocks, watches, calculators, and so on. The digital alarm that is common to timepieces today is due to Heilmeier's work with RCA.

James Fergason, a graduate from the University of Missouri was passed the baton of LCD technology and developed it further. As the Liquid Crystal Institute associate director at Kent State University, Fergason discovered the nematic field effect, which took the prototype LCD TV displays of Heilmeier's team toward the present-day LCD technology.

Fergason's team unveiled the first LCD TV in 1971, which unfortunately proved to be a disappointment in terms of the "phantom images" that were visible during action broadcasts. After making adjustments and the addition of reverse pull-down correction, the picture quality on modern-day LCD TV is excellent, hardly ever allowing distorted picture transmission. As a result of his work fine-tuning LCD technology, Fergason began his own corporation and forged over 100 patents.

LCD TV today is an amazing experience. At this rate, LCD TVs are sure to replace the old CRTs as the television-watching technology of the future. LCD TVs now are High Definition capable and provide an astonishing viewing resolution. It is also a favorite for individuals with home theaters.

plasma hdtv

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	Techcraft CRE48B Credenza for 48-Inch Flat Panel Televisions List Price: $299.99 Sale Price: $170.99 Average Rating:

	Premier Mounts PSD-TTS Universal Tabletop Stand List Price: $199.99 Sale Price: Too low to display Average Rating:

	Giuseppe di Stefano: La Voce del Cuore [DVD Video] List Price: $49.99 Sale Price: $18.99 Average Rating:

DVD Information

Binding: DVD
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating:
Brand: B & A Computer
Manufacturer: Hardy Classic Video
Original Release Date: 2000-01-01
Actors:

	Contender [VHS] List Price: $44.99 Sale Price: $18.95 Used From: $2.00

	Last Castle [VHS] List Price: $44.99 Sale Price: $24.99 Used From: $24.99

	Coleman Cable 046588912 6-Outlet Power Strip with 15-Feet Cord List Price: $16.99 Sale Price: $12.77

	Coleman Cable 04663 7-Outlet LCD/HDTV Surge Protector with Coax Protection List Price: $24.99 Sale Price: $18.20