How to connect a PC to a Videocrypt decoder

How to connect a PC to a Video crypt decoder

The easiest way to connect your PC to a Video crypt pay-TV decoder is to use the card slot as an interface and connect it with a voltage converter (MAX232) and a TTL open collector driver (74LS07) to the RS-232 serial port. This way, you don't even have to open the decoder and the PC can now act as a smart card.

Season7 -- MS-DOS Videocrypt smart card emulator------------------------------------------------

This software allows you to connect your PC to a Videocrypt pay-TVdecoder. Season7 can both listen to the data traffic between a card anda decoder and act like a card. This software also implements the hashfunction and the secret key that was used in the 07 series card used byBritish Sky Broadcasting on the Astra satellites in 1993 and early1994. In that time, it was possible to watch these channels without aSky card using Season7 (someone also called it OMIGOD), but with theintroduction of the 09 card series, the secret key has been changed. Soyou can't use this software easily to watch Sky any more, but it stilldescrambles recorded program from before 1994-05-18. Season7 canbasically also decrypt the Adult Channel (the same hash algorithm isused), but for legal reasons, the secret key of the Adult Channel hasbeen removed from this version, because it is still in use.In order to use this software, you will need a Videocrypt decoder witha card slot (costs about 400 DM), an IBM AT compatible PC with at leasta 12 MHz i286 processor, a serial RS-232 port and DOS 3.3 or higher andyou will have to build a small interface circuit as described in thefile ADAPTER.TXT. This interface may be operated in three modes: a) A PC listens to data traffic between a card an a decoder b) A PC talks to a decoder without a card and acts like a card c) A PC talks to a card without a decoder and acts like a decoderSeason7 only supports mode a) and b), but the file ADAPTER.TXT alsodescribes the additional circuitry (clock generator) necessary for modec) operation.You can use Season7 to record the data traffic between a card and adecoder for a certain program. If you make this recording available tosomeone else, then it is possible for this person to replay the data tothe decoder with Season7 and to descramble the same program later if ithas been recorded in encrypted from on a VCR. The VCL Videocryptlogfile format supported by Season7 is especially designed for thispurpose, because it only contains the part of the exchanged data neededto descramble the image. Other exchanged data like the card serialnumber is not stored in a VCL file. Technical details of the Videocryptcard protocol and the VCL file format are explained in the fileDETAILS.TXT.IMPORTANT: It is illegal to watch pay-TV programs without a subscription in the countries in which a regular subscription is available (for the Sky channels, these are currently Great Britain and Northern Ireland). The legal situation in other countries is unclear, but as it is currently tolerated that e.g. in Germany and Sweden so-called pirate or clone cards are sold, using this software in other countries should be no problem at the moment. There is perhaps also no problem if you have already a regular subscription for the channels and want to use this software only for educational purposes. THE AUTHOR OF THIS SOFTWARE TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE LEGALITY OF USING AND DISTRIBUTING THIS SOFTWARE. As far as the author is concerned, this software may be used and redistributed freely.How do you use Season7----------------------You have to build an electrical interface between the decoder's cardslot and a serial port of your PC. The file ADAPTER.TXT that comes withthis package gives you more technical information about how to do this.Then start SEASON7.EXE and give as a command line argument the portnumber to which you connected your interface (default is COM2 if youdon't give a number).E.g. enter SEASON7 1if your interface is connected to COM1. If the text 'RESET' or'Decoding ...' doesn't appear after a few seconds or if your decoderdisplays 'YOUR CARD IS INVALID', then please switch to an unscrambledchannel for at least 3 seconds in order to cause a card reset in thedecoder. This software has currently only been tested with a PACE VC100decoder, but it is expected to work with all other decoders, too.Without further options, Season7 tries to emulate a Sky series 07 card.You can leave the program by pressing either q, x or ESC and you canactivate and deactivate a debugging mode by pressing d. In thedebugging mode, all data packets exchanged between the card and thedecoder are listed. By pressing l you can write the last (up to 400)crypto messages to file VCLOG. As the log file time stamps are in universal time (UTC, formerly known as Greenwich Mean Time), you shoulddefine your local time zone in environment variable TZ. E.g. put 'setTZ=MET-1DST' in your AUTOEXEC.BAT if you live in the Middle EuropeanTimezone in summer (2 hours ahead of universal time) and use 'MET-1' inwinter (1 hour ahead of Greenwich). On startup, Season7 shows you thecurrent universal time. Please check whether it is correct, especiallyif you want to provide VCL files for other peoples.On slow computers (e.g. an i286 processor with 12 MHz is slow enough),the time needed for the debugging output might already be too long andthe decoder will get a timeout and send a RESET signal. As the protocolis quite time critical, try to use only simple DOS (no DOScompatibility box in another operating system) and if you still haveproblems, remove unnecessary TSR programms that might steal time andinterrupts from Season7 and try the e option. Season7 understands several command line options: d This activates the debugging mode which will print all data exchanged with the decoder on screen. Debugging mode can also be (de-)activated by pressing d while the program runs. p In the passive mode, Season 7 doesn't send any bytes, but listens only to the data traffic between a decoder and a real card. E.g. use 'season7 pd >logfile' in order to record to a file what's happening between a card and a decoder. o Write a VCL file that allows other peoples later to descramble the same program from a VCR. The file name is optional (e.g. 'season7 otest.vcl'), and if you don't specify one, Season7 generates one using date, time (hour rounded up by 5 minutes), satellite name and transponder number (VCmmddhh.stt). Season7 will ask you about the satellite, the transponder number and what you are recording and stores this information together with the time in the VCL file header. The 'o' option automatically activates the passive mode, so you'll have to connect a real card to the adapter (mode a), because Season7 only listens. Make sure you have set the system clock and environment variable TZ correctly. i Instead of emulating a Sky 07 card, use the specified VCL file in order to answer the queries of the decoder and descramble a program (mode b). Useful only for video cassette recorded program. e In the economy mode, no time consuming screen output and data log activities take place in the main loop. This allows to use Season7 on some very slow systems. You might want to try this option together with options wb0 and wa0. m This option suppresses the on-screen message with the Season7 version number, the time and the channel name. wa Allows you to specify the number of microseconds wait time between a reset impulse from the decoder and Season7's answer to reset (default: 30000 = 30 ms). wb Allows you to specify the number of microseconds wait time between the bytes sent to the decoder (default: 500). This value can be modified while Season7 runs by pressing + and -.The optimum wa and wb values haven't been determined yet for allpossible processors and decoders, so please play around with wa in caseof reset problems and with wb in case of unstable operation after a successful reset.While decrypting, Season7 shows you three hexadecimal numbers from thedecoder's data packets. The second one is used to select the secret keyin the card, so if this one changes, perhaps new codes have beenactivated. The third number identifies the channel and strange numbersthere have been used by Sky in the past to confuse hacker cards. In VCLreplay mode (option i), you'll only see at which position in the VCLfile the current answer for the decoder query has been found. If thenumbers bore you, better switch off the PC monitor in order to savepower while watching TV.I wrote Season7 just for fun as a hobby project and I have nocommercial intentions. Many other Videocrypt hobby experts and Iperiodically read the USENET group alt.satellite.tv.europe, so pleasepost there a message if you have problems, questions, etc. regardingthis software. Please don't contact me directly unless you have newtechnical information, and please understand that I don't have the timeto give technical support to unexperienced Season7 users. I wish tothank the members of the tv-crypt mailing list for their valuable help.Season7 uses a public domain interrupt driven serial port assemblerroutine which has been published by David Kessner some time ago. Ask him if you are interested in the latest version ofthis serial code.This software was primarily written for European Star Trek fans outsideGreat Britain who don't have a chance to get a regular Sky subscriptionand have no other way of watching the undubbed version of theirfavourite SF series. I don't want to cause any harm to Sky and I evenasked them for a regular subscription some time ago, but they refusedto sell one to Germany. So they have to live with the consequences ofattracting the interest of high tech freaks to the technical details oftheir access control system. :-)I developped this software and made it available to you at no cost andso I expect of course that if you improve, update or port this softwareto other systems, you will also make your work freely available toothers.
IMPORTANT
It is illegal to watch pay-TV programs without a subscription in the countries in which a regular subscription is available (for the Sky channels, these are currently England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). The legal situation in other countries is unclear, but as it is currently tolerated that e.g. in Germany and Sweden so-called pirate or clone cards are sold, using this type of interface in other countries should be no problem at the moment. There is perhaps also no problem if you have already a regular Sky subscription for all channels and want to use this interface only for educational purposes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. THE MAKER OF THIS INTERFACE TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE LEGALITY OF USING AND DISTRIBUTING THIS INTERFACE. As far as the maker is concerned, these interface drawings are in the public domain and can be found by ftp to various sites, also the software can be found by ftp to various sites.
PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A HARDWARE DEVICE FROM PC TO A ISO 7816 (SMART CARD SLOT), IT MUST ONLY BE USED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES, AND IF YOU DO RUN THE VARIOUS PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE PROGRAMS PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE A VALID SUBSCRIPTION TO THAT COMPANY



Disadvantages

One of the main disadvantages of the SEASON interface is that it uses a COM port on the computer. For a system that is connected via a modem to the internet and uses a mouse, the number of COM ports available diminishes somewhat. It still involves some messing about with the computer to get working properly. An alternative could be the parallel printer port. In terms of user friendliness this would be only slightly better as someone would have to unplug the printer to connect the interface. Other problems such as printer port compatibility would arise depending on how the printer port is handled under the various operating systems. The best solution is one that would work equally well on W95/W98/DOS

VIEW ADAPTER TXT

Descramblers

Tandberg descrambler

Descramblers
When use the standard receiver a possibility is given to open only one TV or radio program. For increasing of available programs number the descramblers are used.
Tandberg descrambler

System of the conditional access
Descrambler type
Irdeto, Betacrypt
TT5010
Conax
TT5031
Mediaguard
TT5032
Nagravision
TT5033
Viaccess
TT5034
Cryptoworks
TT5035
Videoguard (NDS)
TT5020