News Broadcasting
Conditional Access: A basic guide
MUMBAI: What is conditional access? How does it work? Is it prevalent globally? What should India do? Is the CAS Amendment a good enough framework?
These are among many more questions that are plaguing industry, planners and the viewer. To make CAS simpler and understandable for both the technophile and the technophobe, Indiantelevision.com scoured the net and came up with a list of resources on the WWW. We hope these will help clear out some of the cobwebs and haze around CAS. Happy Reading!!
Conditional access (CA) is a technology used to control access to digital television (DTV) services to authorized users by encrypting the transmitted programming. CA has been used for years for pay-TV services. There are numerous ATSC and DVB-compliant CA systems available for a broadcaster to choose from. The CA system provider provides the equipment and software to the broadcaster who then integrates the CA system into his equipment.
The following describes the conditional access process:
*The receiver receives the digital data stream.
*The data flows into the conditional access module, which contains the content provider’s unscrambling algorithms.
*The conditional access module verifies the existence of a smart card that contains the subscriber’s authorization code.
*If the authorization code is accepted, the conditional access module unscrambles the data and returns the data to the receiver. If the code is not accepted, the data remains scrambled restricting access.
*The receiver then decodes the data and outputs it for viewing.
A CA system consists of several basic components:
Subscriber Management System (SMS): The SMS is a subsystem of the CA system that manages the subscriber’s information and requests entitlement management messages (EMM) from the Subscriber Authorization System (SAS). An EMM provides general information about the subscriber and the status of the subscription. The EMM is sent with the ECM. The ECM is a data unit that contains the key for decrypting the transmitted programs.
Subscriber Authorization System (SAS): The SAS is a subsystem of the CA system that translates the information about the subscriber into an EMM at the request of the SMS. The SAS also ensures that the subscriber’s security module receives the authorization needed to view the programs, and the SAS acts as a backup system in case of failure.
Security module: The security module, usually in the form of a smart card, extracts the EMM and ECM necessary for decrypting the transmitted programs. The security module is either embedded within the set-top box or in a PC Card that plugs into the set-top box.
Set-top box: The set-top box houses the security module that gives authorization for decrypting the transmitted programs. The set-top box also converts the digital signal to an analogue signal so an older television can display the programs. .
Smart Cards: For years, smart cards have been used for pay TV programming. Smart cards are inexpensive, allowing the content provider to issue updated smart cards periodically to prevent piracy. Detachable PC cards allow subscribers to use DVB services anywhere DVB technology is supported.
There are two DVB protocols used by CA systems: SimulCrypt and MultiCrypt. SimulCrypt uses multiple set-top boxes, each using a different CA system, to authorize the programs for display. The different ECMs and EMMs required by each CA system are transmitted simultaneously. Each set-top box recognizes and uses the appropriate ECM and EMM needed for authorization. The ATSC standard uses SimulCrypt. MultiCrypt allows multiple CA systems to be used with one set-top box by using a PC card with an embedded smart card for each CA system used. Each card is then plugged into a slot in the set-top box. Each card recognizes the ECM and EMM needed for authorization.
A typical CA process involves three basic elements: the broadcast equipment, the set-top box, and the security module. The broadcast equipment generates the encrypted programs that are transmitted to the subscriber. When these are transmitted, the set-top box filters out the signals and passes them to the security module. The security module then authorizes these programs for decryption. The programs are then descrypted in real time and sent back to the set-top box for display
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
