Is NextPVR best software best for my requirements?

[Reddwarf]

If you can move the smartcard from one STB to another and it still works then it is not paired.
To build a softcam system you need a cardreader of Phoenix type (to read the smartcard), a program that acts as a cardserver (NewCS is a good and free program) and finally a Softcam like Acamd (also free and working good). The cardserver uses the cardreader to read the smartcard and delivers decryption keys to Acamd that in turn decrypts the tv signal. One cardserver can serve many Acamd's and you need one Acamd for each simultanous channel that is watched/recorded.

Unfortunately good dvb-c cards are rather expensive, I'v had good experience with Cinergy, Hauppauage and Digital Divices cards. I would not recommend buying cheap usb tuners, I'v had a few of those and they last only some months.

[rajjesh]

ok thanks for information

[martint123]

....... Acamd that in turn decrypts the tv signal. One cardserver can serve many Acamd's and you need one Acamd for each simultanous channel that is watched/recorded.

You seem to know your way round this - do you know if there any possibilities to record the encrypted signal and decode it at a later date for viewing?

[Reddwarf]

You seem to know your way round this - do you know if there any possibilities to record the encrypted signal and decode it at a later date for viewing?

Sorry for the late reply. There was one guy working on an offline decrypter, unfortunately he abandoned the project halfway, so it does not work well. So the answer for all practical purposes is no. But it is no hassle to decrypt the recordings on-the-fly, it does not require a lot of cpu power.

[martint123]

Sorry for the late reply. There was one guy working on an offline decrypter, unfortunately he abandoned the project halfway, so it does not work well. So the answer for all practical purposes is no. But it is no hassle to decrypt the recordings on-the-fly, it does not require a lot of cpu power.

Thanks for that - I think I found a completed one and it seems to go through the motions and reading my card in the server, but the file is full of nothing ;(

[Reddwarf]

Thanks for that - I think I found a completed one and it seems to go through the motions and reading my card in the server, but the file is full of nothing ;(

Was that an encrypted file you tried to decrypt? What program were you using?

[martint123]

Yes, it was a recording of an encrypted channel without any of the mdec stuff being used (my card spends 99% of the time in the Sly box).
I was playing around with Offline Descrambler from http://joshyfun.260mb.com/OfflineDescrambler/index.html It looks like development froze in 2006 though.

[Reddwarf]

That's exactly the version I have too. The goal was to be able to run it in a batch as well as interactive, but without any explanation he abandoned the project. It is mostly working in interactive mode, but a setup with Acamd and NewCS is much better.

[Reddwarf]

That's exactly the version I have too. The goal was to be able to run it in a batch as well as interactive, but without any explanation he abandoned the project. It is mostly working in interactive mode, but a setup with Acamd and NewCS is much better.

I'd be happy to help if you'd like to give it a go with Acamd and NewCS.

[martint123]

With your help much earlier, I got acamd working with ccam in a linux VM and gbpvr. It worked fine decrypting when recording.
Do I read you correctly in that acamd can also be used to play back encrypted recordings??? I know sub included the mdplugin hooks for when recording, but I see nothing for playback??
No panic for help - it something that would be quite useful for us, but not essential.