Note that not all transmissions have a CAM available, Spains Digital+ for example uses the Nagravision 3 encryption or the SECA encryption, there are yet no Nagra3 CAMs available, so the original D+ set top box has to be used. ( SECA is available )
- . The slots and openings in the cabinet and in the back or bottom are provided for necessary ventilation. To ensure reliable operation of this apparatus and to protect it from overheating, these slots and openings must never be blocked or covered.
- CI is more properly the term used to describe the slot, into which you then put a Conditional Access Module, or CAM. The CAM will usually have a slot in it for a subscription card; this then.
The slot is installed CAM in which is installed in access card. CI – Common Interface It is a technology that allows you to view encrypted television signals, ie TV programs offered for viewing to users for a fee. At the present time, CI interface departed in the past and replaced with an improved interface CI +. Common Interface (CI) is required for descrambling (decrypt) TV channels. Usually operators do the encryption for paid TV content (not free content), and end users have to buy Conditional Access Module (CAM) and smart cards for decryption.
Fransat Cards do work in the right cam, they have changed the standard now to CI+. However our tests on various receivers have come up with no compatible model ! The cam can be used in a TV with a satellite tuner, as long as the interface in the tv is version CI+ 1.3
Smart card should be inserted into CAM, then the CAM should be inserted into a Common Interface (CI) slot on Joker TV device. Here is a photo below: Joker TV with inserted CAM module and smart card. Note: Joker TV firmware revision 0x37 or newer and libjokertv version 1.10.2 or newer is recommended to work with Common Interface (CI).
What is CI+
CI Plus: This a new addition to the specification of the standard unit. It is an improvement on the electronics of the CI standard as far as video piracy is concerned.. The CI Plus interface is required to be able to use CI Plus modules for the cable network or other pay TV providers . They can be used independently to decode encrypted channels or more commonly used together with a SmartCard. The main difference and the reason for its introduction is it is now possible for broadcasters to impose restrictions for the recording of programmes. In doing so, the recorded encrypted signal is scrambled on the screen if the restriction is active.. Recordings will therefore have a limited time, if the broadcaster applies this, after which they will not be viewable.
The CI Plus interface is also backwards compatible with old Common Interfaces (CI) and can also accommodate modules of this type.
Hello everybody! This post describes how Common Interface (CI) works on Joker TV device. Common Interface (CI) is required for descrambling (decrypt) TV channels. Usually operators do the encryption for paid TV content (not free content), and end users have to buy Conditional Access Module (CAM) and smart cards for decryption. Smart card should be inserted into CAM, then the CAM should be inserted into a Common Interface (CI) slot on Joker TV device. Here is a photo below:
Joker TV with inserted CAM module and smart cardNote: Joker TV firmware revision 0x37 or newer and libjokertv version 1.10.2 or newer is recommended to work with Common Interface (CI).
Joker TV does the Common Interface (CI) and CAM initialization. If it is successful then a green LED near the CI should come on. Then we should use joker-tv console app for RF tuning and configuring CI and CAM. For testing purposes I will use following command:
This command will tune the satellite DVB-S2 transponder 12303MHz 27500H on Eutelsat 36B satellite. This transponder broadcasts encrypted content for largest Russian satellite TV operator “Tricolor TV”. I’m using Neotion DRE Pro CAM and smart card officially ordered from Tricolor TV. If everything is ok you should see decrypted content in the out.ts file. Here is the correct output for the above mentioned command:
As you can see, CAM is successfully configured and has started the decryption.
Man-Machine Interface (MMI) is a control interface to interact with CAM. Joker-tv console app exports MMI interaction to TCP port (by default localhost:7777). You can use simple telnet console app to connect to MMI and some useful information can be obtained through it. Here is an example:
In the above listing I have obtained the available subscriptions that are saved to my smart card. Date ranges specify the period of time that I have been allowed to see paid TV content. CAM is unable to decrypt channels after this period of time if I do not extend my subscriptions.
Joker-tv app can dump all communications to a file with CAM. Option ‘–cam-pcap cam.pcap’ should be used for this. This file contains all traffic control to/from CAM in PCAP format. We can use the Wireshark application to analyze it. Here is screenshots of Wireshark app after opening cam.pcap:
CAM and Host interaction in WiresharkCommon Interface Plus (ci+) Slots Online
I have marked the most important information in red. This command was sent from “Host” to “CAM” and contains command (CA PMT command ID: ok descrambling (0x01) to decrypt TV program number 0x7919. This TV program consists of one Video (TS PID 0x1201) and one Audio (TS PID 0x1202) stream. CAM starts decryption after receiving this command from the host.
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Now, Joker TV should pass TS through CAM and it will transparently decrypt TS traffic and send it back to the Joker TV. Signals form and timings defined in EN50221 standard in section “A.5.5.4 Signal Description”.
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Signal to and from CAM according to EN50221 standardMCLKI signal is a clock generated by Joker TV. According to EN50221, the clock period is 111 ns which means 9 MHz. Data (TS) transmitted on MDI0-7 lines in parallel. This gives us maximum bitrate on Common Interface (CI):
9 MHz * 8 bit = 72 Mbit/sec
Return channel clock (MCLKO) is generated by the CAM module and actually can be clocked at any frequency. As stated in EN50221 – “There is no specification for delay between MCLKI and MCLKO. In the case of a module providing its own MCLKO, they may not even be the same frequency”. Joker TV Verilog implementation takes this into account and should work with any reasonable MCLKO frequencies.
All these lines are connected to a FPGA inside the Joker TV. For those who want to dig deeper into CI lines traced on Joker TV can check this post about hardware sharing.
CAM collection that I have successfully tested with Joker TVCommon Interface Plus (ci+) Slot
Joker TV has fully supported Common Interface (CI) but is not limited to this functionality. It can be adopted to CAM’s specific set of features or even implement workarounds for known bugs. Please send me your success stories with descrambling TV channels using Joker TV and CAM. I will also maintain compatibility list of supported CAM’s.
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Thank you, until next time!