PowerVu
Encyclopedia
PowerVu is a conditional access system for digital television
developed by Scientific Atlanta. It is used for professional broadcasting, notably by Retevision
, Bloomberg Television
, Discovery Channel
, AFRTS and American Forces Network
. It is also used by cable companies to prevent viewing by unauthorized viewers.
PowerVu has decoders that decode signals from certain satellites for cable distribution services. These decoders can also be used just like the FTA
(Free-To-Air) satellite receivers if properly configured. PowerVu was considered very secure since it uses a complicated system to authorize each PowerVu receiver and trace its history of ownership and usage. Most PowerVu users are professional cable or satellite companies, using the service and equipment for signal redistribution, because regular users cannot afford it.
On March 10, 2010 the hacker
called "Colibri" published after previous work done in 2005 a cryptanalysis
of a PowerVU system implementation, describing a flawed design that can be used to gain access to the encryption keys and ultimately decryption of the transmitted content.
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
developed by Scientific Atlanta. It is used for professional broadcasting, notably by Retevision
Retevisión
Retevisión is a Spanish telecommunications company and a subsidiary of Abertis.- History :Retevision was born in 1989 as a public company, a division of the national public Radiotelevisión Española...
, Bloomberg Television
Bloomberg Television
Bloomberg Television is a 24-hour global network broadcasting business and financial news. It is distributed globally, reaching over 200 million homes worldwide. It is owned and operated by Bloomberg L.P...
, Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, AFRTS and American Forces Network
American Forces Network
The American Forces Network is the brand name used by the United States Armed Forces American Forces Radio and Television Service for its entertainment and command internal information networks worldwide...
. It is also used by cable companies to prevent viewing by unauthorized viewers.
PowerVu has decoders that decode signals from certain satellites for cable distribution services. These decoders can also be used just like the FTA
FTA Receiver
A free-to-air or FTA Receiver is a satellite television receiver designed to receive unencrypted broadcasts. Modern decoders are typically compliant with the MPEG-2/DVB-S and more recently the MPEG-4/DVB-S2 standard for digital television, while older FTA receivers relied on analog satellite...
(Free-To-Air) satellite receivers if properly configured. PowerVu was considered very secure since it uses a complicated system to authorize each PowerVu receiver and trace its history of ownership and usage. Most PowerVu users are professional cable or satellite companies, using the service and equipment for signal redistribution, because regular users cannot afford it.
On March 10, 2010 the hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
called "Colibri" published after previous work done in 2005 a cryptanalysis
Cryptanalysis
Cryptanalysis is the study of methods for obtaining the meaning of encrypted information, without access to the secret information that is normally required to do so. Typically, this involves knowing how the system works and finding a secret key...
of a PowerVU system implementation, describing a flawed design that can be used to gain access to the encryption keys and ultimately decryption of the transmitted content.