Xtraview Video Encryption System refers to the now-defunct patented "encryption" system used on

Xtraview Xtraview was a British pay-per-view television channel run by Top Up TV. It replaced Top Up TV Sampler, a promotional channel showing Top Up TV's latest offers presented by Alice Beer. Xtraview showed a selection of programs from the Top Up TV p ...

and a number of other Top Up TV services, including

Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...

Television X Television X (TVX) is a series of adult pay-per-view television channels in the United Kingdom owned by MG Global Entertainment (Europe) Limited. Until 2020, it was owned by Portland TV which was a subsidiary of Richard Desmond's publishing com ...

Babestation Babestation (labelled Babenation on the Sky EPG) is an adult chat television channel and programme block which has aired on television in the United Kingdom since 2002. Since 2015, Babestation has also had a complementary website that inclu ...

and

Red Hot TV Red Hot TV can refer to: * Red Hot TV (Canada) * Red Hot TV (UK) Red Hot TV was a series of British television channel that showcased pornographic content on a pay-per-view basis. The channel began broadcasting on Sky in June 2000 as one o ...

. Unlike the other encryption system used by Top Up TV,

Mediaguard MediaGuard is a conditional access system for digital television developed by SECA (Société Européenne de Contrôle d'Accès; renamed to Canal+ Technologies SA) (CEO François Carayol), a subsidiary of Canal+ Group, sold to Thomson (CEO Thierry ...

, the Xtraview Video Encryption System was not a true

encryption In cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding information. This process converts the original representation of the information, known as plaintext, into an alternative form known as ciphertext. Ideally, only authorized parties can decip ...

system. Instead, an

MHEG MHEG-5, or ISO/IEC 13522-5, is part of a set of international standards relating to the presentation of multimedia information, standardised by the Multimedia and Hypermedia Experts Group (MHEG). It is most commonly used as a language to describe ...

application directed the user's

set-top box A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...

to a hidden videostream when a correct

PIN A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch de ...

is entered. Unlike traditional channel encryption methods, Xtraview did not require a viewing card. This is an advantage over digital terrestrial television in the UK, where the vast majority of set-top boxes have no ability to decrypt pay channels. Access to a channel protected using the Xtraview technology was granted by calling a premium rate telephone number. During the call, users were asked to give a number displayed on screen. In response, they were given a PIN to unlock the service. {{As of, 2011 a similar system is in use by Babestation Xtreme, Red Hot TV, Television X and briefly by the now defunct TView on digital terrestrial television.

Criticism

The PIN system has been subject to widespread hacking. Without encryption, the system was easily circumvented by set-top boxes that are able to access individual videostreams when individual stream PIDs are entered. More recently, the PIN algorithm itself was cracked, allowing others to access the service. Another downfall is that because the application is MHEG generated, if the set-top box was switched off, access to these channels was lost. It is also stated on-screen before purchase that not all boxes are compatible. Another factor is that a few cheaper boxes do not have MHEG support at all, and therefore cannot access the service.

External links

Top Up TV Homepage
Digital rights management systems Television technology