[linux-dvb] CAMs and PCMCIA

[Steve Hill]

I've been Googling and not been able to find an answer so I'm hoping 
someone here will be able to help me:

Various DVB cards support plugging a separate CI slot into them so you can 
use a CAM to view encrypted channels.  As I understand it, the CI slot is 
actually a PCMCIA slot, so the question is: can you just plug a CAM into a 
normal PCMCIA or CardBus slot, grab the encrypted stream from the DVB card 
and then send it through the CAM?

The advantages would seem to be:
1. Cards which have no support for a common interface seem to be quite a 
bit cheaper
2. You could have multiple receiver cards recording simultaneously and 
then decrypt the data at a later date so that you only need a single CAM 
and viewing card.  (I believe the Sky+ box does this - only decrypting the 
data when you play it)

If you can plug a CAM directly into a PCMCIA slot, is there already any 
software support for doing it or would new drivers need to be written?

-- 

  - Steve
    xmpp:steve at nexusuk.org   sip:steve at nexusuk.org   http://www.nexusuk.org/

      Servatis a periculum, servatis a maleficum - Whisper, Evanescence