ART’s Pehla attacks TV pirates
February 21, 2011
Middle East pay-TV operator Arab Radio & Television (ART) has just added Bahrain to its anti-piracy crack-down. ART’s Pehla bouquet of Asian channels introduced the Viaccess encryption system on Saturday, in place of Irdeto.
The change means the widespread usage of Dreambox set-top boxes can no longer use the internet to exchange codes which in the past unlocked encrypted signals.
Pehla’s Bahrain distributor Om Ramchandani from SatLink, said most channels were now encoded. “While the Cricone channel broadcasting the cup matches is now only available on the new technology, most of the other channels have also moved to the new platform,” he told local press. “All our subscribers in Bahrain have been given new set-top boxes that use the Viaccess technology,” added Ramchandani. “The channels that are still available on the old technology will also be moved to the new platform within a few weeks.”
ART’s rival, Orbit Showtime Network, switched its encryption technology last December.