By Wajabat Husain, Scientific-Atlanta. Inc.
The video descrambling portion of IS- 15, EIA MULTIPORT, can be compatible with present day RF Sync Suppression schemes. Industry consensus seems to indicate that for this standard to survive, a "phasing-in" period will be required. During this time, compatibility with RF Sync Suppressed scrambling is imperative. This scheme, in one form or another, is presently used by a majority of CATV plants. As a result, millions of RF descramblers are currently in use. Furthermore, as bandwidth in existing systems is at a premium, duplication of service, for IS-15 compatibility, is economically prohibitive.
The ideal scenario for a Cable Operator is to modify or replace the scramblers in his headend, retain all his descramblers in the field and achieve IS- 15 compatibility,without compromising security.