Descrambling
A descrambler is a device that unscrambles the encoded signal and restores the picture and sound of a scrambled channel.
Typical modern cable boxes include some form of descrambling ability. Such a cable box must also be addressable (see below) in order to be told to descramble the signal for a given channel. Early electronic cable boxes, for example, could descramble channels that used inversion as a scrambling method.
In many markets, carriers provided devices with simple or no descrambling capability, although the carrier may use different forms of scrambling for different premium channels. Certain premium channels or services could require an upgrade to a more advanced converter box that was capable of the necessary descrambling method. This is less true in the era digital cable and cheap consumer electronics.
When a descrambler is included in a cable converter box, it is sometimes referred to as a converter/descrambler, or combination unit.
Read more about this topic: Cable Converter Box