What is BISS-CA?
What does it change?
What specific events will BISS-CA be used for? This will help me decide whether to upgrade my units or not.
When did Eurovision Services start implementing BISS-CA encryption?
What is the procedure for requesting BISS-CA access?
Is it free of charge to register all our receivers with Eurovision Services?
I would like to update an RX8200 unit to BISS-CA, but the firmware is older than 5.12, so I cannot use the update software to update. I see there is a way to batch install in the update-guid. Where can I get the batch files updateallrx8000.bat and main.bin?
Is an additional licence required for the RX8200 to enable BISS-CA?
Does the upgrade programme cover any other IRDs?
Which other decoders have been tested and approved by ES for receiving BISS-CA encrypted transmissions?
Does the RX1290 support BISS-CA?
I purchased my decoder from a different vendor. Can I arrange my upgrade with this vendor?
What is the recommended firmware version for the Ateme DR5000?
Is any additional firmware upgrade or licence required for the NS2000 demodulator for BISS-CA encryption?
When I install the BISS-CA licence in a unit, will the unit still be able to receive content encrypted with other BISS modes, like BISS-1 or BISS-E?
How can we use receivers after we upgrade them with BISS-CA?
What about encoders? Do I also need to register them with Eurovision Services?
If I buy a new Ateme DR5000 or Mediakind RX8200 from Eurovision Services, will it be BISS-CA ready?

What is BISS-CA?

BISS-CA is a new open, secure and interoperable conditional access standard of the BISS encryption protocol including a dynamic key system.

Reference documentation:

https://tech.ebu.ch/publications/biss-ca-conditional-access-mode-for-biss2

https://www.Ateme.com/how-biss-ca-is-allowing-broadcasters-to-fight-back-against-piracy/

↑

What does it change?

Eurovision Services is progressively adding BISS-CA encryption to its high-value live transmissions in 2020. In order to receive these transmissions, broadcasters will need the firmware in their IRDs upgrading and will need to register all BISS-CA compatible equipment with us.

↑

What specific events will BISS-CA be used for? This will help me decide whether to upgrade my units or not.

Eurovision Services will gradually migrate to the use of BISS-CA for all high-value content, so we highly recommend upgrading if you plan to broadcast major international sports events. We cannot confirm at this stage which specific events will use BISS-CA encryption but we will be rolling out BISS-CA encryption for a number of high-value events in the future, subject to agreement with the relevant rights owners. The transmission synopsis will indicate whether an event is using BISS-CA encryption.

↑

When did Eurovision Services start implementing BISS-CA encryption?

Eurovision Services started using BISS-CA encryption over Europe from August 2020.

↑

What is the procedure for requesting BISS-CA access?

All equipment, regardless of type or vendor, must be registered in our Network Management System and the decoder's public key has to be uploaded to allow that decoder to handle BISS-CA encryption of Eurovision Services transmissions. Please refer to the technical guidelines for more detailed information.

↑

Is it free of charge to register receivers with Eurovision Services?

Yes, the equipment registration on eurovision.net is free of charge.↑ 

↑

I would like to update an RX8200 unit to BISS-CA, but the firmware is older than 5.12, so I cannot use the update software to update. I see there is a way to batch install in the update-guid. Where can I get the batch files updateallrx8000.bat and main.bin?

The upgrade method using the upgrade utility tool can only be used by RX8200 units running firmware version 5.12 or more recent. Decoders on previous firmware versions must be manually upgraded to an intermediate version (in this case version 7.1.5).

↑

Is an additional licence required for the RX8200 to enable BISS-CA?

Yes, you will need an additional licence to enable BISS-CA. You can find all the relevant information on our documentation page. ↑

↑

Which other decoders have been tested and approved by ES for receiving BISS-CA encrypted transmissions? 

ES has currently tested and validated the Ateme DR5000 and MediaKind RX8200 for BISS-CA use. Eurovision Services does not accept any liability if broadcasters use decoders that have not been tested and approved by us.

↑

Does the RX1290 support BISS-CA?

No.

↑

I purchased my decoder from a different vendor. Can I arrange my upgrade with this vendor?

Yes, please check with your vendor for more information.

↑

What is the recommended firmware version for the Ateme DR5000?

The recommended firmware version for the Ateme DR5000 is 2.4.7.1. or newer.

↑

Is any additional firmware upgrade or licence required for the NS2000 demodulator for BISS-CA encryption?

The NS2000 demodulators are not decoders and therefore are not compatible with BISS-CA. This equipment is not affected by this upgrade campaign.

↑

When I install the BISS-CA licence in a unit, will the unit still be able to receive content encrypted with other BISS modes, like BISS-1 or BISS-E?

For the models that we have tested and approved, adding the BISS-CA licence will not affect reception of any other BISS encryption modes. All other installed BISS licences will remain valid.

↑

How can we use receivers after we upgrade them with BISS-CA?

BISS-CA is a new and additional feature. Upgrading the equipment does not affect any existing features, so you can still receive other types of transmission as before.

↑

What about encoders? Do I also need to register them with Eurovision Services?

Our upgrade campaign only concerns receivers for decoding BISS-CA encrypted signals transmitted by Eurovision Services. Encoders required to encrypt transmissions with BISS-CA (for example for uplinking to an SNG) must also be upgraded with a BISS-CA licence but these devices do not need to be registered on our online portal.

↑

If I buy a new Ateme DR5000 or Mediakind RX8200 from Eurovision Services, will it be BISS-CA ready?

Yes, all new Ateme DR5000 and Mediakind RX8200 decoders sold by Eurovision Services will be shipped with the BISS-CA upgrade installed. Furthermore, any future encoders offered for sale by Eurovision Services will also include the BISS-CA upgrade.

↑