DigiCipher 2, or simply DCII, is the name of the digital signal compression standard used on many communications satellite television and audio signals. The DCII standard was originally developed in 1997 by General Instrument, which is now the broadband division of Motorola. U.S. military MILSTAR communications satellite A communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... General Instruments Microelectronics was a division of General Instruments Corporation. ... Motorola NYSE: MOT (TYO: 6686) is a global communications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. ...

The original attempt for a North American digital signal encryption and compression standard was DigiCipher 1, which was used most notably in the now-defunct PrimeStar medium-power DBS system during the early 1990s. The DCII standard predates DVB-based digital terrestrial television compression (although not cable or satellite DVB) and therefore is incompatible with the DVB standard. World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west... Direct broadcast satellite, or DBS, is a relatively recent development in the world of television distribution. ... // Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but otherwise retaining the same mindset. ... DVB, short for Digital Video Broadcasting, is a suite of internationally accepted, open standards for digital television maintained by the DVB Project, an industry consortium with more than 300 members, and published by a Joint Technical Committee (JTC) of European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC...

The primary difference between DigiCipher 2 and DVB lies in how each standard handles SI, or System Information. DigiCipher 2 also relies on the fact that its signals must be understood in terms of a virtual channel number in addition to the DCII signal's downlink frequency, whereas DVB signals have no virtual channel number.

Approximately 70% of newer first-generation digital cable networks in North America use the 4DTV/DigiCipher 2 format. The use of DCII is most prevalent in North American digital cable television set-top boxes. DCII is also used on Motorola's 4DTV digital satellite receiver and StarChoice's DBS receiver (StarChoice is based in Canada). 4DTV is the name of the digital TVRO communications satellite receiver box manufactured by Motorola. ... Coaxial cable is often used to transmit cable television into the house Cable television or Community Antenna Television (CATV) (often shortened to cable) is a system of providing television, FM radio programming and other services to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted directly to people’s televisions through fixed optical... 4DTV is the name of the digital TVRO communications satellite receiver box manufactured by Motorola. ... Direct broadcast satellite, or DBS, is a relatively recent development in the world of television distribution. ...

External links

• Good technical page on digital satellite signals