Irdeto Access,content protection and management company, has announced that Phoenix Satellite Television has delivered 30,000 smart cards for its digital satellite broadcasts of CCTV (China's Central Television) throughout the United States.

Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite Television, one of the leading satellite television broadcaster in China, was first to deploy Irdeto Access encryption system Irdeto M-Crypt six months ago. Irdeto M-Crypt is specifically designed for small- to medium-size pay-TV operators.

CCTV implemented Irdeto Access encryption system Irdeto M-Crypt to ensure transmission of two channels, CCTV-4 (CCTV International) and CCTV-9 (English Language Channel), from its new six-channel platform after a broadcast shift from from analogue to digital broadcasts in June 2002.

According to the release, Irdeto M-Crypt encryption system uplinks CCTV's signal to the satellite and is distributed to subscribers through their set-top boxes. With Irdeto M-Crypt, Phoenix Satellite can ensure protection of CCTV satellite broadcasts and also track the number of US households tuning in to CCTV's Chinese television programming.

Irdeto M-Crypt is a modular compact conditional access system that allows operators to expand their businesses while protecting the content at the lowest possible cost. Irdeto M-Crypt is easier to use and maintain than any other CA system because it runs on a Windows 2000 platform and can be installed onto a standard PC.