I am looking at getting a satellite system. While looking at E-bay I noticed a lot of references towards "virgin HU cards" for sale. What is the purpose of these cards? Are they similiar to the cable descrambler boxes?

The H cards are used to hack Ooopps I mean test your Directv box. So in a way I guess they are similiar to the descrambler boxes. The HU cards are what Dirrectv is replacing the H cards with. All the new boxes that I've seen come with the HU cards in them. Link to follow.--Dave

[Link: dssunderground.com]

All DBS systems include a "smart card" which contains the information about what service options you've subscribed to, etc. This is what enables your receiver to "know" which signals to unscramble and display for you. The settings on the card are set via directed signal from the satellite, coded to only affect your particular card. When you call to subscribe to an option or unsubscribe from it, a signal is sent to your card to reflect this.

The "H" series card was what DirecTV was using several years ago. Because hackers had learned how to reprogram these cards to unscramble everything without paying, DirecTV switched to a new "HU" series card, thinking it would be harder to hack. The H cards are slowly being phased out and replaced by HU cards.