A conditional access subsystem is proved which is to reside with an
end-user for receiving, decrypting and decoding all programs distributed
by a content provider that the end user is entitled to access so that the
decrypted and decoded programs are available for display on one or more
display devices without use of a set-top terminal dedicated to each of
the display devices. The subsystem includes a receiver for receiving and
demodulating a multi-program transport (MPTS) stream distributed by the
content provider. The MPTS includes a plurality of packets constituting a
plurality of programs using one of N different encryption schemes each
associated with one of N service tiers, wherein N is an integer greater
than one. Each of the N different encryption schemes has a different
encryption/decryption key associated therewith. The packet identifiers
for the packets associated with programs in any given one of the service
tiers are in a consecutive sequence. A decryptor is provided for
decrypting each of the programs associated with each of the N service
tiers that the end user is entitled to access. A decoder is also provided
for decoding each of the decrypted programs.