What are CAMS?

[dseven]

Can anyone help me with what i hope to be a simple Dreambox SAT Question !
What is a SOFTCAM / CAM and what do they do?
Do i need one to watch non FTA channels on my 800HD?
or do i need CARDSHARING?

[Manic01]

A softcam carries keys to open a few channels. You can watch 1 west digi tv via softcam. Most others require cs or official card. Google cardsharing as we do not discuss it on here.