Acronym for Integrated Receiver and Decoder, typically in reference to a set top
box (STB) like a satellite receiver or cable
box. "Decoder" sometimes is replaced with "Decryptor", but this is not the original derivation of the acronym.
Usage: IRD and STB are used interchangeably by technical
people in the Satellite and Cable
TV industries to refer generically to boxes that take a signal (typically an encrypted digital signal) and convert it to one or more audio/video outputs such as
S-Video, Component, HDMI, VGA, NTSC, etc, etc.
