Satellite TV

Satellite TV refers to television that comes from communication satellites in space and provides a wider range of channels offering many different types of programming. The first such television programming occurred in 1962 when television satellites relayed programs from Europe to North America through the Telestar satellite. The first commercial satellite was Intelsat, which was launched in 1965.

The Soviet Union was the first country to have a national network of satellite stations in 1967 and in North America, consumers could avail of this type of television programming in 1972, with the Canadian geostationary Anik 1. At this time, though, not many homes had satellite TV because of the great expense involved. In order to receive the programming, one had to install a huge satellite dish on the property.

Today there are compact satellite dishes that fit on the side of a house or on a patio railing. There are many different broadcast companies offering specialized service to customers through various packages. There are five major components involved in bringing satellite TV to the television sets in a home.

Programming Sources. These are the channels you can watch on the TV. Some channels are part of a package, while others are pay per view, which means you have to pay a fee to watch a movie or a specific program.
Broadcast center. This is the hub of the programming that provides the signals from all the different channels.
Satellites. From high in space the satellites receive the signals and retransmit them to the numerous satellite dishes.
Dish. The viewer’s dish picks up the signals and transmits them to the receiver.
Receiver. This is a small box connected to the TV that transmits the signal received from the dish to the television set.

In order for you to view programming on your TV, the satellite signals need to be compressed. This means that any unnecessary information or transmissions are removed before they reach your television. An encoder at the broadcast center converts the programming so that it is compatible with the size of your dish and receiver. The intraframe contains the complete image data. A predicted frame contains only the information needed to bring that image to your TV screen. After each video is compressed, it is also encrypted to prevent hackers from stealing the signals.

Your satellite dish can only receive information – it can’t send any information back to the satellite. The dish is usually pointed toward a specific satellite depending on the specifications of your service provider. When you connect the dish, you have to receive technical assistance via the telephone or in person in order to pick up the feed from this satellite. In most cases, the satellite dish has to be pointed toward the south in the northern hemisphere and toward the north in the southern hemisphere.