Tuesday, December 7, 2004


Satellite dsl and Satellite Tv are popular choices for today's consumer. Proof of their tremendous growth lies in a trend that is literally sweeping across the planet. Have you noticed?...

In cities, towns and remote locations, mini satellite dishes point attentively to the Southern sky. Emblazoned with names like DirecTv®, Dish Network®, and DirecWay®, their numbers are growing at an amazing rate.

Ever wonder why these satellite dish systems are in such great demand? Does high speed internet service or digital television programming via satellite intrigue you?

Great! You're about to learn about some exciting new satellite technologies especially options for high speed internet access. These include satellite dsl or broadband service via satellite, as well as, conventional DSL Internet service from leading providers.

Gaining popularity worldwide, satellite dsl technology is revolutionizing high speed internet access and communications everywhere. It is one of today's hottest commodities because it provides fast, reliable, and secure service most anywhere in the continental US and around the globe.

But, that's not all ....

if audio entertainment excites your senses, take the time to discover why you will love listening to commercial-free satellite radio just about anywhere. It's simply awesome! In fact, you may never want to listen to standard Am/Fm radio again! But ... don't just take my word for it, check it out. Also....
get the latest buzz on Free satellite tv systems - including the features and benefits that make them today's ultimate television viewing experience. Learn how you, yes you!, can experience the best in digital television programming for less than cable tv.

Did you know that satellite phones work just about anywhere? Take a look at the latest wireless telephone solutions available for today's travelers. Now, you can rent or buy a satellite phone or GSM international cell phone at discounted rates to keep in touch with the rest of the world wherever you travel, work or play.

As demand grows for better technology, satellite systems including satellite dsl, radio, television, and telephone, as well as, dsl internet services are delivering innovative solutions. Satellite technology gives you the ability to achieve greater productivity on the internet and to enjoy the best in communication, as well as, television and audio entertainment.

The pages that follow are your keys to understanding the advantages of having satellite technology in your life today. I welcome you to explore them, including our web business resources page.

Learn how you can establish your own business on the Internet with the best web site creation, hosting, and promotion tools available today. Take the time to read this information. It is my belief that you will enjoy and benefit greatly from it!

How Satellite TV Works – A Simple Explanation

Satellite tv is talked about so much in the world of consumer viewing. Satellite dishes, receivers, program packages, PVRs, DVRs, HDTV – what does it all mean? How can you even begin to think of buying a satellite tv system when you’re bombarded with all these meaningless terms? So suppose you really knew exactly how satellite tv works? Wouldn’t that put you in a more positive position? Wouldn’t that allow you to make an informed decision when shopping for a satellite tv system?

There are many pages on the Internet explaining how satellite tv works. Many have a lot of technical information. We’d like to take a simpler approach. So, the following is an explanation of just how satellite tv works – in layman’s terms. Take note – and you can secure some useful knowledge.

The Basics

Satellite tv is a wireless system for delivering tv programming directly to a viewer’s house. It transmits its broadcasts via a radio signal.

The ultimate source of this radio signal is the broadcast stations. They use a powerful antenna to transmit their broadcasts to the viewers. However, these radio signals can travel only in straight lines. So the signal can’t be captured by the viewer on his receiver unless he is in the line of sight of the broadcaster’s signal. Tall buildings, trees, and other such obstructions, can’t block the signal, but it could be blocked by the curvature of the Earth. Therefore, broadcasters needed another medium to transmit their signals to the viewers. Enter satellites.

Satellites were launched. They orbited the Earth at exactly the same speed as the Earth (7,000 mph or 11,000 kph), at a distance of 22,200 miles (35,700 km), thereby creating a geosynchronous orbit, that is, they appeared to be “stationary” above the Earth, “hovering” over a certain point. The result of this geosynchronous orbit is that signals (broadcasts) could be directed from the Earth to the satellites and continually engage them in receiver transmissions.

So now on the ground there was a need for an antenna to receive these broadcasters’ signals. Enter satellite tv systems. These very large satellite dishes started popping up in people’s back yards. Although the satellites took up large areas of the viewer’s property, the programming was very rewarding. The owners of these big satellite dishes could pick up foreign stations, live feeds between broadcast stations, NASA activities and a lot of other programs transmitted using satellites.

Progress brings smaller and more efficient technology

Then direct broadcast satellite (DBS) providers decided to collect the programs available via satellite and re-sell them to the viewer. But the broadcasters (for example, HBO and ESPN) weren’t about to just give away their programs. They charged the DBS providers a fee for these rights. So in essence, the DBS providers are like brokers – they buy programs wholesale and re-sell them for a profit. Two of the most well-known DBS providers are DIRECTV and the Dish Network.

The next challenge for the DBS providers was to create a system more cost-effective and simpler than the large satellite dishes. So they came up with a small satellite dish that viewers could easily attach to their houses or apartments. This opened up a whole new market for their programs.

Program packages were created by selecting certain channels and bundling them, often in a theme – like sports, movies, documentaries, retro, etc. Viewers could choose the package that best fit their viewing preferences, and wouldn’t have to pay for channels they weren’t interested in.

So in review, here’s the basic path of a radio signal containing television programming: the programming source (the broadcaster), to a satellite, to the DBS broadcast center, back to a satellite, to the viewer’s receiver, to the television set.

Exactly how is this signal sent?

Early satellite tv was broadcast in C-band radio (3.4 GigaHertz [GHz] to 7 GHz). Remember, the picture and sound making up the signal is actually a radio signal. But the broadcasters wanted to provide superior video and audio to its viewers, so they started transmitting their programs in the Ku frequency (12 GHz to 14 GHz). Thus was invented High-Definition Television (HDTV). Now the picture and sound were theatre-like in quality. This also gave them a jump on their competition – the cable companies.

Now for a quick, but not too deep, look at the technology of the satellite signal. The original broadcasts are converted into a high-quality, uncompressed digital stream containing a lot of data, and sends it at a speed of 270 megabits per second (Mbps) for each channel. But unless all this data was compressed, the satellite wouldn’t be able to accept it.

The system of compression used in the U.S. is the MPEG-2 compressed video format. This is similar to the system used to make DVDs. The provider could now reduce the 270-Mbps stream to about 5 or 10 Mbps, enabling them to transmit about 200 channels, instead of the 30 they could transmit before compression. The signal was scrambled so only paid subscribers could receive it.

This was the turning point towards the huge success the DBS providers now experience. Again, this put them ahead of the cable companies.

The Receiver – the end and the beginning

The receiver is almost at the end of the signal’s journey, accepting the program signal and converting it into a format that can be viewed on your tv. It’s also the beginning of your viewing pleasure. The receiver does three basic things:

1. It receives and de-scrambles the signal which contains the program.
2. It separates the individual channels you request by way of the channel selector button on either your tv or your remote control.
3. It tracks your pay-per-view usage (the special programs you order), and sends your billing information for this programming to your provider.

Receivers do a few more jobs as well. They display a “TV Guide” (your onscreen programming guide), which comes as part of the signal from the satellite. You can also get special receivers, called Digital Video Recorders (DVRs), which let you pause or record live television.

So now we’ve traced the radio signal from its inception at the broadcaster to its reception on your television. And now you know just how satellite tv works. You’re qualified to make an informed decision when buying a satellite tv system.

Satellite radio is such a remarkably simple concept that one might wonder why it took until 2001 for the first space-based audio service to make its debut in the United States.

	At least it’s simple on the surface: Take a music, news or talk station, beam the signal up to a satellite, and overcome the limitations of ground-based transmitters whose signals generally drop off as distance increases. Then make sure the programming is more appealing than traditional radio stations and cut down on the number of commercials in exchange for a monthly subscription fee. But as it turns out, satellite radio is a whole lot more complex than it seems on paper – and it took cutting-edge technology to make the systems operated by Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio work. XM and Sirius are not the first companies to enter the satellite radio industry: Worldspace Corp., a firm based in Washington, has provided satellite radio in Asia, Africa and Europe since 1998. But Worldspace was intended primarily for use in
One of XM's two seven-meter uplink satellite dishes located at the company's headquarters.
fixed locations, while the systems used by XM and Sirius are optimized to reach U.S. listeners on the go.

It took a number of years to develop the XM and Sirius systems.


Sirius and XM each took somewhat different approaches, although the end result, from a lay person’s perspective, is the same: 100 channels of music, news, sports and other fare available virtually anywhere in the continental United States. The companies are trying to distinguish themselves with programming and attitude.

XM’s system uses two very powerful satellites floating in space directly above the equator. The spacecraft are in geostationary orbit -- they appear from the ground to remain in fixed perches, because they move around the Earth at the same speed the planet is rotating.

Geostationary satellites are commonly used for all sorts of space-based communications because they enable use of inexpensive, fixed antennas. Satellite TV and Internet systems are two examples of consumer-oriented technologies that use this type of satellite.

 

Repeat that, please

Each XM receiver is equipped to receive signals from both of the company’s Boeing 702 satellites and a repeater simultaneously. As long as one of the sources is available, the radio will play without interruption. In addition, the receivers have buffers that store programming for several seconds, allowing operation to continue even if no signal is available momentarily.

Sirius uses a trio of Loral FS1300 satellites in unique elliptical orbits in an effort to avoid the problems posed by geostationary satellites.

The orbits, shaped like figure eights, allow the satellites to appear higher in the sky than XM’s, cutting down on the potential for a listener to be out of range of a satellite signal -- and allowing Sirius to have a much smaller number of repeaters.

Sirius’ repeater network also avoids the need for specialized antennas that can track the company’s non-geostationary satellites as they move about the sky, Sirius feeds its repeaters using capacity on a geostationary satellite leased from a traditional satellite operator. Listeners can’t tell that the signals they receive via the repeaters do not travel over Sirius’ fleet of satellites.

The Sirius satellites each spend about 16 hours over the United States, then whip around the other side of the Earth and return eight hours later for another stint hovering over Sirius’ listening area, according to Ted Hessler, the company’s vice president of space segment and enterprise operations.

Two Sirius spacecraft cover the United States at any given time, Hessler said.

In the studio

Satellite HDTV -The Next Best Thing To Being There!

• What is satellite radio?
• What does satellite radio offer?
• What does satellite radio sound like?

Satellite Tv Delivers Pleasure, Excitement & More!

One of the major reasons for the huge Satellite Tv demand is outstanding service. Direct tv satellite services received the coveted
#1 ranking for Customer Satisfaction among satellite/cable subscribers
by J.D.Power & Associates for 2002 and 2003!

In a very competitive environment, satellite tv providers, like DirecTv, have gained national recognition and approval by using tv satellite dishes and receivers to deliver quality television programming with personalized service.

Satellite Tv delivers 100% digital programming with cd quality picture and sound. Quality programming choices with competitve rates and attentive customer service have made satellite television a popular choice for many households and business establishments.


By special arrangement, select on-line dealers are offering satellite dish systems Free to first time customers in exchange for a one year service commitment. Learn about the complete offer requirements for Free Satellite Tv to see if you qualify.


The following discussion addresses many of the frequently asked questions about Satellite Tv service. If you have a question not answered here, please contact us via the link at the bottom of this page.



Satellite Tv FAQ

What is satellite radio?

Satellite radio is a subscription radio service. It's similar to cable television, in that it provides a wide range of programming not available on traditional AM/FM radio for a monthly fee.
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What do I get with a free Satellite Tv system?

Whether you sign up for Free DirecTv or Free Dish Network offers, you will receive all the necessary equipment, including a tv satellite dish, receiver(s), access card(s), remote control(s) and required cabling with standard professional installation for free.

Satellite tv providers also offer multi-room system packages that provide all the equipment for multiple tv hook ups for free. However, in order to get a free satellite tv system, you must be a first-time customer.


Can I get local channels with Satellite Tv systems?

Yes! You can now subscribe to local channels in most metropolitan areas across the country when you order your programming from the Dish Network or DirecTv. You also have the option of receiving local channels with an off air antenna that can be connected to your satellite receiver and accessed via your remote control..


Does the weather affect the operation of Satellite Tv?

Not usually. On rare occasions, in periods of heavy sustained rainfall, you may experience a brief period of "picture freeze" while the receiver re-locates a lost satellite signal. Signal strength is optimized during professional installation to reduce the likelihood of signal loss during severe weather.


Can Satellite Tv deliver international programming?

Yes! DishNetwork is the leader in providing international programming offering over six foreign language packages and several individual foreign language channels as well. See our Free Dish Network page for more information. DirecTv also offers programming in Spanish, as well, as Chinese.


Can I watch two different programs on more than one TV in my house?

Yes, however you need separate satellite receivers to accomplish this. The dual-LNB satellite system or the new multi-satellite tv system from DirecTv allow you to use additional receivers so members of your household can watch different channels in different rooms at the same time.


What is the DirecTv Multi Satellite System?

The DirecTv Multi-Satellite System allows you to receive signals from 3 different DirecTv satellites simultaneously. It features the new Triple LNB (low noise block) satellite dish antenna.

This 18"x20" oval dish gives you multi-room receiving capability of all of DirecTv's programming and services including local channel, Interactive, HDTV, foreign programming and Ultimate Tv. Separate specific receiver equipment is required for HDTV and Ultimate Tv broadcasts.


What is DirecTv Ultimate Tv?

It's the first and only direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television platform that integrates all these features in one receiver: DirecTv® programming, digital video recording, live TV controls and interactive television, including Internet access from your TV.


What is a Dish 500 Satellite Tv system?

It's Dish Network's counterpart to the DirecTv Multi Satellite system. The Dish 500 antenna is an 18" x 20" dual LNB oval satellite dish that gives Dish Network subscribers multi-room receiving capability of up to 500 channel broadcasts (currently 256 channels are available). Current broadcasting includes international, local, Interactive, high definition and Internet access. Separate specific receiver equipment is required for HDTV, Interactive and Internet access.


Are DirecTv and Dish Network Satellite Tv dish systems compatible?

No, you cannot use DirecTv equipment to receive Dish Network programming or vice versa. Each system is designed to operate exclusively with proprietary satellites hovering above the Earth in geo-stationary orbit. The satellites for these systems are in completely different locations, and their signals can not be decoded by competitor receiver units.


I live in an apartment. Can I get a satellite dish system?

Yes! Many apartment residents install the dish inconspicuously on a south-facing balcony. If your apartment management has concerns about this, visit the FCC web site for information on a rule from the Federal Communications Commission about satellite dish installation on rental and other properties.


I live outside the US. Can I take advantage of one of the Satellite Tv offers listed on this site?

Unfortunately, No. All of the Satellite Tv offers listed on this site are for first-time customers residing in the US only.


Where can I learn more about offers for Satellite Tv service?

There currently are some excellent offers available for Free Satellite Tv systems from select dealers for DirecTV and Dish Network. See our respective pages for Free DirecTv and Free Dish Network for more detailed information.


Can I get High Speed Satellite Internet Access?

Yes!, High speed satellite internet, also known as satellite dsl, is available in most areas of the continental US and Hawaii. You can also receive combined DirecTv satellite tv and Direcway satellite internet service on one DirecDuo dish. See our Satellite DSL page for details.

DSL internet service is also available from America's leading dsl providers subject to availability. Check DSL service availability for your telephone line instantly and get more information from our DSL Internet page.
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Table of Contents Introduction to How Satellite TV Works The Broadcast TV Problem The Satellite TV Solution The Overall System The Components The Programming Compression Encryption and Transmission The Dish The Receiver Lots More Information Shop or Compare Prices
Photo courtesy DirecTV When satellite television first hit the market, home dishes were expensive metal units that took up a huge chunk of yard space. In these early years, only the most die-hard TV fans would go through all the hassle and expense of putting in their own dish. Satellite TV was a lot more difficult than broadcast and cable TV. Today, you see compact satellite dishes perched on rooftops all over the United States. Drive through rural areas beyond the reach of the cable companies and you'll find dishes on just about every house. The major satellite television companies are bringing in more customers every day with the lure of movies, sporting events and news from around the world. In this article, we'll find out what satellite television is all about, from TV station to TV set.

The Broadcast TV Problem

Photo courtesy DirecTV

Conceptually, satellite television is a lot like broadcast television. It's a wireless system for delivering television programming directly to a viewer's house. Both broadcast television and satellite stations transmit programming via a radio signal (see How Radio Works for information about radio broadcasting).

Broadcast stations use a powerful antenna to transmit radio waves to the surrounding area. Viewers can pick up the signal with a much smaller antenna. The main limitation of broadcast television is range. The radio signals used to broadcast television shoot out from the broadcast antenna in a straight line. In order to receive these signals, you have to be in the direct "line of sight" of the antenna. Small obstacles like trees or small buildings aren't a problem; but a big obstacle, such as the Earth, will reflect these radio waves.

If the Earth were perfectly flat, you could pick up broadcast television thousands of miles from the source. But because the planet is curved, it eventually breaks the signal's line of site. The other problem with broadcast television is that the signal is often distorted even in the viewing area. To get a perfectly clear signal like you find on cable, you have to be pretty close to the broadcast antenna without too many obstacles in the way.

The Satellite TV Solution
Satellite television solves the problems of range and distortion by transmitting broadcast signals from satellites orbiting the Earth. Since satellites are high in the sky, there are a lot more customers in the line of site. Satellite television systems transmit and receive radio signals using specialized antennas called satellite dishes.

Satellites are higher in the sky than TV antennas, so they have a much larger "line of sight" range.

The television satellites are all in geosynchronous orbit, meaning that they stay in one place in the sky relative to the Earth. Each satellite is launched into space at about 7,000 mph (11,000 kph), reaching approximately 22,200 miles (35,700 km) above the Earth. At this speed and altitude, the satellite will revolve around the planet once every 24 hours -- the same period of time it takes the Earth to make one full rotation. In other words, the satellite keeps pace with our moving planet exactly. This way, you only have to direct the dish at the satellite once, and from then on it picks up the signal without adjustment, at least when everything works right. (See How Satellites Work for more information on satellite orbits.)

At the core, this is all there is to satellite television. But as we'll see in the next section, there are several important steps between the original programming source and your television.

The Overall System
Early satellite TV viewers were explorers of sorts. They used their expensive dishes to discover unique programming that wasn't necessarily intended for mass audiences. The dish and receiving equipment gave viewers the tools to pick up foreign stations, live feeds between different broadcast stations, NASA activities and a lot of other stuff transmitted using satellites.

Some satellite owners still seek out this sort of programming on their own, but today, most satellite TV customers get their programming through a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) provider, such as DirecTV or the Dish Network. The provider selects programs and broadcasts them to subscribers as a set package. Basically, the provider's goal is to bring dozens or even hundreds of channels to your television in a form that approximates the competition, cable TV. Unlike earlier programming, the provider's broadcast is completely digital, which means it has much better picture and sound quality (see How Digital Television Works for details). Early satellite television was broadcast in C-band radio -- radio in the 3.4-gigahertz (GHz) to 7-GHz frequency range. Digital broadcast satellite transmits programming in the Ku frequency range (12 GHz to 14 GHz ).

There are five major components involved in a direct to home (DTH) satellite system: the programming source, the broadcast center, the satellite, the satellite dish and the receiver. On the next page, we'll look at each component in more detail.

The Components

• Programming sources are simply the channels that provide programming for broadcast. The provider doesn't create original programming itself; it pays other companies (HBO, for example, or ESPN) for the right to broadcast their content via satellite. In this way, the provider is kind of like a broker between you and the actual programming sources. (Cable television companies work on the same principle.)

   

• The broadcast center is the central hub of the system. At the broadcast center, the television provider receives signals from various programming sources and beams a broadcast signal to satellites in geostationary orbit.

  The Programming
  Satellite TV providers get programming from two major sources: national turnaround channels (such as HBO, ESPN and CNN) and various local channels (the NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS and Fox affiliates in a particular area). Most of the turnaround channels also provide programming for cable television, and the local channels typically broadcast their programming over the airwaves.

  Turnaround channels usually have a distribution center that beams their programming to a geostationary satellite. The broadcast center uses large satellite dishes to pick up these analog and digital signals from several sources.

  Most local stations don't transmit their programming to satellites, so the provider has to get it another way. If the provider includes local programming in a particular area, it will have a small local facility consisting of a few racks of communications equipment. The equipment receives local signals directly from the broadcaster through fiber-optic cable or an antenna and then transmits them to the central broadcast center.

  The broadcast center converts all of this programming into a high-quality, uncompressed digital stream. At this point, the stream contains a vast quantity of data -- about 270 megabits per second (Mbps) for each channel. In order to transmit the signal from there, the broadcast center has to compress it. Otherwise, it would be too big for the satellite to handle. In the next section, we'll find out how the signal is compressed.

  Compression
  The two major providers in the United States use the MPEG-2 compressed video format -- the same format used to store movies on DVDs. With MPEG-2 compression, the provider can reduce the 270-Mbps stream to about 5 or 10 Mbps (depending on the type of programming). This is the crucial step that has made DBS service a success. With digital compression, a typical satellite can transmit about 200 channels. Without digital compression, it can transmit about 30 channels.

  At the broadcast center, the high-quality digital stream of video goes through an MPEG-2 encoder, which converts the programming to MPEG-2 video of the correct size and format for the satellite receiver in your house.

  The MPEG encoder analyzes each frame and decides how to encode it. The encoder eliminates redundant or irrelevant data, and extrapolates information from other frames to reduce the overall size of the file. Each frame can be encoded in one of three ways:

  • As an intraframe - An intraframe contains the complete image data for that frame. This method of encoding provides the least compression.
  • As a predicted frame - A predicted frame contains just enough information to tell the satellite receiver how to display the frame based on the most recently displayed intraframe or predicted frame. This means that the frame contains only the data that relates to how the picture has changed from the previous frame.
  • As a bidirectional frame - To display a bidirectional frame, the receiver must have the information from the surrounding intraframe or predicted frames. Using data from the closest surrounding frames, the receiver interpolates the position and color of each pixel.

  This process occasionally produces "artifacts" -- little glitches in the video image -- but for the most part, it creates a clear, vivid picture.

  The rate of compression depends on the nature of the programming. If the encoder is converting a newscast, it can use a lot more predicted frames because most of the scene stays the same from one frame to the next. In other sorts of programming, such as action movies and music videos, things change very quickly from one frame to the next, so the encoder has to create more intraframes. As a result, something like a newscast generally compresses to a much smaller size than something like an action movie.

  Encryption and Transmission
  After the video is compressed, the provider needs to encrypt it in order to keep people from accessing it for free. Encryption scrambles the digital data in such a way that it can only be decrypted (converted back into usable data) if the receiver has the correct decryption algorithm and security keys. (See How Encryption Works for more information.)

  Once the signal is compressed and encrypted, the broadcast center beams it directly to one of its satellites. The satellite picks up the signal with an onboard dish, amplifies the signal and uses a another dish to beam the signal back to Earth, where viewers can pick it up.

  In the next section, we'll see what happens when the signal reaches a viewer's house.

   

• The satellites receive the signals from the broadcast station and rebroadcast them to the ground.

   

• The viewer's dish picks up the signal from the satellite (or multiple satellites in the same part of the sky) and passes it on to the receiver in the viewer's house.

   

• The receiver processes the signal and passes it on to a standard television.

In the next few sections, we'll look at each step in the process in greater detail.

The Dish
A satellite dish is just a special kind of antenna designed to focus on a specific broadcast source. The standard dish consists of a parabolic (bowl-shaped) surface and a central feed horn. To transmit a signal, a controller sends it through the horn, and the dish focuses the signal into a relatively narrow beam.

The curved dish reflects energy from the feed horn, generating a narrow beam.

The dish on the receiving end can't transmit information; it can only receive it. The receiving dish works in the exact opposite way of the transmitter. When a beam hits the curved dish, the parabola shape reflects the radio signal inward onto a particular point, just like a concave mirror focuses light onto a particular point.

The curved dish focuses incoming radio waves onto the feed horn.

In this case, the point is the dish's feed horn, which passes the signal onto the receiving equipment. In an ideal setup, there aren't any major obstacles between the satellite and the dish, so the dish receives a clear signal.

In some systems, the dish needs to pick up signals from two or more satellites at the same time. The satellites may be close enough together that a regular dish with a single horn can pick up signals from both. This compromises quality somewhat, because the dish isn't aimed directly at one or more of the satellites. A new dish design uses two or more horns to pick up different satellite signals. As the beams from different satellites hit the curved dish, they reflect at different angles so that one beam hits one of the horns and another beam hits a different horn.

The central element in the feed horn is the low noise blockdown converter, or LNB. The LNB amplifies the radio signal bouncing off the dish and filters out the noise (radio signals not carrying programming). The LNB passes the amplified, filtered signal to the satellite receiver inside the viewer's house.

The Receiver
The end component in the entire satellite TV system is the receiver. The receiver has four essential jobs:

• It de-scrambles the encrypted signal. In order to unlock the signal, the receiver needs the proper decoder chip for that programming package. The provider can communicate with the chip, via the satellite signal, to make necessary adjustments to its decoding programs. The provider may occasionally send signals that disrupt illegal de-scramblers, as an electronic counter measure (ECM) against illegal users.

   

• It takes the digital MPEG-2 signal and converts it into an analog format that a standard television can recognize. In the United States, receivers convert the digital signal to the analog NTSC format. Some dish and receiver setups can also output an HDTV signal.

   

• It extracts the individual channels from the larger satellite signal. When you change the channel on the receiver, it sends just the signal for that channel to your TV. Since the receiver spits out only one channel at a time, you can't tape one program and watch another. You also can't watch two different programs on two TVs hooked up to the same receiver. In order to do these things, which are standard on conventional cable, you need to buy an additional receiver.

   

• It keeps track of pay-per-view programs and periodically phones a computer at the provider's headquarters to communicate billing information.

Receivers have a number of other features as well. They pick up a programming schedule signal from the provider and present this information in an onscreen programming guide. Many receivers have parental lock-out options, and some have built-in digital video recorders (DVRs), which let you pause live television or record it on a hard drive.

While digital broadcast satellite service is still lacking some of the basic features of conventional cable (the ability to easily split signals between different TVs and VCRs, for example), its high-quality picture, varied programming selection and extended service areas make it a good alternative for some. With the rise of digital cable, which also has improved picture quality and extended channel selection, the TV war is really heating up. Just about anything could happen in the next 10 years as all of these television providers battle it out.

For much more information on satellite television and other broadcast systems, check out the links on the next page.

How Does DIRECTV Technology Work?



DIRECTV first launched its service in the summer of 1994. According to industry statistics, the DIRECTV^® System became one of the fastest selling consumer electronics product ever to enter the market — faster than color TVs, CD players and VCRs.

The DIRECTV System includes a small satellite dish (which is an antenna for receiving a satellite broadcast signal); a digital integrated receiver/decoder (IRD), which separates each channel, and decompresses and translates the digital signal so a television can show it; and a remote control.

DIRECTV^® programming is distributed by six high-power satellites: four built by Hughes Electronics Corp. (DBS-1, DBS-2, DIRECTV 1-R, and D4-S), and two built by LORAL (DIRECTV 5, 6). Each satellite has multiple transponders that relay the DIRECTV signal from the broadcast centers to home satellite dishes. The D4-S satellite is a "spot beam" satellite which allows signals to target specific areas within the U.S., and is used by DIRECTV to deliver local programming. The "spot beam" satellite has five antennas and multiple feeds. Each feed projects its particular signal onto a special location on one of the antennas. The antenna is specifically shaped to bounce the signal to a specific location in the continental U.S.

All DIRECTV satellites are located in geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the earth. DIRECTV provides service from three orbital locations under authority granted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). After the DIRECTV System is installed — a process that includes aiming the dish at the satellites — no adjustment is necessary to change programming because the satellites remain in the same location in the sky. The dish never has to track the satellites, so there's no waiting for the picture to come in and little maintenance required.

To gather programming content, ensure its digital quality, and transmit the signal up to the satellites, DIRECTV created two of the most sophisticated digital broadcast centers in the world — in Castle Rock, Colorado, and Los Angeles, California. Programming comes to the broadcast center from our content providers (CNN, ESPN, etc.) via satellite, fiber optic cable and/or special digital tape. Most satellite-delivered programming is immediately digitized, encrypted and uplinked to the orbiting satellites. Some programs are copied to professional video servers by the broadcast centers' state-of-the-art automation equipment to be broadcast later.

The satellites retransmit the signal back down to each customer's DIRECTV satellite dish. Before any recorded programs are viewed by customers, technicians use sophisticated post-production equipment to view and analyze each tape to ensure audio and video quality. Professional video layout servers have playback of a program triggered by a computerized signal sent from the broadcast automation system. Back-up video playout servers ensure uninterrupted transmission at all times.

If you're familiar with multimedia computers, you may have heard of MPEG, which stands for Moving Pictures Experts Group. MPEG is a technology that can compress a moving image so it takes a tiny fraction of the space it normally would for transmission. Uncompressed digital images can be enormous; about ten or twenty seconds would fill up the hard drive on a home computer. Even compressed, digital moving images are very large.

Consider this comparison: Your telephone modem can transmit information at up to 56 thousand bits per second. At DIRECTV, each of our transponders on the DIRECTV 1-R and DBS-2 satellites can send about 30 million bits of information per second to a DIRECTV System, or more than 500 times what a normal PC modem can handle. This data transmission rate enables DIRECTV to retransmit detailed moving digital video signals to subscribers. DIRECTV programming and all DIRECTV Receivers employ MPEG-2 technology, the emerging world standard for digital broadcasts.

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