Satellite television

Satellite television is a way to watch TV programs using special signals sent from satellites orbiting the Earth. These signals travel from the satellite to a small dish called a satellite dish placed outside a home, and then to a device called a satellite receiver. This receiver decodes the signal so you can watch different TV channels on your television set.

This type of TV service is very helpful in places where regular TV cables or over-the-air broadcasts are hard to get. Satellite TV can bring many channels to viewers, including some that are free and others that need a monthly subscription. Over time, satellite TV has changed a lot. Older systems needed big dishes and used analog signals, but today’s systems use smaller dishes and digital signals, which give better picture quality like high-definition TV.

Modern satellite TV works on specific frequencies, called the X band and K_u band, making it easier and cheaper to receive programming. This technology has grown to serve people all over the world, especially in remote areas where other TV services aren’t available.

Technology

Satellites used for broadcasting television are usually in a geostationary orbit high above the Earth. This special orbit means the satellite stays in the same spot in the sky. This makes it easy for satellite dishes to stay aimed at it all the time.

Satellite television starts with a large antenna at a special place called an uplink facility. This big dish sends signals up to the satellite. The satellite then sends these signals back down to Earth. Homes receive these signals with a smaller outdoor dish called a satellite dish and a special device called a low-noise block downconverter or LNB. The LNB makes the signals stronger and changes them so they can travel through regular cables inside the house to a set-top box. The set-top box then shows the TV programs on your screen.

Uses

Most people who watch satellite television get their shows through a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) company. The signals are sent using K_u band (12 to 18 GHz) and are all digital. This helps make the picture and sound better.

The shows come from many places and might be live. The signal goes to a satellite, which then sends the channels to viewers. Some countries, like Germany and the United Kingdom, offer free satellite television. These countries provide many digital channels for people to watch.

History

Early history

In 1945, British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke suggested a way to send messages around the world using three satellites in orbit around Earth. He shared this idea in a magazine called the Wireless World.

The first time satellites were used to send messages was early in the space age. Pioneer 1 did the first test, and SCORE sent the first radio broadcast in 1958, after Sputnik I became the first satellite ever.

First satellite relayed broadcasts

The first public satellite television signals from Europe to North America traveled through the Telstar satellite over the Atlantic ocean on July 23, 1962. Many people watched these signals. The Relay 1 satellite, launched in 1962, was the first to send television from the US to Japan. The first geosynchronous communication satellite, Syncom 2, launched on July 26, 1963. The first geostationary satellite, Syncom 3, showed the 1964 Olympic Games from Tokyo to the United States.

The world's first commercial communications satellite, Intelsat I, called "Early Bird", launched on April 6, 1965. The first national network of television satellites, Orbita, was made by the Soviet Union in October 1967.

Development of the direct satellite TV industry

The first satellite to carry television in a country was Canada's Anik 1, launched on November 9, 1972.

ATS-6, the world's first experimental educational and direct broadcast satellite, launched on May 30, 1974. It sent programs to the Indian subcontinent.

The first Soviet geostationary satellite for direct-to-home television, Ekran 1, launched on October 26, 1976.

In the US, Home Box Office (HBO), Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), and Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) were some of the first to use satellite television. In 1978, PBS started sending its shows by satellite.

In 1979, Soviet engineers made the Moskva system to send TV signals by satellites. The Federal Communications Commission let people have satellite dishes at home without a license starting in October 1979.

TVRO/C-band satellite era, 1980–1986

By 1980, satellite television was popular in the US and Europe. On April 26, 1982, the first satellite channel in the UK, Satellite Television Ltd. (later Sky One), began showing programs.

Between 1981 and 1985, more people bought TVRO systems because they cost less. Technology improved, so dishes could be smaller. Five hundred thousand systems were sold in the US in 1984.

At first, all channels were shown clearly because the equipment was expensive. When more people got TVRO systems, companies started hiding their signals and created subscription services.

In October 1984, the U.S. Congress made a law that TVRO users could get free signals unless they were hidden. In January 1986, HBO began hiding its channels. This caused some protests from people with dishes. Later, HBO let dish owners subscribe for $12.95 each month.

1987 to present

By 1987, nine channels were hidden, but 99 were free. In the early 1990s, four large cable companies started PrimeStar, a company that used medium power satellites. This let people use smaller dishes.

Digital satellite broadcasts began in 1994 in the United States through DirecTV. Digital broadcasts started in other countries after that.

On November 29, 1999, US President Bill Clinton signed a law that let Americans get local broadcast signals through satellite for the first time.

Legal

The 1963 Radio Regulations of the International Telecommunication Union set rules for using satellites to send TV signals around the world.

In the 1970s, some countries were concerned that satellite TV might affect their culture or politics. They suggested new rules called the New World Information and Communication Order, but it was difficult to control satellite broadcasts due to technology limits. Later, the UN General Assembly discussed some of these ideas, but many countries that could send satellite TV voted against them.