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 very high above the Earth. This special orbit means the satellite stays in the same spot in the sky all the time, so satellite dishes can be aimed at it permanently without moving.

Satellite television starts with a large transmitting antenna at a special location called an uplink facility. This big dish sends signals to the satellite, which then sends them back to Earth. Homes receive these signals using a smaller outdoor dish called a satellite dish and a special device called a low-noise block downconverter or LNB. The LNB makes the weak signals stronger and changes them to a lower frequency 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 satellite television customers get their programming through a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) provider. Signals are sent using K_u band (12 to 18 GHz) and are completely digital, which allows for better picture and sound quality.

Programming comes from many sources and may include live feeds. The signal is sent to a satellite, which then broadcasts the channels. Some countries offer free satellite television services, like Germany and the United Kingdom, which provide many digital channels for viewers to enjoy.

History

Early history

In 1945, British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke proposed a worldwide communications system using three satellites equally spaced in Earth orbit. This idea was published in the October 1945 issue of the Wireless World magazine.

The first satellite relay of communication happened early in the space age. The first relay test was done by Pioneer 1, and the first radio broadcast by SCORE at the end of 1958, after Sputnik I became the first satellite in history.

First satellite relayed broadcasts

The first public satellite television signals from Europe to North America were sent via the Telstar satellite over the Atlantic ocean on July 23, 1962. These signals were watched by over 100 million people. The Relay 1 satellite, launched in 1962, was the first to send television signals from the US to Japan. The first geosynchronous communication satellite, Syncom 2, was launched on July 26, 1963. The first geostationary satellite, Syncom 3, was used to show the 1964 Olympic Games from Tokyo to the United States.

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

Development of the direct satellite TV industry

The first domestic satellite to carry television transmissions was Canada's Anik 1, launched on November 9, 1972.

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

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

In the US, Home Box Office (HBO), Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), and Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) were among the first to use satellite television to send their shows. In 1978, PBS began sending its programs by satellite.

In 1979, Soviet engineers created the Moskva system for sending TV signals via satellites. The Federal Communications Commission began allowing home satellite dishes without a license in October 1979.

TVRO/C-band satellite era, 1980–1986

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

Between 1981 and 1985, sales of TVRO systems grew as prices fell. Advances in technology let people use smaller dishes. Five hundred thousand systems were sold in the US in 1984.

Originally, all channels were broadcast clearly because the equipment was too expensive for most people. As more people got TVRO systems, companies began scrambling their signals and creating subscription systems.

In October 1984, the U.S. Congress passed a law giving TVRO users the right to receive free signals unless they were scrambled. In January 1986, HBO began using a system to scramble its channels. This led to some protests from dish owners. Eventually, HBO allowed dish owners to subscribe for $12.95 per month.

1987 to present

By 1987, nine channels were scrambled, but 99 others were free. By the early 1990s, four large cable companies launched PrimeStar, a direct broadcasting company using 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 soon after.

On November 29, 1999, US President Bill Clinton signed a law allowing Americans to receive local broadcast signals via satellite for the first time.

Legal

The 1963 Radio Regulations of the International Telecommunication Union defined how satellites could be used to send television signals directly to people around the world.

In the 1970s, some countries worried that satellite TV might change their culture or politics. They proposed rules called the New World Information and Communication Order, but it was hard to control satellite broadcasts because of technology limits. Later, the UN General Assembly voted on some ideas, but many countries that could send satellite TV voted against them.