Satellite television

Satellite television is a way to watch TV programs using signals sent from space. These signals travel from a communications satellite high above the Earth straight to a special dish called a satellite dish at a person's home. The dish catches these signals and sends them to a box called a satellite receiver.

This receiver changes the signals so they can be watched on a regular television set. Satellite TV can bring many different channels and shows to places far away from regular TV wires or cables. In some areas, it might be the only way to get TV at all.

Older satellite TV systems needed big dishes and used older kinds of signals. Today, smaller dishes and digital signals let people watch TV with many more channels. Some channels are free to watch, while others need a monthly payment to see.

Technology

Satellites used for showing television are usually in a geostationary orbit 36,000 km above the Earth's equator. This special orbit means the satellite stays in the same place in the sky. So satellite dishes can point at it all the time without moving.

Satellite television starts with a large transmitting antenna at an uplink facility. These antennas can be very big, up to 9 to 12 meters across. They send strong signals to the satellite. The satellite then sends the signals back to Earth. They are received by a smaller satellite dish at homes. Inside each dish is a device called a low-noise block downconverter (LNB). It makes the signals stronger and easier to use.

The satellite receiver or set-top box takes these signals and turns them into television programs you can watch. Some receivers can also change scrambled signals back to normal television. This way, only paying customers can watch certain channels.

Uses

Most people who watch satellite television get their shows through a service called direct broadcast satellite (DBS). These services send their signals using a special kind of radio wave, and all of their shows are in digital form. This makes the picture and sound very clear.

The shows come from many different places and are put together into channels by a broadcast center. This center sends the signals up to a satellite, which then sends them back down to people’s homes. Some countries offer these channels for free. For example, Germany has many free channels available from its satellites.

Over time, fewer people have been choosing satellite television because many now watch shows using internet services or regular broadcast TV.

History

Early history

In 1945, a British science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke, suggested using three satellites in orbit to send messages around the world. His idea was published in a magazine called Wireless World.

The first satellite communication happened in the late 1950s. Pioneer 1 tested sending signals, and SCORE sent the first radio broadcast. Sputnik I was the very first satellite ever launched.

First satellite relayed broadcasts

In 1962, the Telstar satellite sent the first public television signals across the Atlantic Ocean. This let people in Europe and North America watch the same shows. Later, Relay 1 sent TV from the US to Japan, and Syncom 3 showed the 1964 Olympic Games from Tokyo to the United States.

The first commercial communications satellite, Intelsat I, launched in 1965. The Soviet Union made the Orbita network in 1967 to send television signals.

Development of the direct satellite TV industry

Canada launched its first satellite, Anik 1, in 1972. ATS-6, an experimental satellite, began sending educational programs in 1974. The Soviet Union launched Ekran 1 in 1976 so people could watch TV with regular home equipment.

In the US, companies like HBO and TBS used satellites to send their shows. By 1978, PBS also started using satellites. In 1979, the Soviet Union made the Moskva system, and the US let people have home satellite dishes without special permission.

TVRO/C-band satellite era, 1980–1986

By 1980, satellite television was popular in the US and Europe. The first satellite channel in the UK, Satellite Television Ltd., started in 1982. As prices fell, more people bought systems to watch channels without cables. Big satellite dishes were common but got smaller over time.

1987 to present

In the late 1980s, some channels began hiding their signals, needing special equipment to watch. This helped grow pay-per-view events. In the 1990s, digital broadcasts started, giving better picture quality and more channels. Satellites like Astra 1A in Luxembourg let smaller dishes receive signals. Companies like DirecTV and Dish Network became popular, offering digital television with many channels and better sound.

Main article: Television receive-only

Legal

The 1963 Radio Regulations of the International Telecommunication Union described a "broadcasting satellite service." This is a way to send TV signals from space stations or objects orbiting the Earth directly to people’s homes.

In the 1970s, some countries worried that satellite broadcasts might change their culture or politics. They suggested new rules. But because satellites can send signals worldwide, it was hard to control them for just one country. Discussions happened at the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. In 1982, the UN General Assembly voted on some ideas called "DBS Principles," but many countries able to send satellite TV voted against them. These ideas didn’t work well.