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 high-definition 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 be pointed at it permanently without needing to move.

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, to send strong signals to the satellite. The satellite then sends the signals back to Earth where they are received by a smaller satellite dish at homes. Inside each dish is a device called a low-noise block downconverter (LNB) that 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 so 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 called the Ku band, and all of their shows are in digital form, which 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 even offer these channels for free, so anyone with the right equipment can watch them. 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, British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke proposed a worldwide communications system using three satellites in Earth orbit. This idea was published in the magazine Wireless World and later earned him an award.

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

First satellite relayed broadcasts

In 1962, the Telstar satellite relayed the first public television signals across the Atlantic Ocean. This allowed people in Europe and North America to watch the same programs. Later, Relay 1 sent television 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, was launched in 1965. The Soviet Union created the Orbita network in 1967, using special satellites 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 broadcasting educational programs in 1974. The Soviet Union launched Ekran 1 in 1976, allowing people to receive television with regular UHF technology.

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 developed the Moskva system, and the US allowed people to 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., launched in 1982. As prices dropped, more people bought systems to watch channels without cables. Large satellite dishes were common but became smaller over time.

1987 to present

In the late 1980s, some channels started scrambling their signals, requiring special equipment to watch. This led to the growth of pay-per-view events. In the 1990s, digital broadcasts began, offering better picture quality and more channels. Satellites like Astra 1A in Luxembourg allowed smaller dishes to 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" as 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 just for one country. Discussions happened at the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, but countries couldn’t agree. 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 in practice.