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Satellite Television-Direct To Your Home
by Anonymous
Satellite Television is becoming increasingly popular these days. Actually, Satellite Television is television delivered by way of orbiting communications satellites located 37,000 km (22,300 miles) above the earth's surface. The first Satellite Television signal was relayed from Europe to the Telstar satellite over North America in 1962. The first domestic North American satellite to carry television was Canada's Anik 1, which was launched in 1973.
Satellite Television, like other communications relayed by satellite, starts with a transmitting antenna located at an uplink facility. Uplink satellite dishes are directed toward the satellite that its signals will be transmitted to, and are very large, as much as 9 to 12 meters (30 to 40 feet) in diameter. The increased diameter results in more accurate positioning and improved signal reception at the satellite. There are many shapes of these dishes ranging from parabolic to hyperbolic. The signal is transmitted to devices located on-board the satellite called transponders, which retransmit the satellite signal back towards the Earth at a different frequency.
The satellite signal which is quite weak after traveling through space is collected by a parabolic receiving dish, which reflects the weak signal to the dish's focal point and is received, down-converted to a lower frequency band and amplified by a device called a low-noise block down converter, or LNB. And direct broadcast satellite dishes use an LNBF, which integrates the feed horn with the LNB.
Now the amplified signal travels to a satellite receiver box through coaxial cable (RG-6 or RG-10; cannot be standard RG-59) and is converted by a local oscillator to approximately the L-band range of frequencies. Special on-board electronics in the receiver box help tune the signal and then convert it to a frequency that a standard television can use.
Primarily, there are two types of Satellite Television distribution: direct broadcast satellite (DBS) and television receive-only (TVRO).
There are many Satellite Television service providers.
The DIRECTV Group, Inc. is a world-leading provider of digital television entertainment, broadband satellite networks and services, and global video and data broadcasting. Use the links below to find out more about their companies and their services. DIRECTV is a leading direct-to-home Satellite Television service in Latin America and the Caribbean. Currently, the service reaches approximately 1.5 million customers in the region, in a total of 28 markets.
DIRECTV is currently available in: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela and several Caribbean island nations. For more details, please visit: http://www.directv.com.
DISH Network and its present company Echo Star
EchoStar's story began in 1980 when Chairman and CEO, Charlie Ergen, entered the satellite television industry as a distributor of C-band TV systems. Joined by his wife, Cantey, and friend, James DeFranco, EchoStar Communications Corporation was formed. Operations quickly expanded and the Company earned a reputation for innovation, while focusing on providing customers with state-of-the-art equipment, systems and service.
In 1987, EchoStar filed for a Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) license with the Federal Communications Commission and was granted access to orbital slot 119° West Longitude in 1992. The Company began its move toward providing its own DBS service on December 28, 1995, with the successful launch of EchoStar I. During the same year, EchoStar established the DISH Network brand name.
EchoStar II, launched on September 10, 1996, expanded DISH Network's capacity. As EchoStar continued to acquire new orbital slots (61.5°, 148° and 110°), it added to its fleet of satellites. EchoStar III was sent into orbit on October 5, 1997 and the success story continues. For more detailed information, please visit: http://www.dishnetwork.com.
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