A Viewing Alternative - Satellite Television

Satellite television uses satellites positioned in the region of space called the Clarke belt (about 37,000 kilometers or 22,300 miles above the equator), which receive broadcast signals of terrestrial origin and reflect them to satellite dishes on the surface of the Earth. Orbiting satellites provide subscribers with hundreds of channels from various locations around the world. These satellites are equipped with "transponders", which act as carriers of signals back to the Earth.

Satellite signals are on C band, Ku band, or Ka band. These can also be called frequency similar to those received by radio or television systems (i.e. VHF or UHF). Satellite dishes as small as 18" in diameter or as wide as nine meters receive these signals. The dish serves as a collector and reflector of signals. After which, it throws the signals toward the feedhorn (the center part of a satellite dish).

As soon as the latter receives the signal, it sends it to the Low Noise Block or LNB. The purpose of the LNB is to amplify satellite signals and convert them to a frequency transmittable by cables. After this relay process, the satellite receiver reads the frequency and converts it to a signal readable by a television set.

Today, digital satellite televisions have also been developed. This technology allows satellite vendors to provide more television channels with an equal amount of satellite bandwidth. Satellite television is offered in standard resolution as well as the latest ATSC high definition television format (HDTV).

Satellite television services are offered differently from country to country. The biggest satellite vendors in the U.S. are Dish Network and DirecTV, whose programming are on the Ku band and Ka band, respectively. Likewise, the National Programming Service and Superstar operate on the C band. Consumers who own "free-to-air receivers" can receive TV channels from free-to-air satellites.

Satellite television usage comes in three types: reception by affiliated local televisions, reception direct to the viewer, and reception through a central receiving device and distributed across cable systems. On the other hand, four kinds of satellite televisions currently in operation in the U.S. include TVRO (television read only), FTA (free-to-air), DSS (direct satellite system), and DBS (direct broadcast satellite).

TVRO is known as the "big dish" since it is the unencrypted type of satellite signals that provide free to air satellite as well as paid programming. FTA are satellite signals that anyone can receive even without subscribing to satellite vendors as long as the required equipment is available. DSS is the audio/video distribution system solely under the proprietorship of DirecTV while DBS is a distribution system over satellite to the smaller dishes.

Subscription-only satellite television typically requires installation fees aside from the monthly fees that includes satellite dish rental and service fee.