Satellite TV

Satellite TV is a form of television service available to consumers through the use of communications satellites, a satellite dish and a set top box at the consumer's location. Throughout the world, satellite TV is the only way for many people to receive television signals, due to their remote or rural location. Satellite TV offers consumers number of television channels and other services at a low monthly price.

Satellite TV Changes Over Time

In the past, satellite TV was a hassle for many consumers to receive, especially when compared to cable TV. There were huge expenses in terms of equipment you had to buy, long installation processes of monstrous dishes, and a limited selection of programming available. Today, getting satellite TV is just as easy as getting cable TV. New satellite dishes are smaller than ever and are less susceptible to signal interruptions from inclement weather. Connecting a satellite dish to your set-top box costs the same as connecting to a cable box, with low monthly rental rates and inexpensive cables to connect the box to your TV.

These days, you can get the same channels from satellite TV that you can get through cable TV. Satellite TV, just like cable TV, also offers customers digital video recorders to record their favorite shows and watch them back whenever they want. Both types of providers give customers access to high-definition programming and local channels. Finally, customers watch their favorite types of films on premium movie channels that both providers carry.

The Current Satellite TV Industry

MToday, most satellite TV customers that live in developed television markets get their programming from a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) provider such as DISH Network. The DBS provider selects networks and programming, then broadcasts them to their subscribers as part of a set package. The goal of these satellite TV providers is to bring as many television channels as possible to its subscribers in a way that is extremely similar in form and price to the competition from the cable TV industry. Today's satellite TV providers generally broadcast entirely in digital signals, which offers the subscribers the highest picture and sound quality available.

It takes a number of steps for a home to receive a satellite TV signal that can be viewed on their television. Satellite TV providers do not create television content themselves. Instead, they act as brokers, by negotiating with various content creators, like HBO, Showtime, or Starz in order to broadcast their programming via the provider's satellites. Cable television networks work on the same principle. This makes the broadcast center the main hub of the satellite TV system. The provider receives signals from various programming sources at the broadcast center and then compresses these signals, using MPEG-2 digital compression, and sends the signal out to the appropriate satellite. Sometimes, if necessary, these signals will be scrambled, so only the intended satellites will intercept the signals properly. Once the signals reach the satellite, they are then beamed back down to the consumers' dishes. The consumer's dish then passes the signal on to the receiver in the viewer's home. Here, the signal is decoded or unscrambled, then passed on to be viewed on a television.

Unlike cable TV, there are no cables needed to connect a subscriber to the main hub. Instead of connecting to some outside location through wires, a consumers use a satellite dish and receiver to receive their programming. In the United States, the two primary satellite television providers that offer subscription based services are DISH Network and DirecTV. In the United Kingdom, the primary satellite television provider is Sky Digital; in Canada, there are two primary providers, Bell TV and Shaw Direct. Other areas of the world also have satellite TV providers available to them.