From the Skies to Your Home: How Satellite TV Information is Sent

Different to terrestrial television, which is relayed by masts on the earth, satellite TV information is sent to and from satellites that are about 23,000 miles above the Earth’s surface.

In 1962, the first satellite TV information or signal was sent from Europe up to the Telstar satellite that was orbiting above North America. In 1973, Canada became the first to launch Anik 1, the first domestic satellite to carry satellite TV information in North America.

In the same way as all other satellite communications, satellite TV information begins in an uplink facility where a transmitting dish, aimed at the satellite that it is transmitting to, sends signals.

Satellite dishes are very big, varying between 30 and 40 feet (9-12 meters) in diameter. The bigger the dish, the better the signal reception is of the satellite TV information at the satellite.

Incoming satellite TV information is then sent to a device on the satellite called a transponder. The transponder alters the frequency of the signal and relays it back down to satellite TV information receivers in Earth.

A receiving dish picks up the satellite TV information. A parabolic shape is used for the dish as the signal is weak after traveling such a great distance. The parabolic shape concentrates the entire signal on the dish’s focal point.

The satellite TV information is then converted to a lower frequency band. A device called an LNB (low-noise block down converter) amplifies satellite TV information and gets it ready for processing.

More recently, the University of Waterloo announced a new type of satellite receiver that doesn't use a parabolic dish. This new satellite receiver can be mounted on a mobile stand such as a car.

The now amplified satellite TV information moves on to a satellite TV box via coaxial cable (RG-6 or RG-10, not the standard RG-59). A local oscillator then transforms the satellite TV information to approximately the L-band frequency range. Electronics in the satellite TV box help in tuning the satellite TV information, converting it into a frequency usable by the TV.

Two companies, DirecTV and Dish Network, dominate the satellite TV industry in the United States. When having satellite TV installed, your options are generally limited to the free packages given by either of these two companies.

Hughes’ DirecTV, the original high-powered DBS system, was launched in 1994. It was the first service of its type in North America. Echostar’s Dish Network came two years later, in 1996, and has achieved a similar achievement.

Eric Love is The Home Theater Guy and he writes daily about all aspects of home theater | home theater systems. If you want to find out more about Satellite TV, click here.