A Very Unscientific Answer To How Does Satellite TV Work
There is a long, very scientific answer to the question, how does satellite TV work. There is also a shorter version that is way more interesting. We’re going to go with the shorter version and apologize in advance to the scientific types who will cringe when they read this. As far as most people thinking that dishes are new, well they are not. The first satellite for TV was shot into space in’62.
The old nine foot satellite dishes came with remote controls that were quickly lost. These satellites are still around because they have a forever life expectancy and work great. People who use them now just have the neighbors come over and help move the dish when they want to change satellites. They sit as a monument in most back yards. Big, grey, daunting. But, they have, and continue to, provide a superb picture on any television.
The really great thing about these dishes, besides the fact that it was a great excuse not to mow half the back yard, was that you could get programs from other countries. For instance, someone in California could get programming from Canada. Or, when the satellites shifted you could get programs from other countries depending on which satellite you landed on.
The popularity of satellite television started to explode when people became aware of the channels and capabilities of the satellite systems. That’s when the providers of satellite television got busy. They sent up a bunch of geostationary satellites that orbit at the same speed as earth. So, they don’t move, well they move but not really. Anyway, the ability to pick up channels got lots easier and the reception got way better. Very cool stuff for people who had become addicted to satellite early on.
Well, nine foot dishes just have never really caught on as a yard ornament in cities and they wanted satellite television also. So, satellite providers came up with little’” dishes that could be put just about anywhere on a house with a clear southern exposure and started beaming programs from all of the satellites to the dishes. No more calling the neighbors to move the dish, just a little dish stuck on the side of a building that was easy to move and 500 or so channels to choose from.
Problem was that most city dwellers don’t have an unobstructed view of anything. So, the next advancement was found in spot beams. Spot beams provide the answer to many problems. The satellite shoots a signal to the spot beam. The spot beam shoots a signal to the dish. The dish shoots the signal to the receiver on the television.
Because the whole satellite system runs on radio signals, the satellite guys found that it saved a lot of space if they encoded the signals digitally and shot all the channels across the same bandwidth. They now have signals available in both standard and HDTV format going out twenty four hours a day.
So there you have it. The very unscientific answer to the question how does satellite TV work.
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