When television first began commercial broadcasts in the late 1940s, orbiting man-made transmitters had not yet been invented. Another decade would pass before the Soviet Union launched the first Sputnik, ushering in the space race and sparking the development of satellite communications. Telstar sent the first television signal from Europe to North America in 1962, and it was only a matter of time before orbiting electronic TV transmission became routine, paving the way for the TV dish network we enjoy today.
Television has been transmitted by satellite since the late 1960s in the United States and the former Soviet Union. It was not until the 1990s, however, that commercial broadcasts became widely and easily available. Prior to that time those who could not receive local channels could subscribe to orbiting broadcasts, but there was no way to hide the enormous antennas. They resembled huge tilted dishes made of unattractive metal mesh, often dwarfing the buildings they served. Users had to manually align them with the signal, often every time they switched channels.
Some of these early dishes were several meters across, in contrast to the discreet antennas we see today. Usually measuring about 18-20″ in diameter, they can be installed on an apartment balcony or the side of a building. They put satellite television in the realm of practical everyday use, and today there are over 13 million subscribers. Programming on a dish service is nearly identical to that of cable TV, and unlike cable, can serve remote locations.
In a time of everyday digital entertainment and communications we tend to forget that this is a technological wonder. The Echostar Corporation owns and services most of the geosynchronous or fixed-orbit satellites, and the actual ground installation and subscriptions are handled by other companies. Most land areas on earth have at least some access to TV transmission from space . Economic and political considerations, and not technology, are the chief hurdles to overcome.
Dish television is similar to cable in many ways. The most marked difference is the origin of the signals, which reach the ground from a fixed location high above the earth, and not from a cable broadcast center. The process begins when an uplink is prepared, and then transmitted digitally from the ground to orbit. It has been encoded, so that non-subscribers won’t be able to pirate the signal.
Those small metal discs then intercept the broadcast, and send them to a receiver. Resembling a cable box or stereo amplifier in size, those receivers decode the signals into a digital or analog format and send it to the TV set. Customers with a clear sky view no longer need to worry about constant antenna adjustments. Earlier issues with digital broadcasts sometimes required double dishes, but that is no longer the case.
Dish television offers the same premium channels and networks as most cable services. Subscribers have the option of doing their own installation, which can save money. In the past, local TV stations were sometimes not available, but that issue has been solved. The reality is that this kind of program delivery is now comparable to cable, and just as easy to use. For those wanting more choice, TV dish network subscription is a good alternative.
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