Direct broadcast satellite
Encyclopedia
Direct broadcast satellite (DBS) is a term used to refer to satellite television
broadcasts intended for home reception.
A designation broader than DBS would be direct-to-home signals, or DTH. This has initially distinguished the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television distribution services that sometimes carried on the same satellite. The term DTH predates DBS and is often used in reference to services carried by lower power satellites which required larger dish
es (1.7m diameter or greater) for reception.
In Europe, prior to the launch of Astra 1A
in 1988, the term DBS was commonly used to describe the nationally-commissioned satellites planned and launched to provide TV broadcasts to the home within several European countries (e.g. BSB
in the UK, TV-Sat in Germany). These services were to use the D-Mac and D2-Mac
format and BSS frequencies with circular polarization from orbital positions allocated to each country. Before these DBS satellites, home satellite television in Europe was limited to a few channels, really intended for cable distribution, and requiring dishes typically of 1.2m
SES Astra
launched the Astra 1A satellite to provide services to homes across Europe receivable on dishes of just 60 cm-80 cm and, although these mostly used PAL video format and FSS frequencies with linear polarization, the DBS name slowly came to applied to all Astra satellites and services too.
By contrast, DTH can apply to similar services transmitted over a wider range of frequencies (including standard and ) transmitted from satellites that are not part of any internationally planned band. Nonetheless, the term DBS is often used interchangeably with DTH to cover both analog and digital video and audio services (including video-on-demand and interactive
features) received by relatively small dishes (less than 1 meter). A "DBS service" usually refers to either a commercial service, or a group of free channels available from one orbital position targeting one country. In certain regions of the world, especially in North America, DBS is used to refer to providers of subscription satellite packages, and has become applied to the entire equipment chain involved.
(now BSkyB
after its merger with British Satellite Broadcasting
's five-channel network), was launched in 1989. Sky TV started as a four-channel
free-to-air
analogue service on the Astra 1A
satellite
, serving the United Kingdom
and Republic of Ireland
. By 1991, Sky had changed to a conditional access
pay model, and launched a digital service, Sky Digital
, in 1998, with analogue transmission ceasing in 2001. Since the DBS nomenclature is rarely used in the UK or Ireland, the popularity of Sky's service has caused the terms "minidish
" and "digibox
" to be applied to products other than Sky's hardware. BSkyB is controlled by News Corporation
.
PrimeStar
began transmitting an analog service to North America in 1991, and was joined by DirecTV
(then owned by a division of General Motors, GM Hughes Electronics), in 1994. At the time, DirecTV's introduction was the most successful consumer electronics
debut in American
history. Although PrimeStar transitioned to a digital system in 1994, it was ultimately unable to compete with DirecTV
, which required a smaller satellite dish and could deliver more programming. DirecTV
purchased PrimeStar
in 1999 and moved all PrimeStar
subscribers to DirecTV equipment. In a series of transactions consummated in 2003, Hughes Electronics was spun out of GM and the News Corporation
purchased a controlling interest in the new company, which was renamed The DIRECTV
Group. In 2008, Liberty Media Corporation
purchased News Corporation's controlling interest in DIRECTV
.
In 1996, EchoStar's Dish Network
went online in the United States and, as DirecTV's primary competitor, achieved similar success. AlphaStar
also started but soon went under. Astro was also started, using a direct broadcast satellite system.
Dominion Video Satellite Inc.'s Sky Angel
launch on a satellite platform in the United States in 1996 with its DBS service geared toward the faith and family market. It grew from six to 36 TV and radio channels of family entertainment, Christian-inspirational programming, and 24-hour news. Dominion, under its former corporate name Video Satellite Systems Inc., was actually the second from among the first nine companies to apply to the FCC for a high-power DBS license in 1981, and it was the sole surviving DBS pioneer from that first round of forward-thinking applicants until the sale of their license to EchoStar Communications Corporation in 2007 and departure from satellite distribution in 2008. Sky Angel, although a separate and independent DBS service, used the same satellites, transmission facilities, & receiving equipment used for Dish Network through an agreement with Echostar. Because of this, Sky Angel subscribers also had the option of subscribing to Dish Network's channels as well.
In 2003, EchoStar attempted to purchase DirecTV, but the FCC and U.S. Department of Justice denied the purchase based on anti-competitive concerns.
As of 2010, India has the most competitive Direct-broadcast satellite market with 7 operators vying for more than 110 million TV homes. India is set to overtake the USA as the world's largest Direct-broadcast satellite market by 2012. "Thinking blue sky", Business Today, July 21, 2010.
is likely the leader in free-to-air
(FTA) DBS, with approximately 40 analogue and 100 digital channels broadcast from the SES Astra
1 position at 19.2E. These are not marketed as a DBS service, but are received in approximately 12 million homes, as well as in any home using the German commercial DBS system, Sky Deutschland
.
The United Kingdom
has approximately 160 digital channels (including the regional variations of BBC
and ITV
channels) broadcasting without encryption from the Astra 28.2°E
satellite position, and receivable on any DVB-compliant receiver. Most of these channels are included within the Sky Digital
EPG, and an increasing number within the Freesat
EPG. They include a handful of FTA HDTV channels.
India's national broadcaster, Doordarshan
, promotes a free-to-air DBS package as "DD Direct Plus
", which is provided as in-fill for the country's terrestrial transmission network. It is broadcast from Insat 4B at 93.5°E and contains about 57 FTA channels.
While originally launched as backhaul
for their digital terrestrial television
service, a large number of French channels are free-to-air on 5W, and have recently been announced as being official in-fill for the DTT network.
In North America
(USA, Canada and Mexico) there are over 80 FTA digital channels available on Galaxy 19
. (The majority of them are ethnic or religious.) Other popular FTA satellites include AMC-4, AMC-6, Galaxy 18
, and Satmex
5. A company called GloryStar
promotes FTA religious broadcasters on Galaxy 19
.
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
broadcasts intended for home reception.
A designation broader than DBS would be direct-to-home signals, or DTH. This has initially distinguished the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television distribution services that sometimes carried on the same satellite. The term DTH predates DBS and is often used in reference to services carried by lower power satellites which required larger dish
Satellite dish
A satellite dish is a dish-shaped type of parabolic antenna designed to receive microwaves from communications satellites, which transmit data transmissions or broadcasts, such as satellite television.-Principle of operation:...
es (1.7m diameter or greater) for reception.
In Europe, prior to the launch of Astra 1A
Astra 1A
Astra 1A was the first satellite launched and operated by SES . During its early days, it was often referred to as the Astra Satellite, as SES only operated one satellite originally....
in 1988, the term DBS was commonly used to describe the nationally-commissioned satellites planned and launched to provide TV broadcasts to the home within several European countries (e.g. BSB
British Satellite Broadcasting
British Satellite Broadcasting was a British television company which provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom...
in the UK, TV-Sat in Germany). These services were to use the D-Mac and D2-Mac
D-MAC
Among the family of MAC or Multiplexed Analog Components systems for television broadcasting, D-MAC is a reduced bandwidth variant designed for transmission down cable....
format and BSS frequencies with circular polarization from orbital positions allocated to each country. Before these DBS satellites, home satellite television in Europe was limited to a few channels, really intended for cable distribution, and requiring dishes typically of 1.2m
SES Astra
SES Astra
Astra is the name for the geostationary communication satellites, both individually and as a group, which are owned and operated by SES S.A., a global satellite operator based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. The name is sometimes also used to describe the channels broadcasting from these...
launched the Astra 1A satellite to provide services to homes across Europe receivable on dishes of just 60 cm-80 cm and, although these mostly used PAL video format and FSS frequencies with linear polarization, the DBS name slowly came to applied to all Astra satellites and services too.
Terminology confusion
As a technical matter, DBS (also known by the International Telecommunication Union as Broadcasting Satellite Service, or BSS) refers only to services transmitted by satellite in specific frequency bands: 11.7-12.2 GHz in ITU Region 3 (Asia, Australia), 10.7 - 12.75 GHz in ITU Region 1 (Europe, Russia, Africa), and 12.2-12.7 GHz ITU Region 2 (North and South America). In 1977, the ITU adopted an international BSS Plan under which each country was allocated specific frequencies at specific orbital locations for domestic service. Over the years, this plan has been modified to, for example, accommodate new countries, increase coverage areas, and reflect digital (rather than analog) technology. At present, numerous countries have brought into use their BSS Plan allocations.By contrast, DTH can apply to similar services transmitted over a wider range of frequencies (including standard and ) transmitted from satellites that are not part of any internationally planned band. Nonetheless, the term DBS is often used interchangeably with DTH to cover both analog and digital video and audio services (including video-on-demand and interactive
Interactive television
Interactive television describes a number of techniques that allow viewers to interact with television content as they view it.- Definitions :...
features) received by relatively small dishes (less than 1 meter). A "DBS service" usually refers to either a commercial service, or a group of free channels available from one orbital position targeting one country. In certain regions of the world, especially in North America, DBS is used to refer to providers of subscription satellite packages, and has become applied to the entire equipment chain involved.
Commercial DBS services
The second commercial DBS service, Sky Television plcSky Television plc
Sky Television plc was a public limited company which operated its four-channel satellite television service, launched by Rupert Murdoch's News International on 5 February 1989...
(now BSkyB
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
after its merger with British Satellite Broadcasting
British Satellite Broadcasting
British Satellite Broadcasting was a British television company which provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom...
's five-channel network), was launched in 1989. Sky TV started as a four-channel
Channel (communications)
In telecommunications and computer networking, a communication channel, or channel, refers either to a physical transmission medium such as a wire, or to a logical connection over a multiplexed medium such as a radio channel...
free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
analogue service on the Astra 1A
Astra 1A
Astra 1A was the first satellite launched and operated by SES . During its early days, it was often referred to as the Astra Satellite, as SES only operated one satellite originally....
satellite
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
, serving the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. By 1991, Sky had changed to a conditional access
Conditional access
Conditional Access is the protection of content by requiring certain criteria to be met before granting access to this content...
pay model, and launched a digital service, Sky Digital
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
, in 1998, with analogue transmission ceasing in 2001. Since the DBS nomenclature is rarely used in the UK or Ireland, the popularity of Sky's service has caused the terms "minidish
Minidish
The Minidish is the tradename used for the small-sized satellite dish used by Sky Digital. The term has entered the vocabulary in the UK and Ireland as a generic term for a satellite dish, particularly small ones....
" and "digibox
Digibox
The Digibox is a device marketed by British Sky Broadcasting in the UK and Republic of Ireland to enable home users to receive digital satellite television broadcasts from the Astra satellites at 28.2° east. An internet service is also available through the device, similar in some ways to the...
" to be applied to products other than Sky's hardware. BSkyB is controlled by News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
.
PrimeStar
PrimeStar
PrimeStar was a U.S. direct broadcast satellite broadcasting company formed in 1991 by a consortium of cable television system operators. PrimeStar was the first medium-powered DBS system in the United States but slowly declined in popularity with the arrival of DirecTV in 1994 and Dish Network in...
began transmitting an analog service to North America in 1991, and was joined by DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
(then owned by a division of General Motors, GM Hughes Electronics), in 1994. At the time, DirecTV's introduction was the most successful consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
debut in American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
history. Although PrimeStar transitioned to a digital system in 1994, it was ultimately unable to compete with DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
, which required a smaller satellite dish and could deliver more programming. DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
purchased PrimeStar
PrimeStar
PrimeStar was a U.S. direct broadcast satellite broadcasting company formed in 1991 by a consortium of cable television system operators. PrimeStar was the first medium-powered DBS system in the United States but slowly declined in popularity with the arrival of DirecTV in 1994 and Dish Network in...
in 1999 and moved all PrimeStar
PrimeStar
PrimeStar was a U.S. direct broadcast satellite broadcasting company formed in 1991 by a consortium of cable television system operators. PrimeStar was the first medium-powered DBS system in the United States but slowly declined in popularity with the arrival of DirecTV in 1994 and Dish Network in...
subscribers to DirecTV equipment. In a series of transactions consummated in 2003, Hughes Electronics was spun out of GM and the News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
purchased a controlling interest in the new company, which was renamed The DIRECTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
Group. In 2008, Liberty Media Corporation
Liberty Media
Liberty Media Corporation is an American media conglomerate and the control is exercised by company Chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares....
purchased News Corporation's controlling interest in DIRECTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
.
In 1996, EchoStar's Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
went online in the United States and, as DirecTV's primary competitor, achieved similar success. AlphaStar
AlphaStar
AlphaStar Digital Television was a direct-to-home satellite broadcasting service for the United States market developed by Canadian firm Tee-Comm Electronics. It was the first direct-to-home satellite broadcasting service in the United States to use the internationally-accepted DVB-S broadcasting...
also started but soon went under. Astro was also started, using a direct broadcast satellite system.
Dominion Video Satellite Inc.'s Sky Angel
Sky Angel
Sky Angel U.S. LLC. describes itself as a "Christian-owned and operated multi-channel television service specializing in Christian and family-friendly TV and radio programming." It is one of the first niche-oriented television providers in the United States....
launch on a satellite platform in the United States in 1996 with its DBS service geared toward the faith and family market. It grew from six to 36 TV and radio channels of family entertainment, Christian-inspirational programming, and 24-hour news. Dominion, under its former corporate name Video Satellite Systems Inc., was actually the second from among the first nine companies to apply to the FCC for a high-power DBS license in 1981, and it was the sole surviving DBS pioneer from that first round of forward-thinking applicants until the sale of their license to EchoStar Communications Corporation in 2007 and departure from satellite distribution in 2008. Sky Angel, although a separate and independent DBS service, used the same satellites, transmission facilities, & receiving equipment used for Dish Network through an agreement with Echostar. Because of this, Sky Angel subscribers also had the option of subscribing to Dish Network's channels as well.
In 2003, EchoStar attempted to purchase DirecTV, but the FCC and U.S. Department of Justice denied the purchase based on anti-competitive concerns.
As of 2010, India has the most competitive Direct-broadcast satellite market with 7 operators vying for more than 110 million TV homes. India is set to overtake the USA as the world's largest Direct-broadcast satellite market by 2012. "Thinking blue sky", Business Today, July 21, 2010.
Free DBS services
GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
is likely the leader in free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
(FTA) DBS, with approximately 40 analogue and 100 digital channels broadcast from the SES Astra
SES Astra
Astra is the name for the geostationary communication satellites, both individually and as a group, which are owned and operated by SES S.A., a global satellite operator based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. The name is sometimes also used to describe the channels broadcasting from these...
1 position at 19.2E. These are not marketed as a DBS service, but are received in approximately 12 million homes, as well as in any home using the German commercial DBS system, Sky Deutschland
Premiere (pay television network)
Sky Deutschland AG, branded as Sky, is a German media company which operates the first pay television platform in Germany and Austria, offering several channels of digital content via satellite and cable....
.
The United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
has approximately 160 digital channels (including the regional variations of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
channels) broadcasting without encryption from the Astra 28.2°E
Astra 28.2°E
Astra 28.2°E is the name for the group of Astra communications satellites co-located at the 28.2° East position in the Clarke Belt that are owned and operated by SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg...
satellite position, and receivable on any DVB-compliant receiver. Most of these channels are included within the Sky Digital
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
EPG, and an increasing number within the Freesat
Freesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
EPG. They include a handful of FTA HDTV channels.
India's national broadcaster, Doordarshan
DoorDarshan
Doordarshan is an Indian public service broadcaster, a division of Prasar Bharati. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in India in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters. Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15, 2009,...
, promotes a free-to-air DBS package as "DD Direct Plus
DD Direct Plus
DD Direct+ is an Indian free-to-air digital satellite television owned by Doordarshan. Which provides digital video and audio programming to households and businesses in India. It offers a satellite alternative to the free-view service on digital terrestrial television, with a broadly similar...
", which is provided as in-fill for the country's terrestrial transmission network. It is broadcast from Insat 4B at 93.5°E and contains about 57 FTA channels.
While originally launched as backhaul
Backhaul (TV industry)
In the context of broadcasting, backhaul refers to uncut program content that is transmitted point-to-point to an individual television station or radio station, broadcast network or other receiving entity where it will be integrated into a finished TV show or radio show...
for their digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
service, a large number of French channels are free-to-air on 5W, and have recently been announced as being official in-fill for the DTT network.
In North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
(USA, Canada and Mexico) there are over 80 FTA digital channels available on Galaxy 19
Galaxy 19
Galaxy 19 is a communications satellite owned by Intelsat located at 97° West longitude, serving the North American market. Galaxy 19 replaced Galaxy 25 which is nearing the end of its design life and has been moved to 93.1°W longitude. It was built by Space Systems/Loral, as part of its FS-1300...
. (The majority of them are ethnic or religious.) Other popular FTA satellites include AMC-4, AMC-6, Galaxy 18
Galaxy 18
Galaxy 18 is a Space Systems/Loral 1300-series hybrid communications satellite owned by Intelsat and located in geosynchronous orbit at 123° W longitude, serving the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, and Canada with 24 C-band, and 24 Ku band transponders...
, and Satmex
Satmex
Satmex is a commercial company from Mexico that operates space satellites that provide services to the Americas.-History:...
5. A company called GloryStar
Glorystar
GloryStar Satellite Systems is a Direct to Home religious based satellite service. They provide ministry support services by partnering with Christian broadcasters and a vendor of satellite television equipment oriented towards viewers of satellite-delivered Christian broadcast ministries.-...
promotes FTA religious broadcasters on Galaxy 19
Galaxy 19
Galaxy 19 is a communications satellite owned by Intelsat located at 97° West longitude, serving the North American market. Galaxy 19 replaced Galaxy 25 which is nearing the end of its design life and has been moved to 93.1°W longitude. It was built by Space Systems/Loral, as part of its FS-1300...
.
See also
- FreesatFreesatFreesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
- Television receive-only (TVRO)Television receive-onlyTelevision receive-only, TVRO, or Big ugly dish , is a term used in North America to refer to the reception of satellite television from FSS-type satellites, generally on C-band analog; free-to-air and unconnected to a commercial DBS provider...
- early satellite equipment for broadcasts not intended for home reception