SuperDish
Encyclopedia
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...
in November 2003 as a means to provide more channels for subscribing customers. Its elliptical reflector is 36" x 20" - more than 50% larger than the round 20" Dish 500. The SuperDish receives signals from three orbiting satellites, as opposed to two signals with a DISH 500. The three satellites are at 110°W, 119°W, and either 105°W or 121°W depending on customer requirements. The 105-degree orbital slot provides local channels via Ku band
Ku band
The Kμ band is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies. This symbol refers to —in other words, the band directly below the K-band...
from SES Americom
SES Americom
SES Americom was a major commercial satellite operator based in the United States. Formerly RCA Americom and GE Americom, the company became one of the principal parts of SES S.A.....
's AMC-15 satellite. The other, 121-degree orbital slot provides local channels and international packages via Ku band from EchoStar 9, which is also known as 'Galaxy 23/EchoStar 9
Galaxy 23
Galaxy 23 is the name given to the C-band service of the Galaxy 23/EchoStar 9 communications satellite jointly owned by Intelsat and EchoStar located at 121° W longitude, serving the North American market. It was built by Space Systems/Loral, as part of its FS-1300 line. Galaxy 23 was...
due to a joint partnership with Intelsat
Intelsat
Intelsat, Ltd. is a communications satellite services provider.Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization , it was—from 1964 to 2001—an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast...
.
Technology
These two satellite services, and their older Fixed Service SatelliteFixed Service Satellite
Fixed Service Satellite , is the official classification for geostationary communications satellites used for broadcast feeds for television stations and radio stations and broadcast networks, as well as for telephony, telecommunications and data communications.FSS satellites have also been used...
technology, were provided to add additional capacity that lets DISH Network satisfy the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
's "must-carry
Must-carry
In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally-licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.- Canada :...
" requirements for local channels, and make room for HDTV. In addition, several dozen international services have been added to DISH Network's channel line-up. The SuperDish receives standard Direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite 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...
(DBS) services in circular polarization
Circular polarization
In electrodynamics, circular polarization of an electromagnetic wave is a polarization in which the electric field of the passing wave does not change strength but only changes direction in a rotary type manner....
at 12.7 GHz from Echostar's existing 110°W and 119°W slots. The 105°W and 121°W slots are received in linear polarization
Linear polarization
In electrodynamics, linear polarization or plane polarization of electromagnetic radiation is a confinement of the electric field vector or magnetic field vector to a given plane along the direction of propagation...
at 11.7 GHz at a much lower power. As a result, SuperDISH-compatible receivers must be able to receive circularly-polarized and linearly-polarized signals at two different frequency ranges from up to four satellites.
Services
SuperDISH enabled Dish Network customers to receive High-definition televisionHigh-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
(HDTV), international, and/or local channels, on one dish system. Local channels in most major cities were available as digital broadcasts over DISH Network using SuperDish but HDTV has since been moved to the 61.5 and 129.
In 2007 most of the services at the 121-degree location were moved to the Anik
Anik
Anik may refer to:* Anik , satellites launched by Canadian telecommunications company Telesat* Anik Bissonnette, a Canadian ballet dancer* Anik Matern, a Canadian actress and founder of the Dynamic Theater Factory* Anik Mountain...
F3 satellite at the 118.75-degree location. Existing SuperDish subscribers were retrofitted with a "repoint kit" to receive most of the same services via the Anik F3 satellite, also in the medium-power FSS band.
Some services, such as those of Wachovia Bank, remain at the 121-degree location and will continue to use the SuperDish.
See also
- Dish NetworkDish NetworkDish 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...
- EchoStar Communications Corporation
- IntelsatIntelsatIntelsat, Ltd. is a communications satellite services provider.Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization , it was—from 1964 to 2001—an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast...
- Fixed Service SatelliteFixed Service SatelliteFixed Service Satellite , is the official classification for geostationary communications satellites used for broadcast feeds for television stations and radio stations and broadcast networks, as well as for telephony, telecommunications and data communications.FSS satellites have also been used...
- Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications CommissionThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC)