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Television receive-only (TVRO) is a term used chiefly in North America, South 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. TVRO was the main means of consumer satellite reception in the United States and Canada until the mid-1990s with the arrival of direct-broadcast satellite television services such as PrimeStar, USSB, Bell Satellite TV, DirecTV, Dish Network, Sky TV that transmit Ku signals. While these services are at least theoretically based on open standards (DVB-S, MPEG-2, MPEG-4), the majority of services are encrypted and require proprietary decoder hardware. TVRO systems relied on feeds being transmitted unencrypted and using open standards, which heavily contrasts to DBS systems in the region.
The term is also used to refer to receiving digital television "backhaul" feeds from FSS-type satellites. Reception of free-to-air satellite signals, generally Ku bandDigital Video Broadcasting, for home viewing is still common in Europe and India, although the TVRO nomenclature was never used there.[citation needed] Free-to-air satellite signals are also very common in the People's Republic of China, as many rural locations cannot receive cable television and solely rely on satellites to deliver television signals to individual homes.[citation needed]
"Big ugly dish"
The term "BUD" (big ugly dish) is a colloquialism for C-Bandsatellite dishes used by TVRO systems. BUDs range from 4 to 16 feet in diameter, with the most popular large size being 10 feet. The name comes from their perception as an eyesore.
History
The back side of a C-Band satellite dish showing the pole, mount, motor, counterweight, and structure of the dish.
TVRO systems were originally marketed in the late 1970s. On October 18, 1979, the FCC began allowing people to have home satellite earth stations without a federal government license.[1] The dishes were nearly 20 feet (6.1m) in diameter,[2] were remote controlled,[3] and could only pick up HBO signals from one of two satellites.[citation needed]
Originally, the dishes used for satellite TV reception were 12 to 16 feet in diameter and made of solid fiberglass with an embedded metal coating, with later models being 4 to 10 feet and made of wiremesh and solid steel or aluminum.[4] Early dishes cost more than $5,000, and sometimes as much as $10,000. The wider the dish was, the better its ability to provide adequate channel reception. Programming sent from ground stations was relayed from 18 satellites in geostationary orbit located 22,300 miles above the Earth. The dish had to be pointed directly at the satellite, with nothing blocking the signal. Weaker signals required larger dishes.[4][5][6]
The dishes worked by receiving a low-power C-Band (3.7–4.2GHz) frequency-modulatedanalog signal directly from the original distribution satellite – the same signal received by cable television headends. Because analog channels took up an entire transponder on the satellite, and each satellite had a fixed number of transponders, dishes were usually equipped with a modified polar mount and actuator to sweep the dish across the horizon to receive channels from multiple satellites. Switching between horizontal and vertical polarization was accomplished by a small electric servo motor that moved a probe inside the feedhorn throat at the command of the receiver (commonly called a "polarotor" setup). Higher-end receivers did this transparently, switching polarization and moving the dish automatically as the user changed channels.[citation needed]
By Spring of 1984, 18 C-Band satellites were in use for United States domestic communications, owned by five different companies.[7]
The retail price for satellite receivers soon dropped, with some dishes costing as little as $2,000 by mid-1984.[4] Dishes pointing to one satellite were even cheaper.[8] Once a user paid for a dish, it was possible to receive even premium movie channels, raw feeds of news broadcasts or television stations from other areas. People in areas without local broadcast stations, and people in areas without cable television, could obtain good-quality reception with no monthly fees.[4][6] Two open questions existed about this practice: whether the Communications Act of 1934 applied as a case of "unauthorized reception" by TVRO consumers; and to what extent it was legal for a service provider to encrypt their signals in an effort to prevent its reception.
Reception of unencrypted satellite signals by a consumer
Reception of encrypted satellite signals by a consumer, when they have received authorization to legally decrypt it
This created a framework for the wide deployment of encryption on analog satellite signals. It further created a framework (and implicit mandate to provide) subscription services to TVRO consumers to allow legal decryption of those signals. HBO and Cinemax became the first two services to announce intent to encrypt their satellite feeds late in 1984. Others were strongly considering doing so as well.[6] Where cable providers could compete with TVRO subscription options, it was thought this would provide sufficient incentive for competition.[11]
HBO and Cinemax began encrypting their west coast feeds services with VideoCipher II 12 hours a day early in 1985, then did the same with their east coast feeds by August. The two networks began scrambling full time on January 15, 1986, which in many contemporary news reports was called "S-Day". This met with much protest from owners of big-dish systems, most of which had no other option at the time for receiving such channels. As required by the Cable Communications Policy act of 1984, HBO allowed dish owners to subscribe directly to their service, although at a price ($12.95 per month) higher than what cable subscribers were paying. This sentiment, and a collapse in the sales of TVRO equipment in early 1986, led to the April 1986 attack on HBO's transponder on Galaxy 1. Dish sales went down from 600,000 in 1985 to 350,000 in 1986, but pay television services were seeing dishes as something positive since some people would never have cable service, and the industry was starting to recover as a result. Through 1986, other channels that began full time encryption included Showtime and The Movie Channel on May 27, and CNN and CNN Headline News on July 1.[12] Scrambling would also lead to the development of pay-per-view,[10] as demonstrated by the early adoption of encryption by Request Television, and Viewer's Choice.[13] Channels scrambled (encrypted) with VideoCipher and VideoCipher II could be defeated, and there was a black market for illegal descramblers.
By the end of 1987, 16 channels had employed encryption with another 7 planned in the first half of 1988. Packages that offered reduced rates for channels in bulk had begun to appear. At this time, the vast majority of analog satellite TV transponders still were not encrypted.[13] On November 1, 1988, NBC began scrambling its C-band signal but left its Ku band signal unencrypted in order for affiliates to not lose viewers who could not see their advertising. Most of the two million satellite dish users in the United States still used C-band. ABC and CBS were considering scrambling, though CBS was reluctant due to the number of people unable to receive local network affiliates.[14]
The growth of dishes receiving Ku band signals in North America was limited by the Challenger disaster, since 75 satellites were to be launched prior to the suspension of the Space Shuttle program. Only seven Ku band satellites were in use.[15]
In addition to encryption, DBS services such as PrimeStar had been reducing the popularity for TVRO systems since the early 1990s. Signals from DBS satellites (operating in the more recent Ku band) are higher in both frequency and power (due to improvements in the solar panels and energy efficiency of modern satellites) and therefore require much smaller dishes than C-band, and the digital signals now used require far less signal strength at the receiver, resulting in a lower cost of entry. Each satellite also can carry up to 32 transponders in the Ku band, but only 24 in the C band, and several digital subchannels can be multiplexed (MCPC) or carried separately (SCPC) on a single transponder. General advances, such as HEMT, in noise reduction at microwave frequencies have also had an effect. However, a consequence of the higher frequency used for DBS services is rain fade where viewers lose signal during a heavy downpour. C-band's immunity to rain fade is one of the major reasons the system is still used as the preferred method for television broadcasters to distribute their signal.
Popularity
TVRO systems were most popular in rural areas, beyond the broadcast range of most local television stations. The mountainousterrain of West Virginia, for example, makes reception of over-the-air television broadcasts (especially in the higher UHF frequencies) very difficult. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s DBS systems were not available, and cable television systems of the time only carried a few channels, resulting in a boom in sales of systems in the area, which led to the systems being termed the "West Virginia state flower". The term was regional, known mostly to those living in West Virginia and surrounding areas. Another reason was the large sizes of the dishes. The first satellite systems consisted of "BUDs" twelve to sixteen feet in diameter. They became much more popular in the mid-1980s when dish sizes decreased to about six to ten feet, but have always been a source of much consternation (even local zoning disputes) due to their perception as an eyesore. Neighborhoods with restrictive covenants usually still prohibit this size of dish, except where such restrictions are illegal.[16] Support for systems dried up when strong encryption was introduced around 1994. Many long-disconnected dishes still occupy their original spots.
TVRO on ships
The term TVRO has been in use on ships since it was introduced in the 1980s. One early provider of equipment was SeaTel with its first generation of stabilized satellite antennas that was launched in 1985, the TV-at-Sea 8885 system. Until this time ships had not been able to receive television signals from satellites due to their rocking motion rendering reception impossible. The SeaTel antenna however was stabilized using electrically driven gyroscopes and thus made it possible to point to the satellite accurately enough, that is to within 2°, in order to receive a signal. The successful implementation of stabilised TVRO systems on ships immediately led to the development of maritime VSAT systems. The second generation of SeaTel TVRO systems came in 1994 and was the 2494 antenna, which got its gyro signal from the ship rather than its own gyros, improving accuracy and reducing maintenance.
As of 2010, SeaTel continues to dominate the market for stabilized TVRO systems and has according to the Comsys group, a market share of 75%. Other established providers of stabilised satellite antennas are Intellian, KNS, Orbit, EPAK and KVH.
Current uses
Most of the free analogue channels that BUDs were built to receive have been taken offline.[citation needed] Due to the number of systems in existence, their lack of usefulness, and because many people consider them an eyesore, used BUDs can be purchased for very little money.[citation needed] As of 2009, there are 23 C-band satellites and 38 Ku/Ka band satellites.[17]
There were over 150 channels for people who want to receive subscription channels on a C-band dish via Motorola's 4DTV equipment via two vendors Satellite Receivers Ltd (SRL) and SkyvisionArchived January 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine . The 4DTV subscription system shutdown on August 16, 2016.
The dishes themselves can be modified to receive free-to-air and DBS signals. The stock LNBs fitted to typical BUDs will usually need to be replaced with one of a lower noise temperature to receive digital broadcasts. With a suitable replacement LNB (provided there is no warping of the reflector) a BUD can be used to receive free-to-air (FTA) and DBS signals. Several companies market LNBs, LNBFs, and adaptor collars for big-dish systems. For receiving FTA signals the replacement should be capable of dual C/Ku reception with linear polarization, for DBS it will need a high band Ku LNBF using circular polarization. Older mesh dishes with perforations larger than 5mm are inefficient at Ku frequencies, because the smaller wavelengths will pass through them. Solid fiberglass dishes usually contain metal mesh with large-diameter perforations as a reflector and are usually unsuitable for anything other than C band.
Large dishes have higher antenna gain, which can be an advantage when used with DBS signals such as Dish Network and DirecTV, virtually eliminating rain fade. Restored dishes fitted with block upconverters can be used to transmit signals as well. BUDs can still be seen at antenna farms for these reasons, so that video and backhauls can be sent to and from the television network with which a station is affiliated, without interruption due to inclement weather. BUDs are also still useful for picking-up weak signals at the edge of a satellite's broadcast "footprint" – the area at which a particular satellite is aimed. For this reason, BUDs are helpful in places like Alaska, or parts of the Caribbean.
Modern equivalents
Large parabolic antennas similar to BUDs are still in production. New dishes differ in their construction and materials. New mesh dishes have much smaller perforations and solid dishes are now made with steel instead of fiberglass. New systems usually include a universal LNB that is switched electronically between horizontal and vertical polarization, obviating the need for a failure-prone polar rotor. As a complete system they have a much lower noise temperature than old BUDs, and are generally better for digital Ku reception. The prices of these dishes have fallen dramatically since the first BUDs were produced for several thousand dollars to as little as $200 for an 8ft mesh started BUD sold on eBay or amazon as of 2014.[18] Typical uses for these systems include receiving free-to-air and subscription services.
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet, and military applications. Many communications satellites are in geostationary orbit 22,236 miles (35,785 km) above the equator, so that the satellite appears stationary at the same point in the sky; therefore the satellite dish antennas of ground stations can be aimed permanently at that spot and do not have to move to track the satellite. Others form satellite constellations in low Earth orbit, where antennas on the ground have to follow the position of the satellites and switch between satellites frequently.
The Ku band is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under", because it is the lower part of the original NATO K band, which was split into three bands because of the presence of the atmospheric water vapor resonance peak at 22.24 GHz, (1.35 cm) which made the center unusable for long range transmission. In radar applications, it ranges from 12 to 18 GHz according to the formal definition of radar frequency band nomenclature in IEEE Standard 521–2002.
A satellite dish is a dish-shaped type of parabolic antenna designed to receive or transmit information by radio waves to or from a communication satellite. The term most commonly means a dish which receives direct-broadcast satellite television from a direct broadcast satellite in geostationary orbit.
4DTV is a proprietary broadcasting standard and technology for digital cable broadcasting and C-band/Ku-band satellite dishes from Motorola, using General Instrument's DigiCipher II for encryption. It can tune in both analog VideoCipher II and digital DCII satellite channels.
A low-noise block downconverter (LNB) is the receiving device mounted on satellite dishes used for satellite TV reception, which collects the radio waves from the dish and converts them to a signal which is sent through a cable to the receiver inside the building. Also called a low-noise block, low-noise converter (LNC), or even low-noise downconverter (LND), the device is sometimes inaccurately called a low-noise amplifier (LNA).
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. The term is independent of the medium being used to send the backhaul, but communications satellite transmission is very common. When the medium is satellite, it is called a wildfeed.
PrimeStar was an American direct broadcast satellite broadcasting company formed in November 1990 by seven cable television companies including Comcast Corp. and TCI Communications Corp. 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 1996.
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription, other ongoing cost, or one-off fee. In the traditional sense, this is carried on terrestrial radio signals and received with an antenna.
Bell Satellite TV is the division of BCE Inc. that provides satellite television service across Canada. It launched on September 10, 1997. As of April 2017, Bell Satellite TV provides over 700 channels to over 1 million subscribers. Its major competitors include satellite service Shaw Direct, as well as various cable and communications companies across Canada.
VideoCipher is a brand name of analog scrambling and de-scrambling equipment for cable and satellite television invented primarily to enforce Television receive-only (TVRO) satellite equipment to only receive TV programming on a subscription basis.
Television encryption, often referred to as scrambling, is encryption used to control access to pay television services, usually cable, satellite, or Internet Protocol television (IPTV) services.
The Anik satellites are a series of geostationary communications satellites launched for Telesat Canada for television, voice and data in Canada and other parts of the world, from 1972 through 2013. Some of the later satellites in the series remain operational in orbit, while others have been retired to a graveyard orbit. The naming of the satellite was determined by a national contest, and was won by Julie-Frances Czapla of Saint-Léonard, Québec. In Inuktitut, Anik means "brother".
A polar mount is a movable mount for satellite dishes that allows the dish to be pointed at many geostationary satellites by slewing around one axis. It works by having its slewing axis parallel, or almost parallel, to the Earth's polar axis so that the attached dish can follow, approximately, the geostationary orbit, which lies in the plane of the Earth's equator.
A multiswitch is a device used with a dual or quattro LNB to distribute satellite TV signals to multiple receivers from a single dish and LNB.
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 standard and used 39" satellite dish receivers. Its service launched in July 1996, but was discontinued completely by September 1997 with 40,000 subscribers as the company went through bankruptcy proceedings. The American assets of AlphaStar was used under the auspices of the Champion Telecom Platform which used to own the AlphaStar brand. AlphaStar would also have alleviated a shortage of Canadian satellite capacity by using foreign (US) satellite capacity to fill Canadian needs—indeed this was a requirement for the Canadian company to obtain its license from Canada to commence broadcasting. Tee-Comm, the parent company of AlphaStar had originally co-founded the partnership that created ExpressVu as technology supplier but later divested all interest in ExpressVu.
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna commonly referred to as a satellite dish and a low-noise block downconverter.
A free-to-air or FTA Receiver is a satellite television receiver designed to receive unencrypted broadcasts. Modern decoders are typically compliant with the MPEG-4/DVB-S2 standard and formerly the MPEG-2/DVB-S standard, while older FTA receivers relied on analog satellite transmissions which have declined rapidly in recent years.
Multichannel television in the United States has been available since at least 1948. The United States is served by multichannel television through cable television systems, direct-broadcast satellite providers, and various other wireline video providers; among the largest television providers in the U.S. are YouTube TV, DirecTV, Altice USA, Charter Communications, Comcast, Dish Network, Verizon Communications, and Cox Communications. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 defines a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) as "a person such as, but not limited to, a cable operator, a multichannel multipoint distribution service, a direct broadcast satellite service, or a television receive-only satellite program distributor, who makes available for purchase, by subscribers or customers, multiple channels of video programming", where a channel is defined as a "signaling path provided by a cable television system."
Currently, there are two primary satellite television providers of subscription based service available to United States consumers: DirecTV and Dish Network, which have 21 and 10 million subscribers respectively.
Sky Direct was a direct-broadcast satellite subscription television service in the Philippines owned and operated by Sky, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corporation. Sky Cable had been eyeing for a DBS service and considered on acquiring Dream Satellite TV from Antonio O. Cojuangco, Jr. The acquisition of Dream was reported to have reached an advanced stage but for some undisclosed reasons, the deal was not sealed. Sky's entry to the DBS market was hindered by various oppositions from the industry, citing legal issues and the slow growth of the pay TV market in the country. On December 23, 2015, Sky was granted by the NTC a provisional authority to operate and maintain a DBS service in 251 cities and municipalities in the country for a period of 18 months. Sky Direct offered both prepaid and postpaid packages with exclusive channels from ABS-CBN and Creative Programs such as ABS-CBN HD, ABS-CBN News Channel, ABS-CBN Sports+Action HD, Cinema One, Jeepney TV, Metro Channel, Liga, and Myx. As of March 2019, Sky Direct had over 1 million subscribers.
↑ Stecklow, Steve (October 25, 1984). "Research Needed in Buying Dish: High Cost Is Important Consideration for Consumer". Wichita Eagle. Knight-Ridder News Service. p.6C.
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