So This Is Christmas

Merry Christmas is such an infectious feeling I like to feel that way all year around.

So if you are visiting just before Christmas, just after Christmas or even here on Christmas day I am sure you will find something of interest for you and in the spirit of Christmas.

It may be said that Christmas is no longer a celebration but this must be spoken by people that have never had trouble closing their eyes on Christmas Eve in an expectation of what maybe left for them on the carpet under the tree.

I continue to look forward to the surprise on my Grandchild's faces to this day at Christmas events.

Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The Amazing Technology Of Consumer Satellite TV

By Sam Bousaks

How does satellite TV work? There is a long version that is very scientific and a shorter version that is more interesting. We'll stick with the shorter version. The very first satellite for TV was shot into orbit in'62. So, there has been a lot of advances made to the technology behind satellites since then. And, we have benefited from all of those advances.

Back then people who wanted satellite for their televisions had to use a nine foot dish that they put in their back yards. They were really big, ugly, and gave an incredible variety of channels from other countries that made them totally worth the effort. Some people still have those dishes in their back yards. When somebody wants to get channels from a different country they call the neighbors to help them move the dish a tad. There were remotes included with the dishes but those were lost years ago.

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.

Once the satellites became more popular, providers started shooting satellites with transponders up regularly. These geostationary satellites orbit at the same speed as the earth so they don't seem to be moving. This made reception even better and it was lots easier to find channels and countries because the satellites were identified. As people became more knowledgeable about where satellites were located they started creating their own programming guides. Those have now been replaced with the onscreen guides provided by the satellites.

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.

Cities had a problem with the little dishes because hardly anybody has an unblocked south view. That's when they came up with "spot beams." So, the satellites shoot a signal to the spot beam, that shoots a signal to the dish, that shoots a signal to a television. Okay, it's way more scientific than that, but this is the short version, and you get the picture.

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.

If you'd like to learn more about how does satellite TV work there are many websites that have all of the scientific information about each part of the system. However, sometimes a short version followed by a satellite broadcast movie is better.

About the Author:

No comments:

If You Are Unable To Be There But Want To Show You Love Them Then Send -