The Satellite TV - Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction
The follows isn't exactly a 'FAQ', but an attempt to give some answers to the
questions that face those who want to install satellite TV at their home.
In 2001, the main issues to be faced when choosing your type of satellite
set-up are the following:
We will look at these questions in turn,
before we at the end sum up what you will be watching if you have chosen one
option or the other.
The first choice you may face, then, is whether you should purchase an
analogue or digital receiver. The dealer will tell you that
analogue is old and out; digital is new and in. To a large extent that is true.
As we enter 2001, any new user should be recommended to choose a digital
receiver, however, those who already have analogue equipment may have some
years' value left from it.
- What do these terms mean in the first place? Basically, analogue and digital
are two completely different ways of transmitting TV. Both use satellites, both
come through a receiver; a box attached to your TV tuned to some frequency. But there the similarly mostly ends. While the equipment in the satellite dish
outside on the wall is often the same either way (so you do not need to get a
new dish if you switch from analogue to digital), the interior of the
receiver is completely different. You cannot receive analogue channels on a
digital receiver, or digital channels on an analogue receiver - the digital is
not a 'decoder' you can attach to your old analogue setup if you have one: You
must choose either one or the other.
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-- To understand the difference, you can think of your regular TV as a kind of
radio with pictures. It uses the same type of technology as your FM/AM radio,
and behind the "preset programmes" on your remote control, there is for each a
particular frequency, similar to those on your radio's tuning display. While
the radio receives sound that is sent on these frequencies (radio waves), the
TV receives picture signals on the same radio waves. Analogue satellite
works basically the same way as a earthbound ('terrestial') TV; except that because of
the enormous distance to the satellite, it must use extremely short radio
waves, 'micro-waves'. That apart, the analogue satellite receiver is a fairly regular TV
tuner without a screen; like the VCR, it passes the sound and picture to your
regular TV for display.
Digital satellite also receives radio micro-waves, but what is transmitted on
these waves are computer signals, the '0s and 1s' that your PC also uses. A
digital satellite receiver is in fact a single-purpose computer, and if you are
used to PCs it is helpful to think of it as such: it is limited by installed
computer memory, it has an operating system, and its software may have bugs and
need to be reset like any computer: pull out the power plug. -- |
What does digital bring to you above analogue, apart from the number of
channels?
- The ads will tell you 'crystal-clear pictures'. Actually, that needs to be
qualfied: You won't get digital pictures on your screen, because the TV set
itself is analogue. True digital TV sets will not come into use in Europe for
another decade, as they are very expensive to make. It is the
transmission to your home that is digital. The satelite receiver
transforms the digital signal to analogue and passes it along a cable to your
TV and VCR. In reality, the quality you see will be about the same as you get
from cable or good over-the-air reception.
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How good the digital picture is
also depends on how many channels the sender squeezes into each frequency; if
too many channels are transmitted together, the digital quality may not be much
above that of a VHS video. |
- More to the point is how sensitive the signal is to bad reception
conditions (snow, heavy rain, weak satellite). By their nature, digital
channels never get "sparklies", white or black dots that you may see on weak
analogue channels. Digital is on or off; either you get a signal as good as it
gets, or you get nothing; a black screen. Exactly how sensitive it is depends
on your equipment. My own experience is however that if you get a level of
sparklies that is annoying, but not destructive, on analogue (60-70 per cent of
full strength, perhaps) the digital channels will remain perfect and you will
not notice that conditions are bad. If you go much below that however (40 per
cent or so?), you will get nothing in digital, while you may still discern
picture and sound on analogue channels.
- Much the same can be said for the 'electronic program guide' or EPG, which
tells you on-screen what programs are shown on different channels. It is
certainly useful if you can get it, but not all receivers can display the
information (and not all channels send it), depending on software. Base your
choice primarily on the ability to actually see the channels you want, not
these so far rather primitive extras.
- Those who sell subscription TV will tell you that digital gives many new
services; like on-line shopping, pay-per-view films, different views of
football matches etc. Most of these cost extra; others do not exist yet. A
major hindrance for these 'interactive services' is that they require your
receiver to have special software or be especially adapted to their service, or
often be one rented out or sold by the TV channel. A different receiver you buy
in the shop may be fully able to receive both free and subscription channels,
but not these 'interactive' extras. As the development of the software required
as well as the services is still going on and will change over the next year or
two, I would not give them much weight at this point.
-- as I said above that you 'can't have
both' analogue and digital. In fact that is not quite true. There are a few
combined analogue and digital receivers on the market. These are however two
receivers in one box, with separate hardware (and software) for receiving
digital and analogue channels. Thus, they come at a price; and for some of them
the combination appears partly as a gimmick; the integration between the two
parts may leave things to be desired. A few, however, are very good, so look
carefully before you buy. Evidently, they belong to the upper end of the price
range. - Another option is to have two separate receivers, one analogue and one
digital box, and run a cable from one to the other. It requires a bit of
adaptation (only one of them can 'govern' the dish at any time), but it may be
done; in particular if you already have an analogue receiver and wish to retain
access to those channels that are not available in digital. --
So why the push to digital? From the channels' point of view, it is quite
simply much cheaper. Satellite space costs money (to the tune of 4-5 million
Euro per channel per year), and they can send five to ten digital channels for
the same price as one analogue. That is the primary reason why they want us to
change all at the same time, to be able to shut down costly analogue services.
From the user's point of view, improved reception quality is certainly a plus,
but the main argument is what channels you can watch in either system.
Having settled the analogue / digital thing, the next issue is what satellite
or satellites you want to point your dish to. There are about a dozen
satellites over Europe sending domestic TV, at different locations in the sky;
and the dish must be pointed to one or more of these locations.
One issue, in addition to it being above the horizon, the dish must also have
'clear line of sight' to the satellites, which all circle above the equator (so
look south!). Tall buildings, mountains, or even trees may consitute obstacles
to consider. You should also note that some satellites target their signals
towards particular regions or countries. Some channels intended for
Scandinavia, e.g. can be received only with difficulty (or a large dish) in
Italy or Spain, and vice versa. Many or most can however be received with
reasonable ease throughout the region.
The two major factors in deciding what satellite to choose, and whether you
want to set up a dish that can receive signals from more than one satellite, is
language and - for subscription channels - what country you live in. We will
discuss in more detail below what you can find on the various satellites.
However, the satellites you most probably will be looking for are:
- From a British point of view, the Astra 2 satellite* is the primary
focus: It has all the subscription channels of the Sky package, and a number of
free UK channels. Sky subscribers will normally not look beyond Astra 2.
- From a continental European angle, there are two main satellite positions,
Astra1 (different from Astra 2) and HotBird, which are not too
far apart in the sky. Each of these have between 100 and 200 channels; with a
mixture of European and Middle Eastern content; with an edge for HotBird in
terms of number.
- Scandinavian viewers are divided between two satellites, Thor
(mainly Norwegian and Danish) and Sirius (mainly Swedish). Each is
dominated by a competing company; it is however very common for Scandinavian
viewers to have seutps directed at both these satellites. These two are mainly
for subscription channels; there are very few open channels on either of them.
- Spanish viewers will find some options on Astra, some on HotBird, and yet
others on the special Spanish satellite, Hispasat, which is located far
away in the west (about 50 degrees west of Astra). It is pretty much impossible to
receive both Astra and Hispasat on one fixed dish.
- Middle Eastern viewers will find some fare on HotBird, which has about
twenty open Arabic channels; Astra1 has a handful; but also ArabSat
between Astra1 and Astra 2 which adds a dozen or two channels; or
TurkSat further east with Turkish fare.
* There is actually not
one, but several satellites clumped together at Astra 2 and the other satellite
positions; sharing the work. But they are so close that the receiver sees them
as a single satellite, thus so will we.
The other satellites have much more limited choice, at least in digital;
typically a dozen or so channels (such as government and shopping channels),
and sometimes duplicating channels already on Astra1 or Hotbird. They may
however also contain subscription packages for special markets. Still, most
viewers will choose between the half-dozen or so listed above.
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For analogue receivers, the choice is much the same, although the total number of channels is much lower. Astra 2 is digital-only, Thor and Sirius virtually
so. A few satellites on the other hand transmit only in analogue, including
some channels not receivable in open digital, thus Telecom 2B with the major terrestial French channels.
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Having made your choice of how many satellites may be of interest, your options
are:
- If a single satellite position is all you want, your choice is of course
simple; you install a dish pointing in that direction.
- The other, maximalist, is to install a more complex 'motorized' dish,
which moves across the sky at the command of your indoor receiver. That is a
more expensive choice, but you are then limited by nothing and can scan freely
from satellite to satellite. It may also be cost-effective if you are
interested in more than three or four satellites.
- If you want to watch more than one satellite, however, you can do it in
two different ways. One is to go with a fixed, but slightly larger, dish and
install in it two or more receptor elements (a little box called the 'head' or
LNB placed just above the centre of the dish, it is this that actually
receives the signals), one pointing to each satellite. That is the best option
if there are only two or three satellites you want to look at, located fairly
closely together.
Motorized dishes were
more popular some years ago, as channels were more evenly distributed across
satellites, and it was difficult and expensive to have more than two heads
installed in a dish together. This has changed in favour of multi-LNB dishes,
both because they have become cheaper and simpler, but also because there has
been a concentration of channels according to language on a smaller number of
satellites, compared to ten years ago.
Which is 'better' for multi-satellite setups, motorized or fixed multi-LNB,
does not have a clear answer. A fixed dish is always simpler to set up, and
cannot 'lose its way' as a motor may do. When you use motorized, you are always
aware of what channel is on which satellite, as you will have to wait for 10-30
seconds each time you zap from a channel on one satellite to one on the other,
while the dish moves across the sky to the new satellite. Fixed dishes are much
more convenient in this, there is no wait, and you will not need to remember
what satellite each channel is on.
On the other hand, a motorized dish is required if you want to watch satellites that are far apart (more than, e.g. 20 degrees apart in the sky) without putting up several dishes. It is also
more flexible both for checking out more satellites that those you originally
installed, including any new ones that may be sent up: with a fixed dish you need
to add a new head for every satellite. An LNB may today cost between 50-100
Euro, a motor perhaps 200-300, often less.
The choice is not evident, but
perhaps we can suggest that a motorized solution today is more apt for the
enthusiast who does not want to 'miss out' on anything, while a fixed dish with
several LNBs is a probably more convenient for most users. In particular so
when most receivers today can govern up to sixteen different LNBs (on one or
more dishes) pointing at as many satellites.
The choice between the three options, a single-satellite, multi-LNB or
motorized dish, has some impact on the rest of the equipment. Of course, once
you have made the decision that you want 'digital, UK, English', or 'motorized,
all channels possible', and the price range, you will normally just go to a
local dealer-installer and ask him to put up a complete package that will give
you that. The dealer will then make sure all the elements fit together, and
will accommodate for local conditions. That is definitely the preferred method
for digital installation, as the installers have equipment that will ensure a
more precise and better installation than you can easily do yourself. So, you
do not need to have any further information about the various parts of
your satellite's set-up. However, in case you are interested in what components
go into the deal, we will briefly describe the major elements, which are:
- The dish itself
- Inside the dish: the receptor 'head' or heads (the 'LNB')
- For multi-satellite installations, ways to switch from one satellite to
another
- The receiver inside your house
The elements described above are common to all satellite dishes, whether you go
for a single, or a multi-satellite set-up. If you want to watch more than one
satellite, you have some extra elements, depending on whether you go for a
motorized or a multi-LNB installation.
- If you instead go for a fixed-dish multi-head system, you also have to
consider the size of the dish. Each of the heads will be pointed at (or,
actually, directly away from) its own satellite, thus at a slight angle from
each other and not at the centre of the dish. That means it cannot receive
signals reflected from the total area of the dish. So you must compensate by
installing a slightly larger dish than you would with a single head, to let
even the most off-centre head receive enough signals for good reception.
- If you go for a motorized dish, you only need one LNB head which has the
frequency span to cover all used on 'your' satellites. The motor is attached to
the dish, and should be goverened by the receiver inside, so that when you
choose a channel, the dish will automatically move to the correct position in
the sky. Thus, the receiver must be able to talk to the motor. Motors are
mostly of two kinds, the older 'actuator' motors, and the newer 'DiSEqC'
standard. Make sure that the receiver is able to run the motor you have
(otherwise, you may need a separate 'interface' between the motor and the
receiver to make the connection). Motorized dishes are more complex to install,
so you would certainly want a professional to set it up.
The
choices you have to make, therefore, mostly concern the equipment outdoors: a
single or multi-satellite setup? if the latter, fixed-dish with many heads or
motorized with one? if the former, DiSEqC and what version? If the latter, what
kind of motor?
Inside the house, the main concern is that your receiver can match the choices
you have made for the outside equipment, and can control it automatically so
that once it is set up, you just select the channel and let the machinery take
care of the rest.
If you are moving from analogue to digital and want to continue using some
older equipment you already have, such as pre-universal LNBs, actuator motors,
combined analogue/digital receivers, greater care is needed. Most of these can
be accommodated, but at a price; burning your bridges and changing everything
at the same time will almost always cost you less than trying to hold on to and
incorporate bits of older standards. Look carefully, and consult with
specialists for each bit of equipment.
There are of course also other differences in quality and versatility between
inexpensive and expensive receivers. Analogue receivers determine a channel
mostly by two elements, both of which we have discussed above:
- The frequency, a figure between 10,700 and 12,700 MHz
- The polarity, Horizontal or Vertical.
The most crucial choice of all, however, in what receiver you want to buy, is
what kind of channels you want to look at: Do you want to pay for your TV
entertainment by a subscription, or will you be satisfied with those - very
many - channels that transmit their programs for free, without any encoding?
You must answer that before even thinking about what kind of receiver to look
for. If you buy a receiver, however good, that is intended only for free
('free-to-air' or FTA in the jargon) channels, and then later decide you want
to subscribe to something, you will have to scrap your receiver and get a new
one. You cannot 'add' a subscription decoder to an FTA 'free-channel' receiver
unless it is prepared for this from the outset. And for some subscription
packages, you may be restricted to a small number of 'approved' receivers or
even have to buy one directly from the subscription channel.
We will, however, before we go into the dark depths of subscription TV, the hardware and the channels, look at what kind of free channel fare is out there, on the various satellites.
Free channels - an overview of languages
Most digital receivers come with a list of channels pre-programmed, and as we
mentioned above, it can update the channel list from the satellite itself.
If you want to look for particular channels,you can find complete and regularly
updated lists of free channels at the SatCoDx and Lyngsat web sites).
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Satellite TV