Satellite television is one of the latest technology achievements. It is delivered by satellites and it provides higher signal quality as well as a wide range of channels and services (internet access or satellite radio). The first satellite television signal was relayed in 1962.
In general, here is how a satellite TV system works: the programming is received by an uplink station that transmits it to the satellite; than the satellite relays it back to earth and the transmission is received by satellite dishes.
There are three types of usage of a satellite TV system - directly by each viewer, reception by local television affiliates or reception by headends for distribution across cable systems.
If you want your personal satellite TV system, you will need some equipment - satellite dish (this is the antenna that picks up the satellite signal), receiver (a device that decodes the satellite signal and passes it to your television). You can buy all the equipment by yourself or your satellite TV service provider will provide them.
Satellite TV systems are available in most parts of the world today. The main satellite TV system providers in the USA are Dish Network, Star and Direct TV; Canada's satellite TV system providers are Bell Canada's ExpressVu and StarChoice; SKY Television is the main satellite provider for Latin America; Sky Italia, Canal Digitaal and UPC are the main service providers of satellite TV systems in Europe.
A satellite TV system used to be an expensive, even considered luxurious service in the past. Nowadays it is quite affordable and many consumers prefer it, moreover the cost of the cable television has been steadily rising from some time. The subscribers of satellite television receive high quality, digital signal and some service packages come with many additional services included in the price (internet access, radio, etc). One of the greatest advantages from a user point of view, of the satellite TV system is that it offers additional data about shows, a feature unavailable in traditional cable television.
Some people have significant concerns about the reliability of the satellite signal. Satellite television is very reliable. Of course, there might be signal interruptions due to severe electrical storms or extremely bad weather conditions, this is a rare, but extremely annoying occurrence, especially when it's in the middle of that important game! But it's not enough to make you switch to a cable television again.
