16 How do I access all this programming?
Description
This article is from the TeleVision Receive Only Satellite-TV FAQ, by TVRO Hobbyists drlev@hotmail.com with numerous contributions by others.
16 How do I access all this programming?
Simple. Turn on your television set, get the remote control,
and...enjoy! Seriously, for those accustomed to watching over-the-air
broadcasts, cable TV, and DBS, TVRO viewing will take a little time
getting used to. Fortunately, as long as your satellite system is
installed properly and in good working order, accessing big dish
programming isn't all that difficult. The main things to understand
are that like other forms of television, each network or feed has its
own channel. Without going into a detailed technical discussion, an
analog channel is a simplified form of what actually is an
electromagnetic frequency. For example, over-the-air broadcast
channel 2 is actually a frequency of 55.25 MHz; cable TV channel 25 is
actually a frequency of 229.25 MHz (Note that digital channels are a
bit different; more on this later). But most people find channel
number assignments easier to remember than frequencies. In regards to
satellite TV channels, it works almost the same except the frequencies
that the channel numbers represent are MUCH higher than those of most
other forms of television. Another difference between analog TVRO and
other TV channels is that C-Band and Ku-Band channel numbers
cross-reference to downlink frequencies that are sent from a
satellite's transponders. A transponder is a device on board a
communications satellite that receives an uplink frequency and
automatically sends a different downlink frequency. For C-Band, the
channel number essentially is the same as the satellite transponder
number. Ku-Band channels can be assigned to transponders in a vast
variety of different numbering schemes, making Ku-Band tuning more
difficult. There are a maximum of 24 C-Band channels per satellite and
as many as 60 on a Ku-Band satellite, although the number varies. Also
note that satellites can contain *both* C-Band and Ku-Band
transponders.
Besides channel numbers, a *requirement* of TVRO viewing is being
familiar with the satellite arc. For example, Galaxy 5 is just one of
many satellites that your satellite dish can point to for program
reception. This is why your receiver must be programmed correctly for
tracking the satellite arc, since one channel of programming can be on
one satellite and another channel of programming can be on
another. Most satellite receivers use a custom two-character
abbreviation for the name of a satellite. For example, Galaxy 5 might
be G5 or something else on a particular receiver. These abbreviations
are completely arbitrary, in spite of the overuse of shorthand
abbreviations in published satellite programming guides. The complete
notation of a particular channel includes the satellite name and the
channel assignment. For example, ESPN is currently on Galaxy 5,
channel 9 and is an analog C-Band channel.
Tuning digital channels (4DTV, that is) is just as easy as tuning
analog counterparts. Digital channels are usually a three-digit number
and, unlike analog channel numbers, digital channel numbers do NOT
represent a satellite transponder and are instead completely
arbitrary. In fact, channel numbers on 4DTV and DBS systems are often
referred to as virtual channel numbers. An example of a digital
channel is The Food Network at Galaxy 1R, channel 600.
One more important aspect of TVRO channel surfing is polarity. TVRO
satellite transponders aimed at North America use what is called
linear polarization. A channel is either vertical or horizontal in
polarity (sometimes referred to as odd or even). Usually, transponders
alternate between vertical and horizontal polarity as each channel is
selected.
Continue to:
My Books
