Satellite TV
Glossary
See also
TV Glossary VCR
Glossary Video Glossary
Buying a new satellite TV system can be a new and confusing experience.
We put together this glossary to hopefully reduce the confusion of buying a satelite tv
system. Even making it more confusing is all the misspellings for satellite TV such as
satelite TV, satellite TV, satellitte TV, satelitte TV, and many more.
A
 | Access Control System - The mechanism which takes care of the
conditional access.
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| Actuator - A motor system that drives a motorized multi-satellite
dish antenna.
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| Antenna - Device which picks up and delivers satellite signals to
a receiver; most commonly a dish antenna.
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| Apogee - The point in a satellite’s orbit when it is at its
furthest distance from the Earth.
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B
| Bandwidth - Range of frequencies occupied by a signal or allowed
by receiving equipment (basically, what a receiver is capable of receiving).
|
| Base band - The raw satellite TV signal before it is
demodulated to become a signal that is suitable for a TV.
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| Beam - A satellite transmission pattern. It may be wide, narrow
or spot.
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| Bird - An alternate name for a satellite.
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C
| C-band - Signal frequency range (3.70-4.20ghz) used for satellite
TV in America and Africa.
|
| Clarke Belt - Named after its founder Arthur C. Clarke, the
Clarke Belt is an orbit used by satellites at a height of 22,250 miles, in which
satellites make an orbit in 24 hours, yet remain in a fixed position relative to the
Earth’s surface.
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| Conditional Access - A method which ensures the program provider
gets paid for its services by the user.
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| Conditional Access Module - The (detachable) conditional access
interface.
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D
| DBS Direct Broadcast Satellite |
| DBS band - Signal frequency range (11.70-12.40ghz) intended for
direct TV broadcast by satellite channels. Not all TV satellites use this band.
|
| Decoder - Unit that is connected to a satellite receiver in order
to unscramble a picture that is protected by encryption.
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| Digital Audio Broadcasting - Standard which describes the method
of transmitting digital audio.
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| DSS Specific reference to the DBS system offered by DIRECTV/USSB
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| DTH Broadcast Satellite Direct-to-Home Broadcast Satellite.
DirecTV and USSB's satellites are manufactured by Hughes. Echostars' satellite are
manufactured by Lockheed Martin. These satellites are in a geostationary orbit about
22,800 miles above the earth in various orbital slots within the Clarke Belt.
|
| Downlink - A signal’s path from satellite to dish antenna.
|
| DVB - Broadcast standard for digital radio and television, using
MPEG-2 compression. DVB is being supported by all European manufacturers and broadcasters.
|
E
| Electronics Program Guide (EPG) - Part of the transport stream
which contains the database and/or user interface for the electronic TV guide.
|
F
| Feedhorn - A device which collects the signals at the focus of
the satellite dish antenna and channels them to the LNBF.
|
| Fixed Dish System - Satellite TV system in which the dish antenna
is targeted at one particular satellite.
|
| Footprint - An area of the Earth that is able to receive a
particular satellite’s signals.
|
| FSS Band - Portion of the KU-band (10.95-11.70ghz) which is the
main satellite TV band.
|
H
| HTDV - High Definition Television is a digital television format, which combines
high-resolution video and theater like sound to create a movie theater quality TV viewing
experience. |
I
| Impulse Pay-Per-View - Conditional access service where the user
is able to buy a particular program on a last-minute decision.
|
| IRD (Integrated Receiver Decoder) - A satellite receiver with a
built-in decoder for unscrambling subscription channels.
|
| Infrared Universal Remote Control Line-of-sight remote which will
control the satellite receiver and two to four other infrared units such as TVs, VCRs,
DVDs or stereo amplifiers.
|
K
| KU-band - Signal frequency range (10.70-18.00ghz) used for most
European TV satellites.
|
L
| LNBF The Low Noise Blockdown Feedhorn amplifies the signal collected on the
parabolic antenna(dish). It works on 13V of power which is supplied by the satellite
receiver. A single LNBF will feed one receiver, and a dual LNBF will feed two or more
receivers. |
| LNB The Low Noise Blockdown amplifier performs the same functions as the LNBF. |
M
| Magnetic Polarizer - Polarizer controlled by an electrical
current from a satellite receiver.
|
| Mechanical Polarizer - A polarizer that is controlled by
electrical pulses from the receiver.
|
| Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) - The organization which
defined the standards for moving pictures, like movies.
|
| MPEG-1/-2 Compression - Method to compress digital signals. This
way, the volume of information that has to be sent decreases. MPEG is not a broadcast
standard, but a compression method, which is also used for CD-I and Multi Media CD. Thanks
to this compression, it is possible to combine several programs into one satellite
transponder.
|
| MPEG-1 Specific data transmission protocol (format) developed by the Moving
Pictures Experts Group (MPEG). MPEG-1 protocol is not as advanced as MPEG-2 protocol. MPEG-2
Latest specific data transmission protocol (format) developed by the Moving Pictures
Experts Group (MPEG). It is a more advanced protocol than MPEG-1 due primarily its
all-digital transmission of data at between 4 and 9 megabits/second (Mbit/sec). Several
other enhancements over MPEG-1 are also realized. MPEG formating is the specific formating
in which data is transmitted to satellites, transmitted back to earth, and interpreted by
set-top units.
|
| Multi-Satellite System (Motorized System) - System in which a
specialized receiver, in conjunction with a motorized dish antenna, receives signals from
the series of satellites in the Clarke Belt.
|
N
| Near Video-On-Demand - Multichannel system broadcasting many
copies of a film with staggered start times so a complete film is always available to a
viewer with a short waiting period.
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| Noise Figure - A measure of the performance (noise contribution)
of an LNBF in decibels. The lower this figure, the better.
|
O
| Offset - Type of dish antenna with the focus and feedhorn below
the center of the dish antenna.
|
| On-screen Program Guide This interactive feature allows the user
to access and scroll through complete program listings right on his/her television screen,
in most cases up to a week in advance.
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| Open TV - Makes a receiver compatible for all kinds of future
multimedia applications.
|
| Orbit - The path a satellite takes around the Earth.
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P
| Pay-Per-Channel - With this form of pay TV, the viewer has to pay
a certain price per month (or other period) to receive all programs of a certain channel.
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| Pay-Per-View (PPV) - Conditional access service where the user is
able to buy one particular program.
|
| Pay TV - With Pay TV, the consumer has to pay for the available
programs or services, when used.
|
| Polarmount - Multi-satellite dish antenna mount which enables a
satellite dish antenna to track the whole of the Clarke Belt.
|
| Positioner - Unit which either accompanies a multi-satellite
receiver or is built-in and controls the movement of motorized dish antennas.
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| Program Browsing Allows user to scroll through program guide
while still watching current channel.
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| Parental Lockout Control Allows user to set a password to control access to
programming based on channel, rating or content. |
R
| Receiver - Unit which takes signals from a satellite dish antenna
and converts them so they can appear on TV.
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| RF/UHF Universal Remote Control Controls satellite receiver from
distances up to 100 feet, through walls and other obstructions. Also offers infrared
control of other A/V components.
|
S
T
| Threshold - The measure of sensitivity of a satellite receiver
measured in decibels (dB).
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| Transponder - Equipment inside a satellite responsible for
receiving a single uplinked channel and rebroadcasting it back to Earth.
|
U
| Uplink - A signal’s path from the Earth to a satellite.
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V
| Videocrypt - Encryption system which requires a decoder and Smart
Card to be descrambled. Used by Sky and several other UK channels.
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| Video-On-Demand (VOD) - Multichannel system allowing a film to be
broadcasted immediately if it is requested by an individual viewer.
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