Satellite TV For Noobs - The Difficulties Of A Traditional Setup

Satellite TV can seem quite daunting at first. When you look at the traditional offerings it is. Just have a look at the steep learning curve and the masses of equipment you need:

There are so many different types of equipment available and numerous ways to connect them. DISH, FTA, DTV, Megasat, SkyView, Spacestar etc. Where does one start?


To get a traditional satellite TV setup you need these three elements:

• satellite dish
• LNB
• receiver

The satellite dish is probably what you are already most familiar with — it is the curved (parabola for those mathematicians amongst you) dish which is usually fitted to the exterior of a building, either on a wall, a pole or even mounted on a tripod. These point towards a satellite in the sky and are often fixed in place against the wind and weather. Some more complex setups will use a motor which allows for easy switching between different satellites to pick up different channels. However, these are usually incredibly expensive. Whilst, in general, a larger dish will mean better reception, this will not always be the case and quality sometimes does not vary with the size of the diameter of the dish.

The LNB or Low Noise Block downconverter (as nobody calls it!) usually sits on an arm and points towards the center of a satellite dish. It receives the weak microwave satellite signal via the dish, amplifies it and changes its frequency band before sending it down a coaxial cable. There also exist multiple LNBs which is equivalent to having two sets of satellite signals without the requirement for an extra dish. LNBs should be matched carefully to the dish although they often come in pairs thus negating this need.

Finally, there is the receiver. These are also known as set top boxes and take the coaxial cable coming from the dish and the LNB and convert it into a signal ready for your TV. Sometimes you need a special card as well, especially for pay channels, but for FTA (free to air) channels you usually do not need a card at all. For instance, in the UK, many of those with Sky TV subscriptions may stop paying for the premium service but continue to use their setup to watch other FTA channels. Such is the versatility of a satellite tv system! However, it would seem strange to have all that equipment instead of a simple built in decoder. Plus you could only expect to get a few channels at best.

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