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THE DEBUT
The idea of transmitting signals
through satellite began with Arthur C. Clarke's
vision of world communication through the
establishment of platforms in space, platforms we
know today as satellites. Sadly, Clarke's reverie
was too bizarre for the 1940s. Nonetheless, nearly
half a century later, almost half the American
population lives off the same concept that once
seemed impossible. Today, satellite television has
not only been born but, has taken its stand like no
other system ever has.
History reaches back to the launch
of the first satellite, Sputnik, by the USSR in
October 1957, flagging off the race to raise the bar
for communication technology. Initially, the
revolutionary technology that brought satellite
television to the dawning of a new world was the DTH
system or Direct To Home system. This system called
for satellite transmission through a personally
acquired dish to a receiver where the data was
re-read into a program. However, the DTH system had
a few shortcomings. Though the system itself was a
groundbreaking advancement in entertainment
communication, it proved to be quite tiresome for
most. This was because the DTH system requires the
satellite to have direct sight of the dish, without
any obstruction, to operate. Furthermore, depending
on which satellite is in the line of sight of the
dish, a desired program is received. So, during the
age of the DTH, many had no choice of what to watch
and after hours of shifting a cumbersome dish from
one direction to another, simply found that what
they wanted to watch had ended ten minutes ago!
The Direct Broadcast Service or
DBS was a much more user-friendly system and beat
the DTH system with its introduction into the
entertainment market. To put in simple terms, the
DBS system works through one satellite that offers
it all. It deals with the uplink of transmission
material to a single site from where the data is
transmitted to millions of homes across the globe.
This system called DTH's bluff. For subscribers, it
was the invention that saved them all. No more
shifting, moving or testing. Each DBS satellite
system broadcaster offers an enormous number of
channels each with higher picture quality, near CD
clarity and crystal clear audio.
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