In a period of just over 50 years, the satellite tv industry has evolved from one man’s idea to its current status as a major home entertainment provider and a pivotal information delivery technology. The inception and growth of the satellite tv industry was made possible by a variety of factors, from major technological developments such as the advent of the space program, advances in satellite tv technology and successive generations of more powerful hardware, to the efforts of a select group of satellite tv pioneering individuals.

Satellites are used for voice, data, and satellite tv communications worldwide. Signals are beamed from the "uplink" sites to the satellites which then beam the satellite tv signal back down over a target area or "footprint" such as the US, Canada, Europe or other parts of the world. Satellite tv programming can be received only within the footprint, or a little outside the footprint sometimes with a larger satellite tv dish. Most satellite tv network and cable programs are transmitted on a series of C-band satellites and some Ku-band satellites. These two types of satellites use different frequencies much like VHF and UHF broadcast TV use different frequencies.

Communications satellites were originally designed for commercial purposes for sending telephone, radio, satellite tv, and other signals across the country and around the world for re-transmission to businesses and homes by local telephone companies, TV stations, or cable companies. Enterprising individuals soon learned to build satellite tv dish receivers to pick up these signals at their own home, and begin making and selling these satellite tv systems to homeowners around the country, thus beginning the era of home satellite tv. During the 1980's and early 1990's, several million of these C-band systems were sold with digital satellite tv dishes generally around the 10' diameter size. One of the early pioneers in the C-band business was Charlie Ergan who founded Echosphere Corporation.

As home satellite tv systems became more popular, programmers such as HBO and others realized that they could not continue to give away their satellite tv programs free to millions of home satellite tv dish owners. A scrambling system was then developed so their satellite tv signals were no longer broadcast "in the clear" for everyone with a digital satellite tv dish to pick up without any payment to the program developers. The descramblers were addressable, so that the programmer could turn channels on and off by a code sent over the satellite tv signal, depending on what was paid for by the owner.

A few channels were broadcast on the higher frequency Ku-band satellites, and some hybrid C/Ku-band systems were sold, but Ku reception never became very popular due to the difficulties in receiving the Ku channels and to the lack of sufficient satellite tv programming on these satellites.

In the early 1990's four large cable companies launched a Direct Broadcast Satellite, or DBS system called Primestar using an existing medium power Ku-band satellite and a 36" satellite tv dish. In 1994, the GM Hughes DIRECTV satellite tv system was launched using a newly designed high power Ku-band satellite and an 18" satellite tv dish. These systems provided great pictures and stereo sound on 150-200 video and audio channels, and the small satellite tv dish era began in a serious way.

Two years later, the EchoStar Dish Network system was launched. A fourth DBS system, Alphastar, attempted to get started but eventually went out of the satellite tv business.

Satellite Models
RCA DS4120
RCA DS4230RG
RCA DS4240RE
RCA DS4250RG
RCA DS4285RG
Hughes E1131, E1132
Hughes E2531, E2532
Hughes E4532
Philips DSX5357D
Philips DSR6000
ECHOSTAR PRO 301
ECHOSTAR PVR 501

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