TV, Cable, Satellite cabling services

Updated 5-07-92

Compiled and Edited by Gary Bourgois, WB8EOH
Send additions/further questions to flash@lopez.UUCP

May be posted to other networks and individual systems provided it is not
edited or modified in any form.

WHAT EQUIPMENT DO I NEED TO RECEIVE SATELLITE TV?

A TVRO (TeleVision Receive Only) System consists of the following components:

THE DISH

This is the most visible component, a parabolic reflector which may
consist of Solid Aluminum, Perforated Aluminum or WIRE MESH. Dish
sizes vary from small (3-4 feet KU BAND, EUROPE) all the way to
16-20 Ft (USA Commercial C-BAND) with the average falling between
7-12 ft, 10 ft being most common. This device focuses the microwave
signals coming from the satellites much as the mirror in a reflecting
telescope concentrates the light from distant galaxies.

THE MOUNT

The most common type of dish mount is called a POLAR MOUNT, so named
because it is oriented to co-incide with the earth's axis, enabling
it to "track" the satellites, which are spread out in geo-stationary
orbit in a band of the sky called the "Clarke Belt", named after
Arthur C. Clarke, who dreamed up the concept of geo-stationary
communications satellites back in 1945.

THE POSITIONER ARM (Actuator)

A device containing a motor that is used to swing the satellite dish
to allow it to focus on individual satellites, which may be as close
to one another as 2 degrees of arc. Actuator arms are most commonly found in 18- and 24-inch lengths (the longer the arm, the wider the arc that
the dish can "see".) In addition, a more expensive aiming mechanism,
called a "horizon-to-horizon" actuator, is capable of more precise aiming
(important on Ku band and closely-spaced satellites), as well as being
able to see the entire satellite arc from your location.

SATELLITE CABLES

This is a bundle of various wires and cables that run from the dish
to the receiver, and consist of cables for the C and/or KU LNB's,
Power to the LNB (Usually sent over the same COAXIAL CABLE) as well
as power for the positioner arm, return signals for position readout,
and control voltage for the polarotor.
RG-6U cable (rather than the often-seen RG-59U) is the cable of choice
for the higher frequencies of satellite TV.

DESCRAMBLER

The DE-FACTO consumer descrambler is the VIDEOCYPHER system which
is manufactured by General Instruments (G.I) in the USA. There
are stand-alone decoders still available. However a major consider-[
ation is that at the present time, Descrambler technology is changing
and older descramblers will not work under the new standards. Beware
when buying an IRD that the unit can be upgraded to the new VC-II+
and forthcoming VC-II+ RS (Renewable Security) if you plan on watching
scrambled (Mostly Cable) services or Pay Per View movies and sports
events.

In Canada, the OAK-ORION system is another popular scrambling system,
which is used by TELESAT CANADA on the ANIK (Canadian) satellites.
These programs may NOT be subscribed to in the US Legally. There ARE
some USA programs transmitted with the OAK-ORION system, primarily
Horse Racing and Hospital programming. While it is LEGAL to own a
OAK-ORION decoder, there are not enough services available in this
format to warrant doing so. Unless a person is a REAL horse racing
nut, and even then, getting the decoder AUTHORIZED to descramble
the horse races is questionable.

There are other scrambling systems in use in Europe.

In the USA, there has been a serious market for "pirate" or "chipped"
decoders, which receive scrambled services without the payment of
subscription fees. This situation has lead to the change to the
revised VC-II+ and forthcoming VC-II+ RS systems, which hope to
thwart this piracy through the use of a renewable "credit card" type
of chip system. Of course, this technology costs the consumer
additional money, on top of subscription fees that for the most part
are higher than comparable cable prices. Since the majority of the
scrambled channels are owned by the cable TV conglomerates, who
would prefer people subscribe to cable rather than view by satellite,
the reasoning here is obvious. For this reason, satellite TV
popularity in the USA has declined. Most owners of Satellite TV
systems these days fall into the following categories:

1. Those who can not get cable due to isolated location.
2. Those who wish to receive programs not available on their
local cable system.
3. People who desire the sharpest "blow you away" video picture
possible (Studio Quality, far better than cable or over air)
Or those who want DISCRETE stereo sound from channels or
networks that are not carried in stereo in their local
area.
4. News Junkies who want to see unedited news coverage from the
source location, before it gets chopped up and packaged.
5. Experimenters and techy hobby types who enjoy tinkering.
6. Audiophiles who want to hear HUNDREDS of music services in
superior quality.
7. Digital Information Junkies desiring info-text services.
8. Those who desire foreign Language programming.
9. Individuals who like to see certain TV shows BEFORE they
are aired over the networks, often without commercials.
10. Those in search of additional programming, including pay per
view movies.
11. SPORTS NUTS... There is more sports on satellite than any
human being can STAND. Virtually EVERY game of EVERY team
is up there SOMEWHERE.... Much of it as "Backhauls" which
are not scrambled, and often do not have commercials.
12. Those who want to watch programs earlier or later than seen on
their local stations. For example, on the West Coast you can
watch David Letterman at 9:30 PM PST (or watch it at 3:30
AM Eastern time on the Pacific feed). If you see a music video
you *really like* on the MTV Eastern feed, you can tape it 3
hours later on the MTV Western feed.
13. Those who want to watch Gene Scott 24 hours a day.
14. RADIO NUTS. WIth the proper additional equipment there are
hundreds of additional audio services receivable, including
AM and FM stations from major cities, TALK SHOWS, every
kind of music imaginable, and very SPECIALIZED formats. Some
Satellite owners actually spend more time LISTENING to the
signals on their dish than WATCHING. (See the SCPC Paragraph
further down this FAQ list for more info)

Just about everyone could find themselves in ONE of the above categories.

HOW MUCH WILL A SATELLITE SYSTEM COST ME?

You can pay upwards of $2,000 to $3,000 for a top of the line system
completely installed. A brand new do it yourself system will run between
$800 and $1500, with $1200 about average. HOWEVER, if you are
resourceful, you can set up a system for $200-$500 which will provide
decent pictures and hours of entertainment. Several members of the net
have put together systems for less than $100, even FREE. My own first
system cost $40 complete. It was primative but was a start, and got me
hooked pretty quickly.

I have written an article called: THE SCROUNGER'S GUIDE TO SATELLITE TV
Which details how to go about putting together a low budget (Under $500)
system that would include stereo audio and SCPC. The article gives hints,
sources for used equipment, and recommended texts to help you assemble and
track the system. If you want this article, just ask for it by writing to
flash@lopez.UUCP and requesting the SCROUNGER'S GUIDE.

WHAT ABOUT SCRAMBLING, ISN'T IT ALL SCRAMBLED THESE DAYS?

This is a common misconception. While it is true that most of the CABLE
services are scrambled, many of us see this as a feature. If you DO
desire HBO, THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL, ETC, you WILL need a[ descrambler, AND
a subscription to these services. However, there are over 150 channels of
programming "In the clear" that is NOT scrambled, and many of these
provide a lot of entertainment and information. It all depends on your
personal taste. Most of the sporting events are not scrambled. PBS is
not scrambled (Four separate feeds) and many other services are also
available free for the taking. NOT to mention HUNDREDS of audio services.
There is more on satellite that you can get for FREE than you would ever
have time to watch.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO "DESCRAMBLE" THE SCRAMBLED CHANNELS?

First you need a descrambler. If you get a new system, most likely you
will get an IRD, which comes with the descrambler built in. Just make
sure it WILL upgrade to the VC-II RS, and understand that this upgrade
may cost you additional money when this system is implimented. The
descrambler will add around $400 to the cost of your satellite system.
Next you need a subscription. Movie channels will run you around $7 a
month or so, actually less than cable, but you do get taken for a bit of a
ride on the "generic" cable channels such as DISCOVERY, CNN, etc. You can
not generally by one channel, certainly not at a reasonable cost. Most
subscriptions to the "generic" cable channels (which does not include
premium/movie channels) will cost between $150-$300 a year above and
beyond the cost of the descrambler itself. Some say this is why piracy
has flourished. Piracy is illegal. If caught with a pirate decoder, you
can be fined or jailed. Certainly if you sell such equipment, you can
count on heavy fines, and jail time. Piracy is not good for anyone. Pay
for your subscription, or do like many of us on the net and watch ONLY
programming that is NOT scrambled.

WHAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE HERE?

You can buy channels in packages like cable TV, or ala carte. The packages
are not necessarily a better deal. If you don't ever watch 25% of the
channels in the package, you are probably better off buying ala carte.
You can also buy most channels on a monthly or annual basis. You save 5
to 10% through annual purchases.

Price ranges for various channels:

Low rent cable channels (A&E, BRAVO, etc.) $0.79 - 1.00/month
Network packages (Denver 5 or Primetime 24) $4.00 - 5.00/month
Premium Channels (Disney, HBO, TMC, etc.) $7.00 -10.00/month

ARE THE NETWORKS SCRAMBLED?

ABC is almost entirely scrambled, except Monday night football. NBC and
CBS still have quite a bit in the clear. Almost certainly all three
networks will eventually scramble everything. The scrambling used
by the networks is such that you can not receive it with a home decoder.
Totally different methods are used. CBS uses VIDEOCYPHER _ONE_ (completely
different than the VCII used in home systems). ABC uses LEITCH for its
scrambled feeds. Networks are scrambled to protect the affiliates. Your
local station does not want you watching the network shows direct from
the birds with 400+ lines of resolution and discrete stereo sound, which
anyone would do given half a chance. They want you to watch the LOCAL
commercials, so convinced the nets to scramble their feeds. For those
who can not receive the networks over the air, the only choice is to
subscribe to NETLINK's DENVER FIVE package.

WHY ISN'T NFL FOOTBALL SCRAMBLED?

The NFL wanted to scramble the 1991 season, but sports bar owners
complained to NFL sponsers, like Budweiser, who turned things around.
They are threatening to scramble the 1992 season.

WHAT CHANNELS WILL NEVER BE SCRAMBLED?

Barring government intervention, most permanent channels will eventually be
scrambled and available as a separate item, or as a package to
subscribers. With the VC II+ technology, and licensing service bureaus
on-line, most channel providers will see the incremental profits as too hard to
resist. The government did intervene to bring PBS feeds in the clear,
since PBS is largely funded by public money. Raw feeds, bachhauls, audio, etc.
may never be scrambled, but don't bet the farm on it. Gene Scott will
probably never scramble. The non cigar smoking religion channels also won't.
The shopping channels won't. A few of these are DIRECTED at home dish
owners. (Such as SHOP AT HOME). CSPAN won't. And any NEW programming
service that does not yet have a lot of cable penetration will run in the
clear for a year or more just to count the dish owners into their potential
viewership when selling advertising. Once securely entrenched though, they
will abandon the dish owners, primarily through pressure from cable, who
do not like us, and have never liked us, and are not going to like us any
time in the forseeable future.

Audio feeds are not scrambled (Subcarrier, FM Squared, SCPC), though there
is more and more of a move to DATS (Digital Audio Transmission Service) which
can not be received by the home dish owner. Yet.

HOW DO DESCRAMBLERS WORK?

Each VC-II+ has a unique ID number, which you give to programming services
to subscribe to a channel or package. The programming service broadcasts
your ID number, and a special code that instructs your descrambler to work
when tuned to a subscribed channel.

WHAT IS SKYPIX AND CAN I RECEIVE IT ON MY SYSTEM?

SKYPIX is a proposed DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellite) distribution service
which will offer some Superstations and a LOT of pay per view movies (In
the $3 per view category). It is unlikely that SKYPIX will offer many of
the cable services, since so many of these are OWNED by the cable
conglomerates who see SKYPIX as competition. SKYPIX is to be the first
system offered to the public that uses digital compression techniques, to
allow four or more programs to be sent over one transponder, thus allowing
a potential 100+ channels on a single KU satellite. While the promotion
for SKYPIX has been hot and heavy, some investors have already pulled out,
primarily due to the immense startup costs, and all the delays getting the
technology to work. The launch date has been continually pushed back
again and again. While the promise of a small fixed dish might appeal to
some as an alternative to cable, SKYPIX will offer little to the
experimenter and those in search of things like WILD FEEDS and highly
alternative programming that can only be found with a conventional movable
dish. Also, the subscriber will HAVE to buy the equipment from SKYPIX,
and can NOT see much without paying the subscription which will be about
the same as a cable subscription (quite a bit higher if you bite on a lot
of PPV movies.

We are basically adopting a WAIT AND SEE attitude as far as SKYPIX goes.

HOW CAN I KNOW WHICH NBA AND NHL GAMES ARE ON THE BIRDS?

There is a schedule, put out by

Sports Scheduling
P.O. Box 5756
Fargo, ND 58105

When a local station or sports network has a game there is usually a
"Backhaul" (direct feed from the event back to the studio, if the game is
out of town from the originating station. (Otherwise they dont need a
bird). Now some of these satellite channels are known in advance, for
example the games broadcast on the superstations like WTBS or the various
SportsChannels. This is *not* the case, however, for the "feeds" from the
arenas back to the local broadcast station. These feeds are paid for by
the hour, and (usually) the cheapest or most convenient satellite and
transponder are utilized, so it's not generally possible to predict in
advance exactly what satellite "channel" will be used for a given game.
Mike Northam regularly posts the games that he sees in Oregon, AFTER the
fact. Some wonder what value there is in this.

Mike says:

>My listings, taken over time, however, do show patterns. For example, I
>know from experience that if I want to see a Blazer game, the *most
>likely* location for a feed is on G6. So far this season, all the Blazer
>Cable games have been on G6-14, so that's going to be the first place I
>look for a game. Most of the Utah Jazz games have been on G6 or T1. The
>Bulls tend to be on G2, etc. When Portland plays at Utah, I'll look on
>G6, since a lot of Bonneville (Salt Lake uplink) transmissions are found
>there. Most NBA cities similarly have "preferred" locations, either due
>to limitations/preferences of the transmitting uplink or the downlink
>(for example, KSTU in Salt Lake City may have only one fixed dish
>available for such purposes).

CAN YOU WATCH MORE THAN ONE TV AT THE SAME TIME?

In a single LNB, single receiver system, you can watch a single channel
on multiple TVs, if you have cabled from your receiver to each TV. It
is not possible to watch different channels with this system. To watch
different channels you need DUAL LNB's for C and DUAL LNB's for KU.
You will also need a separate receiver for each location, and a fairly
complex means of splitting and distributing the incoming cables. It
can be done, cable companies do it all the time, but it is probably not
worth the effort, especially if you want to view subscription channels
because the bad news is you will need to pay another subscription for
EACH LOCATION. That can be expensive. However, having at least two
receivers is not a bad idea, and fairly easy to do. However, you can
only watch signals on ONE satellite at a time doing this. One alternative
is to RECORD programs ahead of time for viewing by others in the family.
In this case having a couple of receivers, a couple VCR's and splitting
subscription channels between the two will let you build up a nice
collection of tapes in no time. Once the family is really sold on the
dish, it will not be hard to convince them you need ANOTHER one. Or two or
three.

CAN I RECEIVE INTERNATIONAL SATELLITES ON MY DISH?

This depends on where you live, what size dish you have, and how low you can
"aim" your dish to the horizon. Playing with the Intellsats, Panamsat, and
the Russian Statsionar birds is something that folks on the East coast of the
USA do all the time. You should have a LARGE dish though, 16 to 20 feet to
really do the job, though people HAVE picked up signals with dishes as small
as 8 feet. Intellsat K is predicted to put a signal well into the USA when
it goes up in a year or two. To receive the signals, you will need a few
modifications to your system. You will need a circular feed, as unlike
Domestic USA birds that are Horizontally or Vertically polarized,
International satellites use Right Hand, or Left Hand Circular Polarization.
If you have a monster dish, you can get by without the proper feed, but you
will loose at least 3 to 5 db of signal. Chaparral makes a special feed for
international satellites, at a cost of around $325. International birds have
a LOW look angle, very close to the horizon, so a horizon to horizon mount is
recommended if you are serious about receiving foreign programming. You will
also need a multistandard TV, or some means of viewing PAL and SECAM signals,
which are different from the NTSC system used in the USA. The Panasonic
AG-W1 VCR has a built in standards convertor, which will allow you not only
to view these international channels, but also to record them (you can not
use your USA VCR to record PAL or SECAM signals. Much of the international
stuff is on KU band, and the European KU band is different than the American
band, so you need a frequency agile receiver, and the ability to store and
program the various frequencies. Even the C band signals are not quite the
same channels as a domestic satellite receiver expects, so you may have to
adjust your video fine tune to receive them. This aspect of the hobby is
exciting, albeit expensive, especially if you have to MOVE to another part of
the country to play. As far as we know, there are no corresponding services
available on the west coast.

WHAT ARE THE (DIS)ADVANTAGES OF KU BAND?

Ku band satelites don't require as large a dish to recieve, have 32
transponders instead of the 24 on C band. The true satellite junkie will
want KU because "it is there". In addition, there is talk of more and
more transmissions on this band. SBS6, for example is one busy bird, with
MANY sports and newsfeeds. KU offers a LOT to those who want to
experiment and explore.

Ku band satelites are harder to tune than C band, often requiring extensive
manual adjustments. Ku is also more weather sensitive. Ku programming
services are not as well documented as C band. Other than NBC feeds,
their are very few regular Ku channels. The main scheduled KU programmers
will be in the DBS or Direct Broadcast Satellite category, such as
PRIMESTAR and SKYPIX. These require a subscription, and you must buy your
receiving equipment from them. These and any other DBS systems are seen
as an alternative to cable, and may or may not serve your needs.

Most of those who read these postings are experimenters.

WHAT IS SCPC?

SCPC (Single Channel Per Carrier) is a method of transmitting audio
over satellite. Primarily this is a service for Radio Stations, and
is not meant for the general public. This alone makes it fascinating
to receive. There are hundreds of SCPC channels in use. Radio
Networks, Sportscasts, Music services, talk shows, all are heard on
SCPC, as well as major market radio stations. SCPC can be received
with a special receiver, and there are a number of "tricks" that
netters have used to pick up these signals, which can not normally
be received on consumer satellite receivers.

WHAT DIGITAL INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON SATELLITE AND HOW DO I GET IT?

There are a number of different text information services available
via satellite, some requiring no subscription fee, and others that
are pay services.

WST = World System Teletext. This system is very popular in
Europe and is also available in the USA. Teletext reception
requires you add a teletext decoder, a device that costs less
than $300, and connects between your satellite receiver and
TV set. The information is displayed as text on your TV screen,
so no computer or other device is needed. Information includes
News Stories, Sports Scores, Trivia and other features. The
data is transmitted in the Vertical Blanking Interval of WTBS
(Turner Broadcasting Service) G1/18. To receive the signal,
you must be a subscriber to WTBS, so that you will have an
unscrambled signal. The name of the text service is ELECTRA,
and also features weather maps and other information displayed
in text/graphics on your TV screen. WST Decoders are available
from Astro Guard Insustries, 340 A Rancheros Road, San Marcos
CA 92069. They have also been seen for sale on SHOP AT HOME
1-800-366-4010.

DIGITAL X*PRESS. By far the most comprehensive source of
text news is X*PRESS. This service links you into all the major
world NEWS WIRE services: AP, UPI, REUTERS, TASS and many
others. To take advantage of this amazing service, you must
have a computer just to sort the incoming data for you. X*PRESS
allows you to select articles based upon key word search.
This is a subscription service, and is not cheap. Expect to
pay $20-$25 per month for the service. You will also need an
INFOCYIPHER decoder. Computers supported include PC clones,
Macintosh, ATARI ST, AMIGA, APPLE II series and MEGA. Full
information on DIGITAL X*PRESS service can be had by dialing
1-800-7PC-NEWS. The fee is reasonable considering the amount
of data available. The total news junkie will love it. This
service is transmitted on G1/18.

WHAT IS THE BEST SATELLITE SYSTEM FOR ME?

We often receive this question, and it is not an easy one to answer.
this depends on what YOU want. We recommend you go to a reputable
local satellite dealer, and LOOK at the systems on display. Do not buy
the first system you are shown, and if you are not sure exactly what
you want, do not be pressured into buying immediately. The system will
be there tomorrow AND the next day. You CAN save a LOT of money buying
mail order, but you will have to install the system yourself. By
looking at the types of receivers/dishes available, you will get
familiar with what Satellite TV is all about. There are advantages and
disadvantages with virtually EVERY receiver on the market, so there is
no blanket answer to which system is the best for YOU. We suggest you
spend a LOT of time looking at all the available systems out there. A
good place to start is in your YELLOW PAGES under SATELLITE TV. Visit
as many dealers as you can. You may still decide on mail ordering a
system, there is no law that says you HAVE to buy from the local guy.
Unless you want a totally installed system. Even so SHOP AROUND.
Beware high pressure tactics to buy every bell and whistle available.

ISN'T IT DIFFICULT TO INSTALL A SATELLITE SYSTEM?

You and a couple of friends can assemble, install and track your
satellite system in one day, even if you know NOTHING about the
technology involved. You need only know how to dig a hole, pour
concrete, and put a pipe into the concrete and get it plumb. There are
many books on the topic of satellite TV that can help you, which should
be available on loan from your library. Doing it yourself will save you
around $500. However, if you don't mind spending the additional money,
your local dealer will be glad to set your system up so you can just
sit back and push the buttons on the remote control. This is up to
you. Some people do not like to tinker and tweek. A do it yourself
system can take some time before you are satisfied with it.

I LIVE ON A WOODED LOT WITH LOTS OF TREES. IS THIS A PROBLEM?

Not if you have a chain saw. Trees in the way mean you don't get a
picture, at least in the summer time. Trees have a tendancy to block the
microwave signals. If you are not sure of your situation, it is advisable
to have a "SITE SURVEY" done by a local dealer. This should cost you no
more than about $25. Usually you can find SOME place to put the dish to
see the satellites, and mounting on a pole or your roof may help the
situation.