S ATELLITE T ELEVISION S IGNALS VS. C ABLE T ELEVISION S IGNALS By Emily Robinson

S ATELLITE T ELEVISION S IGNALS

T RANSMITTING S ATELLITE T ELEVISION Satellite stations transmit programming by sending radio signals to satellites orbiting the Earth. Then, the satellites transmit the broadcast signals back to the Earth. The satellite is in the sky which eliminates the problem found with regular broadcast signals such as distortion and the need to be in range/close to the signal.

R ECEIVING S ATELLITE T ELEVISION S IGNALS Viewers’ satellite dishes, which are specialized antennas made to receive radio signals, pass the signal to the receiver of the television. The receiver then processes the signal and sends it to the television. Most satellite television customers receive programming through direct broadcast satellite providers, such as DISH Network or DirecTv.

S ATELLITE P ACKAGES Satellite television is mainly subscriber television which is fee-for-service programming where customers pay scheduled fees based on the selected programming package. The channels and networks available through satellite packages vary among programming packages and satellite providers in the area. Most of the satellite packages will include local programming, such as the local news, along with the broadcast programming.

C ABLE T ELEVISION S IGNALS

T RANSMITTING C ABLE T ELEVISION Cable television companies receive the signal from a communications satellite. Then, a single community antenna receives the signal from the cable company.

R ECEIVING C ABLE T ELEVISION The community’s antenna distributes the signals from the cable company to people’s homes via coaxial or fiber-optic cables.

W HY IS CABLE TELEVISION USEFUL ? Cable television began as a way to improve reception for people who were in mountainous areas/far away from the towns. Now, cable television is popular because it provides a wide variety of programming.

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