Satellite TV in the US

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The Direct Broadcast Systems industry finds its roots in the heyday of the Space Age, when Star Trek was pretty much the most fantastic thing on TV, and astronauts were just starting to find their way to the moon. It was a novel idea at the time to beam programming straight to one's home; but the 60's and the 70's basically saw satellite transmissions being used experimentally both by the US government and by eventually by cable companies to receive programming from source networks. It wasn't until the 80's when the commercial use of satellit equipment became the rage in the US. Americans would actually set-up huge (and very expensive) home satellite TV systems in their homes. On the average, these TVRO (TV Receive Only) / C-Band1 systems range from around 7 to 12 feet in diameter! What made these bulky monsters quite popular at that time was the fact that they could receive the same satellite downlink signals that were used to distribute programming to cable programming providers. It was a great time for the American viewer, since they had the option to get hundreds of channels without having to pay for a single cent for them. From 1980 to 1986, there was no other way but up for satellite TV industry. The prospect of getting quality programming at the fraction of the cost propelled sales for these home systems. But all of this came to an end in 1986 when HBO began to enrypt its signals (yes...it was the premium channels' fault!) This set a precedent for most players in pay programming and cable TV industries, and led to the eventual decline of the TVRO / C-Band satellite TV system. It was in the mid-90's when the satellite TV industry was jolted to the life with the advent of the DBS Industry. This was ushered with the popularity of high powered, "mini-dish" Ku-band2 systems, such as those pioneered by DIrecTV, Dish Network, and Sky Angel (under the name VIdeo Satellite Systems). These were the first DBS Industry players in the US that rose to success with a very potent combination of affordable equipment set-ups, wide programming choices, innovative programming services, and very stable.