February 7th, 2008
What is satellite tv service?
A satellite dish is a parabolic, or curved dish, also called satellite tv service, that is designed to transmit and receive signals from a satellite orbiting the earth. The dish actually receives and transmits microwaves, though not the kind that cook your food. These microwaves carry signals for audio and video.
When satellite dishes first came on the scene they were huge monstrosities that took over your entire yard. They were used primarily by people in remote locations who either couldn’t get a television signal at all with a rooftop aerial antenna, or the signal they got was mostly snow.
The first satellite dishes were expensive, too. The first was built by a professor at Stanford, who was able to receive just about any signal from the newly launched satellites in the mid 1970’s. Nothing was encrypted back in those days. The programming was free, but the dish cost upwards of $10,000!