The vast majority of satellite dishes in the UK are for Sky TV and Freesat, which are also known by other names such as Sky+, Sky+HD, Sky Q, and Freetime. The same satellites are used for each of these services. The Astra 2 satellites are located at 28.2E, whereas the Eurobird satellite is located at 28.5E. The 28.2E position is currently occupied by four satellites, although this may change over time.
Sky and Freesat recommend a minimum dish size of 45cm in the south and 60cm in the north of the UK. A Zone 1 satellite dish is a 45cm Sky mini-dish style satellite dish, and a Zone 2 satellite dish is a 60cm Sky mini-dish style satellite dish.
In the United Kingdom, which satellite does Freesat use?
Freesat uses the same fleet of satellites as Sky (Astra 28.2E). DVB-S is used to broadcast channels. Freesat’s mission is to provide a platform for receiving channels and the EPG, not to broadcast or make channels available (although the BBC and ITV are significant broadcasters in their own right).
DVB-S is used to broadcast all of Freesat’s standard definition channels, as well as ITV HD, NHK World HD, and RT HD. The satellite transponder carrying BBC One HD and BBC HD was updated to DVB-S2 on June 6, 2011, when the satellite transponder carrying them was upgraded to DVB-S2. Channel 4 HD was launched using DVB-S2, but on March 28, 2012, the transponder was reduced to DVB-S. MPEG-2 is used to broadcast standard definition channels, while MPEG-4 is used to transmit high definition channels. Instead of Sky’s proprietary OpenTV platform, MHEG-5 is used for interactive television. Channel 4 is no longer available in HD as of March 22, 2018, and is now only available in SD, as it was before April 19, 2011.
Non-Freesat receivers, such as Sky Digiboxes, can get the channels because they are transmitted in the clear.
An Ethernet port is required per the Freesat box specification. This allows customers to watch on-demand programs from providers like BBC iPlayer or ITV Hub directly on their television.
The second generation Freetime receivers are built on open standards and technologies, including those from the Open IPTV Forum (OIPF), the Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) project, and HTML5 browser technology, with the latter accounting for the majority of the Freetime user interface.
DiSEqC 1.2 support; MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) support, including single cable routing; HTML, JavaScript, and CSS internet technologies for broadband-delivered interactive services; DRM for online content; and payment mechanisms for broadband services like LoveFilm are all included in the Freetime specification. Freetime is a mix of HbbTV and MHEG-5, according to James Strickland, Freesat’s director of product and technology development.
Which satellite offers the most number of free channels?
Eutelsat is the satellite company with the most subscription-free channels, with over 400 across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, and over 300 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
What other TV satellites do you know about?
If you’re a technician who wants to learn more, or if you’re sitting in your lawn staring at your satellite dish and wondering how it works, this article is for you. Continue reading to learn everything you need to know. We’ll go over what satellite TV is, how it’s transmitted/received, and what the equipment does in between in this blog. It will give you a better understanding of the subject and perhaps even the confidence to try your own installation. Let’s get started!
The Satellites Are In Space!
I’m frequently asked where a satellite dish gets its signal. Many people believe it gets signals from land-based TV transmitters, such as those used by terrestrial television services. This is not the case; the name, satellite dish, gives it away! Sky TV, Freesat, Soarsat, and other satellite television services are available. Most of you probably already know, but television satellites are geo-stationary satellites that spin with the globe to allow broadcasts to be received with a fixed satellite dish. You’d need a satellite dish that could follow the satellites’ position if they didn’t stay in a fixed orbital position so you could keep getting your TV signal. Although such systems exist, they are prohibitively expensive and unsuitable for the consumer market. Your Sky TV subscription would almost probably be far more expensive.
Geo-Stationary Orbit
As previously said, the satellites must remain in a fixed position so that you may align your satellite dish without having to adjust it. According to Wikipedia, geostationary orbit is roughly 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above sea level, and this is where the Direct to Home (DTH) satellites are located. The Clarke Belt is named after the scientist Arthur C Clarke, who predicted economical satellite communications at a precise location over the Earth’s equator in a UK Journal article. Because the distance between the satellites is normally far greater than most people imagine, there is little concern about them colliding. By the time you’re up in space, a few degrees of change at your dish on the ground means a lot.
Uplink/ Downlink
The signals must first travel up and down from space before reaching your antennas. The uplink is the transmission of data from land-based transmitters to satellites. Within a same frequency band, multiple positions and locations transmit uplinks at the same time.
The Downlink receives the messages from the Uplink and re-transmits them to Earth in a new frequency band. The downlink signals are received by an externally installed satellite dish, which is then connected to your satellite TV receiver via coaxial wires. Some satellite broadband services, such as Tooway or SES, will provide two-way communication that can uplink and downlink at the same time.
Satellite TV Frequency Bands
The Ku Band, which spans 10.7-12.75GHz and includes the Fixed Satellite Service Band (FSS), Direct Broadcasting by Satellite Band (DBS), and Business Satellite Services Band, is largely used for satellite television (BSS). Other services, such as satellite broadband, employ the Ka Band (18.8-30GHz), which has higher frequencies and enables for faster data transmission and reception.
The signal is oscillated down to a more manageable frequency below 3Ghz at the dish LNB because the downlink frequencies are far too high to be delivered over any distance by a coaxial connection. This is frequently oscillated down to the Intermediate Frequency(IF) band of 950-2150MHz, depending on the service and the LNB in use. The exceptions include Sky Q and third-generation Freesat, which require a Wideband LNB that can go as low as 300MHz.
Transponders
The words transmitter and responder are combined to form the word transponder. They are involved in the uplink/downlink process because they receive, amplify, and rebroadcast uplink signals. Each of the TV satellites will have numerous transponders, each rebroadcasting different multiplexes on different frequencies. In terms of satellite TV reception, transponders and multiplexes are considered interchangeable, notwithstanding their differences. When evaluated on a TV spectrum analyzer, each transponder multiplex will have many TV services that show as spikes and should be thought of as groups of channels/services.
Orbital Positions/ Locations
Which size satellite dish you need and where you need to point it depends on which satellite TV provider you want to get. Satellite dishes are positioned to degrees longitude east or west of due south because all spacecraft rotate above the equator and are at 0 degrees latitude. As you may assume, there are numerous satellites in various orbital regions serving various countries and the majority of the earth. In the UK, the most common orbital position we deal with is 28.2E, which is where Sky/Freesat TV services are available. At the time of writing, there are three satellites at 28.2E: Astra 2E, Astra 2F, and Astra 2G, as well as Eurobird at 28.5E, all of which can be received using the same fixed dish. “Astra 2” is the name given to all of them together. The Hotbird satellites at 13E and the Astra 1 satellites at 19.2E are two more popular orbital positions to notice, as they serve most of Europe and may be received with a relatively small satellite dish in the UK.
The Satellite Arc
When gazing south in the northern hemisphere or north in the southern hemisphere, the Sat TV satellites will form an invisible arc in the sky, with the highest point being straight south(or north), and the lower this will be on the horizon the further off the longitude correction. It is beneficial to become familiar with the satellite arc in order to locate satellites when aligning a satellite dish. The arc will be lower on the horizon as you travel further away from the equator, making line of sight difficult to achieve. You may need to install your dish higher up to get it. Your satellite dish will essentially point straight up into the sky at the equator.
Satellite Footprints
The term “Satellite Footprint” refers to a satellite’s terrestrial coverage. This is where the satellite downlink will be aimed, and where the TV services on that particular satellite will be required. For example, German television stations broadcast to Germany, and French television stations broadcast to France, and so on. It is vital to become familiar with the satellite footprint maps of the services you desire to obtain. This will help you to determine whether or not that particular satellite can be received in your area, as well as the predicted signal strength. It will also allow you to determine the proper satellite dish size to install. You may discover that you can obtain services that are not necessary designed for your region, such as foreign television. This may only be doable with a large or very large satellite dish in some cases. When I say large, I mean more than 1 meter, but they can go much bigger. When trying to receive UK TV outside of the UK, for example, some satellite footprints are particularly focussed spotbeams on the UK, making it difficult to receive some UK satellite TV services beyond the south of France, unless you have a very large dish.
Satellite Signal Polarisations
Telecommunications use a variety of polarisations, including horizontal, vertical, circular, and elliptical polarisations. Almost all satellite television broadcasts use both horizontal and vertical polarizations. This allows it to make the most of the bandwidth available for other satellite TV providers. Switching between the two polarisations is done at the LNB, so you don’t have to modify the antenna mounting like you do with conventional TV aerials. The dish only needs to be positioned correctly, with the skew adjustment being especially important for distinguishing between horizontal and vertical transmissions.
Satellite Dish
Although satellite dishes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, they always operate on the same or similar principles. The signal (down-link) is captured and reflected back to the satellite dish LNB, which is then connected to your satellite TV receiver via coaxial wires. The satellite dish must be mounted on an external wall with a clear uninterrupted view of the satellites in orbit due to the frequencies utilized by satellite TV. Satellite dishes are often fixed directly on walls, but for a variety of reasons, you may want or need to install the dish in a different location, such as on a chimney stack or a garden pole.
LNB
The LNB is the component of the satellite dish where the cables link; it’s normally sold separately from the dish, and the type you choose depends on the service you want to receive and the number of TV positions you want to feed. In the United Kingdom, most satellite TV LNBs are Universal Switching LNBs, which work by altering the voltage and adding a “tone” to request one of four satellite bands from the LNB that the channel sought is on. With Sky Q and the new range of Freesat boxes requiring or being compatible with the Wideband LNB, this is starting to change. These require two separate satellite TV RX connections, each of which provides half of the TV channels/ frequencies.
Coax Cables
Coaxial cables, or just coax for short, are the cables that connect to the satellite dish. There are many different sorts, some of which are more suited for satellite TV reception than others. When choosing one, look for one that is at least double screened so that it can handle the frequencies from the LNB and one that is UV-stable so that it may be used outside. Traditionally, one cable was required for a viewable-only Sat RX and two cable inputs were necessary for a device with an internal hard disc drive (HDD), generally referred to as a PVR, with separate cables feeding from your satellite dish to each other TV location that you wish to feed. With products like Sky Q, which requires two coax connections to a main box/main TV and then all other boxes for other TVs are connected wirelessly over a mesh network or via network cables, this is starting to change.
Satellite TV Receivers
The satellite dish links to the satellite TV receiver, also known as a Sat RX, Satellite STB, or something similar, through coax wires. This is normally an external piece of AV equipment that connects to your TV by HDMI cable nowadays, but more and more modern TVs are beginning to include built-in satellite tuners, obviating the need for a separate box entirely. The satellite TV RX is usually tailored to the service you want to watch, such as a Sky box for Sky, a Freesat box for Freesat, a TNTSat or Fransat box for French satellite TV, and so on. While you may be able to use a generic satellite receiver for various satellite TV services, you may need a Conditional Access Module and Smart Card to access encrypted TV services. While this may be fine for what you need, it can be a bit of a hassle because the box isn’t always ideal for the service you want to receive. As a result, I prefer to get the precise box for the service you desire.
The LNB is powered by a DC voltage sent by the satellite STB via the coax lines. This is normally between 13 and 18 volts DC. To flip between horizontal and vertically polarised signals, most satellite receivers will switch between 13V and 18V and generate a 22KHz tone.
Encryptions
The majority of satellite TV providers are opting for encryption, which is one of the advantages of converting to digital broadcasts and allows a broadcaster to safeguard its content from individuals who aren’t meant to be able to view it or haven’t paid to do so. Sky TV is a perfect example; to watch it, you’ll need a subscription, a Sky box, and a Smart Card that grants you access to Sky TV. If you cancel your Sky subscription, replace it with a new type, or remove the Smart Card from your box, you will only be able to watch unencrypted TV services. One of the reasons I recommend acquiring the proper equipment for the service is to ensure you have the appropriate equipment for the service/encryption.
Conditional Access Module(CAM)
If your satellite receiver doesn’t have an inbuilt CAM, you can acquire plug-in ones that fit into a Common Interface(CI or CI+) slot on your Sat RX to allow you to decrypt the encryption. Obviously, you must ensure that the satellite box you buy has at least one of these, and that the CAM you buy is the correct type for the service you want. A Smart Card can then be placed into the CAM if necessary.
Modulation/ Demodulation
Modulation is the technique of imprinting information onto a signal or carrier wave. Demodulation is the process of removing this information from a signal/carrier wave in order to use it for its intended purpose. This would be the conversion of binary information into a TV picture with sound and potentially some more interactive type services with digital terrestrial and satellite TV. With TV services, there are several modulation schemes such as COFDM and QAM, but the most prevalent for satellite TV is Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK).
DVB-S vs DVB-S2
When looking for information about satellite TV, you may run across DVB-S or DVB-2. These are standards that integrate a variety of factors like as modulation, compression algorithms, and frequency ranges, to name a few. The DVB component refers to digital video broadcasting, and the S part refers to satellite. If there is a T instead of an S, it means terrestrial, and if there is a C, it means cable. The number 2 denotes the second generation.
As you might anticipate, DVB-S2 is an upgrade on DVB-S, with reduced transmission power requirements and more compression techniques. MPEG-2 compression is supported by DVB-S, while MPEG-4 compression is supported by DVB-S2. In a nutshell, this means that you can fit more data into the same amount of bandwidth. Although not always the case, at the time of writing, Standard Definition (SD) broadcasts use DVB-2, while High Definition (HD) broadcasts use DVB-S2, which provides for the extra information needed to deliver better TV images. However, this should not be presumed to be the case all of the time. For example, when Fransat switched all of its TV transmissions to the DVB-S2 standard a few years ago, everyone who didn’t already have a suitable box had to go out and get one, or they wouldn’t be able to access their French TV services.
Symbol Rate/ Forward Error Correction
You’ll come across symbol rate and error correction whether setting up your satellite TV RX or seeking information on broadcasts like Kingofsat. Normally, you don’t need to configure such things, but if you’re going to manually adjust your equipment, you might. The data rate of each single transponder is known as the symbol rate, which for DTH satellites is commonly 22,000, 27,500, or 30,000. The quantity of error correcting bits included into the signal is referred to as Forward Error Correction (FEC). FEC values are typically 2/3, 3/4, 5/6, and so on. Using 2/3 as an example, every third bit is broadcast for the purpose of mistake correction. The higher the FEC ratio, the more stable and forgiving a TV signal is, and the less likely it is to pixelate or break up. The disadvantage is that because all of the data/bandwidth is being utilized for error correction, there will be less available for the TV service itself, making it less suited for services like HD video.
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What satellites are available in the United Kingdom?
At 28.2-28.5 degrees East, the Astra 2 satellite fleet is used by all major UK broadcasters. Some of their transmissions are limited to a small area around the British Isles (known as the UK spotbeam), while others span the entire continent.
Is the satellite used by Sky and Freesat the same?
Sky’s Freesat is not the same as Freesat; it was introduced in 2008 as a rival to the BBC and ITV’s main Freesat service. The satellites used by both organizations to offer free TV channels to people’s homes are the same.
Sky Freesat allows you access to all of the channels accessible on Freesat, as well as a few extra networks. There are approximately 240 channels accessible, however only 11 are in HD, compared to over 20 on Freesat. BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4, Pick TV, 5 USA, and a few channels not available on Freeview or Freesat are among the channels available. Some, however, are more specialized, such as EuroNews, Holiday and Cruise, and Horse and Country TV. If this is something you’re interested in, make sure you receive the greatest picture quality possible when viewing Freesat from Sky.