Satellite TV dishes were not available for home use until the nineteen nineties. Until then the only choices consumers had were broadcasts from local stations. There was not a lot of programming available and if a person wanted to watch the world news they had to tune in at a specific time on a specific channel. Not only was programming limited but the picture was not always very clear.
Cable was the first use of this technology. Now people could watch their programs at different times. There were more stations to see and the broadcast was a much clearer viewing experience. Individuals could get more shows like stations dedicated to music, the arts, information or just shopping. It opened up a much larger reach for advertisers and generally helped the economy.
In the nineteen nineties six to eight foot parabolic antennas were put into production and offered to the private sector. They were not cheap but paid for themselves over several years because people could get hundreds of free channels. They no longer had to pay for cable.
With this type of antenna, people could live in New York and get stations from California. For that matter they were able to watch Canadian and Japanese programs. Paid subscriptions were offered with no long term contracts. The programming could be changed monthly and one station could be purchased. The cost was much less than cable and often gave viewers nine channels for the price of one.
Now all these signals were analog radio signals. Because of this sometimes receiving TV was not all that reliable. Line of sight is the key. If there was a tree or a large building blocking the signal coming from the tower or the satellites in orbit, there was no picture to watch. Inclement weather also caused viewing problems.
Then came digital signals. Small antennas of this type were made available. These signals worked much better. The picture was clearer and there were less interruptions. Analog signals were still being broadcast so the eight foot dishes still worked, but when the signals went all digital and HD they basically went the way of the dinosaurs.
Cable was the first use of this technology. Now people could watch their programs at different times. There were more stations to see and the broadcast was a much clearer viewing experience. Individuals could get more shows like stations dedicated to music, the arts, information or just shopping. It opened up a much larger reach for advertisers and generally helped the economy.
In the nineteen nineties six to eight foot parabolic antennas were put into production and offered to the private sector. They were not cheap but paid for themselves over several years because people could get hundreds of free channels. They no longer had to pay for cable.
With this type of antenna, people could live in New York and get stations from California. For that matter they were able to watch Canadian and Japanese programs. Paid subscriptions were offered with no long term contracts. The programming could be changed monthly and one station could be purchased. The cost was much less than cable and often gave viewers nine channels for the price of one.
Now all these signals were analog radio signals. Because of this sometimes receiving TV was not all that reliable. Line of sight is the key. If there was a tree or a large building blocking the signal coming from the tower or the satellites in orbit, there was no picture to watch. Inclement weather also caused viewing problems.
Then came digital signals. Small antennas of this type were made available. These signals worked much better. The picture was clearer and there were less interruptions. Analog signals were still being broadcast so the eight foot dishes still worked, but when the signals went all digital and HD they basically went the way of the dinosaurs.
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