Talk:Direct-broadcast satellite

Inaccuracies

The statement...

"The United Kingdom has approximately 90 free-to-air digital channels, for which a promotional and marketing plan is being devised by the BBC and ITV, to be sold as "Freesat". It is intended to provide a multi-channel service for areas which cannot receive Freeview, and eventually replace their network of UHF repeaters in these areas"

...is not correct, as after the analogue UHF switchoff, digital UHF power will be ramped up to provide better coverage than the current terrestrial footprint. Freesat is at most a complementary service, possibly allowing the broadcast of HDTV and AC3 simulcasts in the long run.

USSB?

Where's the mention of USSB? They were right there with Hughes' DirecTV and the launch of the first digital system in the US. In fact, without Hubbard Broadcasting's early desires to go digital, and the resulting partnership with Hughes (and RCA) to get the system developed and launched, DirecTV likely would never have existed. Further, it was the *combination* of the two (complementary to each other) services that ultimately led to PrimeStar's fall and subsequent acquisition by DirecTV. The acquisition of USSB happened just one year prior, and all the damage was done (to PrimeStar) by that point. vmz 12:01, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

See Also

Where is the 'hi' link supposed to be pointing? Beggerly (talk) 08:53, 3 May 2011 (UTC)

"Direct-broadcast" is a non-sequitur

Has it occurred to anyone that "direct-broadcast" is a non-sequitur? I found this article when reading about DirecTV via Google. I would suggest "viewer subscription satellite" service is a more accurate term. Maybe that's not Wikipedia's problem.75.171.221.125 (talk) 22:38, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

Wikipedia guidelines say the article title should be the most common name used in reliable sources (WP:COMMONNAME). "Direct-broadcast satellite" (DBS) is the standard term used in telecommunications literature. --Chetvorno^TALK 00:30, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

It has been known as such for about forty years or so. The original satellite TV transmissions were not intended for direct reception by end-users but were for TV stations and cable TV headends. DBS was intended for broadcast to an audience with their own dishes and reception equipment and who did not rely on cable TV for their programming. Even the suggested term is wrong because with free to air, it is not necessary to have any subscription. Sometimes you've just got to know about these things and Wikipedia does a fairly good job of that. Jmccormac (talk) 05:57, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

The word "broadcast" is used here to mean transmission to end-users, it does not necessarily imply "free" or non-subscription. The term "direct-broadcast" is used to distinguish satellites which "broadcast" television "directly" to consumers from the previous communication satellites you mentioned which transmitted TV signals to cable headends, and thus did not "broadcast". --Chetvorno^TALK 02:00, 11 August 2016 (UTC)