Rocket Science Well, okay, rockets did have something to do with putting all those communication satellites up there. But that’s pretty much where the science ends and the good news begins. Satellite service providers are not only a great alternative to cable for regular TV programming, they are also a primo source for HDTV. The satellite companies were among the first to offer HDTV using HDTV as a serious competitive advantage to counteract cable companies’ digital cable offerings, such as video-on-demand (VoD). With its very small (usually 18- to 24-inch) dishes, Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) allows all but the most remote viewer to receive HDTV economically. Even author Danny on his island two miles out at sea. Planning a Satellite TV System Getting satellite TV for your HDTV isn’t all that difficult, but it is a bit more complicated than cable TV (where most of the sophisticated equipment belongs to the cable company, so they handle all the maintenance and installation). The first step towards satellite involves picking a provider (imagine that, a choice instead of a monopoly!). Once you’ve picked a provider, then you can choose the appropriate equipment a satellite dish and a receiver. Service You must subscribe to a provider if you want HDTV channels from a satellite. Three TV service providers have significant HDTV programming:

-  DIRECTV (www.directv.com)

-  Dish Networks (www.dishnetwork.com), owned by EchoStar

-  Voom (www.voom.com), owned by Cablevision The last half of this article guides you to select a provider for satellite HDTV. Equipment For HDTV (or any TV, for that matter) by satellite, you need equipment to use the satellite signal: a receiver, an antenna, a TV, and cables to connect them all. Want more information than that? Can do! Receiver Satellite HDTV requires an HDTV receiver (sometimes called a tuner or set-top box) that works with your DBS provider. If you already have a DIRECTV or Dish Network receiver, it probably doesn’t receive HDTV. Check the Web sites for DIRECTV (www.directv.com ) or Dish Network (www.dishnetwork.com ) for the latest HDTV receivers. Except for special HDTV connections, an HDTV satellite receiver usually looks and works just like a typical satellite TV receiver. Most HDTV satellite receivers include two essential items:

-  A receiver for satellite-based HDTV channels

-  A terrestrial broadcast HDTV tuner so you can pick up local HDTV channels that aren’t on your satellite lineup Local HDTV broadcasts are transmitted digitally. Expect any HDTV satellite system to get a fine picture from local HDTV broadcast stations unless the local signal has to travel so far that it’s just too weak when you get it. Article 8 gives you the lowdown on receiving over-the-air broadcasts of local HDTV channels. A few TV sets have integrated DBS receivers. Each receiver is for only one DBS provider, so you need to decide on a provider before buying an HDTV set with an integrated receiver. If you want a digital video recorder (DVR) in your HDTV satellite system, it should be part of the satellite receiver. Later in this article, we tell you about DVRs that are available for DIRECTV and Dish Network. Article 12 has the whole DVR story. Antennas Even if you have a DBS dish, you may need a new dish for HDTV. DBS providers have launched new satellites to transmit HDTV (and local channels and other services), because “normal” DBS satellites are pretty much full to the brim with regular TV programming. The DBS company usually installs two HDTV antennas for you:

-  A small broadcast antenna that receives local HDTV channels

-  The special HDTV dish for your satellite channels If you already have DBS service, it’s easy to check whether you need a new satellite dish to get HDTV satellite channels from the same DBS provider: • If you have DIRECTV service, look for a DIRECTV logo on Channel 99. If you see the logo, you’re set for HDTV from DIRECTV. Otherwise you’ll need to install a new dish (or in a few cases, purchase an upgrade kit for your existing dish). • With Dish Network, try tuning to channel 9900. If you receive this channel, you’ve got the right dish otherwise you’ll need to install a new dish. If you need a new satellite dish, let a pro install it. Running cables and aiming the dish can be pains in the hind end. There’s no real advantage of doing it yourself, especially if you can get free installation in a package when you subscribe. HDTV-ready TV Your new HDTV-ready TV connects to the satellite HDTV receiver the same way it connects to a similar cable box. Article 1 and Article 2 guide you to the right HDTV-ready TV for your home. If you don’t have an HDTV yet, you can use an HDTV satellite receiver with your existing TV. You won’t see HDTV quality pictures with such a set-up, but it works. You might do something like this, for example, if you’re waiting for a specific HDTV, but you’re ready to install or upgrade your satellite TV system now. Cabling An HDTV satellite system needs three kinds of connections:

-  Satellite-dish-to-satellite-receiver: When the signal arrives from outer space, it has to get to the receiver before you can see it. No rocket science there. If you already have a DBS system, you probably can use the old cable to connect your new HDTV dish to your new HDTV satellite receiver. But let a pro install and aim your dish.

-  Local-antenna-to-satellite-receiver: Article 8 guides you for receiving HDTV broadcast stations on HDTV devices.

-  Satellite-receiver-to-TV: Article 3 covers basic video connections to an HDTV-ready TV. Availability Most U.S. homes can receive HDTV by satellite. Here’s how to make sure you can receive it:

-  The best way to find big problems or special needs is to check each provider’s Web site. Zip-code-based information portals can tell you what’s needed for your area.

-  If you are in an apartment, condo, or a homeowner’s association, check your local rules about dish placement. In the U.S., you must be allowed to install a dish (that’s a federal regulation), but the dish must be located in a space that only you have access to (like a private patio) and not on common space (like the rooftop). If your permitted placement doesn’t have a southwestern sky view, you will need to negotiate with your landlord or condo/homeowner’s association about installing the dish elsewhere (for example, the roof). Check out the FCC’s Web site (www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard. html) for the details on this ruling.

-  If you are in Alaska or Hawaii, you might need a larger dish. For example, DIRECTV advises its customers that subscribers in Anchorage or Fairbanks might have to install an 8-foot dish to get their signals. (You can probably get by with a 4-foot dish in Juneau.) If you live to the north and west of these locations signal strength continues to drop off, but we’re guessing if you live that far north of the Lower 48, then you probably know this as a matter of course.

-  Special international channels, such as Chinese- or Spanishlanguage channels, may come from other satellites. They require a multi-satellite dish and visibility to all those satellites. Choosing a DBS Provider Your home probably can receive all three satellite-HDTV providers. If you can decide by features and price (most folks who live in medium-sized and larger cities can decide that way), the trick becomes sorting through the offers du jour. At the time this was written, Voom was offering a limited-time freeequipment- and-installation deal to drum up business, while Dish Network was packaging an HDTV, HDTV receiver, and its service for $1,000 installed and was running a contest to give one lucky winner all the necessary equipment and a free year of Dish Network’s HDTV service. Special deals like the Voom and Dish Network offers discussed in the previous paragraph come and go, so you need to check with all three vendors for their packages when you are ready to buy. Programming All the HDTV satellite providers have the common channels you expect in any cable or satellite system. But actual HDTV channels vary from provider to provider. Voom channels Voom has the most HDTV channels, probably because it was launched for the explicit purpose of delivering HDTV via satellite. Voom had 39 HDTV channels at the time this was written (far more than any other service). Voom has the usual HBO, Showtime, and ESPN channels. Some Voom programming is specifically for Voom’s lineup. These include such unusual offerings as

-  Equator HD, which broadcasts “intriguing and visually stunning sights and sounds that capture the world’s most unique people and places” that is, documentaries and other visually appealing fare

-  A channel of beautiful HDTV images and music

-  Special events, such as the June 2004 sale of Eric Clapton’s guitar collection At Voom, you can also watch Westerns on the Gunslinger channel, plus classic or epic movies (or epic classics, no doubt!). Dish Network channels Dish Network offers eight network HDTV channels (including HBO, Showtime, TNT, Discovery and ESPN), plus some special HDTVonly content:

-  An HDTV Pay Per View channel, featuring recent movies and some IMAX films

-  HDNet, which carries live sporting events, and a variety of dramas, documentaries, and other programming

-  HDNet Movies, which shows (you guessed it!) movies from Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures Television, and independent Sources

Voom or poof? If you are unwilling to take a bit of a risk, Voom might not be the way to go though Voom’s current (as we write) offer of free hardware basically eliminates any risk to you, besides the inconvenience of switching to a different provider. In its first six months of operation, Voom lost a fifth of the customers who tried the service, according to Cablevision’s SEC filings. The company has also decided to go with a bigger dish to enable subscribers to “see” a new satellite source that will provide capacity for more programming. The company is replacing its previous dishes for free, which is likely to increase its already-massive losses (just under $500 million this year) and depress its chances of succeeding as a spinoff from parent company Cablevision. It might not hurt to take a leap of faith. Customers who get the service have raved about the HDTV menu. If Voom fails financially, the company’s assets will likely be picked up by another company (maybe one of the other two satellite companies).