The Complete Handbook of Satellite & Cable TV

Chapter 1: Understanding Satellite & Cable TV

The Real World of Television Distribution

When you press a button on a remote and a program appears, you are the endpoint of a complex chain of signal processing, transmission, and reception. That chain is what this book is about. It starts at a studio's production switcher and ends at the tuner inside your receiver. Understanding that entire chain, or at least the portions you are responsible for, is the difference between guessing and knowing.

This book is not about the shows. It is about the systems that deliver them. We will discuss two primary, and often competing, delivery methods: satellite and cable. Though they both end at the same television, they are fundamentally different in how they get there. A cable system is a closed, wired network. A satellite system is an open broadcast network that uses a transponder in geostationary orbit as a relay tower.

The field is often referred to as MATV (Master Antenna Television) when discussing shared systems, or more broadly as video distribution. The days of a single coax cable going to a single TV from a rooftop antenna are largely over, though the principles remain. Today, you are just as likely to be dealing with an IP-based streaming device as you are a traditional set-top box. However, the physical infrastructure – the coax, the connectors, the amplifiers, and the dishes – remains ubiquitous and will continue to be the backbone of in-building and in-home video delivery for