The units that receive the satellite signal in the home are rather limited but the ones for the car, well thats another story. Here are some tips for selecting satellite radio for your car.

Buying an after market radio that has a satellite receiver built in is the easiest way to add satellite radio to your car in my opinion. My husband went the route of adding a simple satellite receiver to his existing radio. The drawback was, not only did it take awhile to install it came out messy.

Aftermarket radios, can be purchased to bring in just the satellite signal, AM/FM radio stations, CD or it can come, as I selected, with all three built in.

When traveling on a trip, I found this was the most convenient as I could keep up with local happenings with my regular radio but when I wanted crystal clear tunes, I had my CD or Satellite radio to choose from.

One of the things that people mistakenly think about satellite radio is that all you have to buy is the monthly subscription to enjoy commercial free satellite radio. The fact is you do have to consider the cost of your subscription AND the cost of your satellite radio AND the cost of a professional installation. In most cases this amount can easily add up to a few hundred dollars.

By far the least expensive way to get started with satellite radio is to add one of those add on radios, like my husband bought. You can buy one for about $100 dollars and although the installation will take some time, it sis nothing that most people cant do themselves.

Some dont require installation at all, all you need is something called the FM modulator to be located near the FM radio in your car, IT will do the rest. This is a great solution if you just want to try satellite radio or if you change cars often.

So you can get started for as little as $100 dollars but for a mid to top of the line radio, expect to pay between $300 and $500 plus installation, and worth every penny!

About the Author:

Holly Dodd writes for and publishes a variety of websites. For more information on satellite radio, visit www.My-Satellite-Radio-Review.info or www.blog.freeofferguide.com

Written By: Holly Dodd

Satellite television is TV broadcast delivered by way of orbiting communications satellites located 22,300 miles above the earth’s surface. Satellite TV system, like other communications relayed by satellite, starts with a transmitting satellite antenna located at an uplink facility. Uplink satellite dishes are directed toward the satellite that its signals will be transmitted to, and are very large, as much as 9 to 12 meters (30 to 40 feet) in diameter.

There are mainly two types of satellite TV systems: TVRO and DBS. TVRO system, aka Television Receive Only, is the first satellite system available for home satellite viewing system. While the DBS system, Direct Broadcast Satellite is available later. These two satellite systems work in different band (C-band and Ku-band) and their working system specifications are quite a different.

Television Receive Only (TVRO) systems

TVRO systems in United States are often referred as Big Dish TV, C-Band Satellite TV or BUD (Big Ugly Dish). It was the first satellite TV system being commercialized and brought into the U.S. families.

Viewing TVRO broadcast requires a big and movable dish – which is why it is well known as big dish TV. The TVRO dish’s diameter ranged from 3 to 6 feet. It works in C-Band with frequencies of around 4 GHz. As news companies normally transmit their materials to their headquarters using a C-Band satellite; and as many of these types of feeds are not scrambled, chances to unedited news are great. Besides with TVRO systems, you can also receive free channels and independent feeds from for instance news companies.

Ever wonder why do we need such a big dish to receive TVRO signals? It’s because of TVRO’s wave length of these frequencies is longer than in Ku-Band which requires a much smaller dish of about 18 inches. Ku-Band, which is used by DBS, is at 12 to 14 G Hertz.

Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) system

Satellite TV services were popular only after Direct Broadcast Satellite system is introduced. DBS is meant for everyone with a simple, low cost installation of the system. Small dish, maintenance-free, and stable signals receptions — all these makes the satellite TV system a good commercial product.

Satellite broadcast via DBS system is done in the Ku-Band. These satellites work on higher frequencies and can transmit higher power signals. This is why smaller dishes can be used to receive satellite signal for DBS systems.

As you might know, a small TV dish of 18 inches is already good enough to receive all satellite TV signals by Satellite companies. This makes it possible to have satellite TV from an apartment on the 10th floor, if you have a clear line of sight to the south. Once installed the dish needs no maintenance since it is aimed at just one satellite. Some dishes actually have 2 or more feeds, which makes it possible to receive the signals from more than 1 satellite.

Unfortunately, there are no free channels available on DBS satellites broadcast. DBS broadcasting are often owned and used by the satellite TV provider (for example, Dish Network and DirecTV) it self. Often the installation is for free as it really is very easy to do. The only thing that is needed is a bit of knowledge of where to find the satellite thus a qualified installer will find the satellite and point it to maximum reception within minutes.

Currently in United States, Dish Network and DirecTV are the major DBS systems provides. As satellite TV services are the latecomer in home TV broadcasting services, they are now fighting hard to win the market segments with extremely low prices. Free satellite TV systems, free DVR systems, free DVD players, free shipping, free installations, free HD upgrades, free home protection plans they give free things as much as possible! All you need to be to qualify the deals condition is you must commit on the satellite TV deals for one year and you must be a first-time customer. With extremely low start up cost, online satellite TV retailers are now offering some very lucrative offers. To review more about these online satellite TV retailers: http://www.satellitetvissue.com/FreeSatelliteTV/SatelliteTVDealers.htm and if you would like to compare Dish Network and DirecTV, this page is suggested: http://www.satellitetvissue.com/DirecTVvsDISH%20Network.htm

About The Author

Teddy LC.– experienced writter on consumer products reviews. Check out his latest satellite TV related website and get recommendations on DirecTV or Dish Network deals.

satellitetvissue.com

Written By: Teddy LC

A satellite tv provider is a company that owns and operates satellites in geostationary orbit around the earth. These satellites broadcast the satellite signal down to your satellite dish and from their the signal is transferred to your receiver (black box). The two largest satellite tv providers in the United Sates are DirecTV and DISH Network. The vast majority of satellite tv subscribers in the United States use one or the other so this article will concentrate on comparing the two satellite giants in an attempt to help you decide which of the two is best foryou.

With the almost exponential growth of the satellite tv industry, both DISH Network and DirecTV are now in a position where they can afford to offer the satellite equipment (dish and receivers) free to their subscribers. So for starters both DISH Network and DirecTV offer free satellite equipment. Basically the only qualifiers are that you be a first time subscriber and that you have a credit card for monthly billing purposes. So if the equipment is free how do the two providers make any money? Well, you do have to pay for the monthly programming of course. The price of your monthly programming bill depends on which programming package you choose.

DISH Network’s America Top 60 programming package starts at $24.99 per month and local channels are available. DISH Network presently is not making new subscribers commit to a one year contract. You can end your subscription at any time with no financial penalty to pay. DirecTV’s entry level programming package is called the Total Choice package and comes with local channels and is $39.99 per month. With the Total Choice package you get over 130 channels. DirecTV does require you to sign a one year subscription agreement. If you cancel your service before the year is up, then you have to pay a penalty fee to DirecTV.

As both satellite giants use the very lates technology in their satellites and receiving equipment, what differentiates the two is in the programming options that they provide to their subscribers. I would rate DirecTV somewhat ahead of the DISH Network in their sports packages, as they offer seasonal sports options like the N.F.L. Sunday Ticket that DirecTV has exclusive rights to. Both providers offer tons of premium movie packages to choose from including HBO, Showtime, Starz and Cinemax. All these come with multiple channels per movie package. As DISH Network has more satellites in orbit than DirecTV does they have the capacity to offer up to 500 viewing channels, whereas with DirecTV, you can ‘only’ get 250 channels. Also, DISH Network offers a lot more foreign programming packages than DirecTV does.

Both DISH Network and DirecTV offer 100% digital picture and CD quality sound in all of their programming. So again, they are tied in this important quality. This technology allows for a crystal clear perfect picture that cable tv simply cannot provide.

DISH Network, a subsidiary of EchoStar Communications, was founded in 1996 by Charles Ergan. While not quite as old as DirecTV, DISH Network was the fastest satellite provider to reach the 100,000 subscriber level doing so in just four short months. Presently, DISH Network has over Nine million satellite tv subscribers in the 50 United States and District of Columbia. DISH Network has many ‘firsts’ to its credit, including being the first company to offer a satellite tv receiver that had a built in DVR (digital video recorder).

DirecTV was begun in 1994 and is the largest satellite tv provider in the United States. When it first launched in 1994, Direct TV was the first satellite TV company to offer all digital-quality, multi-channel TV programming through the use of direct broadcast satellite (DBS) technology. DBS technology is now the standard for the satellite tv industry and we have the ingenuity of the DirecTV engineers to thank for it. While DirecTV does not have as large a bandwidth allocation as the DISH Network does, to counter this DirecTV has arranged to have to exclusive deals with programming companies to cater to the programming whims of their subscribers.

In the all important area of customer care, both DirecTV and DISH Network offer outstanding customer care and support. Both offer online Faqs sections and help sections to their websites. You can also call both toll free to get help with any problem you may be having. Pay-Per-View movies may be ordered either by using your remote control or calling the 800 toll free number for either provider.

Both DirecTV and DISH Network offer free professional installation as part of their free satellite tv promotions. One difference is that DirecTV will install your equipment for free in up to five rooms, where DISH Network presently only installs for free in up to four rooms of your home.

FINAL CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATION:

Both DISH Network and DirecTV offer an outstanding television viewing experience. The picture reception for both is far superior to that of cable tv. DISH Network’s entry level package is cheaper than DirecTV’s; but then the Total Choice package comes with alot more channels. DirecTV is stronger in the area of sports coverage, while DISH Network places somewhat more of an emphasis on its premium movie packages and foreign programming options. And both have outstanding customer care, both having won the prestigious J.D. Power Award in recent years for providing the best overall service among satellite and cable subscribers.

Our recommendation is that both DirecTV and DISH Network offer a superior television viewing experience than cable tv. Both are alot cheaper than cable, offer superior picture quality and free equipment and instalation. Both also offer superior customer care service compared to local cable providers. If you’re a big sports fan and just have to have that certain premium sports package, then DirecTV is for you; but if you’re not a huge sports fan and cost is an issue, then you might want to go with DISH Network and it’s entry level America’s Top 60 at just $24.99 a month. Also, remember that DirecTV will require a one year commitment, whereas with the DISH Network there is no contract to sign, meaning you can cancel your service at anytime and not have to pay a penalty.

Whichever satellite provider you choose, you can’t go wrong. As a subscriber of the DISH Network and a sales person that has several years experience in the satellite tv industry (have sold both DirecTV & DISH Network)I highly recommend that you drop cable, stop feeding the pig and switch to satellite tv service today. The vastly superior picture quality alone that DBS satellite technology provides makes it worth the change. It’s like heaven watching tv with no more squiggly lines running across the tv screen!

For more free and helpful information on Satellite TV, how to find the best deal, and how to set it up, visit http://www.dish-n etwork-satellite-tv.ws

Written By: Frank Johnson