TV Signal

[lcmontana]

Our local TV stations run mostly on a national feed, which I assume is a satellite signal sent down to the station, and then rebroadcast on channel 12 (NBC).

Assuming I could find the NBC satellite, would it be possible to catch that signal on like a dish network satellite and then pump it into my tv? We get absolutely no reception by ariel.

Joshua Denny
Naomi & Tony
Clancy, Montana

 

[KR4BD]

I am certain most, if not all, the major TV NETWORK programming to the local affiliates (NBC, CBS, etc) comes down digitally and possibly encrypted. I know this is the case for radio stations that take programming off the birds. A few years ago, I worked at a radio station that took several satellite feeds every day and occassionally, someone at the network end would fail to "flip the switch" so we could get the programming "in the clear". Another station in our group took three hours of live music programming off a satellite each day and the feed would only open up 15 minutes before the program was to start and it would "go away" 15 minutes after we ended the program. In other words, we were paying for only three hours of their programming each day and we would only get what we were paying for -- even though they provided the service for up to 24 hours a day to other stations who were paying for 24 hour service.

 

[lcmontana]

bummer

 

[N_Jay]

Our local TV stations run mostly on a national feed, which I assume is a satellite signal sent down to the station, and then rebroadcast on channel 12 (NBC).

Assuming I could find the NBC satellite, would it be possible to catch that signal on like a dish network satellite and then pump it into my tv? We get absolutely no reception by ariel.

Joshua Denny
Naomi & Tony
Clancy, Montana

Remember the old 6 foot and larger Sat dishes of the '80s and 90's?

That is EXACTLY what they were doing.
Digital distribution took away the ability, and Direct TV took away the market.

 

[kingpin]

I work for an NBC affiliate. The signals are fed digitaly. I haven't heard anything as far as the encryption goes but I understand it's a propriatary system NBC has in place.

 

[EricCottrell]

Hello,

It is possible but it will take some equipment and research. You need to search out TVRO information and also DVB information.

There are two bands of interest. C Band (3.7 - 4.2 GHZ) and Ku Band (11.7 - 12.2 GHz). C Band requires a 6 foot dish and up depending on where you are located, satellite footprint, etc. A 10 foot dish allows good signal separation from adjacent satellites. Ku band requires a 3 foot dish and up. It is possible to have a dual band feedhorn for a combined C/Ku system.

There are sites like Lyngsat that have listings of what services are on a satellite.
http://www.lyngsat.com

It appears that NBC uses C band on the AMC4 satellite for their feeds using DVB digital signals. You can get receivers like the Pansat 2500 or Pansat 2700 to receive unencrypted DVB signals. DVB uses MPEG2 encoding.
http://www.global-cm.net/mpeg2central.html

A DVB receiver with a 3 foot Ku dish is popular to recieve various ethnic programing on Intelsat Americas 5. I have dealt with Mike Kohl from Global Communications who has years of experience with C and Ku TVRO.
http://global-cm.net/

Ku band is an interesting band for "DXing" as it is used by the Satellite New Trucks for remote reports. NBC and other networks use Ku to distribute news stories to the affiliates. Syndicated programs are also distributed using Ku band. Ku band is more like the VHF-HI or UHF Business Band and C Band is more like the FM Broadcast Band.

I have a 7-1/2 foot dish and can receive both C and Ku. I also have a DVB receiver. Like scanning it can be an interesting facet of the radio hobby.

73 Eric

 

[kingpin]

Eric,
I have to say I envy your setup! I've wanted to see what all is on the birds but I just don't have the room in my yard for a dish. I remember years ago finding all kinds of stuff on there but those days are fading. The birds are being phased out on several angles in the broadcast industry for content distribution. Many of the shows we carry are distributed via the Pathfire system which is an IP based computer network.

I'm sure there's still some good stuff up there though!