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| "Technology Services for Multi-Family Housing" | |
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| | | GLOSSARY OF TERMS Analog: A method of signal transmission in which information is relayed by continuously altering the waveform of the electromagnetic current. Now used in AM radio or most voice telephone circuits. Access Control System: The mechanism that takes care of the conditional access. Actuator: A motor system that drives a motorized multi-satellite dish antenna. Antenna: Device which picks up and delivers satellite signals to a receiver; most commonly a dish antenna. Apogee: The point in a satellite and orbit when it is at its furthest distance from the Earth. Backhaul: Point-to-point video transmission from a remote site back to a central site for further distribution. Bandwidth: A range of frequencies occupied by a signal or allowed by receiving equipment (basically, what a receiver is capable of receiving). Base-band: The raw satellite TV signal before it is remodulated to become a signal that is suitable for a TV. Beam: A satellite transmission pattern. It may be wide, narrow or spot. Bird: An alternate name for a satellite. C-Band: Signal frequency range (3.70-4.20ghz) used for satellite TV in America and Africa. Clarke Belt: Named after its founder Arthur C. Clarke, the Clarke Belt is an orbit used by satellites at a height of 22,250 miles, in which satellites make an orbit in 24 hours, yet remain in a fixed position relative to the Earth's surface. Common Carrier: The FCC's class of transmission systems, such as telephone, telegraph and certain satellites, open to public use at uniform fees and generally not permitted to control content. Compression: A term used to denote reducing the amount of bandwidth needed to transmit video or audio, thus increasing the capacity of a satellite transponder. CONUS: Continental United States Continuous Wave. C-Band: The 3.7 - 4.2 GHz (Gigahertz) frequency band which is used for the distribution of programming by virtually all satellite/cable networks. There are 22 C-Band satellites in operation over North America today. They range in power from 5-11 watts per transponder, requiring receive antennas of 5-12 feet in diameter. Beginning in 1992, the fleet was gradually replaced with higher powered (10-17 watt) satellites. This allows the average size of a C-Band installation to be reduced to 90 inches in diameter. Clarke Belt: The name given in honor of Arthur C. Clarke to the orbit 22,300 miles directly above the equator where satellites can maintain a stationary orbit position in relation to the earth. Also called geostationary orbit. Conditional Access: A method which ensures the program provider gets paid for its services by the user. Conditional Access Module: The (detachable) conditional access interface. dbi, Decibel: an analog unit of measure of signal strength, volume, or signal loss due to resistance as expressed in logarithmic form. DBS: Direct Broadcast Satellite - The transmission of audio and video signals via satellite direct to the end user. DBS Band: Signal frequency range (11.70-12.40ghz) intended for direct TV broadcast by satellite channels. Not all TV satellites use this band. Decoder: Unit that is connected to a satellite receiver in order to unscramble a picture that is protected by encryption. Demodulation: The process for retrieving an information signal that has been modulated onto a carrier. Digital: A method of storing, converting and sending data in the form of binary digits; i.e 0 or 1. Digital Audio Broadcasting: Standard which describes the method of transmitting digital audio. Dish: Slang term for antenna. DSS: Digital Satellite System. Downlink: A signal's path from satellite to dish antenna. DTH, Direct-To-Home: Official term used by the Federal Communications Commission industry to refer to the satellite television and broadcasting industries. DVB: Broadcast standard for digital radio and television, using MPEG-2 compression. DVB is being supported by all European manufacturers and broadcasters. Electronics Program Guide (EPG): Part of the transport stream, which contains the database and/or user interface for the electronic TV guide. Encryption/ Decryption: Encryption is the process of electronically altering a video and/or audio from its original condition. Decryption is the process of returning the video and/or audio to its original condition. Feedhorn: The part of the satellite system that collects and focuses satellite signals reflected by the antenna. Fixed Dish System: Satellite TV system in which the dish antenna is targeted at one particular satellite. Footprint: An area of the Earth that is able to receive a particular satellite&rsquo's signals. FSS: Fixed Satellite Service. FSS Band: Portion of the KU-band (10.95-11.70ghz) which is the main satellite TV band. GSO: Geosynchronous Orbit; satellites in geosynchronous orbit travel around the earth in an area approximately 22,300 miles from the surface at the same rate that the earth turns, therefore completing one revolution every 24 hours. Headend: A cable TV systems control center where incoming signals from satellites and other sources are put into the system. High Definition Television: Technology which significantly increases the resolution of video signals offering vastly improved picture quality over the current NTSC standard. Hybrid Satellite: A satellite which carries two or more different communications payloads (i.e., C-band andKu-band). HTDV: High Definition Television is a digital television format, which combines high-resolution video and theater like sound to create a movie theater quality TV viewing experience. Click here for more information on HDTV. Hz - Hertz: Cycle per second; a measure of electromagnetic frequency that represents the number of complete electrical waves in a second. One kilohertz (KHz) is one thousand cycles per second; one megaHertz (MHz) is one million; one gigaHertz (GHz) is one billion. INTELSAT: International Telecommunications Satellite Organization. Impulse Pay-Per-View: Conditional access service where the user is able to buy a particular program on a last minute decision. IRD: (integrated receiver decoder) A device capable of receiving and tuning satellite signals. The output of the receiver can be either baseband video for use with video monitors or RF for use with standard TV sets. Impulse Pay-Per-View: Technology which allows the consumer to purchase a movie or special event instantly via a computerized order processing center. This technology allows for the processing of a high volume of orders in a short time period. Ka-Band: A higher frequency than Ku-Band, operating from 18 to 31 gigaHertz. Ku-Band: The 11.7 -12.7 GHz (Gigahertz) frequency band. This band has been split into 2 segments by the FCC. The first is the 11.7-12.2 GHz band known as FSS (Fixed Satellite Service). There are 22 FSS Ku band satellites in orbit over North America today. They range in power from 20-45 watts per transponder, requiring a 3-5 foot antenna for clear reception. The 12.2 - 12.7 GHz segment is known as BSS (Broadcast Satellite Service). Satellites in this band range in power from 100 - 200 watts per transponder, allowing the use of receive antennas as small as 12-18 inches. KHz: KiloHertz LEO (Low Earth Orbit): Satellites placed in orbit less than 22,300 miles above the earth. LNBF (Low Noise Block Converter with Integrated Feed): Amplifies received signals and converts them from microwaves to lower frequency signals, which are then sent along a cable to the satellite receiver. Magnetic Polarizer: Polarizer controlled by an electrical current from a satellite receiver. Mechanical Polarizer: A polarizer that is controlled by electrical pulses from the receiver. MHz: MegaHertz Modulation: The process of superimposing an information signal onto a carrier for transmission. Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG): The organization, which defined the standards for moving pictures, like movies. MPEG - 1/-2 Compression: Method to compress digital signals. This way, the volume of information that has to be sent decreases. MPEG is not a broadcast standard, but a compression method, which is also used for CD-1 and Multi Media CD. Thanks to this compression, it is possible to combine several programs into one satellite transponder. Multi-Satellite System (Motorized System): System in which a specialized receiver, in conjunction with a motorized dish antenna, receives signals from the series of satellites in the Clarke Belt. Near Video-On-Demand: Multi-channel system broadcasting many copies of a film with staggered start times so a complete film is always available to a viewer with a short waiting period. Noise Figure: A measure of the performance (noise contribution) of an LNBF in decibels. The lower this figure, the better. Offset: Type of dish antenna with the focus and feedhorn below the center of the dish antenna. Open TV: Makes a receiver compatible for all kinds of future multimedia applications. Orbit: The path a satellite takes around the Earth. Packet Data: A process where stored data is transmitted in discrete units, called packets, allowing for more efficient use of channel capacity and reliability of transfer. Pad: Slang for transponder channel attenuation, it is an electronic device that adds electrical resistance to a circuit to protect a transponder from signals that are too strong. Pay-Per-Channel: With this form of pay TV, the viewer has to pay a certain price per month (or other period) to receive all programs of a certain channel. Pay-Per-View (PPV): Conditional access service where the user is able to buy one particular program. Pay TV: With Pay TV, the consumer has to pay for available programs or services, when used. PCS: Personal Communications System. Polarmount: Multi-satellite dish antenna mount, which enables a satellite dish antenna to track the whole of the Clarke Belt. Positioner: Unit, which either accompanies a multi-satellite receiver or is built-in and controls the movement of motorized dish antennas. Receiver: Unit, which takes signals from a satellite dish antenna and converts them so they can appear on TV. SCPC: Single Channel Per-Carrier; an economical way to get multiple signals on one transponder. Scrambling: Altering a video signal transmission so it can not be received without an authorized operating decoder. Satellite Antenna (Dish): A parabolic antenna which collects satellite signals. C-band antennas range in size from 5-12 feet in diameter; K-band antennas range from 18 inches to 6 feet. Satellite Programmer: A company, which produces, packages, or distributes video, audio, and/or data services for distribution to the home satellite dish and cable markets. Smart Card: A card used to descramble encrypted broadcasts when placed in a decoder or receiver with a built-in decoder. SMATV: Satellite Master Antenna Television; or private cable; a miniature cable system that receives programming by satellite and serves a housing complex or hotel. Spread Spectrum: A means of transmission in which the information is carried encoded into discrete packages of information, then spread over a wide bandwidth for transmission to specific receivers, which filter out the coded material. Superstation: A local TV station whose signal is satellite delivered to cable systems and backyard antennas across the country. Sun Outage: When the sun passes behind a satellite in relation to the earth and the suns energy momentarily interferes with the satellite signals. Happens two times each year during spring and fall equinox. Tariff: The usage fees charged for any given service. Terrestrial: In communications parlance, this refers to earth, land or ground-based telecommunications systems. Threshold: The measure of sensitivity of a satellite receiver measured in decibels (DB) Transponder: Equipment inside a satellite responsible for receiving a single uplinked channel and rebroadcasting it back to Earth. Transceiver: A combination transmitter and receiver. TVRO (Television Receive-Only): An industry term used to describe a home satellite system which only receives and does not transmit satellite television signals. Transponder: A device located on board the satellite which receives signals uplinked by a programmer and transmits them back to earth on a different frequency. Most satellites carry 24 transponders. UHF: Ultra High Frequency; the band in the 500 to 900 MHz range, including TV channels 14 through 83. Uplink: To transmit to a satellite for relay; also, the dish used to transmit. Value Added Reseller (VAR): In satellite communications, can refer to a third party who leases capacity for resale. Video Compression: Technology which significantly reduced the bandwidth required to transmit a video signal, making possible the carriage of numerous NTSC quality signals satellite transponder. Videocrypt: Encryption system, which requires a decoder and Smart Card to be descrambled. Used by Sky and several other UK channels. Video-On-Demand: Multichannel system allowing a film to be broadcasted immediately if it is requested by an individual viewer. VHF: Very High Frequency; the band in the 30 to 300 MHz range, including TV channels 2 through 13. VSAT: Very Small Aperture Terminal; a means of narrowcast transmission of video, voice and data by SCPC means to a satellite, typically used in business applications. | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
