Direct to home

A compact satellite dish on a roof.
Source: Wikipedia

There are five major components in a Direct-to-home (DTH) satellite system. These are the programming source, the broadcast centre, the satellite, the satellite dish and the receiver.

Programming sources are the television stations that provide the channels for broadcast.

The broadcast centre is the 'nerve centre' of the system. It receives signals from different programming sources using a variety of equipment such as satellite, antenna and fibre-optic cable. The broadcast centre converts this information into a digital signal and beams it up to one or more communications satellites.

Satellites receive the signals from the broadcast centre and transmit the signals back to the ground over a wide area.

Satellite dishes at people's homes receive the signal from the satellite and it is sent along a wire to a receiver.

The receiver processes the signal so that it can be viewed on a television. Quite often this includes decoding the signal, which is often encrypted to prevent people from viewing subscription channels to which they do not subscribe.