Satellite TV Services Are More Than Just a Few Shows to Watch

When it comes to television programming and how we get access to it, there’s plenty of options for every home. Cable television became the staple, with underground or hanging lines running to our homes so that we could consume the shows from it. The internet offers much the same. Streaming services can be accessed through home or wireless internet. But the third option is the one that’s often forgotten. Many people forget about satellite TV! 

Satellite TV has allowed providers to tap into direct feeds of information beamed down from satellites sitting high above the earth. Satellite TV started as a method for rural locations to get quality programming, but quickly evolved into an option for anyone! Satellite TV provides hours of entertainment. Modern technologies have allowed the internet to be used through satellites as well. If you’re considering satellite TV services, then you may be adding a real benefit to your home. 

Satellite TV Providers

Originally when it launched, Satellite TV was rare. It was only offered by a few providers and service was still spotty. It has evolved and now is just as reliable as cable. In reality, the difference between traditional cable packages and satellite TV has virtually erased itself. There are many providers which now offer excellent Satellite TV packages. Right now, there’s two satellite TV brands which stand above all others. They are:

• DISH - DISH offers a very solid channel package starting at 190 channels and rising up close to 300 (More are always seeming to be added). It’s also possible to DVR an incredible 16 shows at a time on DISH. Admittedly this is probably far more than you will ever need, but with the rate that good shows continue to be put on TV, who knows! Pricing usually starts at $60 per month. 
• DIRECTV - DIRECTV is the second of the two big satellite behemoths out there. Picking DIRECTV is an intelligent TV option for people who love sports as it has more sports channels than DISH. The basic channel package is a bit smaller, starting at 150, but it can expand to over 330 channels with the right options. The base price is the exact same as DISH starting at $60. DIRECTV is also owned by AT&T, so they offer discounts on their other services if they are combined. 

Setting Up Satellite TV

Many people are concerned that their satellite dish can’t access the entire sky and will damage the look of their home. In some cases, the dish can be an eyesore, but it’s usually not too bad. Dishes have continued to become much smaller than they used to be. Many of the original dishes were 16 feet wide and needed their own dedicated spaces to turn. Modern dishes are much smaller and don’t necessarily need to be installed on top of a house. The one requirement for setting up your satellite is having a clear line of sight to the sky. If there’s places in the backyard that fit that requirement, then that’s good enough! Dishes should be set up with adequate support to ensure that they aren’t knocked around by high winds. A stable base is best. 

One fun thing about satellite TV services is that you can access them from anywhere. If you choose to get a portable satellite receiver you can actually take it with you as you travel. This can make the evenings of a camping trip more enjoyable. Sitting by a roaring fire as the kids watch their favorite movies (or you sneak on the game you just couldn’t miss) makes for a wonderful experience. 

Satellite Internet

Most people enjoy bundling TV and internet packages together. In many regions, you can bundle satellite TV together from DISH or DIRECTVwith traditional internet through the big providers like Verizon, Xfinity, AT&T, Frontier, Spectrum, etc.  

There’s also the ability to use the internet provided directly from satellites. Viasat and HughesNet are the two main satellite internet services that can be signed up for. These do allow for direct internet use through satellites. Why don’t satellite TV companies take advantage of their equipment to do the same? Quite simply, it’s not as good, so most people won’t choose it. 

Direct satellite internet suffers from ‘latency’ issues. Latency is essentially the time it takes for a signal to bounce back and forth from a computer and a server. Since the signal is purely transmitted through the air, there’s more chances for interruption. Satellite internet is best used in rural areas that don’t have high speed internet lines already installed. It can provide excellent download speeds at times and is good for streaming services. However, upload speeds can be disappointing to say the least.