Way back in the 1980s, when home satellite TV meant a gigantic dish that took an engineering degree to use, my tech friends and I used to talk about “direct broadcast satellite.” How amazing it would be, we said, if you could use a small dish that anyone could put up, to get 100 channels with no additional aiming. We didn’t know at the time that the dream would be a reality ten years later. Or, that is, most of the dream. Because the way we talked about it, the solution was a dish about a foot in diameter that sat on top of the TV the same way that a “rabbit ears” antenna did back then.
The dream of the “set top dish”
OK, it sounds a little silly by today’s standards. But remember, back then, TVs were big hulking monstrosities that had plenty of room on top to put stuff. Flat screens were 15 years away at least. So my friends and I had that part a little wrong. The idea of a satellite system that was so simple anyone could do it was a good one, though. Early DIRECTV and DISH systems were so simple that anyone with a little bit of DIY skill could put them up and aim them. That’s even how they were sold. Professional installs didn’t come into play until HD television and local channels meant bigger dishes that were hard to aim.
In other parts of the country, easy DIY satellite is still the rule. Go into a home store in Spain, for example, and you’ll find a dish and receiver you can buy outright, bring home, and install yourself in about half an hour. You can use them to get 100% free satellite TV courtesy of the Spanish government. (It’s true, I’ve seen it with my own eyes.)
But a dish that doesn’t need to be installed outside? That’s still a dream that hasn’t come true. And while I hate to break it to 1987 Stuart… it’s probably not going to. Here’s why.
An indoor dish would just be too hard to do
Here’s the simple fact: satellite TV signals are weak. They’re a couple of thousand times weaker than broadcast TV signals. To make matter worse, the frequencies they’re broadcast on do a really bad job going through wood, brick, and other building materials. The traditional solution for a problem like that is to make the antenna bigger, but that’s not an option in my dream scenario. In fact I really want an antenna that’s smaller than the one outside.
There are still two ways this could happen. Note that I said “could” not “will.” Purely hypothetically, you could make the satellites themselves pump out a much more powerful signal on a much lower frequency. This could make them strong enough to be received inside. You could also invest a lot of money in developing new satellite antennas that are thousands of times more sensitive than the ones we have today.
Problem is, neither of those things is going to happen. A much more powerful signal would require a gigantic satellite with massive solar panels. Today’s DIRECTV satellites are already about the size of an RV. I’m talking about one the size of an apartment building. A super-sensitive dish would probably cost the end user $10,000 or more, and I’m telling you right now, that would go over like a lead balloon.
So is there any hope?
Well as an old friend of mine used to say, there are two chances: slim and none, and slim just left. What I’m saying here is that we’re not likely to see that sort of thing happen. I’m not saying it’s impossible. I would have told you today’s cell phones are impossible if you told me about them 40 years ago. Anything is possible if people put enough time, effort, and research into it. But with satellite TV customer rolls shrinking and satellite TV companies fighting to keep costs reasonable, you’re just not going to see R&D at that level right now.
And really, that’s probably ok. Today’s satellite systems work on land, sea, roads, and in the air. They do need pro installation, but once installed, they work without giving anyone any trouble for years and years. And besides, there’s no place on top of a TV to put a satellite dish anyway.
So I’m pretty much telling you that dream’s dead. But I’m also telling you that satellite TV is a dream come true anyway. If you’re looking to get into satellite or upgrade the system you have, call the folks at Solid Signal! We can help you figure out what’s best for you, no matter where you are. We won’t be able to put the dish inside, but we can still work a lot of magic. Don’t believe me? Give us a try! Call 888-233-7563 during East Coast business hours. If it’s after hours, fill out the form below. We’ll get back to you, usually within one business day.
