Television Broadcasting by Synchronous Satellite

Extract

In 1962 and 1963, the two Telstar experimental satellites were launched demonstrating the feasibility of transmitting television pictures by satellite link. Since this time, the Early Bird satellite (launched in 1965) and, subsequently, the Intelsat II satellites have demonstrated that point-to-point relay of television using synchronous satellites is an economic and a practical proposition for operational use. Many satellite systems have also been considered for television distribution between continents or between countries in a continent, or even within a country. Such satellites are Intelsat III, Intelsat IV, CETS-ESRO satellites and the Franco-German Symphonie satellites. The use of satellites for television distribution in this way solves only one small part of the television distributors problems. The largest problem is that of ensuring a good ground coverage of the broadcasting signals so that the percentage of homes which can receive television without complex aerials or amplifying equipment approaches 100%.