Satellite Lingo & Abreviations
Antenna - Satellite Dish
BUD - Big Ugly Dish
LNB - Low Noise Block converter
LNBF - LNB Feedhorn - Direct broadcast satellite (DBS) and many Ku (FSS) dishes use an LNBF, which integrates the antenna's feedhorn with the LNB. Small diplexers are often used to distribute the resulting IF signal (usually 950 to 1450MHz) "piggybacked" in the same cable TV wire that carries lower-frequency terrestrial television from an outdoor antenna. Another diplexer then separates the signals to the receiver of the TV set, and the IRD of the DBS set-top box.
MUX - A group of channels on same frequency
Bouquet - A group of channels on same frequency
L.O. Frequency - Local Oscillator Frequency (C-band = 5150, Ku Linear = 10750, Ku Circular = 11250)
Rain Fade - When rain or snow affect the satellite signal. Also called attenuation.
PID - Packet Identifier
PCR - Packet Clock Rate
Polarization - The physical orientation of the waveform from the satellite. R/L are right and left 'circular' rotation similar to a corkscrew. H/V are horizontal/vertical similar to a fishing line cast either overhand or sidearm.
Symbol Rate (SR) - Size of the digital package transmission
SKEW - Rotation (Clockwise / Anti-Clockwise) of the LNB or LNBF
DVB - Digital Video Broadcast. Video standard used by Dish Network, Bell ExpressVu, PowerVu, and MPEG2 free-to-air.
DSS - Digital Satellite System. Video standard used by Direct TV.
Digicipher 2 - Encryption system and video standard created by Motorola. Used by StarChoice, 4DTV, and Digicipher 2 free-to-air (not the same as MPEG2 FTA).
DL Freq. - Delivery Frequency / Downlink Frequency
DBS - Digital Broadcast Satellite
MPEG II - Moving Picture Experts Group II, A system for compression of digital data
TP - Transponder
IRD - Integrated Receiver Decoder
VC - Virtual Channel
VC II+ - VideoCipher II + decoder
RF - Radio Frequency
EPG - Electronic Program Guide
MHz - Abbreviation for MegaHertz
GHz - Abbreviation for GegaHertz
DiSEqC - Digital Satellite Equipment Control
NTSC - National Television Standards Committee. TV standard used in North America, Japan, and most of Latin America.
PAL - Phase Alternating Line. TV standard used in most parts of the world, including Asia, Europe, and Australia.
SECAM - Another TV standard used primarily in France and Russia.
Bird A satellite
FSS - Fixed Satellite Service. Satellite service intended for commercial applications, such as transmitting feeds from an uplink facility to a downlink facility where it can then be processed for other uses. With few exceptions, FSS transmissions are usually not intended for consumers directly.
BSS - Broadcast Satellite Service. Also called DBS (Direct Broadcast Service). This is a satellite service that is uplinked for the specific purpose of reception directly by consumers. This includes XM/Sirius Radio, Direct TV, Bell ExpressVu, StarChoice, and Dish Network. StarChoice, though a BSS service, actually operates in the FSS portion of Ku-Band.
P-Band - 200-1000 MHz satellite band used for amateur DXing and weather satellite use. 200 MHz is the lowest satellite frequency possible because frequencies lower than that bounce off the ionosphere.
L-Band - 1000-1500 MHz satellite band. Most commonly used for Radionavigation (GPS) and weather satellite use.
S-Band - 2310-2690 MHz frequency. The 2310-2360 MHz portion is used for XM and Sirius Radio. The higher portion (2500-2690 MHz) is allocated for DBS television service; but due to the small size of the spectrum, it has not been used.
C-Band - 3700-4100 MHz (downlink) and 5925-6945 MHz (uplink) Frequency. Also the general name used for the big dish. Used mainly for commercial purposes: linking feeds to network affiliates and cable systems. Most of these are not intended for general use but you can subscribe to them and many of them are not encrypted.
X-Band - 7250-7750 MHz (downlink) and 7900-8400 (uplink) frequency. Used for military purposes.
Ku-Band (FSS) - stands for "kurz-under". The 10.7-12.2 GHz (downlink) and 12.7-14.5 GHz (uplink) portion of the satellite frequency spectrum. In North America, this portion of the Ku spectrum requires a linear LNB.
Ku-Band (BSS) - 12.2-12.7 (downlink) and 12.7-14.5 GHz (uplink). Used for Direct TV, BEV, and Dish Network. This portion of the Ku spectrum requires a circular LNB.
Ka-Band - stands for "kurz-above". Frequency 17.7-20.2 GHz (downlink). Will soon be the standard for broadband internet via satellite and may even become useful for DBS at some point in the future.
V-Band - Frequency 47.2-275 GHz. V-band is actually a generic term for the several FSS bands that exist in that huge portion of the spectrum.
SCPC - Single Channel Per Carrier
MCPC - Multi Channel Per Carrier
FTA - Free To Air, Non-encrypted channel (digital)
ITC - In The Clear, Non-scrambled channel (analog)
Open - In The Clear or Free To Air
Scrambled - Analog video has been manipulated so that it is not intelligible.
Encrypted - Digital Video and/or Audio have been encoded and require special keys or processes to make it visible.
Closed - Encrypted or Scrambled channel
Conditional Access - System in which access to a particular channel requires unit (box) information and channel tier information before decryption can take place. Used by Dish Net/BEV receivers and CAM-equipped FTA receivers.
Open Access - System in which access to a provider's entire network is accomplished by entering the public and parity keys. Used by the popular Fortec and Pansat receivers, as well as DVB-S cards.
CAM - Conditional Access Module. With Dish/BEV receivers, it is built-in. With FTA receivers such as Dreambox, it is a removable unit. CAMs process the information from the smart card and allow the receiver to decrypt channel information.
Smart Card - A credit-card sized card with a microchip containing decryption information. A smart card is read by a CAM.
CI Slot - Commmon Interface Slot, CAM is inserted in this
Elevation - The Up/Down positioning of the satellite dish
Azimuth - The Left/Right positioning of the satellite dish
Direction - Also called Azimuth
Composite Video - Phono (RCA) Video
IR - Infra-Red
UHF - Ultra High Frequency
Pizza Dish - Generic name for the small dish
Cable on a stick - Another name for the small dish
Clarke Belt Another name for the satellite belt. Named after its discoverer, Arthur C. Clarke
Wild Feed - Show that is not yet scheduled to air. (Meant for station affiliates only.) Note: Never call trouble number on the screen it's for TV stations only! (If they know you can see it, they may move it!) Also, you will probably see "dead Air." (black screen) This is where the TV stations insert thier local commercials
Back Haul - Live Feed / Up link feed (E.G. Sporting events, News , Etc.) (Meant for station affiliates only.) Note: Never call trouble number on the screen it's for TV stations only! (If they know you can see it, they may move it!.)
Clean Feed - No commercials (Back hauls usually) E.G. Watch the Zambonie clean
the ice.
DAVE - Digital Audio Video Entertainment. Also known as Direct TV.
DISH Network - Digital Information Sky Highway Network
Charlie - Charlie Ergen, DISH Network CEO. Also known as Dish Network
BEV - Bell ExpressVu
*C - Star Choice
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BIN A file in a BINary format suitable for flashing a ROM
BB - Blackbird
ECM - Electronic Counter Measure
FLASHED Software program that reads the TSOP bin and makes changes in specific locations such as; the IRD number, Box Keys, Bootstrap etc.
FIRMWARE - Software in the TSOP that allows the receiver to run.
TSOP - Thin Small Outline Package (The memory chip within the receiver, which contains the software to run it
JKEYS - Software used to read a receiver's box keys
JTAG - Joint Team Action Group. A device made of five resistors and a DB-25 connector that allows the receiver to communicate with a computer. (JTAG is used to read from or write to the receiver's TSOP)
LOOPED A card that has lost its ATR (Answer to Reset)
NAG - An on screen error message
SOFTWARE FIX - A software upgrade that gets around a NAG or ECM
BOX KEYS - Secret keys that are in each receiver's firmware that identify the particular reciever.
BOOTSTRAP - Code that allows the receiver to power up and access the programming on the TSOP.
CLONING Changing the IRD number, box keys, bootstrap etc. in a receiver's TSOP to match another.
NAGRA 1&2 - Nagravision encryption (Dish Netwok & ExpressVu systems)
P4 & P5 - Videoguard encryption (Direct TV, Sky Mexico systems)
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Linear Mode
