PrimeStar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
PrimeStar was a U.S. direct broadcast satellite broadcasting company formed in 1991 by a consortium of cable television system operators. PrimeStar was the first medium-powered DBS system in the United States but slowly declined in popularity with the arrival of DirecTV in 1994 and Dish Network in 1996.
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[edit] Technology
PrimeStar was a medium-powered DBS-style system utilizing FSS technology that used a larger 3-foot (91 cm) satellite dish to receive signals.
Broadcast using digital technology, the system used the DigiCipher 1 system for conditional access control and video compression. The video format was MPEG-2.[1]
PrimeStar was owned by a consortium of cable television companies who leased equipment to subscribers through the local cable company.
The company was in the process of converting to a high powered DBS platform when it was purchased and shut down by DirecTV. The Tempo-1 and Tempo-2 DBS satellites acquired by PrimeStar from the defunct ASkyB were renamed DirecTV-5 and DirecTV-6, respectively.
[edit] History
The system initially launched using medium-powered FSS satellites that were facing obsolescence with the onset of high-powered DBS and its much smaller, eighteen inch satellite dishes. In a move to convert the platform to DBS, PrimeStar bid for the 110-degree satellite location that was eventually awarded to a never-launched direct broadcast satellite service by MCI and News Corporation called ASkyB.
The ASkyB company sold the incomplete Tempo 1 and Tempo 2 DBS satellites to PrimeStar in the process of going out of business.[2] Primestar launched Tempo-2 in 1997 but it was not used for many years. PrimeStar stored the other satellite, Tempo-1, until the company and the two satellites were purchased by DirecTV.[3] DirecTV eventually launched the Tempo 1 satellite after years of delays as the DirecTV-5 satellite in 2002.[4]
PrimeStar Partners sold its assets to Hughes (parent company of DirecTV) in 1999 and all subscribers were converted to the DirecTV platform. The PrimeStar brand was eliminated.
The Tempo 1 and Tempo 2 satellites were renamed DirecTV-5 and DirecTV-6, respectively, and moved to several locations serve DirecTV customers. Tempo 1 (DirecTV-5), eventually suffered numerous failures and has been moved to a graveyard orbit.[5]
The company that was awarded the 110-degree slot, ASkyB, eventually became defunct and the license for the 110-degree satellite location was resold to EchoStar, the parent company of DISH Network.
[edit] Use of old equipment
Old PrimeStar satellite dishes are popular among hobbyists for free-to-air (FTA) satellite broadcasts on the Ku band transponders of FSS satellites.
The dishes are also popular for wireless computer networking as high-gain Wi-Fi antennas. The antennas are also used by amateur (ham) radio operators to transmit two-way amateur television.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.coolstf.com/mpeg/ PrimeStar digital video information
- ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1997_June_11/ai_19491382 ASkyB Sells Assets to PrimeStar
- ^ http://space.skyrocket.de/index_frame.htm?http://www.skyrocket.de/space/doc_sdat/tempo.htm Tempo 1 and Tempo 2 satellite information
- ^ http://www.spaceflightnow.com/proton/dtv5/ Launch of DirecTV-5 (former Tempo-1)
- ^ http://space.skyrocket.de/index_frame.htm?http://www.skyrocket.de/space/doc_sdat/tempo.htm Tempo 1/2 details including junk orbit status.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
- AlphaStar, a defunct satellite broadcaster that also used medium-powered FSS satellites and larger dishes.
- DirecTV, a direct competitor using high-powered DBS satellites and smaller dishes.
- Dish Network, a direct competitor using high-powered DBS satellites and smaller dishes.
- Star Choice, a Canadian broadcaster using medium-powered FSS satellites and larger dishes.
- Bell ExpressVu, a Canadian broadcaster using high-powered DBS satellites and smaller dishes.
- Free to Air
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