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PrimeStar

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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.

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.

Broadcasted 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.

History

The system initially launched using medium-powered FSS satellites that were facing obsolescence with the onset of high-powered Direct Broadcast Satellite 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 eventually became defunct and sold the Tempo 1 and Tempo 2 DBS satellites to PrimeStar.[2] PrimeStar parked the satellites in a storage orbit where they remained, unused, until PrimeStar was eventually purchased by DirecTV.[3]

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 since 1999 to serve DirecTV customers.

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.

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.

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
  1. ^ http://www.coolstf.com/mpeg/ PrimeStar digital video information
  2. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1997_June_11/ai_19491382 ASkyB Sells Assets to PrimeStar
  3. ^ http://space.skyrocket.de/index_frame.htm?http://www.skyrocket.de/space/doc_sdat/tempo.htm Tempo 1 and Tempo 2 satellite information
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