The Absurdity of Big Satellite Dishes: A Tale of Nostalgia and Technological Obsolescence

In the 1990s, I was living in an era where satellite TV was all the rage. These massive dishes were everywhere, sitting atop houses and backyards like unwanted ornaments. But even during my heyday in the 1990s, no one I knew who actually had one used it anymore. So, what was the point of them? Well, let's take a trip down memory lane and explore why these big dishes became so ubiquitous in the late '70s and early '80s.

Satellite TV signals were not something that required a paid subscription. Instead, satellite signals were just out there floating around for anyone with the right equipment to catch. These signals were sent out by TV Distributors and were intended for cable TV companies, not regular consumers. The cable companies would receive the signals, combine them into a cable TV package, and then sell that package to you and me at home via wires. However, because of the assumption that it would just be cable companies receiving the TV signals, Distributors didn't bother scrambling them. Inevitably, folks at home figured out that they could just use a big old dish to watch tons of PID TV channels for free. And even folks who weren't trying to get around paying for cable found sight dishes useful, since the only way some people could pick up their free local channels was via satellite.

This was especially true in high-altitude regions where the terrain would block typical TV antennas. In fact, these large satellite dishes became so common in mountainous West Virginia that a common joke was that the big ugly dish was actually the state flower. I just love that. The reason these dishes had to be so big was that they were sent on something called C-Band. This is a frequency range that's lower than what modern satellite TV uses, and their maximum power was also lower due to a rule meant to prevent interference. The longer wavelengths and lower power meant that you needed a big dish to catch these big waves.

Adding to the inconvenience was that these dishes had to be pointed more directly at the satellite itself than modern systems. High-end setups often had a little motor attached to the dish to rotate the dish when you changed channels, but this didn't mean that C-Band dishes were inferior in every way. Believe it or not, the longer wavelengths meant that they were actually more resistant to bad weather than current receivers.

So, how did something that got you a bunch of free content wind up being obsolete? Well, as we'll explore later, it was all about the TV industry's refusal to adapt and their desire to keep making money off consumers. The US government started allowing broadcasters to scramble their signals in 1984, which meant that you now needed to pay for a descrambler to legally watch satellite TV. Needless to say, people were very upset that they now had to pay subscription fees after already spending a ton of money on the dishes themselves.

The first one cost about $36,000 back in 1979, and although prices dropped quickly, it was still a huge investment. There was actually this one guy who ran his own satellite TV business who was so upset that he was able to overpower HBO's signal and insert his own protest message for a few minutes back in 1986. What a legend.

Direct Broadcast Satellite started gaining popularity in the early 1990s, which is when I came around. These services such as Direct TV use the higher frequency KU and Ka bands that can legally be transmitted with higher power, meaning you only need a smaller, cheaper dish. Naturally, this made them much more popular with consumers than those massive old-school dishes, which quickly fell out of favor.

However, C-Band is actually still used for backend TV distribution because of its advantages in bad weather. But as for those old dishes we used to have in our yards, people have repurposed them as everything from long-range Wi-Fi antennas to gazebos to bird baths. If you'll excuse me, I need to go hang my laundry.

In conclusion, the big satellite dishes of yesteryear may seem like a relic of the past, but they played an important role in shaping the way we consume television today. From their early days as a free and accessible alternative to traditional TV to their eventual obsolescence due to technological advancements and industry policies, these massive dishes hold a special place in the hearts of many who grew up watching them.

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"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enif you're old like me you probably remember those big ugly satellite dishes adorning people's backyards they were big enough for a kid to skateboard in but even during my Heyday in the 1990s no one I knew who actually had one used it anymore so what was the point of them whatever happened to them and why were they so absurdly large in the first place back in the late ' 7s and early ' 80s satellite TV was not something that required a paid subscription instead satellite signals were just out there floating around for anyone with the right equipment to catch you see these signals were sent out by TV Distributors and were intended for cable TV companies not regular consumers the cable companies would receive the signals combine them into a cable TV package and then sell that package to you and me at home via wires but because the Assumption was that it would just be cable companies receiving the TV signals Distributors didn't bother scrambling them so inevitably Folks at home figured out you could just use a big old dish to watchh tons of PID TV channels for free and even folks who weren't trying to get around paying for cable found sight dishes useful since the only way some people could pick up their free local channels was via satellite this was especially true in high altitude regions where the terrain would block typical TV antennas in fact these large satellite dishes became so common in mountainous West Virginia that a common joke was that the big ugly dish was actually the state flower I just love that the reason these dishes had to be so big was that these signals were sent on something called cband This is a frequency range that's lower than what modern satellite TV uses and their maximum power was also lower due to a rule meant to prevent interference the longer wavelengths and lower power meant you needed a big dish to catch these big waves adding to the inconvenience was that these dishes had to be pointed more directly at the satellite itself than modern systems so high-end setups often had a little motor attached to the dish to rotate the dish when you change channels but this didn't mean that cand dishes were inferior in every way to the tiny ones we're using now believe it or not the longer wavelengths meant that they were actually more resistant to bad weather than current receivers so how did something that got you a bunch of free content wind up being obsolete we'll tell you right after we thank freshbooks the invoicing and accounting Solution that's built for owners and clients freshbook users save a ton of time and money we're talking 11 hours per week that they used to spend sorting through invoices and financials 94% of freshbook users say it's super easy to get up and running and with award-winning support you're never alone switch to freshbooks today and join over 24 million people who love it try it free for 30 days no credit card required go to freshbooks.com tequ to get started so why are big dishes now basically technological fossils strewn across the landscape getting stuck in tarpits and such well as as you've probably predicted the TV industry wasn't too happy about so many people viewing their content without paying some things never change and starting in 1984 the US government started allowing broadcasters to scramble their signals this meant that you now needed to pay for a descrambler in order to legally watch satellite TV needless to say people were very upset that they now had to pay subscription fees after already spending a ton of money on the dishes themselves because of their bulk these big dishes were expensive the first one cost about $36,000 back in 1979 and although these prices dropped quickly to the point that they were going for 1,500 bucks in 1985 that was still a huge investment there was actually this one guy who ran his own satellite TV business who was so upset that he he was actually able to overpower HBO's signal and insert his own protest message for a few minutes back in 1986 what a legend but this conflict between broadcasters and viewers wouldn't last long as direct broadcast satellite started getting popularity in the early 1990s that's when I came around these are the services such as Direct TV that use the higher frequency KU and Ka bands that can legally be transmitted with higher power meaning you only need a smaller cheaper dish naturally the lower equipment cost made them much more popular with consumers than those massive old school dishes which quickly fell out of favor however cand is actually still still used for backend TV distribution because of its advantages in bad weather but as for those old dishes we used to have in our yards people have repurposed them as everything from long range Wi-Fi antennas to gazebos to bird baths if you'll excuse me I need to go hang my laundry why would I unzip this that would indicate that it's been wet this whole time stupid so thanks for watching guys if you like this video hit like hit subscribe and hit us up in the comment section for your Nostalgia driven suggestions of topics that we should cover in the futureif you're old like me you probably remember those big ugly satellite dishes adorning people's backyards they were big enough for a kid to skateboard in but even during my Heyday in the 1990s no one I knew who actually had one used it anymore so what was the point of them whatever happened to them and why were they so absurdly large in the first place back in the late ' 7s and early ' 80s satellite TV was not something that required a paid subscription instead satellite signals were just out there floating around for anyone with the right equipment to catch you see these signals were sent out by TV Distributors and were intended for cable TV companies not regular consumers the cable companies would receive the signals combine them into a cable TV package and then sell that package to you and me at home via wires but because the Assumption was that it would just be cable companies receiving the TV signals Distributors didn't bother scrambling them so inevitably Folks at home figured out you could just use a big old dish to watchh tons of PID TV channels for free and even folks who weren't trying to get around paying for cable found sight dishes useful since the only way some people could pick up their free local channels was via satellite this was especially true in high altitude regions where the terrain would block typical TV antennas in fact these large satellite dishes became so common in mountainous West Virginia that a common joke was that the big ugly dish was actually the state flower I just love that the reason these dishes had to be so big was that these signals were sent on something called cband This is a frequency range that's lower than what modern satellite TV uses and their maximum power was also lower due to a rule meant to prevent interference the longer wavelengths and lower power meant you needed a big dish to catch these big waves adding to the inconvenience was that these dishes had to be pointed more directly at the satellite itself than modern systems so high-end setups often had a little motor attached to the dish to rotate the dish when you change channels but this didn't mean that cand dishes were inferior in every way to the tiny ones we're using now believe it or not the longer wavelengths meant that they were actually more resistant to bad weather than current receivers so how did something that got you a bunch of free content wind up being obsolete we'll tell you right after we thank freshbooks the invoicing and accounting Solution that's built for owners and clients freshbook users save a ton of time and money we're talking 11 hours per week that they used to spend sorting through invoices and financials 94% of freshbook users say it's super easy to get up and running and with award-winning support you're never alone switch to freshbooks today and join over 24 million people who love it try it free for 30 days no credit card required go to freshbooks.com tequ to get started so why are big dishes now basically technological fossils strewn across the landscape getting stuck in tarpits and such well as as you've probably predicted the TV industry wasn't too happy about so many people viewing their content without paying some things never change and starting in 1984 the US government started allowing broadcasters to scramble their signals this meant that you now needed to pay for a descrambler in order to legally watch satellite TV needless to say people were very upset that they now had to pay subscription fees after already spending a ton of money on the dishes themselves because of their bulk these big dishes were expensive the first one cost about $36,000 back in 1979 and although these prices dropped quickly to the point that they were going for 1,500 bucks in 1985 that was still a huge investment there was actually this one guy who ran his own satellite TV business who was so upset that he he was actually able to overpower HBO's signal and insert his own protest message for a few minutes back in 1986 what a legend but this conflict between broadcasters and viewers wouldn't last long as direct broadcast satellite started getting popularity in the early 1990s that's when I came around these are the services such as Direct TV that use the higher frequency KU and Ka bands that can legally be transmitted with higher power meaning you only need a smaller cheaper dish naturally the lower equipment cost made them much more popular with consumers than those massive old school dishes which quickly fell out of favor however cand is actually still still used for backend TV distribution because of its advantages in bad weather but as for those old dishes we used to have in our yards people have repurposed them as everything from long range Wi-Fi antennas to gazebos to bird baths if you'll excuse me I need to go hang my laundry why would I unzip this that would indicate that it's been wet this whole time stupid so thanks for watching guys if you like this video hit like hit subscribe and hit us up in the comment section for your Nostalgia driven suggestions of topics that we should cover in the future\n"