Appendix A: A look at the concept DTH Radio consumer equipment

(Appendix to page ‘Filling the space that Worldspace has left… at least to some extend’)

This section deals with the consumer equipment that makeup the DTH Radio system:

Fixed reception:  The basic and practical setup is a receiver at a fixed location, connected to DTH satellite dish installed on rooftop. The audio line-out of this set-top-box is connected to either a speaker set or a Hi-Fi system.

 If the set top box provided comes with some sort of a an alphanumerical display, it will help do away with dependence on a TV for displaying channel names when switching channels.

One with some hard-disk facility should make it more attractive, enabling the subscriber to record his favorite tracks, and the DTH Radio will double as a kind of ‘music streamer’ (a playback system).

                An indoor FM transmitter is only a desirable that many Worldspace users once wished for – they couldn’t carry the Worldspace radio around within their house. Here the indoor FM transmitter connected to the DTH Radio is purely optional, but since the receiver has to be in a fixed location in the house (being connected to the DTH dish), such an addition, in conjunction with FM radios, is indeed convenient. And such transmitters aren’t difficult to get. 

Portable reception: To be frank, I have no idea of it’s practicability, but I expect the electronically steerable array antenna (that can electronically compensate the inaccuracies in pointing it towards the satellite) to work even when we set up without much technical expertise –  setup by the subscriber himself, like at a picnic spot or a roof top party.

Vehicular reception:In case of DTH Radios in cars, as the antenna has to point to the satellite, and this focus goes off when the cars went passed curves and changed direction, specialized omni-directional antenna are required (to be stuck on its rooftop). It can found in the net that antenna developers such as JAST and RaySat have come up with Ku-band antennae for mobile applications, such as for cars and buses which can be utilized, although the reception may go off when the car goes past tall buildings that block the antenna’s line-of-sight to the satellite

Personal reception: (ie., Walkman and the likes) Not possible.