| Industry | Direct broadcast satellite broadcasting |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired by DirecTV |
| Successor(s) | DirecTV |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Defunct | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Denver, Colorado |
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.
Contents |
Technology [link]
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 originally in analog, they later converted to 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.
History [link]
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[disambiguation needed 
] 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 DirecTV in 1999 and all subscribers were converted to the DirecTV platform. The PrimeStar brand and its FSS broadcast platform was shut down. Meanwhile, Tempo 1 and Tempo 2 satellite remained and were renamed DirecTV-5 and DirecTV-6, respectively, and moved to several locations 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. The 110-degree satellite is now named EchoStar West 110 and is the most commonly used satellite, along with 119 as both can be received with a single wide format parabolic dish, providing signal to North America.
Use of old equipment [link]
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.
References [link]
- ^ https://www.coolstf.com/mpeg/ PrimeStar digital video information
- ^ https://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1997_June_11/ai_19491382 ASkyB Sells Assets to PrimeStar
- ^ https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/tempo.htm Tempo 1 and Tempo 2 satellite information
- ^ https://www.spaceflightnow.com/proton/dtv5/ Launch of DirecTV-5 (former Tempo-1)
External links [link]
See also [link]
- 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.
- Shaw Direct, a Canadian broadcaster using medium-powered FSS satellites and larger dishes.
- Bell TV, a Canadian broadcaster using high-powered DBS satellites and smaller dishes.
- Free to Air
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https://wn.com/PrimeStar
Primestar 500
Two different NASCAR races have been known as the Primestar 500:
Atlanta 500
The Atlanta 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup stock car race that was run each March at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia from 1960 to 2010. The race was the first of two races held at the Atlanta track every season, with the AdvoCare 500, originally the Dixie 500, being the second and run at various times (originally November, later October and currently Labor Day Weekend).
The race was 500.5 miles (805.5 km) in length. In August 2010, Atlanta Motor Speedway announced that they would no longer run the spring race, instead choosing to focus on the Labor Day weekend race at the track beginning in 2011. The end of the Atlanta 500 permitted the addition of a race at Kentucky Speedway starting in 2011.
