WHAT EQUIPMENT IS IN THE SUBSCRIBERS HOME?
Each household subscribing to the service has a small antenna on its roof (about the size of an open newspaper) and a downconverter inside. The downconverter usually includes an addressable decoder and a VHF/UHF tuner built in. This gives it the ability to tune in broadcast channels without having to use up valuable MMDS channels. It also allows pay-per-view services and simplifies channel blocking and premium channel activation/deactivation. Also, the subscriber will need a UHF and/or VHF antenna if they want to receive broadcast channels. Recently, a new converter has been introduced that will send all channels out of the converter at once. This means that you can use your TV’s and your VCR’s built in tuner instead of having to have seperate boxes for each. This new technology is (hopefully) going to be integrated into Wireless Cable converters as well as the traditional cable boxes.
