What you need to do, therefore, in order to receive and understand satellite tv service, is to purchase a decoder or unscrambler so that you get more than just snow and/or crackles on your TV set. This decoder is part of the package that the satellite television providers provide you with when you sign up with them.

Different satellite television providers have different scrambling or encryption methods. So if you think that if you have the decoder for one satellite television provider then you can receive programs from another satellite television provider, then you’re wrong. There are at least nine different encryption methods used.