1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to the field of signal processing in a multi-channel communication system. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention refer to processing one or more satellite channels with a scalable satellite receiver system.
2. Background
A growing portion of television programming is broadcast directly to home receivers via satellite. Satellite television provides a wide array of programming and is broadcasted using several frequency bands (e.g., C-band, Ku-band, and Ka-band), where a particular frequency band can be divided into smaller bands of frequencies or channels. A satellite receiver can decode signals in each channel and pass the decoded signal to a television for viewing. Oftentimes, households desire to view a particular program while recording another program with a recording device. Alternatively, some households desire to view two programs simultaneously (e.g., with a picture-in-picture (PIP) function in television receivers and similar devices), while recording a third program with the recording device. In either case, the satellite receiver processes the channels that correspond to the viewer's programs so that users can have flexibility in their television viewing.
Conventional satellite receivers contain a tuner to process each channel within a frequency band (e.g., C-band, Ku-band, and Ka-band). For instance, in the example above where a user desires to view two programs simultaneously while recording a third program, the conventional satellite receiver requires three tuners to process each channel. The tuner selects and down-converts each desired channel to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal, which is suitable for processing and display on a television or computer monitor. Conventional approaches to the design of tuners employ analog components, such as, for example, fixed-frequency filters, mixers, and local oscillators. Consequently, conventional satellite receivers require extensive hardware, including at least one oscillator and one mixer for each tuner, making the receiver costly for some applications. Furthermore, as the channel capacity of a satellite receiver grows, the receiver consumes more power due to the increase in analog components.