Satellite TV Canada

Satellite TV Canada market has two direct-to-home satellite television (DTH) providers, Star Choice and Bell ExpressVu. These companies offer great value for money when compared to some of the high costs and limited choices available at Canadian cable television market.

Also, DTH is the only way to get high-definition television (HDTV) in Canada.

Of the two companies, Bell ExpressVu offers hundreds of services in English, French and foreign languages.

Meanwhile, Star Choice offers hundreds of television and radio services through a unique system, capable of dual-satellite reception.

Satellite TV Canada – Bell ExpressVu

Bell ExpressVu was the first Canadian company to be awarded a license to provide a full range of direct-to-home (DTH) satellite entertainment and information to Canadians in all of the country’s regions.

The company has acquired the rights to EchoStar's DTH technology plus the rights to the exclusive use of EchoStar's DISH brand in Canada, which is the other major satellite brand in the U.S.

ExpressVu was launched in 1997 and is owned by BCE Inc., Canada's largest telecommunications company. Launched in September 1997, ExpressVu has signed up over 1.7 million customers.

ExpressVu uses Nimiq, a Canadian satellite to deliver over 200 channels of entertainment, directly to Canadian homes.

Satellite TV Canada – Star Choice

Star Choice was Canada's first direct-to-home satellite television service provider, currently based in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Star Choice uses the Digicipher II digital transmission standard, initially designed for use in the cable television industry. Digicipher II is the standard of choice, for the television industry across North America.

Through the use of Digicipher II technology, the company is able to provide consumers with "first generation signals" for many of its stations, which means unmatched picture quality.

Star Choice also offers the only DTH service in Canada with true Dolby Digital technology.

Star Choice has signed up about 855,000 subscribers for their satellite service.