System and Method for Receiving Broadcast Content on a Mobile Platform During International Travel

• US 20100180299A1
• Filed: 03/19/2010
• Published: 07/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Margis, Paul Anthony, Moyer, Eric P., Girard, Lawrence E., Rilea, Dennis
• Granted Patent: US 8,204,432 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/39
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/28 Adaptation for use in or on aircraft, missiles, satellites, or balloons
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/062 for focusing
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/061 Two dimensional planar arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18508 with satellite system used as relay, i.e. aeronautical mobile satellite service
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/106 for domestic distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/20 Adaptations for transmission via a GHz frequency band, e.g. via satellite

Abstract

A vehicle information system for passenger vehicles, such as automobiles and aircraft, and methods for manufacturing and using same. The vehicle information system includes a multi-regional antenna subsystem and a multi-regional receiver system for receiving viewing content provided by diverse content sources during travel, including international travel. The multi-regional antenna and receiver system provide selected viewing content for distribution throughout the vehicle information system and presentation via one or more passenger interfaces. As the vehicle approaches the coverage region of a selected content source, the vehicle information system automatically reconfigures the multi-regional antenna and receiver system to receive viewing content from the content source without requiring manual adjustment to, or replacement of, the multi-regional antenna subsystem and/or receiver system. Passengers traveling aboard the vehicle thereby can continuously enjoy the viewing content during travel with limited interruption in service and without unwanted travel delays.

Claims

1. A multi-regional receiver system suitable for receiving direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television signals and for providing a plurality of digital channels of DBS television programming, comprising:

a splitter subsystem for receiving the DBS television signals and for selecting a first predetermined DBS television signal and a second predetermined DBS television signal;

a first DBS receiver subsystem for receiving and decoding the first predetermined DBS television signal to provide a first channel of the DBS television programming;

a second DBS receiver subsystem for receiving and decoding the second predetermined DBS television signal to provide a second channel of the DBS television programming;

an encoding subsystem for receiving the first and second channels of the DBS television programming and for providing first and second encoded channels of the DBS television programming; and

a switching subsystem for providing intelligent routing and content control for the first and second encoded channels of the DBS television programming.

2. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 1, wherein said splitter subsystem receives the DBS television signals from a multi-regional antenna system.

3. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 2, wherein said multi-regional antenna system includes at least one hemispherical lens for focusing the DBS television signals, a feedstick system that travels over an exterior surface of said at least one hemispherical lens, and at least one sensor that collects the DBS television signals focused by said at least one hemispherical lens.

4. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 2, wherein said splitter subsystem receives the DBS television signals selected from a group consisting of free-to-air DBS television signals, unencrypted DBS television signals, encrypted DBS television signals, and premium DBS television signals.

5. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 2, wherein said splitter subsystem receives the DBS television signals from said multi-regional antenna system via a down-conversion subsystem, said first DBS receiver subsystem providing operating power to said down-conversion subsystem.

6. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 5, wherein said splitter subsystem receives the DBS television signals as pairs of down-converted DBS television signals and distributes individual down-converted DBS television signals to said first and second DBS receiver subsystems as the first and second predetermined DBS television signals.

7. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 6, wherein said first and second DBS receiver subsystems each decode a suitable polarization of a selected down-converted DBS television signal.

8. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 6, wherein the down-converted DBS television signals comprise L-band signals.

9. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 1, wherein said multi-regional receiver system is coupled with a second multi-regional receiver system with a second splitter subsystem and receives the DBS television signals via the second splitter subsystem even if the second multi-regional receiver system begins to fail.

10. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 9, wherein said multi-regional receiver system selectively provides operating power to the second multi-regional receiver system.

11. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 9, wherein said multi-regional receiver system can disable the second multi-regional receiver system if the second multi-regional receiver system begins to fail and can continue to receive the DBS television signals via the second splitter subsystem when the second multi-regional receiver system is disabled.

12. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 1, wherein said first DBS receiver subsystem provides a first analog channel of the DBS television programming, and wherein said encoding subsystem receives the first analog channel of the DBS television programming and provides the first encoded channel of the DBS television programming as a digital channel.

13. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 1, wherein said first and second DBS receiver subsystems are automatically reconfigurable for use within a selected geographic region.

14. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 1, wherein said first DBS receiver subsystem includes a front end subsystem for receiving the first predetermined DBS television signal as a quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulated satellite signal, a tuning subsystem for tuning said front end subsystem to a predetermined radio frequency for receiving the modulated satellite signal, and a QPSK demodulator system for demodulating the modulated satellite signal to provide the first channel of the DBS television programming.

15. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 14, wherein said front end subsystem comprises an L-band front end subsystem, and wherein said tuning subsystem comprises an L-band tuning subsystem.

16. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 14, wherein the modulated satellite signal comprises a Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) transport stream, and wherein the first channel of the DBS television programming includes MPEG programming content.

17. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 16, wherein the MPEG transport stream and the MPEG programming content are provided in a format selected from a group consisting of a MPEG-1 format, a MPEG-2 format, and a MPEG-4 format.

18. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 1, wherein said encoding subsystem multiplexes the first and second encoded channels of the DBS television programming to form a composite channel of the DBS television programming.

19. The multi-regional receiver system of claim 1, wherein said multi-regional receiver subsystem comprises a modular multi-regional receiver subsystem in which at least one of said splitter subsystem, said first and second DBS receiver subsystem, said encoding subsystem, and said switching subsystem comprise replaceable receiver system modules.

20. A vehicle information system suitable for presenting direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television programming provided via a selected satellite, comprising:

a multi-regional receiver system for receiving DBS television signals and for providing a plurality of digital channels of DBS television programming as characterized in claim 1; and

a distribution subsystem for distributing the digital channels of the DBS television programming to at least one passenger interface.

21. The vehicle information system of claim 20, further comprising:

a multi-regional antenna subsystem for receiving the DBS television signals from the selected satellite in response to antenna status and control data and having an antenna steering system for directing said multi-regional antenna subsystem toward the selected satellite in response to antenna positioning data, said multi-regional antenna subsystem for providing the DBS television signals to said multi-regional receiver system;

an antenna control subsystem that includes at least one for providing the antenna positioning data based upon a comparison of a position of the vehicle information system with a position of the selected satellite; and

an processor-based subsystem for providing the antenna status and control data and the receiver status and control data each being based upon a comparison of the position of the vehicle information system with contour boundary data for a coverage region of the selected satellite based upon a preselected signal strength.

22. A method for receiving direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television signals and for providing a plurality of digital channels of DBS television programming, comprising:

receiving the DBS television signals;

selecting a first predetermined DBS television signal and a second predetermined DBS television signal;

decoding the first predetermined DBS television signal to provide a first channel of the DBS television programming;

decoding the second predetermined DBS television signal to provide a second channel of the DBS television programming;

encoding the first and second channels of the DBS television programming; and

providing intelligent routing and content control for the first and second encoded channels of the DBS television programming.

23. A computer program product for receiving direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television signals and for providing a plurality of digital channels of DBS television programming, the computer program product being encoded on one or more machine-readable storage media and comprising:

instruction for receiving the DBS television signals;

instruction for selecting a first predetermined DBS television signal and a second predetermined DBS television signal;

instruction for decoding the first predetermined DBS television signal to provide a first channel of the DBS television programming;

instruction for decoding the second predetermined DBS television signal to provide a second channel of the DBS television programming;

instruction for encoding the first and second channels of the DBS television programming; and

instruction for providing intelligent routing and content control for the first and second encoded channels of the DBS television programming.

24. A vehicle information system suitable for presenting direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television content provided via a selected satellite, comprising:

a multi-regional antenna subsystem for receiving DBS television content from the selected satellite in response to antenna status and control data and having an antenna steering system for directing said multi-regional antenna subsystem toward the selected satellite in response to antenna positioning data;

an antenna control subsystem that includes at least one for providing the antenna positioning data based upon a comparison of a position of the vehicle information system with a position of the selected satellite;

a multi-regional receiver subsystem having at least one DBS receiver subsystem for receiving the DBS television content from said multi-regional antenna subsystem via an intermediate multiplexer and for providing a plurality of channels of the DBS television content and at least one encoder for encoding the channels of the DBS television content to provide a plurality of channels of encoded DBS television content for presentation in response to receiver status and control data; and

an processor-based subsystem for providing the antenna status and control data and the receiver status and control data each being based upon a comparison of the position of the vehicle information system with contour boundary data for a coverage region of the selected satellite based upon a preselected signal strength.

25. The vehicle information system of claim 24, wherein said processor-based subsystem provides the antenna status and control data to said multi-regional antenna subsystem as the vehicle information system approaches the coverage region.

26. The vehicle information system of claim 24, wherein the antenna status and control data configures said multi-regional antenna subsystem to receive the DBS television content with at least one predetermined reception characteristic.

27. The vehicle information system of claim 26, wherein said at least one predetermined reception characteristic is selected from the group consisting of a signal frequency range and a signal polarization.

28. The vehicle information system of claim 24, wherein said antenna control subsystem continuously provides the antenna positioning data to said multi-regional antenna subsystem.

29. The vehicle information system of claim 24, wherein said processor-based subsystem provides the antenna positioning data to said multi-regional antenna subsystem as the vehicle information system approaches a coverage region associated with the selected satellite.

30. The vehicle information system of claim 24, wherein said antenna control subsystem includes a position system for providing the position of the vehicle information system.

31. The vehicle information system of claim 30, wherein the position system is selected from the group consisting of a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system and an Inertial Reference System (IRS).

32. The vehicle information system of claim 24, wherein said antenna control subsystem receives the position of the selected satellite from said processor-based subsystem.

33. The vehicle information system of claim 24, wherein said antenna control subsystem includes a predictive process for maintaining a pointing accuracy of said multi-regional antenna subsystem.

34. The vehicle information system of claim 33, wherein said predictive process comprises a second-order predictive process for directing said multi-regional antenna subsystem toward the selected satellite based upon rate of position change data when the vehicle information system experiences a high rate of turn.

35. The vehicle information system of claim 24, wherein said processor-based subsystem provides the receiver status and control data to said multi-regional receiver subsystem as the vehicle information system approaches a coverage region associated with the selected satellite.

36. The vehicle information system of claim 24, wherein said processor-based subsystem includes a database system for storing information regarding the selected satellite.

37. The vehicle information system of claim 36, wherein said database system stores information regarding a plurality of satellites.

38. The vehicle information system of claim 36, wherein said database system includes information regarding the selected satellite selected from the group consisting of the satellite position data, coverage region data, contour boundary data, transponder frequency data, signal polarization data, symbol rate data, video program identification (PID) data, audio program identification (PID) data, electronic program guide (EPG) data, forward error correction (FEC) data, and Program Clock Reference PID (PCR-PID) data.

39. The vehicle information system of claim 24, wherein the preselected signal strength of the contour boundary data is −

48 dBW.

40. The vehicle information system of claim 24, further comprising a down-conversion system for converting the DBS television content provided by said multi-regional receiver subsystem into converted DBS television content having an intermediate frequency, said down-conversion system providing the converted DBS television content to said multi-regional receiver subsystem for processing into the direct broadcast satellite television content.

41. The vehicle information system of claim 40, wherein said down-conversion system converts the DBS television content into the converted DBS television content in response to interface control data provided by said processor-based subsystem based upon said comparison of the position of the vehicle information system with the contour boundary data for the selected satellite.

42. The vehicle information system of claim 41, wherein said processor-based subsystem provides said interface control data to said down-conversion system as the vehicle information system approaches the coverage region for the selected satellite.

43. The vehicle information system of claim 24, wherein said multi-regional receiver subsystem provides the DBS television content to a distribution system.

44. The vehicle information system of claim 24, wherein said multi-regional receiver subsystem comprises a modular multi-regional receiver subsystem in which the at least one DBS receiver subsystem, the intermediate multiplexer, and the at least one encoder comprise replaceable receiver system modules.

45. A vehicle information system for installation aboard a passenger vehicle and for presenting direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television content provided via a selected satellite, comprising:

a vehicle position subsystem for providing a vehicle position of the vehicle;

a multi-regional antenna subsystem for receiving DBS television content from the selected satellite in response to antenna status and control data and having an antenna steering system for directing said multi-regional antenna subsystem toward the selected satellite in response to antenna positioning data;

an antenna control subsystem for providing the antenna positioning data based upon a comparison of said vehicle position with a position of the selected satellite;

a down-conversion subsystem for converting the DBS television content provided by said multi-regional receiver subsystem into converted DBS television content having an intermediate frequency in response to interface control data;

a multi-regional receiver subsystem having at least one DBS receiver subsystem for receiving the converted DBS television content from said down-conversion subsystem via an intermediate multiplexer and for providing a plurality of channels of the DBS television content and at least one encoder for encoding the channels of the DBS television content to provide a plurality of channels of encoded DBS television content for presentation in response to receiver status and control data;

a distribution subsystem for distributing the DBS television content to at least one passenger interface subsystem within the vehicle information system; and

an processor-based subsystem for providing the antenna status and control data and the receiver status and control data and having a database system for providing contour boundary data for at least one coverage region associated with a plurality of satellites based upon a preselected signal strength, the antenna status and control data and the receiver status and control data each being based upon a comparison of said vehicle position with the contour boundary data for the selected satellite.

46. The vehicle information system of claim 45, wherein the vehicle information system is disposed aboard an airplane.

47. The vehicle information system of claim 45, wherein said distribution subsystem comprises a wired distribution subsystem.

48. The vehicle information system of claim 47, wherein said wired distribution subsystem supports wired communications having a protocol type selected from the group of protocol standards consisting of Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, and Gigabit Ethernet.

49. The vehicle information system of claim 45, wherein said distribution subsystem comprises a wireless distribution subsystem.

50. The vehicle information system of claim 49, wherein said wireless distribution subsystem supports wireless communications having a protocol type selected from the group of protocol standards consisting of Bluetooth, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), and IEEE 802.11.

51. The vehicle information system of claim 45, wherein said passenger interface subsystem includes at least one video display system selected from the group consisting of an overhead cabin display system, a seatback display system, and a handheld presentation system.

52. The vehicle information system of claim 45, wherein said passenger interface subsystem includes at least one audio presentation system selected from the group consisting of an overhead speaker system, headphones, and a handheld presentation system.

53. An aircraft, comprising:

a fuselage and a plurality of passengers seat arranged within the fuselage; and

a vehicle information system for presenting direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television content provided via a selected satellite, said vehicle information system coupled with said fuselage and comprising;

a vehicle position subsystem for providing a vehicle position of the vehicle;

a multi-regional antenna subsystem for receiving DBS television content from the selected satellite in response to antenna status and control data and having an antenna steering system for directing said multi-regional antenna subsystem toward the selected satellite in response to antenna positioning data;

an antenna control subsystem for providing the antenna positioning data based upon a comparison of said vehicle position with a position of the selected satellite;

a multi-regional receiver subsystem having at least one DBS receiver subsystem for receiving the converted DBS television content from said multi-regional antenna subsystem via an intermediate multiplexer and for providing a plurality of channels of the DBS television content and at least one encoder for encoding the channels of the DBS television content to provide a plurality of channels of encoded DBS television content for presentation in response to receiver status and control data;

a passenger interface subsystem for presenting the DBS television content distributed via a distribution subsystem; and

an processor-based subsystem for providing the antenna status and control data and the receiver status and control data and having a database system for providing contour boundary data for at least one coverage region associated with a plurality of satellites based upon a preselected signal strength, the antenna status and control data and the receiver status and control data each being based upon a comparison of said vehicle position with the contour boundary data for the selected satellite.

54. A method for presenting direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television content provided via a selected satellite, comprising:

providing an information system having a multi-regional antenna subsystem and a multi-regional receiver subsystem;

determining a position of the vehicle information system;

comparing the position of the vehicle information system with a position of the selected satellite to provide antenna positioning data;

comparing the position of the vehicle information system with contour boundary data for the selected satellite to provide antenna status and control data and receiver status and control data, the contour boundary data defining a coverage region of the selected satellite based upon a preselected signal strength;

directing the multi-regional antenna subsystem toward the selected satellite in response to the antenna positioning data;

configuring the multi-regional antenna subsystem to receive DBS television content from the selected satellite in response to the antenna status and control data;

configuring the multi-regional receiver subsystem to process the received DBS television content in response to the receiver status and control data;

receiving the DBS television content via the multi-regional antenna subsystem;

selecting a relevant portion of the DBS television content;

generating a plurality of channels from the selected DBS television content;

encoding the channels to provide a plurality of channels of encoded DBS television content; and

providing the channels of encoded DBS television content for presentation.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein said directing the multi-regional antenna subsystem comprises directing the multi-regional antenna subsystem as the multi-regional antenna subsystem approaches a coverage region associated with the selected satellite.

56. The method of claim 54, wherein said configuring the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes configuring the multi-regional antenna subsystem to receive the DBS television content with at least one predetermined reception characteristic.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein said configuring the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes configuring the multi-regional antenna subsystem to receive the DBS television content with said at least one predetermined reception characteristic being selected from the group consisting of a signal frequency range and a signal polarization.

58. The method of claim 54, wherein said positioning the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes continuously providing the antenna positioning data to the multi-regional antenna subsystem and continuously positioning the multi-regional antenna subsystem.

59. The method of claim 54, wherein said positioning the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes providing the antenna positioning data to the multi-regional antenna subsystem as the multi-regional antenna subsystem approaches a coverage region associated with the selected satellite.

60. The method of claim 54, wherein said positioning the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes maintaining a pointing accuracy of the multi-regional antenna subsystem via a predictive process.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein said maintaining said pointing accuracy of the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes maintaining said pointing accuracy of the multi-regional antenna subsystem via a second-order predictive process for directing the multi-regional antenna subsystem toward the selected satellite based upon rate of position change data when the multi-regional antenna subsystem experiences a high rate of turn.

62. The method of claim 54, wherein said configuring the multi-regional receiver subsystem includes configuring the multi-regional receiver subsystem to process the received DBS television content as the multi-regional receiver subsystem approaches a coverage region associated with the selected satellite.

63. The method of claim 54, further comprising converting the received DBS television content into converted DBS television content having an intermediate frequency and providing the converted DBS television content to the multi-regional receiver subsystem for processing into the direct broadcast satellite television content.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein said converting the received DBS television content includes converting the received DBS television content in response to the antenna status and control data.

65. The method of claim 54, further comprising distributing the DBS television content to at least one passenger interface subsystem.

66. The method of claim 54, wherein said providing the multi-regional antenna subsystem and the multi-regional receiver subsystem includes disposing the multi-regional antenna subsystem and the multi-regional receiver subsystem aboard a vehicle.

67. The method of claim 54, further comprising calibrating the multi-regional antenna subsystem.

68. The method of claim 67, wherein said calibrating the multi-regional antenna subsystem comprises automatically calibrating the multi-regional antenna subsystem.

69. The method of claim 67, wherein said calibrating the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes sampling the DBS television content received from the selected satellite at a plurality of different orientations of the multi-regional antenna subsystem.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein said calibrating the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes sampling the DBS television content at three different orientations of the multi-regional antenna subsystem.

71. The method of claim 69, wherein said calibrating the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes sampling the DBS television content at said different orientations, which are separated by an angular displacement at least ninety degrees.

72. The method of claim 69, wherein said calibrating the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes measuring a signal strength of the DBS television content at each of said orientations of the multi-regional antenna subsystem.

73. A computer program product for presenting direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television content via an information system having a multi-regional antenna subsystem and a multi-regional receiver subsystem for receiving the DBS television content from a selected satellite, the computer program product being encoded on one or more machine-readable storage media and comprising:

instruction for determining a position of the vehicle information system;

instruction for comparing the position of the vehicle information system with a position of the selected satellite to provide antenna positioning data;

instruction for comparing the position of the vehicle information system with contour boundary data for the selected satellite to provide antenna status and control data and receiver status and control data, the contour boundary data defining a coverage region of the selected satellite based upon a preselected signal strength;

instruction for directing the multi-regional antenna subsystem toward the selected satellite in response to the antenna positioning data;

instruction for configuring the multi-regional antenna subsystem to receive DBS television content from the selected satellite in response to the antenna status and control data;

instruction for configuring the multi-regional receiver subsystem to process the received DBS television content in response to the receiver status and control data;

instruction for receiving the DBS television content via the multi-regional antenna subsystem;

instruction for selecting a relevant portion of the DBS television content;

instruction for generating a plurality of channels from the selected DBS television content;

instruction for encoding the channels to provide a plurality of channels of encoded DBS television content; and

instruction for providing the channels of encoded DBS television content for presentation.

74. The computer program product of claim 73, wherein said instruction for directing the multi-regional antenna subsystem comprises instruction for directing the multi-regional antenna subsystem as the multi-regional antenna subsystem approaches a coverage region associated with the selected satellite.

75. The computer program product of claim 73, wherein said instruction for configuring the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes instruction for configuring the multi-regional antenna subsystem to receive the DBS television content with at least one predetermined reception characteristic.

76. The computer program product of claim 75, wherein said instruction for configuring the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes instruction for configuring the multi-regional antenna subsystem to receive the DBS television content with said at least one predetermined reception characteristic being selected from the group consisting of a signal frequency range and a signal polarization.

77. The computer program product of claim 73, wherein said instruction for positioning the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes instruction for continuously providing the antenna positioning data to the multi-regional antenna subsystem and instruction for continuously positioning the multi-regional antenna subsystem.

78. The computer program product of claim 73, wherein said instruction for positioning the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes instruction for providing the antenna positioning data to the multi-regional antenna subsystem as the multi-regional antenna subsystem approaches a coverage region associated with the selected satellite.

79. The computer program product of claim 73, wherein said instruction for positioning the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes instruction for maintaining a pointing accuracy of the multi-regional antenna subsystem via a predictive process.

80. The computer program product of claim 79, wherein said instruction for maintaining said pointing accuracy of the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes instruction for maintaining said pointing accuracy of the multi-regional antenna subsystem via a second-order predictive process for directing the multi-regional antenna subsystem toward the selected satellite based upon rate of position change data when the multi-regional antenna subsystem experiences a high rate of turn.

81. The computer program product of claim 73, wherein said instruction for configuring the multi-regional receiver subsystem includes instruction for configuring the multi-regional receiver subsystem to process the received DBS television content as the multi-regional receiver subsystem approaches a coverage region associated with the selected satellite.

82. The computer program product of claim 73, further comprising instruction for converting the received DBS television content into converted DBS television content having an intermediate frequency and instruction for providing the converted DBS television content to the multi-regional receiver subsystem for processing into the direct broadcast satellite television content.

83. The computer program product of claim 82, wherein said instruction for converting the received DBS television content includes instruction for converting the received DBS television content in response to the antenna status and control data.

84. The computer program product of claim 73, further comprising instruction for distributing the DBS television content to at least one passenger interface subsystem.

85. The computer program product of claim 73, further comprising instruction for calibrating the multi-regional antenna subsystem.

86. The computer program product of claim 85, wherein said instruction for calibrating the multi-regional antenna subsystem comprises instruction for automatically calibrating the multi-regional antenna subsystem.

87. The computer program product of claim 85, wherein said instruction for calibrating the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes instruction for sampling the DBS television content received from the selected satellite at a plurality of different orientations of the multi-regional antenna subsystem.

88. The computer program product of claim 87, wherein said instruction for calibrating the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes instruction for sampling the DBS television content at three different orientations of the multi-regional antenna subsystem.

89. The computer program product of claim 87, wherein said instruction for calibrating the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes instruction for sampling the DBS television content at said different orientations, which are separated by an angular displacement at least ninety degrees.

90. The computer program product of claim 87, wherein said instruction for calibrating the multi-regional antenna subsystem includes instruction for measuring a signal strength of the DBS television content at each of said orientations of the multi-regional antenna subsystem.