DVB-S2 is the digital satellite television standard, succeeding the original DVB-S format with more efficient compression and support for higher resolutions, including many HD and some 4K channels. It is the standard most satellite broadcasters in Europe and elsewhere use to deliver channels to a dish mounted on a roof, balcony or wall.
A television that will be connected to a satellite dish needs a built in tuner that supports DVB-S2, since an older DVB-S only tuner cannot decode the newer, more efficient transmissions. Many current channels also use HEVC compression on top of DVB-S2, so a tuner with HEVC support matters for accessing the full channel range, particularly for HD and 4K broadcasts.
Satellite reception details, such as available satellite positions and channel packages, vary considerably by region, so checking what is broadcast locally is worthwhile before relying on satellite as the main source. See our guide to antenna and reception and the entry on DVB-T2 for the terrestrial equivalent.
