The quick steps on how to receive satellite feeds on your PC

1. The satellite sends a DVB/MPEG 2-compliant signal.
2. A satellite antenna receives the signal.
3. The antenna is connected to a DVB card in your PC and displays audio and video.
4. Certain cards can also output the video and audio to a television set and sound system.
   

The way a DVB card works is very simple. It fully replaces any receiver that receives DVB/MPEG 2-compliant signal. DVB uses the MPEG-2 standard, meaning that any MPEG signal is almost always DVB. To make this more real to you, go to the Free-to-Air listing on this site.

DVB cards can also be used to receive Viaccess and IrDeto, among others. It will not work with PowerVu or Digicipher2 transmissions. Receiving these signals does not in any way mean you can watch encrypted satellite channels. DVB does not decrypt.

In Europe for example, it is common to use a CAM (conditional Access Module) and insert it in a DVB card, yet if the CAM is not authorized, you will receive only feeds that are not encrypted).

Here is a small list of DVB-type receivers on the market: Echostar receivers for Dishnetwork Bell ExpressVu receivers(same as those used for Dishnetwork) Most Free-to-Air receivers on the market today.

The following are all different flavors of DVB:

DVB-S Satellite
DVB-C Cable (mostly used in Europe)
DVB-T Terrestrial (mostly used in Europe)
DVB-SI Specification for Service Information
DVB-CI Common Interface for conditional access

Noted exceptions:
DirecTV is not DVB compliant. They use the DSS standard, similar to videoguard used in Europe. Echostar and ExpressVu small dish services are DVB-compliant, so this means you can receive their signal from a DVB card, the ones that are not encrypted.