Abstract: A television signal satellite receiver that, in one embodiment, is capable of utilizing the recording and playback capabilities of a video signal recorder, such as a video cassette recorder (VCR), to back up data contained in the satellite receiver memory and/or to load the memory with data. Typical data to be backed up or loaded into the memory includes satellite position data, which is unique with respect to the location of each satellite receiver and, more specifically, to the location of the antenna associated with the receiver. To back up data, the satellite receiver employs a translator that converts data contained in the satellite receiver memory from a digital format to a video signal format that is appropriate for the video signal recorder. Conversely, to load the memory with data, the translator converts data with the video signal format that is provided by the video signal recorder into a digital signal format that can be loaded into the memory of the satellite receiver.