Commonly referred to as Direct TV, or just DTV but...

What is DirecTV?

DirecTV®, or simply DTV,  has managed to turn itself into the largest digital satellite television service provider in the US, with over 17 million customers nationwide, more than 250 channels of TV programs to choose from, and a turnover of more than 4.59 billion USD for the first quarter of 2008!

DTV was originally founded in 1990 and began operation in 1994 to be the first to provide the nation's first high-power direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service.

DTV has two broadcast centers - one in Castle Rock, Colorado, and one in Los Angeles, California. These transmit digitally compressed programming to five main satellites.

The DirecTV System is the fastest selling consumer electronics product ever.

The equipment consists of a small fixed 18-inch diameter dish antenna to receive its signals; traditionally slightly larger elliptical dishes (18×24-inch) were used.

Today, most new installations use an 18x20-inch antenna to receive signals from three geostationary satellite positions simultaneously. The use of multiple satellite dish systems is becoming more common as both satellite TV service providers are competing to squeeze more programming to deliver more content to their end customers.

The latest DirecTV dishes employ five LNBs for HDTV programming and local channels in selected markets. These systems receive signals from up to 5 separate satellites in both the Ku-band and Ka-band.

The new DirecTV HD channels require an H20/HR20 or H21/HR21 satellite TV receiver; the HR being satellite receivers with a built-in digital video recorder. As of September 2007, viewers must have an MPEG-4 compatible receiver to get the latest HD channels. The new STBs support the ATSC standard (for over-the-air broadcasts) and also include QAM Tuner; however the H21/HR21 does not have an ATSC tuner. In addition, there is HDMI support for HDTVs with an HDMI port.

Present DirecTV operational satellite fleet includes a total of 13 satellites named DirecTV-1, 1R, 4S, 5, 7S, 8, 9S, Spaceway-1, Spaceway-2, 10, 11, 12, and  13.

DirecTV also leases non-DBS FSS transponders for international programming on a fourteenth satellite - named Galaxy 3C and operated by Intelsat.

Details for the respective orbital slots associated with each of these satellites are given below:

Direct TV, DirectTv, DirecTv, or DTV? 

Often misspelled by many as DirectTV, Direct TV, or simply DTV, in reality the company's registered name is DirecTV® 

Get a Free DirecTV Satellite TV System

Check out for the latest bundle offers from DirecTV - including free satellite TV receivers for multiple room installation and free satellite dish installation by a professional. Just visit one of their many online retailers, including Best Buy or Circuit City.

Note: Please note that the DirecTV satellite TV services described in this website are available to customers in the United States only. 

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