How does DirectTV broadcast local channels?

[jras20]

How does Direct TV broadcast local channels? All the Austin stations look OK but KTBC looks horrible. The Audio is bad also. I'm about to go back to antenna, I don't have direct HD, but all the other channels look good. Who would I contact about this Channel 7 or direct tv?

 

[Sammi Brie]

How does Direct TV broadcast local channels?  All the Austin stations look OK but KTBC looks horrible.  The Audio is bad also.  I'm about to go back to antenna,  I don't have direct HD, but all the other channels look good.  Who would I contact about this Channel 7 or direct tv?

DirecTV.

Satellite companies usually have a "point of presence" or POP, where they keep equipment to receive the local channels. From there they are sent to uplink centers and beamed to the sat. Often they are on "spot beam" transponders that allow reception of the channels in their local areas only.

I knew some people who hacked DirecTV for NFL Sunday Ticket. They got the Phoenix locals, Chicago locals, and anything else on that particular bird. One time they got "TU" (which I believe to be Tucson but could be Tulsa) and "RC" (they watched "RC6"'s newscast – it was WTVR RiChmond, VA). This was before popular use of spot beams. Don't know what DirecTV does now in that regard. Dish Network is an extensive user of spot beams to reuse transponder frequencies.

 

[fredcantu]

Back to your question. Contact the station directly for any reception issues OTA, cable or satellite.

 

[ShawnHill1]

To piggyback on Raymie's comments...DirecTV receives the signals via a fiber link, and in many markets, the point-of-presence is based at a TV market in each market. I forget where I saw this list, there was a site listing locations in each market where where the local stations in each respective market were uplinked for both Dish Network and DirecTV. In my hometown of Rockford, Illinois, I recognized the address of the local CBS affiliate, WIFR, as the uplink point for the area TV stations.

 

[coyoteaz]

Assuming it hasn't moved, DirecTV's receive site for Austin is off SH71 just west of the airport. Dallas is at the Infomart, Houston is at KPRC, and San Antonio is about a mile SW of the airport.

I would complain to DirecTV, and also contact the station and let them know about the problems. If you know anyone else who also has DirecTV, check and see if they have the same problems to make sure it isn't something with your equipment.

 

[wrsg915fm]

Here in West Virginia, my parents are STILL waiting for locals to appear on DirecTV. Allegedly, they should have been able to sign up last November, but nothing yet has happened. Dish has provided the option for locals since last summer. My parents don't have cable as an option, and they lost the OTA ability with the digital transition (signals don't travel well up the 'hollers'). Even though I live on a hill, my house is situated in a slight bowl, with trees and buildings blocking any acceptable signals. I had a local radio engineer help me fiind said signals. You should have seen us trooping all over my back yard, hoisting a large antenna on a 20-foot pole. We couldn't lock on any signals, no matter how hard we tried. Again, for us, Dish Network was our only option.

My cable company pulled up stakes last February, again due to low subscriber numbers, a long-neglected, decrepit physical plant and again the conversion factor. Dish has been a lifesaver for us. We get five locals, three of which come from one station (CBS, FOX, ABC), plus one NBC and one PBS outlet each.