 Offering
over 225 channels, its no wonder why DIRECTV is one of the fastest growing
electronic products since the color television and CDs. DIRECTV uses a
series of high-powered satellites located 22,300 miles above the earth
to deliver into your home a clear digital signal. Programming is made
form the state of the art facilities located in Castle Rock, Colorado
and Los Angeles. At these facilities the signals are encoded, sent to
the satellites, then set to your home in less than two seconds.
No matter what your interests are DIRECTV has your ticket.
Offering over 100 entertainment channels, 55 pay-per view channels, 32
movie channels, more than 30 commercial free digital music channel, and
many more. With new regulations almost half of Americas TV viewers can
now or soon will be able to receive local programming Via DIRECTV.
There are many basic systems that will fulfill your DIRECTV
needs. However, if you're looking for a DIRECTV receiver with a little
extra there are systems that include Tivo or an HDTV tuner.
The DIRECTV Digital recorder, powered by Tivo, offers: digital storage,
pausing live TV, with minimal programming. If you purchase a TiVo with
DIRECTV inside, your monthly service fee is only $4.95. For more information
on TiVo, click here.
To receive HDTV in your home, you can purchase a DIRECTV multi-satellite
system receiver and connect it to a high definition ready television.
An 18-by-20 inch-triple LNB- oval satellite dish and off-air antenna are
necessary in order to receive high-definition programming.
Professional Installation is available. It is recommended
that installation be left to a professional installer. Professional installation
guarantees that your DIRECTV system will get set up quickly and efficiently.
DIRECTV systems come with all the materials needed for proper installation.
Once your system is installed, the activation process is
done through DIRECTV. There are a variety of packages that you can choose
from, or you can customize your viewing needs. For information regarding
activation call 800-DIRECTV or visit them online at www.DIRECTV.com.
It is important to know that DIRECTV systems do not supply antenna wiring.
It is recommend that the highest quality coaxial cable be used to connect
the dish to a DIRECTV receiver.
The proper cable for a DIRECTV system is an RG-6 cable. RG-6 cables are
stronger, longer lasting, and will hold up to the elements.
Below you will find some features and a glossary
of terms that will help you on your purchase of a new DIRECTV system.
Our knowledgeable sales staff at Abt Electronics will be able to answer
any other questions you may have regarding DIRECTV.
Each VCR-size (or smaller) DIRECTV box stores and generates channel guide
information and can be instructed to prepare custom lists of just the
channels you like to follow, for easier surfing. The advanced program
guide (or APG) holds 2 weeks of programming information. This is available
on the HDVR2 DIRECTV Digital recorder.
Set locks and limits on the programming your children can watch. Different
viewing allowances can be programmed for weekdays and the weekend. The
system can be overridden by entering a secret pass number.
Gives you the ability to program your receiver to turn on, tune in a specific
channel, and then turn off again at preset times.
A single button push starts the process to record any program that's being
viewed or is highlighted on the main program guide. The receiver then
sends infrared commands to a VCR to start recording at the proper time.
Lets you sort the current programming guide alphabetically, starting with
any letter you choose, and then access a selection with one-button tuning.
Displays the phone number of the incoming caller on your TV screen if
you subscribe to caller ID service.
Processes 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround sound tracks featured on
some premium and pay-per-view movie presentations. To enjoy this, you
must have a suitable audio-video receiver with a Dolby Digital optical
input and decoding.
On the video front, DIRECTV has been a pioneer in High Definition TV--currently
offering 4 full-time high-definition channels (HBOHD, ShowtimeHD, HDNet,
and a 24-hour Pay-per-view channel) in the 1080i (interlaced) format.
Supplied with the 18x20 inch triple LNB dishes, this device selects signals
coming from different satellite locations as the user tunes in the various
options. One multiswitch works with up to four DIRECTV receivers, each
operating independently.
DIRECTV receivers offer you three easy ways to connect to a TV--with 75-ohm
antenna, composite, and S-Video outputs. The antenna output uses a screw-on
or push-on coaxial cable, just like the line that's feeding from the dish
to the receiver, and gets tuned on your TV set to channel 3 or 4.
DIRECTV uses a variation on MPEG-2--a sophisticated signal compression
and encoding scheme named after the standard-setting Motion Picture Experts
Group. MPEG digitizes the signal (as a bitstream of "on" and
"off" code words) and eliminates redundant information that
repeats from picture frame to picture frame. This efficiency makes it
possible for up to 10 digital channels to squeeze into the same amount
of satellite signal bandwidth that formerly held just one analog channel.
Professional installation guarantees that your DIRECTV® System will
get set up correctly and quickly. Professional installation is especially
recommended with DIRECTV Plus dishes, due to their critical pointing and
more complicated wiring requirements.
The phone connection is necessary in order to relay information back from
your pay-per-view ordering activities to the billing department. Customers
who don't maintain a continuous telephone connection are not authorized
to receive certain sports programming and must call DIRECTV when ordering
pay-per-view offerings.
No antenna wire is supplied with the dish. Purchase only the highest-quality
RG-6 coaxial cable for connecting between the dish and the DIRECTV receiver.
DIRECTV can deliver local programming selectively. Currently they offer
all local channels in 50 major markets with plans to expand to over 90
markets in the near future.
DBS dishes come with either a dual low-noise blocker.. A dual LNB will
allow you to wire the dish to two or more DIRECTV receivers. See DIRECTV
for charges when running a dual LNB.
Ultimate control over your satellite receiver is maintained in the access
smart card. This credit card-size device is supplied with each unit and
contains a microprocessor that provides security and encryption information.
As the gatekeeper of the system, the card must be kept in its slot for
the receiver to operate.
There are a variety of subscriptions to choose from with DIRECTV programming.
These packages begin at $31.99 for more than 110 channels. To see what
viewing package is right for you call DIRECTV or visit their website www.DIRECTV.com
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