Direct TV : How Direct TV Works : Direct TV Program Source

Direct TV Program Source

Content for Direct TV comes from 2 different types of sources: there are national providers such as HBO, ESPN and CNN and the local channels like NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS and Fox affiliates in particular areas.

The national channels typically also provide content for cable TV systems as well as satellite Systems, while local channels typically broadcast via normal television antennas in the local area.

National channels use distribution centers to send their programs to broadcasters via distribution satellites.

Local stations typically don’t transmit their programming via satellite so local channels usually come via a direct cable feed or a normal television receiver in the area acting as a repeater to send the signal back to the broadcaster like Direct TV.

These of the National & Local channels are then combined into a single digital stream which before it is compressed contains about 270 mega-bits per second (Mbps) for each channel. Due to the huge amount of data once all the channels are combined the broadcaster then must compress the stream using very advanced compression technology.