DIRECTV Ramps Up Sports Enjoyment as the Official Sponsor of IndyCar Racing

DIRECTV has a long reputation for sports dedication. Their innovative packages, exclusive options and quality programming have earned them a reputation for being the “go to” place for any sports enthusiast. With a longstanding commitment covering sports of all types, from the NBA to March Madness, the NFL, MBA and NHL, it seemed DIRECTV had capped out its efforts to bring new sports programming to customers. That, however, has changed.

In April 2008, DIRECTV inked a deal with IndyCar Racing ensuring exclusive DIRECTV coverage of all IndyCar events, which will be broadcast in full, blazing HD detail. That means that not only will customers get their racing fix from all around the world, but that DIRECTV will enjoy greater branding at all IndyCar events, with new advertisements placed throughout the venues. This stands to increase the already-substantial recognition of the company around the globe.

Officials for IndyCar Racing stated that the deal made sense, because of the high quality programming offered by DIRECTV, as well as the satellite television provider’s reputation for quality service, dedication to sports and more. In addition, the deal ensures unique camera placement for events. For instance, beginning this season, onboard cameras will provide a 360-degree view of the track, broadcasting in full HD.

Why is this significant? What does it do besides help cement DIRECTV’s reputation as an industry leader? First, it provides fans with immediate access to full HD broadcasting of IndyCar racing, an historic first for the industry and for DIRECTV. In addition, it provides fans with the in-depth coverage they crave, unique views of the track to further immerse viewers in the racing experience and much more.

This announcement comes on the heels of the announcement of the new NASCAR HotPass offering through DIRECTV, which provides similar HD coverage for all NASCAR events around the US. In short, both of these offerings help spread the word that DIRECTV is the only home for sports enthusiasts of all stripes. Whether you love the bone-jarring thump of NFL games, the resounding crack of a homerun being hit out of the park, the roar of a racecar engine as it powers around the track, or any other sport, DIRECTV gives you what you need.

The nation’s leading satellite company is able to provide these services due to their newly expanded (and continually expanding) line of satellites. The most recent launch of DIRECTV 11 has increased the company’s capacity to broadcast more than 150 national HD channels, a far cry from the offering that Dish Network brings to the table. With the astounding array of HD channels, HD sports coverage, exclusive packages and innovative new projects, it is no wonder that DIRECTV is the most popular satellite TV provider in the US.

Sign up now to find out why DIRECTV is the HD leader in TV programming and the best bet for any sports lover.

NBA League Pass from DIRECTV

Do you love the thrill of watching your favorite “baller” power down the court? Do you love the “swish” of the net as the ball passes through? If you cannot get enough on-court action, then DIRECTV has the package for you! NBA League Pass offers you the chance to watch every NBA game throughout the year, ensuring your enjoyment and access to the sport you love.

But you may be asking yourself a few questions, such as: What does NBA League Pass provide? Do you have to have an HD TV? What benefits do you receive when you sign up for the package?

Let’s tackle the last question first. What do you get when you sign up for NBA League Pass? First, you get access to up to 40 NBA games per week! That’s a staggering figure, ensuring you get the sports fix that you crave. With that number of games, you’ll be hard pressed to tear yourself away from the programming.

Second, you get incredible online access. NBA League Pass entitles you to watch games online, through your broadband connection, at no additional fee! That means if you’ve maxed out your DVR, have a game showing on the TV and want to catch the score on another game, simply hop online and access your account. You’ll be able to watch what you want, when you want and ensure you get the NBA excitement you enjoy.

Do blackout rules apply to the package? Unfortunately, both national and local blackout rules apply to the package. However, the new GameSearch feature can help you get around the blackouts. What is GameSearch? It operates much the same way that a search engine does, but it works through your receiver. When you are tuned to a game that is blacked out, the program will automatically attempt to find the game on another channel, thus providing you with greater enjoyment and more games to watch.

In addition, numerous games are available in full HD, providing you with the best way to watch the game, besides being there in person. Of course, the games available in HD will vary with day and game, as well as channel and your equipment. If you own older HD equipment (your receiver and dish), HD games will only be broadcast on channels 94 and 95. Newer equipment puts the notation (-1) behind the channel listing for a game broadcast in HD.

As you can see, NBA League Pass is the best choice for any basketball lover. If you just can’t get enough of that on-court energy, team rivalry and the impressive professional players now fielded by many teams, this is the package for you. Get the sports fun that you want and the ability to watch it when you want!

DIRECTV’s Election Mix Channel Delivers Interactive Election Night Coverage

November 4 marks an historic day in American history, and as the excitement builds toward this final day of Election 2008, DIRECTV is creating its own election news buzz with the Election Mix Channel – a new interactive channel that will deliver election night coverage like never before.

The channel, which will replace News Mix channels 102 and 352 that night, will broadcast live feeds from eight networks, as well as a real-time election results blog. This unique channel will keep viewers informed throughout the night about important races from the local to the national level.

Taking a page from DIRECTV’s interactive sports channels, the channel will feature the four broadcast networks along with CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC and alternating feeds of Comedy Central (when they’re airing election coverage) and BBC America all on one screen. Customers with interactive receivers can highlight any one of the eight channels on the screen to hear audio, while selecting any highlighted cell to watch full screen.

Perhaps the most innovative feature of the Election Mix Channel is the interactive blog that will feature live posts with up-to-the-minute information from the night, including results from significant races, the networks’ exit polling data, electoral count projections, noteworthy announcements and quotes from reporters, analysts and the candidates themselves.

The Election Mix service will begin Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT and continue until the end of the broadcast day at 6 a.m. ET/ 3 a.m. PT. The election blog will begin as polls in the East close and network coverage begins, and will continue until the presidential election has concluded.

Election Mix will be available in both standard-definition and HD.

Good Returns, Superior Technology bring DIRECTV Local HD to more American Homes

Not too long ago, DIRECTV was seen as an underdog in the area of television programming providers. Today, they are the leading satellite services provider and boast more subscribers than anyone else.

This was illustrated when DIRECTV’s financial results were released for the second fiscal quarter of 2008. The quarter, which ended on June 30, showed significant increases in income and reductions in operating expenses.

The improved financial report card may have a lot to do with DIRECTV’s nationwide campaign for its high definition (HD) service. The company has been proudly adding customers who are making the switch to the higher-quality high definition programming.

DIRECTV’s HD offerings have also been making news lately. They recently added 30 new high definition channels, bringing the total to more than 130. This is an unprecedented amount of readily available HD programming, which is one of the reasons cable subscribers have been changing over to DIRECTV service in droves. In just the past year, DIRECTV high definition subscribers have more than doubled.

DIRECTV hasn’t just been adding channels, though. They’ve been working on improving the entire high definition experience. Recently it was announced that they will begin broadcasting all high definition programming in MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding. MPEG-4 AVC provides a superior quality picture, and DIRECTV will be the first company in the industry to offer it.

This enhanced technology is just one reason behind DIRECTV’s plan to offer more local HD programming in more markets. DIRECTV’s 2005 agreement with TANDBERG Television for use of the company’s MPEG-4 AVC encoding platform was recently upgraded to include a new solution that allows DIRECTV to dive deeper into the local HD market. The lack of local programming has been cited as a reason many cable subscribers don’t want to make the switch to DIRECTV. This new solution will expand DIRECTV’s local HD programming reach into 121 markets, giving more than 88 percent of American households access to local HD channels through their DIRECTV service.

To assist in this effort, DIRECTV is also planning to launch another satellite next year. Dubbed DIRECTV 12, this satellite will help to provide more than 200 national high definition channels and 1,500 local digital and high definition channels.

Keeping the good news rolling, DIRECTV has also announced that by the end of August, all of their programming will be transmitted in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. This is great news for all home theater enthusiasts who can’t live without surround sound, even for everyday programming.

By the end of 2008, DirecTV has pledged to begin offering movies in 1080p. As far as high definition goes, 1080p is the current gold standard for home television viewing. This change will be a big step up for HD viewers who want the best picture quality they can get.

When you consider the high-quality programming available and DIRECTV’s obvious goal to bring you the best television experience available, it’s easy to see why they are number one. DIRECTV will only continue to grow and improve as time goes on. Eventually it will be nearly impossible to believe that this giant was once the dark horse in the satellite TV race.

Borders Disappear with DIRECTV

It used to be that television was a primarily local affair. Though this might have some nostalgic implications, the fact was that people in remote areas were often unable to get television signals at all. Natural barriers absorbed and distorted signals. In areas and nations with little infrastructure, broadcast signals were never sent out at all.

As technology, particularly in the world of satellite and digital broadcasting, has advanced, news, entertainment and sports have become available to people throughout the world. In fact, the technology that accommodates this has followed the general trend of all technology in recent years in that it has become more and more affordable, making it available to people in even the most economically depressed regions of the world.

Across North America, satellites broadcast information and entertainment, regional, local and international. In areas without phone lines, satellite technology often provides the only viable link to the Internet. In first and third-world countries alike, the sight of satellite dishes pointed at the equatorial sky has become a familiar one and it has helped people maintain a sense of connection with the world and with each other.

In today’s world, news is available from national and international sources to anyone at any time. Sporting events from around the globe are broadcast into homes in the most modern urban centers and in the most remote rainforest regions. As the satellites that broadcast this news and information were launched into orbit, they carried with them a new future where the domination of a few networks over all programming and restricted choices in news, music and other entertainment were forced to give way to a much larger world of possibilities.

Expanding into these new markets has created new opportunities for the providers. Now that it’s possible to do so, they’re able to sell packages such as full-season sports coverage, on-demand programming and devices that record programs for later viewing. Those who rely on television for news no longer have to switch back and forth between channels as technological advances allow several channels to be viewed at once on the same television. This feature is not only useful to those comparing and contrasting news programming, of course, as some sports fans couldn’t stand to miss one second of their favorite games. The ascension of the Internet to a primary means of sharing news and information has presented vendors the opportunity to provide access to the Internet as part of their packages. Music, whose popularity was once determined by radio DJs who decide to play or not to play, is now broadcast 24/7 without interruption and with all genres represented.

The Direct TV Group, known to most consumers as DIRECTV, provides such services to over 17 million Americans and over 5 million clients in Latin America.

For more information about the technology that makes this possible and the packages that have become so popular with customers, visit www.directstartv.com.

How Does Satellite TV Work?

A person clicks on the television and can immediately scroll through potentially hundreds of channels. There is no delay, and no noise from the process. The channels are available without any knowledge or work on the part of the viewer. Simply press “on.” How is that possible?

Through satellite television, of course. Consider the technology that makes this possible. While the viewer is turning on the television, the broadcast station is converting data into microwave signals. These signals are sent up to a satellite. The satellite continually retransmits these microwave signals back to earth. This process alone is remarkable—using microwave signals to broadcast television. Fifty years ago, most people would have never thought this possible. But now we can receive these microwave signals with only a tiny dish.

What happens when the microwaves get back to earth is even more interesting. The waves are collected by a dish, which converts the microwave signals to a receiver. The receiver uses a broadband antenna to collect electromagnetic energy. The signals are converted by the receiver into analog, digital or high definition frequencies. Once the signal is converted, the result can then be displayed on a television screen. Technological advancements to television, including satellite broadcasting, are truly amazing.

Like any budding technological advancement, satellite broadcasting does have its flaws. Natural occurrences, such as rain or heavy cloud cover have the ability to hinder reception. And obstructions, such as tree limbs or buildings, between the dish and the satellite can cause problems with the transmission. These structures can absorb or reflect the microwave signals, block reception. But if the dish is placed with a relatively clear view of the sky, these problems are generally minimal.

Terrestrial interference is the direct interference from other antenna frequencies. This is mainly due to microwave transmissions made by telephone companies. This can cause signal loss, and make it impossible to watch television. Generally speaking, however, this is an infrequent problem.

Despite its flaws, satellite television is a fantastic use of technology, and offers viewers a great way to watch their favorite programming with excellent picture quality and unbeatable special features.

There is little to complain about in regards to the cost, efficiency and amenities available through satellite television. The service and reception is only going to get better as technology improves. Satellite TV is a complex, yet incredible way to enjoy your television viewing experience.