While a huge draw for Direct TV's fifteen and a half million subscribers is the massive amount of quality television programming provided by its hundreds of channels, the great television technology that's provided with every subscription goes a long way toward keeping those subscribers happy and satisfied.

All of Direct TV's programming starts out at transmission stations where if it isn't already in digital television format, it's converted into digital television format. Then all of the programming is encrypted to prevent people who don't subscribe to Direct TV's service from stealing it. Once the programming has been converted and encrypted, it's compressed using either MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 data compression technologies and transmitted up to a fleet of satellites in geosynchronous orbit above the Earth's equator. Those satellites then send all of the programming back down to the Earth's surface where satellite dishes all over North America can pick it up. Those satellite dishes then send the programming to Direct TV's satellite receivers which decompress it, decrypt it, cleanse it of interference, and make it available to display on television screens in a high quality picture that can't be matched by an old fashioned analog television signal that just travels across town.

Along with great programming and a great picture, Direct TV also provides interactive features with all subscriptions. These interactive features include things that will help make hundreds of channels manageable and enhance the enjoyment of the satellite TV experience. The central feature to all of this is the on screen program guide. The on screen program guide provides interactive listings of every program on every channel available from Direct TV. Each listing includes the year the program was made, who stars in it, what it's rated (if applicable), and often comes with a brief summary of the plot. Scrolling through the on screen program guide is a much more efficient way to decide what to watch than surfing through the channels would be, and can even tell you what's available to watch in the future.

Another valuable interactive feature that's included on all of its subscriptions is Parental Control capability. Parental Controls allow you to block inappropriate programming from being accessed by your children. You make the rules for what they can and can't watch based on MPAA ratings, channel, time of day, or even specific TV show. You can also set spending limits on Pay Per View programming. Best of all, you can still watch what you want with the use of your own personal identification number.

Direct TV subscribers can also enjoy access to optional technology. Digital Video Recording is a very popular example of what you can get through Direct TV. With a Digital Video Recorder you can record up to two hundred hours of the TV shows and movies that you want to watch again and again or the programming that you have to see, but can't be at home to watch when it first airs. A Digital Video Recorder is easy to program with the intuitive software supplied by Direct TV and because all of the video is stored on a built in hard disk, you won't have to worry about finding blank video tapes. Plus, because the video is recorded in all digital television format, you'll enjoy the same great high quality picture and sound that you would if you were watching the program directly off of the satellite signal.

With all of this great technology, you can't go wrong with Direct TV.