What does a Direct TV decoder do?

Answer by  usmc96gt (323)

It decodes the incoming radio signal into a usable picture. It is programmed with a specific algorithm for the channels that you are allowed to receive and it will only be able to decode those. They use to require cards that were programmed with that but i believe now it can be done remotely.

Answer by  Deepakck (174)

In a typical tv channel station what happens is they air their shows as digital signals via a satellite , these signals are actually encrypted also to prevent people watching tv with out paying, so a direct v decoder, decode this signals to view the tv shows

Answer by  Christian9247 (5042)

A decoder is nothing more than a TV receiver that picks up the transmitted data, the Direct TV dish receive satellite signals and that is how they are broadcast to your television. You need a decoder because the signals are scrambled and this unscrambles them. This stops pirates from hacking into the signals.

Answer by  cangel818 (981)

This Direct TV Receiver decodes the signals from a satellite. These signals are encrypted so that they cannot be stolen by satellite signals thieves to watch Direct TV for free. The decoder takes these signals and converts them into the program you will watch. Decoders can be simple, or complex DVR's that let you pause, rewind, or record programs.