Does DIRECTV require coax cable?

DirecTV is among the leading satellite television services provider companies in the United States that offers more than hundreds of channels in various packages. Since it is a satellite service, many people ask themselves the question whether they need a coax cable for getting DirecTV. The simple answer to the question is yes, it does require coax cable from the satellite dish out side to the DirecTV receiver in side. You may be wondering why coax cable is needed and what is required to get coax installed for DirecTV service?

Why DirecTV Needs Coax Cable Unlike cable television which transmits the signal through the wires that are buried in your neighborhood, satellite television such as DirecTV function through an outdoor dish antenna that points towards satellites situated in geo stationary orbit around the earth. These satellites send out radio signals with the television shows which the dish antenna receives. Since the dish is mounted outside your home and the DirecTV receiver inside the house, the setup requires a physical connection between the two. Coaxial cable, or coax for short, makes this possible in the transmission of the satellite signal that brings the television programs.

The coax cable forms a passage or channel through which the satellite television signals that have been received by the dish are transported to your home and to the DirecTV. In the event you do not have coax laid down from the satellite dish to the receiver, you will not be able to watch any of the programs from DirecTV. If you had the dish perfectly aligned and pointing directly at the satellite beams there would be no mechanism for that signal to get into your house without a physical connection through a coax cable. Thus while the dish serves the purpose of gathering the television signals from the satellites above, coaxial cable is responsible for the equally important role of transmitting the satellite signals to your television.

Getting Coax Cable Installed For DirecTV If your house has never had cable or prior satellite service, then new coax cable will almost always be required before DirecTV can be installed. I have also learnt that the process of installing coax will depend with the type of house you live in.

Coax for homes and other single family dwellings must be installed from an outside area where the satellite dish can be installed to the inside room where your DirecTV receiver and TV are located. The total distance is often below one hundred feet as a rule of thumb. For installations that are below one hundred feet, the most commonly used type of coaxial cable is the RG-6 and it gives the best results. RG-59 cable may also be used for these shorter runs. If previous wiring was done and RG-6 or RG-59 coax wires were installed but not used, then they can be used in some homes without the need for pulling new cables.

Coaxial wiring installation in large homes, apartments, condos, and other multi-dwelling units is more complicated and usually requires a central dish farm to collect the satellites as well as a structured wiring cabinet to address the signal distribution to the specific units. The total wiring lengths may reach three hundred feet in the larger apartment and condo applications. RG-11 coaxial cables are used for the longer MDU conduit distances in this application.

No matter what sort of building you are putting coax in, special equipment and expertise is needed for the cable management, connection and splicing outdoors and indoors all while preserving signal quality. That is why it is highly advisable to hire a specialist to install the new coax for DirecTV instead of doing it yourself. A professional satellite TV or home theatre installer should always possess all the right cabling, components and test equipment for ensuring that your DirecTV coax is well wired for proper function. They will also perform any wall fishing, structural penetration, and surface mounting that might be necessary to provide clean and visually appealing cable runs where necessary in your residence.

What Type Of Coax Is Required For DirecTv? As mentioned earlier, coaxial cable comes in various radio frequency types classified by the RG numbers. The acronym RG followed by a number represents radio guide indicated general type specifications meeting specific radio frequency transmission characteristics. For most residential DirecTV installs, either RG-6 or RG-59 coax will be utilized:For most residential DirecTV installs, either RG-6 or RG-59 coax will be utilized:

RG-6 Coax – This is relatively thick coaxial cable whose diameter is 6mm and is common in most of the contemporary DirecTV systems. Coaxial cable, specifically the RG-6 has been developed to support higher bandwidth transmission signals across various Radio frequencies. It provides better signal strength over a longer distance than RG-59 and delivers the best performance for satellite TV reception in HD and 4K UHD resolutions. RG stands for radio guide and the number just indicates the characteristic parameters of various radio frequencies or bandwidths.

RG-59 Coax – The commonly used RG-59 coaxial cable is slightly thinner at approximately 3. 8mm in thickness and was more frequently employed in earlier generations of satellite systems. It transmits signals effectively through short conduit distances of up to one hundred feet but degrades in longer cable lengths. Though it is acceptable for most DirecTV standard definition programming, its performance is not so sharp with High-Definition channels and is normally not recommended for new installations unless the signal strength meter indicates that the signal strength is at its best.

RG-11 Coax – The 11mm thick coaxial cable may be slightly thicker and more rigid in comparison to other types of coaxial cables making it not suitable for most home installations but is mostly used for multi-dwelling unit DirecTV installations. It is thick enough diameter is used to ensure the signal does not get lost when transmitting through cables that are as long as three hundred feet from a central dish farm to distant apartment units. RG-11 is also used in some commercial applications but is not as common as RG-59 or RG-6.

Key Points to Remember To recap the key facts around DirecTV's coax requirements:To recap the key facts around DirecTV's coax requirements:

• Coaxial cable offers the crucial physical link that enables the satellite television signal to get from the DirecTV dish on the outside to the DirecTV receivers on the inside.

• Satellite television homes have never required satellite service and normally require new coax with distances normally under one hundred foot.

• However, for optimum performance, RG-6 coax is recommended for new DirecTV installations even though RG-59 is often salvageable.

• DirecTV coax cabling should be set up and tested carefully, and professional installers have the skills and tools for this.

  Therefore, to sum up, coaxial cable is a must to transmit DirecTV satellite signals from the dish antennas into the residences and, yes, new customers will always need coax in most cases to make their service functional.