DirecTV Band Plans, Frequencies, TIDs and TPNs
Updated 07/25/2021
Tom Speer
The attached Excel workbook shows the four frequency bands used by DirecTV for broadcast. Each band is in a separate tab, with the frequencies arranged in order from top to bottom. The TPN numbers that DirecTV assigns to the 36 MHz (24MHz for Ku band) wide digital channels is shown, as well as the TIDs on each satellite that use that frequency. Each Ka band transponder can carry 6 to 9 HD TV channels through statistical multiplexing of the packetized data stream. The TPN number, used by the Signal Strength display on the receivers, is a reference to a frequency and polarity combination.
The TID number is an index to a table of tuning parameters the STB needs to tune to a transponder. For all but the Ku Band, the TID number corresponds to a physical transponder on the satellite. The Net and TID numbers, taken as a pair, uniquely identify a transponder, its specific orbital position, frequency, polarity, modulation and encoding characteristics, to allow the receivers to tune to it.
The Ku band is where DirecTV started. It presently carries mostly MPEG2 encoded SD channels multiplexed into 24 Mhz wide digital transponder streams. The TID numbers are simply one less than the TPN, and we cannot distinguish physical transponders on the spot beams on the Ku band, except by their beam patterns. The (Net,TID) pair still specifies orbital position, frequency, polarity, modulation and encoding, but there are multiple transponders, with different beam patterns on the same TID number.
The two Ka Bands, and the reverse band are presently where the HD channels are, encoded in MPEG4 format. Some channels on these transponders are MPEG4 encoded, but are only in SD.
The modulation characteristics of each transponder, whether Ka or Ku, is determined by the modulation of the uplink channel. There is no technical reason that the Ku satellites have to stay as MPEG2, except for the population of older SD only receivers with no MPEG4 capabilities. DirecTV has announced that they intend to phase out SD duplicates of HD channels.
In order to reduce maintenance effort for these tables, I am no longer flagging the TIDs that are not carrying any programming. That information is available in the weekly PID count Excel workbook that I am now posting weekly.
Major Changes:
6/22/15 SW2 out of service, D14 TIDs fully defined
6/24/15 More D14 TIDs in service
7/8/15, 7/10/15, 7/15/15, 7/22/15, 7/29/15 More D14 TIDs in service, SW1 losing channels
7/29/15 added tab for RDBS frequencies
8/5/15: Most of the TIDs for SW1 have been removed from the system. The remaining ones were loaded up. Some D14 spots were moved back to SW1
11/08/15 Added TPN and TID for RDBS band.
12/03/15 Corrected a long standing error in the frequency of the transponders on D5 @ 110. The LNB for that orbital position uses a different LOF, so we were miscalculating the actual frequency.
4/12/17 Activated National Transponders on D14
8/8/18 Updated information for Reverse Band transponders and added reconfigured SW2 to the Ka-Hi Band Plan
10/4/18 D15 replaced D8 at 101
01/23/19 Updated Ka-Hi chart at 103
09/19/19 Updated to remove D4S, add T16, and show D15 back at 103, D9S role has changed. Also corrected frequencies on Kalo band (B-band)
11/21/20 substituted D8 for D7S at 119 (Net 3)
07/24/21 Eliminated G3C@95W and D5@110 from active transponders. Showed D15 capable of providing TPNs 1 to 24,and 124 to 137 at 103W