THROWBACK THURSDAY: When will DIRECTV stop doing SD?

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Back in 2013 I asked the question for the first time on this blog. Since most SD over-the-air broadcasting ended in 2009, when would DIRECTV stop offering SD-only service to customers.

In truth that train had left the station by then. In 2013, DIRECTV had already stopped activating new accounts for SD service and by 2015 it became increasingly hard to even find an SD receiver to replace a broken one. By 2016 DIRECTV announced that there would be a hard stop to most SD broadcasting: when its satellite at the 119 location was to be turned off in 2019, that would essentially be the end to most SD broadcasting. All SD content that has an HD equivalent would be turned off, all SD-only packages would be converted to HD packages, and all SD-only equipment would stop working.

Except it didn’t happen like that

Count it as just one of the many ways that things didn’t go as expected in the last few years. The 119 satellite is still out there but effectively out of service. There are quite a few standard definition channels at the 101 satellite location, though. Thanks to the lack of 4K content, that satellite location has more than enough capacity to keep those SD channels going indefinitely.

Eventually though, it’s going to happen. SD encoders only last so long, and one has to wonder if they’ll be replaced when they go down. It’s better to be prepared.

Am I overreacting?

There are a few commenters out there in the blogosphere who think I’m making too much of this transition, that I’m some sort of huckster who’s trying to get you to part with your money when, if you just wait long enough, all the HD upgrades will be free. Sorry, that’s just not true. In fact it’s just the opposite — Solid Signal’s technicians can get you futureproof today and in most cases the out-of-pocket cost is small or nonexistent. What I’m trying to do here is make sure people know the story. When the end does get close, the installers will be stretched pretty thin. Believe me, you don’t want to risk being the last person on the list. You want to be ready now. The upgrades are out there. Even better, Solid Signal can give you the same deal or better as you’d get from calling DIRECTV.

In fact, it’s my job to think about these things long ahead of time so that you don’t have to. That way, resources like this blog are available online and easily searchable. So, the millions of people who don’t live and breathe satellite TV can stay informed. I’ve been thinking about it a long time. My only goal is to make sure that occasionally, when you think about it too, you’ll be ready.

If you’re ready for an upgrade, call us at 888-233-7563. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.