Dish Pointing Basics

To receive DIRECTV broadcast signals, your standard satellite dish must be correctly positioned, which is fairly simple to do yourself using DIRECTV's Dish Pointer below. Or you can download the self-installation guide (PDF format). If you've purchased a DIRECTV multi-satellite system, we highly recommend professional installation.

Determining azimuth and elevation
To aim your dish, you'll need to know your azimuth and elevation coordinates. Azimuth relates to the left-to-right positioning of your dish. Elevation concerns the up-and-down positioning of your dish. Your DIRECTV Receiver is programmed to give you these coordinates and help point your dish. You'll find this in the on-screen Setup Menu, but because menus vary from system to system, check your owner's manual.

If you'd like to determine your azimuth and elevation using the directv.com Dish Pointer, enter your five-digit ZIP code and click "Check."