Correct, it's DIRECTV's version of local HDTV. Very compressed.
The locals on DirecTV start off as analog, 480 interlaced lines of resolution and has a 4x3 aspect ratio. It's then transfered to a digital format (still containing all the analog visual inferiorities) and is still in 480i, 4x3 and is compressed. It's in no way HDTV, or even "their version of HDTV".
HDTV is digital from start to finish and is either 720p or 1080i and has a 16x9 aspect ratio.
Don't mean to be anal about it, ah well, I guess I do :)