At its most basic, the DirecTV guide lets you know what's on TV right now. The display lists the channels in the far left column and the shows that are running appear to the right. The shows appear as blocks, almost like stacked bricks. The block continues for the length of time that the show is on, which is why some shows appear with double arrows to the right. This means that the show runs for longer than the amount of time you're currently displaying.
The exact time displays in two ways. First, there is a small cursor above the time listing for shows that moves along the top bar. This shows you visually what the time is, so you can gauge how much time is left in a show. For those who prefer to read, the exact time is displayed digitally in the far left corner in addition to the day of the week that's currently displaying on the guide. The guide can be moved forward up to 48 hours, a half hour at a time, simply by pressing the right arrow on your remote control.
The show that is on the channel to which your unit is tuned displays on your guide in an upper right viewscreen. The information the DirecTV guide provides tells you the name of the show, its production year, whether it's in HD format, the stars, if it's a repeated episode and a brief synopsis of the episode if available.
If the channel you wish to watch is grayed out on the left-hand column, then it's not available for you to view with your tuner. This could be because it's a subscription-only service to which you don't have access or it could be because of local regulations. If, for example, you live on the West Coast, the East Coast feeds will display, but to view them you must have special permission from the local station that permits you to view outside of your standard channels. You can request this by contacting the network directly to request access to an East Coast feed.
Be aware that your DirecTV guide is input from the channel providers. DirecTV has little control over the content. As a result, you may find that some shows appear on the guide, but are not actually playing. Or that your DirecTV system has recorded a show whose content differs from what's in the guide. DirecTV has no control over this; contact the channel directly with questions.