Our marine customers love DIRECTV. What’s not to love? Satellite TV is a great value for boaters. It’s a lot less expensive than satellite internet and gives you hundreds of channels of live TV. Our marine customers often have two questions, though, and while they’re easy to answer, the answers may not be what you expect.
Question 1: What’s the best satellite receive to use?
There are two kinds of DIRECTV accounts: commercial and residential. Boaters who have their vessels in their own names are considered residential accounts. Boaters who put their boat in the name of a corporation are considered commercial customers. Even if you’re just doing it for tax reasons, putting the boat in a corporation’s name means a commercial account. It’s not really a big deal, and most of the programming packages are about the same price. It does make a difference as to the receiver you use.
Residential customers get DIRECTV’s H24 receiver. This is an older model, but it still does all the things you expect. Residential customers can also get DVR and even the most current Genie 2 system if they want, but most folks want something simple they can use to watch TV in the evenings.
Commercial customers get the H44 Commercial receiver. It runs a little faster, it’s a little larger, but it’s a workhorse. Some customers prefer the smaller H25 receiver, just because it fits in smaller spaces. Some marine customers prefer the H24 Commercial receiver because it can be configured to run on 220-240 volt power. That brings up the second question.
Question 2: Will this receiver work with my boat’s power?
The answer is almost always yes, but you may need to do something extra.
If your boat has standard US outlets, there’s no problem, your DIRECTV equipment will work with them.
If you have GB or EU outlets, you can get an H24 receiver from us. Then if you buy a power cord or adapter that works with those outlets, it works just fine.
For customers with H25 or H44 receivers, you will need an inverter. If you tend to only use your equipment for an hour here or there, then a travel adapter of the sort you use for a hair dryer will work fine. If you use the equipment all day, you may want to look into something more serious.
Both the H25 and H44 use the same external power supply, which does not adapt to 220 volt power. However, if you choose to use a power supply that supplies the same 10 watts of power using the same plug, it will work just fine.
Get the advice you need from Signal Connect
Signal Connect has done more marine satellite activations than anyone else in the world. We’re #1 in customer service and we have experts who specialize in marine satellite TV. If you have a question, need a new receiver, or need any sort of help with your account, call us! The number is 888-233-7563. We’re here during East Coast business hours. If it’s after hours, fill out the form below. We’ll get back to you, usually within one business day.
