In case you’re curious, the item in the picture is the DIRECTV L14 receiver. It’s smaller than a Genie Mini Client. You’ve never heard of an L14? There’s no reason you would have. It’s used in Latin America for standard definition service and isn’t sold at all in the US. There are a few of them here, all found in DIRECTV’s El Segundo CA skunk works, and your intrepid author is lucky enough to have seen one. You’re even less likely to see one now that DIRECTV US isn’t affiliated at all with the satellite operations in Latin America with the same name.
Why is any of this important anyway?
The L14 won’t work with your US DIRECTV service, but we’re sometimes asked by those who travel if we can get equipment for DIRECTV service in Puerto Rico, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, or Mexico. The answer is always no.
It’s not that we don’t want to, honest. it’s that we can’t. In order to be sold in the US, all electronic equipment must be FCC approved. It’s an expensive process and there is no reason for equipment to be certified if it’s not going to be used here. So, no certification equals no sale.
Adding to that, we’re not dealers for any of those other operations. DIRECTV’s Latin American operation was sold off during the AT&T days. At this point the Latin American operation uses some of the same equipment, some similar equipment, and the DIRECTV name. Those are the only things it has in common with DIRECTV US. In order for us to offer those things, we’d need to be dealers. Those operations in Latin America only operate there, and Solid Signal doesn’t have an office in Latin America.
What can be done if someone wants satellite service from other countries?
We do offer a number of satellite dishes that can be used overseas for marine use, and once the dish is installed, you won’t have a problem picking up a receiver to use it. In some cases (depends on the service you choose) you can disconnect a US receiver when you get close to another country and hook up one of their receivers. You’ll need to work with a local company that can provide the receivers. Depending on what you choose, the wiring may be different as well.
If you choose to go to Europe, things get even messier. Every country operates its own satellite services in its own way. It’s very common in Europe for the government to operate the satellite TV service. The receivers are only available to those people who pay taxes.
But, that’s up to you to negotiate. At Signal Connect, we do more satellite activations than anyone else in the world. We can help you with the dish itself and with the wiring. We can even help you find an installer in the US port you’re in. But unfortunately, when it comes to other places in the world we are a bit limited.
Let us help you with your US satellite needs. We can also help you with internet, cellular, and other services. Give us a call at 888-233-7563 and we’ll tell you more about it! If it’s after hours, no problem! Fill out the form below. We’ll get right back to you.
