Ah, the venerable H25. Built between 2010 and 2012, this workhorse continues to serve mobile, marine, and commercial customers to this day. Although you would think that it had long ago given up every secret it had, there are still questions every day about this long-popular DIRECTV receiver. Recently, our staff was asked if they could have five remotes controlling one receiver. Turns out the customer just kept losing remotes and wanted to stash extras everywhere to make sure it didn’t keep happening.
How the H25 is different from other DIRECTV boxes
The H25 was DIRECTV’s last standalone receiver. Shortly after it was released, the company moved over to the Genie technology that’s used by most residential customer today. With Genie, there’s one central box that does all the recording and other hard work. The tiny client boxes don’t receive satellite signals at all. They talk exclusively to the Genie DVR or server.
The H25 has everything it needs for satellite reception in that little box. You don’t need to use a server… it connects straight to the dish. You do need a SWM-enabled dish or multiswitch, but since that tech’s been around since 2009 that’s not much of a problem. The fact that it works without a separate box is the reason people use it in stores, boats, RVs, garages, and anywhere that they just want to watch TV without a lot of extra “stuff.”
There’s one more way that the H25 is different from newer devices. While Genie devices can have unlimited RF remotes, meaning that you can aim the remote and shoot through walls, H25s only allow one RF remote at a time. But, there’s still a way to use multiple remotes if you want to.
Infrared is always an option
DIRECTV’s venerable RC6x remote can be used in RF mode or IR (infrared) mode. Infrared is a basic remote control technology that’s been part of remote controls for almost 50 years. It uses light that’s invisible to the naked eye to send morse-code-like signals to your receiver. While you can’t point through walls or doors, it’s simple and it works.
Best of all for this customer, the RC6x series comes ready to use in infrared mode right out of the box. You can literally have as many of them as you want. If your H25 receiver is set to use infrared instead of RF, just pick up another infrared remote and start using them. There is literally no limit.
One more thing to know
If you have more than one receiver in the same room, you can set them up with different codes so that using a remote won’t accidentally affect the wrong receiver. There are 8 options, meaning that up to 8 boxes can be sitting together and controlled with infrared remotes. The RC6x remote can control four different receivers if you want. You just set it up so that you use the slide switch at the top.
Programming all of this is very easy, and there’s a tutorial to help you do it. No, it’s not brand new. It dates back to the early days of this blog (and it looks it.) Back in those days, we did everything in PDF format so people could print out what they needed, since people didn’t have internet in their pockets. But take a look and you’ll see all the info you need to set up your H25’s remote exactly the way you want.
Advanced-RemoteClick here to download the PDF or look at it fullscreen.
There’s a reason the H25 is still out there. It still works great. Of course, if you are interested in upgrading, or even getting one more H25 to add to the collection, call us! The number is 888-233-7563 and we’re here during East Coast business hours. If it’s after hours, fill out the form below, and we’ll get back to you, usually within one business day.
