If you’re looking to upgrade your DIRECTV system, have we got a treat for you. DIYers can find everything they need to know in the fourth edition of our award-winning white paper, “The Ultimate Guide to Upgrading.” It will give you everything you need including clickable links to parts.
But what if you just want to know if you have the latest and greatest? This tutorial will show you the two LNBs that are in current use for DIRECTV.
For home use: Reverse Band 3
This is the DIRECTV Reverse Band 3 SWM-Enabled LNB. Now in its second version, it’s a compact LNB that fits on all current Slimline dish setups. It will let you get programming from the 99, 101, and 103 dishes. It also supports 4K programming and the increasing number of channels found on DIRECTV’s Reverse Band satellites.
This is the LNB to choose for home users because it will let you support a minimum of 13 tuners and up to 21 tuners in some configurations. That means a Genie 2, or a Genie and 2 HR24s, minimum. (Confused how the number of tuners relates to the number of devices? Here’s a tutorial.)
For businesses or power users: Reverse Band Legacy 5
This meaty LNB is the one that businesses or serious users should consider. It pulls in programming from the 99, 101, 103, and 119 locations. The 119 location is being phased out so that capability isn’t really needed. However, it does let you get 4K programming.
This brawler has six outputs. It does mount on a standard Slimline dish but two of the cables attach on the outside of the arm. It can only be used in conjunction with a multiswitch. The only multiswitch that supports it is the SWM-30. When connected to a single SWM-30, it supplies programming to up to 26 tuners. However, you can connect as many SWM-30 multiswitches as you want for a virtually unlimited setup.
What about all the other LNBs?
All the other LNBs are what AT&T likes to call “deprecated.” This means that they aren’t being made any more and once stock is depleted, they’re gone. This includes all the LNBs for the round dish and any LNB that’s designed for standard-definition-only programming. It also includes all the Slimline LNBs prior to the two above. If the LNB can’t get the Reverse Band, it doesn’t figure in AT&T’s plans. They plan to use the Reverse Band for more and more programming even if 4K doesn’t take off.
If you haven’t upgraded now, this is the perfect time. If you don’t want to upgrade and just want to keep what you have, you should definitely check out the great selection at Solid Signal now. We have some of the last remaining stocks of the older LNBs. You won’t find these anywhere else.
It really does pay to upgrade now if you plan on keeping DIRECTV Satellite for the next 4 years and beyond. As AT&T continues to tighten up its satellite fleet, you’ll see more and more programming move to the reverse band. There’s plenty of capacity there. At one time, this capacity was going to be used for up to 100 national 4K channels, but it is beginning to look like we’ll never see that many.
