What is the best satellite receiver for businesses?

Satellite TV for business is going strong! Streaming may be taking a bite out of the home market, but there’s really only one way to get great live TV if you’re in a bar, restaurant, hotel or other business. It’s pay-TV or nothing, and based with the choice of using the cable company or satellite, most businesses choose satellite. It’s a much better value and more reliable, too.

Which satellite service should you choose?

For most companies I recommend DIRECTV. They have the best program selection and the best sports. That’s important for a bar or restaurant. It’s true that DISH has a DVR with higher capacity but that doesn’t matter for commercial customers. Generally speaking you can’t use a DVR in a commercial setting. It has to do with copyright and public viewing and a lot of other legal stuff.

What’s the best DIRECTV solution?

For a smaller setup, I recommend the H25 commercial receiver.  It is smaller and lighter than any other DIRECTV satellite receiver and uses less energy. It can be controlled using a tablet or phone, or using the included remote.

The H25 receiver is a very reliable way to get satellite TV to any television. It even supports older tube televisions if you still have any of those. All you need is a special cable.

With an H25 receiver, you have a simple solution that can be scaled up as high as you need it to be. DIRECTV’s technology will allow you to run over 100 receivers off a single dish if you need to. Chances are you won’t, but it’s always nice to know there’s an option.

Another option: COM3000

There’s a new way to use DIRECTV in a commercial setting. What you see above you is the COM3000 commercial headend system. It’s a device about the size of an old-school VCR that can handle up to 160 channels of DIRECTV programming. It’s compact, quick, and reliable. The system is small enough that it can fit in a closet. You can customize it so you have just the channels you want. For example a bar or restaurant could have 32 channels so that they can cover all the sports action at once. You pick what channels you want and you don’t pay for the channels you don’t want.

Wiring for a headend system is a lot simpler, too. A single line runs like Christmas tree lights past each television. If the TV is designed for commercial use, you don’t need any additional hardware. If you’re buying your TVs at the club store you’ll need a small adapter box supplied by Solid Signal.

One of the big benefits of COM3000 is futureproofing. This is the only DIRECTV system that can handle large-scale 4K. There isn’t much 4K programming today, but if the NFL ever gets its act together, you can bet there will be a ton of it. Every bar will want it, too. With COM3000 you’ll be ready when it comes.

The best people to call for commercial satellite TV

No one does more commercial satellite TV than Signal Connect, the corporate arm of Solid Signal. Sure, you can shop for the parts you need at SolidSignal.com, but if you really want top-notch service, give the experts a call at 888-233-7563. They’re ready to get you set up with everything you need!

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.