It’s the latest Genie Remote, but you probably don’t need it yet. The DIRECTV Genie Remote has been the standard for several years now. It started as the RC70 remote which was originally used only for DIRECTV-ready televisions. The RC71 or RC72 come standard with all DIRECTV HR44 Genies and Genie Mini Clients. The Genie Remote wasn’t very popular at first, but most folks now agree that even though it’s lacking a few convenient buttons, it’s got a great layout for one-hand operation and is easier to use for most DIRECTV users.
The thing is, if you’re one of the “latest-and-greatest” folks sitting at home with an RC71 model remote, you might be panicking with news of an RC73 remote now available from DIRECTV. I’m here to put your mind at ease: You’re just fine with what you have. There is one, and precisely one, difference between previous DIRECTV Genie Remotes and the RC73: the RC73 will control the 2015 LG DIRECTV-Ready TVs. If you have such a TV, that’s the only reason you’d want the remote. Of course, those TVs can also be controlled with the remote that comes with the TV or with LG’s app, but if you’re really interested in using the same style of remote in every room that has DIRECTV, you’ll need an RC73.
As for the rest of us… no need to change.
One thing about the Genie Remotes, though… when they were first presented, early adopters were told that the remotes were field-upgradeable so that you wouldn’t need a new remote to get new codes, Unfortunately that hasn’t panned out, and it’s not clear whether it was a hardware issue or whether the capability was removed to save money. The RC72 remote did improve on the RC71 by adding a few new codes and fixing certain issues with lower-priced TVs but the RC73 doesn’t have any those additional changes. It does have all the same fixes as the RC72, though.
When you order a Genie Remote from Solid Signal, we do not guarantee a specific model, but if you have a definite need for RC72 or RC73 remotes, be sure to call our tech line at 888-233-7563 and we’ll make sure you get exactly what you need!
