So the other day, one of our support reps came to me with this question. My first answer was “no.” My second answer was “Well you really shouldn’t.” The truth is somewhere in the middle, but the most important thing you need to know is that a DIRECTV Genie is really the wrong choice for a device like the KING One Pro.
If you have an RV or go camping, you’ve probably seen these gumdrop-shaped devices. They will self-aim if you put them on a level surface and so it’s easy to watch TV from anywhere. Some of them even work while you’re moving, but they tend to be a little more expensive.
The KING One Pro is one of the best options if you’re looking for portable satellite television. It’s light, it’s inexpensive, and it allows you to use two receivers at the same time. You even get a transparent case which lets you avoid trees and such more easily so your device can get aimed properly.
But, I’ll contend, using a DIRECTV Genie with it is going to cause you to have a very poor experience. And in order to understand why, you need to understand a little bit about the Genie system.
Back in the 2000s when DIRECTV’s business was booming, the biggest complaint was that it often took up to 6 hours to do a single install. Installers hated this because they were paid by the job. Customers hated it because you had a strange person trolling around your house for the better part of a day. So, the company started an initiative which continues to this day. The goal was to look at every aspect of the installation experience and try to make it as quick and painless as possible.
Starting in the late 2010s, this meant that Genie DVRs like the HR54 and Genie 2 got the ability to automatically sense what kind of dish they were connected to. That made things easier and faster during the install. However, it also limited the Genie to using only DIRECTV’s high-definition Slimline series dishes. Most folks were fine with this, since you needed a Slimline dish for HD and 4K anyway. However, customers with mobile and marine dishes found that this was a problem. Devices like the KING One Pro pretend to be plain old 18″ round dishes and that option wasn’t even on the new Genie menus. This meant that for all intents and purposes, you couldn’t use a Genie with a portable dish.
For starters, you’ll need to connect a SWM-30 to your KING One Pro or your Genie won’t work at all.
If you try to do the initial setup of your Genie using your portable dish, you’ll get errors that you can’t get past. The folks at DIRECTV can get a waiver for you to get past those errors if you want. You just have to call the experts at 888-233-7563. But even once you do, you’ll have issues.
First of all, you’ll get constant errors as the Genie tries to get HD and 4K programming. Usually you’ll see an error 771, which means no signal. This is because the Genie can’t see the HD programming. It’s on a satellite the KING One Pro can’t receive signals from. You can hide HD channels using this tutorial, and that will let you watch shows from the one satellite that the KING One Pro can see.
However, you’ll still get constant errors as the Genie starts looking for other programs. You’ll also get errors as the Genie tries to tune to more than two things at once. This will happen even if you’re only watching one thing. The Genie system just expects to see at least 5 channels at once and it will complain a lot if it can’t.
Well first as I said you’d need that SWM-30 as the HR54 won’t work without it. Taking a working Genie from your home system will let you bypass those initial setup errors but it won’t stop the Genie from throwing all sorts of other errors as you try to watch TV.
Really folks you don’t want to try to connect a Genie to a portable dish of any kind. If you have an RV, consider something like the Winegard Trav’ler Pro or KING Phoenix. These devices mount permanently to your RV and give you the full at-home experience. If you’re capable of aiming a dish for yourself, you can also choose an RV Satellite Kit which is basically a home dish on a tripod.
If you aren’t sure of your next steps, why not talk it over with an expert? Solid Signal is the market leader in RV satellite television and we’re here to help! Call 888-233-7563 and you’ll get a tech who will give you all the details. We’re here for you during East Coast business hours. If it’s after hours, fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you quickly!
The post Can you use a DIRECTV Genie with a KING One Pro? appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
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Let’s talk about the KING One Pro for a minute
If you have an RV or go camping, you’ve probably seen these gumdrop-shaped devices. They will self-aim if you put them on a level surface and so it’s easy to watch TV from anywhere. Some of them even work while you’re moving, but they tend to be a little more expensive.
The KING One Pro is one of the best options if you’re looking for portable satellite television. It’s light, it’s inexpensive, and it allows you to use two receivers at the same time. You even get a transparent case which lets you avoid trees and such more easily so your device can get aimed properly.
But, I’ll contend, using a DIRECTV Genie with it is going to cause you to have a very poor experience. And in order to understand why, you need to understand a little bit about the Genie system.
Genies use the latest in easy-setup technology
Back in the 2000s when DIRECTV’s business was booming, the biggest complaint was that it often took up to 6 hours to do a single install. Installers hated this because they were paid by the job. Customers hated it because you had a strange person trolling around your house for the better part of a day. So, the company started an initiative which continues to this day. The goal was to look at every aspect of the installation experience and try to make it as quick and painless as possible.
Starting in the late 2010s, this meant that Genie DVRs like the HR54 and Genie 2 got the ability to automatically sense what kind of dish they were connected to. That made things easier and faster during the install. However, it also limited the Genie to using only DIRECTV’s high-definition Slimline series dishes. Most folks were fine with this, since you needed a Slimline dish for HD and 4K anyway. However, customers with mobile and marine dishes found that this was a problem. Devices like the KING One Pro pretend to be plain old 18″ round dishes and that option wasn’t even on the new Genie menus. This meant that for all intents and purposes, you couldn’t use a Genie with a portable dish.
Yeah but what happens if you do?
For starters, you’ll need to connect a SWM-30 to your KING One Pro or your Genie won’t work at all.
If you try to do the initial setup of your Genie using your portable dish, you’ll get errors that you can’t get past. The folks at DIRECTV can get a waiver for you to get past those errors if you want. You just have to call the experts at 888-233-7563. But even once you do, you’ll have issues.
First of all, you’ll get constant errors as the Genie tries to get HD and 4K programming. Usually you’ll see an error 771, which means no signal. This is because the Genie can’t see the HD programming. It’s on a satellite the KING One Pro can’t receive signals from. You can hide HD channels using this tutorial, and that will let you watch shows from the one satellite that the KING One Pro can see.
However, you’ll still get constant errors as the Genie starts looking for other programs. You’ll also get errors as the Genie tries to tune to more than two things at once. This will happen even if you’re only watching one thing. The Genie system just expects to see at least 5 channels at once and it will complain a lot if it can’t.
What if you just take a working HR54 Genie and connect it to the KING One Pro?
Well first as I said you’d need that SWM-30 as the HR54 won’t work without it. Taking a working Genie from your home system will let you bypass those initial setup errors but it won’t stop the Genie from throwing all sorts of other errors as you try to watch TV.
Really folks you don’t want to try to connect a Genie to a portable dish of any kind. If you have an RV, consider something like the Winegard Trav’ler Pro or KING Phoenix. These devices mount permanently to your RV and give you the full at-home experience. If you’re capable of aiming a dish for yourself, you can also choose an RV Satellite Kit which is basically a home dish on a tripod.
If you aren’t sure of your next steps, why not talk it over with an expert? Solid Signal is the market leader in RV satellite television and we’re here to help! Call 888-233-7563 and you’ll get a tech who will give you all the details. We’re here for you during East Coast business hours. If it’s after hours, fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you quickly!
The post Can you use a DIRECTV Genie with a KING One Pro? appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
Continue reading...
