Tracvision M1 Out of Date?

Matt DiMauro

Member
Apr 21, 2019
32
East Greenwich Bay, Rhode Island
Boat Info
44 Sedan Bridge 2007
Engines
Cummins QSC 500
Over the summer I had called Direct Tv tiring to set up my Tracvision and Direct TV boxes. After not getting anything accomplished I was told by the rep that this Tracvision technology will be outdated very soon and it's not worth putting all the money into your system to fix it and that it will no longer be used. Is such a thing true? Also, is Tracvision worth the money? If anyone has any information please let me know! The more info helps :)!!
 
I have also been hearing this for a while now going on a couple of years but mine still works fine. My tv guy said that when the satellites play out that will be it but that could be years from now. I think there are two satellites that Trackvision pull from but not really sure. Maybe someone who really knows will chime in then we will all know.......
 
I posed this exact question to the Tracvision rep at the Miami boat show a couple weeks ago. I had a unit in my boat that I removed in transit and never reinstalled because we have cable at our dock.

He said the unit works fine, but that it is only SD, and that unit will never be HD. If you want to pay for Standard Definition, go for it.

Then I talked with the Shakespeare rep about what HD antenna to buy to get over the air HD for free. Sitting halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee we have a decent range of free channels.
 
My M3 system is standard definition and works fine. I keep the service active all year round so I can use it with the DirectTV app on my iPad at the gym in the morning.
But I met a guy at a local transient marina last summer who has the same M3 system. He told me he turned off service every off season and re-activated in the summer for years.
When he called to turn on his service last Spring, DirectTV wouldn’t do it because of his M3 equipment. Not sure if he called KVH though.
 
PO owner had Direct TV with the M3 . It
Did not get all the channels though. We upgraded to KVH TV3 I believe for Dish.
Cost was $3600 installed. Every channel we have at home we get moving on the boat.
Keeps grand kids entertained when needed.
 
The old H21 DTV boxes will not work. You need the H24 (not DVR and not Genie) DTV box for it to work. DTV will send it for free.

I discussed this at length with tracvision. When the DTV stops transmitting the SD channels on their old band you should still be able to receive them on their updated band. I believe Ku. However, you will need the H24 box.

Ken
 
The old H21 DTV boxes will not work. You need the H24 (not DVR and not Genie) DTV box for it to work. DTV will send it for free.

I discussed this at length with tracvision. When the DTV stops transmitting the SD channels on their old band you should still be able to receive them on their updated band. I believe Ku. However, you will need the H24 box.

Ken

Are you saying that if I used an H24 box with my M3 now while me DTV still works, that I will get more channels than I do with the mobile box I’ve been using?
While my DTV works, I don’t get all the channels in the advertised package that I subscribe to.
I’ve always thought that was because those channels are only transmitted in HD and my dome couldn’t receive them.
There’s only a couple that I don’t get, but if I can get them with a different box that cost me nothing it would be a no brainer.
 
we don't spend enough time on the boat to have a tv or satellite.......but we do have experience with satellite tv, both at home, our cabin, and our bus.........we had a kvh when we bought the bus in 2015, but it was outdated so we switched to a DISH system......after owning both dish and direct, dish seems to be the go to satellite system........there are many domes you could mount on your boat, and whether you are picking up eastern arc or western arc, they both work great.........changing arc's is a matter of flipping some dip switches on the dome, and receivers are interchangeable..........using the bus bedroom receiver at the cabin now........same channels as at home (central ohio), and the DISH app for phone or tablet viewing is great............
 
Are you saying that if I used an H24 box with my M3 now while me DTV still works, that I will get more channels than I do with the mobile box I’ve been using?
While my DTV works, I don’t get all the channels in the advertised package that I subscribe to.
I’ve always thought that was because those channels are only transmitted in HD and my dome couldn’t receive them.
There’s only a couple that I don’t get, but if I can get them with a different box that cost me nothing it would be a no brainer.
I have not seen one channel that I get on my HR44 in the house that I don't see on the boat. However, I create a favorites list so I don't see all of the garbage channels.

Ken
 
I have not seen one channel that I get on my HR44 in the house that I don't see on the boat. However, I create a favorites list so I don't see all of the garbage channels.

Ken

HR44?

Do you have the KVH M3 system on your boat?
 
For the KVH non High Def antennas like your M1 you will not receive some of the available Direct TV channels as the antenna does not receive the Ka HDTV frequency band but does receive the Ku frequency band low definition programming.
To get started go to solidsignal.com and get set up with an HR23 receiver with card (the receiver is around $135) and follow their instructions to activate it.
If you have DTV at home then add it as an additional receiver to your home account which will be an additional $7 per month for the programming service.
The HR23 receiver has a digital recorder integrated and works fine on my boat with an even older KVH DV4 dish
Also, when going through the receiver setup on the boat with the KVH antenna you will have to play with the antenna selections to find one that will work.... School of hard knocks....
 
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The old H21 DTV boxes will not work. You need the H24 (not DVR and not Genie) DTV box for it to work. DTV will send it for free
Ken

Called DirectTV. No free H24 box for me.
As usual, the person from DirectTV that I spoke to had no clue what I was talking about when I brought up my KVH system on the boat.
She kept suggesting that they send a technician to my house.
Same for the supervisor I asked to be transferred to.
Not sure which confounded them more.
A. A system on a boat.
B. KVH
 
Over the summer I had called Direct Tv tiring to set up my Tracvision and Direct TV boxes. After not getting anything accomplished I was told by the rep that this Tracvision technology will be outdated very soon and it's not worth putting all the money into your system to fix it and that it will no longer be used. Is such a thing true? Also, is Tracvision worth the money? If anyone has any information please let me know! The more info helps :)!!

After the better part of two days and numerous phone calls I couldn’t get my service set up through Direct TV either 3 years ago. They kept insisting that they needed the address where the service was going to be set up and wanted to make an appointment to come to that address.
Basically, they work off a residential script and can’t grasp the concept of a boat.
I finally got it done by calling KVH. It took the customer service person from KVH a few hours and lots of phone calls but she got it done for me.
She even got it put on my AT&T wireless bill so I got a promotional monthly discount.
 
Called DirectTV. No free H24 box for me.
As usual, the person from DirectTV that I spoke to had no clue what I was talking about when I brought up my KVH system on the boat.
She kept suggesting that they send a technician to my house.
Same for the supervisor I asked to be transferred to.
Not sure which confounded them more.
A. A system on a boat.
B. KVH
Call them and tell them the old box failed.
 
I guess I got lucky when I installed my KVH TV1 four years ago. KVH provided the antenna and the direct tv receiver. After I wired it all up I called Direct Tv to activate it as the third receiver on my home plan. I told him the receiver was connected To a mobile KVH antenna and I gave him the number on the receiver. He walked me through the menu selecting the correct antenna type and selecting the correct satellites to lock on. It went without a hitch and were done in less than 10 minutes.
 

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