Well, today I was told we'll have to wait till early May to get our hands on the first very limited allocations of DIRECTV's AM21 ATSC dual tuner OTA set top box.

Sorry we have a small delay, but DIRECTV wants to be sure this box goes out bug free. And there is a lot going on as this box seamlessly integrates with your HR21 and HR21 PRO. It inserts all of your local HD stations into DIRECTV's advance program guide and shares the same power supply of your existing HD DVR.

The dual tuners permit you to record any two ATSC OTA/MPEG-2/4 satellite channels for the best flexible solutions we all expect.

DIRECTV has permitted a select group of authorized advanced products dealers to place orders today for a first come first served limited allocation of AM21s.

Enjoy!

-Robert

So is your limited allocation not coming until May, or are you getting a few earlier, and your first bigger shipment in May?

As you can tell I am very interested in getting this because I have two HR21s and neither of my TVs have hi def ATSC tuners. (Pre-Ordered a box from your site yesterday).

Beerstalker, ^^ Sorry to say, not likely. We are getting 200 AM21s from DIRECTV's first build and it was hard to get that allocation.

The AM21 has become a popular piece as many folks that even get their locals through the dish still want the independent, PBS and sub-carrier digital channels. Also many folks are pointing OTA directional antennas to pick up more distant digital channels.

-Robert

Robert, Just placed an order. Feel free to bump mine up to #1.

It's been a couple weeks Robert, any new information?

Just placed an order for the AM-21.
I saw the reviews.
Looks like the tuners have plenty of reach.
Having an HR21 installed this week.
Will keep my HR10 hooked up until I can replace the OTA with this sucker.
Like the looks too.
Rest of my HT equipment is black, except for the HR10.
I have high hopes D* can do the install and get everything right.
Will be a first.

Originally, I was wanting an AM21 since I had neither my local CW or ABC station via D* (the ABC affiliate is owned by Lin, which a subsidary of Hell, inc.).

However, now D* has added my local CW in HD and I'm hoping they might come to an agreement with Lin for my ABC affiliate.

At the rate things are going with the delay AM21, I might not need it by the time it's available. I just wish one or the other events would happen soon. I'm tired of having to watch Lost live with all the friggin' commercials.

I live in between the Boston and Providence markets. My zip code puts me in the Providence market, but we prefer the Boston locals and we use our TV's built in tuner to watch those Boston channels. Will the AM21 allow me to pick up and record the Boston channels or will I be stuck with the Providence channels that D* provides?

Robert, May 1st is Thursday, so I was wondering if you have heard any more info on when your shipment is coming in?

Robert, May 1st is Thursday, so I was wondering if you have heard any more info on when your shipment is coming in?

+1:D

The AM21 is now for sale on DirecTV's site. Hope that means Robert will be shipping mine soon.

https://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/mydirectv/cep/myProgrammingKits.jsp

:eek:Over on dbstalk at thread 127372, they show that direcTV orders of the AM21 have already been received (and the price with shipping is only $50)!:eek:

Well I ordered one from DirecTV today, because I had called Value Electronics last week asking about the shipping status and they never called me back (to be fair they sounded very busy and the note to do this probably got lost). I was already on the phone with DirecTV with some billing issues, and I had heard others were already recieving their units so I went ahead and ordered one.

So tonight I called Value Electronics to cancel my order. The gentlemen who answered the phone was very pleasant and helpful. However he said that my unit may have shipped today, if not he will cancel my order before it ships tomorrow. I talked to him briefly and he understood why I was cancelling my order and had no issues with it. He even recognized the fact that DirecTV is selling the units for $50 so I'm actually saving a few dollars (DirecTV doesn't charge shipping, but does charge your local sales tax so it cost me $54 from them). He said that they are somewhat upset with DirecTV because they are charging Value Electronics $50 for the units also, so they have to sell it for more in order to cover their own costs. They were also upset that DirecTV started shipping out their own units before they bothered sending them on to their vendors. I agree this is pretty crappy on DirecTV's part.

He said if my unit was already shipped I could just refuse the order and send it back that way. Otherwise I would have to pay to ship it back. To be honest if I end up getting both I will probably just keep it, I have to HR21s but I had figured I didn't really need 2 AM21s since I doubt I will ever need to record more than two local feeds at the same time.

Anyway, long story short, if you pre-ordered it sounds like they will be shipping this week as promised.

OK, as long as they are shipping out the AM21 -- the difference in price is NOT that big a deal (50+statetax vs the 59.99)? I likely will NOT bother with these preorder deals again!

I live in between the Boston and Providence markets. My zip code puts me in the Providence market, but we prefer the Boston locals and we use our TV's built in tuner to watch those Boston channels. Will the AM21 allow me to pick up and record the Boston channels or will I be stuck with the Providence channels that D* provides?

The am21 will show any channel that you can pick up a strong enough ota signal for.

I recieved my AM21 from DirecTV yesterday and set it up last night. It is very easy to set up. You unplug the power wire from the HR21, plug in the usb cable, plug in a power jumper from the AM21 to the HR21, and then plug the old power cable from the wall into the AM21.

It will then ask if you want to set up the over the air tuner. You say yes, and it asks you to enter your zip code. It will automatically copy the zip code you have entered in your HR21 if you have it set. The unit will then download the list of local stations you should get, and add them to your guide. You can then edit the stations and remove any stations that do not come in, or if there are duplicates.

If you can recieve signals from other markets you can also enter in a second zip code to try to get those channels also. For example I live in Peoria, IL so my first zip code is mine in Peoria, and setting it up allows me to get all of my Peoria locals. But with my antenna I can also recieve some of the local channels out of the Rock Island, IL area. So I entered in the zip code for Rock Island and those channels were added to my guide also. My antenna only pics up about half of the channels that are available in Rock Island, so then I just went into the settings and told it to hide the Rock Island channels I could not recieve (This is in a seperate place under antenna setup, I'm not just customizing my custom channel listings).

I am very happy with the unit.

Ordered mine thru Directv at 4:00PM yesterday, received it at 9:30AM this morning. Works great!!

Well, I am STILL awaiting my PRE-ORDERED one from **************** (called and they said it should have been shipped by one of their regional affiliates?)! Do you think it will arrive before another North Texas storm? I like to watch the radar on one of those dash channels that I used to get with my OTA.

I'm also waiting on my preorder form VE. They charged my card on Wednesday so I figured it would have been here. Any news Robert on the status of our orders? :)

:eek:Along with a UPS tracking number (from Syracuse, NY) to North Texas.:D

And there is a lot going on as this box seamlessly integrates with your HR21 and HR21 PRO.


Just got an HR21. I'm new to this. What's the difference between the HR21 and the HR21 PRO?

Received our AM-21 5/9. Very nice unit, notice a positive difference in reception, our HR-20 broke up alot with CBS in particular.

For me, this integration of the AM-21 has been seamless. Looks good, the HR-21 runs quieter than the HR-20 also.

We received ours through D. Tv. in 2 days.

OK, I must be doing something wrong. I hooked up the new AM21 as described. Upon powering up, there was no automatic configuration screen; I had to go through the menu to get to the antenna setup. I did so and got the local stations listed in the guide (for 29414, Charleston, SC). However, neither of the two tuners acquired any signal as indicated in the signal strength bars. The channels do appear in the guide. Of course, no HD local cannel is tunable under these circumstances.

I am using a raw Comcast feed for the OTA signals. This works perfectly with the ATSC tuner in my Panasonic LCD. I anticipated no issues when I ran the same coax into the AM21, but no such luck.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks

Just got an HR21. I'm new to this. What's the difference between the HR21 and the HR21 PRO?
:eek:What search terms (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=directv+pro+hr21)did you use?:eek:

:eek:What search terms (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=directv+pro+hr21)did you use?:eek:

Hr21. ;)

Thanks.

:DMine arrived and setup went just fine. Now we can watch North Texas live radar on some of the local-* channels!:D

OK, I must be doing something wrong. I hooked up the new AM21 as described. Upon powering up, there was no automatic configuration screen; I had to go through the menu to get to the antenna setup. I did so and got the local stations listed in the guide (for 29414, Charleston, SC). However, neither of the two tuners acquired any signal as indicated in the signal strength bars. The channels do appear in the guide. Of course, no HD local cannel is tunable under these circumstances.

I am using a raw Comcast feed for the OTA signals. This works perfectly with the ATSC tuner in my Panasonic LCD. I anticipated no issues when I ran the same coax into the AM21, but no such luck.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks

Am I reading this right, you are trying to feed a Comcast cable signal into the AM21? That is not going to work. Comcast sends out their stuff as NTSC or QAM not ATSC. The AM21 is only an ATSC tuner, so you have to use an antenna in order to get your local channels.

Your Panasonic LCD probably has a NTSC or QAM tuner in it and that is how it is getting the channels from Comcast.

My AM21 arrived this morning - just as the shipping email from **************** said it would.

It took all of 15 minutes to set up, and would have taken less, if I had remembered to attach the antenna lead at the beginning...

So far, the signal strength for all channels is at least 10% better than it was on the HR 10-250. More importantly, a couple of channels that would not lock with the HR 10-250 (or the tuner in the Philips LCD in the bedroom) are coming in.

With over 20 digital channels in the SF Bay Area, I'm glad to have the capability to receive them again and to take advantage of the alternative content and PBS's time shifting of programming across its additional digital channels.

The SD content that I had a chance to flip through looked slightly cleaner than the Direct TV signals. This evening's HD broadcasts will be a more complete indicator of the picture performance of the AM21, but so far, so good.

The AM21 is now for sale on DirecTV's site. Hope that means Robert will be shipping mine soon.

Do you need to have an HR21 already active on your account to be able to buy the AM21 from directv?

I bought my parents an HR21 for Christmas but didn't hook it up when I learned that they would lose their local channels, so it's still sitting in their closet at the moment.

I clicked on the link you provided and logged into their account and the only item that I can buy from the 'Add Kits and Equipment' list is a Disaster Recovery Kit. Is this because Directv doesn't think they have an HR21?

Can you diplex the antenna signal to the AM21 like you could with the the HR10-250?

Okay, very noobish question here. I've got a 5lnb dish and two HR21s. Why would I want an AM21 attached to either of my HR21s?

Okay, very noobish question here. I've got a 5lnb dish and two HR21s. Why would I want an AM21 attached to either of my HR21s?

Hi Desides,

Your question is quite valid.

The purpose of adding and AM21 is to be able to receive over the air (OTA) digital broadcast signals via a separate antenna. Thes are the digital equivalent of the analog local broadcasts that we used to use rooftop antennas or rabbit ears to receive, before DirectTV and Cable became so prevalent.

I wanted this option for these reasons:

1. Several of the local channels that DirectTV transmits are not transmited via their satelites in HD. If the local station is broadcasting directly in HD, a rooftop antenna and the AM21 let me receive those broadcasts in HD.

2. Generally, locally broadcast transmissions are less compressed than the signals from DirectTV's satelite, so an OTA HD transmission of a ballgame typically provides a slightly better picture. (You have to be a litte obsessed to notice the difference, but if you are, you'll be happier watching the OTA version)

3. Many local stations actually broadcast 2 or more stations simultaneously (i.e. 7.1, 7.2, 7.3). My PBS stations have 3-5, and the other locals have 2-3. They usually show different programing on the different stations. This gives me the ability to catch a show that I may have missed earlier, and makes it more likely that I'll find something I want to watch, when I have time to watch.

4. If there are satelite interuptions, I can still watch the OTA broadcasts.

These may or may not be valid reasons for you to look at an AM21, and there are probably several others. However, the key to whether there is any value to an AM21 for anyone, is whether or not they can receive any digital OTA channels in their area.

You can go to a site www.antennaweb.org, and check what is even available in your area OTA. Then you can check the distance and see if you think any of those stations will come in for you. You can also check with your neighbors to see if any are receiving any OTA broadcasts. One indicator will be to look for houses in your area which have a dish, and a shiny new rooftop antenna, since people don't generally put up a new rooftop antenna if they already have a dish - unless they are trying to get OTA signals.

Good luck

Dave

We really like the weather channels we get out here in 5-2 and 7-3. We need the OTA antenna to get them. ;)

Not only does it allow you to tune into the channels (which you may already be able to do if you have a TV with an ATSC tuner), but it also integrates these channels into your on screen program guide, and allows you to record them on your DVR. Instead of having to switch to your TV's tuner and watching your local stations live.

I called up on Tuesday to try to get a free AM-21 (I was supposed to get an HR-20 last October but they brought an HR-21 and wouldn't give me an HR-20, plus my area gets locals but not HD locals so I can't get the national network HD's). The CSR said they couldn't do it for free and there was a 90 day waiting period. I asked to talk with a supervisor, and 45 minutes later I was offered a free AM-21, $10 credit for 6 months, and overnight shipping! I got the AM-21 yesterday, had it up and running in about 10 minutes, and was enjoying crystal-clear local HD broadcasts last night. For those on the fence, this little box is worth every penny (had I actually had to pay anything for it). The only thing that's annoying is that there's no easy way to switch the channel for a recording, you have to delete it in prioritizer and re-add it. That's an HR-21 problem though and has nothing to do with the AM-21.

I called up on Tuesday to try to get a free AM-21 (I was supposed to get an HR-20 last October but they brought an HR-21 and wouldn't give me an HR-20, plus my area gets locals but not HD locals so I can't get the national network HD's). The CSR said they couldn't do it for free and there was a 90 day waiting period. I asked to talk with a supervisor, and 45 minutes later I was offered a free AM-21, $10 credit for 6 months, and overnight shipping! I got the AM-21 yesterday, had it up and running in about 10 minutes, and was enjoying crystal-clear local HD broadcasts last night. For those on the fence, this little box is worth every penny (had I actually had to pay anything for it). The only thing that's annoying is that there's no easy way to switch the channel for a recording, you have to delete it in prioritizer and re-add it. That's an HR-21 problem though and has nothing to do with the AM-21.Hmm... I might give that a try.. I requested an HR20, but got an HR21... I had OTA with my SIR-TS360, and it bugs me to pay for locals, so I'm very interested in the AM21... Nice thing is that the AM21 has two ATSC tuners, whereas (if I read correctly) the HR20 has only one. Even at $50, it's still less than a standalone ATSC tuner (with HD outputs).

They gave me 2 FREE one last week! :eek:

Hmmm, maybe that means a happy customer is worth $50 to D*... :)

I also read that maybe not all local subs are available via satellite, so to see local weather and airport cams (we can watch planes land and depart at DFW) I'd NEED the AM21.

Update:

Well it took 20 minutes, but I got it for $27... That's half-off and since I started out thinking I was going to end up paying $50 anyway, I figured it was a 20 minutes well spent...

Hmm... I might give that a try.. I requested an HR20, but got an HR21... I had OTA with my SIR-TS360, and it bugs me to pay for locals, so I'm very interested in the AM21... Nice thing is that the AM21 has two ATSC tuners, whereas (if I read correctly) the HR20 has only one. Even at $50, it's still less than a standalone ATSC tuner (with HD outputs).

That's incorrect. The HR20 has 2 ATSC tuners. This whole AM21 thing kills me. It isn't enough for DirecTV to save all that money on the HR21 for the 95% of people that don't care they aren't getting a ATSC tuner. They have to make it a hassle/CSR roulette game to get that tuner included for free as part of a HR21 replacement order when they are the ones obsoleting my perfectly good HD Tivos.

Its even worse they called my house unsolicited numerous times offering the free upgrade with no new commitment to get me to upgrade my HD Tivos and assured me I would get HR20s so I wouldn't lose OTA. I call bait and switch.

Thanks for the correction... I knew I posted that somewhere, before I fully understood what the HR20 did... What I've come to learn is that yes, the HR20 has two ATSC tuners, but people think the ones in the AM21 are better... Some of these opinions are based on side-by-side comparison, and the the results are better signal strength on the AM21.

I think if you took the time, you could get the AM21 for free. I really don't think it's a bait and switch, more likely just clueless CSRs... When I called, my CSR never even brought up the AM21 (I was complaining about no antenna input - I knew what I wanted, but I wanted to see what D* would say). After I felt I was getting no where, I brought up the AM21 and THEN she remembered it... Even admitted she forgot about it... I thought for sure it would be free after that, but ended up taking the half-off deal... I think it's worth it, especially compared to buying an ATSC tuner (e.g. from Wal-Mart)... However the other thing I was told is that the AM21 only works if you have the HD package too... So without a DVR and HD, it's useless... There's rumor it will eventually work with the non-DVR H21, but that's not confirmed yet.

Lots of good info here:

What is your experience with the AM21/HR21 combo? (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=132185)

Where can a person get one of these? I'm looking for a reputable business. I looked on the DirecTV web site and these aren't listed.

Also, do this pick up the signal from an OTA antenna or from the dish? Just wondering.

Ve 800 789 5050 :)

I called DirecTV and got one for $25. It's on the way.

I called DirecTV and got one for $25. It's on the way.

I couldn't even find it on the DTV site. Was that a special price because it seems to be going for 50+ everywhere else.

Where can a person get one of these? I'm looking for a reputable business. I looked on the DirecTV web site and these aren't listed. Also, do this pick up the signal from an OTA antenna or from the dish? Just wondering.

you will need an ota antenna to get the signal to the AM-21.

Directv sent me 2 AM-21 for free a couple weeks ago. They had upgraded my 2 HR 10-250 with 2 HR21 and a 5 lnb dish about a month ago. So I called in and asked for 2 AM-21 since directv does not carry my locals in HD yet. The csr transferred me to an "equipment specialist". It took quite a bit of time but eventually he was able to do it. He said his system wouldn't let him order two at a time so he ordered them seperately with two different tracking numbers using standard FedEx overnight. They were easy to hookup and work just fine. Thanks Directv.

I couldn't even find it on the DTV site. Was that a special price because it seems to be going for 50+ everywhere else.

All I did was call them about availability, then asked if they have any deals on them. Then they told me I could get one for half price. I got it in one day, nice setup. I need to upgrade my antenna, but I bought one today that might do the trick.

All I did was call them about availability, then asked if they have any deals on them. Then they told me I could get one for half price. I got it in one day, nice setup. I need to upgrade my antenna, but I bought one today that might do the trick.

Thanks, I'll give it a try and hopefully get a different service rep. The one I talked to told me I could use the DTV conversion coupon and buy one from Best Buy or CS because DTV was not selling them. She even gave me the website and toll free number for the dtv2009.gov site.

Talk about really being wrong.

They should still have those.

Anyone having any playback issues when recording from the AM21? I can record one of the channels we don't get through DirecTV, but there is a lot of break up during DVR playback. When watching it, there is no such playback. Would love to resolve this if there is a way to resolve it.

The AM-21 was listed under my "Add Kits & Equipment" yesterday... now it has disappeared. Anyone know if VE is still selling them?

I was told I could get one for free today then you get transferred and someone else tells you you have to pay $50.

Can you diplex the antenna signal to the AM21 like you could with the the HR10-250?
Did you every get an answer regarding the diplexing question? I had my system installed by VE (I am local to them) six years ago, and had an OTA antenna diplexed to my HR10-250. When the DTV installer come to my residence to install the HR22 last week, he told me he had to disconnect the diplexer because it was not compatible. Thus, if I purchase the AM21, I have no means of attaching it to my rooftop OTA antenna without running a separate wire down the side of my house. I don't think I really want to do that.

Did you every get an answer regarding the diplexing question? I had my system installed by VE (I am local to them) six years ago, and had an OTA antenna diplexed to my HR10-250. When the DTV installer come to my residence to install the HR22 last week, he told me he had to disconnect the diplexer because it was not compatible. Thus, if I purchase the AM21, I have no means of attaching it to my rooftop OTA antenna without running a separate wire down the side of my house. I don't think I really want to do that.

If you put the B-band converters at the output of the multiswitch (using gender changers) instead of plugging them directly into the HR22, you'll be able to diplex your OTA signal (after the B-band converter).

As long as the distance between the B-band converter and the DVR isn't too great (not sure what the maximum distance is) this should work.

Anyone having any playback issues when recording from the AM21? I can record one of the channels we don't get through DirecTV, but there is a lot of break up during DVR playback. When watching it, there is no such playback. Would love to resolve this if there is a way to resolve it.

i have this problem quite consistently.

in general when recording off the am21, my unit becomes somewhat unresponsive to the remote. it takes seems to halt for a second every time it either draws or un-draws the blue time-bar across the bottom of the screen. it generally makes the experience of watching and skipping commercials very annoying and unpleasant.

I used to have the problem, but it went away with a software upgrade a while back.

Does anyone know if the AM-21 actually uses PSIP to map the local digital channels? I'm considering getting one, but I know the older DirecTV receivers (at least the Sony SAT HD-300) use DirecTV data instead of PSIP to map the local digital stations. It's irritating because the D* data is sometimes out of date or otherwise incorrect, with no provision to manually add digital stations.

Although I have an ATSC tuner built into my TV, I would like the AM-21 in order to be able to DVR the local OTA stations, and have them integrated into the D* program guide.

What I can for sure is that the AM21 does not scan...

It does rely on data provided (at least) via D*.

Now what I gather from the dbstalk.com forums is that the list is a "published list" (I forget the name) and it is up to d* to push that list down to the AM21.

If you want the name of the list, head over to dbstalk.com... It has great info on all things satellite and has a VERY active D* forum.

i have this problem quite consistently.

in general when recording off the am21, my unit becomes somewhat unresponsive to the remote. it takes seems to halt for a second every time it either draws or un-draws the blue time-bar across the bottom of the screen. it generally makes the experience of watching and skipping commercials very annoying and unpleasant.I was having all sorts of major stuttering problems... OTA and satellite channels. All the RBRs in the world would not fix it... But I did find a fix...

While the AM-21 was tuned to a channel, I pulled the out USB cable from the back. After it lost the channel, I plugged it back. At this point the DVR was unresponsive to the remote and front panel buttons, but after another RBR my HR21-700 has been working perfectly!

Who knows, it might work for you...

PS. This was before the latest (0x2CA) software push.

To make a long story short, I'm having trouble finding a zip code that has channel 57-1 in it. I've tried so many but no luck.

Is there a list that's available to the public?

For some reason, it disappeared on me about a week and a half ago or so.

Thank you so much, Joe

How is the AM21 working out there in the wild??

My problem is broadcast stations.......D* does not serve my market, although 5 miles away at my old address they did. I also did OTA at my last address, and it was somewhat of a hassle, and now I am further away, not real sure I want to go that way again......

Local cable company who supplies my internet has the digital local channels in the clear on basic cable, will the AM21 tune those?

AM21 is an atsc tuner and does not handle QAM so the cable in the clear option is out...


Which brings up an interesting question... why doesn't D* offer a QAM capable HD tuner to bolster their lack of locals in HD at their competition's (and especially Comcast's at this point) expense? The cable companies are required to service locals in the clear through QAM so many subscribers could piggy back hd locals from cable (while only having something like broadband service) along with their D* service.

What I can for sure is that the AM21 does not scan...
I have found (dfw) that the am-21 needs to be rescanned to get rid of unused and find new channels! Here in DFW the am21 was finding 21-2 which was a surrogate for cbs, and radar on 4-2 that was not valid! It is mysterious that the DirecTV unit returned valid signal levels for these invalid channels?
Redoing antenna setup is REQUIRED to obtain VALID channels for the AM21!
Is this common knowledge?

I just bought an AM-21 from DirecTV because I was fed up with not getting PBS-HD. Well I could get it on my TV but I wanted it integrated into my HR-21 guide so I could record programs. I spent a good deal of time with DTV on the phone trying to get them to send it for free.

After talking to some CSR for about 45 minutes, and even telling her where to navigate to get to the Free AM21 offer on the menu of her CSR computer from a post I found she still wouldn't send it to me for free, because she didn't see where it said it would give me PBS-HD. I said that from looking on the internet it looks like there was plenty of anecdotal information saying that I could indeed get PBS-HD with it. She told me that she needed better information than something found on the internet. I was put on hold several times for her to talk to her supervisor and she still had no clue. I even reminded her that my contract expires in one month, and that getting PBS-HD is important to me, nothing but silence.

So I just broke down and ordered the thing for $50, and it works fine. However I am so peeved that I had to pay for it that I am thinking of selling the thing on eBay in a month and moving to Dish if they don't reimburse me for it. I tried being smooth on the phone about it, now I just want to write them an email saying that I know people have been reimbursed for the unit via an account credit, and that if I am not extended that courtesy I will take my business elsewhere. For the past few years they have given me free Showtime and/or Starz as a "loyal customer gift", I would much rather be reimbursed for the AM21 than get those channels that I never watch.