Install this Monday-HR21 or HR20?

[mdanderson]

My scheduled install is this Monday am. Should I ask for a particular HD DVR or does it really matter? I have all the necessary cables like HDMI and digital coax as well as toslink for the audio. I have one HD TV to hookup and I have an OTA ant that I use to receive local channels. I live in the Dallas,TX area and DirecTV locals are available in my area. Do I have to have the AM21 tuner to record OTA? Also, is the new SWM LNB something I need or is the 5 LNB ok? Thanks for any input.

Matt

 

[joed32]

You will need the AM21 for OTA if you get the HR21 and you probably will. You may have to call Directv and ask for one. They will take care of the dish and connections. I would put my HDMI cable away and see if they provide one because they usually do. That way you will have one to use for a spare or DVD player or Video game, etc.

 

[skottey]

You will need the AM21 for OTA if you get the HR21 and you probably will. You may have to call Directv and ask for one. They will take care of the dish and connections. I would put my HDMI cable away and see if they provide one because they usually do. That way you will have one to use for a spare or DVD player or Video game, etc.

What is the AM21?

I had DirecTV installed last week and got two HR21 boxes. I have an OTA antenna connected and working with the tuner on each TV (not to the DirecTV HR21). Should I be hooking my OTA through the box and if so, what is AM21 and do I need this? I really have no need to record off the OTA channels, since I get the big networks over DirecTV, so I don't think I would stand to gain anything if I hooked my antennas to the DVRs. I basically have them hooked up to the TVs as a backup and comparison. So if DirecTV goes down I am not TVless. But I also have HD cable on one of the TVs. So I probably wouldn't need antenna backup anyway.

So is the only thing you stand to gain from hooking an antenna to the HR21 the ability to record off the HD channels OTA that are not provided by DirecTV? what else would you gain? Is this AM21 something you need to buy or do they provide it to you for no charge?

 

[scottie_h]

So is the only thing you stand to gain from hooking an antenna to the HR21 the ability to record off the HD channels OTA that are not provided by DirecTV? what else would you gain? Is this AM21 something you need to buy or do they provide it to you for no charge?

The AM21 is an additional box that hooks up to the HR21 to add OTA capability. It adds OTA channels into the guide with all of the D* channels (so no switching inputs like you current have to do), and as you stated does give you the ability to record them.

If you feel that the quality of your D* locals is as good as OTA, then you probably wouldn't stand to gain anything, except during a storm or something where the D* signal was affected. But remember, a lot of people out there still cannot get HD locals through D*, so this is their only option to record locals in HD. I do get HD locals, but still picked up an AM21 and hooked it up yesterday.

 

[skottey]

The AM21 is an additional box that hooks up to the HR21 to add OTA capability. It adds OTA channels into the guide with all of the D* channels (so no switching inputs like you current have to do), and as you stated does give you the ability to record them.

If you feel that the quality of your D* locals is as good as OTA, then you probably wouldn't stand to gain anything, except during a storm or something where the D* signal was affected. But remember, a lot of people out there still cannot get HD locals through D*, so this is their only option to record locals in HD. I do get HD locals, but still picked up an AM21 and hooked it up yesterday.

so it is something DirecTV will send you or you can buy it locally? If they are cheap I suppose I could hook my HD antennas to them. How much are they?

 

[JAG72]

The AM-21 is around $50-$60. I am not sure if you could buy it locally but I know you can get Directv to send you one.

 

[rad]

You can purchase a AM21 for the HR21's directly from DirecTV at their web site, the price includes shipping.

 

[mdanderson]

You will need the AM21 for OTA if you get the HR21 and you probably will. You may have to call Directv and ask for one. They will take care of the dish and connections. I would put my HDMI cable away and see if they provide one because they usually do. That way you will have one to use for a spare or DVD player or Video game, etc.

Thanks for the information and advice. I appreciate it.

 

[BluegrassGuy1976]

Shame on DirecTv for making their HSP's work on a major holiday. Despicable. It'll be the same way with July 4th, watch and see.

 

[skottey]

Shame on DirecTv for making their HSP's work on a major holiday. Despicable. It'll be the same way with July 4th, watch and see.

I would hardly call Memorial Day a "major" holiday. Major holidays in this country are Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then there are minor holidays like Labor Day, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, and a ridiculous set of holidays that allow the bank and post office to close (like MLK day, presidents day, Columbus Day)

Granted, most 9-5 offices are closed on Memorial Day, but nearly every store is open today with expanded hours in many cases. The only holidays where most stores close is Thanksgiving and Christmas.

What is wrong with making a worker work on Memorial Day? I really don't see it as a big deal at all.

What is an HSP anyway? installers? tech support? sales rep? Whatever it is, it is not a real big deal that they are working on Memorial Day.

Getting Memorial Day off work is nice. If you have an employer that pays you for a day off, that is even nicer. But we have come to the point in this country where we expect handouts around every corner. The Government is really horrible about this, giving the postal workers all those holidays off. Like my letter carrier is really at a Columbus Day parade. She is probably watching Price is Right with a box of wine bitching about her job to a fellow postal worker on the telephone.

Working on Memorial Day=big deal.