AM21 Compatibility with SD receivers?

[BenJF3]

I was going through the D* website today in preparation of making the switch and it asked me if I wanted Standard Receivers with digital tuners for OTA at a cost of $50 extra each. I took this to mean that I was going to be buying an AM21 for each outlet. I was under the impression that you could only use the AM21 with the HD and HD-DVR models, has this changed? I would prefer to go with all OTA and not pay DirecTV for my locals. I get good reception and the market that D* includes me in doesn't really cover my local news. Is there anyone here who can provide more info? I'd probably buy the protection plan in lieu of paying for the locals, plus I would get them uncompressed. Thanks for any input.

[darekd]

AM21 can only be used with Directv HD units.

[BenJF3]

Then I take it they were offering to upgrade me to HD receivers from standard? If not, then maybe they need to update the website. I know a local installer told me D* was looking to deploy all HD equipment regardless of if it was to be hooked to an SD set. I wonder if this is the issue? It would solve the problem of upgrading later.

[say-what]

AM21 can only be used with Directv HD units.Actually, the AM21 can be used with the R22. See this thread: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=128527

[BenJF3]

Well, at checkout I had two HD DVrs and 3 SD (non DVRs) and it offered OTA tuners for all of them. I'm exploring right now as I want to get my antenna in place first to see what signals I'll get (strength wise) up on the roof. I've pretty much decided on D* because I can easily tap it into my existing cable junction with no backfeeding and will only need two wires off the roof (OTA and the SWM). That and it has VOD content which Dish lacks plus some extra HD. All they need now is to add TravelHD and beef up the DVR software to allow recording of three tuners at once (2OTA/1Sat or vice versa), a 30 second skip - Oh and DLB wouldn't hurt either.

[boba]

Wow an OTA converter box would be cheaper even without the coupon than a $50 AM21 and $10/mo.HD fee.

[Bob Coxner]

Wow an OTA converter box would be cheaper even without the coupon than a $50 AM21 and $10/mo.HD fee.

Can a converter box record shows from a guide?

[dodge boy]

Wow an OTA converter box would be cheaper even without the coupon than a $50 AM21 and $10/mo.HD fee.

You do not need to pay the HD fee anymore to get an AM21 to work.... The $50.00 is a great deal to get all your channels in one guide, plus if you have a DVR it gives you the ability to record OTA channels on it.

[carl6]

I would prefer to go with all OTA and not pay DirecTV for my locals.

I don't think that is an option. If locals are available in your area they are included. If they are not available then I think you can get a $3 a month discount.

There is an advantage to using satellite fed HD locals - they use mpeg4 compression where OTA is mpeg2. As a result, you can record roughly 5/3 more HD (50 hours sat versus 30 hours OTA). Probably won't make any difference on your SD units.

Carl

[David MacLeod]

I don't think that is an option. If locals are available in your area they are included. If they are not available then I think you can get a $3 a month discount.

There is an advantage to using satellite fed HD locals - they use mpeg4 compression where OTA is mpeg2. As a result, you can record roughly 5/3 more HD (50 hours sat versus 30 hours OTA). Probably won't make any difference on your SD units.

Carl
unless you're in an area (such as mine) where there are no hd locals.
ota is a lot better looking then.
personally, I like having both ota and dish for locals, can't go wrong with multiple sources :)

[hasan]

unless you're in an area (such as mine) where there are no hd locals.
ota is a lot better looking then.
personally, I like having both ota and dish for locals, can't go wrong with multiple sources :)

While we are supposed to be getting HD locals in 3 days (more than a year later than the initial promise), I'll continue to use OTA for a lot of recordings, if for no other reason than no precip fade issues. Having ota is essential for me, while having HD-locals is frosting on the cake. We are fortunate in having all our networks, small and large, originating from the same transmitter complex, with towers at 2200 feet! Needless to say, our signals are excellent, and many people 30 miles away can get all the major networks and sub-nets with a decent set of low noise preamped rabbit ears/uhf plate antenna.

[say-what]

Well, at checkout I had two HD DVrs and 3 SD (non DVRs) and it offered OTA tuners for all of them. I'm exploring right now as I want to get my antenna in place first to see what signals I'll get (strength wise) up on the roof. I've pretty much decided on D* because I can easily tap it into my existing cable junction with no backfeeding and will only need two wires off the roof (OTA and the SWM). That and it has VOD content which Dish lacks plus some extra HD. All they need now is to add TravelHD and beef up the DVR software to allow recording of three tuners at once (2OTA/1Sat or vice versa), a 30 second skip - Oh and DLB wouldn't hurt either.
I wouldn't order an AM21 for the SD boxes since they're not dvr's - the non-dvr SD boxes won't work with the AM21.

[David MacLeod]

While we are supposed to be getting HD locals in 3 days (more than a year later than the initial promise), I'll continue to use OTA for a lot of recordings, if for no other reason than no precip fade issues. Having ota is essential for me, while having HD-locals is frosting on the cake. We are fortunate in having all our networks, small and large, originating from the same transmitter complex, with towers at 2200 feet! Needless to say, our signals are excellent, and many people 30 miles away can get all the major networks and sub-nets with a decent set of low noise preamped rabbit ears/uhf plate antenna.

I find that in a 3 inch per hour snow storm dish isn't too reliable while the old OTA plugs along :)

[boba]

You do not need to pay the HD fee anymore to get an AM21 to work.... The $50.00 is a great deal to get all your channels in one guide, plus if you have a DVR it gives you the ability to record OTA channels on it.I agree but I just bought an HR10-250 with shipping and 2 D11s for $48.99 and I have OTA guide and 250 gig HD and all my SD programming. That was a better buy seeing it is also a TiVo with reliability my R15 never delivered.:) I also got the capability to output 480I to 1080I from this receiver.

[BenJF3]

I don't think that is an option. If locals are available in your area they are included. If they are not available then I think you can get a $3 a month discount.

There is an advantage to using satellite fed HD locals - they use mpeg4 compression where OTA is mpeg2. As a result, you can record roughly 5/3 more HD (50 hours sat versus 30 hours OTA). Probably won't make any difference on your SD units.

Carl

I was told it is by a local installer. You have to specifically request that you want no locals included. I don't see how D* can force locals upon you and make you pay for them when they don't actually cover my market and I get good OTA reception. I'm included in a DMA 40 miles away when the next closest covers our news only 20 miles away. I don't care if it's $3 a month. Why should I be forced to pay for something that is free? OTA has numerous advantages over sat locals such as better resistance to rain fade, better PQ (no compression), and no retransmission disputes where they get yanked. I'd prefer to have OTA on all the sets integrated into the guide, but don't know why I was offered such for the 3 SD receivers. I'll remain in a holding pattern for the time being.

[Shades228]

I was told it is by a local installer. You have to specifically request that you want no locals included. I don't see how D* can force locals upon you and make you pay for them when they don't actually cover my market and I get good OTA reception. I'm included in a DMA 40 miles away when the next closest covers our news only 20 miles away. I don't care if it's $3 a month. Why should I be forced to pay for something that is free? OTA has numerous advantages over sat locals such as better resistance to rain fade, better PQ (no compression), and no retransmission disputes where they get yanked. I'd prefer to have OTA on all the sets integrated into the guide, but don't know why I was offered such for the 3 SD receivers. I'll remain in a holding pattern for the time being.

Local channels are included in all packages and pricing unless you live in an area where they do not have them. You used to be able to request no local channels but now that's not an option. You're not forced to have anything. You agreed to their terms and conditions when you ordered it, had it installed, and paid your bill. If you're not happy with it there are other companies out there for you to try. However last I checked no company allowed you to not have locals anymore. Since local channels have been starting to band together for carriage deals it's becoming expensive to carry them.

[BenJF3]

Local channels are included in all packages and pricing unless you live in an area where they do not have them. You used to be able to request no local channels but now that's not an option. You're not forced to have anything.

That's ridiculous! If I can opt of of locals, then I am being forced to buy them. Especially when others can have it taken off the bill. What a scam.

However last I checked no company allowed you to not have locals anymore. Since local channels have been starting to band together for carriage deals it's becoming expensive to carry them.

And this is exactly WHY people should not be required to BUY them. Retrans is another story altogether which I am fully against.

Also, Dish does not require you to have locals last I checked.

[TigersFanJJ]

Also, Dish does not require you to have locals last I checked.

Maybe you'd be better off with dish. However, I would check again before making a commitment to them.

[BenJF3]

IMHO E* has hands down the best equipment with all the features I want. However, D* has the programming packages and the VOD channels which when it comes down to it is the most important thing in choosing a provider. D* is also a much easier install. Don't get me wrong, if I could take a ViP722 and get D* through it, I'd have already switched. Plus, I was thinking D* would wake up at some point and add 30 sec skip, DLB, PIP, (built in OTA would be nice but won't ever happen). I was kind of holding out to see what the new D*Tivo is going to be capable of.

[TigersFanJJ]

The HDDVRs do have 30 sec skip. Like you are probably thinking, don't hold your breath for the other features.

If you go with Directv, just accept that the locals are included in the price. There are a lot of channels I wish I could opt out of. :D

[BenJF3]

I hear you. I'm all for Ala Carte programming, but locals are an entirely different issue. I mean, I don't care if they are included, I just don't like the fact that they make you take something that I get for free and charge me $3-$4 a month for it which will continue to go up as future retransmission fees are extorted.

E* just started an ad campaign on their website saying D* doesn't have the skip feature.

[TigersFanJJ]

It doesn't surprise me as the HDDVRs and the R22 SDDVRs come out of the box with 30 sec fast forward as default. However, a quick keyword search (in the menu, under search for shows) for 30skip will enable the skip feature. It takes about 20 seconds to enable it. Earlier SDDVRs such as the R15 and R16 do not have this feature.

[arxaw]

D* has 30SKIP.

Will Time Warner let you opt out of locals and save a few bucks? Nope. They're included in the price of cable, just like D*.

[BenJF3]

Time Warner doesn't technically charge for locals whereas D* does. Time Warner is required by law to carry locals in their basic package as well. Does D* offer a $12 package with locals only? I just don't see why this would even be an issue, but again I will fall back to my stance that locals should be free no matter who provides them or how one receives them. My point is just that if some customers can opt out of locals, the all customers should be allowed that option.

[bobnielsen]

It's not that some customers can opt out, but that locals are not available for some customers. In that case they get a $3.00 discount.

[boba]

Time Warner doesn't technically charge for locals whereas D* does. Time Warner is required by law to carry locals in their basic package as well. Does D* offer a $12 package with locals only? I just don't see why this would even be an issue, but again I will fall back to my stance that locals should be free no matter who provides them or how one receives them. My point is just that if some customers can opt out of locals, the all customers should be allowed that option.You can opt out any time you want just stop watching the local channels delivered by D* your package price won't change but no one is forcing you to watch the D* provided channels.:)

[bobcamp1]

Time Warner doesn't technically charge for locals whereas D* does. Time Warner is required by law to carry locals in their basic package as well. Does D* offer a $12 package with locals only? I just don't see why this would even be an issue, but again I will fall back to my stance that locals should be free no matter who provides them or how one receives them. My point is just that if some customers can opt out of locals, the all customers should be allowed that option.

If you just want just locals with Time Warner you pay $8-$10 a month for lifeline cable. Also, the next tier isn't free, either. The law (when stood on it's head) says that TW CAN"T break out the $3/month charge for locals. Locals HAVE to be included in their basic package. Customers cannot refuse to receive locals. Whereas D* has that ability (but doesn't use it much anymore).

Note that in CNY they are still fiddling with the digital OTA transmission towers. WSYR was really bad this past weekend, and WTVH was bad the week before. WTVH was also completely off a few weekends ago. Also, OTA reception is susceptible to wind since all of our digital channels are in UHF.

Finally, 99% of people despise antennas. It simply wasn't worth keeping track of the 1% of people who didn't want locals. I use an OTA for locals because D* didn't offer them when I signed up back in 2003. I still get the $3/month discount. But I'm going to have to call them up and sign up for locals so I can use a DVR to record them once the analog signals cease.

Assuming Obama doesn't extend that deadline, of course.