Since it has been a couple of years since this subject was brought up I thought I would start a new thread. I just received my used AM21N from eBay today. It works just as expected! I did a lot of research both here and on a couple of other forums whether the unit would work with a Genie HR54. The general consensus was that the AM21N will work but the AM21 will not. There was also a lot of discussion about whether the Genie was new or refurbished. I do not know if my recent installation was new or not but given how many customers DirecTV is said to be losing I would not think they need to use new DVRs.
As soon as I finished the connections a screen popped up indicating that an OTA device had been found. I followed the simple guided set-up. I did get a bit nervous as it seemed to take several minutes to find my zip code but then it allowed me to edit channels and check signal strength. Under the menu/settings screen the option of "satellite" changed to "sat and antenna".
I added a few channels in my favorites list and was done. My primary reason for wanting this OTA option is that DirecTV downgrades the CW network to SD although it is in HD OTA. It seems unfair that cities who happened to have the CW as a separate analog channel years ago can get it in HD while I pay the same price for service. Satellite also does not include Mynetwork at all and again it is OTA in HD. Both networks are (-02) here in El Paso.
So, for any members considering one of these devices I hope this is useful information. It is 12 years old according to the sticker on the bottom of the unit so I hope it lasts.
As soon as I finished the connections a screen popped up indicating that an OTA device had been found. I followed the simple guided set-up. I did get a bit nervous as it seemed to take several minutes to find my zip code but then it allowed me to edit channels and check signal strength. Under the menu/settings screen the option of "satellite" changed to "sat and antenna".
I added a few channels in my favorites list and was done. My primary reason for wanting this OTA option is that DirecTV downgrades the CW network to SD although it is in HD OTA. It seems unfair that cities who happened to have the CW as a separate analog channel years ago can get it in HD while I pay the same price for service. Satellite also does not include Mynetwork at all and again it is OTA in HD. Both networks are (-02) here in El Paso.
So, for any members considering one of these devices I hope this is useful information. It is 12 years old according to the sticker on the bottom of the unit so I hope it lasts.
