Genie HD DVR and AM21 OTA Tunner

Thank you!  I'm currently using the AM21 with HR22 and HR24 receivers, but needed confirmation that newer receivers are not compatible, which I suspected.

No problem @MAXPWR 

What is the current model of your Genie HD DVR? The AM21 will definitely NOT work on the HR44 and above, but I am not completely sure if it still works with the HR34. 

I was considering purchasing a  Genie HR54, but before I did was concerned it would not be compatible with the AM21 OTA unit.  So no Genie yet.  I like the higher quality the AM21 offers on local channels compared to the local channels via DirecTv.  Higher quality and sub channels are also available with AM21 unit.   I will have to rethink my plans.   My have to get a TiVo OTA DVR + Genie if I want 4K content from DirecTv.

MAXPWR

detuch254 - Sorry, the AM21 works fine with the HR54, I am watching OTA channels as we speak. It probably works fine with the HR44 also but I don't have an HR44. It does NOT work with the HS17

@TexasBrit 

Look at this article, and I am COMPLETLY sure that buying an HR54 and expecting it to work with the AM21 will be cumbersome on the new software:

https://blog.solidsignal.com/tutorials/can-still-use-am21-module-directv-equipment/

Making the OP take the risk that the AM21 could break at any given moment and functionality could break altogether as well is unnecessary. Unless if they want to take the risk, it is not recommended. @TexasBrit I suppose you set the AM21 up with the HR54 a while ago when DTV had not made new software to stop support. Once you had upgraded, the functionality wasn't lost because you had already set it up with the "older" software. 

Is there one model of DIRECTV receiver that supports the AM21 better than others?
Not at this time. At one point Genies supported the AM21 better than older hardware but that is no longer true. In fact, some HR44 users have reported that their AM21s stopped working after a recent software update. DIRECTV has no official answer for this since the AM21 is “deprecated."

From Solid Signal website...

Also go ahead and look at this: 

https://forums.att.com/conversations/directv-dvr-receivers/hr44-0x1104-update-and-am21/5deff3b2bad5f2f6064dbbf8

I am running one of the latest test releases for the HR54 which is 158E. No problem with the AM21. You should also note that the final post in  the other thread you reference says it probably does work with the hr44, the posters issue seems to be something different. 

Reading all the posts from people who had issues getting the Am21 integrated with the HR44/54, they all seem to have been resolved by resetting everything correctly. So my take is this:

Does Directv support the AM21 on any DVRs?  Officially no. They won't sell you one, or replace a faulty one.

Does the AM21 work on the HR44 (probably) and HR54? As far as I can tell, yes, if you set it up correctly. People are buying AM21s on ebay and don't seem to be having a problem.

Will this situation continues? Who knows. 

@TexasBrit,  when you say, "they all seem to have been resolved by resetting everything correctly" can you explain the procedure/setup that corrected their problems?  

It would seem the tuners software either has the menu selection for setting up the AM21 receiver or not.

So advice for those of you looking for a AM21 OTA unit.  As many have indicated the Ebay prices have gone up and supply of good units depleted.  When one of my 3 AM21 went bad I struggled with the current Ebay selection.  I finally stopped into local installer who does both dish and DirecTv installs.  He had multiple units that had been removed from people's homes collecting dust on the shop shelf.  Most were missing accessories, but if you are replacing a current one you have now, not an issue.  I cleaned him out of the three he had and for better prices than Ebay.  I know I will likely have more units fail in the future, so having tow spares I should be set for a while.  Check your local independent installers, not with the AT&T/DirecTv  local repair guys.  You may have some luck as I did.

I Thank You, in advance,

MAXPWR

OK. Just to show I am not making this up. I took my neighbors HR44-500. It is running 0x153c which is the latest national release. It does not have (and never has had) an AM21.

The setup shows the Offair tuner as being available.  I plugged in a "spare" AM21 and after i had connected the cables (remembering the AM21 needs a second power cable) I powered the AM21 down again and then reconnected it while still unpowered. powered it up. Went through the whole setup process for my zip code. Works fine with my outside antenna.

I emailed Stuart Sweet at his blog to ask him about this. No reply as yet.

It's quite possible that the combination of an HR44/54 that has never had an AM21, or/and an AM21 that has never been connected to an HR44/54, does not work, but I can't check this out, since I don't have a "new" AM21. It's also possible that people buying AM21s off ebay don't have a problem because the AM21 has already been used, or even that they have refurbished HR44 or HR54 DVRs that have at some time in their lives been connected to AM21s but they have no way of knowing that. 

But I haven't seen any recent credible posts from people complaining they could not get their AM21s to work.

Curioser and curioser. Some people are definitely reporting their AM21s have stopped working. But if detuch254 is correct and this is related to a software update you would expect everyone running the software to have a problem.

But a new install using the current national release works OK.

And an  install using an even newer test release works OK.

Maybe it's only certain versions of the hardware??

So AM21 'might' work with the HR44 and HR54, depending on current software version. But it is not supported as the AM21 was discontinued years ago. That is what I am understading.

The HS17 doesn't work with either the old AM21 or even the new Local Channel Connector (LCC). The LCC has been stuck in testing, not yet nationally released, and only has worked with HR44 and HR54. Been in testing for so long I really have no idea what the issues are with it moving forward.

Yes, the AM21 situation is very strange. We know (I know) it works on the HR44 and the HR54 with the current national release, and with the current test release, but some people have reported their AM21 just stops working for no apparent reason with earlier releases.

I think the LCC is a completely dead product. I have been promised one on two separate occasions when I lost locals in a dispute, but nothing arrived..

@TexasBrit 

any word from Stuart Sweet yet regarding the AM21? I agree, it is definitely weird and not dependable. It works on some receivers but doesn't work on others.