# OTA question



## MarkN (Jul 13, 2007)

I live in an area where i get my locals through D*, however I have inlaws that live in an area that the only way for them to get locals is with an antenna. My question is, if they have a reciever that has an over-the-air tuner, will their local channels show up in the guide? If so will that also allow them to stop having to change the inputs on their tv when switching from satellite to ota?


----------



## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

DIRECTV doesn't have a current receiver with OTA capabilities. Some older receivers did have this feature built in it would show up in the guide on some models and be a pure passthrough on others. 

DIRECTV has a unit called the AM21 which will allow the OTA channels to be viewed and recorded. It is currently available for use with MPEG4 DVRs (HR21/HR22/HR23/R22) and is expected to work with H21 receivers as well in the future.


----------



## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

Note that current Dish Network HD receivers pick up HD OTA signals. They also provide guide information for the OTA channels, even some of the subchannels.


----------



## MarkN (Jul 13, 2007)

Stuart Sweet said:


> DIRECTV doesn't have a current receiver with OTA capabilities. Some older receivers did have this feature built in it would show up in the guide on some models and be a pure passthrough on others.
> 
> DIRECTV has a unit called the AM21 which will allow the OTA channels to be viewed and recorded. It is currently available for use with MPEG4 DVRs (HR21/HR22/HR23/R22) and is expected to work with H21 receivers as well in the future.


they have an older standard receiver that has ota turner in the back of the unit...


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

MarkN said:


> they have an older standard receiver that has ota turner in the back of the unit...


Let's not confuse TV with satellite receiver or A/V receiver. My bedroom TV is a 30+ year old Sony 27" composite monitor bundled with an outboard surround sound A/V receiver that has a built-in TV tuner.

You need to be specific about what device your parents currently have as it doesn't sound like a satellite receiver from DIRECTV.

The current option that DIRECTV offers for standard definition customers is the R22 DVR with an AM-21. Another option might be a used HR10-250 HD DVR but it doesn't sound like the digital tuners were all that great.


----------



## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

MarkN said:


> they have an older standard receiver that has ota turner in the back of the unit...


That's unlikely... DirecTV's standard-def receivers generally don't have OTA tuners of any type. They just have an antenna/cable passthrough, so that if the receiver is hooked up to the TV via coax, you can hook up an antenna to the passthrough on the sat receiver and whenever the receiver is OFF, the antenna signal is passed to the TV's tuner. This eliminates the need for a separate coax switch. But the sat receiver has no OTA tuning ability on its own, and unless the TV has a digital tuner, it won't get anything without a converter box after next month.


----------



## MarkN (Jul 13, 2007)

harsh said:


> Let's not confuse TV with satellite receiver or A/V receiver. My bedroom TV is a 30+ year old Sony 27" composite monitor bundled with an outboard surround sound A/V receiver that has a built-in TV tuner.
> 
> You need to be specific about what device your parents currently have as it doesn't sound like a satellite receiver from DIRECTV.
> 
> The current option that DIRECTV offers for standard definition customers is the R22 DVR with an AM-21. Another option might be a used HR10-250 HD DVR but it doesn't sound like the digital tuners were all that great.


they have an H20 receiver.......


----------



## MarkN (Jul 13, 2007)

MarkN said:


> they have an H20 receiver.......


all I'm trying to find out is if they connect the cable from the outdoor antenna to the H20 will the locals appear in the guide....sorry if I wasn't clear


----------



## dettxw (Nov 21, 2007)

Used to have an H20-600 which had an OTA input and tuner.
It would scan for channels (unlike the HR20-700 HD DVR that only tunes channels provided in the guide from I think Tribune), but can't remember about the guide setup.
Must have been a place in the setup to put in a zip code.
Maybe someone who still has an H20 HD receiver can provide definitive input.


----------



## 50+ (May 1, 2008)

I have a H20-600 in my kitchen hooked up to a 19" phillips plasma. It does get OTA by searching for channels. They are in the d*tv guide. So if this is the unit they have they will not need to change inputs. Hope this was of help. BTW on this TV which is HD all of the channels are the digital ones. NO ANALOG.


----------



## davring (Jan 13, 2007)

Connect your antenna to "antenna in" on the rear of the unit, go to setup and follow the instructions for using an external antenna. The unit, based on your zip code, will display in the guide your local channels with guide information.


----------



## MarkN (Jul 13, 2007)

davring said:


> Connect your antenna to "antenna in" on the rear of the unit, go to setup and follow the instructions for using an external antenna. The unit, based on your zip code, will display in the guide your local channels with guide information.


thanks for the info


----------

