"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
01/31/2020 at 13:15 • Filed to: None
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"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
01/31/2020 at 13:15 • Filed to: None | 1
| 10 |
Thanks to going down a rabbit hole started by an email I received from Roku, I’ve discovered a sorta-free but actually just cheap streaming service called !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , which rebroadcasts local TV channels online in several major cities throughout the US, including here in DC. I’m...considering it.
I cut the cord several years ago, back when I lived in Madison, WI. We used antennas for local channels, and thanks to the combination of flat terrain and a couple of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! right in town, pretty much even the least powerful mini indoor antennas brought in every local channel.
Since moving to DC a couple years ago, we’ve been getting by with intermittent ability to view our local TV channels, even though I got beefier amplified antennas for both our TVs. The only station that reliably always comes in is Fox, NBC is ok, CBS seems to vary by season, sometimes yes sometimes no, and ABC, never.
We don’t watch much of any live local TV so this doesn’t bother me, except for certain sports events which I access using different Roku apps and my dad’s Comcast password (thanks dad!). Yesterday, I got an email from Roku:
I was puzzled by this, but when I first received the email there wasn’t any news about what this really was about. Today, there are some !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! with statements from both Roku & Fox. You can read more detail at that link, but basically Roku is threatening to remove the Fox apps because their contract with Fox (specifically the Fox TV networks, which weren’t bought by Disney) expires on January 31 and Roku wants to get more favorable terms from Fox to keep the Fox TV apps available on the Roku app store.
In addition to the suggested live TV services mentioned in the email from Roku, that link above on Cord Cutters News suggested this Locast. It’s set up as a nonprofit, and rebroadcasts OTA TV channels in mostly large cities, namely DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Denver, Phoenix, LA, SF and Seattle. South Dakota is also in luck, with both Sioux Falls and Rapid City being covered by Locast as well.
People in these locations can stream their local channels through the Locast website, all the major streaming box/smart TV platforms (Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV), mobile devices (iOS & Android), and even DVRs from Tivo, Dish, DirecTV and U-Verse.
Then I found !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and turns out, technically Locast is free, but really they want you to donate at least $5/month to them, and if you don’t set up a recurring monthly or yearly donation, it interrupts whatever you’re viewing every 15 minutes to nag you to donate. This is done by breaking into the feed, regardless of whether it’s a commercial or the actual show. That sounds like a pretty terrible experience, so basically, I consider this a barebones $5/month local channel streaming service.
I don’t really want to spend $5/month just to view my local channels, but that’s definitely cheaper than all the other live TV streaming services like Sling, Youtube TV, Hulu Live, etc. I don’t need those, because the only live TV we watch in my house is sports and my wife occasionally wants to watch some awards show or the Macy’s thanksgiving parade.
Most everything that’s on cable channels we can stream through their respective Roku apps (again, thanks dad!) including live sports from ESPN, TNT and NBCSN Washington. The only gap is CBS. I only intermittently can pull it in with an antenna, and CBS hides local channel streaming behind the CBS All Access paywall. Fuck that noise. Usually my wife quickly gives up on those awards shows with their long commercial breaks and instead watches them commercial-free the next day on Hulu, or whichever cable channel app that award show was on.
But, $5/month really ain’t that bad of a deal, and having the local channels just work through a Roku app instead of having to futz with the antennas and the crappy TV reception around here is appealing. Not appealing enough to spend the $40-50/month on those other more robust live streaming platforms, but at $5/month f or Locast, I might just have to give this a whirl.
We shall see!
Ash78, voting early and often
> Textured Soy Protein
01/31/2020 at 13:20 |
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Not bad...wish we had it here in Birmingham — the topography throws a huge wrench into both TV and cell coverage. Basically if you don’t have line of sight, it’s a crapshoot without a powered, directional antenna. I’d pay $5/mo for this.
OTOH, after cutting the cable 5-6 years ago, I’m not sure I could go back to commercials and being held hostage to the clock or mindlessly consuming content . We already have Amazon, Hulu Plus, Netflix, and Disney...we’re never short on things to watch, but still miss TV sometimes.
You don’t realize how much everyday culture is conveyed through TV commercials. New cars, medicines, household products, etc.
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Textured Soy Protein
> Ash78, voting early and often
01/31/2020 at 13:26 |
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I’ve got Netflix, Hulu & Amazon, plus basically every cable channel app thanks to my dad. I highly doubt I’d watch an actual show or movie with commercials anymore. We only use local channels for live events, or the news. The OTA reception in Madison was perfect, which is why I hesitate to spend money to access OTA channels. B ut at $5/month that feels minimal enough relative to the amount I’d actually use it.
just-a-scratch
> Textured Soy Protein
01/31/2020 at 13:35 |
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Interesting. My dislike of Comcast can be further ameliorated thusly.
DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By
> Textured Soy Protein
01/31/2020 at 13:37 |
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Neat! Might have to give this a go
Chariotoflove
> Textured Soy Protein
01/31/2020 at 13:38 |
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Not a bad idea. We have an antennae, but sometimes the signal isn’t the greatest.
avalonian
> Textured Soy Protein
01/31/2020 at 13:54 |
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I might get this and I'm in Atlanta. My house is surrounded by trees which makes it kinda hard to watch stuff without it cutting in and out. So its basically 5 bucks a month for 12 months=60? So 60 a year, not too bad.....
Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz)
> Textured Soy Protein
01/31/2020 at 13:57 |
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You can still stream it officially for free, not in 4K HDR though...assuming your current concern is the Super Bowl. If not, kindly
disregard this comment
.
https://www.engadget.com/2020/01/31/super-bowl-liv-nfl-roku-app/
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Textured Soy Protein
> Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz)
01/31/2020 at 14:05 |
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Fox is actually my most reliable OTA channel so I’ll just use the antenna. One thing I don’t love about watching live sports on Roku channel apps is most sports events are shot and broadcast at 60 fps but most of the Roku channel apps including Fox Sports top out at 30 fps. ESPN is the one exception. Not sure if the services like Sling, Youtube TV etc can do that 60 fps but I’m not paying for those anyway.
GLiddy
> Ash78, voting early and often
01/31/2020 at 14:27 |
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Fellow metro-Birminghamian here. I’ve got about all the same streaming services you do but I also have a Channel Master DVR+ I picked up at the community yard sale a couple years back. I did ham radio in my youth , so it wasn’t that big a deal to rig up a 40 year old scrap Radio Shack VHF/UHF antenna in the attic, add an amplifier and pipe the signal down to my TV setup. I record the late news and a few network programs. Works pretty well for me and no monthly expense like the Tivo or these other services.
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Ash78, voting early and often
> GLiddy
01/31/2020 at 14:30 |
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I used to live one ridge closer to the towers on Red Mountain and could get about 15 stations with indoor rabbit ears. Amazing how much difference a couple small mountains can make...
If my house wasn’t so convoluted with wiring , I’d probably rig something up in the attic, but I so rarely have time for tinkering anymore.