Channels & viewing

[Fishface]

Recently I added this channel to get local channels.  It keeps asking for donations but I’m not sure I want to.  I was hoping that watching this channel would help me decide.  Besides asking for donations when I sign on, it often interrupts a program in the middle of a weather forecast, traffic watch or other, annoying to say the least! Then it gets stuck reloading and freezes.  First question is, does the pandering for money stop if you donate, and do others experience these issues?

[AvsGunnar]

@Fishface 

I recently received an email from Locast that they had an unfavorable court ruling regarding their retransmission of these local broadcasts even as a non-profit.  They are appealing so may be awhile before you see any action affecting the Locast channel directly.

To answer your question, if you donate monthly, then yes, those prompts will go away and you would get same experience as watching the local channel on an over-the-air antenna (OTA).

I just mentioned above email to notify you that I probably wouldn't do any extended memberships until things get more settled.  I don't see any info on their homepage yet as to what their plans/options are for going forward yet.  https://www.locast.org/  

[Fishface]

Thanks @AvsGunnar!

[AvsGunnar]

Received an updated email today from Locast.  Apparently they are going to stop interrupting service in order to solicit donations.  It is now going to be voluntary whether you wish to donate or not.  You should no longer be bothered repeatedly requesting a donation.

I watched Locast a bit tonight and only saw the donation request upon launching the Locast Channel.  Was able to switch channels and did not see the donation request again so seems like they instituted their new policy already.

I really haven't used Locast too much since my antenna picks up the majority of the stations I care to watch, but I liked the idea of Locast so hopefully they can continue to operate in this new manner.

[andyross]

Just a note that Locast is completely shutting down due to the court loss.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/09/locasts-free-tv-service-is-in-peril-as-big-4-networks-wi...

[AvsGunnar · Accepted solution]

@andyross 

Seems to change day by day.  Thanks for the update.  You are correct.  Although I didn't see the message displayed on the website as mentioned in the article, there is a message that Locast has suspended its operations upon launching the Locast Channel.

[rbuswell]

I'm surprised this isn't getting more attention on the Roku forum.  Locast.org is now closed down and it doesn't seem likely that it will win an appeal.  Locast operated under a provision whereby a company can bypass some copyright broadcast laws if it's a not-for-profit.  The issue that the broadcast networks argued and won in a New York federal court is that Locast made too much money by using an automated donation appeal during programing that made the app nearly unusable.  The appeal for donations made it a fee-for-service organization rather than a not-for-profit. That brought into question whether Locast could claim to be a legitimate not-for-profit organization at all.  The networks had a strong case; Locast had a profit margin of about 50% using the donation appeal commercials!  Locast claimed they needed the money to move into more regions in the US which is probably true.  The New York judge sided with the networks as they probably should have.

The Locast app on Roku was very good and made watching local channels much more enjoyable in areas where broadcast antenna reception was not reliable.  I live in one of those areas in suburban Denver, CO.  I paid $60 as a "donation" to remove the ads.  One of my main reasons for doing that was to be able to get local network feeds for watching NFL football.  I'm going to start another forum post on how I can watch my beloved Broncos using Roku.

[SMN]

My question is, since we lost locast, is I tried using antenna to tv, it brings in some local stations, except one specific  local channel, that tvfool.com, says I should get.  I am thinking maybe I don't receive it, because it is  VHF and maybe my antenna only picks up uhf?  Anyway, if i were to purchase a roku tv, and run antenna thru roku, does anyone think it would pick up both vhf and uhf channels?  Or do I need different antenna?

[Iona-D]

You forgot something rather important.  Tom’s Guide has not only reported this sad topic of great interest for the Cheap-Alternatives-To-Pay-TV-Crowd, but offers some tips, even good far more dependable solutions for some (unfortunately not for all users like myself living in a poor tv signal reception area and/or not simply willing to pay for "free" broadcast channels), to this avoidable mess: 

Cord Cutters Just Lost The Best Free Way To Watch Broadcast TV-What To Do Now

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/cord-cutters-just-lost-the-best-free-way-to-watch-broadcast-tv-what-t...

Another Newsworthy Good Article From Another Source As Well:

Watching local channels just got a lot more expensive unless you can use an antenna.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90672242/locast-shuts-down-alternatives

How sad this once legal important way of viewing cheap to no cost tv has been snatched from the hands and remotes of the masses.  Especially on this important US Holiday supposedly honoring the working masses of it’s own citizens?

Do you really think this ruling occurring right now on this particular holiday was just a coincidence?  Think about it.

[DBDukes]

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@SMN wrote:

... I tried using antenna to tv, it brings in some local stations, except one specific  local channel, that tvfool.com, says I should get.  I am thinking maybe I don't receive it, because it is  VHF and maybe my antenna only picks up uhf?  Anyway, if i were to purchase a roku tv, and run antenna thru roku, does anyone think it would pick up both vhf and uhf channels?  Or do I need different antenna?

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The antenna is what's important. If your antenna can receive the signal from the station, the TV will play it.

Likely, it is a UHF/VHF issue. Not all stations broadcast on the channel they advertise. Just because the station identifies itself as a channel that's traditionally VHF, doesn't mean the actual frequency is VHF. But, in your case, it's likely the station is actually VHF, and your antenna is UHF only.