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If you're one of the many people who have cut the cord and switched cable to TV streaming, you've probably lost access to most, if not all, of your local stations. And your options (unless you want to reattach this decoder) are limited. You can purchase a separate antenna to access these stations, but your reception may be limited by the strength of the signals and their blocking by nearby structures. So what are you doing?
There is currently at least one service that is trying to fill the void. Locast is a relatively new streaming service offering access to local broadcasting. It currently covers nine cities: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Denver and Washington, DC.
As a New Yorker who dropped the cable a few months ago, I have to admit that I was curious about how Locast worked and what he would give me access to. In New York, Locast has 17 local stations, including local outlets for major networks (CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, PBS) and smaller local stations (WWOR, WPIX and several other English channels). Spanish). language stations).
Fast and easy – and irritating
The Locast registration process is not difficult at all: I just clicked on the city where I live, then I register with an email and a password. (You can also register via Facebook.) The site has forced me to activate geolocation; Locast does not allow viewers to access stations outside their designated market area.
After that, I was given access to a fairly standard programming grid with the stations presented in the order of the channels. I clicked on the one I wanted to see and immediately watched the current show. Locast is accessible via various formats: I have viewed it on the Web from a desktop, on a Roku-compatible TV and using the Android application (there is also an iOS application). The interface and service were almost identical on everyone, and the quality of the flow was reasonable – I did not see stuttering or pausing.
How can Locast do this? Unlike Aereo, a commercial service that provided local programming until it was abolished by the Supreme Court in 2014, Locast is registered as a non-profit advocacy group 501 (c) (4). ) (under the auspices of the Sports Fan Coalition). According to its FAQ, as it does not derive any direct or indirect commercial benefit from the programs, it has the right to broadcast local stations.
The FAQ also mentions Locast's ability to charge a fee "necessary to cover the actual and reasonable costs" of providing the service. Technically, Locast does not charge a fee: it requires contributions of at least $ 5 per month. You have the choice of not paying this "contribution" – but if you do not, you will find that Locast's broadcasts are virtually unassailable.
Why? Every 15 minutes, the broadcast is interrupted by a request for membership contribution. In fact, the broadcast is not simply interrupted, it is completely stopped. At the end of the money request, you do not return to your program, but you return to the programming grid. If you want to continue watching your show, you have to click on it again and say goodbye to any dialogue you may have missed in the meantime. (Although I did not buy the $ 5 requested, judging by user feedback on the Android app, members can watch shows without interruption.)
If you choose to donate, you can pay either by credit card, PayPal or bitcoin. I did not find any information on the site regarding the procedure to cancel a subscription, and the only obvious way to contact the company was via an online form. Therefore, if you accepted a monthly payment and later changed your mind, you can try the form. However, if you are in a hurry, you may have to cancel your payment by stopping payment on your card services.
Watching TV – in the old
Another thing to keep in mind: Locast has no type of registration. In fact, watching Locast, it's a bit like watching TV before the invention of the VCR: if you want to capture a program, you have to activate it when it is broadcast. And if you need a break in the bathroom, wait for the ad. You can not interrupt the stream either. (Of course you can still save your screen with the help of a separate application and read it later.)
It will be interesting to know what happens to Locast – not only as a service, but as a company currently under the radar of those networks that have made such an exception to Aereo. (I sent a message to the company asking if she had any legal problems on the horizon, but I have not yet had an answer.) If enough viewers see it as worthy of a $ 5 a month subscription (since it is essentially unassailable otherwise), and if the courts feel that this is necessary, Locast can stay a while.
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