Locast

While I admire the service's ambition, their implementation is only so-so. Specifically, they use HIGHLY compressed images with an EXTREMELY low data rate, and the images are soft, tend to go blocky and/or break up quickly on dense images or images with fast motion. They may be OK on a phone or tablet, but on a 50" set they're just barely adequate. Also, there seems to be no way to customize the guide, not even something as simple as 'favorite channels'. And if I'm watching a channel half way down the guide, and I call the guide back, it loads at the top every time instead of where I currently am. This is a coding 101 issue - you don't make the user start over. I have no off-air where I live, so this is better than nothing, but not by very much.

I love the concept so much that I donate monthly. You can stream local TV anywhere they offer service. The last 2 months, my issue is the service performance: I'll be watching a show and then it screen freezes. I have to get out of the channel and press "watch" to get it to play again. It happens constantly and very annoying when you're in the middle of watching something I use it on different android media devices, including through the web browser and still get the same freezing issue.

I like being able to stream local channels and don't mind the donation of 5 dollars per month to help support. I do think the app is a bit clunky moving between channels. If I hit my down arrow I get maybe one second and I can maybe change to the next channel? Haven't quite figured that out. Going back takes me back to the top and I have to scroll back down to find another channel, then select, it puts it on the top and I have to select play. Very hard to browse channels.

Great service. I haven't been able to get even half of local OTA channels since the switch to digital. This is a game changer. My only complaint is that every 20 min or so Locast plays an ad asking you to donate $5/mo to support it. Not an issue. The problem is that when casting to a chromecast, immediately after the ad, the cast stops and you have to manually restart everything to continue watching. Can't tell if it's intentional or not, but either way it's a major inconvenience. Otherwise 5/5.

Because of the interruptions every 15 minutes, it can be annoying to say the least. However, the picture quality is great and in HD. Im watching locast on Android tv. One way to get around the 15 minute interruptions is to go back to the channel menu at every commercials and then restart the channel. In this way, the interruptions do not occur during a critical time.

I have used Locast on Roku from almost day one of the rollout. It was pretty good aside from the occasional pixelixation or the audio being out of sync. Nowadays the audio is so out of sync with the video that it's unwatchable. Add in the donation pop ups and I'm back to the antenna. I downloaded this app just so I could add to the chorus of dissatisfied users.

OK, I used locast about 6 months ago, and it was a little rough. I can say now that is much more polished. Smooth video, clear guide, and low bandwidth usage. Get it, use it, then pay the $5 donation after a month. If you are looking for OTA, this is much cheaper and more reliable than an actual antenna, because locast gives you all the channels, that you *SHOULD* get based upon where you physical location is, not what you actually do get at your house, so you always end up with more. As for criticism that the activation link doesn't work in Outlook - big deal, you do it once, get over it. And as for not having an app in TIVO, I also say why??? Improvement: would like to see a channel up / down / select button on the video. TL;DR: Locast is a great OTA replacement app if you are in the service area

Good effort, however it needs more work. I use it on Amazon fire stick and there is a lot of vidio/audio sync issues most of the time, that makes it impossible to use. Some local channels like NBC4 don't work at all. The channel guide is confusing at best and doesn't make sense (you could learn from Pluto TV a thing or two). But a good effort, thanks!

I really don't understand all the bad reviews here. Yes, it requires money to provide an ad-free service, support the devs, and maintain hardware. There does needs to be a better handoff to Chromecast; the video plays on your mobile before being able to select your Chromecast device. The app does exactly what I needed given the poor OTA signal for local TV stations, even with a high powered digital antenna. It's well worth the monthly donation to be able to watch local stations. Thank you!

Up until the latest update, my experience with Locast was perfect. After the recent update, I cannot view the guide without losing the channel I was watching with chromecast. Sometimes, I want to scan through the guide, while I'm watching a show. No can do anymore. I have no idea if this was done intentionally. Anyways, I hope it goes back to the way it was.

It's a good app, however unless you can somehow bypass and change your zipcode, it only really works within the listed cities. It didn't work for me in my hometown, va beach, but it worked perfectly when I took a trip the NYC for three days. So I would only recommend this if you live in or near any of the listed cities, if you can bypass the location restrictions, or if you want to just have it if you visit the cities.

It was a bit rough several months ago but this app has made some nice strides recently to be a pretty solid little app. Some of the UI could be a bit prettier, but otherwise functionality is all there. (For the record, I'm a paying subscriber but I've seen that unskippable ad issue before I started paying, and it's a bad experience when it happens).

Great concept. However, their sudden ads requesting donations should be better planned out. Each time I change the channel I get a request for money and while watching a program the same ad pops up, completely covering whatever I'm watching, when the ad completes you are staring at the menu/guide and you are forced to find what you were watching again and click on it. I understand the need for funds, but their manner of approaching the subject is really annoying.

This app, and the service, is essential for cord cutters living near a city where they have service. It's been especially beneficial for me, living at the very edge of the reception area. I've tried to use OTA antennas with limited success. Having Locast as an option is great, especially since most Internet-based service providers don't offer PBS channels.

I live in the California area, which is southern California. Locast is not available in the area. Don't know when or if service will be brought to the southern area of California. Locast software is worst than ever now. On some channels the sound cuts out while watching. Now it takes forever to reset everything. Especially when watching on phone. At each time everything has to begin from the start. It gets annoying after awhile, doing the same thing over and over again. Donations asked.

First of all, I am a donor. Trying to deal with the interruptions for donations is brutal. THE GOOD: 1. Picture quality is awesome but takes about 15 seconds to kick in after start up. 2. Controlled by your streaming device and it's remote. THE BAD: 1. The cost is $5.50/mo., not $5. They add a 50¢ fee. 2. It strays away from the remotes conventions of operation, the buttons do weird things or nothing at all. You have to relearn your remote. 3. The volume goes from very soft to very loud constantly. You're constantly chasing the volume. 4. The interface and EPG are horrible. 5. Changing channels is a pure task and a challenge. Surfers beware. Not conducive for surfing. After using it for a month or so I purchased a digital HD tuner and antenna with a 360 degree rotor. The interface is much better, I get more channels, and it's easy to surf. The bad here is it uses a separate remote. I need to find an 8 year old to program my universal remote! As soon as I can figure out my coax cabling and get my signal to my other room I'll be done with locast.

It seemed at first to be a great app, but quickly became a disappointment. Lots of local channels... all good. But by about the third time I started getting pushy donation ads cutting in and kicking me out of the programs entirely. Also I can only use it on my phone. I would be glad to pay $5 a month if it was tied into Slingtv on all of my devices and TV. But no such option exists, so I Uninstalled app before even 24 hours was up. Lots of things to fix here.

It's "free" but barely usable if you don't pay up. I used it twice, one episode at time, two times in one month. On the second time it started barraging me with extremely intrusive ads that beg for donations because I use it "a lot". After that, it just kicks you out and you have to start over, watch another one, and then hope that you didn't miss something. It will interrupt like this every few minutes. The channel I need is free anyway I just don't always have a TV so I might as well wait tbh.

If you're inclined to donate to this non-profit, the streams are good. Nice to be able to watch local channels without a rooftop antenna/amplifier combo. There may be times (twice in the months I had it) that a channel stops working correctly (audio out of sync, etc.) but there's a way to notify company if that happens.

So far it works. When first setting up it says I'm not in their market but I am. So click on the main menu in their app then it will say select your market. If you live in one of those cities select it and it will have a list of channels available to view. Haven't tried it long but it works. They will expand their network eventually. It's free but they ask for donations to keep it running. If it becomes really successful they will probably start charging.

The show I want to watch shows only a frame of the show. This is not the first time it has happened. Zero stars. Problem continues. Picture freezes on some channels and then it goes to black. Update, on some channels picture freezes and if it plays, sound is out of sync. Locast has serious technical issues. Update, picture freezes, when it starts again, the sound is out of sync. This is frustrating. Update, shows freeze and do not continue. This app is wrought with problems.

There are a lot of of haters out there. The app works great, covers most channels in my market.$5 a month to get rid of the nag screen is well worth it. It cost money to rebroadcast so why complain about $5 a month? I don't like watching sports on it because the frame rate is a little bit off and it just does not handle fast motion very well. But overall it is a great solution for the TVs in my house that are not to my outdoor antenna.

I live in the Sioux Falls, SD market and have a Roku, which has no gps location services. I get the error message saying I can only watch my local broadcast stations. The solution, according to the FAQ,, is to navigate to the 'contact us' page and send them my zip code and IP address so they could clear my device for local use. It's been 2 weeks, the issue still has not been resolved and they haven't answered any follow up mail. I'm sure other devices may be fine, and I can successfully watch NYC stations, but would rather see my home channels

The concept is great and it's been a long time coming... I've been evaluating the app before deciding to donate and I don't really mind the ads...but what I have noticed is that the app is starting to freeze in the middle of broadcasts quite often which is very annoying... Not sure if this is due to the broadcasters that are trying to shut them down or problems with their servers as signal strength is good.I'm going to evaluate a little bit more before I decide to donate based on those problems

Lags, drops from chromecast every time the commercial changes and several times between. And that's during the rare times it's actually playing what you're watching. Other times it will just freeze and stay there permanently until you back out and re open the channel you're trying to watch. I wish this worked. I really do. The idea is great. I pay to every month to lose the Locast commercials and it still doesn't work. The Locast commercials broke it more than anything else.

Works exactly as described with no problems. Simple to use. Would like it to integrate with Live TV app so that I can use the remote to channel up or down, since the app itself doesn't let you do that while watching a program. Also suggest expanding the guide more to view more channels at once. Still 5 stars!!!

This service is incredible, nowhere else can I watch over the air tv like sports for free, but the app is only ok. It's particularly bad when using a chromecast. When casting, the app should not be locked in landscape mode and you should be able to scroll through the rest of the channels without stopping the cast.

I have tried this app on multiple devices and when I select a channel the app appears to be trying to get a channel but fails and goes back to the channel guide. Only one channel worked. On my Roku and Firestick the results were the same. On one Roku it looked as if it would work and then stopped and told me I had too many devices streaming. In reality, I had zero devices streaming!!

Fair - the biggest problem is what the app uses to determine location. Devices side by side and one is ok. The second cannot determine location - so it won't run. Google Maps, and everything else which requires location work fine, just not Locast. So you can install it, but it may not work for you, even if you're in a covered region. When it works it's ok, but it's also quite finicky about when it wants to work - so your results will definitely vary.

Updated 06/2020: Streaming through the app works great for some channels, but not others. Major AV sync issues on a couple of channels to the point where the channel is basically unwatchable. Others have choppy streaming with a lot of pauses that don't happen in any other streaming app on this device. And they still don't have all of the area broadcast channels. Disappointing, and definitely not worth paying for.