There's also the HTPC or NAS-based recording option as well, but that's a bit more involved.
And that’s the problem. Virtually everyone who gets Locast, including me, can’t get reliable reception. This is exactly what retransmission non-profits are supposed to help with. But in response to Locast, people say “just put up an antenna.” I would love to but I live in a city of hills and trees that eat RF for breakfast and dinner.
I have paid for Locast since it arrived in my market and I’m immensely sad to see it go.
Still, I've found a lot of people who CAN get signal just grew up on cable and don't really know how to even check for OTA availability or what to do to get it if they have it, so I like to mention it for their benefit.
Not trying to minimize how frustrating it is for folks who can't though.
As you mention, some situations may not have reception due to special circumstances--and for them, I understand--but I think many people just don't think of just using an antenna these days. Or maybe they just want to hit the easy button and pay the monthly fee. (?)
It's not too big of a loss for me since I can't stand to watch network tv with it's insane amount of advertising but for live sporting events, it would be a nice option to have.
Even with suitable antennas, the broadcasting power of the transmitters has been significantly decreased, so in some cases you really are in an unlucky spot where the transmission isn't fully good. Moreover (specifically in the US), ATSC (before the recent 3.0 standard anyway) doesn't use OFDM, so when there's a weak signal it's a lot harder to lock on it.
I'd like to point out that during the analogue era, I got a fuzzy picture, but I got picture and sound. Now I get compression artifacts and stuttering and entire drop-outs.
And therein is the problem. I'm on a ground-level apartment unit. The OTA antenna I stick on the corner of a wall in the living room can't pick up shit.