Home Theater Geeks 537: Local Channels in OTA Dead Zone

Summary

Home Theater Geeks 537: Local Channels in OTA Dead Zone

Date: June 25, 2026
Host: Scott Wilkinson
Podcast: All TWiT.tv Shows (Audio)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Scott Wilkinson tackles a common dilemma for home theater enthusiasts: how to access local TV channels when you live in an “OTA dead zone”—an area where over-the-air (OTA) broadcast signals are blocked. Drawing from a specific case of a longtime friend who recently moved to the foothills of Los Angeles and can no longer receive OTA channels, Scott explores practical solutions for streaming local channels, TV upgrades, and balancing simplicity for users experiencing cognitive decline.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Listener’s Dilemma:

• Scott’s friend, a retired trombonist, moved to the LA foothills where broadcast towers are blocked.
• Previously relied on OTA antennas for local channels, but that’s no longer possible.
• Needs a new TV (current: 27", 20-year-old flat panel) and a simple system, as his wife is experiencing age-related cognitive decline.
• Simplicity is important—ideally one remote and built-in apps rather than external boxes.

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2. Streaming Local Channels: Evaluating Options

• Scott’s first approach was to investigate streaming services offering LA local channels via smart TV apps.
• Fubo TV was the front-runner for local channels and sports content, aligning with the friend’s interests.
  • Quote [02:51]: “The one that seemed to have the most or the best selection was Fubo, which is otherwise a highly sports-oriented streaming service. My friend's into sports, but his wife isn't. So it seemed like the best of both worlds.”
• Fubo pricing: Starting at $56/month; the preferred package about $75–$80/month.
• Key Limitation:
  • Fubo didn’t offer all local channels: “But no NBC, no KNBC. And that was true as far as I could tell on all packages. So that was kind of a bummer.” [04:44]
  • No streaming service offered PBS local channels (KCET in LA).
• TV Compatibility: Fubo app is available on Roku TVs, Hisense, Samsung, and Vizio smart TVs.
• TV Budget: Around $500 for a 50-inch set.

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3. Recommended TVs for Built-in Streaming Apps

• Roku TV Recommendations:
  • Roku Pro Series 55”: $680 at Best Buy; highest ratings.
  • Roku Plus Series 55”: $370 at Best Buy; a more affordable but solid alternative.
• Quote [05:38]: “I would say if you could afford the $680, that'd be the way to go. If not, the Plus would be good.”

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4. Switching Direction: Basic Cable is the Best Solution

• After discussing with his friend, discovered that Spectrum (their current ISP) offers a basic cable TV plan for $50/month—cheaper and more comprehensive than streaming.
  • Includes all local channels and PBS, which streaming services lack.
• Quote [07:29]: “I agree that's less expensive than Fubo. And he'll get all local channels, including PBS, which no streaming service that I've been able to find offers PBS local channels in the LA market or any market.”

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5. Revised TV Recommendation for Cable

• With no need for streaming-specific TV, Scott widens TV options.
• TCL QM7K 55” miniLED ($600 at Best Buy): Highly rated, not “fake QLED,” uses quantum dots and offers strong performance.
• Built-in audio by Bang & Olufsen for improved sound quality.
• Scott recommends an eventual soundbar as an upgrade.
• Quote [08:43]: “I think that this TCL QM7K 55 inch for 600 bucks is excellent. And with audio by Bang and Olufsen no less... that's pretty amazing.”

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On musicians never really retiring:
  Scott Wilkinson [01:04]: “You don't retire when you're a musician. I know that for sure. If you can still play, you keep playing.”

• On why cable is unavoidable in some areas:
  Scott Wilkinson [09:23]: “Getting your local channels in an OTA dead zone is a real problem. I mean, over the Air is free if you can get it, but if you're in the foothills of LA like my friend is, you can't and you have to figure something else out.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:31] – Listener question and background: Moving to an OTA dead zone, importance of simplicity
• [02:51] – Fubo TV considered for streaming local channels; limitations revealed
• [05:38] – Roku TV recommendations for streaming
• [07:29] – Discovery that Spectrum basic cable solves the problem
• [08:43] – TCL QM7K recommended for cable users
• [09:23] – Reflections on the challenge of local channels in OTA dead zones and call for audience questions

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Closing Notes

Scott wraps up by encouraging listeners to submit questions or photos of their home theaters for future episodes and reiterates the importance of finding tailored solutions for accessibly and simply accessing content, especially when technology or geography introduces obstacles.

Scott’s Sign-off [10:14]:
“If you have a question for me, send it on along to HTGWIT TV and I'll answer as many as I can right here on the show. And if you have a home theater you're proud of, send me some pics. I'd love to see them... Until next time, geek out.”

Transcript

[Scott Wilkinson]

In this episode of Home Theater Geeks, I answer a question from a long time friend who just moved into an area where he can't get over the air channels. So stick around. Podcasts you love from people you trust.

[Podcast Announcer]

This is twit.

[Scott Wilkinson]

Hey there, Scott Wilkinson here, the home theater geek. In this episode I'm going to answer a question from a longtime friend of mine. We studied trombone together at Cal State Northridge back in the late 70s early 80s. He went on to a full career playing trombone and was always a little jealous of that. But he's a great player and he deserves everything he got from that. He's now retired, more or less. Still play some. You don't retire when you're a musician. I know that for sure. If you can still play, you keep playing. And he's doing that and I'm glad for him. Anyway, he moved to a new area in the foothills of Los Angeles where the broadcast towers for all the local stations are completely blocked. He where he used to live, he used to get all the over the air local channels and that's what he and his wife mostly watched. But he can't do that now with an over the air antenna. So he wanted my advice. He also wants my advice on what to replace his TV with, which is a 27 inch, one of the earliest flat panels, probably 20 years old. And I said yeah, you need to update that tv, no question about it. So I started thinking about streaming local channels. One other factor I'll mention is that his wife is beginning to show signs of cognitive decline. Age related cognitive decline. So the system needs to be really simple. I would normally recommend that streaming come from a separate box, but I thought in this case it might be better to use the TVs own built in apps. If you could put the right app on the TV so that everything was in one place. So that's where I started and I started looking into streaming services that offer live local channels in the LA area. And the one that seemed to have the most or the best selection was Fubo, which is otherwise a highly sports oriented streaming service. My friend's into sports, but his wife isn't. So it seemed like the best of both worlds. If he could get all the local channels and then extra bunch of sports channels for for himself. Plans start at about $56 a month, but probably the one he'd want was more in the 75, 80amonth range and not all local channels were included. I couldn't find one streaming service that had all of LA's local channels in this case Fubo, they did not offer KNBC in Los Angeles in any of their packages. I took a screenshot of what they do offer and here you can see Channel 5, CW, CBS, ABC, My13, KCAL, Fox's Channel 11 and a few others. But no NBC, no KNBC. And that was true as far as I could tell on all packages. So that was kind of a bummer. Now if you were to go with Fubo TV with Fubo it would have to be installed on a compatible tv. And Fubo on their website fortunately lists the brands anyway that that can accept or load its app. And Roku TVs are one of them as well as models from Hisense, Samsung and Vizio. His TV budget's about 500 for a 50ish inch model. So I settled on the Roku Pro, which you can see here comes in a 55. So it's a slightly bigger than what he was looking for, but not much. Either that or the plus series, which is a step down from the Pro. But both are rated Reasonably well on ratings.com R T-I-N-G.com R T-I- N-G S.com thank you very much. The Pro series is rated higher of course than the plus series. But the plus series is not, not terrible. The 55 inch is of each of those is that's the smallest size. They come in 680 bucks at best buy for the pro. 370 bucks for the plus so. And that's at Best Buy so you know, I would say if you could afford the 680, that'd be the way to go. If not, the plus would be good.

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[Scott Wilkinson]

Now, after discussing my findings so far with my friend, he said that Spectrum offers a basic cable TV plan for about 50 bucks a month. And they already get their the Internet from Spectrum. So this would sort of add into a package deal. And he'll probably do that. And I agree that's less expensive than Fubo. And he'll get all local channels, including pbs, which no streaming service that I've been able to find offers PBS local channels in the LA market or any market. But I've only really looked at la. But the fact they don't offer PBS KCET in la, I think that's what it was. Maybe I've been in San Francisco too long. But in any event, none of them offer that and Fubo doesn't offer knbc. So I think going with Spectrum is the right idea here and it's less expensive. So in that case I said, oh, I can widen my net for TVs for you. And what I came up with, what I ended up recommending to him was the TCL QM7K, the 55 incher, which is again their smallest size for this model line is 600 bucks at best Buy. It's a bit higher than his stated budget, but it's, you know, not terrible. And the model is highly rated on ratings dot com. It's a quantum dot based mini LED. It's. I verified it's not fake QLED, as some of TCL's lower end models are, that they claim to use quantum dots, but in fact use phosphors for their colors. And I talk more about this in episode 533. So if you want to learn more about that, check that one out. But I think that this TCL QM7K 55 inch for 600 bucks is excellent. And with audio by Bang and Olufsen no less. I mean, look at that. That's pretty amazing because Bang and Olufsen makes great audio stuff. So presumably it's a little better than your typical flat panel TV audio system. I'll be advising him about getting a sound bar too, but that's another story. Anyway, I wanted to share that process with you because particularly getting your local channels in an OTA dead zone is a real problem. I mean, over the Air is free if you can get it, but if you're in the foothills of la like my friend is, you can't and you have to figure something else out. Anyway, I thought that was an interesting journey and I was happy to share it with you. Now, if you have a question for me, send it on along to HTGWIT TV and I'll answer as many as I can right here on the show. And if you have a home theater you're proud of, send me some pics. I'd love to see them, and maybe we'll get you on the show to talk about it. Until next time, geek out.