local channels with firestick

[connie254]

Is there a way to get local channels using a firestick? I have a two story colonial house and don't have a way to an antenna to the roof.

 

[EACarlson]

Is there a way to get local channels using a firestick? I have a two story colonial house and don't have a way to an antenna to the roof.

I can get apps for my local channels, it gets me news but not most other broadcasts. You would need a streaming live service to get those. But I have to ask, why the firestick? It's the worst of all the streaming devices I've ever used. I have a firetv in my basement that I paid to get a Roku Stick for as it just works much better.

 

[firefly_ris]

Indoor antennas are actually not too bad -- I have both a rooftop and an indoor and the indoor only gets very slightly less channels than the rooftop, and they both get all of the main stations.

I am not currently using it at this time, but I used to regularly use an AirTV. It's a little box that you run your antenna wire to, then the AirTV is hooked to your router. Then you install the app on all the TVs you want and you have live TV on any TV you want without needing to run splitters and all that. I think the AirTV app is now obsolete but you can run it through the Sling app -- you don't need to be a paid subscriber to SlingTV either, it works for free.

This also had the added bonus that if we took a Fire stick or Roku stick out of town with us, we could still use the AirTV to watch anything local from home if we wanted.

 

[Best Aunt]

I bought a Mohu brand indoor antenna after I cancelled cable service.

I get:
local CBS
the CW
MeTV
Court TV
Grit
Outlaw
local ABC
local NBC
Laff
Ion Mystery
local Fox
My 8
ion
PBS
PBS Kids
PBS Create
PBS World

I've been very happy with it.

You can mount it on the wall, set it on a bookcase, etc. It kind of looks like a piece of cardboard.

 

[EACarlson]

Indoor antennas are actually not too bad -- I have both a rooftop and an indoor and the indoor only gets very slightly less channels than the rooftop, and they both get all of the main stations.

I am not currently using it at this time, but I used to regularly use an AirTV. It's a little box that you run your antenna wire to, then the AirTV is hooked to your router. Then you install the app on all the TVs you want and you have live TV on any TV you want without needing to run splitters and all that. I think the AirTV app is now obsolete but you can run it through the Sling app -- you don't need to be a paid subscriber to SlingTV either, it works for free.

This also had the added bonus that if we took a Fire stick or Roku stick out of town with us, we could still use the AirTV to watch anything local from home if we wanted.

But that is almost entirely determined by your distance to the transmitter. I'm 50 miles away from the transmitters, the best I could do with any indoor antennae, even amplified was one of the four major networks consistently, and one other one intermittently. With my outdoor, even non-amplified, I get all four consistently and only have even occasional outages with one.

When I lived 10 miles from the transmitter, it was no issue to get everything.

 

[firefly_ris]

But that is almost entirely determined by your distance to the transmitter. I'm 50 miles away from the transmitters, the best I could do with any indoor antennae, even amplified was one of the four major networks consistently, and one other one intermittently. With my outdoor, even non-amplified, I get all four consistently and only have even occasional outages with one.

When I lived 10 miles from the transmitter, it was no issue to get everything.

Yes for sure you are right, gotta make use of the maps to see what will work best. The closest transmitter to me is approximately 19 miles away. When I lived in the 'burbs all I needed was a hand-made metal and wood antenna that sat in our attic and I could get Canadian stations such as CBC on a clear day, but I live rurally now and don't get those ever anymore.

Obstacles also contribute, as well as wind -- I get better reception in the barren winter than mid-summer for example, unless it's a wind storm, then it gets broken up. The rooftop breaks up just as much as the indoor in bad weather and I bought a fairly highly recommended ChannelMaster for up there. The only thing I regret not doing with that one was putting a remote control rotator on it.

IMO worth a try at the least if they check their ZIP on the maps.

https://www.antennasdirect.com/transmitter-locator.html

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Most locals will have an app. I watch the Orlando stations in Texas. But just for the news. Regular shows aren't on them.

 

[hardcorestitch]

You won’t get network programming unless it’s news related. If you want shows and live events, you MUST have an antenna if you’re not using cable.

 

[connie254]

I have Directv and want to get rid of it and would like to see what my options are. I usually only watch local channels for NFL games and I have Disney+, Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime. My Disney+ renews in November and I'm considering just paying for Disney/Hulu/ESPN bundle monthly since I'm already paying for Disney annually and Hulu monthly . Right now my Directv bill is $108/month for 3 TVs and HBOMax. A few months ago I called to negotiate a lower price with Directv and they wouldn't budge.

 

[EACarlson]

You won’t get network programming unless it’s news related. If you want shows and live events, you MUST have an antenna if you’re not using cable.

You can also pay for one of the streaming live services like Sling, YouTube TV or a few others.

I have Directv and want to get rid of it and would like to see what my options are. I usually only watch local channels for NFL games and I have Disney+, Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime. My Disney+ renews in November and I'm considering just paying for Disney/Hulu/ESPN bundle monthly since I'm already paying for Disney annually and Hulu monthly . Right now my Directv bill is $108/month for 3 TVs and HBOMax. A few months ago I called to negotiate a lower price with Directv and they wouldn't budge.

I have a service that I pay relatively little for that offers streams of almost all sporting events and about 50 primarily sports channels as well as news. If you're interested send me a PM. I'm not comfortable putting the name out in public as it is technically breaking copyright. I used it all year to watch NFL games as I live in a different market than my team.

 

[jmasgat]

One thing you might want to check out is antennaweb.org. You can enter your address and see what broadcast towers are in the area, distance, and what kind of antenna will pick up the channels. I bought an indoor antenna (Wirecutter has recommendations). I'm lucky enough to be close to the main network towers.

 

[DodgerGirl]

Hello Connie254,
You might want to look for a free app called Zeam on your Firestick. And what Zeam offers is local channels of every city ranging from Los Angeles to Seattle and so on and it's a really good app if you want to know the happenings in any city you wish
Give Zeam a try and you'll see what I mean
Hope to hear from you Connie254
Dodger

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

With a subscription to Youtube TV, you should be able to access local channels. One of our TVs is a FireTV and it works, so I would assume the stick would work too. The only thing is, the subscription is not really cheap. Depending on your area, one of those OTA antennas that are like $5 from Menards might work. We have one just for the sake of seeing what it would do. It works upstairs and outside, but not in the basement.

We used to have DirecTV, but found youtubetv to be a lot cheaper, and I like it better. I think DirecTV DOES have an app, that would likely work w/a Firestick I would think.

 

[AgentMama]

We have an outdoor antenna just mounted to the side of our house it got the best reception on. It's not on the roof. We had an indoor antenna first and have much better reception with outside.