Any way to get local news after FCC ruling?
#1
Apologies if this is not the right section.

Currently we supplement XBMC with basic cable from comcast to watch local news and some football and what not.
Now that the FCC is allowing cable company's to encrypt local channels, you won't get anything unless you rent a box. I'm not trying to give them more money, hence why I went with basic cable.

What alternatives are there to watching local news if any? I can live w/o football if that is the way it has to be, but local news is nice to have.
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#2
OTA antenna?

Depending on how far away you are from the broadcast towers or transmitters, they are not that expensive. Check antennaweb.org to see where the signals are in your area and go from there.
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#3
Unfortunately that is not an option with how far away I live.
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#4
(2012-10-18, 17:22)Clutchless Wrote: I'm not trying to give them more money, hence why I went with basic cable.
When Comcast switched to "digital cable" several years ago, they provided an STB and two "Digital Transport Adapters" at no additional cost. The latter provided access to their basic cable channels. Hopefully, they will do the same when they start encrypting their basic cable channels.

Some local TV stations stream their news programs live or provide access to recent news broadcasts on-demand from their websites. Check this out if you haven't already done so.
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#5
I'm actually looking for the same thing. A way from within XBMC to watch live local news channels.
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#6
You can setup a PVR (wiki) solution with XBMC acting as the front-end to your backend system (requires a TV tuner and backend software). However, if all you want to do is watch the basic channels live (i.e., no recording needed), this may be overkill; you could simply use your TV remote's input source selection button to switch from the cable box (or antenna) to your XBMC system (HDMI, VGA, DVI) and vice versa.
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#7
Guess I should have clarified. I already watch TV with a basic cable package with a cable connected directly to the TV with no box.
When comcast encrypts those channels requiring a box I will be dropping it as I don't need more crap attached and forced to use their remote along with the Harmony.
I would still like to (easily) watch local news w/o having to actually bring up the browser and going to site directly to stream.
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#8
You might be able to use STRM files to access their streams directly and, if desired, include them in your library:
http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Int...io_streams
http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Vid...he_library

Failing that, you can use something like the Advanced Launcher add-on to launch a web browser session from with XBMC that opens directly to their streaming page. Although this method still employs a web browser, it has the advantage of not requiring you to manually close/minimize XBMC so you can manually launch the browser and then having to manually restore your XBMC session/window once you are done with the browser.
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#9
(2013-04-15, 22:27)artrafael Wrote: You might be able to use STRM files to access their streams directly and, if desired, include them in your library:
http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Int...io_streams
http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Vid...he_library

Failing that, you can use something like the Advanced Launcher add-on to launch a web browser session from with XBMC that opens directly to their streaming page. Although this method still employs a web browser, it has the advantage of not requiring you to manually close/minimize XBMC so you can manually launch the browser and then having to manually restore your XBMC session/window once you are done with the browser.

Ok, thanks I will take a look at both options.
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#10
To clarify a bit (I used to work for them), if you're ok with attaching more junk to the TV, you should be able to get up to 3 DTA's for free. I think its something like $2/mo for each additional after the first 3.

If not, all your options are going to involve learning a bit of code:
1. Write an addon for your preferred local news station(s)
2. Setup Advanced Launcher to open your browser to their webpage
3. There's a chance that your local station always streams video to the same url. If that's the case, then you can use .strm files to watch that stream inside xbmc, but this is pretty rare.

None of those are insurmountable, but that should give you an idea of what you're in for
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