[Macworld]

Post your comments for Unthinkable? Unplugging the TV here

[Hurley42]

I canceled satellite/cable just over 2 years ago. Just last week I was calculating how much I had saved, even considering buying some hardware to connect to my TV to get what I want for free. Satellite and cable companies are like landline phones - the writing is on the wall - they are no longer necessary.

[woodworks]

You want the news too? Get yourself a cheap rooftop antenna (mine's a $25 special from Radio Shack), and get free HD over-the-air broadcasts. I live in rural southern Oregon, and I get ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox in HD for free! Oh, and I cancelled our cable in early '08. Haven't missed it. I get the Daily Show from iTunes, and like you, I lost interest in major league sports after the baseball strike in '94. Feh!

[GrahamAJones]

Hi,
well, it depends on your needs. My wife mostly watches reality & lifestyle programming on specialty channels, I mostly watch dramatic/narrative programmiing, and then our daughter watches kids' shows.
Plus, we live in Canada -- most of the streaming options you mention are not available here.
One thing we did do -- we had been spending about $80 / month on movie rentals (and late fees), and we decided to go instead for a $20 movie channel pack with our cable provider. It may seem like our cable bill is higher, but we save $60 / month by not going to the video store.
Also, depending on your location you can get an $80 antenna and an ATSC-compatible EyeTV unit, and pick up all of the major networks for free, in glorious HD. Even where I am in Toronto I pick up about 18 HD stations, including many US ones from Buffalo.
Cheers,
Graham.

[n4hhe]

Breen uses TiVo with Dish Network? Not with Dish's not-TiVo DVR? Then I believe one loses the ability to record HD.

[hooman]

This seems to have been the topic several places in the past week, including the GTGuys podcast. I've started a blog (manminihometheater) about stopping my $1,000/year cable, and turning the mac mini into the home theater setup. Everything through hulu/torrents and with plex. It really is so nice not paying $85/mo and still having all the shows.

[mslavick]

The problem with watching MLB games online is, if you live in the same market as your favorite team, the games are blacked out.
The lack of online sports programming is the deal breaker for me.
There's also something to be said about just flopping on the couch and flipping through the channels on the tv until you find something that interests you. That's harder to do with something like Boxee and Apple TV.

[Chris Breen]

n4hhe said:

Breen uses TiVo with Dish Network? Not with Dish's not-TiVo DVR? Then I believe one loses the ability to record HD.

That's true. Dish has been pushing the HD thing for the last year and I've been tempted. But then I look at what they offer in HD and what I actually watch and I realize I'd be paying a premium for HD content that I'd rarely watch (HBO would be good, but my local network stations aren't in HD). So, if I'm going to watch nearly everything in SD anyway, why pay Dish even more money for their DVR?

[the__fox]

Hmm. Did you happen to read my TechReport blog – The MacHole – a couple weeks ago on this exact same subject? Not that stupidly high cable/sat bills wouldn't inspire revolt in many people concurrently, but I'm just wondering. :-)

[danmusician]

I have never paid for TV (47 yrs old). I currently use rabbit ears for a local NBC affiliate. ABC and CBS come in fuzzy if the weather is good. I have no plans to get a digital converter.
We have a Netflix subscription which we mainly use for DVD's of old TV shows such as "Cheers," "Night Court," "Rockford FIles," "Hill Street Blues," or current shows that are season or two behind, "Monk," "Psych," "Battlestar Gallactica." We started "Lost" on Netflix and bought the recent seasons on iTunes.
Hulu and the network sites are OK for watching, but in our rural area high speed isn't always high enough and sometimes the video pauses often enough to be annoying.
When we are at a hotel or a family member home that has cable, I end up flipping through 60 plus channels of nothing that I want to watch. I see no reason to pay a monthly fee for the privilege!

[Chris Breen]

the

Hmm. Did you happen to read my TechReport blog – The MacHole – a couple weeks ago on this exact same subject?

I'm afraid not. Must be something in the air.

[LowededWookie]

Your alternatives would be great if they worked outside of the US.
Here in New Zealand we don't get TV on iTunes which sucks because I would pay for seasons in a heartbeat.
Hulu is US only which really only leaves one place... BitTorrent.
Not to mention we don't get all the TV shows here either.

[pjanders]

The only reason I have cable is for the Internet connection included with my service. I never watch cable TV. If I could find an Internet connection as fast and reliable as cable I would ditch cable in an instant.

[Okipedro]

I have had these same thoughts. But the one thing that stops me is the quality of things such as Hulu. On my AppleTV, the iTunes content looks great on my big-screen TV. But even on my 20-inch iMac, Hulu often is blotchy and full of noise. What's the workaround for that, or does one not exist?