Anybody go without cable/dish/etc.?

[HMARK Center]

There's a pretty good chance I'll be moving into a new place relatively soon, and I'm considering bypassing getting cable, or anything like it, altogether.

Fact is, I simply spend the vast majority of my TV viewing time watching sports, and while I love shows like It's Always Sunny or Archer, it's never an incredibly long time before you can find episodes of those shows winding up on legal streaming sites, even on Netflix after awhile.

My figuring is that I'd look to get MLB.tv and NHL GameCast, and hook my laptop up to a big screen TV to watch that and anything like Netflix or what have you.

That said, I have some concerns about blackout rules with the sports services, so I'm curious if anybody has experience with those.

Anybody go this route yet?

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

I don't watch sports, so I can't speak to that, but I ditched cable 2 years ago and haven't missed it one bit.

1. Netflix - 1 disc at a time + streaming = more content than I could ever possibly need
2. WWE puts all their shows on the internet except RAW

That's all I really need, except for alternate sources for RAW.

[Deleted]

I'm not a big sports guy either, but I haven't cable in years.

Look up the Roku player if you don't already have Internet TV of some kind.

I've used the Roku player for like a year now and it works great. You can get Hulu+, Netflix and a bunch of other stuff streamed right to your TV.

F the f'n cable companies man!

[kidglov3s]

I spent the last two years of college without the internet or cable in my apartment. I had a radio (that also picked up tv stations, before digital transition), a TV antenna connected to a capture on my pc, and lots and lots of videos. It really helped me focus on my studies.

[VenomFang]

I'm very close to getting rid of cable because its too expensive and I dont watch much tv. I remember growing up in the 90's the cable bill was like 50-60 bucks a month and now its like double that. Granted you get a lot more channels now but most of them I do not watch. When I first got digital cable I was so excited because there were tons of channels available but that was before I had high speed/broadband internet and once I got that I watched far less tv. The price just keeps going up and it doesnt seem worth it anymore. I remember watching a ton of HBO as a kid in the 90's and I remember it was like 9-10 bucks a month and now its over 15 I think and there no way I would pay that much for it.

[Hassan bin Sober]

I have cable for Internet but that's it. My TV can't even pick up broadcast television. I went about two months were I was either barely or not at all turning on the TV so i didn't see any purpose in paying for something I wasn't using. Since I hadn't watched wrestling regularly since 2007 I no longer had a use for it. Any show I do care for )mainly Doctor Who) I either watch at my girlfriend's place or download off the Internet.

[The Line]

I haven't had television in the home since fall of '10(I own a TV, just not cable), and honestly, I haven't missed it really at all. Any big event or show can be found a day later(or if it's sports, at a bar), and for me, most of the time, I had to search through all the channels and then usually ended up picking what the "least-worst sounding" show was. Maybe a couple times a day there'd be something I'd actually be excited for.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

I did for while, then thought, "Oh f*** this, this sucks" and got it. However, now most everything is available online, legal and illegal, so it's a good option now to ditch cable.

[Deleted]

I don't have cable and haven't had it in a good while. Netflix and the interweb, and buddies that order a ton of wrestling PPVs/and watch football are my main viewing methods. I was hardly watching it, so why pay for it.

[rapidfire187]

I go without Satellite for at least a week or two every few months. My parents have a horrible habit of forgetting to pay the bill and then not having enough money when it gets cut off. It's really never been an issue for me though since RAW is damn near the only show that I make it a point to watch and I'm never really bummed if I miss it. I usually watch everything online even when the satellite is on.

[Heartbreaker]

My cable has been out for almost a year now, so I'm fine without it.

The internet however....

[knuckles]

Honestly, I havent watched TV in over five years and No, I dont miss it, not a bit. Dont enjoy sitting there and wasting time. Dont watch any shows, have noi favorites at all. Wish I could watch the news, byt thats all I miss!

[wildojinx]

For me its different, when i watch tv online, i get the urge to do other things like check message boards or check out a youtube video if something on the show im watching reminds me of something on the net. I just use DVR now usually though (so i can ff past commercials).

[Dat Dude]

I don't have cable, but I can still keep up with all my favorite shows via the internet.

[rapidfire187]

Oct 17, 2011 22:13:09 GMT -5 wildojinx said:

For me its different, when i watch tv online, i get the urge to do other things like check message boards or check out a youtube video if something on the show im watching reminds me of something on the net. I just use DVR now usually though (so i can ff past commercials).

The stuff that I watch online is usually like an entire series. Like I'll start with episode one and be done with the entire show within a week or two. When I'm watching like that, I'm fully pulled in and don't get distracted at all. It's like watching a long ass movie.

[Franchise]

I've been without cable for a few months now. The only thing I have trouble finding is sports, namely baseball. MLB.tv might be an option for you - it's not for me because I'm a Blue Jays fan and they block out all of their games. Plus I don't think what you pay for it includes the postseason, which is pretty dumb. But there it is.

Otherwise, I don't really have any issues.

[Deleted]

I got a friend that uses the cable line for internet, but just uses Netflix from there, and I'm heavily considering it when I move out so I can save some bucks. I'll just visit the old house or listen to the radio for the NFL games, and that's about it. I even have a PS3, so I could just use that for Netflix.

[Joe Neglia]

When I moved into the apartment I currently live in about 7 years ago, I had cable installed. After 3 weeks, I realized I hadn't watched a single thing on it and had it turned off. Haven't had it since. Doubly, where I live, I'm not able to pick up any broadcast channels (even before the HD switchover). My TV's just a monitor for my DVD player these days. Kinda like it that way. If I "have" to see something, between YT, Hulu and Dailymotion, I'm pretty well covered.

[domrep]

I've thought about it, but I can't do it. For one, I'm a huge sports fan and that's a big part of my TV viewing habits.

Two, I live by myself...uhm, wtf am I suppose to do when I get home?

[Branimal]

I don't have cable.

I have Netflix, WWE's Greatest Matches and NHL Game Centre Live. Anything else, I just download. I don't see the point in paying for a service that gives me so much programming that I don't want/need.