Can I get rid of cable?

[manlymatt83]

I just got a mac mini and hooked it up to my HD TV. With all the services out there (hulu, netflix, etc.), is it possible to get rid of cable and still watch most shows and sports games (even if you have to pay a fee?)

 

[The Boston Dangler]

hi matt. i think sports will be slim pickings, since the leagues make big bucks from the established system.

 

[MotionMan]

The main reason I keep cable is for live sports.

There are no other good, reliable and/or legal options that I can find.

MotionMan

 

[zerocool84]

The main reason I keep cable is for live sports.

There are no other good, reliable and/or legal options that I can find.

MotionMan

Yup, if you want sports you pretty much need cable unless you want to watch the game the next day after which is never fun.

 

[nonameo]

Yeah, they sell kits at lowes. You just put the spikes in around your house and it will keep cable away for a while, just replace the spikes when they pop up.

 

[esun]

There is enough sports on the major networks OTA that I don't bother with cable. Basically you miss ESPN. But for $50+/month I can live without.

 

[Sukhoi]

Isn't most anything shown on ESPN/ESPN2, on ESPN3.com? The rest of the sports on NBC/ABC/CBS/FOX you can get via antenna.

 

[guyver01]

You don't need ESPN.... just start a Thread... need update on xxxx game... surely someone here will be watching it.

And if it's MMgay.. there's ALWAYS a thread.

 

[themillak]

i heard that for baseball you can watch online (should work for mac mini) for ~$100 a year as long as you aren't within the blackout zone (aka ZOMG WHY DO YOU WANT TO WATCH THE GAME ON TV AND NOT IN THE STADIUM!! GIEV MORE MONEYZ!!!) I haven't tried it out but it seems like there should be something similar for other sports also.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I really wish we had a way to get content directly from ESPN.

 

[Sephire]

Yes.

 

[mjrpes3]

The Raiders did so, no reason that you can't.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Isn't most anything shown on ESPN/ESPN2, on ESPN3.com? The rest of the sports on NBC/ABC/CBS/FOX you can get via antenna.

Not local sports. In Boston, NESN carries the Red Sox and Bruins and Celtics on Comcast Sports Network.

Also, NBA playoffs are on TNT.

In conclusion, you need cable to watch sports.

 

[Vette73]

There is enough sports on the major networks OTA that I don't bother with cable. Basically you miss ESPN. But for $50+/month I can live without.

THIS.

I use free over the air digital TV and online for other shows. Plenty of sports over the air and keeps me happy.

 

[TrueBlueLS]

Fox Sports Detroit shows Tigers, Pistons, and Wings here.

 

[BrokenVisage]

No. If you like live sports, particularly in HD and not on some shitty 15fps sopcast, don't be a conformist and ditch cable. Just eat the bill like the rest of us.

 

[bignateyk]

ESPN is what you will miss. I ditched cable, and college football is the only thing I really miss about it. It should be a law that they have to broadcast local college football games on a local station. Although going to a sports bar to watch the game isn't too bad. I'd rather give my money to a local bar than to comcast.

 

[Sea Moose]

Lol you admit to buying a mac

maccing in a threading garble

 

[Kaido]

I just got a mac mini and hooked it up to my HD TV. With all the services out there (hulu, netflix, etc.), is it possible to get rid of cable and still watch most shows and sports games (even if you have to pay a fee?)

I'd say no. I have Netflix and I'm on my second week of Hulu+ and I don't think it's ready to be a cable replacement yet. TV is kind of a brainless thing - you want to come home and have a large selection without having to think about it too much. Not enough content, occasional buffering issues, etc. - it's almost there, but not quite.

 

[bignateyk]

I'd say no. I have Netflix and I'm on my second week of Hulu+ and I don't think it's ready to be a cable replacement yet. TV is kind of a brainless thing - you want to come home and have a large selection without having to think about it too much. Not enough content, occasional buffering issues, etc. - it's almost there, but not quite.

Surprisingly my wife and I actually watch more TV now that we dropped to basic cable. We actually follow shows on a regular basis like Mike/Molly, Big Bang, etc...

I think when you have 400 channels all the good programming gets lost in the sea of shit channels they throw in there. We would sit there flipping through channels and not be able to find something to watch.

 

[Elganja]

Not local sports. In Boston, NESN carries the Red Sox and Bruins and Celtics on Comcast Sports Network.

Also, NBA playoffs are on TNT.

In conclusion, you need cable to watch sports.

just to add to this, you can get packages like ESPN Gameplan (for ncaa football, not sure about basketball), NHL Center Ice, NBA League Pass and so on that you can watch online (hell even espn360 if your internet provider is on the magic list)... BUT local games are always blacked out and not available. (no NFL though, sunday ticket is dtv exclusive )

if you are an out of state, you more then likely can get away with it depending on what sports you watch

 

[DesiPower]

If you don't watch sports, then YES, go for it!

 

[Rubycon]

A pair of dikes...

:biggrin:

 

[Pliablemoose]

Hmmm, ESPN needs to start streaming content over the web..........

 

[rudder]

The main reason I keep cable is for live sports.

There are no other good, reliable and/or legal options that I can find.

MotionMan

Sports bars... of course once you get the tab when the game is over you will find it much cheaper to pay $50/month for cable. And you can't kick out the dumbasses rooting for the other team.