I’ve been seeing more and more blog posts about people getting ready to ditch their cable TV service. Like me, they are occasional TV watchers. They enjoy a good show, but aren’t fanatical viewers. With more and more content being made available online and my Media Center Pc connected directly to my TV, the case for monthly cable bills gets weaker and weaker in my house.

Over on the technology blog Gizmodo, Sean Fallon has a lengthy write-up of his experiences ditching his Direct TV service in lieu of an Over-the-Air antenna and various Internet TV services.

For a month, I simply used easily accessible, generally legal alternatives like Netflix, Hulu Desktop and network websites, plus Windows Media Center, which comes "free" with most PCs these days. The idea here is to prove that you don't need to spend tons of money, use complicated software or go to extreme measures to watch what you want.

As you might guess, Windows Media Center played an important role is his experiment. He used it to tune OTA channels and watch a variety of on-demand programming.

…with Windows Media Center, having Netflix and other plug-ins makes finding and watching on-demand shows a whole lot easier

I know I’m not the only one who thinks this is the way entertainment delivery is heading. In Windows 7, Internet TV content is integrated into the TV guide itself, putting Media Center ahead of the game.

As more and more content becomes available, Media Center seems poised to be the one place to bring it together in an interface that is elegant and simple to use.

Fallon points out that HD streaming is still in its baby steps, and details the types programming he wasn’t able to get, including a good deal of sports. College football is what seems to be holding me back from cutting the cable entirely, although Fallon points out a number of ways to get sports coverage without cable (including Media Center’s Sports Lounge).

Overall, for a casual TV watcher, Fallon concludes that

I found my experience without standard cable television to be more liberating than anything else. Sure, streaming video isn't always HD quality, not all of my favorite shows are readily available, and I have to search around a bit more for the things I want to watch—but I didn't suffer and I didn't feel like I was missing out.

Me? I’ve just started the conversation about cutting the cable with my wife. How about you?

Tags

tv on the pc, clubhouse, Media Center-Windows 7, internet tv, sports lounge, netflix

Views: 324