One word, NETFLIX.

Throughout my life I have always thought of cable television as a necessity, generally all American families have it through some company or another.  Growing up I had cable; yet, when I got to college and graduated I looked back and realized that I watched cable less and less.  My best friend had changed to the internet…meaning, the massive amounts of digital media available (how you get it is out of my control) can be obtained at little or no cost.

I began researching “Set Top Boxes” a while back and saw several that could do the job.  What is a set top box?  It is virtually a streaming media hub that connects directly to your tv via HDMI or RCA.  My product of choice happens to be Roku.  With this player I pay for internet and use the Roku player as my media source.  With this product I can add all sorts of channels to the device, part of my lineup consists of:

• Netflix ($15/mo.)
• YouTube (Free)
• Revision3 (Free)
• CNet (Free)

Most “channels” that you can link to the device are actually free and any box that you buy will more than pay for itself.  With most boxes supporting Netflix you will automatically have tens of thousands of titles available to be instantly streamed to your home or delivered directly to your mailbox.

So, yes….you can live without cable.  Ask yourself a question, “How many shows on tv do I really watch?”  Most would name a few and more than likely they can be found on Netflix or Hulu and those without cable really aren’t behind socially on the “latest.”  You can save money, choose when and where (device dependent) you want to watch and create a television/media experience that is completely catered to the individual, something that cable will NEVER do.

Set top boxes(examples):

• Roku
• Boxee
• Apple TV
• Google TV