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You can watch your favorite teams and get your favorite sporting events without the hefty cable bill. It’s not as hard as you think, and you’ll save big bucks doing it.

Now in order for you to watch live streaming sports free on your Roku or Apple TV, you’re going to need to cut your cable TV off. The  sports services aren’t free but they aren’t as pricey your cable bill and they give you more functionality. So, switching to streaming sports can save you, if you do it right.

You don’t have to miss your basketball, baseball, soccer, hockey or UFC. There are options for MLB, NBA, MLS, NHL and others. The streaming offerings are getting better for sports fan but you may still have to make some compromises.

Stream Baseball in HD with MLB.TV

If you’ve a real baseball fan and you’ve seen Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns at least twice, then you’ll be happy to know MLB has a great service called MLB.TV that lets you watch live MLB baseball games from your living room digital media device and your mobile devices. You’ll be able to see multiple camera angles, commentary, highlights and stats.

You may be subject to blackout restrictions depending on where you live.

The price is either an annual fee of $129.99 or a monthly subscription of $24.99.

Signup for MLB.TV or checkout the Top MLB Gifts under $50.

Stream Live Basketball with NBA League Pass

You’re probably wearing an NBA Jersey and don’t want to miss a game. Fortunate for you, the NBA has a service called NBA League Pass that’s similar to MLB.TV. You’ll be able to watch live streaming games over the internet, your TV, Roku, Xbox, android or iOS device. You’ll even be able to watch four games at once, rewind and pause games and watch game archives for the whole season. You’ll also have access to live streaming highlights.

As with MLB.TV, blackouts restrictions may apply.

The price starts at $64.99/year and changes with different options and packages.

Get your subscription to NBA League Pass or get yourself a jersey.

Stream Live Soccer with MLS Live

If you frequently wear socks that touch your knees, you’ll be happy to hear Major League Soccer has a great service for you. MLS Live streams live HD matches, highlights and archives. You’ll get about 230 games per year and access on your computer, Roku, iOS and Android devices.

Like you might expect, blackouts may apply.

Prices start out at a very reasonable $14.99/mo or $59.99 for the year.

Subscribe to MLS Live or get more ridiculous socks.

Stream Live UFC events with UFC.TV

Pull out your sweet affliction shirt and get ready to watch some live streaming UFC. UFC.TV has HD streaming of live events and archived fights. You can watch it at home with Roku or your Samsung TV or you can watch it on the go with your android or iOS device.

Some fights may not be immediately available depending on blackouts.

The price is $59.99 for six months.

Get some aggression out and subscribe to UFC.TV.

Stream Live Hockey Games with NHL GameCenter Live

If you whistle when you talk because you’re missing a front tooth then you’re probably either a hillbilly or a hockey fan. If you’re a hockey fan then congratulations. The NHL has probably one of the best sports streaming offerings around.

They offer access on just about every platform out there, Roku, Boxee, Apple TV, Xbox, Playstation, and Sony TVs. Also, they offer great functionality. Live games, replays, highlights, classic games, DVR, and slow motion.

This is also a great option if you live in a part of the country that does offer NHL coverage on TV. Blackouts may apply.

The price is great too at only $49.99/year.

Pickup a new helmet and subscribe to NHL GameCenter Live.

Stream Football

The NFL and NCAA have not kept up with the other leagues. Options for football fans are limited right now, but what is out there is free or nearly free.

SEC Network on Roku is a godsend for any SEC fan. You’ll get to watch the current week’s games and other content. The games aren’t live but they are free.

CBSSports.com Football games that air on CBS are streamed online at CBSSports.com. You can watch in your browser free. They also have a Roku channel but they only show highlights there. Full games can only be seen online at this time.

Checkout other great streaming services.

Related articles

• The app of summer: MLB’s At Bat ’13 is a home run (mytechtrek.wordpress.com)
• How the NBA Seduced Me Over My Morning Coffee (and What MLB Could Learn From It) (ladiesdotdotdot.wordpress.com)
• Passbook mobile ticketing expanding to 13 MLB ballparks this season [GigaOM] (gigaom.com)

Two of the most popular ways to cut the cord to cable TV is to use a Roku box or an Apple TV. Which one is right for you?

We’re stacking up the Apple TV 3rd generation with the comparable Roku XS.

Price

They’re both $99. The similarities don’t end there.

Roku does offer other models that start at $49. You can check them out here.

Hardware

So, neither of these little rectangular boxes has anything remarkable on the outside. They’re basically  1″ x 3″ x 3″ squares that sit under your TV. The Apple TV is ever so slightly larger but for all practicality, the same. The Apple TV does feel sturdier, but I don’t plan on throwing them across the room.

If you flip them around and look at the back, you’ll notice a similar set of connectors.

Roku 2 XS Rear

Apple TV 3rd Gen Rear

Both have HDMI and Ethernet but the Roku has AV out and a slot for micro SD and the Apple TV has a slot for optical audio. I do like the ability to play videos off of the micro SD card slot on the Roku. Also, the Roku has a USB connector that can be used to play back video from a hard drive.

If you aren’t using a TV with HDMI, you’re only choice is the Roku.

The remotes are also very similar. They’re small, simple and well designed. Both setups also allow you to use your phone as a remote.

Winner: Roku

User interface

So both systems use icons for their various channels. Both interfaces are snappy and responsive without any noticeable lag. The Apple TV’s interface is more convenient because you can see all of your channels and once, while you’ll be doing some scrolling left and right with the Roku. Also, Roku does display an ad at the bottom of the home screen.

Apple TV Interface

Roku 2 XS Interface

Winner: Apple TV

Setup

Easy as can be with both of them. If you can hook up a toaster, you can install these guys. The directions are simple to follow. You’ll need to set up an account with Roku and the Apple TV but Roku does collect credit card info so you can make purchases from the channel store. In reality, you’ll need to give Apple all of that info to make use of the Apple TV to its fullest.

Winner: Tie

Quality

You’ll get 1080P, 5.1 Surround sound and supper fast 802.11n WiFi. No real differences here.

Winner: Tie

Content

Roku is the big boy in this category.

Apple has Netflix, Hulu, MLB.TV, NHL, NBA, Flickr and YouTube. You can also purchase/rent content from iTunes.

Related: Cord Cutter Guide

The Roku answers with Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Amazon Instant, Spotify, Vimeo, Pandora and about 300 other channels of various uses. There is also a channel for Plex Media Server. Notice there is no YouTube channel with Roku. If that’s a must, then Apple TV is your box.

Winner: Roku

Play Content from your Computer

As you might expect, the Apple TV interfaces beautifully with your iTunes library. All of your purchases will be available to all of your other Apple devices. If you already own a bunch of Apple devices, have a lot of iTunes purchases and are bought into the Apple ecosystem then the no-brainer choice here is an Apple TV. You’ll even be able to use Apple Airplay to stream content straight from your iPad or iPhone.

If you’re not tied into the Apple world of products and content then you might want to give the Roku a good hard look. You can stream video from your computer but you’ll need media server software like XBMC or Plex Media server installed on the computer.

Winner: Apple

Music

With Apple TV, you have your iTunes library. That’s it when it comes to music. With Roku, you’ve got Spotify, Pandora, and about a dozen other options including radio services.

Winner: Roku

Conclusion

If you’re an Apple person, then go with the Apple TV. It’s just the right move. If you want a lot more channels and more options when it comes to getting content then Roku is your box.

Buy Roku 2 XS 1080p                                              Buy Newest Apple TV 

What do you think? What is the big deciding factor for you?

If it seems like your cable bill is on a steady climb, then you’re right. In 2011, the average cable bill was $128, up from just $48 in 2001, according to the Wall Street Journal. With a 300% jump in just a few years, many folks are thinking about ways to cut back on services by dropping to lower tier channel packages, but even the most basic packages are pricey. Worse, most of the really popular channels are in higher priced packages.

So what is a budget conscience consumer to do?

In recent years, there has been a small but growing group of consumers who are disconnecting their cable TV services and switching to streaming video. They use various services such as Netflix and Hulu to stream content to their digital media device such as Apple TV, Roku, or their smart TVs.

Is it right for me

If you’re interested in kicking the cable TV habit, you’ve got to look at how you watch TV. If you are addicted to your shows and tend to watch them religiously, then going with streaming could be a great fit for you. Some shows may not be available to stream or you’ll have to wait until the day after it is broadcast to watch it. If your show isn’t offered under one of the subscription based services, almost certainly you will be able to buy the episode for $1.99 for Vudu or Amazon or for $2.99 for iTunes.

If you’re a big sports fan, then you’ll have a hard time. There are some offerings from MLB.TV and the NHL but you won’t have the same experience as switch to ESPN and getting 24 hours of wall-to-wall sports coverage.

Also, you’ll want to make sure you have access to decent internet speeds. According to Netflix and Hulu, you need a minimum of 1.5 Mbps but remember that you’ll need more bandwidth for every box you add to your network. 5 Mbps should be more than enough to get streaming HD TV and movies.

Depending on which hardware option you choose, you’ll probably need to set up wireless internet if you don’t already have it. If you don’t all you need is a simple wireless access point. Don’t let your internet provider charge you to add wireless to your internet service, they’re ripping you off.

You can checkout my favorite wireless router: Securifi Almond – World’s 1st Touch Screen Wireless Router.

Checkout Television on the Web pt. 2 “Streaming Services?”

Is this the Future of TV?

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Hulu is giving you free movies from the Criterion Collection until Monday, February 18.

For those unfamiliar with the Criterion Collection, it’s a company dedicated to to preserving clasic films from the best directors. Think Kubrick, Kurosawa, Fallini.

Check it out at Hulu

In what is clearly a boost for streaming service providers, Netflix’s original series, House of Cards, is the most viewed show on Netflix.

This is straight from the mouth of their chief content officer, Ted Sarandos, which he revealed tuesday on stage at AllThingsD’s Dive Into Media.

The show, was released on Feb. 1, it reportedly cost $78 million to produce and stars Kevin Spacey as a plotting, back-stabbing senator.

All 13 episodes are on Netflix instant streaming and 13 more episodes have already been order. Shooting begins for those shows this spring.

So far, Netflix’s experiment with original content is paying off. Is this the beginning of the revolution in how movies and TV shows are produced and distributed?

Will other future shows try this model of cutting out the major networks and go straight to the consumer?

I for one am excited!

Tell us what you think.