Who Needs Cable and Satellite TV Services?

If you have a high-speed Internet connection, you have so many new ways to watch shows and movies on TV that you don't need those guys any more.

I can connect my laptop to my TV to watch YouTube videos and network shows -- NBC, CBS, ABC -- online. And now that Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) movies can be watched on Macs, just about any computer can download and play movies.

Later, cable company.

Netflix on Xbox

Now, the Microsoft Xbox 360 video game system is able to stream movies from my Netflix account straight to my TV.

The Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 have long let gamers buy and download movies and TV shows, ranging from "South Park" to "Journey to the Center of the Earth."

Many people don't know that, but with the new Netflix deal and with the cheapest Xbox 360 costing US$200 -- $50 less than a Nintendo Wii -- many people will.

Take that, satellite provider.

Connected TVs

Heck, there are TVs now that can connect directly to the Internet, so one day you will be able to rent movies through your Samsung or Sony (NYSE: SNE) .

Actually, "one day" is already here; owners of Sony Bravia TVs with Internet Video Link already can pay $9.99 to rent, among other films, Sony's summer blockbuster "Hancock," which was available to Internet Video Link owners even before the movie arrives on DVD Nov. 25.

It's as if Sony has its own TV network -- with tons of Sony Pictures movies -- piped directly into the TV. The showing of "Hancock" is just the beginning, the company says.

Do you see a trend here?

Rabbit Ears

If you're afraid you'll miss news shows, football games and local programming, you can always grab a $10 set of rabbit-ear antennas and connect them to your TV to pull digital signals out of the air.

And you can do it now, without having to wait until Feb. 19, when TV stations follow the federal mandate and replace their analog signals with digital ones.

Bye-bye, cable guy.