Not paying for TV can seem like not paying your taxes–except that it may appear easier to game the tax code than to engineer an escape from a monthly bill for cable, satellite or fiber-optic television service.

Yet a small but growing number of Americans, myself included, have been doing just that. They have different reasons for “cutting the cord”; maybe they need to save money; maybe they’d rather spend the money on other things (say, consumer electronics?); maybe they don’t have time to watch more than five or 10 of the 200 channels they get.

Two years into my own cord-cutting experiment, I can ( still) report that it’s a viable way to cut your entertainment budget without becoming culturally illiterate. But you’ll need the right hardware first.

The TV

Not too many years ago, the term “dual-tuner TV” meant one with analog and digital tuners. But with the digital transition finally complete (if you ask veteran CEA employees about that, be prepared for a long discussion), that term is better understood as one that can tune into over-the-air broadcasts and those sent over the Internet.

In most cases, you’ll need both sources. “OTA” is better for real-time viewing and your only post-cord-cutting option for many local sports events, while Internet sites and services provide a far broader selection.

TVs have had to include digital tuners for years, requiring only a suitable antenna and good-enough reception. The latter depends heavily on where you live (sites like TVFool.com and the CEA-sponsored AntennaWeb.org can estimate your reception) and can inflate the size and cost of the former. But in general, I suggest trying the cheapest antenna recommended for your location.

But only a small minority of HDTVs support a free feature called TV Guide On Screen that provides a simple grid list of what’s on the air over the next eight days. Although the information can sometimes drop out and it’s not available in every market, “TVGOS” is worth looking for.

Far more HDTVs—DisplaySearch estimates 25 percent of all flat-panel sets shipped this year–are labeled “connected” or “smart” for their ability to run apps that connect to video, audio and photo sites. This provides a single-remote experience for Web media that easily beats hooking up a laptop (aside from typing search on an onscreen keyboard). Most connected sets link to all of the usual suspects, starting with Netflix and Amazon’s video on demand, YouTube and Hulu Plus, with many more options available through the app stores on newer sets.

If your HDTV isn’t connected, most new Blu-ray players are. Or you can buy an add-on box such as the Apple TV or Roku’s eponymous lineup of media players.

Unfortunately, some sites remain disconnected from “connected” TVs and Blu-ray players. So make sure yours includes an easily accessible HDMI input—not all the way in the back of the TV—in case you must resort to plugging in a laptop.

Something to record on—or not?

Here’s were I’m supposed to suggest a simple, drop-in replacement for the DVR you rented from your cable or satellite service. Except I can’t.

TiVo’s DVRs—which include over-the-air tuners—come closest, but they also come with monthly fees that don’t vary whether their program guides list 200 channels on cable or 20 over the air. ChannelMaster makes one OTA-only DVR that relies on TVGOS data… and that’s about it.

DVD recorders looked like they could fill this gap—or so I thought when I bought one in 2009. But I have used it to record maybe two or three titles. Why? I haven’t seen one in years to include TVGOS, leaving users to program recordings VCR-style by punching in start and stop dates and times. And none record in high-definition.

(A discussion of how I got this category so wrong must wait for another post.)

The most expensive solution is to add a “home theater PC” underneath the TV, with its own TV tuner.

Or you can just let the Internet be your DVR. We’ve found that a mix of Hulu and the networks’ own sites suffices for catching up with most programs we miss.

Backup sources

If you’re a sports fan, all of the above resources still won’t help—sites like Major League Baseball’s MLB.com won’t show your own city’s team, reserving the local franchise for a regional sports network.

At some point, enlightened greed should put a halt to that behavior; my money should be just as green to a site’s operator regardless of where in the country I live. But until then, you’ll need two backup options: a friend who subscribes to the regional sports channels who won’t mind inviting you over, or a nearby sports bar you like.

If all that sounds like too much work to dodge a $70 or $100 bill—well, if cord cutting were easy, anybody could do it. Have you? What tools helped you do that?