I've been without cable for 2 years now, and don't miss it a bit. My setup consists of an AppleTV2 running XBMC. I have an OTA HD antenna, which gives me all the local channels. And I rely on Netflix and XBMC for all the rest.
If you're interested, I made a long drunken demo of my XBMC setup quite a while back. It has changed immensely since then, but it should give you an idea of what's possible. Suffice to say, XBMC and the plugins have made dramatic improvements since I recorded this video:
Right now though, AppleTV2s are very hard to find, and AppleTV3 can't run XBMC because it can't be jailbroken. So I'd recommend looking at one of the Android set top boxes for an XBMC solution.
One of my favorites right now, and likely my next solution, is the JynxBox HD.
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Jynxbox Ultra HD (<--- More info in link)
Jynxbox Ultra HD is a highly integrated Media Player and HD FTA Satellite Receiver with networking. It has dual core high performance 32 bit RISC CPU, support dual USB 2.0 Host interface, High definition MPEG2/4 and H.264 video decoder, graphics engine, Ethernet , TV encoder and HDMI transmitter.
Twin Tuner
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The Jynxbox Ultra HD has 2 slots for tuners. With support for DVBS2, QPSK, ATSC, DVB-T and ISDB-T tuners the Jynxbox has support for almost any type of signal.
USB
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The Jynxbox Ultra HD has double USB 2.0 connections, one on the back panel and one on the front panel with support for FAT32 and NTFS drives.
Time Shift
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Time shifting will allow you to record and pause Live TV from both tuners. Never miss another show by scheduling all your favorite shows to record.
PVR
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Using the Jynxbox Ultra HD you can record your programming to a USB flash drive or HDD and view them at a more convenient time. With NTFS support you can record programs in HD or SD up to 16TB in one file.
ATSC Ready
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The Jynxbox Ultra HD is ready to support ATSC tuners that will get you over the air content from all over North America in 1080P quality. Simply install the tuner and you’re ready to start enjoying local HD and SD content. Add on modules will be available in the near future
WiFi Ready
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The Jynxbox Ultra HD is WiFi 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n compatible. Simply install our module and you can connect to any network wirelessly. Stream you favorite content without the hassles of wires.
Ethernet
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The Jynxbox Ultra HD has a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet MAC which will allow you to connect to any wired network and enjoy any of your digital media.
1080P FULL HD
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With the Jynxbox Ultra HD you can enjoy all you programming and digital media in full 1080p HD. That includes Live TV, recorded programming and digital media.
Universal Remote
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The Jynxbox Ultra HD comes with a full featured programmable universal remote. Allowing you to control all your devices with one remote.
MicroSD
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Simply plug your MicroSD card and enjoy your pictures, music and videos you have recorded with your phone, camera or any other digital device.
Media Player
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Play back all your multimedia files, pictures, music and videos in 1080p Full HD. The Jynxbox Ultra HD supports almost any type of file including the most popular ones like MKV, XVID, AVI, X264, DivX, MPEG4, H264, FLV and many more.
Jynxbox HD Features and Specifications:
- Full HD 1080P H.264 solution
- Embedded Dual Core High performance 400Mhz 32bit CPU
- 128Mb 16 bit DDRII 800 SDRAM
- MPEG-2 video decoder
- AVC/H.264 video decoder
- MPEG4 ASP supported
- JPEG decoding accelerator
- Support 4 Video VDAC, can output YPbPr and CVBS simultaneously
- Build-in HDMI with HDCP
- Support full HD output
- MPEG-1 layers I, II and PCM down-mixing
- IEC958 S/PDIF digital output
- Digital mute control and volume adjustment
- Support Dolby down-mixed 2 channel
- Support 2 channel HE-AAC V1
- Build-in 2 channel Audio DAC
- Dual USB 2.0 host interface
- 10/100 Mbps Ethernet MAC with RMII
- Serial RS-232 Interface
- 1080P HD Multimedia Player w/ Dolby (MKV, XVID, AVI, X264, DivX, MPEG4, H264, FLV, etc...)
- MP3 Player and Picture Viewer
- Time Shift
- WiFi Ready
- Twin Tuner Ready
- ATSC Ready
- UHF Remote Ready
- MicroSD Card Slot
- USB PVR w/ NTFS Support
- External NTFS USB HDD Compatible
- Video Upscaling to 1080P
- Built in bracket for Wall Mountable solution
- IR extender Output
- Channel Auto Tune
- PVR Timer Scheduler
- 450mA LNB Output
- Multi Scan Support
- Blinscan support
- Disecq 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 Support
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