I cut the cable cord in May and I think I've got one of the best alternative out there for others looking to do the same. I purchased
this and connected it to my tv. I installed XBMC and the following addons: Icefilms, Navi-X, and SportsDevil. Icefilms and Navi-X both contain massive amounts of television shows and movies that stream flawlessly in HD. SportsDevil provides access to ESPN HD, NFL Network HD, NFL Redzone HD, and pretty much every other sporting event known to man. XBMC and all of its addons are free, easy to install and navigate, and completely eliminate the need for cable and even Netflix.
You can download XBMC at xbmc.org and all of the addons can be found on the forums of the same site. Give it a try and I'll be happy to answer any questions I can. I tell everyone I know about it, and have converted a few friends and relatives. Definitely worth checking out if you are considering dropping your cable.
There's a lot going on here, and it's stuff that's new to me.You bought the PC that you linked to. What made you choose that PC? I see it's small, inexpensive, and has an HDMI output. What alternatives did you consider? Why did you choose a PC instead of the other XBMC options (I had never heard of XBMC, but am reading about it on Wikipedia and seeing that there are some devices that come with XBMC on them)? What kind of remote control do you have for this?
XBMC is just some software you install on the PC that manages these addons, right? Reading about it, it appears that it doesn't include DVR functionality. Do you have some other device acting as a DVR, or are you using the PC for it with some other software, or am I misunderstanding and XBMC can act as a DVR?
Some of the recent posts in this thread sound like they're pointing to quick fix websites for sports that will be shutdown almost immediately. Are the addons for XBMC going to suffer the same fate, or are they legal and likely to survive?
The Wiki page goes into development stuff, I think - we don't have to know Python to use this the way you're using it, do we?
Do you still watch DVDs? Do you use this PC for them or a separate DVD player?
How much do you fiddle with the PC? Is your wife able to use everything just fine, or are you the only one able to make stuff work?