I want to build a better set top box because everything I have seen is either tied to some service (apple, tivo, netflix), is not polished enough for mass market (too many features in Linux MCE), or is too expensive > $500.
But alas I have no hardware skills so I will have to wait till someone else does it. :-)
I'm actually trying to do that too. Also trying to create internet content delivery and record viewing habits and statistics for a metrics/recommendation engine.
But alas I have no hardware skills so I will have to wait till someone else does it. :-)