1. Don't spend $$ on a smart t.v., get the best LED you can for the comparative price.
2. Apple TV for your TV net connectivity, use the optical cable to AV sound unit. Crystal clear.
3. Best Buy sells HD antennae based on range --- 60 miles-- 85 miles -- 115 miles. I live in East Texas (sux) so I can pull in Saints games from Shreveport with a 115-mile unit. Because of geographic location, I get about 27-30 HD stations over-the-air. Dallas Tv is so lame.
4. Get as long a good coaxial cable as possible (like Rocketfish 25') and run it the length of your house to the attic. The coaxial acts as an antenna, as well as the antenna itself. The longer the cable, the better the signal. I'm getting the absolute best picture for NFL games I've ever had on a 50" Panasonic LED that was very economical.
5. XMBC totally rocks. That is some great advice.
6. You can watch any game or anything you want on the web. For me, streaming from a new 27" iMac 5mghz through Airport Extreme Time Capsule (killer Motorola modem) to an AppleTV-3 into a vintage tube setup for sound.
7. Hide your IP address and your dumb-*** ISP won't know what you're doing. 5$/ month. Sometimes my address is in Delaware, Arizona, Denmark or whatever. That Brad Pitt tank movie was available from friends I didn't know well at all like two days after it hit cinema, in 1080p crisp perfection. /IPVanish/ FTW.
8. I'm recently divorced, so me and my mini-schnauzer don't have to worry about stupid cable housewives pap smear drama or dance-offs.
9. I haven't watched any media in over a year that I wasn't expressly interested in. Leave traditional television, please. I was programmed. Commercials every nine minutes...stupid dramas that resolve themselves magically within a hour...Feed your head.
10. Truly trying to help. Been consumed with this idea of beating the media monopoly for a while now.
11. I respect any and all bros trying to cut the cable. Apple just works for me, but any product will set you free. However, using iPhone for a remote and iPad to browse the net while watching whatever I want pretty much rocks, and no nagging, to boot.
12. Geaux Saints.