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Sling TV's leaked AirTV box is almost like a DIY Aereo

Sling TV's leaked AirTV box is almost like a DIY Aereo

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Cord cutters still can't have it all, but the mildly successful Sling TV service might soon have a nice option: live local channels. A new box scooped by Zatz Not Funny!, dubbed "AirTV," is basically a Slingbox with an OTA tuner. Local channels are, of course, all around us, broadcasting constantly at a high bitrate for free — but few people bother tuning in. A couple years ago, Aereo made OTA easy, but then got shut down by the Supreme Court. This AirTV thing apparently includes an antenna in the box to get you started, and it just pipes live TV to your Sling TV app — there's not even an HDMI plug.

No word yet on when this will be launched, or even officially announced, but since the hardware doesn't seem to be wildly different than existing Slingboxes, it hopefully won't be long. It won't fill the entire Aereo-shaped hole in our hearts, especially if it doesn't include any DVR functionality, but it could at least be a good solution for existing Sling TV customers to see their local news anchor's shining face for once in their lives.