Set-top box emulators

Revision as of 17:26, 11 July 2025 by Ahayri (talk | contribs)

A set-top box (STB), also known as a TV box, cable box, receiver, or simply box, and historically television decoder or a converter, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV tuner input and displays output to a television set, turning the source signal into content in a form that can then be displayed on the television screen or other display device. It is designed to be placed alongside or "on top" (hence the name) of a television set.

Set-top boxes are used in various broadcast and cable communication systems such as cable television, satellite television, over-the-air television. Some of them even could be considered as "smart" devices due to use of Internet Protocol television systems (IPTV), as well as other capabilities such as media playback similar to digital media players ("streaming boxes"). Alternatives to set-top boxes form factors are the smaller dongles, or television sets with built-in TV tuners that hence won't require a separate device such as a dedicated box device.[1]

Shouldn't be confused with smart media players, TVs or media boxes, and DVR, etc. or Android consoles or Home Media players.

Simulators

Name Platform(s) IPTV Playlist(s) Active Recommended
QiTV       IPTV-org

See also

Home media or media content playback focused devices