Others have already commented about the error you made about Netflix 1080p offerings. I also find fault with your second sentence. The human eye can indeed tell the difference between the two. Else, I should be typing this on my 720p resolution (small 27") 2010 edition iMac screen. If my eye can't see any difference in that extra resolution, why did Apple bother to include it in this iMac?
I know we want to just run with the cheerleader arguments about such stuff because they generally want what Apple decides to be THE way no matter what, but perpetuating such stuff doesn't make it any more true than when you first read it from someone else.
Yes, I've seen the "chart" and this "9X% people can't see the difference" argument many times before. Nevertheless, Apple's choice to build this mostly terrific device limited to 720p doesn't automatically make 720p THE ideal option... only the ideal option for those who can choose to buy ONLY what Apple wants to sell.
If YOUR human eye(s) can't see the difference of 720p vs. 1080p in your own situation, that's fine. But your eyes- or perhaps your situation (HDTV, environment, etc)- are not necessarily representative of all human eyes & situations... certainly not ALL human eyes and situations.
To the topic of the post, yes there are plenty of other little set top boxes that do 1080p. Look to Roku & Western Digital for just two. And there are various sources of 1080p content beyond just Netflix and BD rips. Look to Vudu for one better example. The catch is that with these other devices, you don't get the "for dummies" polish of the Apple UI and the richest of connections to the media organized in your copy of iTunes, but they do offer 1080p playback in similarly-priced set-top boxes (and some of the UIs aren't that bad). Also, check your HDTV and some BD players for a USB jack. Newer HDTVs like Samsung models have (not as nice) UI's built right into the TV to access media on a connected hard drive and play it back at 1080p.
I'd love to see someone use a 1080p platform that basically rips off the last generation UI of the previous edition of Apple TV, while adding in the ability to connect to Netflix, etc. I wish Apple would just do it: Apple TV 1080p, but the cheerleaders have a long list of justifications why it makes little to no sense for Apple to do that... until of course, Apple does deliver one. Then, they'll gush how great it is to have a 1080p Apple TV. Much like how a front facing camera on iDevices- especially iPad- made absolutely no sense last year; yet, now that Apple is pushing face time, the same cheerleaders who argued how stupid it was to want that then, love it now... and/or can't wait for it on the new iPad.
TVs in spite of this limitation. But in answer to your original post question, yes, there certainly are other, similar boxes with 1080p chipsets. They come with UI and iTunes integration issues, but they can max out an HD picture on a 1080p HDTV... instead of pretending that an up-conversion is "just as good" (because Apple said so).