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Ask HN: Tips for hacking a TV?

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Re: Ask HN: Tips for hacking a TV?

#51

Post by completelylegit »

Loughla wrote: post #44
rubyfan wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a Samsung smart tv which I’ve never accepted t&c and never connected to wifi. I’d love to make it dumb or at least get rid of the nags to accept t&c or connect when someone accidentally hits the wrong button on the remote. Anything out there to do that?

I want that, so bad. Mine brings up the sign in screen every time you turn it on. I also want the ability to just change channels when you hit the channel button. My TV brings up a mini-guide when you hit the channel button, so that the down button goes up in station number and vice versa. Then once you select a channel, because it's not connected to the web, it blinks on and off for 5 seconds or so while it's trying…

There are often hidden menus for “Hotel mode” that allow you to config which channel / input to default to on power up. No need to hack them.

Re: Ask HN: Tips for hacking a TV?

#52

Post by grepfru_it »

alfiedotwtf wrote: post #45

I shit a brick when you said TV and thought you were talking about old CRTs. If you're going to hack on an OLD TV or microwave, please don't unless you know what you're doing. If you're still going to continue, at least unplug it for over 24+ hours before cracking it open. Those capacitors may still be charged and will not tickle.

Microwaves are easy, the schematics are online and usually there is more than enough room to see something dangerous before touching it. An unshielded microwave won’t kill you but will destroy the WiFi noise floor in your dwelling.

If your microwave doesn’t turn on, it’s likely due to a $0.25 switch that has failed (use the stop or off button folks, the emergency stop on the door switch takes the full brunt of the magnetron)

Re: Ask HN: Tips for hacking a TV?

#55

Post by pabs3 »

fph wrote: post #34

Not an answer but a follow-up question: is there open firmware for TVs like Openwrt for routers? I have never heard of such a project, but it sounds like it would be useful.

Most of these TVs run Linux. This lawsuit by Software Freedom Conservancy is aiming for eventual creation of an OpenWRT-for-TVs project (similar to how an earlier lawsuit created OpenWRT).

https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/vizio.html https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/firmware-liber...

TBH though, we don't need another distro specific to certain hardware types, instead we need standard distros like Fedora and Debian to support TV hardware and use-cases.

Re: Ask HN: Tips for hacking a TV?

#56

Post by pabs3 »

First step would be to contact Samsung and ask for the Linux kernel and other open source code for your TV. Without it you won't be able to replace the original OS properly. Also mention to them that they have to allow you to update Linux on the TV or they have to stop using Linux on their TVs.

https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/mar/25/install-gplv2/

Re: Ask HN: Tips for hacking a TV?

#57

Post by fensgrim »

pabs3 wrote: post #56

First step would be to contact Samsung and ask for the Linux kernel and other open source code for your TV. Without it you won't be able to replace the original OS properly. Also mention to them that they have to allow you to update Linux on the TV or they have to stop using Linux on their TVs. https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/mar/25/install-gplv2/

And they will provide it as required per law. Note that the law does not require them to provide that in a form that would be usable for anything practical without doing moderate to heavy amount of reverse engineering (e.g. here's the source, here's the toolchain that was released in approximately same period of time, go figure out if this can even be built without recreating part of their internal build system, missing configs, etc).

Re: Ask HN: Tips for hacking a TV?

#58

Post by pabs3 »

fensgrim wrote: post #57
pabs3 wrote: post #56

First step would be to contact Samsung and ask for the Linux kernel and other open source code for your TV. Without it you won't be able to replace the original OS properly. Also mention to them that they have to allow you to update Linux on the TV or they have to stop using Linux on their TVs. https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/mar/25/install-gplv2/

And they will provide it as required per law. Note that the law does not require them to provide that in a form that would be usable for anything practical without doing moderate to heavy amount of reverse engineering (e.g. here's the source, here's the toolchain that was released in approximately same period of time, go figure out if this can even be built without recreating part of their internal build system, miss…

See the blog post, the GPLv2 goes further than what you suggest.

Re: Ask HN: Tips for hacking a TV?

#59

Post by avidiax »

maayank wrote: post #33
i_am_proteus wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't echo this enough. If you're working on anything that has been connected to residential mains... use a multimeter. They're cheap! Check the power supply for residual voltage from PSU caps. Discharge them safely before working on the equipment!

How do you discharge them safely?

If the maximum voltage is within range, a neon line tester with the button grounded should work well. When the light goes out, the remaining voltage is below the sustain voltage of the neon lamp.

That kind of tester is usually built into a screwdriver and often comes free with some electrical items. They are maybe $2 otherwise.

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