I struggle to think of what purpose a device that wasn’t meant to be a Linux computer would realistically serve beyond nefarious goals.
Getting a cheap NAS.
Turning a TV set-top box into a Linux computer (2022)
21–30 of 113 posts
Re: Turning a TV set-top box into a Linux computer (2022)
#22I love these kinds of writeups, thank you! How did you determine what addresses to read things into? (the chainloaded bootloader, then its initrd/ FDT / etc.).
Mainly by looking at what addresses the original bootloader loads them into. The addresses don't matter too much, as long as you load them into valid memory, since for most you pass a reference to them anyway in later steps.
Re: Turning a TV set-top box into a Linux computer (2022)
#23I struggle to think of what purpose a device that wasn’t meant to be a Linux computer would realistically serve beyond nefarious goals.
(author here) We use the device instead of a Raspberry Pi, not for anything too serious: we attached it to a screen and have a small server running with an API where you can write single pixels into the framebuffer (a bit like /r/place)
Ironically, the Raspberry Pi started as a failed set-top box.
Re: Turning a TV set-top box into a Linux computer (2022)
#24Almost all my friends in France have a old ISP modem router that their former ISP did not bother getting their hands back onto when they changed providers.
I would love to repurpose them. Where do I start with ?
Re: Turning a TV set-top box into a Linux computer (2022)
#25Almost all my friends in France have a old ISP modem router that their former ISP did not bother getting their hands back onto when they changed providers. I would love to repurpose them. Where do I start with ?
Try to identify a serial port on the PCB, connect a serial adaptor to it (careful to get the pins and voltage right!) and take it from there
(Edit: or google the PCB board markings, maybe somebody already did this)
Re: Turning a TV set-top box into a Linux computer (2022)
#26Almost all my friends in France have a old ISP modem router that their former ISP did not bother getting their hands back onto when they changed providers. I would love to repurpose them. Where do I start with ?
Check whether an alternative firmware already exists (e.g. OpenWrt or DD-WRT).
Re: Turning a TV set-top box into a Linux computer (2022)
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
... and if you're not aware, Saleae clones are widely available on e.g. Amazon, prices before shipping seem to start around $7 in the US. This is possible since the original Saleae is basically just a CY7C68013A [1] in a box, and once others realized that cloning it was not difficult. No idea about patents and so on here, obviously it's not OK for clones to use Saleae's firmware without licensing it. I have one, it w…
I had a clone once upon a time, together with several Saleaes and have recommended them to many many people, and that clone was not accurate to me. While the chip and the firmware was probably exactly the same as the original one, the rest of the hardware was cost minimized and did not work as well. I compared. The clone must have had capacitive coupling or something, since signals was often slightly delayed in unpre…
[deleted]
Re: Turning a TV set-top box into a Linux computer (2022)
#28I struggle to think of what purpose a device that wasn’t meant to be a Linux computer would realistically serve beyond nefarious goals.
...to not have to throw it into a landfill ? How's that not natural conclusion to you ? It's in the title of article...
Re: Turning a TV set-top box into a Linux computer (2022)
#29I struggle to think of what purpose a device that wasn’t meant to be a Linux computer would realistically serve beyond nefarious goals.
I have an android TV using armbian with a nextcloud instance, transmission, pydownloader, radarr and sonarr. I have another running a quake 3 server. They are cheap raspberry pi alternatives with a nice case and a very good power supply using 12v instead of 5v, which is more stable.
Vey interesting, does the remote also work? How do you asses Linux compatibility of those boxes?
Re: Turning a TV set-top box into a Linux computer (2022)
#30It is impressive that that they were able to run linux without making permanent destructive changes. Had a pogoplug that I was able to repurpose as a linux server for some odd cron jobs and occasional backups. Assuming there are no such constraints to revert, what other general purpose consumer devices are hack friendly and can be turned into low powered linux boxes ?
Not exactly a consumer device, but old thin clients are cheap and can be repurposed this way.