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Comment on Ask HN: Tips for hacking a TV?

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Hacking TVs was a favourite pasttime of mine. There's nothing quite like flashing a TV with AOSP such that it thinks it's 55" smartphone. Lock screen and all.

See if you can find a service manual for your TV. You'll want to get UART as soon as possible.

Just remember crashes are for chumps: https://gist.github.com/Benjamin-Dobell/bb13f6169aaa48625453...

PS. I think that may be my favourite piece of code I've ever written. Mostly because it's completely absurd but worked just fine.

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 to find program information from the internet connection it does not have. It's absolutely asinine. I miss the days when TV's were just screens to show whatever input I have connected to them.

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.

Same. I'd be happy to turn it on and not have a menu over half the screen every time.

In a world where Raspberry Pi exists you’d think we’d be able to make such a TV happen.

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