7 ms·

If I understand correctly it uses a RPi or other ARM device attached to the TV. Is there anything out there tbat overwrite the TV's "smart" firmware? Something

by deusum 4y ago

If I understand correctly it uses a RPi or other ARM device attached to the TV. Is there anything out there tbat overwrite the TV's "smart" firmware? Something analogous to OpenWRT and its router support? It would be bet cool if you could use the controller and buttons "natively".

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
qbasic_forever 4y ago
You might be able to use your native remote if it's infrared and LIRC supports it, and you get a little USB IR receiver dongle: https://www.lirc.org/ https://www.lirc.org/ Or what I like is to get a generic air mouse/keyboard remote that has programmable IR buttons for volume, input select, power on, etc. to control the TV's native settings. There are a ton of inexpensive options: https://www.amazon.com/air-mouse-remote-keyboard/s?k=air+mouse+remote+with+keyboard https://www.amazon.com/air-mouse-remote-keyboard/s?k=air+mou...
- dylan604 4y ago
  Is there a bit of commonality for remote button frequencies? I have 3 different remotes for TV equipment plus my AppleTV remote. The volume buttons from all 4 remotes work, and I've never attempted to program/train/learn them.
  - qbasic_forever 4y ago
    Yeah most use a 38khz pulse wave and then encode ones and zeros in it. There are tons of different brand-specific protocols for stuff like volume, power, etc. but you're right there is a lot of overlap and commonality. Some universal remotes just fire as many different brand signals on button press as possible.
  - inhumantsar 4y ago
    There isn't really. Most manufacturers have multiple sets of patterns. There are smart remotes with libraries of patterns and capable of switching between those, eg Logitech Harmony (assuming that's still a thing). There are also "learning" remotes. One of these would be easiest to homebrew. Basically you've got an IR detector. You point your existing remote at it and tell it to start watching for whatever button you want to map. Then you press that button on your existing remote. Voila, key mapped. You just have to keep doing that for all the zillion and a half buttons on your remote and you've got yourself a clone.
  - dzhiurgis 4y ago
    Samsung TV i’ve got for my parents recently can control apple tv and random eastern european iptv box. Really surprised by this.
- emmelaich 4y ago
  The Google TV remote has trainable buttons. I can operate the chromecast and but also adjust volume direct to TV. And turn TV on and off. So, rarely have to use the TV remote. It's used only for live TV (rare) and switching input, also rare.
- weberer 4y ago
  I use LibreElec on a Raspberry Pi 4 and it already supports receiving remote control messages from the TV. So if you hit the play button on your remote, your TV's IR receiver will pick it up, then pass the signal to the Raspberry Pi over the HDMI cable.
KMnO4 4y ago
I think remote buttons are passed through CEC. For example, I can use my TV’s remote to open the menu and change settings, but when the menu is closed I can also use it to navigate my Fire Stick UI.
_carbyau_ 4y ago
Yeah, I was super interested until it turned out to be Yet-Another-RPi-MediaPlayer-image. I mean, it seems cool if the voice commands etc all actually work but it is one of many. Being able to update the actual TV firmware like: OpenWRT, Canon Hack Development Kit, Valetudo(vacuum robot) is what would really have my interest.
xattt 4y ago
At one point, there was SammyGO firmware to root non-Tizen Samsung Smart TVs. However, it seemed to be for sideloading certain apps only.
denkmoon 4y ago
>It would be bet cool if you could use the controller and buttons "natively". This is what LibCEC is for.
pabs3 4y ago
If Software Freedom Conservancy win their lawsuit against Vizio for GPL violations in their TVs, you will probably be able to install open source Linux distros with KDE Plasma Bigscreen or Kodi on any Vizio TV and soon afterwards lots of other smart TV vendors will be similar. Allowing the vendor operating system to remain on the device after you purchase it basically means spyware these days. https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/vizio.html https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/vizio.html
- fomine3 4y ago
  Open source != custom code can be run. Bootloader would be locked by cryptographically signing. There are source distributed TVs already.
  - pabs3 4y ago
    That would not be GPL compliant (both v2 and v3), so would not conclude the lawsuit. https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/mar/25/install-gplv2/ https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/mar/25/install-gplv2/ https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/jul/23/tivoization-and-the-gpl-right-to-install/ https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/jul/23/tivoization-and-t... https://events19.linuxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Safely-Copylefted-Cars-Reexamining-GPLv3-Installation-Information-Requirements-ALS-Bradley-Kuhn-Behan-Webster-1.pdf https://events19.linuxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017...
    - mike_d 4y ago
      A lawsuit against Vizio for GPL violation cannot compel them to open or release software from their OEMs. For example you are never going to get a functional driver for the display panel made by Panasonic. It isn't even clear that Vizio would be able to comply with GPL enforcement, since they largely just OEM TVs built by AmTran in Taiwan and don't do much more than slap a logo on it.
      - cycomanic 4y ago
        That's a pretty strong statement to make. It would highly depend on the contract between Vizio and their suppliers no? In particular if the lawsuit finds that anything from the supplier (like e.g. the display driver) is part of the GPL violation the contract likely contain clauses that would force the supplier to provide source code. Otherwise Vizio has grounds to sue their supplier. That's the beauty about going after the big customer facing companies, it offers the strongest leverage.
amelius 4y ago
> Is there anything out there tbat overwrite the TV's "smart" firmware? Or use a monitor instead of a TV?

by deusum 4y ago

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

qbasic_forever 4y ago

You might be able to use your native remote if it's infrared and LIRC supports it, and you get a little USB IR receiver dongle: https://www.lirc.org/ https://www.lirc.org/ Or what I like is to get a generic air mouse/keyboard remote that has programmable IR buttons for volume, input select, power on, etc. to control the TV's native settings. There are a ton of inexpensive options: https://www.amazon.com/air-mouse-remote-keyboard/s?k=air+mouse+remote+with+keyboard https://www.amazon.com/air-mouse-remote-keyboard/s?k=air+mou...

dylan604 4y ago
Is there a bit of commonality for remote button frequencies? I have 3 different remotes for TV equipment plus my AppleTV remote. The volume buttons from all 4 remotes work, and I've never attempted to program/train/learn them.
- qbasic_forever 4y ago
  Yeah most use a 38khz pulse wave and then encode ones and zeros in it. There are tons of different brand-specific protocols for stuff like volume, power, etc. but you're right there is a lot of overlap and commonality. Some universal remotes just fire as many different brand signals on button press as possible.
- inhumantsar 4y ago
  There isn't really. Most manufacturers have multiple sets of patterns. There are smart remotes with libraries of patterns and capable of switching between those, eg Logitech Harmony (assuming that's still a thing). There are also "learning" remotes. One of these would be easiest to homebrew. Basically you've got an IR detector. You point your existing remote at it and tell it to start watching for whatever button you want to map. Then you press that button on your existing remote. Voila, key mapped. You just have to keep doing that for all the zillion and a half buttons on your remote and you've got yourself a clone.
- dzhiurgis 4y ago
  Samsung TV i’ve got for my parents recently can control apple tv and random eastern european iptv box. Really surprised by this.
emmelaich 4y ago
The Google TV remote has trainable buttons. I can operate the chromecast and but also adjust volume direct to TV. And turn TV on and off. So, rarely have to use the TV remote. It's used only for live TV (rare) and switching input, also rare.
weberer 4y ago
I use LibreElec on a Raspberry Pi 4 and it already supports receiving remote control messages from the TV. So if you hit the play button on your remote, your TV's IR receiver will pick it up, then pass the signal to the Raspberry Pi over the HDMI cable.

KMnO4 4y ago

I think remote buttons are passed through CEC. For example, I can use my TV’s remote to open the menu and change settings, but when the menu is closed I can also use it to navigate my Fire Stick UI.

_carbyau_ 4y ago

Yeah, I was super interested until it turned out to be Yet-Another-RPi-MediaPlayer-image. I mean, it seems cool if the voice commands etc all actually work but it is one of many. Being able to update the actual TV firmware like: OpenWRT, Canon Hack Development Kit, Valetudo(vacuum robot) is what would really have my interest.

xattt 4y ago

At one point, there was SammyGO firmware to root non-Tizen Samsung Smart TVs. However, it seemed to be for sideloading certain apps only.

denkmoon 4y ago

>It would be bet cool if you could use the controller and buttons "natively". This is what LibCEC is for.

pabs3 4y ago

If Software Freedom Conservancy win their lawsuit against Vizio for GPL violations in their TVs, you will probably be able to install open source Linux distros with KDE Plasma Bigscreen or Kodi on any Vizio TV and soon afterwards lots of other smart TV vendors will be similar. Allowing the vendor operating system to remain on the device after you purchase it basically means spyware these days. https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/vizio.html https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/vizio.html

fomine3 4y ago
Open source != custom code can be run. Bootloader would be locked by cryptographically signing. There are source distributed TVs already.
- pabs3 4y ago
  That would not be GPL compliant (both v2 and v3), so would not conclude the lawsuit. https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/mar/25/install-gplv2/ https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/mar/25/install-gplv2/ https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/jul/23/tivoization-and-the-gpl-right-to-install/ https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/jul/23/tivoization-and-t... https://events19.linuxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Safely-Copylefted-Cars-Reexamining-GPLv3-Installation-Information-Requirements-ALS-Bradley-Kuhn-Behan-Webster-1.pdf https://events19.linuxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017...
  - mike_d 4y ago
    A lawsuit against Vizio for GPL violation cannot compel them to open or release software from their OEMs. For example you are never going to get a functional driver for the display panel made by Panasonic. It isn't even clear that Vizio would be able to comply with GPL enforcement, since they largely just OEM TVs built by AmTran in Taiwan and don't do much more than slap a logo on it.
    - cycomanic 4y ago
      That's a pretty strong statement to make. It would highly depend on the contract between Vizio and their suppliers no? In particular if the lawsuit finds that anything from the supplier (like e.g. the display driver) is part of the GPL violation the contract likely contain clauses that would force the supplier to provide source code. Otherwise Vizio has grounds to sue their supplier. That's the beauty about going after the big customer facing companies, it offers the strongest leverage.

amelius 4y ago

> Is there anything out there tbat overwrite the TV's "smart" firmware? Or use a monitor instead of a TV?