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  • In principle, yes, and I believe a few small hobby projects have attempted to do this and support specific TVs. However, interest in developing a custom Smart TV platform tends to get siphoned away into a project where the output from your actual platform is displayed on the TV rather than running directly on it. Simply, it’s easier to develop and maintain support across different models.

    Why would you develop a custom TV OS that runs on one TV when you could develop it for any mini PC and immediately support all TVs? You’d have to develop your OS to run on each specific TV model which will make it quite hard to reach a critical mass sufficient to attract attention from developers and users alike.

    The juice isn’t really worth the squeeze. It’s not like TV vendors are publishing detailed hardware specs and drivers. Writing or even porting an OS is hard. Look at the state of the Android ROM scene, and that’s about as good as it gets when some vendors are actually attempting to open source their drivers. The difficulty is much higher and the interest lower due to the existence of a viable alternative.

    With that said, motivated minds have done it anyway. You just need to have the right TV for it.

  • Also cars. I want a custom, privacy respecting OS for an EV please

    • Oh no:
      It is theoretically possible to replace the operating system of an electric car with an open-source or custom alternative, similar to flashing a custom ROM on Android smartphones. However, in practice, this comes with significant challenges. Here's an overview:

      Theoretical Feasibility

      1. Hardware Compatibility:
        • Electric vehicles rely on specific hardware components (e.g., control units, sensors, actuators) that are tightly integrated with the operating system.
        • A custom operating system would need to understand and control this hardware. However, the underlying hardware specifications (APIs, protocols) are often proprietary and not publicly available.
      2. Software Architecture:
        • Modern electric cars use highly complex software architectures that include real-time operating systems, safety-critical systems, and user-facing interfaces.
        • A replacement OS would need to handle safety-critical functions (like braking and steering) as well as infotainment features.
      3. Open-Source Efforts:
        • There are initiatives like Automotive Grade Linux (AGL), which aim to create open-source software for vehicles. However, these are typically designed for automakers and not readily available for end-user modification.

      Practical Challenges

      1. Safety Risks:
        • Operating safety-critical functions such as braking, propulsion, and battery management requires certified software.
        • Modifying the software introduces safety risks, which can have serious consequences, especially on public roads.
      2. Legal Barriers:
        • Many countries mandate that vehicles operate only with approved software to ensure compliance with safety and emissions regulations.
        • Modifying the vehicle's software could result in the loss of roadworthiness certification.
      3. Technical Restrictions:
        • Manufacturers often use encryption and digital signatures to protect access to the vehicle's software.
        • Replacing the operating system would require bypassing these security measures, which could be legally and technically problematic.
      4. Lack of Community Support:
        • Unlike smartphones or PCs, there is currently no large-scale community actively developing user-friendly open-source operating systems for electric vehicles.

      Examples from Practice

      • Some enthusiasts and hackers have managed to modify software on vehicles like Tesla cars to add custom features or access internal data. However, these projects remain experimental and risky.
      • Initiatives like Comma.ai focus on creating aftermarket autonomy systems, demonstrating the challenges of modifying or replacing existing systems.

      Conclusion

      Replacing the operating system of an electric car is theoretically possible but practically extremely difficult due to legal, technical, and safety-critical constraints. While it could be an exciting project for hobbyists and developers, any modifications would likely render the vehicle unfit for legal road use in most jurisdictions.

  • This is a damn good question that I would also love an answer to!

  • What I did was bought a "commercial" television that's intended to either be put in a waiting room and tuned to Fox News all day, OR used as digital signage. It's not quite an Arby's menu board because it's still obviously a television, has a tuner and such, but it has no "smart" TV in it and the backlight isn't as "won't survive a run of Breath of the Wild" like the TCL televisions my parents own. Then I slapped a Raspberry Pi 4 on the back with OSMC on it. Meanwhile I did replace my small form factor desktop gaming rig, so I have a Ryzen 3600/GTX1080 rig sitting unplugged under that television waiting for me to build up the gumption to switch over to it.

    • Not to jump to the defense of the cheapest Chinese manufacturer, but my parents' TCL TV has survived for like 6 years

      • And also to be fair I've got a Samsung with a mostly failed backlight that I haven't bothered to get rid of. I could probably sort of partially half ass fix it, but...

  • This would be awesome, but something else I thought of would be DRM. If you don’t have the correct version (like Linux and a few android custom roms) then you would stream at really low quality. So if you even came up with a free smart tv os, it would lack quality streaming

135 comments