Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

More Cringley on Linux Embedded Hardware Hacking

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the get-your-hack-on dept.

enrico_suave writes "I , Cringley on Linux hardware hacking (the good kind). Some neat points on what enterprising individuals are doing with Hauppauge MediaMVP streaming content settop box/client thingie." The story is mostly about Micro ISPs, including a few choice digs on Slashdot readers.

31 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...does every single Cringely article make front page lately??

    1. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      I, Dunno.

  2. Good use of resources by caffeinefiend · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I must say, I am impressed by the Hauppauge device. It has really good functionality and a not-too-bad price tag. These exploits are really pretty interesting, and I am surprised that it took so long for them to become mainstream. I figure that it is only a matter of time before people start building specialized devices like the Hauppauge. Overall, this is one of those nifty hacks that I love.

    1. Re:Good use of resources by Racal+Vadic · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If you have one of these boxes, maybe you can answer this:

      OK, it's got a 300 MHz PowerPC. Does it have a BDM or JTAG port, or a monitor in ROM? In other words, when I accidentally scrag the firmware in flash, is it a brick now or is there a recovery path to get it bootable again?

    2. Re:Good use of resources by Racal+Vadic · · Score: 3, Informative

      The web knows everything.

      Looks like it just has tftp/bootp in ROM, so it can't run standalone. But at least that also means it's real easy to recover if you screw up!
      It would be insanely great to get GDB set up to attach remote processes running on the MVP.

  3. WRT54G on sale ($56.50 or $66.50) at Amazon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    The famed router seems to be (unless I'm missing something) on sale for $66.49 at Amazon.com, and a $10 rebate is available as well, taking it down to about $56.49. Free shipping.

    Pretty cool price considering most of your other options.

  4. Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is that his picture? Bloggers keep getting younger and younger. How long until we get the first fetus weblog?

  5. Because.... by IcEMaN252 · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...nobody RTFAs anyways, and we think its cool to talk about cheap Linux boxes?

    --
    CitrusTV (http://www.citrustv.net): the Nation's Oldest & Largest Entirely Student-Run Television Station
  6. But wait a sec... by jwcorder · · Score: 5, Insightful
    If I am going to pay 80 bucks for the Hauppage device, I might as well pay 20 more and get another TIVO. Or for 109 bucks, you can get a refurbished Xbox. Little hacking on it, and you have the perfect media center PC.

    I am not discrediting the Hauppage device as it sounds really cool. But for 80 bucks I think I would compare the other devices in this category and find a better alternative. IMO that is.

    --
    http://jayceecorder.blogspot.com
    1. Re:But wait a sec... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Effort is the thing. XBox needs a HW hack, Tivo needs a subscription. MediaMVP needs little effort, and a PC makes a better Tivo anyways (web admin rocks). And I can fit a pantload more storage in a tower than I can in a Tivo or an XBox.

    2. Re:But wait a sec... by enrico_suave · · Score: 2, Insightful

      " If I am going to pay 80 bucks for the Hauppage device, I might as well pay 20 more and get another TIVO. Or for 109 bucks, you can get a refurbished Xbox. Little hacking on it, and you have the perfect media center PC.

      I am not discrediting the Hauppage device as it sounds really cool. But for 80 bucks I think I would compare the other devices in this category and find a better alternative. IMO that is."

      ah.... but the rub there is the 13 beans a month (or 300 beans for lifetime of the "unit" subscription) and if you are one of the tinfoil hat folks, well say no more =). Setup a MediaMVP with GB-PVR (or get one of those myth client hax being worked on ) and use a 90 dollar hardware encoder/tuner card in your existing PC and you've got PVR goodness for around 170 beans (plus shipping) and no subscription. You also get expanded functionality that you have to pay EXTRA for with Tivo's "home media option", bah! Granted ReplayTV is a little bit better off in that arena, but you are still on the hook for subscription fees.

      Note: I have a tivo and love it, but I've seen this combo outlined above as a viable option. *Shrug* ymmv.

      FWIW a regular user on my site did a review of the hauppauge MediaMVP and a new writeup about using it with GBPVR (instead of the default software) is coming "soon".

      hey, it's a different option, and it's not for everybody... but I'll be watching what the mediamvp hackers come up with... reminds me of the good old iopener/websurfer days =)

      e.

      --
      Build Your Own PVR/HTPC news, reviews, &
  7. Hauppauge MVP encoding? by SendBot · · Score: 4, Interesting

    From the article:

    "... the MVP is attracting attention from people who want to alter its firmware.

    This is a very different device from the wireless router. For one thing, it has hardware MPEG video encoding and decoding."

    There's no mention of video encoding on the official product site. Is this an error, or is there a hack that allows for it?

  8. MediaMVP alternative firmware? by tji · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I did some Google searches, but didn't turn up any 'hacked' firmware options for the MediaMVP. Can anyone suggest any links?

    Does the MediaMVP support streaming of DVD VOB files from a file server?

    1. Re:MediaMVP alternative firmware? by randomErr · · Score: 5, Informative

      The forum below might have more of the information your looking for:

      http://www.shspvr.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=38

      --
      You say things that offend me and I can deal with it. Can you?
  9. MediaMVP - Video Encoding? by tji · · Score: 5, Informative

    In the Cringely article, he mentions:
    For one thing, it has hardware MPEG video encoding and decoding

    I don't think this is correct. According the the Happauge site, the MediaMVP has hardware decoding, but does no encoding (it doesn't even have audio/video inputs, only outputs). They only talk about acquiring video in the context of their WinTV products, some of which have hardware MPEG2 encoders.

    It still looks like a cool device for SDTV use. But, I am waiting for one that supports at least component 480P output (preferably 720P or 1080i) and digital audio output for DD5.1 support.

  10. I'd like to point out by ProudClod · · Score: 4, Interesting

    that some companies get away with using GPL code illegally in their hardware projects.

    See BusyBox's hall of shame here:

    http://www.busybox.net/shame.html

    May I suggest that we at /. give these companies a little trouble. Seems like an open and shut case to me.

    --
    Gamers Europe - Gaming News. Reviews.
    1. Re:I'd like to point out by DrLZRDMN · · Score: 3, Informative

      and the Hauppauge MVP is among those on the list

  11. RTFLINK (DONT CLICK) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    The link sets p=the+query and q=some other site. Clever but not enough.

  12. s/Cringely/Eugenia/g by Gothmolly · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why does this "Cringely" fellow make any kind of news? Is he a producer of code, or hardware, or is he merely a Talking Head that PHBs can quote? In other words, why do we care what he says?

    --
    I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
    1. Re:s/Cringely/Eugenia/g by blakestah · · Score: 3, Informative

      Cringely has been a long long long-time column writer for PBS. Back in the day, he was a nobody.

      Then he did this movie, called Triumph of the Nerds, about Microsoft and Apple's foundings. You see, back then, he was still a tech writer, and he met with Apple in their garage, and knew Bill Gates when he wasn't worth much. He tracks them and personal computer's rise.

      He is quite interested to technophiles, and that is a columnist's job. He gets people interested, reading, and writing about his ideas. He's probably the best technical writer around (I certainly think so - I started reading him around when the nerds movie came out).

      If you haven't seen the movie, you may find it interesting, and free on PBS.

  13. Straight from his site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    "On Why You Should Pay Any Attention to Him

    When it comes to information technology, I know what I am talking about. Twenty years in and around the PC business have earned me wisdom, if not wealth. It's not that I am so smart, but that my friends are smart. The best and brightest in Silicon Valley talk to me all the time. It's my job to sift through their thoughts for valuable bits to share with you. But wait, if I am so great, why is this service free? Good question! Maybe it's time to renegotiate my contract with PBS."

    He's a sort of consultant/analyst person who appears on TV shows, writes books and more.

  14. Still violating GPL? by h2odragon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The BusyBox Hall of Shame lists this device as one of several that is violating the GPL in using BusyBox, and presumably other packages too. Anyone know if Hauppauge is actually doing anything about it?

    1. Re:Still violating GPL? by Alnitak73 · · Score: 5, Informative

      AFAIK, Hauppauge are now complying correctly, they've got the relevant Busybox sources, and also the kernel sources online.

      What's not available are the sources to the IBM proprietary kernel modules for the STB25xx processor's hardware features, nor the client program that runs on the MVP once it's booted.

      However some enterprising individuals have managed to figure out most all of the ioctl(2) interfaces to those modules, and also developed native player software that doesn't depend on the HCW supplied windows server software.

      Personally, I've got a couple of these now, using the mediamvp plugin for VDR (the Linux DVB PVR system) to get both live and recorded digital TV distributed around the house.

      The best link I know of for discussions on using Linux on the MediaMVP are the forums at http://www.shspvr.com/forum/

  15. Not to be an asshole.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    But his name is wrong in the headline... :)

  16. Techno Utopianism by crush · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So Cringely thinks the city of SF is going to start handing out pocket pcs to homeless people?! Right! Homeless people have a hard enough time finding accomodation (and yes, some homeless people would rather be on the street than in "dry" hostels, but there's a significant number that would welcome free, clean accomodation). Central point: given the stretched budgets of cities and states due to the huge Bush tax cuts for the wealthy there won't be a techno utopia any time soon. Comfy speculations from people in silicon towers cheapen the discussion of interesting technologies.

  17. Avoid the MVP, just misses the mark. by Pinback · · Score: 5, Informative

    I have an MVP, and I wouldn't reccomend them. If Hauppage had used a CPU one model farther up the product line, they'd have AC3 decode.

    The evening I figured out that all my MPEGs with AC3 audio weren't going to produce audio, I was very unhappy.

    The video looked great, and people have even put together software to allow serving files from Linux, but without audio, its a waste.

    Pinback

    1. Re:Avoid the MVP, just misses the mark. by enrico_suave · · Score: 2, Informative

      *shrug*

      some enterprising folks in shs's forum have a pass through working (looks like anyhow). It's probably not for the feint of heart though =)

      It's not the processor speed, but probablly licensing/DMCA like buggery that the MVP doesn't do AC3 *shrug* but I could be off base on that...

      Soo are you selling yours? =)

      --
      Build Your Own PVR/HTPC news, reviews, &
  18. s/Enderle/Cringely/g s/Windoze/Linux/g by multiplexo · · Score: 2, Insightful
    How can I become a pundit like Cringely or Enderle? Unlike either one of them I've spec'd, built and maintained large, uptime critical systems in high intensity environments. The stuff I was responsible for came in on time, on budget and worked.


    Of course the same could be said for thousands of /. readers who log in here every day. What do I have to do so I can stop working and start being a technopundit? Do I need to have an extra Chutpah organ inserted into my chest? Executive level hair? Immune system tolerance to high levels of bullshit? What damnit! What? I'm tired of working for a living!

    --
    cheap labor conservatives - they want to keep you hungry enough to be thankful for minimum wage.
  19. Re:Imagine by daniel23 · · Score: 2, Funny

    this is just like the saying goes:

    only on /. can the very first post be modded redundant.

    --
    605413? Yes, it's a prime.
  20. FYI by trainsnpep · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's pronounced Hophog. A lot of towns (here) on Long Island have Native American names....

    - Mike

    --
    --<Mike>--
  21. Dig! by eltoyoboyo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    While the Slashdot crowd argued about what is or isn't technically or legally possible,

    He's right, the revolution will not be slashdotted...

    --
    Have you Meta Moderated t