Google TV hack!

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Greetings Programs!
I have found the recovery menu for Sony's Google TV/BluRay player!

Here are the details on how to access it (from my original post here: androidforums.[COM]/google-tv/201827-sony-google-tv-hack.html)

OK... so I found out how to get into recovery mode on the Sony Google TV/BluRay player that was released yesterday.

1.Have everything plugged into the unit except the power coord. Have the power coord in your hand.
2.Press and hold the power button and plug the unit in.
3.Continue to hold down the power button for 3 seconds after plugging it in, then release the power button.
4.Wait a couple of seconds and it will say Sony, then you will see the recovery screen.
5.After it loads, press and hold the connect button on the unit. Then follow the directions at the bottom of the screen (Press and hold ALT+ENTER) for 8 seconds/until the bottom message changes. It will change back to it saying that you have to press the CONNECT button, but your remote IS connected.
6.You can now press the numbers assigned to the commands!

WARNING: This could possibly brick your unit and could possibly void your warranty. I am not responsible for anything that happens to your device.

I am going to work on trying to find working drivers and I am going to try to use the Android SDK Tools to install some applications, or at the least try to execute some shell commands. Hopefully we can root it!

Lets start hacking!

awesome, I will have to keep my eye on this. google TV plus angry birds would be awesome.

Looking forward to seeing this thing cracked! I'm hoping someone will be able to get a USB tuner to work on one, so those without cable or satellite will be able to get TV content without the hassle of another set-top box.

Nice.... Wonder what the possibilities are

Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

OK Guys, I am still working on it. Heres a video of me booting it into the recovery mode.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L21guovXDsc

Thanks for the information about recovery, I tried it, and was able to get into recovery. I tried writing the logfile to USB, and it "seemed" to work, but after mounting the USB stick on my linux machine, I didn't see any files there.

I bought the Sony NSZ-GT1 so I could port my Android app Better Terminal Emulator Pro onto Google TV. I already ported it to Android-x86 in preparation for this, but seems like I could not ADB into the Google TV over Ethernet. Frustrated, I decided to take a screwdriver to my Google TV, and did a "teardown" as a result. You can see what the guts look like here:

http://www.magicandroidapps.com/wiki...le_TV_Teardown

Sorry the pictures are not that great, I used my Moto Droid to take them, and the lighting was terrible.

-Howard

Originally Posted by hharte

Thanks for the information about recovery, I tried it, and was able to get into recovery. I tried writing the logfile to USB, and it "seemed" to work, but after mounting the USB stick on my linux machine, I didn't see any files there.

I bought the Sony NSZ-GT1 so I could port my Android app Better Terminal Emulator Pro onto Google TV. I already ported it to Android-x86 in preparation for this, but seems like I could not ADB into the Google TV over Ethernet. Frustrated, I decided to take a screwdriver to my Google TV, and did a "teardown" as a result. You can see what the guts look like here:

magicandroidapps.com

Sorry the pictures are not that great, I used my Moto Droid to take them, and the lighting was terrible.

-Howard

ETHERNET? Hasnt anyone tried USB A to USB A cable? I've been busy all day. Gonna go get one tomorrow and figure it out for myself I guess. Can't stand that they have ALREADY corrected the hulu fix for the thing. Why shouldn't I be able to access my paid July plus account? Oh well.
Try USB a to USB a!!!!!

USB A to A will definitely not work. All of the USB ports are connected through internal SMSC 4-port hubs. There are two hubs in the unit, one in the back with 3 ports going to external connectors, and one going to the WLAN module. Up front there is another 4-port hub going to the front USB connector, and presumably to a BT module, but I didn't take mine far enough apart to be sure.

There is one large connector over near the CPU that might have some debug stuff on it.There are also about three 4-pin connectors populated, one of which might be a UART. There is also a footprint for another. Tomorrow I'll get my oscilloscope out and see if any of those pins wiggle on boot.

-Howard

Originally Posted by hharte

USB A to A will definitely not work. All of the USB ports are connected through internal SMSC 4-port hubs. There are two hubs in the unit, one in the back with 3 ports going to external connectors, and one going to the WLAN module. Up front there is another 4-port hub going to the front USB connector, and presumably to a BT module, but I didn't take mine far enough apart to be sure.

There is one large connector over near the CPU that might have some debug stuff on it.There are also about three 4-pin connectors populated, one of which might be a UART. There is also a footprint for another. Tomorrow I'll get my oscilloscope out and see if any of those pins wiggle on boot.

-Howard

Yeah, the big long/wide plug. I was looking at the inside of my box too. First day jitters. Anyway, I was also going to start looking for a serial port connection through one of those ports. Good luck and post right away if you find something!

If somene with an ethernet sniffer who has not booted their box yet can catch a sniff of the update download, it might be possible to get the update.zip URL, then we could try hacking the update and install it via recovery. This method was very popular with Android devices... but there you could get the update URL from the logcat

-Howard.