Have you hacked your TV?

[Rockman]

Recently I was searching for a firmware upgrade for my Samsung LED and then turns out there was something better, a "hack" which allowed to gain more features by using a different model on the same one currently using.

This possibly will come handy if I come across the same issue.

 

[InsaneNutter]

What features did your TV gain? i presume this is a Smart TV?

I have nothing to hack on my TV, it doesn't even have an Arial connect to it. I simply use it for games consoles and watching media via XBMC.

 

[Rockman]

- Video files are now watchable (.avi, .mp4, .mkv, etc -- no subs supported sadly)
- More picture and audio settings to customise (I like colour correcting)
- Some others I can't remember now

Kinda sucks that the customers who want more out of it have to "hack" it in order to gain more.

I also just use it for Gaming and media (video/audio) via USB so I don't really use the TV channels at all either.

 

[InsaneNutter]

Thats like a lot of things, if you hack them you gain more features and up to date software.

Routers are a great example of this, custom firmware that vastly exceeds the capabilities of the manufacturers firmware are available for a lot of popular routers.

Another good example is the Apple TV, out the box its the most useless device in the world unless you happen to have all your media on iTunes, however once jailbroken and XBMC has been installed it can play just about any media file you can think of.

Same with the Classic Xbox, PSP and other consoles.

If i own something that can be hacked it usually is to be honest.

 

[Rockman]

The difference of 360p and 720p is huge, I was used to only watch videos downscaled to standard definition (on PS3, X360 'cause they can't handle mkv) and thought they looked great but after watching the same ones in HD it's quite a jump.

I often watch YouTube videos in HD as well as Blu-rays so I should've expected that they'd look just as good.

Anyway, it's a shame that neither PlayStation nor Xbox support Matroska format.

 

[gdavies]

I tend to do the same if a device can be hacked it usually is and the extra functions you can unlock are always a plus, Phones are a typical example, custom rom and then all of a sudden music playback greatly increases etc. Shame manufacturers do not give you the full whack from the off