[rahduke]

Would anyone be interested in helping to create an open source TV platform? Partnering with an Chinese OEM to create an open platform to create an android/linux powered TV that will democratize our living rooms. Features below:

We are democratizing everything in technology these days, why are we settling for closed source, proprietary, fragmented, poorly designed televisions? Let's work together to design and build a TV for everyone.

Open Source (Stock Android 4.1+, 5.0 Key Lime Pie?)
Open Source TV Firmware (Fully customizable an open API)
Inputs, Inputs Inputs! (USB 3.0, HDMI, Display Port, VGA, DVI, Ethernet)
Connectivity (Bluetooth, 2.4ghz controller, Wifi)
Beautiful Design (near bezel-less, brushed aluminum)
PIP/Split Screen Android and Cable side by side
Unlocked Boot-loaders (load and create custom ROMS)
Full XBMC Compatibility (Hope to work directly with the XBMC Team, W00t! libstagefright)
Intuitive remote control (keyboard/mouse combo)
Sharing and Streaming (UPNP/NFS/SMB/HTTP/FTP)
Access to entire Android App universe
Quad-Core RockChip 3188 Processor (2GB DDR3 Ram, Quad Core Mali GPU) or other ARM SOC
Storage - 8GB onboard ROM, USB 3.0 allows for external drives.
So that's the list of what we want in the final units, below is a list of what we are scrapping from existing designs.

NO MORE COAX! Who among us is still using the coax on the back of our TVs?

No speakers! Most of us don't use our TV's speakers to reduce cost and create a slim design this TV won't have speakers. Optical Audio out, Bluetooth, HDMI Audio Passthrough and a 3.5mm jack offers options to pass audio to your sound system, headphones or powered speakers.

Drastically reduce size of controller. When you get a chance look at your TV remote at home, how many of those buttons have you actually pressed? Redesign the remote control with simplicity in mind. (home, back, menu, up down left right, input and mute)

We're not proposing some crazy pie in the sky product here, this is a design that can be put together using off the shelf technologies that already exist. There are literally hundreds of LED TV manufacturers in China, with enough support we can partner with one of these fine companies on designing exactly what we want.

Here's a poorly kept industry "secret", almost LED panels are manufactured by the same 4 companies (Samsung, LG, AUO, Sharp and CMO) with the power of Kickstarter we can choose exactly what LED Panel goes into our set, we can recruit a great software developer and a open source minded electrical engineer to shepherd the design. We can finally have a TV that is designed by US for US.

Many stock android powered LED TV's already exist in China, do some research and you will find some pretty cool products. Our goal is to take what exists, refine, customize and streamline to create a product that is open. Inspiration comes from great projects like OUYA, MakrBot, PrintrBot, Raspberry PI, Arduino etc etc.



I'm thinking about putting together a kickstarter project to get this idea off the ground, anyone see value in a project like this?

[davilla]

Sorry but Pivos beat you to this.

[rahduke]

Sorry but Pivos beat you to this.

Pivos is making a TV? I own a XIOS box, love it btw. I'm basically talking about taking their box, cramming it inside a custom LED TV and opening the firmware for the TV settings and getting rid of all the nonsense major TV manufacturers insist on putting in their products.

[j1nx]

Drop Android unless you want to get your dirty fingers onto the screen. A bit like the old days when you had to stand up and walk to to TV to change the channel.

Android == Touch control

Television <> Touch control

Talk to canonical, instead...

[rahduke]

Drop Android unless you want to get your dirty fingers onto the screen. A bit like the old days when you had to stand up and walk to to TV to change the channel.

Android == Touch control

Television <> Touch control

Talk to canonical, instead...

Hmm, I currently use android sticks (MK808,802 and Pivos and Raspberry PI) and I run Ubuntu on my main TV w/ custom built HTPC all with XBMC really don't see much difference in control.Can you elaborate?

[da-anda]

I also have a Pivos box, but the overall handling with the stock remote is IMO anything else then perfect atm, because the stock Android launcher is not meant to be used by a simple remote. So until you don't write a custom launcher for Android or ship it with a AirMouse (like LG does with newer SmartTVs) it's not really nice to handle.
You'd also want second screen support like the Gamestick guys did and f.e. offload EPG/hbbTV browsing, bring touch support to it etc.

[FIBO]

just thinking out load:

there are TV's with internet connection, I thought of buying one myself. I didn't when I found out that the internet connection only supported pre-installed adresses like Youtube and so. I wanted to

I'm really the opposite of an expert but if you 'root' this internet connection/module (or how should it be called?) and you would be able to install android. Wouldn't that be the same?

Then, and this isn't new, you would have an all-in-one

[j1nx]

I also have a Pivos box, but the overall handling with the stock remote is IMO anything else then perfect atm, because the stock Android launcher is not meant to be used by a simple remote. So until you don't write a custom launcher for Android or ship it with a AirMouse (like LG does with newer SmartTVs) it's not really nice to handle.
You'd also want second screen support like the Gamestick guys did and f.e. offload EPG/hbbTV browsing, bring touch support to it etc.

^^ This

Before you start thinking of creating a nice interface, from where you can easily browse and launch your media... Stop! There is already a very good one available, called XBMC

If you then bypass the Android "interface" launching directly into XBMC, I really don't see the benifit of Android. Hence you only use it for the kernel, which is linux to start with in the first place. Apps maybe? Goodluck navigating that with a remote!

Everything Android based out there at the moment is based on touch and gesture control.

[davilla]

I doubt that I would be very interested in an integrated HDTV with some Android thing bundled inside. That will get out of date in a few years and I'd have spend more money to update it. I'd rather get a nice HDTV and then set-top-box.

[negge]

I doubt that I would be very interested in an integrated HDTV with some Android thing bundled inside. That will get out of date in a few years and I'd have spend more money to update it. I'd rather get a nice HDTV and then set-top-box.

He did say that the TV would have an unlocked bootloader, which basically means it won't become obsolete just like that.

[davilla]

I doubt that I would be very interested in an integrated HDTV with some Android thing bundled inside. That will get out of date in a few years and I'd have spend more money to update it. I'd rather get a nice HDTV and then set-top-box.

He did say that the TV would have an unlocked bootloader, which basically means it won't become obsolete just like that.

An unlocked bootloader will not help update the hardware silly Just look at how fast the ARM SoC's are advancing, single core, dual-core, duad-core in the space of just a few years.

[Martijn]

Well it's good for business then that you need to buy a need tv more often

[da-anda]

davilla, that's a good argument. If I have a dumb TV with good picture I can easily switch boxes for ~ 100$ without having to buy an entire new TV for 1000$, or if you turn it around, if your TV is getting old or to small, you just plug your external box to the new TV and are ready to go - no need to setup everything from scratch again. So this TV extenders/sticks are probably the best way to go.

[j1nx]

EOMA-68?

[JeromyNix]

davilla, that's a good argument. If I have a dumb TV with good picture I can easily switch boxes for ~ 100$ without having to buy an entire new TV for 1000$, or if you turn it around, if your TV is getting old or to small, you just plug your external box to the new TV and are ready to go - no need to setup everything from scratch again. So this TV extenders/sticks are probably the best way to go.

unless you make the TV with an "upgradeble" SoC instead... where you can remove it and put in the latest and greatest ARM/ATOM/x86-64 processor but then it's essentially an All-In-One with a tv-tuner, but at least make the TV-Tuner standardized (for the model) hardware