Smart TV owners are now exposed to more and more ads and tracking. It’s understandable that ad fatigue is exacerbated by streaming providers’ tendency to force customers to subscribe with commercials. We’re in a situation where some people would rather use a broken laptop hanging from their TV than be monitored by the TV’s native operating system.
As spotted by Tom’s Hardware earlier this month, a blogger named Carl Riis, who claims to be a software engineer, shared a DIY project called a Linux-based “smart TV.” Riis’ projects don’t stand out because they’re the most unique, clever, or cleanest. In fact, if you’re the type of person who doesn’t mind paying a lot of money for a TV that has a strong aesthetic appeal, such as one that looks like a work of art or one that looks transparent, EarlGreyTV will probably put you off. The system uses an old Lenovo laptop with a broken keyboard and is connected to a TV with a string. Riis writes: “This may seem a little insane, but it’s a great way to keep things tidy while still maintaining access to your laptop.”
Behind the scenes of your DIY smart TV. The back of your DIY smart TV. Credit: Carl the Person/YouTube
Years ago, Reese spilled tea on the keyboard and it destroyed my laptop. My keyboard stopped working and I had difficulty turning my laptop on and off. “You have to short out two specific pins where the keyboard connects to the motherboard. I’m removing the back for this reason, which will probably also help reduce heat,” says Reese. he writes.
Riis has done extra work to ensure this project is more than just streaming using a laptop on a smart TV or using the TV as a monitor. His computer recognizes the HDMI connection as an app, uses Debian Linux, and uses Sway as his desktop environment due to its simplicity. Riis configured Sway to open the Firefox browser full screen upon login. He made Firefox his homepage. It contains shortcuts to streaming services and everything Riis needs in a custom HTML file. We also used the userChrome.css file to customize Firefox to give the browser a more traditional TV look, such as no address bar and on-screen pop-ups when adjusting volume.
