Popping the hood on the Vodafone TV (gen.2) - Sagemcom DIW387-UHD (NZ-512/131329)

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mclean

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#2501315 9-Jun-2020 12:03

freakalad: ….I really don't need/want the ad-laden live freeview cruft clogging up the interface - really need it as a dedicated Netflix streaming received, then NEON, then DLNA target (VLC, Kodi, Plex, etc).

If you want free-to-air WITHOUT ads, Netflix and Neon, then surely the VTV would be your box of choice? Plus you get Sky, YouTube, Lightbox and Prime, all on the same platform. The only thing our media PC does now is Kodi and Plex server - the VTV is definitely the primary box of choice.

Lias

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#2501635 9-Jun-2020 17:51

michaelmurfy:

If you do find a way to exploit the box then don't post it on here. We don't want to know about it, keep it to yourself or do the best thing you could ever do to yourself and disclose this to Vodafone directly and hope they have a bounty program. I would consider this (along with modding Sky boxes and other pay TV boxes) a breach of the FUG for grey-area piracy reasons.

I don't really see how piracy comes into it? People just want a box that can play sky + free to air + common streaming apps (e.g the 3 main sources of content in NZ) that is easy to use and acceptable to non tech types. Pirates with sufficient technical expertise to actually exploit a box like this seem very unlikely to waste the time doing it for the purposes of piracy when there are so many easier and simpler ways for them to access pirated content.

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup.

freakalad

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#2829829 10-Dec-2021 10:24

michaelmurfy:

...

Anyway, for proof so nobody else does - if you want to open your box be prepared to get blue thermal grease everywhere to add to the disappointment you got from finding really nothing else (I don't want to ruin my box by potentially damaging it).

If you do find a way to exploit the box then don't post it on here. We don't want to know about it, keep it to yourself or do the best thing you could ever do to yourself and disclose this to Vodafone directly and hope they have a bounty program. I would consider this (along with modding Sky boxes and other pay TV boxes) a breach of the FUG for grey-area piracy reasons.

good breakdown, thanks

given that this stack is now effectively EoL, I'm looking at revisiting this box gathering dust.

I'm presently rolling with the Mi Box S - MDZ-22-AB - with my desired apps loaded or sideloaded & the most stable (affordable) ATV box I've owned yet.

I'll check XDA for the 'hacking' & ROM's; these set-top boxes seem to be classified by chipsets rather than models, as they're a dime a dozen - mostly of questionable or down-right poor quality - so wondering what the hook is I'd be looking for.

I'm kinda thinking I'd like to turn this into a presentation or docking box - support for DLNA, Chromecast, Miracast, etc & very little else

FLOSS'er, aspiring Maker

michaelmurfy

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#2829890 10-Dec-2021 12:36

The problem you're going to run into is the locked Vodafone bootloader as mentioned here: https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=40&topicid=291861&page_no=5#2829541

But to be honest I'd be fighting them for this too. These are reasonably powerful boxes and I am just thinking of the ewaste here. Amazing how things can change this much in a year.

I've basically got a total of 5 boxes - 2 at my parents, 3 here.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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