Hacking an old Yuxing YX-5921A(T401) IPTV STB

[Format _C:]

I found in the trash a Yuxing YX-5921A(T401) IPTV STB I am sure there are other uses for it other then the original purpose
It looks hackable but how I don't know
It has a front USB port and an 100Mbit ethernet jack
The PCB has a different model number of YX-6911A and it looks to have some kind of serial port on the PCB as I see a header with markings of "TX RX GND +5V

Anyway when I power it up it boots up and when connected to the internet it says "Powered by Nextv" and then stops with a divide by zero error and a server not found however it will display the correct date and time and when not connected it just stays on the loading screen and will eventually display server not found


Anyway here are the picture of the box

So is there any cool things I can do with this or is it trash fodder?

Thanks

 

[Mohonri]

Probably nothing you couldn't do more cheaply with any of a number of android gumsticks.

The serial header you saw is most likely a JTAG header. With the right kind of cable and/or adapter, it'll give you a terminal. Whether the terminal is *useful* is another matter.

Off the top of my head, I think I see a couple of RAM chips, an EEPROM, and whatever might be under that heatsink. Identifying the chip under the heatsink will go a long ways towards determining how hackable it is.

 

[Format _C:]

What does an JTAG header do? I will try to get the heatsink off and post a picture and any of the numbers on the chip

 

[Format _C:]

OK the chip is a Broadcom

Here is a picture of the chip

Here are the marking if for some reason the picture does not show

BCM7401ZKPB9G
UN0808 P31
858418 U3

 

[Mohonri]

JTAG header = serial port. The PCB might have some sort of marking to tell you what baud rate/parity/number of stop bits, etc. Otherwise, if you have an oscilloscope or a logic analyzer, you can figure it out for yourself. The chip is this one:
http://www.broadcom.com/products/Ca...udio-Video-Graphics-System-Processors/BCM7401
It sounds like you could potentially build yourself a HTPC out of the box, or a NAS, but a brief bit of searching tells me there's not much of a thriving hacking community based on that particular SoC.

It sounds like you *could* do some useful stuff with it, but it would take a *lot* of work. How much free time do you have?

 

[Format _C:]

JTAG header = serial port. The PCB might have some sort of marking to tell you what baud rate/parity/number of stop bits, etc. Otherwise, if you have an oscilloscope or a logic analyzer, you can figure it out for yourself. The chip is this one:
http://www.broadcom.com/products/Ca...udio-Video-Graphics-System-Processors/BCM7401
It sounds like you could potentially build yourself a HTPC out of the box, or a NAS, but a brief bit of searching tells me there's not much of a thriving hacking community based on that particular SoC.

It sounds like you *could* do some useful stuff with it, but it would take a *lot* of work. How much free time do you have?

I have alot of free time but that looks way beyond my skill set
I guess I will keep the box though as it does not take up much space and you never know in a year or two or three there might be an easy hack for this


PS: I did not intend the hack to get free TV