hack News - Page 8 of 14 - CNX Software

March 3, 2017May 8, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 35 Comments

$12 AI Light ESP8266 based WiFi RGB Light Bulb Supports MQTT via ESPurna Open Source Firmware

AI-Thinker is famous in the maker world for their ESP8266 modules, but they’ve also recently launched a WiFi RGB light bulb that sells for about $12.5 and up on eBay and Aliexpress. Some people noticed, and bought samples online, including Xose Pérez (aka Tinkerman), ESPurna open-source firmware developer, who could confirm ESP8266 was used in the light bulb, did some investigations, and eventually added the light bulb into ESPurna, which means it can be managed using MQTT or a web interface. AI Light looks very similar to Philips Hue, but comes with WiFi instead of Zigbee. AI Light “M1636” key features: RGBW LED E27 bulb with 16.7M colors Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi Encryption – AES Voltage Range – 110-240V LED Power – 5 watts WiFi Power Consumption – ≤0.3W Temperature Range – -5~45degree Humidity – ≤80% Certifications – FCC, CE, ROHS If you’re going to use the stock firmware, […]

February 22, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

RetroArch Game Emulator Can Now Run on Nintendo NES Classic Mini and Famicom Mini

Nintendo NES Classic Mini is a smaller replica of Nintendo NES with an HDMI output, and powered by an Allwinner R16 SoC. Nintendo has released a model with the same or similar hardware, but a different case for the Japanese market called Famicom Mini. Those two consoles are pre-loaded with about 30 games, and in theory you can’t add any more games. But as everything with an Allwinner processor, it can be hacked to match your needs, and people have already managed to add games using the micro USB connection and Hakchi2 script. What’s new is that you can now run RetroArch on the consoles, and probably on other Allwinner R16 platform such as the upcoming Banana Pi BPI-M2 Magic board, provided it’s connected to an LCD display. To achieve that, first you’ll need to install the latest Hakchi 2.12 tool with the procedure, clearly explained (with an older version) […]

January 27, 2017January 27, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Add a 2.5″ Hard Drive to Voyo VMac Mini mini PC with a $20 Custom SATA Cable

When I tore down Voyo VMac Mini mini PC, I noticed a 2.5″ mounting mechanism, and some weird 9-pin SATA connector, but since the hard drive would be so close to the components I assumed this specific case was not designed for a drive, but the board would be compatible. However, it’s now possible to purchase a $20 custom SATA cable from “Voyo Official Store” on Aliexpress to do just that.All you have to do is to open the case, connect the cable to the motherboard, and the hard drive, and mounting the hard drive to the mechanism with four screws. I’m not sure whether you should also use some kind of insulation between the drive and motherboard, as it will be really close, but the company does not mention anything about that. Cooling might also be an issue even though there’s a fan in the mini PC. It’s not […]

January 13, 2017January 18, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

Xiaomi WiFi IP Cameras Hacked to Run RTSP Server, Disable Cloud Service

Xiaomi 720p and 1080p IP cameras include night vision, motion detection, WiFi connectivity, and can save videos locally, and send them to a cloud server in China for you to check your camera from anywhere. The 720p camera sells for about $50, while the 1080p camera goes for around $30 on GearBest and other websites, but comes with less IR LEDs and no optical zoom. [Update: The black version of the 720p camera goes for $29.99 on Amazon US] They works fine, but you need a specific mobile app to configure and control the camera, and if you’d rather not have the videos streamed to some server outside of your local network, github user “Fritz” has developed a set of scripts for the camera to disable cloud service, run a standard RTSP server, as well as HTTP and FTP servers on the camera. He did his work on Yi Ants […]

December 15, 2016December 17, 2016 by Karl Johnson - 16 Comments

YokaTV KB2 Review – Amlogic S912 TV Box with 32 GB Flash

CNXSoft: This is another review by Karl about Amlogic S912 based YokaTV KB2 TV box. Introduction Today we will be looking at Videostrong YokaTV KB2. Below are the specs from Videostrong website. This is my first S912 device so I had high expectation. I have been using it for quite some time now with no major issues. I received approximately 6 OTA updates since I started testing and some welcome updates have come. Build When I receive a box first thing I do is take it apart and check out the inside. I was excited when I found out it had 32 gig of storage. It is not too common. Then when I opened the box I was really happy to see an antenna that wasn’t soldered on. Makes it easy to add a different one. +1 for KB2. Then I noticed the heat sink. It seemed a little small. […]

December 10, 2016December 10, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

VGA Output Hack on $2 PADI IoT Stamp & Other Realtek RTL8710AF Modules

It’s pretty amazing what you can do with those cheap WiFi modules coming from Espressif and Realtek. You may remember CNLohr getting ESP8266 to broadcast video to your TV though NTSC, and that was impressive. But developer kissste, who has been very active since the announcement of a $2 Realtek RTL8710 module, has now developed a VGA driver demo for Realtek Ameba WiFi SoCs, and successfully tested it on Pine64 PADI IoT Stamp. Just like on ESP8266, there’s no hardware display block on RTL8710AF, RTL8711AF, and RTL8195AF SoCs, so instead he had to connect the signals to GPIOs with the video signal connected to GA1 via a resistor, H-Sync to GC2, and V-Sync to GA5. Video and H-Sync data is actually transfered over an SPI connection using DMA transfer for better performance. Normally the video signal for VGA is divided into red, green, and blue signal, so I understand he mixed […]

November 28, 2016April 5, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 60 Comments

How to Play Netflix HD on any Android Device with Widevine Level 1 DRM

A while ago I wrote an article entitled “Why Doesn’t your Android TV Box Play Full HD or 4K Videos in Netflix?” basically explaining that most TV boxes running Android could only play SD quality, because HD and higher quality requires both Widevine Level 1 DRM, and Netflix certification, and the second part is the most difficult since Netflix need to spend time testing a given product, and may not agree to do so for smaller manufacturers. The end result is that only a small subset of devices can play Netflix HD. Samsung Tab S2 is one of the device with Widevine Level 1, but is not certified by Netflix, and by default can only play SD quality. But XDA Forum user chenxiaolong apparently found a workaround and as the photo above shows is now able to reach HD resolutions (e.g. 1920×1080) with Netflix using his tablet. After analyzing packets […]

November 8, 2016November 11, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 34 Comments

Nintendo NES Classic is Powered by Allwinner R16 SoC, Likely Hackable

Nintendo NES Classic Edition is a small replica of Nintendo NES, both adapted to modern times with an HDMI output, and keeping with nostalgia thanks to connectors for original game controllers, and pre-loaded with 30 classic games. If you planned to add your own games however, the lack of USB ports, micro SD card slot, or any other storage or network interface could make it impossible. But based on a recent photo tweeted by Peter Brown, senior review editor at GameSpot, there may be light out of the tunnel, as while the main storage device (4Gbit NAND flash) is soldered to the board, the main board is powered by Allwinner R16 quad core Cortex A7 processor with a Mali-400MP2, and it’s quite likely UART / serial console and/or FEL interfaces are exposed on the board, making it possible to hack the device and potentially load your own games. The other […]