Interestingly enough, the official Samsung firmware for several different models is based off the Linux kernel. This opens up a whole world of possibilities, particularly since many users feel that the current firmware is broken. The major problem is that the media player functionality is very basic, and missing key file types needed to make it useful.
The obvious question is why do this. Apparently the Samsung TVs have the capability to work as a media player, but from the factory it doesn’t work very well. Luckily the homebrew community has stepped in, and made strides recently in working though some of the encryption related issues. There’s quite a comprehensive list of media types and compatible televisions, but luckily the site is well done and the community is thriving.
[via Hackaday]