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Sir Finkus writes:

I recently had an interesting find at a local thrift store: a mess of televisions used in a correctional facility! Unfortunately, I didn't find any drugs or shivs hidden in mine (would be a bit hard, given the cases are clear) but they're nice pieces of kit for $8 each.

They'd be super handy as external monitors for something like htop or other system monitors, but the HDMI and VGA port appear to be disabled somehow. However, intriguingly, there is a USB port "for factory use only". I can get about 5 more if I want and I can find a good project for them, but I don't really know where to start when it comes to potentially modifying them to re-enable the HDMI port. I figure they just need their firmware configured to enable the ports, but I have no idea where to start. If anyone has any ideas of where to start poking around I'd appreciate it. They're also a rather unusual item, so I'd be glad to entertain any questions you may have about them.

Imgur album with some pictures of one of the monitors in question.

As always, thanks!

[Editor's Note: I've done a bit of web searching, the monitor is marked as AMP'D HDTV Monitor SLTV-1519AP-3S with ATSC Tuner, and others seem to have got it working. It appears to be useful as a gaming display, as well as for other purposes. It is a 15" screen (720p). Anyone with any ideas?]

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