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Ask SN: Hacking Ex-Correctional Facility Monitors - SLTV-1519AP-3S

posted by janrinok on Friday August 10 2018, @03:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the monitoring-a-monitor dept.

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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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 12 2018, @01:15AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 12 2018, @01:15AM (#720395)

    There is no mace in prisons, and as a normally concealed weapon, it's not a deterrent to violence. I also have to disagree wrt the morality (as well as the advisability) of making a first strike just because it's nonlethal. Violence is violence, regardless of whether your intent is to kill or not. The same logic behind "if you show the weapon you must use it" makes using nonlethal weapons just as dangerous as lethal ones that aren't used lethally. Many people will respond to your threat with premeditated deadly force. Better to just take a whooping or get robbed if you don't have the heart for fighting without weapons.