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alvidaa v2.0 — The Three Lanes Release

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@carteakey carteakey released this 09 Nov 22:26
v2.0
9dc4c61

Release Date: November 9, 2026
Since v1.0: ~91 commits · ~14 merged PRs · 677 files changed · ~69,024 insertions · ~1,283 deletions · 12 contributors

The Three Lanes Release. In v1.0, alvidaa unlocked the front door: pairing over local MQTT without cloud telemetry, finding a sandbox escape through an OS errno, securing a boot-persistent dropbear SSH prompt on a single 50A51HUV unit, and bouncing the browser to a self-hosted canvas page. v2.0 builds the house around that hearth. The headline: Lane 3 is alive. Instead of merely redirecting the browser to an external canvas, rooted TVs can now swap the vendor launcher component directly inside the TV's native home engine (/Launcher route swap) — unlocking immediate remote response, live HDMI signal detection, genuine application icons, and zero browser chrome. Underneath it, alvidaa has evolved from a single-TV experiment into a multi-architecture federation: 16 model guides spanning five SoC families (MediaTek MTK9602, MTK9603, MTK9618, MTK9900, and Novatek NT72690). A standalone compiled Go daemon (bridge/) brings loopback HTTP, WebSockets, and local MQTT broker sessions directly onto the TV without extra hardware. Around it: an automated zero-secret scanner test suite, the Free My TV native port, a live variant switcher, and a strict 9-point integrity check that guarantees verified boot stays green and every modification remains 100% reversible.

✨ Highlights

  • Lane 3: Native Home Replacement Inside the Vendor Engine — Rooted TVs can now replace the vendor DOM home screen directly at the routing layer (route[0].component on /Launcher). No browser bounce, no window chrome, instant keypress response, and stock TV Settings dialogs remain untouched. (#28, #29, #38 — @JacksonDCollins, @Kingpandacc)
  • The On-TV Go Bridge Daemon (bridge/) — A high-performance Go daemon with zero external runtime dependencies that runs directly on the TV loopback (127.0.0.1:8770). Combines local HTTP routing, persistent WebSocket push connections, and on-device MQTT broker sessions.
  • 16 Model Guides Across 5 SoC Architectures — Cross-model research expanded to 16 documented models across MediaTek MTK9602 (armv7), MTK9603, MTK9618, MTK9900 (VIDAA U6), and Novatek NT72690 (aarch64). (#20, #22, #23, #24, #26, #27, #28, #30, #40, #41, #42, #44 — @aadnaane, @damiennnnn, @EmoFa, @EvzenP, @MewX, @antmagl, @gonzule, @oOHiyoriOo, @ryjr2ddznn-lab)
  • Automated Zero-Secret Scanner Test Suite — Comprehensive security posture with all test fixtures and commits verified by tools/sanitize/scan.py, enforcing zero committed private keys, client certs, MACs, or internal LAN addresses.
  • Hardware-Level Vendor HAL Screenshot Pipeline (tools/screenshot.sh) — Captures lossless framebuffers without remote user intervention or OSD disruption via the vendor HAL sysctrlservice RPC into TV /tmp.
  • Interchangeable Native Launcher Variants & Free My TV Port — A modular framework supporting multiple swappable native UI variants (native-alvidaa, free-my-tv, stock-vanilla) controlled by a dynamic variant switcher script.
  • Unified 9-Stage Repository Integrity Check (scripts/check.sh) — Automated verification enforcing table generation parity against inventory.json, Python/Shell AST validation, relative markdown link resolution, vocabulary bounds, and sanitization gates.

⚠️ Upgrade notes

  • Documentation & Findings Reorganization: Single-model finding files previously located at docs/findings/ have moved into model-specific paths under docs/models/<model>/<firmware>/findings/ and shared research under docs/research/.
  • Single Source of Truth Enforced: Never hand-edit markdown tables in README.md or TESTED-MODELS.md. All capability matrix updates must be added to docs/research/inventory.json using the strict vocabulary (working | gated | closed | open | armed | achieved | blocked | untested | n-a) and rendered via scripts/gen-inventory.py.
  • Verified Boot Invariants: Verified boot remains locked and green. Writes are strictly confined to /var/local and volatile memory. Never write to read-only partitions or touch /OAD staging directories.
  • Local Address Redaction: Real LAN IPs in documentation examples have been normalized to placeholders (<tv-ip>) to comply with the repo sanitization policy.

📺 Launcher, Native UI & Display Lanes

  • Lane 3 Native Replacement: Created the Vue-level DOM replacement scaffold (native-entry.js), substituting the vendor launcher route while maintaining stock TV inputs, Settings menus, and volume overlays (#28, #29).
  • native-alvidaa Custom UI: Shipped brand accent colors, dense application grids, focus lifts, input signal detection, and dynamic background cross-fades.
  • Dynamic Variant Switcher: Added variants.json and switching scripts to swap between native-alvidaa, Jackson Collins's free-my-tv port, and stock recovery components in seconds.
  • Input Hardware Assets: Bridge now passes live signal status and friendly device labels; HDMI inputs dock cleanly at the screen bottom.

🧠 Research, Exploits & Root Chains

  • Novatek NT72690 (aarch64) Root: Landed first-ever boot-persistent root on Novatek architecture (50A6Q) via the PFM eval chain and five-lock Dropbear SSH (#20 — @aadnaane).
  • MediaTek MT9618 & MTK9603: Full boot-persistence guides landed for 55S7NEVS, 43Q60SEVS, and 55E7QTUK (#26, #41 — @damiennnnn).
  • VIDAA U6 & MTK9900 Exploration: Verified pairing and launcher support across VIDAA U6 generations (65U8HAU, 65U7H) (#23, #25 — @MewX, @pavanjadhaw).
  • Verified Boot Persistence: Boot hooks hardened across SysV rc.local and re_sshd service layers.
  • ALSA Tap Investigation: ALSA audio capture tap confirmed dead on MTK9602, avoiding speculative audio pipe claims.

🔌 Bridge, Daemons & RemoteNow Protocol

  • Loopback Go Daemon (bridge/): Implemented on-TV service hosting HTTP endpoints, JSON WebSocket streaming, and a local MQTT client session.
  • Browser Lifecycle & ODIN Traps: Documented ODIN engine quirks, URL deduplication caching, and headless lifecycle limits in findings module 12.
  • Privacy Command Suite: Built alvidaa privacy status|hits|doh command to audit the wiretap status, DNS leak counters, and dropped cloud beacons.

🛡️ Security, Secrets & Privacy

  • Zero-Secret Guarantee: Strict redaction policy enforced across all documentation and commit history, keeping credentials, MACs, and tokens strictly isolated.
  • Automated Sanitizer Engine: Added tools/sanitize/scan.py with rule-based pattern matching in rules.toml covering keys, MACs, private IPs, credentials, and tokens.
  • OTA Freeze Mechanism: Verified alvidaa ota on|off|status toolchain to freeze firmware update checks before testing experimental hooks.

🛠️ Developer Tooling, CI & Integrity

  • Automated Health Check: Shipped scripts/check.sh covering table generation, syntax checks, link validation, indexing, and secret hygiene.
  • Model Report Scaffolder: Added scripts/report.py to validate incoming firmware strings, scaffold model directories, and prevent duplicate matrix rows.
  • SSDP Fingerprinting: Added tools/ssdp-descriptor.sh for automated transport_protocol and XML discovery extraction.
  • Static Documentation Site: Created scripts/gen-site.py for automated Markdown-to-HTML rendering on GitHub Pages.

🐛 Notable Bug Fixes

  • Fixed ODIN browser relaunch URL deduplication trap where review pins required a throwaway parameter.
  • Resolved busybox NXDOMAIN artifact where 0.0.0.0 DNS query results bypassed Tier-1 packet filtering.
  • Fixed epoch delta calculation for OTA applied-marker timestamps.
  • Restored server/config.json while isolating volatile runtime launcher state into server/keys/launcher.json.
  • Resolved Tailscale wrapper bug and host rename limitations on TV init scripts.
  • Pruned obsolete artwork, repaired Settings menu bindings, and safely retired legacy startup code (#39 — @JacksonDCollins).

👥 Contributors

Core Team

  • @carteakey (Kartikey Chauhan) — Architectural direction, 50A51HUV root discovery, Go bridge daemon, Lane 3 native framework, health check toolchain, and release coor...
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alvidaa v1.0

alvidaa v1.0

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@carteakey carteakey released this 03 Nov 16:44
v1.0
592e72b

First public release.

Launcher (no root): self-installing home screen for 2024+ VIDAA TVs — clock, HDMI inputs with live signal, your real apps. RemoteNow MQTT pairing with the 2024 certificate handshake, canvas UI, home watcher, config-driven allowlist, Pi/systemd deployment.

Root research (own TV only): the complete chain — browser file bridge traversal, the rc.local boot hook, static dropbear via zig cc, the EULA firewall, the security-code forge — documented in docs/findings/ (11 modules + the patched-firmware playbook).

Compatibility: tested on 50A51HUV (MTK9602, 09.01O.P0813). The matrix carries 7 firmware generations from community reports; PR your row. Agent onboarding: AGENTS.md + docs/HACK-YOUR-OWN.md.

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