Source repositories: github.com/OpenHWLabcom · all TV-box projects are public
OpenHW Lab TV-box projects: every kit bundles an installer, SHA-256 and a step-by-step guide — downloads live on each project card. Robot source is on the Robot page.
⚠️ Download notice: these kits require some hands-on / technical skill (box rooting, ADB / serial, command line) to install. Total beginners, please be cautious. Installation may fail or brick the device — proceed at your own risk.
Turn a dusty China Mobile CM201-1 TV box into a network printer: print from any phone/PC browser (web or QR), direct IPP. Adapts to many brands — model auto-detected and matched against the built-in driver library (HP / Brother / Lenovo / Epson / Canon …), with .ppd upload as fallback; HP LaserJet 1018/1020/1022 are true plug-and-play (auto firmware + driver).
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Turn a dusty China Mobile CM201-2 (HiSilicon Hi3798MV300 / Android 4.4.2) box into a network printer: web/QR print, direct IPP. Adapts to many brands (HP / Brother / Lenovo / Epson / Canon …); HP LaserJet 1018/1020/1022/1022n are true plug-and-play (auto firmware); Lenovo/Brother host-based via brlaser (tested with Lenovo M7206W). Boots straight into the print desktop.
225785bda1514d524024b199b4639ad7ad4511458ecb24327c80e9c5cda208b6
For the China Mobile M301H (Skyworth CW / model M301H_CW0_AH / HiSilicon Hi3798MV300): aria2 (magnet/BT/direct) + Samba share + web panel with QR. Auto storage switching — plug in a drive and downloads go there, otherwise internal storage (vfat/exFAT/NTFS).
43643a0e06c6c6255051f538f086afca5afc424af7edd3217880746031a2a3ffFor the China Mobile HG680-R (MStar / Android 4.4.4): desktop with double-click icons + Firefox desktop-mode + Dangbei apps + LAN transfer + mouse-pointer patch (hand→arrow, no white ring) + autostart.
a2b27233241ab407f28183d9536cf6715c16e7608d622ae76a8e60667e0ead0aTV box → home karaoke: boots straight into the song-request screen; local library + online search (NetEase Cloud Music); karaoke lyrics with progress coloring, particle visuals (no black screen), draggable progress bar; remote / mouse / phone QR control.
09ce2c48993f3f9ff5bc0b256cb689962ebfea0047cb3d7b37653d836bfa7750TV box → a simple desktop for primary-school kids: boots straight in to a Windows-style desktop (browser / files / settings), no password for settings; browser opens desktop Baidu, no on-screen keyboard pop-up, arrow-key navigation for remote or keyboard.
d3d8ba2c8f61f84c2600f91f7ec0b53a5352587e384b64a81c6a2afda41d07d3A home console that boots straight into play: 8 native mini-games (Breakout / Tetris / 2048 / Snake / Whack-a-mole / Tank Battle / Pong / Airplane) plus study, exam and tutorial games. 1–9 players on one screen; scan a QR code to use a phone as a controller.
353323a08889fcfa6c88737293e9d2741f22e2f1a6a32edb281796512b74aa2aTurn the box into a lightweight desktop: native desktop + browser + Chinese IME + LAN file transfer + USB drive support; uses storage as extra memory and self-heals on boot.
fa2cb83e41675505bb188516f6fcd5a25dd4346b5407679ff65ab98a7907438eBuilt for binge-watching + work: watch lots of video (stream in the browser, install major video apps, cast, live TV) and write documents with the built-in WPS Office (Word / Excel / PPT).
7cd70c93be48ca3d77121af9bd81eb6fad3e59688b85e195c3b669525b717a7bPlug in one USB camera for a full recorder: MJPEG live view + 30-second loop recording + phone remote view + motion detection + YOLO object detection + push alerts. Multi-camera 4-up grid; recordings to internal / SD / USB.
269736c83cd1e4ea653d169ec03cfa3de80b0e3bc7f15b76acef526fe3704cf2Turn an old USB printer into a network printer: drag-and-drop print from any phone/PC browser, AirPrint and direct IPP, automatic printer-model detection with online driver install, plus printable QR-code sheets.
a2228cd2fe8a5780b1b77848b01ddc19dcf9c1d1a7ee1151173187f8ef5842ffIdle box + a USB drive = download box + home NAS: aria2 (magnet/BT/direct), a Samba share, scan-to-add tasks, and it boots straight into the panel.
d49080887612ecd9b1a1d4e21799349c9213b5b22ea4315de7ac6b0a61f2cb4bIdle box = a LAN DNS (AdGuard Home): ad/tracker blocking for every device, configured once for the whole home.
7afbc5af738ca76da4263725e5270b5739cc84720a2baff61e28a1d4cc885881Common requirements: a rooted box with ADB enabled; no flashing, fully reversible. See Docs.
| Dimension | OpenHW Lab (ours) | Brand NAS | Open-source/DIY NAS OS | Reflash-style box system |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approach | No flash, sidecar: stock Android + Ubuntu chroot | Purpose-built appliance | Install a full NAS OS on a PC/board | Replace: flash box to pure Linux |
| Flashing? | No (system/boot untouched) | No (buy & use) | Install OS (x86 disk; box needs flashing) | Yes (brick risk) |
| What your PC needs | Only adb (+ a bash to run scripts) | Nothing (browser) | USB installer | Flasher tool + matching firmware |
| Risk | Low, reversible: delete /data/linux to revert | Low (but pricey) | Medium | High (brick on error) |
| Stock features | Kept (IPTV/remote/serial) | — | — | Lost (pure Linux) |
| Hardware | Idle TV box (1GB, USB 2.0, often 1 port) | Appliance (multi-bay SATA, more RAM) | PC / board | Also a box (but reflashed) |
| Storage / RAID | External USB drive (single disk, no RAID) | Multi-bay RAID/snapshots | RAID/ZFS depending on HW | Depends on HW |
| Performance | Modest (old kernel, small CPU, USB 2.0) | Strong (transcode, multi-user) | Strong | Better (kernel replaceable) |
| Cost / power | Nearly free, ultra-low power | Hardware cost | Hardware cost | Low |
| Delivery | One zip (system+deps, offline-ready) + illustrated guide | A device | OS image + guide | Firmware image + flashing guide |
| Best for | People who want stable, cheap, reversible, stock-preserving | Pro storage & reliability | PC/board tinkerers | Players who want a pure server |
adb; generic projects also ship a full offline package (system+deps bundled, box needs no internet).Barely. Linux / macOS are easiest (just install adb); Windows works too (run scripts in WSL or Git Bash, or follow the guide and type the adb commands). PC architecture (x86/arm64) doesn't matter. The one that matters is the box (Android + its arch, e.g. armv7/armhf).
No. Reflashing replaces the box's whole OS (pure Linux); we don't flash — we run a chroot sidecar + our services inside the stock system.
Box solutions are usually single-disk, no RAID, old kernel — not for critical data. Use a real NAS for reliable storage.
Get-FileHash .\openhwlab-*.zip -Algorithm SHA256sha256sum openhwlab-*.zip| Date | Kit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-05 | Ad-blocking DNS | First public release: AdGuard Home DNS(:53) + admin(:3000) + TCP upstream + http filter lists |
| 2026-10-05 | Download Box + NAS | First public release: aria2 + Samba share + panel (pause/resume/delete) + QR + boot-to-panel |
| 2026-10-05 | Print Server | First public release: print portal + admin + driver wizard + QR sheets |
| 2026-10-05 | Surveillance NVR | Update: multi-camera 4-up / scene detection / push alerts / SD·USB storage |
| 2026-10-03 | Game Console / Mini PC | First public release |