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Playing with Sony's Linux-Based Networked Media Player

Posted by timothy on Tue May 17, 2005 08:50 PM
from the practical-application dept.
Software Media Businesses Red Hat Software Linux Hardware
ZorinLynx writes "A while back, Sony released the NSP-1, a 'Network Storage Player.' It is intended to be a source of video for signage, such as plasma displays in banks, airports, and so on. I got a chance to play with one today. It's Red Hat Linux-based, which seems unusual for Sony! Though pricey at $1995, it's an interesting use of Linux, and could probably be hacked into a nice set-top video jukebox. It has a nice small form factor, as well as ethernet, USB, and video output in various formats, and a PCMCIA slot for removable media."
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  • Overall, a fun hack. (Score:5, Funny)

    by fembots (753724) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @08:51PM (#12562587) Homepage
    So where's the "review" on this NSP?

    The article is more about trying to log into Red Hat without a password ( BTW is it really that easy?).

    Here's my submission

    "Playing with Toyota's Civic"

    This morning when I was about to go to work, I realized I have locked the car key inside my 1989 Civic, everything was locked and I can't remember where I put the spare key.

    Arrgh. After some fiddling with the keyhole, though, I found that I have left the driver side window slightly opened! The gap's big enough to slide a coat hanger in! So I grabbed my trusty coat hanger, made a hook and the opened the door.

    The car has a steering wheel, AM/FM radio, few buttons, pedals and seats. I also have a Knoppix CD and some Open Source documents in the glove box. Now I really don't want to sell it especially I can only fetch less than $200! ARRGH!

    • Re:Overall, a fun hack. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2005, @09:00PM (#12562656)
      Doesn't Honda make the Civic?
    • I'm with you on this being a useless review.

      $2000 AND I have to hack it to do something useful?

      Does it give me super powers or something? Because I can think of roughly a kabillion devices that I don't have to hack in order to actually use them that cost WAY less. And I can MythTV those if I really want a media player that badly.

    • Re:Overall, a fun hack. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by ZorinLynx (31751) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @09:05PM (#12562707) Homepage
      Heh. I actually wish I had gotten more time to play with it, but it had to go back where it came from as soon as I "fixed" it.

      I was just surprised to find out this thing even existed, and that Sony was using Linux in one of its products. Sony has always come off to me as a company that does everything their own proprietary way, and gives the finger to most open standards. (Memory stick, anyone?)

      -Z
      • No kidding: Memory Stick, ATRAC3, UMD, MiniDisc, Betamax... did I forget any?

      • Re:Overall, a fun hack. (Score:4, Informative)

        by rogueuk (245470) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @09:45PM (#12562970) Homepage
        Sony using Linux!?, that's completely unheard of [playstation2-linux.com].

      • Yup. I wish you had gotten some time to play with it too. That way you could have posted a reasonable review instead of a disappointing paragraph or so.

        Next time at least take some pictures.

      • Sony isn't 3 guys in a room. Different divisions of the company solve problems in different ways.
      • I was just surprised to find out this thing even existed, and that Sony was using Linux in one of its products.

        Is it really that shocking? Lots of consumer devices are using Linux. Sharp produces something similar to this one which they dub a "Digital Media Adapter." It also runs Linux. IMO, the Sharp toy is cooler anyway. You feed it media over WiFi, and the DMA shoots it to your TV.
      • Heh. I actually wish I had gotten more time to play with it

        what games did it come with, though?
        • Your statement is incorrect on many counts.

          - Symbian is NOT a Linux Variant. The Symbian company was originally spun off from the Software division of PSION, and formed as a joint venture between PSION, Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola. The Symbian OS is the evolution of the PSION EPOC32 Operating System originally for that platform. It is an "Open" system, but not Open Source/Free Software (Liscenses have to be paid to implement it). It is "Open" in the way UNIX was.

          - Sony and Sony Ericsson are totally diffe

    • Re:Overall, a fun hack. (Score:5, Informative)

      by William Robinson (875390) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @09:23PM (#12562831)
      The article is more about trying to log into Red Hat without a password ( BTW is it really that easy?).

      Yes.

      All you need to do is ...
      1. Boot from external device like CD. (If you are using installation CDs, use linux rescue option.)
      2. Mount the appropriate HDD partition.
      3. chroot it.
      4. now use setpass to change the password.

      I prefer to set password for setup, which prevents intruders to change booting options. If the intruder can not boot from an external device then it is almmost impossible for him/her to log in.

      • Solution to BIOS password:

        1) Carry in my own laptop.
        2) Shutdown target machine.
        3) Remove hard drive.
        4) Place in USB drive enclosure.
        5) Mount from laptop and change password.
        6) Replace the drive in the target computer.
        • I am missing something - I guess you can get access to a target machine's data by using this method, but can't imagine how this will help with a bios password ~shrugs~ unless you aren't interested in changing the password, and only the data - but you mention changing the password in step 5. Which password would that be?

      • Re:Overall, a fun hack. (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward
        I prefer to set password for setup, which prevents intruders to change booting options. If the intruder can not boot from an external device then it is almmost impossible for him/her to log in.

        If he has physical access then he can probably remove the cover and short the CMOS reset jumper.

      • Re:Overall, a fun hack. (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Beryllium Sphere(tm) (193358) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @09:53PM (#12563026) Homepage Journal
        >I prefer to set password for setup, which prevents intruders to change booting options.

        That does raise the bar, but every motherboard I've looked at had some way to bypass the BIOS password, and in extreme cases someone with unsupervised physical access could pull out the hard disk and copy it. Not to mention that an attacker could read and write arbitrary memory if the machine has a Firewire port (http://pacsec.jp/advisories.html [pacsec.jp]).
      • Why make it so hard on yourself?

        To change root's password in Linux, simply boot up in single user mode and type passwd at the prompt.
      • HA!

        I just jank out the entire bios chip and carry it with me. Let them try to break into it now!

        Ofcourse, soldering it back in every time is a small inconvenience ...
    • Your car is worth way more than $200 dude. Civics made by Toyota are really rare and I bet collectors will pay big bucks for them. If you have an '89 I think it might be one of a kind!
  • It has a nice small form factor, as well as ethernet, USB, and video output in various formats, and a PCMCIA slot for removable media." Sounds like it would be an excellent, albeit pricy makeshift firewall!

  • $1995?? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by XanC (644172) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @08:53PM (#12562610)
    For cryin' out loud! Mod an Xbox, people!

    • Re:$1995?? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by MBCook (132727) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Tuesday May 17 2005, @09:59PM (#12563054) Homepage
      Did you bother to read the specs for the thing on Sony's site?

      Ignoring the fact that most businesses would MUCH rather pay for a legal, supported device than a legally quesitonable hack without a warantee, this is not some simple slide show machine.

      The page says that it can show up to five layers of content, dynamically changed if you want, with a soundtrack. It can show video, images, and even Macromedia Flash files.

      Looking at the specs, it looks like if you could just get live video INTO the thing, you could do all the effects for your local nightly news with it and then some. This box is much more than you (or any hobbiest) could make out of a modded XBox.

      • Just when I was about to ask how Sony could charge nearly 2 grand for a device that uses an open-source OS, you had to go and pre-emptively answer my question. That's some hard-core video processing going on, tho I don't suppose it's all hardware... Mayhaps Sony has written a (closed) app for the video/audio mixing?

  • Linux... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Devil's BSD (562630) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @08:54PM (#12562613) Homepage
    Because it runs Linux, it must be worth the $2000. Welcome to /.!
    • > Because it runs Linux, it must be worth the $2000. Welcome to /.!

      Right, because as we all know Windows doesn't edge in until the price tag exceeds $3000. ;)

      • Re:Linux... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Jeff DeMaagd (2015) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @09:18PM (#12562803) Homepage Journal
        I doubt it is marketed towards you or any hard core Linux user. I don't think it is only about hardware. Actually, the hardware is kind of irrelevant, though it needs some to do its job. From the description, it looks to be already set up for easy web-based remote administration. Then there's the support.

        A Linux geek could set up remote administration and remote scripting, but if this thing is set up like I think it is, said geek probably wouldn't get it done under that cost and still have it be easy for a non-Linux person to use.

        The weblog entry does look like they didn't get a manual or didn't bother to read it.

  • Sony and Linux (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Sony Playstation runs Linux. So this isn't something extemely new for Sony.

    $1995 is a little expensive.

  • Not the first Sony-Redhat collaboration (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mo (2873) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @09:10PM (#12562744)
    FYI, the t10000 (Playstation 2 Development Tool) runs a version of redhat. Something ancient like RH4.2 if I'm not mistaken. You don't ssh into it or anything though, but it's web admin allows you to upload rpms to upgrade various subsystems on it.

  • not suprising... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2005, @09:11PM (#12562748)
    Sony has used Red Hat Linux before. I work in the broadcast industry and I find it interesting that they use linux in a lot of their products. (both Red Hat and Debian) The thing that surprises me though is the price...

  • When I saw the headline... (Score:5, Funny)

    by slapout (93640) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @09:13PM (#12562767)
    ..."Playing with Sony's Linux-Based Networked Media Player"...

    my first thought was, "Someone's already ported Linux to the Playstation 3!" :-)
    • Yeah... Sony has.

      Sony loves linux. Why? Because Microsoft hates linux, and Sony loves to support anything that Microsoft hates.

      Even before the XBox. When PS2 dev tools were released it was all Linux-based. If you wanted to develop for the PS2 on Windows, you had to either go with 3rd party tools or according to Sony "If you're a big dumb idiot, then you can use Cygwin. But you shouldn't." Then, just for kicks, they released PS2 Linux.

      Unfortunately, Sony's linux dev tools weren't up to snuff, b

  • This is /. Front page material? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2005, @09:14PM (#12562775)
    Wow, This is more of a page from someones personal diary.

    'Dear Diary, I saw NSP-1 today in the halls today. I'm so in love.' XXOOXX

    So why not replace the Headline with...

    "Sony's NSP-1 Device runs Redhat Linux"
    Would be so much simpler and straight to the point. It isnt even for normal use, its to run large plasma screen billboards. (Think Statium's big screen, only higher quaility). I could see something like this to say, run a home entertainment system.. but this? Eh, intersting one liner at best.

    How did /this/ get on the front page anyways..
    • Did anyone else notice that this guy submitted something that he had written from *his own personal blog* to Slashdot, only a few hours ago? It's only a freakin' paragraph long, for crying out loud! Not only that, but the same guy makes 5th post AND gets a +4 "Interesting" mod. Someone's a mod point whore...

  • NOT UNUSUAL (Score:3, Informative)

    by atcdevil (700926) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @09:18PM (#12562804)
    The PS2Linux is RedHat based and came out years ago.

  • Sony TV (Score:5, Interesting)

    by poppageek (115260) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @09:31PM (#12562880) Homepage
    I bought a Sony 34" widescreen CRT TV. In the documentation was a copy of the GPL. Seems the menu runs Linux. They list the kernel, busybox and about 6 libs. I submitted it as a story but was rejected.

    I thought it was interesting as it takes awhile for it to display anything when you first turn it on. I thought the CRT needed to warm up. Maybe it is just Linux booting.
  • I could definitely see some uses for streaming video off a linux device, in particular http://www.dejenerate.net/ruxpin/pub/BLACKPPL.avi [dejenerate.net]
  • Years ago I spoke to a company in Chicago who were just breaking into, even creating this market. They were using plasma displays and whatnot in retail environments. The kicker was they were running Macintoshes and all of the artwork was in Director. They ran ISDN lines to each and every location, and when there was an update, they'd have to dial each machine and upload the new artwork.


    I don't think that company still exists ;)


    Yay for Linux, yay for broadband.

  • Linux Media Player? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by querencia (625880) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @10:29PM (#12563195)
    If they're using Red Hat Linux, anyone have any idea what player they're using? I doubt they wrote their own from scratch for this thing, and because Sony isn't a Linux house, I'd guess that they are licensing 3rd party or using open source. (I'd love it if it used ffmpeg so I could get my hands on that cool video scheduling interface, and in any case, I'd like to know what Sony chose for their "high bit rate" mpeg2.)

    Can someone with access to one of these things take a look at the video libraries and tell us where they come from?
    • I've been using them at my new job (digital signage place, surprise). The NSP-1's seem rather finicky about the format, 720x480 MPEG2 specifically, and they claim they can also handle streaming MPEG4, but we haven't tried that yet.

      But then again, I just started fiddling with these things about 2 weeks ago so I'm sure there's a lot I don't know about it.. Although it runs apache and includes some great Engrish phrases on the web-based control thingy.

      "System is now the restarting"
      "Please wait to the close

  • imagine if it came with windows (Score:3, Funny)

    by updatelee (244571) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @10:47PM (#12563266)
    $1995 and it comes with linux, Imagine how much it would cost if it came with XP, $2995 ?

  • There:-) (Score:4, Interesting)

    by khrtt (701691) on Tuesday May 17 2005, @10:57PM (#12563308)
    Delta Song Airline has an onboard satellite TV in each seat back, and they all run linux. Yay!

    How do I know? Well, one time I was flying Song, and the system hung up, and the stewardess rebooted it, and the linux boot screen came up on all the seatback displays, complete with the Tux logo. It's sooo coool!! I'm soo coool!!

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