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Google TV box by Sony finally gets some root treatment and custom Kernels

Google TV as a whole has had quite the rocky road since it launched. Being locked down, limited functionality and lack of content from providers has made for a troublesome GTV experience. I personally can’t say I hate my GTV unit, I just wish it could do more. Well, if you are the owner of a Sony box for your GTV, you now can. The Sony box finally has a root exploit that will open up your device and allow you to do a lot more with it.

The process to achieve root and install the custom kernel isn’t amazingly simple, but extremely doable if you have the ca-hones to follow through with it. Ultimately you will be downgrading your device, and need a total of 4 separate USB sticks. The perk is that there is no soldering required as this method is a complete softmod. Doesn’t sound to terrible, but why might a person want to go through all the leg work? Simple really, by rooting your Sony box you can by-pass the black to content providers and get a lot more out of your device.

  • Modified flash plugin with random per box flash string for Content Provider Bypass.
  • Crippled update feature to prevent box from receiving automatic updates.
  • Completely RW system, cache, and rootfs partitions
  • Full ADB Root
  • Removed signature checks on kernel / init scripts / init binary
  • A few other surprises.
  • BETA: Enable NTFS Support for Sony Google TV devices

We wouldn’t dare try to walk you through the process ourselves though. If you are interested in digging in and have 4 USB sticks lying around, pop over to GTVHacker to get the full skinny and get to work. Nothing like a modification to your favorite household unit to brighten up your Monday.

Source: GTV Hacker via GTV Source