Vibe encoding has reached televisions. Social media is full of posts from people using LLMs and open source tools to remove ads and tracking, reduce bloat so the operating system runs faster, and even completely change the look and organization of their home screens. While a lot of it is fun, one user turned their TV’s home screen into a Pokémon city – I think there’s a certain level of frustration behind that as well. And TV networks should take note.
Several ambient-coded TV unboxing projects exploded in popularity over the weekend. Cleanyourtv (known as tv-vibehack until the 19th), tv-detox and dumbtv all claim to accomplish similar things: remove sponsored ads, unblock the TV to run faster, and block unwanted data collection that tracks what you watch – without hacking or rooting the TV. By default, they all also replace the TV’s built-in app launcher with simpler ones. Many users go even further and code their own replacement launchers, like the Pokémon one below.
Most of the projects we’ve seen so far focus on TVs running Android and Google TV operating systems (such as TCL, Hisense, Sony, and older Amazon Fire products), using existing development modes and Android Debug Bridge (ADB) to change settings and apply (and remove) packages. According to GitHub pages, they can also work with some Fire TV products that use a custom fork of Android (although probably not on the new Vega-based Fire TV Sticks). Because they use built-in developer tools, they don’t require root access or firmware hacking, and they are reversible. Even projects that completely change the appearance of the interface simply use Android’s ability to install custom launchers – in many cases with the help of Claude Code or a similar tool to create the new launcher as well.
As Edge his friend Chris Person notes it in his Consequences post, none of this requires AI. These projects take advantage of Android’s already existing features and, in some cases, reinvent the wheel. Android unblocking programs that use ADB have been around for years, as have replacement launchers that make the Google TV operating system look like Apple TV. AI has simply made the process easier and faster.
There’s nothing similar available for Samsung’s Tizen OS or LG’s webOS, other than rooting the TV, which is a whole new level of hacking and controlling devices. While there is a webOS ambiance hack for LG TVs based on cleanyourtv, it doesn’t really do the same thing, it basically streams the Apple TV-like launcher from an always-on device on the same network. They also won’t work for Roku or Vizio’s SmartCast.
These projects, or any other OS flavor coding someone might attempt, will not necessarily stop all data collection. A good rule of thumb is that if the TV is connected to the Internet, it collects at least some data. Dumbtv blocks certain manufacturer and advertising partner addresses that your TV sends data to, but because it’s usually encrypted in transit, it’s impossible to know exactly what’s being sent. Data blocking is similar to what you can do with Pi-hole to block malicious DNS queries on your network.
Televisions have increasingly become a way for companies to collect viewing data and serve advertisements. Using automatic content recognition (ACR) and fingerprinting, manufacturers are able to know what content you are watching, send that information to their advertising partners, and then display targeted ads on the TV.
However, ACR is not just used for advertisements. It allows companies to measure audience metrics and can provide show recommendations based on what you’ve watched. It’s important to note that users must agree to ACR tracking, and there are ways to turn it off after the fact in a TV’s menus (although these options aren’t always easy to find). There are also options in most menus – again, usually buried – to opt out of targeted ads.
But even after that, there’s still concern that companies will still collect some of your data and use it in ways you may not be comfortable with. Whether this is true or not does little to allay these fears. Vibe Coding Weekend, on the other hand, is a way for people to try to take control of their TV in order to get the user experience they want.
There are also dangers in coding the ambiance of your TV. A person who tried to hack a Samsung TV with Claude destroyed it. The only way to completely avoid ACR, ads, or any type of data collection is to never connect it to the Internet. A firmware download to a USB drive can apply critical updates instead of Wi-Fi or Ethernet. If you still want to stream content, a streaming device that doesn’t use ACR, like an Apple TV 4K (get a last-gen model before the expensive new one replaces it), is an option. But all streaming requires sharing a certain amount of your data with someone to function correctly.
The biggest takeaway from the vibe-coding weekend is that the current state of TV operating systems is fed up. Most people aren’t going to stop watching TV anytime soon, but the experience needs to improve. Ads, data collection and cluttered layouts are too annoying. AI now allows everyone to code their own solution, and it will only get easier. If TV manufacturers don’t take note and make changes, it’s possible that users will make the necessary changes. them.
Gn tech
