Platform: reusable device, external-display and TV presentation profiles #78

Product decision

Future hardware and display-output/viewing support should be added through explicit device/output-profile contracts, not a growing set of model-name and screen-size conditionals. TrainerOS serves handhelds and TV-connected Linux devices without duplicating its feature services (#156–#159).

This is the architectural prerequisite for expanding the supported hardware park with community/donation-funded devices.

Device profile

Define the bounded information and platform hooks required to call a handheld, docked device or TV-connected TrainerOS output officially supported. Separate hardware capability from presentation mode (Auto / Handheld / TV) so a 4K monitor is not automatically considered a sofa TV.

A profile should cover, as applicable:

• hardware/model identity;
• display resolution/orientation/physical density/safe-area/overscan/refresh assumptions;
• presentation profile and optional dock/external-display detection, with user override;
• controller profile and, only where actually supported, TV remote directional/select/back/CEC input capability;
• Home/Guide interception route;
• power, reboot and shutdown integration;
• volume/brightness interfaces;
• battery source;
• lid/sleep capabilities;
• graphical session/compositor backend;
• maintenance/recovery environment;
• storage/library defaults;
• platform-specific runtime/package assumptions;
• independent prepared-image OTA compatibility, TrainerOS Software S update compatibility, and external-host update ownership (Prepared-image OS updates: base Linux OTA independent of TrainerOS Software #71/Release architecture: separate Linux image, TrainerOS software and OddCrate game updates #153/TrainerOS Software: signed cross-distro updater independent of system image #154).

Do not put game-specific emulator logic into the device profile.

Support levels

Define clear states such as:

• official / validated;
• community / experimental;
• unknown / unsupported.

"Qt launches" is not sufficient for official support.

Adding a device

Document a repeatable bring-up checklist:

1. baseline report;
2. build/image compatibility;
3. display/input;
4. session/recovery;
5. Home/exit;
6. storage;
7. representative runtimes;
8. sleep/power where claimed;
9. independent base image / TrainerOS software update/rollback;
10. TV/handheld presentation and real-input focus where supported;
11. final acceptance report.

The Flip 2 becomes the reference implementation of this contract.

Acceptance

• Flip 2-specific behavior can be expressed through the device/platform profile boundaries without leaking model checks into feature UI.
• A second device can be brought up by implementing the same explicit contract.
• An external TV on a supported device selects or allows manually selecting a real ten-foot responsive UI with safe area and focus, without globally changing the host OS screen scaling.
• Unsupported capabilities fail independently rather than blocking unrelated features.
• Device identity and support level are visible to diagnostics/support tooling.
• Official support requires a physical device acceptance record, not model similarity.