Mele A2000 Android 2.3 Media Player Powered by AllWinner A10

Last month, I ordered a Mele A1000 in order to hack it to run Linux as it uses the same processor – the Cortex A8/Mali-400MP based AllWinner A10 – as the one planned for the low cost Rhombus Tech board. I have yet to receive the device, but Mele (迈乐) has already released  the Mele A2000, an Android 2.3 set-box box also powered by AllWinner A10.

Allwinner A10 Android Set-Top Box
Mele A2000 Android Media Player

Here are Mele A2000 specifications:

CPU: ARM Cortex A8 AllWinner A10 @ 1 GHz (It can be apparently be overclocked up to @ 1.5GHz)
GPU: Mali 4000
Memory: DDR3 512MB RAM / 4GB Nand Flash
OS System: Android 2.3.4 (Upgradable to Android 4.0)
External Storage: Supports SD card up to 32GB, supports 2.5″ SATA HDD up to 1TB, Supports max 16GB USB flash disk
Video codecs: HD MPEG-1/2/4. H.264. HD AVC/VC-1, RM/RMVB, Xvid/DviX 4/5/6, RealVideo 8/9/10, VP6
Video Formats: ts, m2ts, tp, trp, mkv, mp4, mov, avi, rm/rmvb, wmv, vob, asf, flv, dat, mpf and mpeg. NB: ISO format is not supported.
Maximum bitrate: 40Mpbs, maximum resolution 2160p (3840×2160)
Audio Formats: MP1、MP2、MP3、WMA、OGG、APE、FLAC、WAV、AC3、AAC、AMR、DTS、RA、M4A
Subtitle Format: SRT/SMI/SSA/ASS
Network interface: RJ45(10/100Mbps)
Wireless: WiFi 802.11b/g and support for external 3G card (WCDMA 3.5G)
Video Output: HDMI 1.4 (1080p) / VGA / Composite
Audio Output: HDMI / Optical Out / Stereo
Interfaces: SD/SDHC + 3 x USB HOST + LAN
Features: Internet TV box, Software application supported, 1080P media player, QQ/MSN/Skype etc.
Language: Simplified Chinese/Traditional Chinese/English
Accessories: 1 x 2.5 HDD cover (Following a comment below, it appears the Mele A2000 does not include it, contrary to Mele A1000. TBC)
  1 x AV cable (130cm)
  1 x AC 100~240V power adapter (2-flat-pin plug / 110cm cable)
  1 x Remote controller (2 x AAA batteries not included)
  1 x Chinese & English manual

Here’s the back of the device with all the audio/video connections, Ethernet, USB and power.

. Allwinner A10 STB Audio/Video Output, Power and Networking
Mele A2000 Connections

There is also one USB host port, SD card slot and power button on the front panel.

The only differences I can find with the Mele A1000 is the larger flash memory (4GB vs. 2GB) (It turns out the Mele A1000 also has 4GB NAND Flash) and support for an external 3G card. If the later is just a 3G USB dongle then it should also be supported in Mele A1000.  The specifications also mention the Allwinner A10 can be overclocked to 1.5 Ghz, but I don’t know if it has always been the case, or the Mele A2000 has a new revision of the chip.

Both devices are so similar that the latest firmware update (v1.5) is the same for both Mele A1000 and Mele A2000 and Mele also promises Android 4.0 (ICS) for a future update which I expect to be rolled out to both media players.

I suspect the hardware to be the same (except for the 4GB flash), so the Mele A2000 should also be hackable.

The Mele A1000 is available now on several Chinese websites such as 天猫 TMall.com for 489 RMB (77 USD) and will probably be available on dealextreme.com soon.

[Update: It is available for 90.77 USD or 92.71 USB with wireless mouse on smalltao.com. Shipping (which is pretty expensive) is not included. On this website, Mele A1000 is slightly more expensive (10 RMB ~2 USD) than Mele A2000]

[Update 2: It is now available on aliexpress.com for 75 USD + shipping.  Tom (the seller) can also provide the USB to TTL adapter for hacking the board for free if you purchase one of the Mele from him, just say you need it in the message box when you order.  He also sells the USB to serial adapter separately for 5 USD + shipping (around 2 USD).]

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26 Comments
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Haris Sarwar
Haris Sarwar
11 years ago

Thank you for the comparison, i was just going to order A1000 but now i am ordering A2000 with Mele Fly F10.

Haris Sarwar
Haris Sarwar
11 years ago

no it is sold separately but i can get a discount of 50 rmb if bought together.
here is the link
http://detail.taobao.com/meal_detail.htm?meal_id=6330330&item_num_id=14603567785
i am buying from the above link.

Patrick
Patrick
11 years ago

@ Haris Sarwar
Also ordered the same A2000+F10 bundle from TaoBao. Go to http://www.taobaoenglish.com if you don’t speak Chinese 😉

Elis'
Elis'
11 years ago

Does it have the same UART connector inside as the A1000?

Haris Sarwar
Haris Sarwar
11 years ago

Mele A2000 doesn’t include sata harddisk enclosure in the packing.

mic
mic
11 years ago

Just recieved the A2000,opened the box, but the model number on the device is A100 and internal flash available is 1.6gb.Can Any body else check and verify this,or am i the only one.

Bought this from tom cubie on aliexpress

Anton
Anton
11 years ago

@ Anton
Looking at the AUDIO format section. You see difference in supported formats. I have the A1000, and A1000 lacks DTS and AC3 formats. A1000 does not play DTS and AC3 movies, even við optical out to my Denon, it plays nothing. Using software decoding player (like BS Player) you can get it in 2ch audio. But never the 5ch.

If A2000 plays multi channel – and work’s in other features like A1000, it is much better deal! For me!

tom
tom
11 years ago

Hey it seems that A2000 has 1GB ram!… can you confirm this? refer the below link thanks!

Eric
Eric
11 years ago

Hey, i got my mele A2000 from that site http://www.cect-shop.com/de/mele-a2000-android-4-0-tv-box.html and it´s got only 512MB Ram

Jason Roberts
Jason Roberts
11 years ago

I bought a Mele a2000 from ebay. The firmware version is 1.3. I downloaded a version 1.6 package from the Mele website. I have used Winimage (which confirms that the image disc has been successfully created) to create a boot disc I turn the power off, insert the SD card into the slot and turn the power off. When I turn the box back on, the box ignores the disc completely and enters into the routine of loading the Mele logo and going straight into the box, somewhere along the line it checks and reports the presence of the disc,… Read more »

Jason Roberts
Jason Roberts
11 years ago

Correction: after inserting the sd card, I turn the power back on

Stu
Stu
11 years ago

Android 4.0.4 is official now.

http://mele.cn/cn/web/down_show.aspx?id=36

Steven Vo
Steven Vo
11 years ago

Just ordered one from AliExpress, Tom is quite happy to provide a USB-TTL adapter for free. Hopefully I will receive mine soon.

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