set-top box News - Page 27 of 30 - CNX Software

October 29, 2011November 17, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Google TV 2.0 For Android 3.1 Released

Back in August, Google released a Preview of Google TV Add-on for the Android SDK. Google has now announced a software upgrade for Google TV a software running on Android device (Smart TV / STB) such as the Sony NSX-24GT1 Google TV that bring web video (e.g. YouTube, Netflix and more) to the TV. Google admits the initial version of Google TV wasn’t perfect and they even asked partners not to show product with Google TV at CES 2011. Let’s see what improvements Google TV 2.0: 1. Keep it simple The interface is now much simpler. The new customizable home screen gets you to your favorite content quickly. And within “all apps” you can see all of your shortcuts, similar to your Android phone or tablet. 2. Make it easy to find something worth watching Search has been improved across the board for content from Live TV, Netflix, YouTube, HBO […]

October 27, 2011October 27, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Mentor Embedded Inflexion UI Demo for STB/IPTV

Mentor Embedded developed a user interface for STB/IPTV demo using their Inflexion UI framework and they showcase it at ARM Techcon 2011. The demo runs on Android and looks very smooth thanks to OpenGL ES hardware acceleration. They also have a separate demo with pandaboard and a laptop running Sourcery codebench development tool to show how to develop a simple user interface with Inflexion UI. Finally, they showcase “Stella“, a self-balancing robot with 2 wheels. The board is based on TI Stellartis (Cortex M3) micro-controller and runs Mentor Embedded Nucleus RTOS. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011. www.cnx-software.com

September 27, 2011September 27, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

New Remote Technologies to Control Smart TVs

With Internet-connected flat TVs and set-top boxes, we can now use browse the web and play games. But the traditional remote is not up to the task and new solutions are needed to interact with smart TVs and internet STB such as gesture recognition, wii-like remotes and tablet/smartphone control. A few companies showcased their solutions at IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) 2011, which took place between the 9th and 13th of September 2011 in Amsterdam: PrimeSense Gesture Recognition PrimeSense, an Israel-based company known for its range image sensor embedded in the “Kinect” motion-based controller for Xbox, began to promote the sales of its range image sensors to TV and STB makers. PrimeSense ran a prototyped UI software on a notebook PC and controlled the UI by using a gesture recognition device connected to a PC. The UI can be operated by moving a hand. You can then control TV screen like […]

September 11, 2011September 11, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Chumby NeTV: Open Hardware and Software STB

Althought not officially announced, Chumby is currently developing a Linux-based IPTV media player that can be remotely controlled by a Wi-Fi connected Android device. It will be offered as an open development platform where both software and hardware will be made available to developers. NeTV is built around a Marvell Armada 166 processor clocked at 800 MHZ (88AP166 – Armada 100 Family) with 2GB RAM, a MicroSD slot and Wifi. The media player is powered via micro USB and comes with a 7-button IR remote, although you might prefer to use your Android device to control the device via a WiFi connection. NeTV STB supports HD resolution (480p, 720p & 1080p24 “True Cinema”). On the software side, NeTV provides what they call “Smart Event Display” that allows you to receive personalized internet news via Twitter, Facebook and other internet news source. Android users can also enjoy seamless SMS and email […]

September 9, 2011February 22, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Netgem N7500 & N9700 Media Centers and N8400 Media Server

Netgem will be present at IBC 2011 in Amsterdam this week. They have updated their website this week, where we can see their current Sigma Designs platform such as the N5200 Internet OTT adapter and N8200 Media Center as well as the new platform based on Broadcom solutions namely: N7500 Media Center based on Broadcom BCM7230 with 1 Tuner and flash storage N8400 Media Server based on Broadcom BCM7413 with 2 to 4 tuners and HDD. In a separate presentation, they also mention the Netbox N9700 which will be released in 2012. There is no mention of the processor used (probably Broadcom) , but the device will support Netgen nCloud Core features (IPTV, Broadcast TV, Pay TV and PVR functions) and nCloud Advances features (Broadcast to 4/6 screens, download to own, download to go, multimedia NAS and convert media to mobile). You’ll also be able to play games (Gameloft) and […]

September 7, 2011September 7, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Low Cost Android Set-Top Box based on HiSilicon Hi3716C

Shenzhen Coolech Technology showcased an Android 2.2 Set-top box (Android Deluxe) powered by HiSilicon Hi3716C – a SoC designed around single core ARM Cortex A9 – at IFA 2011 in Berlin. This STB comes with 2 USB host port, 1 USB device port, composite and HDMI video output, SPDIF optical output, an Ethernet port and a SD Card reader. Here are the technical specifications of Android Deluxe set-top box: Description Operating System Android 2.2 Processor High-performance core solo ARM Cortex A9 processor 1GHz Hardware JAVA acceleration Graphic Unit Enhanced full-hardware 2D/3D graphics acceleration engine, OpenGL Video Connections HDMI1.4; CVBS; Audio Connections HDMI1.3; Stereo; Optical S/PDIF AC Adapter Input: 100-240V Output: 12V/3A SATA Interface SATA II x1 or eSATA x1 USB Interface USB 2.0 Host x2; USB 2.0 Device x1 (Option: USB 3.0 Device) SDIO Interface 8-bit SD input/output x1 DVB Two DVB Channel with PVR Network Interface 10/100 Mbit/s adaptive Ethernet […]

September 2, 2011September 2, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Toshiba STB Stor-E TV Pro powered by Rockchip RK2918

IFA 2011 will officially start today (2nd of September) in Berlin until the 7th of September. But Toshiba has already showcased some of its products including the media player Toshiba STOR.E TV PRO powered by Rockchip RK2918 processors (ARM Cortex A8). This media player will allow any television with an HDMI port to have all the features of recent smart televisions. The STOR.E TV PRO has one HDMI output (1080p), 3 USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, Wifi support, Bluetooth support (for the remote), a USB device port and a 2-in-1 card reader. Both sides of the remote can be used, there is a “dumb” side (my words) with 2 buttons and the arrow keys and the other side features a full keyboard. The set-top box will have the usual features such as video playback, picture display, music playback and web browser (based on webkit) with Adobe Flash Plugin 10.2 […]

August 2, 2011August 28, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Dvico TViX XROID A1 Specifications, Firmware and Manuals

Back in November 2010, Sigma Designs and Dvico announced the first Android Set-top Box based on SMP8656 series would be available by Q1 2011. However, porting Android to a media player platform is rather time consuming and TViX XROID A1 is not yet available (August 2011). Digital Versus got a pre-release version, but the firmware is still not stable enough for them to provide a meaningful review. Dvico has nonetheless setup a webpage for XROID A1 with the specifications, features, firmware and user manual for the lucky ones that could get a pre-release hardware. Here’s a summary of the specifications: Main Chipset Sigma Design SMP8657 + Android 2.2 (Froyo) Memory Main: 512MB DDR SDRAM / Flash: 512MB Maximum Resolution up to 1920 x 1080P Video Formats (Containers) MKV, AVI, VOB, ASF, WMV, MPEG1/2/4 Elementary, MPEG1/2 PS: M2P, MPG, MPEG2 Transport Stream: TS, TP, TRP, M2TS, MTS, MOD, and TOD, ISO, […]