$86.50 TVi7 Android TV Box Powered by Rockchip RK3066

Yesterday, Technici left a comment about a Rockchip RK3066 set-top box sold on a Polish website. The device is called “SMART MEDIA BOX TVi7” is the brochure in Polish, so I went on a search and found in DealExtreme for $86.50. Since I previously reported about the Wise TV Box also based on RK3066 but selling for $59.99, so I was about to pass on this one, until I found out Wise TV Box now costs $97, which makes this new device potentially interesting. TVi7 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3066 @ 252MHz~1608MHz + Mali 400 MP4 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND Flash + micro SD slot (up to 32 GB) Connectivity Wi-Fi – 802.11 b/g/n Ethernet – 10/100 Mbps (RJ45) 3G – Via external USB Dongle Video Output – HDMI 1.4 (1080p) Video Codecs – H.264, VP8, RV, WMV, AVS, H.263, MPEG4 Audio Formats – […]

Cloudsto AllWinner A20 Android 4.2 mini PC and Set-top Boxes

AllWinner A20 is a dual core Cortex A7 processor destined to provide an easy pin-to-pin compatible upgrade for  AllWinner A10 devices, and the first devices start to appear on the market with several Cloudsto offerings running the latest Android 4.2 Jelly Bean: A20 Media Stick – AllWinner A20 mini PC with 1GB RAM, 4GB Flash, HDMI output, 2x USB Ports and IR receiver. Price: 59.99 GBP ($90.88 US) A20 Media PC – AllWinner A20 set-top box with 1GB RAM, 4GB NAND Flash, onboard Ethernet, HDMI + RCA Video output, Optical output, and 2 x USB Ports. Price: 84.99 GBP ($128.77 US) Cloudsto Media PC PRO DRIVEDOCK – AllWinner A20 set-top box with 1GB RAM, 4 GB Flash, a 2.5″  SATA Hard Drive Bay, HDMI, VGA, and RCA video output and more. Price: 94.99 GBP ($143.92 US) The Media PC PRO DRIVESTOCK is the star of the show, and just looks […]

Tronsmart Prometheus Review

Now is the time to review another device sent to me by Geekbuying. Tronsmart Promotheus is an Android 4.1 Android set-top box powered by AMLogic AML8726-MX (aka AML8726-M6) with 1GB RAM and 4GB Flash, 3 USB ports, as well as Wi-Fi and Ethernet for connectivity. This device, which looks like a spaceship (my wife said it looks like a buffalo), has the potential to run XBMC with full hardware acceleration in Android and/or Linux. Tronsmart Prometheus Unboxing I’ve received the box in the package below. Apart from Promotheus media player, the package contains a 12V/1A power supply, an HDMI cable, an AV cable and a user manual in English that appears to be useful for once. It explains how to connect to device to the TV, to the networks, and to the power, how to do firmware upgrade, and how to troubleshoot it. It is presented in a way that […]

Huawei MediaQ M310 Media Player Based on Quad Core K3V2 Processor

I haven’t seen any quad-core set-top boxes on the market (if we exclude some Freescale i.MX6 mini PCs), but this is about to change with Huawei MediaQ M310 media player. The device is based on Hisilicon K3V2 SoC, and comes with 1GB RAM and 4 GB flash. Huawei MediaQ M310 specifications: SoC – HiSilicon K3V2 quad-core Cortex A9 processor with Vivante GC4000 GPU System Memory – 1 GB RAM Storage – 4 GB flash + microSD slot Video I/O – HDMI out and HDMI in Audio I/O – 1x SPDIF, 3.5 mm stereo jack and mic (3-in-1) USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11n & Bluetooth 4.0 Huawei multi-screen (Pushing, mirroring) Content aggregation / Voice Search The box runs a customized version of Android with a user interface designed for the television. CSilie, who tipped me about the MediaQ M310, saw the device at CES 2013, […]

$59.40 HD18M Android 4.0 Media Player Powered by AMLogic AML8726-M3

Mygica A11 ($65) was the cheapest AMLogic AML8726-M3 Android set-top box I was aware of, but today I’ve come across HD18M with very similar specs (e.g. 1GB RAM, 4GB Flash…) that sells for $59.40 on DealExtreme including shipping. Here are HD18M Android STB Specifications: SoC – AMLogic AML8726-M3 (Cortex A9) processor @ 1.0GHz with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4GB Flash + microSD slot (Up to 32GB) Video Output – HDMI 1.4 (Up to 1080p) Video Formats – AVI, RM, RMVB, TS, VOB, MKV, MOV, WMV, ISO, ASF, FLV, DAT, MPG & MPEG Video Codecs – MPEG1/2/4, H.264, AVC/VC-1, Xvid ,DivX3/4/5/6, and Real Video 8/9/10 Audio Formats – MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, FLAC, ALAC, APE, TrueHD, AAC, AC3, AC-D, DDP & DTS. Subtitle – srt, smi, ssa and ass USB – 2x USB 2.0 Host ports Connectivity – 10/100 Mbit Ethernet + Wi-Fi 802.11b/g The only […]

XBMCHUB Releases XBMC for Android Version with HW Video Decoding on All Platforms

As you may know, XBMC developers have been working on XBMC for Android for a while, and have recently released XBMC 12.0 RC3 for Android APK. The only problem is that, apart from devices based on AMLogic AML8726-M1/3,  many platforms still do not support video hardware decoding, so this  must be handled by software. As the CPUs in most devices are not powerful enough to decode HD videos, some people have provided instructions to use an external player, for example with Telechips TCC8925 and Diceplayer. This is not ideal because you basically lose XBMC user interface during video playback, but it’s a good workaround until XBMC 4 Android supports more platforms. However, you still need to edit some config files by yourself. That’s why the guys at XBMCHUB have decided to release an XBMC for Android APK where all the configuration is done for you, so that you can get […]

Archos TV Connect STB Hands-On Video

A few days ago, Archos unveiled the TV Connect, an Android Jelly Bean set-top box powered by TI OMAP4470 that can be placed on top of the TV, and controlled by a Bluetooth game controller/keyboard. Archos is now at CES 2013, and Brad Linder of Liliputing has had a closer look at the device. In the first part of the video, they give an overview of the device and the controller, and have some problems with the Bluetooth connection probably because of the spectrum might be saturated at the conference. Brad mentions the controller may be a bit awkward to use, but the Archos guy explains you could also use your TV remote control since it is HDMI CEC compatible, or alternatively your Android smartphone/tablet connected with Bluetooth (or Wi-Fi). At some point, they discuss about all the Chinese mini PCs that have similar functionalities, and the advantages Archos TV […]

Asus Qube Google TV 3.0 STB Hands-On Video

Asus announced the Qube at CES 2013 with a rather laconic press release: Qube with Google TV – Bring the world of entertainment to your TV Instantly add Google TV to your HDTV with the ASUS Qube. Qube with Google TV offers both motion control and voice search that integrates Google Play, Chrome™, YouTube™in one compact device. With access to over 100,000 movies and TV shows* from Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, plus numerous apps, videos and games from Google Play, ASUS Qubewith Google TV is the perfect media content device. ASUS has developed the unique Qube interface, which displays functions via a rotating on-screen cube shape. The advanced remote control supports motion sensing for gaming and other applications. Customers can also control Qube with Google TV from their Android smartphones and tablets using the Mobile Remote app, available through Google Play. ASUS includes 50GB of WebStorage cloud space with […]