Top 10 Posts of 2012 on CNXSoft Blog

This is the last day of the year, so it’s probably a good time to look back and see what interested people on this blog. This has been a banner year for low cost ARM devices and boards starting with the Raspberry Pi, then MK802 and the new mini PCs / HDMI TV dongles / PCs-on-a-stick (whatever you want to call them) that came after, always cheaper and faster. Those low cost devices have in turn made people really interested in ARM Linux, and lots of development on those little devices and boards started. The top 10 posts of 2012, according to page views, reflect just those trends: 74 USD AllWinner A10 Android 4.0 Mini PC (May 2012) – MK802 started the whole “low cost mini PCs” craze, and drove the most traffic to this blog this year. People got excited about the price, form factor, and the possibility to […]

Tronsmart Prometheus: $99 Spaceship-like Android Media Player Based on AML8726-M6

Most media players just look like a boring black or white box, but Tronsmart Prometheus proves it does not have to be that way, as this model comes in the shape of a spaceship. This box running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean is based on AMLogic AML8726-M6 dual core Cortex A9 processor with 1GB RAM and 4GB Flash. Here are the specs of this spaceship media player: SoC – AMLogic AML8726-M6 Dual Core up to 1.5GHz with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 4GB NAND Flash + SD card slot Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n 10/100 Ethernet (RJ45) USB – 3x USB 2.0 Host ports. N.B: The specs mentions 3x USB outside, and 2x USB inside. But after a closer inspection of the casing and PCBA pictures, I can only shows 3 ports. Video output – HDMI and composite Video Codecs – MPEG-2, H.264,MPEG-4,VC-1… at 1080P Audio Codecs – […]

XBMCHUB to Give Away Jynxbox Android HD Media Players

XBMCHUB has announced the launch of a giveaway to promote XBMCHUB.com and expand this community that provides third party add-ons for XBMC, and the most active members of the community will get one of the 4 Jynxbox Android HD media players available. But before going into details about XBMCHUB “competition”, let’s have a look at the hardware. Specifications: SoC – Amlogic AML8726-M3 Cortex A9 CPU @ 1.2GHz with Mali 400 GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM DDR3 Storage – 4GB Nand Flash + MicroSD slot (Up to 32GB) USB – 3x USB 2.0 Host ports Connectivity Wifi – 802.11b/g/n 10/100 Ethernet Video Output – HDMI 1.3 Misc – IR Sensor for remote Video container formats – AVI, MKV, TS, TP, TRP, M2TS, MPG, MP4, MOV, M4V, VOB, IFO, DAT, WMV, ASF, RM, RMVB, FLV, XVID, DIVX 3/4/5 up to 1080p resolution Audio formats – MP3/ OGG/ WMA/ WAV/ AAC/ FLAC […]

H.265/HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) Status and How-To Encode Videos to H.265

Now H.264 is the main standard used for video compression, and most devices that can support video playback feature an SoCs capable of H.264 hardware video decoding. Since 2004, however, work has been done to improve H.264, and a new standard called High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), also referred to as H.265, will eventually replace H.264, even though this will take a few more years to really gain traction. HEVC will be able to double the data compression ratio compared to H.264 with the same quality, or improve the quality using the same bitrate, and it can support 8K UHD (Ultra High Definition) with a resolution of 7680×4320 (4320p). This new video codec is a big deal for those who pay for video bandwidth (80% of internet traffic according to Ericsson), and it should also be welcomed by consumers, as it will magically double their storage device capacity, and they may […]

S21H Android 4.1.2 HDMI TV Dongle Comes with 2GB RAM

Following the comments I’ve read, many ask for more RAM in their mini PCs, and one even tried to make his own with 2 GB RAM. So I’m glad to say that a Rockchip RK3066 based mini PC is now available with 2GB RAM, and is called S21H. The rest of the specs are pretty standard and similar to MK809 II / MK802 IIIs: SoC – Rockchip RK3066 dual-core Cortex-A9 System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB Nand Flash, microSD slot (up to 16GB???) Connectivity: WiFi – 802.11b/g/n Built-in Bluetooth Video Output – HDMI Video Codec – M-JPEG, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.263, H.264, VC-1, DivX, Xvid, RealVideo, VP6, Sorenson Spark support USB – 1x USB 2.0 Host, 1x microUSB OTG port. Power Supply – 5V/2A S21H comes with an HDMI cable, a USB cable, a power adapter, and a (probably useless) user manual. I’ve found the device on Aliexpress for […]

Gechic On-Lap Monitor 2501M Portable Battery Powered Display

Gechic is a relatively new company offering what it calls “On-Lap monitors”, i.e. light weight monitors that you can easily carry around. One of those monitors is the On-Lap Monitor 2501M that is peculiar thanks to its 9300 mAh Li-Po battery, which allow you to use it anywhere. You just need to connect your smartphone, camera, laptop (for 2nd display), etc… via the monitor’s HDMI/MHL/VGA inputs. Here are the specifications of this portable & battery-powered monitor: Screen size – 15.6″ HD LCD. Aspect Ratio – 16:9 Resolution – 1366×768 Inputs – MHL, HDMI-D, VGA (Optional Cable Required) and audio Jack Battery – Li-Po 9300mAh battery Speakers – 1.0W (Max.) x 2 Power – 5V/2.0A (Max.) Dimension – 387mm x 260mm x 12.8mm (without cover) Weight – 1088g (1312g with cover) The monitor is sold with a protection cover, a Micro HDMI cable, a VGA cable, a 5-pin MHL cable, a […]

$56 MK809 II Android Jelly Bean mini PC based on Rockchip RK3066 Processor

Kimdecent announced it started to sell MK809 II mini PC with Rockchip RK3066, 1GB RAM, 8GB Flash and built-in Bluetooth. This HDMI TV dongle is very similar to Rikomagic MK802 IIIs in terms of specs, and I’ve been told the user interface is also nearly identical. Here are the specs of the device: SoC – Rockchip RK3066 Dual ARM Cortex-A9 processor clocked @ up to 1.6 GHz with Mali-400MP4 Quad-core GPU, System Memory – 1GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 8GB NAND Flash + micro SD card slot (Up to 32 GB) Connectivity: Wifi – 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth 2.1 3G support via external 3G USB dongle USB – 1x USB 2.0 Host,  2x micro USB Host Video Output – HDMI Video Codecs – MPEG1/2/4, H.264, VC-1, Divx, Xvid, RM8/9/10, VP6 Video Containers – MKV, TS, TP, M2TS, RM/RMVB, BD-ISO, AVI, MPG, VOB, DAT, ASF, TRP, FLV etc full formats Audio Codecs […]

$135 ARMBRIX Zero Exynos 5 Development Board Is Now Available for Pre-order

Ten days ago, I wrote about ARMBrix Zero, the cheapest Cortex A15 board (soon to be) available based on Samsung Exynos 5250 processor. It is now available for pre-order, and the company organizes a raffle to send a free ARMBRIX Zero board to the winner. I’ve received some updated specifications, although we don’t learn much more: CPU – Exynos 5 Dual  ARM Cortex A15 Dual GPU – Mali T604  Embedded GPU Memory –  2GB DDR3  X32, 800MHz Storage – MicroSD  slot Audio – ALC5631Q  Line In/Out, SPDIF  Coaxial type Video – HDMI A Type External Ports: 2x USB2.0 Host 1x USB3.0 Host 1x USB2.0 Device 1x SATA 1x Ethernet RJ45 Expansions – 3 Headers (Further details should be available later this week) CON16 – MIPI Master/Slave, 1x I2C, GPIO CON19 – 3x serial interfaces, 2x I2C, 2x ADC, JTAG, USB, MMC, and reset CON20 – I2S, Interrupt and GPIO pins, […]

EDATEC Raspberry Pi 5 fanless case