Dune HD Solo 4K is a High-End Media Player with a SATA Bay, a DVB-T2 Tuner, and Sigma Designs SMP8758 Processor

Dune HD, a company specializing in “high-performance digital media players”, has just unveiled Dune HD Solo 4K media player based on  Sigma Designs SMP8758 dual core Cortex A9 processor, supporting 10-bit HEVC video decoding up to 2160p @ 30 fps, HD audio pass-though, and including a SATA tray.

Dune_HD_Solo_4KDune HD Solo 4K specifications:

  • SoC – Sigma Designs SMP8758 dual core Cortex A9 processor @ 1.2 GHz with an ARM Mali-400 GPU and VXP image processing engine
  • System Memory – 1GB
  • Storage – 4GB flash for firmware, internal HDD rack with hot swap function for a 2.5″ SATA drive, SD card reader (TBC)
  • Video Output – HDMI 1.4b up to 1080p60 and 4K @ 30 Hz (including 23.976, 25, 29.97, 50, 59.94Hz refresh rates), and composite video
  • Audio Output – HDMI, analog stereo audio, coaxial S/PDIF (shared via AV port). 24-bit /192 KHz audio support
  • Video codecs – MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, WMV9, VC1, H.264, H.265, H.265 Hi10p; support for very high bitrate video (up to 100 Mbit/s and higher)
  • Video file formats – MKV, MPEG-TS, MPEG-PS, M2TS, VOB, AVI, MOV, MP4, QT, ASF, WMV, BDMV, DVD-ISO, VIDEO_TS
  • 3D video formats – MVC, Side-by-side, Top/Bottom
  • Audio codecs – MPEG-1/2 layer I/II/III, AAC, LPCM, WMA, WMAPro, FLAC, multichannel FLAC, Vorbis, WavPack, APE (Monkey’s Audio), ALAC (Apple lossless), AC3 (Dolby Digital), DTS; support for very high quality audio (up to 192 kHz / 24-bit). Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD MA, and Dolby Atmos pass-through to AV receiver
  • Tuner – DVB-T/T2 RF IN
  • Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi with two external antennas, optional Z-Wave controller for home automation
  • USB –  2x USB 2.0 ports (1x rear, 1x front)
  • Misc – IR extender port, on/off switch
  • Power Supply – 12V DC IN power connector
  • Dimensions – N/ADune_HD_Solo_4K_SATA

The media device support dual boot Linux + Android with the Linux OS featuring Dune HD media player functionality, and the Android OS providing access to Android apps.

Supported file systems include FAT32, EXT-2/3/4, and NTFS, all with read and write support. The player also has some other media features that are often missing or poorly supported in cheaper devices with as Blu-ray playback and menus, true 24p output (23.976Hz), NAS function, MPEG-DASH and HLS streaming support, etc.. . Solo 4K can also be an home automation gateway thanks to Control4 software.

I’ve never used a product with Sigma Designs SMP8758 processor, but I reviewed Popcorn Hour VTEN with SMP8657, that’s basically the single core version of the processor, and video playback and HD audio pass-through all worked very well, yet with some bugs at the time of review.

Dune_HD_Solo_4K_ConnectorsCloud Media also introduced Popcorn Hour A500-Pro media player with Sigma SMP8758 via a crowdfunding campaign where you could get it for $399 instead of $599 (MSRP) retail. Although both players as a different set of features, Dune HD Solo 4K should be a better deal once it becomes available in February of 2016 for 299 Euros (MSRP) [Update: price with VAT is 349 Euros]. You can find more details on the product page.

Share this:

Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress

ROCK Pi 4C Plus
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
The comment form collects your name, email and content to allow us keep track of the comments placed on the website. Please read and accept our website Terms and Privacy Policy to post a comment.
10 Comments
oldest
newest
Harley
Harley
8 years ago

No Kodi / XBMC support like all Sigma Designs boxes which is really really bad for a media player company today.

Would not even consider one until Sigma Designs steps up and start supporting Kodi and the XBMC community.

Techy
Techy
8 years ago

For 300 eur can buy two nvidia shield

Nelbert
Nelbert
8 years ago

There was an effort in the past between the Kodi and Sigma teams. VU even announced a satellite box with a new OS that would have Kodi integrated. Unfortunately both projects seemed to fizzle out and disappear. Dune have been building media players for many years, which have their own priorities, community and feature set which integrate with their own products and other systems. The Dune devices usually have a support life of years and their UI is built for their aims, not just as a Kodi clone. I expect Dune purchasers are less likely to be interested in the… Read more »

Iridiumsat
Iridiumsat
8 years ago

Everything’s been changed since Raspberry Pi was introduced. Leave all old hard disk media players behide with XBMC and then Kodi.

Standalone media player doesn’t need to be at high cost anymore.

Hoang Dinh
Hoang Dinh
8 years ago

I used RP2 for Kodi and it’s very good player, fast support and cheap.

Alfred Braithewaite
Alfred Braithewaite
8 years ago

I am confused by this specification. “Video Output – HDMI 1.4b” I thought that UHD 4k TVs needed HDMI 2.0 or above in order to display 4k mode at an appropriate refresh rate. eg QUOTE HDMI 2.0 is an absolutely essential component of your TV if you want to enjoy content in true smooth motion as its intended to be viewed. This is because anything less than HDMI 2.0 will only offer you the ability to watch 4K movies and live events at refresh rates of just 24 to 30Hz, which simply isn’t good enough for decent viewing of fast… Read more »

Demetris
8 years ago

Not a good deal…end of story.
These products if they don’t start to compete in price/value for money they are doom to fail.
You can buy a no name china box that can do these and more(e.g. google market) for a fraction of the cost
And we should force them to get a 4k-ready vs 4K on all new boxes so they dont fool potential buyers

jari becker
7 years ago

wow that’s very nice i love it

Khadas VIM4 SBC