Allwinner V-Series processors target camera applications, especially sports and action cameras, and we’ve already coverd Allwinner V3 single core Arm Cortex-A7 processor for 1080p60 / 4K15 cameras, as well as Allwinner V5 quad core Cortex-A7 processor for 4K30 cameras enhanced with artificial intelligence capabilities.
Allwinner has showcased and/or unveiled more Cortex-A7 processors at CES Asia 2019 such as Allwinner R328 for voice applications, or Allwinner T7 for automotive dashboards, as well as a new camera processor called Allwinner V316 with two Arm Cortex-A7 cores, apparently the same 4K @ 30 fps H.265/H.264 encoder as in V5, but without AI engine architecture.
Allwinner V316 key features and preliminary specifications:
- CPU – Dual core Arm Cortex-A7 processor @ 1.2 GHz
- ISP – HawkView 6.0 image processor with 2D/3D intelligent noise reduction, frame width dynamic synthesis, sharpening enhancement, specific color enhancement and other image pre-processing techniques
- Video – 4K Smart H.264/H.265 video encoder with built-in hardware distortion correction and electronic anti-share; 720p @ 240 fps and 1080p @ 120 fps are also supported
- Display – Dual screen support, touch screen support
- Peripherals and I/Os – “Wealth of input and output related interfaces”
- Power Consuption – 2W during 4K30 recording, super standby mode @ 3mA with 500ms wake-up time
- Process – 28nm
4K sports cameras based on Allwinner V316 are said to support rich-scene modes, up to 8x shooting modes, and real-time preview.
Allwinner provides a standard Linux SDK and a complete development kit with EVB, documentation, and debugging tools to help developers get started and lower time to market of new sports camera.
It’s already possible to find some Allwinner V316 powered 4K cameras, as for example a white brand “Real 4K 30 FPS” camera is sold for $45.99 on Banggood, and a very similar Q8-5 can be found on Global Sources for resellers or other who want to buy in quantities.
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And here I thought “real 4K” was 60fps…
4K at 60fps vs 30fps isn’t very visible unless you do slow motion. So you need to trade off the expense. The 60FPS will double the rate video is written to SD and increase the file sizes a lot. If you want high frame rate set it to do 1080P120. The camera system on the V5 is actually very good.
I hope someone makes a dev board for this. The wholesale camera is dirt cheap at $30 so this chip must also be cheap.
The software for the V5 was in good shape too (compared to other Allwinner disasters). Can someone post the SDK?
I was mirroring the V3S SDK on my filez box, but I need to restore the backup as my hosting provider kicked me out.
Will try to hunt for the new SDK…
Next time make a free google account and host it on a Google drive. The V316 is a private chip that was done for HDKing8, http://www.hdking8.com/ According to my sources, it is not available for normal purchase. A similar chip is the V57, also a private chip for HDKing8. You won’t find these SDKs until someone leaks them. A public version of the V316 is supposed to be coming in a couple of quarters. But… it is known that the V316 was derived from the V5 and V5 SDK is public. So if you are gung ho try starting from… Read more »
Does this have more than one SPI master? The issue for me with the V3S, S3 and S3L is that they only have one and if you use that for SPI NOR to boot with you have none.
MStar seem to have many SoCs that are on the same line as this Allwinner series, i.e. have a camera interface and HD video encoders, but they have them in QFNs with DDR in the package.
Hisilicon is the king of camera SOCs. Their SDKs and document is good. But that comes at a price, their higher end chips are expensive in Chinese terms.
I can’t locate a web site for MStar, I just see a few cameras using their chips.
If V316 is same core as V5 it has four SPI masters. But it doesn’t have TrustZone.
>I can’t locate a web site for MStar, I just see a few cameras using their chips.
They have a crappy site at: https://www.mstarsemi.com/
There’s nothing really there and they are much more secretive than any of the other far east SoC vendors.
They have a lot of interesting chips though. It’s possible you already have a TV or something with one of their chips in it.
Does anyone have experience with the iCatch V50M? Know what it costs?
https://www.icatchtek.com/Upload/201904240817088580911.pdf
Not all ISPs were born equal. Allwinner’s previous 2K couldn’t beat Huawei’s 1080P chips in IQ.