Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft), Author at CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

September 22, 2014September 22, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments

Unboxing of Nagrace HPH NT-V6 Android TV Box with HDMI In, Rockchip RK3288 Processor

Thanks to Nagrace Times Technology, I’ve got a new Rockchip RK3288 Android mini PC to play with. HPH NT-V6 model is higher end compared to the other ones I’ve received including Uyesee G1H, Kingnovel R6 and Orion R28 Meta, because it comes with 32GB eMMC, HDMI In, and a AP6335 Wi-Fi module providing 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity. I’ll start by listing the device specifications, take some pictures of the device and the board, and I’ll write a full review probably next week as I have some other hardware to test first. Nagrace NT-V6 specifications The company provides various memory and storage options for this product, and if Linux based operating systems such as Ubuntu or Chrome OS end up being properly supported on Rockchip RK3288, Nagrace NT-V6 could end up bring a very nice mini PC: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core ARM Cortex A12/A17 processor @ 1.8 GHz with ARM […]

September 22, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

The New Radxa Rock Lite Rockchip RK3188 Development Board Sells for $59

You may have heard about Radxa Rock Lite development board before, so let’s clear up the different versions of the Radxa Rock first. There’s a total of four Radxa Rock models: Radxa Rock (2013) – The original version with 2GB RAM, 8GB NAND Flash, and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Radxa Rock Lite (2013) – 1GB RAM, 4GB NAND Flash, and Wi-Fi only Radxa Rock Pro (2014) – An evolution of the Radxa Rock still with 2GB RAM, 8GB NAND flash, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth but adding LVDS and camera interfaces. Radxa Rock Lite (2014) – 1GB RAM, no NAND flash, and Wi-Fi only The fist two versions appear to have been phased out, as they are not listed for sale on Radxa Rock website, and today, I’ll write about Radxa Rock Lite (2014). Radxa Rock Lite (2014) specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 ARM Cortex-A9 quad core @ 1.6Ghz + Mali-400 MP4 GPU System Memory – 1GB […]

September 22, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Mediatek Releases Android SDK with APIs for HotKnot, Video & Image Processing, Multi-SIM, etc…

Mediatek seems motivated in getting involved with maker and open source communities. Thanks to its works on Android One with Google, the company recently released the Linux kernel source for MT6582 processor, and with a separate endeavour, launched Mediatek Labs bringing LinkIt ONE platform for IoT and wearables to market, as well as a preview release of an Android SDK for its mobile processors. Features of the SDK includes: Set of libraries for MediaTek feature APIs with full API documentation. x86 MediaTek emulator based on a reference implementation of an Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) device powered by a MediaTek chip, adding capabilities to test and debug telephony and multi-SIM features, a vibrator indicator and a hot-swappable SD card. Customized version of the DDMS (Dalvik Debug Monitor Server), which adds support for testing telephony features, such as plugging and unplugging a headset, sending telephony commands to test call and SMS features, etc… […]

September 21, 2014January 23, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Getting Started with LinkIt ONE Development Kit for Wearables & IoT

After going through WRTnode Quick Start Guide, it’s now time to play with LinkIt ONE, the IoT development board from Mediatek designed by Seeed Studio. LinkIt ONE is the first Hardware Development Kit (HDK) for Mediatek LinkIt, so there may be a LinkIt TWO, and/or other hardware platforms in the future. LinkIt ONE specifications Let’s quickly go through the specifications first: Processor – Mediatek MT2502A (Aster) ARM7 EJ-STM processor @ 260 MHz System Memory – 4 MB Storage – 16MB Flash for firmware + micro SD slot shared with SIM slot for up to 32GB additional storage Connectivity: Wi-Fi – 802.11 b/g/n (MT5931) with external antenna Bluetooth – BR/EDR/BLE(Dual Mode) GPS – Mediatek MT3332 with external antenna GSM/GPRS – 850/900/1800/1900 MHz band, Class 12 GPS with external antenna Audio – 3.5mm headphone jack (including mic support) – Support for MP3, AAC, and AMR codecs. Serial – Software Serial (Serial), and […]

September 20, 2014February 3, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

Unboxing of Eny EM6Q-MXQ Android TV Box Powered by Amlogic S805 Processor

EM6Q-MXQ is an Android TV box based on Amlogic S805 quad core Cortex A5 processor, with a quad core Mali-450MP GPU, 1GB RAM, and 8GB flash. The company sent me a sample for review, so today I’ll start with some pictures, and follow up with a full review in a few days. EM6Q-MXQ Unboxing Pictures The box comes with a brand-less “OTT TV BOX” package. The media player comes with an HDMI cable (1.2m), a remote control requiring two AAA batteries, a 5V/2A power supply, and a user’s manual in English and Chinese. The box features an LED and an IR receiver at the front, 3 USB 2.0 ports and an SD card slot on the side, with most ports on the rear panel: another full size USB port (OTG), coaxial S/PDIF, AV output, HDMI output, 10/100M Ethernet, and DC in. There’s also MAC address on the bottom of the […]

September 20, 2014September 20, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

$60 EC-U6D Android Media Player Powered by Realtek RTD1195 Supports 4K/HEVC, USB 3.0 and Gigabit Ethernet

RTD1195 is only a dual core Cortex A9 A7 processor, but supports high speed interfaces like USB 3.0 and Gigabit Ethernet, as well as 4K/H.265 hardware decoding, and Realtek has a long history with set-top boxes, so video playback might be better than some other platforms, such as the ones based on Rockchip processors. Egreat and Mele are both working on Realtek RTD1195 based Android media players, but none of the models from these two companies are available yet. EC Tech has listed their EC-U6D Android TV box on Aliexpress for $59.99 including shipping, so it competes on price with Amlogic S805 TV boxes powered by a quad core Cortex A5 processor, with H.265 hardware decoding, but that only support Fast Ethernet (for now), 1080p video output and decoding, and USB 2.0. EC-U6D specifications: SoC – Realtek RTD1195 dual core ARM Cortex A9 A7 processor @ 1.4 GHz with Mali-400MP […]

September 19, 2014May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Linux based MOD Duo Multi-Effects Pedal is Powered by an AllWinner A20 SoM (Crowdfunding)

If you are both a maker and a musician, MOD Duo multipurpose pedal may be a fun “toy” to play with. It’s an embedded computer comprised of a Hi-Fi soundcard (baseboard) powered by the same ITEAD Studio A20-CORE system on module found in ITEAD Studio IBOX, fitted into an enclosure with a pedalboard interface, and two graphics displays. You can create and share your own effects, or download the one made by the community using LV2 sound plugins, an open sound processing standard. A MOD Arduino Shield is also available to create new peripherals. Some technical specifications of the MOD Duo: SoC – AllWinner A20 dual core Cortex A7 processor @ 1GHz (AllWinner A23 is part of stretch goals) Two audio inputs Two audio outputs Stereo headphones output MIDI IN and MIDI OUT Cirrus Audio Codec USB – 1x USB Host for bluetooth, Wifi adapters and MIDI peripherals, 1x USB […]

September 18, 2014September 18, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Getting Started with WRTnode OpenWRT Development Board

Seeed Studio sent me two nice little boards that can be used for IoT development: WRTNode and LinkIt ONE. Today, I’ll show pictures of WRTNode and accessories, and go through the “starting guide“, and will test LinkIt ONE board a few days later. WRTnode Unboxing I’ve received WRTnode by Fedex, and the board is stored in a plastic box. Inside the box, you’ll find the board, a “special” USB used to power the board and as an OTG adapter, a piece of paper with useful links (Wiki), and some WRTnode stickers. Any micro USB to USB cable can be used to power the board, but this cable is useless to connect USB devices such as flash drives, webcams (OpenCV is supported), Bluetooth dongles, and so on. You could even connect a USB hub to connect multiple USB devices as shown below. I’ve also taken a picture of both sides of […]