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

March 14, 2013February 22, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Ittiam HEVC Decoder To Provide H.265 Video Decoding for Existing ARM Cortex-A Devices

H.264 is now the favorite codec for many applications, and all ARM SoC providing multimedia capabilities support it. However, a new codec called H.265 (aka HEVC) is coming with twice the compression ratio with the same quality saving a lot of money for those who have to pay for the bandwidth. The transition between video codecs is normally a slow process, but as it happens you may wonder if you’ll be able to play H.265 videos on your existing ARM Cortex A9/A15 devices which do not support H.265 hardware video decoding. The answer appears to be “Yes You Can!”, as Ittiam Systems announced an HEVC decoder specifically designed for ARM Cortex A processors. More specifically their software decoder will support: ARMv7 Cores with NEON – Cortex A8, Cortex A5, Cortex A9, Cortex A15, Cortex A7 and the multi core variants Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8064/MPQ8064 , MSM8960 Ittiam HEVC decoder mainly targets devices such […]

March 12, 2013March 17, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Giayee TV BOX101 Looks Like a Nexus Q Clone

Last summer Google launched the Nexus Q a set-top box which main features were its rounded shape and ridiculously high price. Google eventually dropped the product, but at least one Chinese company called Giayee believes in the concept and launched TV BOX101 which just looks like the Nexus Q internally, but instead of OMAP4460, it’s powered by Rockchip RK3066. Here are some preliminary specifications of the device: SoC – Rockchip RK3066 Dual core A9 @ 1.6GHz + Quad Mali-400 GPU System Memory 1G DDR3 RAM Storage – 8G NAND Flash + micro SD slot Video Out – HDMI + AV Connectivity: Ethernet – 10/100M Wifi – 802.11 b/g/n USB – 2x USB Host Size – Diameter 117mm, Height 108.5mm Weight: 363g Air Mouse Control Wireless Microphone Somatic Joypad Customized UI This Android 4.1 device will come with an “Air Mouse Controller”, an HDMI cable, a power supply (5V/3A), and a […]

March 12, 2013March 30, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Latest Tronsmart Prometheus Firmware Features Android 4.2 and XBMC with Video Hardware Decoding

Last month I reviewed Tronsmart Prometheus, and I was pretty satisfied with the device except some bugs. There’s no a firmware update that should fix AC3/DTS static noise issues in this set-top box. Prometheus also becomes one of the first set-top boxes to support the latest Android Jelly Bean 4.2, and comes with an XBMC version supporting hardware decode using XBMC user interface, and not an external media player such as DicePlayer or MX Player. You can download the firmware ( 2013-3-08(4.2_root_ac3_dts_market_xbmc).zip), and install it using the upgrade procedure on Tronsmart website. I’m on the road, so I can’t try the firmware myself right now (which also explains why I haven’t posted in the last few days), but Geekuying has upload a short video showing XBMC with video hardware acceleration on the device. (Previous firmware in Android 4.1.2). Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, […]

March 8, 2013March 8, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Review of Egreat H5 mini PC Powered by Nufront NS115

W2COMP sent me a new toy to play with: Egreat H5 mini PC built around Nufront NS115 dual core Cortex A9 SoC with 1GB RAM and 4GB Flash, and (theoretically) running Android Jelly Bean (4.1). Since it’s the first time I write about this device, let’s start with the specifications as shown in W2COMP: SoC – Nufront NS115 dual core Cortex A9 @ 1.0GHz + Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4GB Nand Flash (2 GB for OS, 2GB available space) + micro SD slot. Video Output – HDMI (720p / 180p) Video Containers- AVI, RMVB, MKV& FLV Audio Codec – Dolby, DTS, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, PCM (DTS-HD MA, RAW not supported), MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC and OGG Connectivity – Built-in WI-FI 802.11 b/g/n USB – 1x USB host port, 1x micro USB Misc – 1 IR port Power – 5V/2A Dimensions – 122 […]

March 8, 2013March 8, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

CloudnetGo CR9 is an HDMI TV Stick Based on Rockchip RK3188 Quad Core SoC

Rockchip RK3066 based mini PCs are clearly the most popular in the market, and after the discovery of one AllWinner A20 HDMI dongle, and one AllWinner A31 mini PC earlier this week, it’s time for the first mini PC based on Rockchip R3188 quad core Cortex A9 processor called CloudnetGo CR9. Here are ClounetGo CR9 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 @ 1.8Ghz + Mali-400MP4 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8 to 16GB internal flash + micro SD slot (up to 32GB) Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n Video Output – HDMI (male) up to 2160p Video Codecs – VP8, AVS, MJPEG, RV8/9/10, H.263, H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DIVX Video Container Formats – AVI, RM, RMVB, PMP, FLV, MP4, M4V, VOB, WMV, 3GP, MKV, ASF, 3G2M4V. Audio Codecs/Formats – MP1/2/3, WMA, OGG, AAC, M4A, FLAC, APE, AMR, RA, WAV. USB – 1x USB Host 2.0, […]

March 7, 2013December 7, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

The Mojo – $65 FPGA Development Board Powered By Xilinx Spartan 6

Embedded Micro has started a kickstarter campaign to fund an FPGA board called “the Mojo”, “designed to be user friendly and a great introduction into digital design”. The board is powered by a Xilinx Spartan 6 FPGA that comes with over 9,000 logic cells, and will allow you to design digital circuits composed of a bunch of logic and, or, nor, etc… gates connected together to perform a specific task. Here are the features of “The Mojo”: Spartan 6 XC6SLX9 FPGA – 9,152 logic cells for your largest designs 84 general purpose digital IO pins (3.3V logic level) 8 analog inputs 8 user controlled LEDs A USB connection (new revision) to configure the FPGA and send receive data from your design On board voltage regulation (4.5V – 12V input, 3.3V and 1.2V outputs) 8 MHz on-board clock (can be multiplied internally by the FPGA) A reset button to be used in your designs […]

March 7, 2013March 7, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

NXP LPC800-MAX Development Board Combines mbed, LPCXpresso and Arduino Connectivity

NXP unveiled LPC810 & LPC812 Cortex M0+ MCUs in November 2012, and more recently at Embedded World 2013, the company announced LPC810 and LPC812 microcontrollers availability together with LPC800-MAX, a development board based on NXP LPC812 compatible with mbed, Arduino and LPCXpresso headers which will be released in April 2013. LPC800-MAX board features: MCU – LPC812 Cortex M0+ in TSSOP20 package Onchip memory – 4KB SRAM and 16KB Flash. On-board debug interface (mbed USB onboard interface) on a LPC11U35 Top of board has Arduino compatible connectors, bottom of board has mbed and LPCXpresso connectors. Routing configurable via Switch Matrix. 3 color user LED, same one as on the LPC800 Xpresso A PCF8591 I2C ADC, mainly intended for use with the Arduino connectors 14-pin Serial Expansion Interface Connector compatible with several expansion modules from Embedded Artists 10-pin SWD connector for optional external debug probe User prototyping area This USB powered board will […]

March 7, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Linaro Connect HK Greg Kroah-Hartman Keynote: “I Don’t Want Your Code!”

If you are a developer interested in getting your code into mainline, Greg KH keynote at Linaro Connect 2013 Hong Kong is probably worth a watch. In this presentation entitled “I Don’t Want Your Code! Linux Kernel Maintainers, why are they so grumpy?”, he first describes the large amount of patches they receive (7.28 patches per hour for kernel 3.8.0), gives some statistic about developers and companies involved with the kernel (about 20% is done by individuals), tells the audience they should submit the kernel code during SoC emulation/simulation stage, so that it’s accepted and ready to use when customers get the silicons (like Intel does), and quotes Intel and IBM executives saying “Working upstream saves time and money”. He then moves on what he does not want to see (and gets a lot): patch series with missing patches, email signature saying it’s confidential (since Linux development is done publicly, […]