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

June 6, 2016June 6, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

On/Off Switch USB Cables & Power Adapters for Development Boards

Many development boards don’t have a power switch, and simply boot when you apply power. So if you need to turn off and turn on your board, you’d either remove the power cable and re-insert it, or do the same with the power adapter on the power strip or socket, but the latter is not always convenient, and the former may damage the power connector, especially if the board uses a fragile micro USB connector for power. The solution to this small problem is to use a USB cable with an on/off switch. The example above is a 5V/2A with a switch button with the plug working with Orange Pi, Banana Pi M2, and other board using a 4mm jack (like PS4) for power. That model sells for $3.90 on Aliexpress. Another solution is instead to buy a short USB cable with an on/off switch instead for just around $1 […]

June 5, 2016June 27, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 35 Comments

Beelink BT7 Review – Windows 10 mini PC Based on Intel Atom x7-Z8700 Processor

Beelink BT7 mini PC powered by Intel Atom x7-Z8700 processor offers an interesting alternative to the fanless Voyo V3 mini PC, as it is actively cooled by a small fan, supports (Gigabit) Ethernet, and comes with three full USB 3.0 ports. There are three versions with either 64, 128 (64+64) or 320 (64+256) GB stortage, and I got Beelink BT7 128GB to play with. Since I’ve already checkout the hardware, I’ll focus on the performance and stability of the device on Windows 10 in the second part of the review. Setup and System Information I placed the mini PC on my desk, made use of the three USB 3.0 ports with a USB keyboard, a USB mouse, and a Seagate USB 3.0 hard drive, and connected Ethernet, HDMI and the power cable. However, if you happen to own a TV or monitor that supports VESA mounts, you can use the […]

June 4, 2016June 4, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 23 Comments

$35 R-Box Rockchip RK3229 4K Android 5.1 TV Box Comes with 2GB RAM

While Rockchip RK3229 SoC has a pretty weak processor (4x Cortex A7) and GPU (Mali-400MP2), its media capabilities are very good for the price, as it can handle 4K video playback of 10-bit H.265 @ 60 fps, as well as 10-bit H.264 @ 30 fps reasonably well based on my experience with Zidoo X1 II. However ,so far all RK3229 devices I’ve seen ship with 1GB RAM, which may be fine for video playback with Kodi using the default skin, but may be a limiting factor if you have higher requirements. R-BOX fills the void in the market by being the first RK3229 TV box with 2GB RAM for just $35 including shipping. R-BOX specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3229 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-400MP2 System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 […]

June 3, 2016June 3, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

VATek VMB8202D Enmoder SoC Supports DVB, ATSC, DTMB and ISDB Modulation, H.264 & MPEG-2 Encoding up to 1080p30

Terrestrial digital TV transmitters normally cost over 1,000 dollars because there are usually implemented with expensive FPGA chips, but Taiwan based VATek has designed a low cost chips such as VMB8202D Enmoder (aka B2 Enmoder) capable of encoding 1080p60 video input to MPEG-2 (1080p30 max) or H.264 (SD resolution max), and transmitting the resulting video over DVB-C, DVB-T, ATSC, DTMB, or ISDB-T standards. VATek B2 Enmoder SoC specifications: CPU – 32-bit RISC @ 400MHz Memory – Built-in DDR Modulation Engine – VATek Multi-standard Modulator 1.0 ATSC / DTMB / DVB-T / DVB-C Media Encoder – VATek Ultral Low Latency HD Encoder supporting 1080p30 or SD MPEG-2 and SD H.264 encoding Audio Formats – MPEG-1 Layer 2, AAC Raw Video Inputs – 1x ITU-R BT.1120 or 2x ITU-R BT.656 up to 74.25MHz pixel clock Raw Audio Inputs – I2S up to 48kHz sample rate Stream Input Interface – Ethernet, Transport Serial […]

June 3, 2016June 3, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

D9+ DLP Pico Projector is also a Dock for iPhone 6

There’s an embarrassment of choice if you plan to purchase a small projector, but D9+ DLP pico projector is quite peculiar, as beside a male HDMI input port, it is specifically designed for iPhone 6, and works as dock adding a projector to the Apple phone, but also extra USB ports and a headphone jack. D9+ pico projector specifications: Projector – 854 x 480 Pixels; 80 Lumens ; 2000:1 contrast ratio; Lamp life: 30,000 hours Video Input – HDMI male connector for DVD player, laptop computer, set-top boxes, gaming consoles, etc.. Audio – 3.5mm audio jack USB – 2x USB ports Battery – 2400mAh lithium-ion battery. Dimensions – 17.50 x 9.00 x 2.50 cm Weight – 199 grams Certificate – CE,FCC,PSE The projector ships with a USB cable and a power adapter, but it does not include the 8-pin digital AV adapter necessary to connect the iPhone 6. It’s unclear […]

June 3, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Eny EVR01 Android All-in-One Virtual Reality Headset Features Rockchip RK3126 Processor

I keep reading that in order to offer a pleasant user experience, virtual reality will require high resolution displays (4K or greater), and SoCs fast enough to handle all the extra data processing requirements, but some Chinese manufacturers are instead trying to enter the low end of the market with products such as Allwinner H8vr or HA544 which are way too weak to handle 3D graphics for VR applications in a satisfying manner, but could be good enough for watching 3D and VR video. Eny Technology has gone one step further (down) with EVR01 VR headset based on Rockchip RK3126 quad core Cortex A7 processor combined with a 5″ 1280×720 display. EVR01 AIO VR headset specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3126 quad core Cortex A7 processor @ 1.3 GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 (Optional 512 MB) Storage – 8GB flash (Optional: 16GB) + micro SD slot up […]

June 2, 2016June 2, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Synaptics Natural ID USB Dongle Brings Fingerprint Authentication to Older Laptops and Computers

Many new smartphones features a fingerprint scanner, and some computers such as Kangaroo Mobile Desktop also include one, but you’ll soon be able to add a USB dongle to your existing notebook thanks to Synaptics USB dongle reference design featuring the company’s Natural ID secure fingerprint authentication module. The dongle will allow secure authentication with a single touch of a finger, and be compatible with Windows Hello and Microsoft Passport. So I’m not sure the press release claim that it will work “on any notebook PC” is valid if you use Linux or an older Windows operating system that is not Windows 10. The solutions is also FIDO Certified (Fast IDentity Online), so it will be compatible with other certified software, services, and devices. The company is now showcasing the solution at Computex 2016. USB dongles will sample in Q3 2016, with mass production scheduled for Q4 2016. But if […]

June 2, 2016June 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Xiaomi Mi Band 2 Fitness Tracker Adds an OLED Display, Promises 20-day Battery Life

I’m not a big fan of fitness trackers without display that require you to monitor your daily progress on your smartphone, and that’s probably why when Xiaomi released their first fitness band I was not quite as interested, but now the Chinese company has released Mi Band 2 with an OLED display, an heart rate monitor, IP67 ingress protection rating, and a 20-day of battery life for just 149 RMB ($23). Mi Band 2 key features: Fitness, heart rate and sleep tracker OLED display, view time, step count, heart rate 20-day battery, IP67 water resistant ADI accelerometer and optical heart rate sensor Anodized 0.05mm ultra-thin button Upgraded pedometer algorithm Hypoallergenic silicone band 2nd gen Bluetooth 4.0 for faster, stable connections It’s still good to be able to gather your fitness data over time, and you can do so with Mi Fit app for Android or iOS. The downside with an […]