Author: Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on SkyStream X5 Android Streaming Media Player Also Includes an ATSC Tuner

SkyStream X5 Android Streaming Media Player Also Includes an ATSC Tuner

While there’s now a decent choice of Android TV boxes with DVB-S2 or DVB-T2 tuners, devices with ATSC tuners are a little harder to come by, and the few Android devices I know of include WeTek Play, U4 Quad, and some Mygica (Geniatech) and Vygica ATSC Android set-top boxes. SkyStream X5 is now another option, based on Amlogic S812, mostly advertised as an Android streaming player, but still with one ATSC tuner to watch free-to-air television in North America, and a few smaller countries. SkyStream X5 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S812 quad core Cortex A9 processor @ 2.0 GHz with Mail-450 octa-core GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB flash + SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 1.4 with HDCP support + 3 RCA ports for composite and stereo audio Video Codecs – MPEG, MPE, MPG, M2V, ISO, TS, VOB, DAT, AVI, MKV, MP4, MOV, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on STMicro Releases Linux based STM32 MCU Development Tools

STMicro Releases Linux based STM32 MCU Development Tools

Until a few years ago, most development tools for micro-controllers were only available for Windows, but as Linux gained popularity among developers and engineers, community of developers designed development tools running in Linux, but only a few companies are providing tools that run on Linux operating systems. The good news is that STMicro has just announced the release of STM32CubeMX configurator and System Workbench for STM32, for both Linux and Windows, with Mac OS supporting coming on Q2 2016. Developped by Ac6 embedded systems company, System Workbench for STM32 relies on Eclipse IDE, supports the ST-LINK/V2 debugging tool under Linux through an adapted version of the OpenOCD project, and can be used with various STMicro STM32 boards including Nucleo boards, Discovery kits, and other Evaluation boards. You can give it a try by visiting OpenSTM32 Community, but for some reasons they ask you to register before accessing the installation instructions. […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Cypress Introduces PSoC 4 L-Series ARM Cortex-M0 MCU and Development Kit

Cypress Introduces PSoC 4 L-Series ARM Cortex-M0 MCU and Development Kit

Cypress Semiconductor has recently unveiled PSoC 4 L-Series micro-controller family based on ARM Cortex M0 core with more programmable analog and digital blocks, expanded memory, new peripherals and higher number of I/Os, as well as the corresponding Arduino compatible CY8CKIT-046 PSoC 4 L-Series Pioneer Kit to evaluate their latest solution. Key features of PSoC 4 L-Series MCU ARM Cortex-M0 CPU @ 48-MHz with DMA controller, up to 256KB flash, up to 32KB SRAM and  up to 98 GPIOs CapSense with SmartSense auto-tunning – 2x Cypress Capacitive Sigma-Delta (CSD) blocks Programmable analog 4x configurable opamps 4x current DACs (IDACs) 2x low-power comparators (CMP) One 12-bit, 1-Msps SAR ADC Programmable digital 8x Universal Digital Blocks (UDBs) 8x configurable 16-bit TCPWM 4x independent serial communication blocks (SCBs) Full-Speed USB 2.0 controller 2x CAN Controllers Segment LCD Drive support up to a maximum of 64 output (commons or segments) Power 1.71 to 5.5 V […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments on Ugoos AM1 4K TV Box Review

Ugoos AM1 4K TV Box Review

Ugoos AM1 is yet another TV box based on Amlogic S905. I’ve already published specifications and uploaded some pictures of the nice looking cyan box and its board, so today I’ll report on my experience after actually playing with the device, where I mostly focused on known problems found on other S905 mini PCs, and some extra features added to Ugoos firmware. First Boot, Settings, and First Impressions I filled all three USB ports with a USB webcam, a USB hard drive, and a USB hub with RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse,  Tronsmart Mars G01 wireless gamepad, and a USB keyboard (convenient for screenshots), and connected Ethernet, HDMI and power cables. A boot will usually take around 30 seconds. Before going through the user interface, I’ll mention that OTA firmware upgrade worked very well, and it was one of the first thing I did before the […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on Wandboard Introduces $69 Hobbitboard Made for Brillo Powered by NXP i.MX6 UltraLite Processor

Wandboard Introduces $69 Hobbitboard Made for Brillo Powered by NXP i.MX6 UltraLite Processor

Wandboard was one of the first to launch boards based on Freescale i.MX6 Solo, Dual and Quad in early 2013. The boards are comprise of an EDM system-on-module and a carrierboard, that makes it not only suitable as a single board computer, but you could also use the boards to start developing software, while making your own carrierboard to match your application. Wandboard.org community sent me an email last night to let me know about their latest board called Hobbitboard, or in full “Hobbitboard Made for Brillo”, powered by NXP i.MX6 UltraLite Cortex A7 processor, which follows the same principle, and includes Hobbit Compute Module and Hobbit I/O Carrierboard. Hobbit Compute Module specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX6 UltraLite Cortex A7 processor @ 528 MHz System Memory – 256MB DDR3 Storage – 4GB eMMC flash Connectivity – 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 (Ampak AP6335) Board Connectors – Two Pico Expansion header […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments on You Can Now Connect ESP8266 Module to Your Color Television (Sort of)

You Can Now Connect ESP8266 Module to Your Color Television (Sort of)

You can do lots of things with ESP8266 WiFi modules, but CNLohr did something rather unexpected as he managed to use GPIO3/RX pin to broadcast NTSC signals first in black & white, and now in color, to his television’s channel 3. On the hardware side, he did have to disconnect the WiFi antenna, and connected a wire antenna to GPIO3/RX pin. He then set I2S to run at 80 Mbps, and pushed data out using DMA buffers, so he could achieved the 61.25 MHz frequency required for NTSC luminance data, and the  color data, 3.579MHz higher up. Once the demo is running, you can alter it on the fly using a web neat interface. This is all explained on channel3’s github repository, as well as one a 15-minute video showing the capabilities and limitations, and explaining how you can play around with the parameters. Via ESP8266COM’s Tweet. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 29 Comments on K3 Wintel Keyboard PC Specs, Unboxing and Teardown

K3 Wintel Keyboard PC Specs, Unboxing and Teardown

K3_Keyboard_PC_Power_Supply_Users_Manual

Keyboard computers have made a – rather quiet – comeback with products like PiPo K1 and T20 keyboard PCs running Windows 10 and/or Android 4.4, and Geekbuying has now sent me another model with K3 Wintel keyboard PC powered by an Intel Atom Z3735F processor with 2GB RAM and 32GB eMMC flash. I’ll go through the specifications first, before taking pictures of the keyboard and tearing it down to see how it has been made. K3 Keyboard computer specifications The hardware specifications are similar to other Bay Trail mini PCs and sticks except for the added keyboard: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz / 1.83 GHz (Turbo) with Intel HD graphics System Memory – 2 GB LPDDR3L Storage – 32 GB eMMC + micro SD card slot Keyboard – 76-key keyboard with touchpanel Video Output – HDMI 1.4, and VGA Audio I/F – […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments on $98 Geek Force Mediatek MT7623 Router Board Features 6 GbE Ports, 3 mPCIe Slots for WiFi, 3G, or LTE (Crowdfunding)

$98 Geek Force Mediatek MT7623 Router Board Features 6 GbE Ports, 3 mPCIe Slots for WiFi, 3G, or LTE (Crowdfunding)

We’ve seen a few interesting and relatively powerful router board launched last year, with the likes of MQMaker WiTi or Turris Omnia, AsiaRF has now designed Geek Force board powered by Mediatek MT7623N/MT7623A quad core network processor combined with 2GB RAM, six Gigabit Ethernet ports, and optional 802.11ac and 3G connectivity via the three mPCIe slots available on the board. The board also features two HDMI ports, and supports multimedia capabilities such as H.264, MPEG-2, or VC-1 hardware video decoding. Geek Force board preliminary specifications: SoC – MediaTek MT7623A or MT7623N quad-core ARM Cotex-A7 @ 1.3GHz with Mali-450MP GPU (MT7623N only) System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 2GB eMMC or NAND Flash + SD card slot up to 128 GB, and maybe SATA via the mPCIe slots Connectivity – 6 Gigabit Ethernet ports (WAN / LAN behavior defined by firmware), 802.11 b/g/n WiFi & Bluetooth 4.0 via MT6625L with […]

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