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

August 24, 2015June 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Popcorn Hour A-500 PRO High-End Media Player is Powered by Sigma Designs SMP8758 SoC (Crowdfunding)

CloudMedia, previously known as Syabas, has been in the Linux media player business for many years, having developed various product based on Sigma Designs secure media processor. Popcorn Hour A-500 PRO is their latest media player, which the company claims have high-end audio and video quality thanks to an ESS SABRE Audio DAC, XLR connectors, and Sigma Designs SMP8758 dual core Cortex A9 processor and its VXP engine. Popcorn Hour A-500 PRO specifications: SoC – Sigma Designs SMP8758 ARM Cortex A9 processor @ 1.2 GHz with ARM Mali-400 GPU and VXP image processing engine System Memory – 2048 MB DDR3 Storage – NAND Flash for firmware, 1x SD card reader, internal SATA bay Video Output – HDMI up to 3840×2160 @ 30 Hz Audio Output Digital – HDMI, optical S/PDIF, and coaxial S/PDIF Analog – Stereo RCA jacks, XLR connectors, and headphones Audio DAC – ESS SABRE Audio DAC ES9018K2M […]

August 24, 2015June 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 42 Comments

Review of Tronsmart Ara X5 Windows 10 mini PC with Intel Atom X5 Processor

Tronsmart Ara X5 is one of the first mini PC featuring a Cherry Trail processor, more exactly Atom x5-Z8300 quad core processor manufactured with 14nm process. Price and max TDP are similar to Atom Z3735F Bay Trail-T processor found in many mini PCs designed in China, so it will interesting to compare the two platforms. Yesterday, I took some photos of the device, and found out the design was comprised of a baseboard and system-on-module, but today, I’ll focus on testing the device in Windows 10, checking everything works as it should, as well as running some benchmarks, verifying the Windows license status, test H.265 video playback in Kodi, and more. Tronsmart Ara X5 Setup I had not much to do the first time I booted the device, as it was already configured to use English, and the system logged in with user “User” without password. I still double checked […]

August 23, 2015March 13, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 26 Comments

Intel Atom Z3735F vs Atom x5-Z8300 Benchmarks Comparison

I’m in the process of reviewing Tronsmart Ara X5 mini PC with Intel Atom x5-Z8300 “Cherry Trail” processor, and while testing is not complete yet, I’ve already run PCMark8 benchmarks in the Windows 10 device, so I’ve decided to compare the results I got with MeLE PCG03 mini PC running Windows 10 based on an older Z3735F Bay Trail-T processor that’s about the same price, and with the same 2W TDP. This post can be considered a work in progress, as I may update it latter to add more benchmarks results in Windows or/and Linux (Phoronix). Th exact test I ran was “PCMark 8 Home 3.0 Conventional 3.0”. Both system resolutions were set to 1920×1080, however one noticeable difference is that MeLE PCG03 ran Windows 10 Home 32-bit, while Tronsmart Ara X5 ran Windows 10 Home 64-bit. Benchmark MeLE PCG03 Intel Atom Z3735F Bay-Trail @ 1.33 GHz / 1.83 GHz […]

August 22, 2015August 25, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Tronfy MX4 Telos Android 5.1 TV Box Unboxing and Teardown

I’ve recently reviewed Mygica ATV1900AC TV box powered by Amlogic S812 with 2GB RAM and 16GB eMMC running Android Lollipop, a device with some high quality components, and a RF remote with voice command and search function that sells for $180. Tinydeal, a Hong Kong-based online shopping site specialized in electronic goods, sent me Tronfy MX4 Telos with very similar specifications including support for 802.11ac and Gigabit Ethernet, but selling instead for nearly half price at $98.99 including shipping. The firmware is also based on Lollipop, and runs Android 5.1.1 instead of Android 5.0.2, and it will be interesting to find out how the cheaper product fare against the higher-end one. Tronfy MX4 (MXIV) Telos Specifications Since it’s the first time I come across this box, I’ll list the specifications first: SoC – Amlogic S812 quad core cortex A9r4 @ 2 GHz with Mali-450MP6 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 […]

August 22, 2015January 20, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

Tronsmart Ara X5 Cherry Trail mini PC Unboxing and Teardown

Tronsmart Ara X5 is one of the first Intel Atom X5 mini PCs available on the market, and should provide a decent update to the many Intel Atom Z3735F based devices with its Atom x5-Z8300 quad core processor. GeekBuying sent me one sample for review, and today I’ll take a few pictures, and take it apart to find out more about the components used and its thermal design, before doing a review in the next few days. Tronsmart Ara X5 Unboxing I received the fanless computer by DHL in the following package together with a EU to US plug adapter. Ara X5 ships with a 5V/3A power adapter, an HDMI cable, and a user’s manual in English. The front panel has two USB 2.0 host ports, a 3.5mm headset jack, and the power button, while the rear panel features the power jack, a Fast Ethernet RJ45 port, HDMI output, a […]

August 21, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Orchard is an Open Source Hardware Multi-Radio IoT Board Used to Learn Coding, Hardware Design and Manufacturing

Sutajio Ko-Usagi’s wiki is the place where you find documentation for open source hardware projects such as Novena laptop or Fernvale IoT board. There’s another IoT board supporting 900 MHz and Bluetooth radios called Orchard. Orchard board specifications: MCU – Kinetis MKW01 ARM Cortex-M0+ MCU @ 48 MHz with 128KB flash, 16KB RAM Connectivity 900 MHz radio with +13dBm transmit power (for long-range applications) Bluetooth LE radio (for short-range, low power connection to IP gateways) Display – 128×64 OLED Sensors – 3-axis Accelerometer, microphone sensor Debugging – FTDI serial port header, SWD provisioning & debug header Misc Captouch button controller WS2812B LED strip driver Lithium ion battery solution Gas gauge for accurate battery life determination Charging solution that can support high-capacity batteries Integral 5V boost The hardware files and ChibiOS 3.0 firmware source code are all available. The board does not appear to be for sale, but instead students taking […]

August 21, 2015August 21, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Mixtile GENA is a Wearables Development Kit Inspired by Pebble Watch

The first Pebble watch with a black and white e-Ink display and Bluetooth for smartphone connection launched in 2012 via Kickstarter, and it became one of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns so far. The watch can now be purchased for $100, but Focalcrest, a startup based in Shenzhen, designed Mixtil GENA development kit with similar features and user interface, although with different electronics components, that goes for $34 on Tindie. Mixtile GENA specifications: Processors Mediatek MT6260 ARM7EJ-S processor @ 364 MHz with 8MB RAM and 16MB Flash Nordic Semiconductor nRF51822 ARM Cortex M0 Bluetooth Smart SoC External Storage – micro SD card slot (Up to 8GB) Display – “Energy-saving” reflective LCD Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE USB – micro USB 2.0 port Sensor – Gravity sensor Misc – Up, Down, Enter and Power/Return buttons Battery – 270 mAh/3.7V Lithium-ion battery (4 to 5 days on a charge for typical usage) […]

August 20, 2015August 29, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Mygica ATV1900AC Android 5.0 Mini PC Review

4K TV boxes based on Amlogic S812 processor have been around for about 9 months, and I already reviewed MINIX NEO X8-H Plus and CX-S806 mini PCs, but Mygica ATV1900AC is one of the first to support Android Lollipop, so I though it would be interesting to see the progress made compared to devices that run Android KitKat. I’ve already taken apart the TV Box, and found some interesting Toshiba eMMC flash and Realtek 802.11ac WiFi chips on the board, but today, I’ll test the firmware including stability, features and performance in this review. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions I’ve connected all ports of the device using the four USB host port with a webcam, hard drive, an RF dongle for a wireless gamepad, the RF dongle for the included remote, as well as inserting an HDMI cable, an optical audio cable S/PDIF, an Ethernet cable to Gigabit switch, […]