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) - 36 Comments on Review of Open Hour Chameleon Android Media Player

Review of Open Hour Chameleon Android Media Player

Open Hour Chameleon is yet another Rockchip RK3288 based Android TV box, but it comes with aluminum enclosure, and boots from SD card instead of internal storage like all other devices I’ve seen on the market so far. Cloud Media (previously Syabas) also have a long history of making Linux based media players based on Sigma Designs processor, and when I worked on IPTV products, we used their PopCorn Hour has comparison platforms. So we should probably expect some interesting customization and features from the company. I’ve already posted pictures of Chameleon box and its board, so today, I’ll focus on reporting my experience with Android 4.4, and later I may also try their Lubuntu image. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions Normally I quickly try the remote control, and get it out of the way. But this time, I’ve spent a little bit more time with the remote since […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on Banana Pi M2 is an Allwinner A31s Quad Core Board with Raspberry Pi Model B+ Form Factor

Banana Pi M2 is an Allwinner A31s Quad Core Board with Raspberry Pi Model B+ Form Factor

Banana Pi, and the recently announced Banana Pro, are Android & Linux development boards based on Allwinner A20, with a form factor similar to Raspberry Pi Model B and B+ boards respectively. A new revision of the board is now available with Banana Pi M2 powered by Allwinner A31s quad core processor, and in a form factor similar to R-Pi B+. Banana Pi M2 specifications: SoC – Allwinner A31s quad core Cortex A7 @ 1.0 GHz with PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage –  Micro SD slot up to 64GB Connectivity – 10/100/1000 Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi  (Realtek) Video Output –  HDMI, CVBS, and LVDS/RGB header Audio Output – HDMI and 3.5mm stereo jack Camera – CSI connector USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports + micro USB port (power only) Debugging – UART pins for serial console Expansion Header – 40-pin R-Pi “somewhat” compatible header with […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments on Compulab Utilite2 is a Snapdragon 600 Powered mini PC Running Android 4.4 or Ubuntu 14.04

Compulab Utilite2 is a Snapdragon 600 Powered mini PC Running Android 4.4 or Ubuntu 14.04

Compulab Utilite is a family of mini PC based on Freescale i.MX6 processors that can run either Android or Ubuntu, and was launched in 2013. The company has now introduced the second generation of Utilite computer with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad core Krait 300 processor, with 2GB RAM, eMMC and mSATA storage, and various network connectivity options such as Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet, and Cellular. Utilite2 will be 30% smaller than the original Utilite computer, and twice the performance of the Utilite Pro with I.MX6 quad.  There are two models: Utilite2 4GB, Utilite2 SSD, with the latter adding a 32 GB SSD. Apart from that both models share the same specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 APQ8064 quad-core Krait 300 @ 1.7GHz with Adreno 320 GPU compliant with OpenGL ES 1.1 / 2.0 / 3.0 and OpenCL System Memory – 2GB DDR3-1066 Storage – 4GB eMMC, mSATA socket (mini-PCie form-factor, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments on Antutu Video Tester Automatically Tests Video and Audio Codecs & Playback Quality in Android

Antutu Video Tester Automatically Tests Video and Audio Codecs & Playback Quality in Android

When I read a review about MK808B Plus this morning, I noticed the reviewer used Antutu Video Tester to evaluate video/audio performance of the device. Somehow I had never noticed it, and Antutu developers claim it can not only check whether video or audio codec are supported, but the tool can also give an appraisal of video quality: AnTuTu Video Test is a professional tool for testing video playback capability of Android Smart TV, set-top boxes and other devices. It integrates a few featured videos and testing algorithms that can help users judge the playback performance of the devices clearly. AnTuTu video test can not only detect the video playback formats devices support, but also can test the playback quality of devices. So I decided to try it out on Open Hour Chameleon Android media player based on Rockchip RK3288 processor. The first test you click on Video Test will […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Matricom G-Box Q Media Player Features Amlogic S802 SoC, HyperStream P2P Video Streaming

Matricom G-Box Q Media Player Features Amlogic S802 SoC, HyperStream P2P Video Streaming

Last year, I reviewed Matricom GBox Midnight MX2, and at the time It was the best Android media player I had tested. The company has now launched a new Android media player called G-Box Q with an Amlogic S802 processor, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB eMMC, Ethernet and 802.11ac Wi-Fi. The box will also feature HyperStream, a P2P video streaming technology providing a “more reliable and faster transmission of on-demand and streaming video data”.   Matricom G-Box Q specifications: SoC – Amlogic S802 quad core ARM Cortex A9r4 at 2.0GHz with ARM Mali-450MP6 GPU System Memory – 2G DDR3 Storage – 16 GB internal storage + micro SD card slot up to 64GB Video Output – HDMI 1.4 up to 4K30, AV port Audio Output – HDMI, AV, optical S/PDIF Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Misc – […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments on Preliminary Ubuntu Image for Tronsmart Draco AW80 Octa-core mini PC

Preliminary Ubuntu Image for Tronsmart Draco AW80 Octa-core mini PC

Tronsmart Draco AW80 is an Allwinner A80 based mini PC pre-loaded with Android 4.4. A preliminary Ubuntu image is now available for the device. It’s still a little buggy, but you can access LXDE desktop on an HDMI TV, Ethernet is working, and web browsing is apparently working nicely. Known bugs include FAT32 partitions are read-only, wireless mouse and keyboard are not working (USB versions are OK), shutdown does not work, the user interface is not as snappy as in Android, and YouTube video playback is choppy. The last two issues could be related to the lack of VPU and GPU drivers providing video hardware decoding, and 2D/3D hardware acceleration respectively. The good news is that the company working on Draco AW80 got the GPU drivers from Imagination, and an updated image could be available with hardware acceleration. I’m not sure sure about VPU support, which is extremely important if […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Create-android-sdcard Script Creates a Bootable SD Card for any Rockchip RK3188 Devices

Create-android-sdcard Script Creates a Bootable SD Card for any Rockchip RK3188 Devices

Bootable Linux SD card images for some Rockchip RK3188 devices such as MINIX NEO X7, MK809III, Tronsmart T428 have already been released this summer, and it provided any easy way to try Linux on Rockchip RK3188 devices without messing with your Android installation. But now you can create Android bootable images with any Rockchip RK3188 devices thanks to create-android-sdcard script written by Ian Morrison, as long as you have the firmware for your Android mini PC, and I don’t see why it would not even work for tablets. It allows you to try Android firmwwre before replacing your existing installation (great for developers), and it can also be a way to handle multiple users on a single device. There could be one SD card for dad, one for mum, and one for the kid, and all you have to do is to take out and replace the SD card with […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 34 Comments on Review of Realtek RTD1195 Based M-195 Android Media Player

Review of Realtek RTD1195 Based M-195 Android Media Player

M-195 is one of the new low cost Android media players based on Realtek RTD1195 processor featuring two Cortex A7 cores, and a Mali-400MP2 GPU, but providing high speed interface like USB 3.0, and Gigabit Ethernet, as well as 4K video decoding and output, including the latest H.265 / HEVC video codec. So before testing, I was expecting the box to be mainly interesting as a media player, and even maybe NAS, as Android performance for other tasks would be similar to Allwinner A20. I’ll already taken pictures of M-195 and its “902” board, so today we’ll find out how the device performs. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions I’ve used both the provided IR remote control, and Mele F10 Deluxe air mouse in this review, simply because I needed to press the Home button to come back to the Launcher from time to time, and the Home button on […]