Category: Hardware

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 25 Comments on SmartHomy Hybrid TV Box with DTV Tuner Triples as a Game Console & Home Automation Gateway (Crowdfunding)

SmartHomy Hybrid TV Box with DTV Tuner Triples as a Game Console & Home Automation Gateway (Crowdfunding)

SmartHomy Homy Player is a TV box running Android TV that includes an ATSC, DVB-T2/C,DVB-S2, or ISDB-T tuner, is said to be powerful enough to be used as a 3D gaming platform, and serves as a security system and home automation gateway using Z-Wave, Bluetooth, WiFi and IR blaster to control your things. Homy player specifications [Updated on January 19th, 2017]: SoC – Amlogic S912 octa-core Cortex A53 processor with Mali T820MP3 GPU System Memory – 3 GB DDR3 Storage – 32 GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz with HDCP 2.2, HDR, CEC Audio Output – HDMI and optical S/PDIF Video / Audio Capabilities – 10-bit 4K H.265 @ 60 fps, HD audio pass-through, Dolby Digital & DTS licenses DRM – Widevine Level 1, Microsoft PlayReader, Netflix license Digital TV Tuner – DVB-S2 (satellite), DVB-C/T/T2 (Cable/Terrestrial), ATSC, and ISDB-T Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments on LicheePi One Allwinner A13 ARM Linux Board is Equipped with LCD Display and Camera Interfaces

LicheePi One Allwinner A13 ARM Linux Board is Equipped with LCD Display and Camera Interfaces

Allwinner A13 – repackaged as Allwinner R8 – single core Cortex A8 processor is used in $9 C.H.I.P board with 512MB, 4GB storage, WiFi and Bluetooth, and I/Os. Now a Chinese company has created a new Allwinner A13 board called Lichee Pi that appears especially suited to drive LCD displays thanks to its 40-pin LCD RGB connector, but it also comes with WiFi & Bluetooth, a micro SD slot, and some I/Os. Lichee Pi One board (preliminary/tentative) specifications: SoC – Allwinner A13 ARM Cortex A8 processor @ 1.0 GHz with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 512MB DDR3 RAM Storage – 2x micro SD slot Display Interface – 40-pin RGB LCD connector, with 8080 interface, VGA and LVDS supported via add-on board Camera – 24-pin CSI interface Audio – 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity – Optional 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth via RTL8723BU module (Multiplexed with USB 2.0 host port) USB – […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments on Eweat R9 Plus TV Box Review Part 2 – Android, OpenWrt, and HDMI Recording

Eweat R9 Plus TV Box Review Part 2 – Android, OpenWrt, and HDMI Recording

Eweat R9 Plus is a device powered by Realtek RTD1295 SoC combining main functions: Android 6.0 TV box, OpenWrt NAS/router, and HDMI recorder thanks to its HDMI input port. It competes directly with Zidoo X9S which has the same features, except while Zidoo X9S has no internal SATA bay and your 2.5″ hard drive just hang outside the box, Eweat R9 Plus comes with an internal 3.5″ SATA bay that makes it much neater on your furniture… We’ve already seen that in the first part for review “Eweat R9 Plus unboxing and teardown“, and I was impressed by the hardware, but the software is even more important, and that’s what I’m going to check out in the second and final part of this review. First Boot, First Impressions and Setup. I’ve first inserted a 1TB 3.5″ SATA drive in the device, and then I connected an extra USB 3.0 hard […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments on $25 NanoPi A64 is a Compact Yet Features Packed Allwinner A64 Development Board

$25 NanoPi A64 is a Compact Yet Features Packed Allwinner A64 Development Board

FriendlyARM has had a very busy year with their NanoPi boards, and they are completing the year by launching NanoPi A64 development board based on Allwinner A64 quad core Cortex A53 processor with 1GB RAM, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, USB ports and more. NanoPi A64 board specifications: SoC – Allwinner A64 quad-core Cortex-A53 @ 648MHz to 1.152GHz with an ARM Mali400 MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 1x micro SD slot Video Output / Display IF – HDMI 1.4 port,  30-pin MIPI DSI connector Audio – HDMI, 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity – 1x Gigabit Ethernet port (RTL8211E), 802.11 b/g/n WiFi USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1x micro USB port for power only Camera – 24-pin DVP camera interface Debugging – 4-pin debug UART header Expansion 40-pin mostly Raspberry Pi compatible header with UART, SPI, I2C, PWM, GPIOs, etc… 7-pin I2S header Misc – IR Receiver, 1x […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Mediatek MT8173 Powered Emdoor 2-in-1 Laptops Run Android or Remix OS

Mediatek MT8173 Powered Emdoor 2-in-1 Laptops Run Android or Remix OS

Acer Chromebook R13 is the most powered ARM Chromebook so far thanks to its Mediatek MT8173 quad core processor combining two ARM Cortex A72 cores and Cortex A53 cores, as well as a PowerVR GX6250 GPU, 4GB RAM and a 13.3″ touchscreen display. But unless you live in the US or other markets where Chromebooks are sold, it’s pretty hard to buy, and that model is relatively expensive as it sells for close to $550 on Amazon. Emdoor, a Chinese design house, has made 2-in-1 hybrid laptops based on the processor with a 11.6″ or 13.3″ touchscreen display, 1 to 2GB RAM, and 16 to 64GB storage, which – once launched – should be easier to buy, and cost less. Both EM-T8513 and EM-T8516 models share most of the same specifications, except for the display: SoC – Mediatek MT8173 quad core processor with 2x Cortex A72 cores @ up to […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on SonikTech e-Paper Shield Starter Kit Relies on Teensy LC MCU Board

SonikTech e-Paper Shield Starter Kit Relies on Teensy LC MCU Board

Soniktek Electronics has designed the “e-Paper Shield Starter Kit” featuring Pervasive Displays’ E2215CS062 e-paper screen, and an adapter board to connect it to Teensy LC (Low Cost) board powered by NXP Kinetis L ARM Cortex M0+ microcontroller @ 48 MHz, or other 3.3V MCU boards supporting SPI. Adapter board & display specifications: Supports Pervasive Displays 2.15″ E2215CS062 e-paper screen with 208 x 112 resolution, no backlight required, fully sunlight-readable Communication protocol – SPI  @ 3.3V Sensor – On-board thermometer with I2C interface Dimensions – Screen: 48 mm x 26 mm; adapter board fits into Teensy-LC module (36x18mm) The advantages of e-Paper display are that they don’t require power to maintain an image, and they can be read in sunlight, just like actual paper. I can’t remember having seen many – if any – low cost e-Paper development kits so far, and the project is open source hardware with design files and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on AndromedaBox Networking Edge Board Includes a Dual Core Marvell Processor, SATA, Gigabit Ethernet, and More

AndromedaBox Networking Edge Board Includes a Dual Core Marvell Processor, SATA, Gigabit Ethernet, and More

Last year, Marvell introduced AndroMeda Box Edge IoT board using 96Boards form factor and running Brillo (now Android Things), but the company has been working on the similarly named AndromedaBox Networking Edge (ANE) board with a tweaked version of 96Boards form factor including Gigabit Ethernet and SATA, and powered by a dual core ARMADA 3700 processor. AndromedaBox Networking Edge specifications: SoC – Marvell ARMADA LP 3700 dual-core ARM Cortex 53 processor @ up to 1.2 GHz System Memory – 512MB LPDDR4 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash, 1x SATA 3.0 port Connectivity – 1x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port, 1×1 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.2 USB – 2x micro USB 2.0 port, 1x USB 3.0 port Expansion – 1x PCIe 2.0 (maybe via a slot on the back of the board), 40-pin LS (Low Speed) Expansion connector Power Supply – Likely 8 to 18V input as per 96Boards specs Dimensions – 85 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Parallella 1024-core Epiphany-V RISC Processor Coming Soon

Parallella 1024-core Epiphany-V RISC Processor Coming Soon

Parallella project’s goal is to ” democratize access to parallel computing by offering affordable open source hardware platforms and development tools”, and they’ve already done that with their very first $99 “Supercomputer” board combining a Xilinz Zynq FPGA + ARM SoC to the company’s Epiphany-III 16-core coprocessor. But the company has made progress after their 64-core Epiphany-IV, by taping out Epiphany-V processor with 1024-core last October. Epiphany-V main features and specifications: 1024 64-bit RISC processors 64-bit memory architecture 64-bit and 32-bit IEEE floating point support 64 MB of distributed on-chip SRAM 1024 programmable I/O signals 3x 136-bit wide 2D mesh NOCs (Network-on-Chips) 2052 separate power domains Support for up to one billion shared memory processors Support for up to one petabyte of shared memory (That’s 1,000,000 gigabytes) Binary compatibility with Epiphany III/IV chips Custom ISA extensions for deep learning, communication, and cryptography TSMC 16FF process 4.56 Billion transistors, 117mm2 silicon area With […]