e-con Systems 13MP MIPI CSI-2 Camera Designed for Nvidia Jetson TK1 Board

e-con Systems has just introduced e-CAM130_CUTK1, a 13 MP MIPI CSI-2 camera board specifically designed for Nvidia Jetson TK1 development board powered by Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core Cortex A15 processor supporting up to Ultra HD (3840×2160) resolution @ 22 fps, or 1080p @ 30+ fps with MJPEG or YUV422 output. e-CAM130_CUTK1 camera board is comprised of a camera module and an adapter board that can be directly plug into Jetson TK1 board. Camera board key features and specifications: Camera Module e-CAM130_CUMI1820_MOD with S-mount lens holder based on Aptina AR1820HS sensor. Max S/N ratio: – 36.3 dB;  Dynamic Range: – 65.8 dB Interface – 4-lane MIPI CSI-2 interface Resolution / Frame rate – VGA @ 90 fps, 720p @ 60 fps, 1080p @ 30 fps, UltraHD (3840×2160) @ 22 fps, 13MP (4224×3156) @ 14 fps. Values are the same for MJPEG or YUV422. Connector – 125-pin connector for Jetson TK1 […]

TBS 2980 Matrix 2 AllWinner A80 Android TV Box Will Support USB Tuners

TBS launched their Matrix 2910 media player based on Freescale i.MX6 Quad processor in 2013, and what made the platform especially interesting was support for the company’s USB DVB tuners in their Android and Ubuntu images. The company has now unveiled its successor with TBS 2980 Matrix 2 powered by Allwinner A80 octa core processor that will also support USB DVB-T2, DVB-C & DVB-S2 tuners. TBS Matrix 2 specifications: SoC – AllWinner A80 4x Cortex 15, 4x Cortex A7 big.LITTLE processor with PowerVR GC6230 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC + micro SD card slot Video  Output – HDMI + AV port Audio – HDMI, AV, and optical S/PDIF Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB 3.0 port, 2x USB 2.0 host ports Misc – IR receiver, reset button Power Supply – 5V/3A Dimensions – 101 x 101 […]

Various Ways to Control a mini PC without IR Receiver for HTPC Use

Low cost Intel Bay Trail mini PCs such as Pipo X7, MeegoPad T01, MeLE PCG03, etc… almost all share one thing in common: they lack an IR receiver, and for people who’d like to use their box as a dedicated HTPC running Kodi for example, this could be a problem as connecting a keyboard might not the best of solutions. Since I’ve been asked about this recently, I’ve decided to dig into the issue to see what options could be available, and I also hope to trigger a discussion in comments to discover other interesting solutions. RF Air Mouse I’m using MeLE F10 Deluxe air mouse during my reviews, and such device can be used with HTPC. You just need to connect a tiny USB RF dongle to one of the USB ports of your mini PC, and you’d ready to go with having to configure anything. In Kodi, you […]

Armadeus Systems APF6_SP SoM Combines Freescale i.MX6 Processor and Altera Cyclone V GX FPGA

Xilinx Zynq and Altera Cyclone V are both SoC families combining an ARM processor (Hard Processor System  – HPS) with FPGA fabric into a single chip. But Armadeus Systems, a French company designing industrial ARM Linux processor modules, has unveiled a new module where the CPU and FPGA are two separate chips, namely Freescale i.MX6 (single to quad) and Altera Cyclone V GX FPGA, in order to provide more flexibility, and extra features like a GPU with OpenCL support, an hardware video processing unit, a dedicated SATA port, and so on. Armadeus APF6_SP SoM specifications: SoC – Freescale i.MX6 single, dual or quad core Cortex A9 processor with Vivante GPUs FPGA – Altera Cyclone V GX (C4/C5/C7/C9) System Memory 512MB to 1GB DDR3 32-bit @ 800 MHz for i.MX6 Solo or Duallite 512MB to 2GB DDR3 64-bit @ 1066MHz for i.MX6 Dual or Quad Optional up to 768MB RAM dedicated […]

UDOO Neo Combines Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Sensors into a Single $49 Board (Crowdfunding)

UDOO Neo was unveiled last February as the first hobbyist board features Freecale i.MX6 Solox Cortex A9 + Cortex M4 processor. I was expecting UDOO to design support board since their earlier UDOO board combined Freescale i.MX6 processor with an Atmel MCU, and the new processor allowed for integrating the same functionality into a single chip. The board is now on Kickstarter where you can pick UDOO Neo Basic for $49 (Early bird is $35), or UDOO Neo for $59 (Early bird was $45) adding an Ethernet port, some sensors, and 1GB RAM, instead of 512 MB for the Basic version. But both versions of the board basically share the same specifications: SoC – Freescale i.MX 6SoloX ARM Cortex-A9 core @ 1GHz with 2D/3D GPU and ARM Cortex-M4 Core @ 166 MHz System Memory – 512MB (Basic) or 1GB DDR3 Storage – micro SD slot, 8-bit SDIO interface (on expansion headers) […]

Domino Core Wi-Fi Module Powers an Arduino Yun Compatible Board (Crowdfunding)

The makers of GL.iNet OpenWRT compatible router have decided to build a module and two development boards based on Qualcomm Atheros AR9331 WiSoC. Domino.IO is composed of a Domino Core Wi-Fi module that can be used in your own project, but if also part of Domino Pi, a breadboard-friendly board featuring the module, and Domino Qi mini, a similar board with an Atmel ATMEga32U MCU making it compatible with Arduino Yun board. Domino Core specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Atheros AR9331 MIPS processor @ 400MHz with System Memory – 64MB DDR3 Storage – 16MB flash Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi with u.FL connector I/Os via half through holes – USB 2.0 host/slave, 3x Ethernet, 29 IOs including UART, SPI, I2S, SLIC, etc… Dimensions – 41 x 25 x 3.8 mm Domino Pi and Qi mini summarized specifications are shown in the table below. Domino Pi Domino Qi Mini Wi-Fi Module Domino […]

Ambarella Unveils SL2m IP Camera Reference Design Promising up to 6 Months of Battery Life

Ambarella S2Lm IP Camera SoC features a Cortex A9 CPU core, encodes video with H.264 up to 3Mp30 / 1080p30, and targets  consumer and entry-level IP Camera designs. The company recently launched a new battery-powered IP camera reference design based on the solution that promises up to 6 months battery life, and can record Full HD video in less than 500ms from wake up, making ideal for battery operated security cameras. A Linux SDK is also provided with reference implementations for low-power standby operation, wake-on-Wi-Fi and fast boot to Linux. Unfortunately, that’s about all we know about the reference design, so instead I’ll have a look at the processor, and SL2m IP camera evaluation board. Ambarella SL2m SoC specifications: CPU – ARM Cortex-A9 processor with 32KB/32KB I/D and 128 KB L2 Cache, NEON and FPU, Crypto Engine – AES/3/DES/SHA-1/MD5 DSP / VPU –  Ambarella Image and Video DSPs Sensor and […]

Popcorn Hour VTEN Review

Popcorn Hour VTEN a Linux based media player powered by Sigma Designs SMP8757 ARM Cortex A9 processor. Contrary to the many Android TV boxes I tested in the last few years, the device is dedicated to media playback, even though it has an App Store with 59 apps including YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. I’ve already taken a few pictures of the device and board, so today, I’ll go through the user interface, quickly test the app store, go through my library of video test files, and check if HDMI audio pass-through is indeed working. Popcorn Hour VTEN User Interface I’ve connected VTEN to an Ethernet Gigabit switch, the HDMI port to Onkyo TX-NR636 AV receiver which itself is connected to LG 42UB820T 4K UHD TV, and the 5V/3A power supply. Pressing the On/Off switch at the back of the player will start it, and the boot takes just under one […]