Amlogic S905X4 TV boxes such as Mecool KM6 have already been available for a few months with the main selling being support for 4K AV1 video hardware decoding. But if you’d like to watch AV1 YouTube or Netflix videos, and also get free-to-air channels using older codecs, Mecool KT1 adds a DVB-T2 TV tuner that works in the EMEA region, some Asian countries, Oceania, and a few other countries that adopted the standard. Mecool KT1 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X4 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G31MP2 supporting OpenGL ES3.2, Vulkan 1.1, and OpenCL 2.0 System Memory – 2 GB RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, MicroSD/SDXC card socket Video & Audio Output HDMI 2.1 up to 4K @ 60Hz with CEC, HDCP2.2, HDR AV output with composite video and analog stereo audio Video Playback Codecs AV1 up to 4K @ 60 fps H.265 HEVC […]
Zoom i.MX 8M Mini Development Kit supports power usage monitoring
NXP i.MX 8M Mini 14nm Cortex-A53/M4 processor has been around for a couple of years, and several SoM-based development kits are available including Variscite Symphony starter kit, HummingBoard Ripple SBC, or congatec conga-SEVAL007010 evaluation board. Beacon EmbeddedWorks’ Zoom i.MX 8M mini development kit is based on the company’s i.MX 8M Nano System on Module (SOM) and offers features not found on most other devkits or single board computers such as power usage monitoring and control through their Wattson power measurement application. Zoom i.MX 8M mini development kit key features & specifications: System-on-Module SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Mini processor with up to four Arm Cortex-A53 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz, an Arm Cortex-M4 real-time core at up to 400 MHz, Vivante 3D & 2D GPU’s System Memory – Up to 8GB of 32-bit wide LPDDR4 memory Storage – eMMC flash, QSPI NOR flash Networking Gigabit Ethernet PHY Wireless module […]
Quartz64 Model B SBC revealed, Model A gets hit by production delays
Pine64 unveiled the Quartz64 SBC powered by Rockchip RK3566 processor a few months ago. More specifically they provided details about Quartz64 Model A at the time, a featured-rich variant with SATA, PCIe, multiple display outputs, etc… During the announcement, Pine64 also indicated a Raspberry Pi-sized Quartz Model B was in the works but did not have a prototype to showcase just yet. In the latest Pine64 April update, the community showcased the new board, reported software progress, and information about production delays for Model A. Quartz64 Model B Specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor up to 1.8 GHz with Arm Mali-G52 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1, 0.8 TOPS NPU for AI acceleration System Memory – 2GB to 8GB LPDDR4 Storage 128 Mbit SPI Flash optional eMMC module from 16GB up to 128GB capacity bootable SDHC/SDXC MicroSD card up to 2TB Video Output / Display […]
reTerminal – A Raspberry Pi CM4 based 5-inch HMI Terminal
Seeed Studio has just unveiled reTerminal HMI terminal that reminds me of the company’s Wio Terminal based on Microchip SAMD51 Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller with a 2.4-inch display. But as we’ll look into the details, reTerminal is quite a different beast as a Linux-capable device powered by a Raspberry Pi CM4 module with up to 8GB RAM, equipped with a 5-inch capacitive touchscreen display, and supporting plenty of connectivity options from GIgabit Ethernet to WiFi to LoRaWAN. reTerminal specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi Computer Module 4 with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor @ 1.5 GHz, up to 8GB RAM, up to 32GB flash Display – 5-inch capacitive touchscreen display with 1280×720 resolution Video Output – Micro HDMI port up to 4Kp60 Camera I/F – 2-lane MIPI CSI inteface Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet with optional PoE support 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0 BLE (on Raspberry Pi CM4 module) Optional 5G, 4G LTE, […]
RK3566 & RK3568 processors to get Linux mainline support soon
Rockchip RK3566 & RK3568 processors were just officially announced at the end of the year, and soon followed with announcements of related such as Core-3568J AI Core system-on-module, some Android 11 TV boxes, Station P2 mini PC, and RK3566/RK3568 development boards. But it did not take long, as RK3566/RK3568 are about the get support for mainline Linux, with engineers from Collabora and Rockchip having recently committed preliminary support for RK356x platforms, notably using Pine64 Quartz64 SBC for testing. The most recent commits target power management, networking, and the PCI host controller. It’s not clear when code will be merged to mainline, but Collabora said “Pine64 Quartz64 SBC out-of-the-box support is right around the corner” in a recent tweet. In any case, it’s good news there’s active development for mainline Linux on the new Rockchip processors, as that means it will be possible to run the latest version of Linux on […]
Check LoRaWAN deployments on the go with WisGate Developer Base USB dongle
RAKWireless just had their “Big Tech Bloom” event services they announced many new LPWAN products ranging from WisDM fleet management system, OpenWrt based Wisgate OS, new industrial LoRaWAN gateways like WisGate Edge Lite 2, their first STM32WL module, as well as 9 new modules for WisBlock modular IoT platform with MIC, e-Paper display, GPS, an ESP32 based WisBlock core, etc… But today, I’ll have a look at the new $99 WisGate Developer Base, a USB dongle that connects to a laptop for LoRaWAN networks evaluation, for example, to check the coverage before installing a new gateway. Alternatively, it could also be used to add LoRaWAN gateway capability to existing embedded hardware like routers or industrial PCs. Two variants of the WisGate Developer Base are available – RAK7271 & RAK7371 – with the following specifications: Concentrator modules RAK7271 – RAK2287 SX1302 based mini PCIe concentrator module RAK7371 – RAK5146 SX1303 based […]
A first look at Allwinner D1 Linux RISC-V SBC and Processor
Last year, we reported that Allwinner was working on an Alibaba XuanTie C906 based RISC-V processor that would be found in low-cost Linux capable single board computers selling for as low as $12. The good news is that we won’t have to wait much longer as Allwinner D1 RISC-V processor is slated for an announcement next week, and a business card-sized SBC, also made by Allwinner, will become available in May. Some of the information is already available to developers in China, and CNX Software managed to obtain information about the Linux RISC-V SBC and Allwinner D1 processor. Allwinner D1 development board Let’s check out the board first which comes with the following specifications: SoC – Allwinner D1 single-core XuanTie C906 64-bit RISC-V processor @ 1.0 GHz with HiFi4 DSP, G2D 2D graphics accelerators Memory – 1GB DDR3 memory Storage – 256MB SPI NAND flash, MicroSD card slot Video Output […]
AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 series on COM Express Compact (Sponsored)
8 cores for heterogeneous edge computing Tasks at the embedded edge are getting more and more complex. Supporting up to 8 cores and 16 threads, the recently-launched AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 processors are paving the way for x86-based embedded designs with unprecedented compute density and performance per watt. congatec is offering the new Zen 2 based processor generation, which complements V1000 processor technology with 6- and 8-core versions, on COM Express Compact modules. As the trend towards more IIoT connectivity and digitization continues, embedded systems must handle a growing number of tasks. Additional tasks include the collection of application data that needs to be transcoded, and sometimes analyzed locally using artificial intelligence (AI). In parallel, data must be exchanged with customers’ enterprise clouds and other OEM apps, and this communication must be highly secure, because new pay-per-use models turn the devices, machines, and systems into an OEM revenue source that […]