Operating Systems Category - Page 675 of 964 - CNX Software

January 28, 2015January 28, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

$46 EKB318 / F6 Android Media Player Features Rockchip RK3128, Supports H.265 Decoding

Rockchip RK3128 is a quad core Cortex A7 processor with a Mali GPU that supports H.265 video decoding up 1080p, and aimed at tablets, but it also found it way into mini PCs such as EKB318 (aka F6) with 1GB RAM, and 8GB flash in what looks like the answer from Rockchip to Amlogic S805 solutions. F6 / EKK318 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3128 quad core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.3 GHz (or 1.2GHz) with ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1 GB DDR3 Storage – 8 GB NAND flash + micro SD slot (up to 32GB) Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and optional Bluetooth 4.0. Video Output – HDMI 1.4 Audio Output – HDMI, optical S/PDIF Video Codec Decode – H.265, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.263, H.264, AVS, VC-1, RV, VP6/VP8, Sorenson Spark, MVC up to 1920×1080 @ 60fps Encode – H.264, H.265, VP8, MVC (1080p) USB – […]

January 28, 2015January 28, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Kodi DVB and PVR Support on Android (Rockchip RK3288)

XBMC/Kodi for Android has come a long way, but it’s still missing some features of Kodi Linux, such as Live TV (DVB) and video recording (PVR) function that so far could only be supported in Linux port of Kodi such as OpenELEC linux distributions, simply because PVR backends such as TVHeadend were not available for Android. So what’s TVheadend is exactly and what features does it bring? It’s an open source TV streaming PVR backend software application for Linux supporting DVB-S/S2, DVB-C, DVB-T/T2, ATSC, IPTV (UDP/HTTP), and Analog video (V4L) as input sources. Version 3.4 also adds support for time-shifting. Now the good news is that Freaktab user’s Taki has posted instructions to install TVHeadend server for RK3288. So if you have a compatible USB Tuner, you should be able to watch live TV on your Rockchip RK3288 based TV box. After the server is installed, you’d also need to […]

January 27, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Linaro Connect Hong Kong 2015 Schedule and Demos

Linaro Connect Hong Kong 2015 will take place on February 9 – 13,2015 in Hong Kong, and the organization has released the schedule for the five days events with keynotes, sessions, and demos. Each day will start with the keynote including speakers such as: George Grey, Linaro CEO, who will welcome attendees to Linaro Connect, and provide an update on the latest Linaro developments Jon Masters, Chief ARM Architect, Redhat, who will present Red Hat update and latest ARMv8-A demonstrations Dejan Milojicic, Senior Researcher & Manager, HP Labs Bob Monkman, Enterprise Segment Marketing Manager, ARM, will discuss about the impact of ARM in next generation cloud and communication network infrastructure Greg Kroah-Hartman, Linux Foundation Fellow, will introduce the Greybus Project (Linux for Project Ara modular phones) Warren Rehman, Android Partner Engineering Manager, Google The agenda also features sessions covering Android, ARMv8-A, Automation & Validation, Digital Home, Enterprise Servers, LAVA, Linux […]

January 26, 2015March 16, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

X29 Intel Celeron J1800 / J1900 mini PC Sells for $125 and Up

Today, somebody asked me to test 4K output on Intel Atom Z3735F, but I can’t do that since the platform only supports 1080p. As I just posted my unboxing of MeLE PCG03 mini PC, I noticed several ICs where added for extra functionalities, and people also started to complain about lack of Gigabit Ethernet, Fast Ethernet via a USB bridge, no USB 3.0, and no SATA. That’s what happens when you use a Tablet SoC in a mini PC, but if you’re ready to pay a little more, you could still get a mini PC with a proper desktop processor (Bay Trail-D) including SATA, USB 3.0, and Gigabit Ethernet (maybe) for about $125 (shipped) with X29-J1800 computer powered by Intel Celeron J1800 (10W TDP). That’s the price for the barebone system without RAM or storage, and if you want a complete system with 32GB eMMC and 4GB RAM the price […]

January 26, 2015February 9, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

MeLE PCG03 Windows 8.1 Fanless mini PC Unboxing

MeLE PCG03 was announced in October 2014 with an aggressive price tag of $49 for large orders for barebone systems, and was said to support Windows 8.1 or Android 4.4. MeLE is PCG03 now is now available with 2GB RAM, and 32GB eMMC, and with a properly licensed “Windows 8.1 with Bing NTE”, but no Android for $149 on Ebay, or Aliexpress, and it should eventually show up on MeLE Amazon store. The company sent me a sample for review, so I’ll start by listing the updated specifications, and taking pictures today, before running benchmarks, trying out Kodi, and trying Ubuntu in other posts. MeLE PCG03 Specifications The look of the device and available ports have slightly changed since the first prototype was revealed last year. SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Bust freq: 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics System Memory – […]

January 26, 2015May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

4K Output and Video Playback Capability Tested on 6 ARM based mini PCs and Boards

Since I’ve now got a 4K TV, I’ve decided to test 4K support for six different platforms based on Rockchip, Allwinner, Amlogic, Realtek, HiSilicon, and Mstar processors. For all these platforms I’ll report HDMI 4K output options, user interface resolution, and take close up pictures of the screen while displaying a 4K 1×1 grid picture and video with the image players, and video players such as MX Player or XBMC depending which are available in the firmware. Test Setup and Procedure I’m using LG 42UB820T 42″ UltraHD television with an HDMI cable connected to HDMI 1 port of the TV. Please note that my TV only support 8-bit color depth / YCbCr 4:2:0 which may cause compatibility issues with some boxes, at least the ones based on RK3288 processor, for 2160p 50Hz or 60Hz mode. I’ll take close-up pictures of the screen with a Canon PowerShot A2300HD camera by holding […]

January 26, 2015January 26, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

Linux 3D GPU Acceleration Demo on Rockchip RK3288 based Firefly Board

Several devices and development boards based on Rockchip RK3288 processor already support Linux, usually with images based on Ubuntu, including Ugoos UM3 / UT3, Open Hour Chameleon, and Firefly-RK3288 among others. What these images lack however, is support for 2D and 3D graphics acceleration with the GPU, and hardware video decoding/encoding with the VPU. But Jas-hacks has made some progress with 3D graphics support. He has managed to add GPU acceleration via EGL/OpenGL ES bringing 3D acceleration to the platform, but 2D support is not there yet, meaning X11 still heavily relies on software rendering. But the implementation is still good enough to run the usual es2gears and glmark2-es2 benchmarks. as well as some WebGL demos in Chromium. Performance is currently underwhelming, with 50 points in glmark-es2, even a bit lower than the score (54 points) I got with ODROID-X board powered by Exynos 4412 SoC with a Mali-400MP4 GPU, […]

January 23, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Intel Education Content Access Point Is Designed for Schools with Unreliable Internet Connectivity and Power

Intel has introduced a new device that stores, manages, and publishes digital content for schools with low or intermittent connectivity and /or power. The device stores training materials in its internal storage, comes with a battery, and can be accessed by up to 50 students simultaneously. Specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Bay Trail-I E3815 Processor @ 1.46GHz with Intel HD graphics System Memory – 2GB DDR3L-1067 Storage – 8GB eMMC, Optional 500GB SATA HDD Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wired Gigabit Ethernet, Optional 3G, Optional LTE USB – 1x USB 3.0 Misc – System and 3G/LTE LEDs, Factory reset and power buttons Power Supply – 12V/2A Battery – Lithium-ion polymer 7.4v, 4050mAh (up to 5 hours of battery life) Dimensions – 190 x 190 x 30mm Weight – 607 grams The system runs Ubuntu 12.04. The optional 500GB hard drive includes 400GB of preloaded content, and educator can use the remaining […]