Actions Semi Category - Page 2 of 6 - CNX Software

November 1, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Actions Semi S900VR & V700 Processors are Designed for Virtual Reality Headsets

Earlier this summer, Actions Semi has announced two quad core ARM Cortex A53 SoC designed for virtual reality applications, S900VR with a PowerVR G6230 GPU for higher-end 2K headsets, and V700 with a ARM Mali-450MP GPU for mid-range Android VR headsets with Full HD displays. Actions Semi S900VR specifications and key features: CPU – Quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 processor GPU – Imagination PowerVR G6230 with support for OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.0/3.1, OpenGL 3.2, OpenCL 1.2EP, DirectX10 Memory I/F – Dual channels DDR3/DDR3L/LPDDR2/LPDDR3 Storage I/F – SLC/MLC/TLC NAND, eMMC 4.5, SDIO 3.0 Video decode – HEVC/H.265 up to 4K Video encode – H.264 1080p video encoding Display – MIPI-DSI, LVDS, and eDP1.3 interfaces up to 2560×1600@60fps HDMI – HDMI 1.4b up to 4K and MHL 2.1 Camera sensor – MIPI-CSI2 interface up to 13M cameras Power – ATC260x companion chip with embedded PMU and Audio Codec V700 VR processor specifications: CPU – Quad-core […]

October 5, 2016October 5, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Upcoming 4K HDMI Streaming Sticks – Chromecast Ultra and EZCast 4K

Google has been introducing several “MadebyGoogle” device including the latest Chromecast Ultra support 4K and HDR, but it’s not the only 4K HDMI dongle to stream videos from your phone that’s about to be release as EZCast sticks are also getting an upgrade with EZCast 4K dongle supporting 4K Miracast, DLNA, and EZCast own protocol. Chromecast Ultra Chromecast Ultra specifications: Connectivity – 802.11ac (2.4 GHz/5 GHz) WiFi, Ethernet port (on power adapter) Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K resolution, HDR support USB – 1x micro USB port for power and data Dimensions – 58.20 ⌀ x 13.7 mm Weight – 47 grams (device); 101 grams (power adapter) Chromecast Ultra ships with a power cable (2m) and a power adapter with an Ethernet port. The device can be used with devices and/or computers running Android 4.1 and higher, iOS 8.0 and higher, Mac OS X 10.9 and higher, Windows […]

October 2, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Review of Allo Vana Player Linux HiFi Audio System with Max2Play, SqueezeBox and Kodi

Last month I showcased what I called “Allo Sparky Audio Kit” with a DAC board (Piano), an amplifier board (Volt), and usually hard to find reclocker and capacitance multiplier boards (Kali & CM), all connected to Allo Sparky ARM Linux development board powered by Actions Semi S500 quad core Cortex A9 processor, and running Ubuntu 12.04. In the first post, I just described the boards, and showed how to assemble the kit, but now that I have received the user’s manual, it turns out the kit is actually called “Vana Player” and the provided Ubuntu firmware image runs Max2Play Browser based system that’s also available for Raspberry Pi and ODROID boards. Before starting the kit, you’ll need to connect speakers to Piano DAC board and/or Kali board, as well as a 19.5V power source such as a laptop power supply to connect to the CM board. I connected some USB […]

September 3, 2016November 25, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Allo Sparky Audio Kit Combines an ARM Linux Board with Amplifier, Audio DAC, Reclocker and Capacitance Multiplier Boards

Last year I wrote about Allo Sparky SBC Linux and Android development powered by Actions Semi S500 quad core Cortex A9 processor, which mostly differentiates itself from the competition by the many add-on boards for audio, VoIP, and IoT (WiFi+Bluetooth+Zigbee ). While most of development boards are manufactured in China, Allo company is based in India, and all boards are manufactured there, which could be a benefit to Indian readers who want to avoid potential custom issues with other boards. The company has shipped me their complete audio development kit, and I’ll first check out the hardware, before taking time to experiment with the kit in a few weeks or months… I could find 6 different boards in the kit, which I detailed below, as well as a 5V/3A power supply with AU and EU adapter, a micro USB adapter, a micro SD card apparently pre-loaded with Ubuntu 12.04, a […]

August 5, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Minimal Ubuntu 16.04 Image for ODROID-C2, and C1/C1+ Boards, Ubuntu Core Image for Bubblegum-96 Board

If you’ve been wanting minimal Ubuntu distributions for your server, IoT, or other headless projects, there are some good news from Hardkernel with the release of a minimal Ubuntu 16.04 image for ODROID-C2 and ODROID-C1+ boards, and Canonical has recently announced Actions Semi S900 based BubbleGum-96 board was getting support for Ubuntu Core distribution. If you’re using an ODROID board you can download ubuntu64-16.04-minimal-odroid-c2-20160803.img.xz (196MB) firmware, which become 1.7 GB once uncompressed and flash it 2GB or greater micro SD card. After Raspberry Pi 2 and Samsung Artik 5/10, Bubblegum-96 is the third officially supported board that can run Ubuntu Core. You can download the 3.63GB beta image and instructions to flash it from an Ubuntu 16.04 machine on Mega. Bugglegum-96 is a 96boards compliant development board based on an quad core Cortex A53 processor with 2GB RAM and 8GB flash manufactured and sold by ucRobotics for $89. Jean-Luc Aufranc […]

April 27, 2016May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Chromium OS for SBC Aims to Turn Popular Development Boards into Chromeboxes

A team of developer has come together last December in order to provide Chromium OS, the open source project which Chrome OS is based on, to single board computers such as Raspberry Pi boards. So far, they’ve provided Chromium OS images for Raspberry Pi 2 & 3, but more boards should be supported in the future. The latest version 0.5 release is said to be usable, but WiFi, Netflix, and HTML5 video are not working. The installation procedure is standard. You simply need to download and uncompress the archive (e.g. SamKinison_v0.5_Pi3_16GB.tar.xz), and dump it on a micro SD card with Win32DiskImage or dd. They have released different images for Raspberry Pi 2 & 3, and different SD card sizes (2GB and 16GB). Chromium OS is using 12 partitions, so that may be why they don’t provide a single image and resize the file system during the first time. You can […]

March 5, 2016February 8, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

$89 Bubblegum-96 96Boards Development Board is Powered by Actions Semi S900 64-Bit Processor with 2GB RAM

Bubblegum-96 development board was unveiled nearly a year ago, and finally the Actions Semi S900 quad core Cortex A53 board compliant with Linaro’s 96Boards specifications will soon go on sale for $89. Most 96Boards development boards take a while to come to market, likely due to the software requirements. uCRobotics Bubblegum-96 specifications: SoC – Actions Semi S900 quad core Cortex A53 @ up to 1.8 GHz with PowerVR G6230 GPU @ 600 MHz System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3 @ 800 MHz Storage – 8 GB eMMC 4.5 flash + micro SD v3.0 socket Video Output – HDMI 1.4 with HDCP up to 4K, MHL 2.1 up to 4K via USB connector Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB 2.0 port, 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x micro USB 2.0 port Expansion 40-pin LS (Low Speed) Expansion connector – UART, I2C, 12x GPIOs, SPI, PCM, 1.8V, +5V, GND… […]

December 15, 2015December 19, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Aceberry S500 is a $60 Actions Semi S500 Development Board Comprised of a Module and a Baseboard

For some hard-to-explain reasons, Actions Semi S500 processor seems to be a popular choice for makers of boards, although I don’t think it has really been a success with hobbyists and makers so far. After ActDuino S500, LeMaker Guitar, Lemon Pi, Allo SPARKY, and Roseapple Pi boards, here comes another S500 quad core Cortex A9 development board with Aceberry S500 that’s quite inspired by LeMaker Guitar as seen by its baseboard and module design. Aceberry S500 board preliminary specifications: SoC – Actions Semi S500 quad core Cortex A9r4 processor @ 1.6GHz with PowerVR SGX544 GPU @ 500 MHz Memory – 1 GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC or NAND flash (16 and 32GB optional), SPI NOR flash Video Output – HDMI, and LCD connector Audio – HDMI, headset jack, digital output (RCA). Video Codec – H.265 (HEVC) and Ultra HD (4K*2K) video playback. Encoding up to 1080p@60fps. Connectivity – 10/100M […]