Video Category - Page 217 of 306 - CNX Software

April 22, 2015April 22, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Flex Cam PIC is both a Sports & Action Camera and a Selfie Stick (Crowdfunding)

Sports camera are quite popular these days, and so are selfie sticks for better or worse… So a Korean team had a simple-yet-clever idea to combine both into a flexible camera that can be used as a selfie stick, and an action camera that does not require any accessories. You just need bend and roll the “stick” around an object. It’s cute too. Meet Flex Cam PIC. Preliminary technical specifications of the camera: SoC – Unknown Storage – 16GB NAND flash Camera – 720p30, CCD sensor, 124″ wide angle, 5MP Connectivity – Bluetooth USB – micro? USB OTG port Misc – LED for battery level, button Battery – 300 mAh (Good for about 1 hour) IP Rating – IP7 (Water and splash proof). Certified for 30 minutes use under 1 meter of water The specifications are not overwhelming, but it still looks like a fun product. It’s also unclear whether […]

April 19, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

Pipo X8 is a Windows 8.1 Mini PC with a 7″ Touchscreen

When it first launched, Pipo X7 was a $90 mini PC running Windows 8.1 with Bing tablet version, but Microsoft did not approve since that version is reserved for products with a 7″ screen or smaller, and now Pipo X7 sells for around $120 because it includes a $25 license for Windows 8.1 with Bing NTE (for mini PC). So in their cost saving efforts, Pipo decided to add a cheap 7″ 1024×600 touch screen display to their new Pipo X8 mini PC also powered by Intel Atom Z3736F or Z3735F Pipo X8 specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Bay Trail Z3736F up to 2.16 GHz or Atom Z3735F up to 1.83Mhz with Intel HD graphics. System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 32GB or 64GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 32GB Display – 7″ 1024×600 touch screen with 5-points. Video & Audio Output – HDMI up to 1080p […]

April 18, 2015April 18, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

NodeMCU is both a Breadboard-Friendly ESP8266 Wi-Fi Board and a LUA based Firmware

NodeMCU is a LUA based interactive firmware for Expressif ESP8622 Wi-Fi SoC, as well as an open source hardware board that contrary to the $3 ESP8266 Wi-Fi modules includes a CP2102 TTL to USB chip for programming and debugging, is breadboard-friendly, and can simply be powered via its micro USB port. Let’s checkout the hardware first. The latest version of the board (V1.0) has the following specifications and features: Wi-Fi Module – ESP-12E module similar to ESP-12 module but with 6 extra GPIOs. USB – micro USB port for power, programming and debugging Headers – 2x 2.54mm 15-pin header with access to GPIOs, SPI, UART, ADC, and power pins Misc – Reset and Flash buttons Power – 5V via micro USB port Dimensions – 49 x 24.5 x 13mm The hardware documentation for the board can be found on nodemcu-devkit repo, including schematics and PCB layout designed with Altium Designer, […]

April 17, 2015May 11, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

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 […]

April 16, 2015April 19, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Popcorn Hour VTEN 4K Linux Media Player Unboxing & Teardown

Cloud Media (aka Syabas) sent me their latest Popcorn Hour VTEN media player. It supports HDMI output up to 4K, H.265 video codec, and features an eSATA connector, as well as optical and coaxial S/PDIF connectors. Today, I’ll show some pictures of the kit, and teardown the box to checkout the hardware, and in a few days, I’ll report on the user interface, video playback, and HDMI audio pass-through capabilities. Popcorm Hour VTEN Unboxing The unexpected device was sent via Fedex in the package shown below. It lists some of the key features such as H.265, DSD (Direct Stream Digital), FLAC, Matroska, UPnP, 3D, and 4K Ultra HD support, as well as the specs, and more features and package content in English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Swedish, and Danish. The box comes with an IR remote control and two AAA batteries, an HDMI cable, a SATA cable, a 5V/3A […]

April 15, 2015April 15, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Allwinner H-Series OTT SoC Roadmap Adds H5 and H2+ Processors

Previously Allwinner only had A-Series processor such as A10 that were used in tablets and media players, but they’ve recently launch H-series processors for “Home entertainment” such as H64, H8 or H3 SoCs that have been specifically designed for media players and OTT (Over-the-top) boxes. The company has unveiled its OTT SoC roadmap at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair which adds two new processors Allwinner H2 and Allwinner H5. Allwinner H2+ will a quad core Cortex A7 processor support H.265 video decoding, 1080p decoding, and TrustZone support, and should the cheapest processor of the family. Based on the chart above, the processor must have been sampling by the end of last year, so H2+ media players should come to market very soon. Allwinner H5 will be at the other end of the scale, featuring eight Cortex A53 cores, a 4K H.265 decoder, an H.265 encoder (1080p?), and TrustZone support as […]

April 14, 2015April 14, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

AtHome Video Streamer App Transforms Android TV Boxes into IP Security Cameras

Some Android mini PCs come with cameras, for example Measy U2C or CS928, but depending on firmware support, most will also take a USB webcam, and the obvious application is for video conferencing with Skype or Google Hangout. But I’ve just found out an app called “AtHome Video Streamer” can transform any Android device with camera support into as IP camera for security or monitoring. The app will show with the name AVS, and it should detect your camera automatically, and show a live feed. I installed the app in Zidoo X9 TV box to which I connected a UVC USB camera in order to monitor… my chameleon plush / pillow. X9 camera support might need to be improved, as I lost access to the webcam a few times. You don’t have many options in AVS app, except Dimming the screen, and change the streamer name, username and/or password. So […]

April 13, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Perseus Video Codec Claims 2 to 3 Times Better Compression than H.265 using Legacy Hardware

H.265 (aka HEVC) is supposed to half the video bandwidth / bitrate required compared to H.264 by delivering the same quality, and VP9 should also offer equivalent compression, but it’s just not as broadly supported in media processors. UK based V-Nova claims its Perseus codec can even beat that, by providing 2 to 3 times better compression than H.265 thanks to a new approach to video encoding, that allow the codec to leverage existing hardware, meaning it can be encoded with existing computers, and decoded by leveraging the CPU and GPU parallel processing capabilities in existing mobile & computing devices. Perseus codec highlights: Highly efficient – >3x compression vs. state-of-the-art in practical use cases. Benefits further increase with increasing resolutions & frame rates. Extremely fast – Significant processing time reduction thanks to massively parallel architecture. Designed to take advantage of modern hardware Multi-scale (continuously hierarchical) – Single bit stream for […]