Yesterday, I wrote about U4 Quad Hybrid Android Digital TV receiver based on HiSilicon Hi3796M processor, and supporting for DVB-T2/T/C, DVB-S2, and ATSC standards. Today, I’ve received the device, taken a few pictures, and torn it down to find out more about the hardware. The full review will come out in a few weeks. U4 Quad Hybrid Unboxing DHL did their job quickly as I received the set-top box in about two days in the following package. The box comes with a 12V/1.5Am AV and HDMI cables, a WiFi antenna, an IR remote control requiring two AAA batteries (not included), a user’s manual in Korean language only and… a separate tuner… So let’s check that tuner more in details… The demodulator chip is LG3390A, so an ATSC tuner is included in the package. Not very useful in Thailand, but it’s good to know it’s included. I also open the cover […]
Vinclu Gatebox is an IoT Gateway using a Hologram Girl as the User Interface
Let’s face it, home automation or IoT gateways are just boring cubic, rectangular or cylindrical boxes without soul that just transmit packets and gather data between different devices. But don’t despair, as Vinclu, a Japanese start-up, has come up with Gatebox an IoT gateway with a virtual girl, named Hikari Aizuma, that welcomes you back home, turns on the TV on request, wakes you up in the morning and gives the day’s weather forecast, and more! The product is still in development, and we don’t known many details, but the Gatebox is said to uses video projection technologies and various sensors, and you’ll be able to select other characters. The company has raised 90 million JPY (~$770,000 US) and is currently recruiting engineers to complete hardware and software development. The device is expected to be launched at the end of the year via a crowdfunding campaign. You can watch the concept […]
USB Power Delivery Advantages Explained (Video)
USB 3.0 and greater specifications not only promise higher speeds, up to 10Gbps for USB 3.1, but also the ability to deliver up to 100W over USB to power your laptop, display, and printer via equipment, usually a USB hub, that supports USB Power Delivery, or USB PD, via a USB Type C connector. So far very few products appear to support it, and I could only find the Macbook and ChromeBook Pixel, and a few USB PD chargers on Amazon. So basically in the future, the need for power supplies should decrease sharply, simplifying connections, and decreasing the cost of products and shipping since devices will only need a USB port that’s compatible with USB PD, meaning your computer, printer, and display won’t need an extra power supply as long as they consume less than 100 watts combined. The reasons I’m writing about this today, is that completely forgot […]
MeLE Star Cloud PCG60 Plus Cherry Trail Mini PC Comes with HDMI and VGA Outputs, Gigabit Ethernet and More
Most Cherry Trail mini PCs on the market features only one video interface, usually HDMI, and only support 10/100M Ethernet. After introducing MeLE PCG03 Plus a few months ago, MeLE is about to launch a new Cherry Trail mini PC called Start Cloud PCG60 Plus that includes both HDMI and VGA video output, two USB 2.0, but also faster networking thanks to Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11ac. MeLE Star Cloud PCG60 specifications (highlights in bold show improvements over MeLE PCG03 Plus): SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8300 “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.44 GHz / 1.84 GHz (Turbo) with Intel HD Gen8 graphics System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L Storage – 32 GB eMMC + micro SD card slot up to 128 GB Video Output – HDMI 1.4, and VGA Audio I/F – HDMI, 3.5mm earphone jack Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB […]
AsteroidOS is an Open Source Operating System for Your Android (Wear) Smartwatch
If you own an Android or Android Wear smartwatch, but would like more control over its functionality or simply prefer a truly open source operating systems for your watch, AsteroidOS could be the answer. Like alternative mobile operating systems such as Sailfish OS or Ubuntu Touch, AsteroidOS leverages existing Android drivers via libhybris library, and the user interface relies on Qt5 and QML running on top of OpenEmbedded, while Bluetooth is handled by BlueZ 5 library. There’s no company behind the project, and it is purely community driven. Currently only the LG G watch is supported, and you can give AsteroidOS a try by following the instructions. The Wiki provides information about the boot process, how to build the OS, creating an Qt5/QML app. etc.. and also explains how to port AsteroidOS to other watches, so if the project gets traction more devices will be supported. There are several ways […]
Sunchip CX-R9 Rockchip RK3229 Android TV Box Sells for $32 (Factory Price)
We’ve already seen Rockchip RK3229 quad core processor with 4K 10-bit H.264 and H.265, and 4K VP9 support announced at CES 2016. Sunchip CX-R9 will be one of the first devices on the market with the new processor, and includes 1GB RAM and 8GB storage. Sunchip CX-R9 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3229 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-400MP2 System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC + SD card reader Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K2K @ 60 fps Audio Output – HDMI, and optical S/PDIF Video Codec – 4K2K 10-bit H.265 @ 60 fps (Up to 200 Mbps), 4K 10-bit H.264 @ 30 fps (Up to 250 Mbps) and 4K 8-bit VP9 @ 30 fps (Up to 200 Mbps) Connectivity – 100Mbps Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports, including on OTG port […]
Texas Instruments 4K DLP Chip Should Bring Affordable 4K Projectors to the Home, Office and School
4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) is slowly with the price of 4K television going down, 4K media players flooding the market starting at $40, and 4K content appearing online via services like Netflix and over the air with DVB-S2. Thanks to the latest Texas Instruments DLP 0.67″ digital micromirror device (DMD), a cost down version of the 1.38″ DMD used in around 80% of cinemas worldwide, we could start seeing affordable 4K projectors in the second half of 2016. The chip includes 4 millions tiny mirrors that quickly switch to generate the ~8 millions pixels required by a 3840×2160 display, and should be found in projectors capable of delivering up to 5,000 lumens. The DLP chip can be used in home theaters, but also in the office and at school for presentations or courses were text needs to be easily readable. The solutions should delivery 100″+ displays with sharp images […]
Rockchip RK3229 and RK3399 32-bit and 64-bit Processors Support 4K 10-bit H.265 and HDMI 2.0
Rockchip RK3288 was the first SoC from the company that was supposed to support HDMI 2.0 and 4K 10-bit HEVC, but the HDMI implementation was not perfect since it did not support YUV420 colorspace available on cheaper 4K television like mine (LG 42UB820T), and so I’m limited to 4K @ 30 Hz on RK3288, Rorkchip RK3368 fixed that, but the low cost processor does not support 10-bit HEVC. Rockchip is about to launch two new processor that should bring both features to the low end and high end of the market with RK3229 quad core Cortex A7 processor, and RK3399 hexa core Cortex A72/A53 processor. Rockchip RK3229 specifications: CPU- Quad Core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.5 GHz GPU – ARM Mali-400MP2 Memory I/F – DDR3-1866/LPDDR3-1333 Video Output – HDMI 2.0 with HDCP 1.4/2.2 + CVBS Video Codec – 4K2K 10-bit H.265 @ 60 fps (Up to 200 Mbps), 4K 10-bit […]