android tv News - Page 8 of 11 - CNX Software

June 7, 2017June 7, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Realtek RTD1296 STB/Media NAS SoC Coming Soon with Multiple Ethernet Ports, Dual SATA, HDMI 2.0 Input and Output

I have reviewed several Realtek RTD1295 TV boxes with NAS and HDMI input functions such as Zidoo X9S and EWEAT R9 Plus, and those were quite capable devices with a rich feature set, but Realtek has been working on a new higher-end RTD1296 SoC for quite some time. It comes with the same CPU and GPU, but has a larger package with more peripheral interfaces. I received the screenshot above last December, but the information does not seem to have changed since then. Realtek RTD1296 is equipped with a quad core Cortex A53 processor, an ARM Mali-T820MP3 GPU, and the same H.265/VP9 video engine as RTD1295. However, the new SoC adds one extra RGMII (Gigabit Ethernet) interface, one more USB 3.0 port, one extra SATA interface, and offers higher DDR bandwidth. The PCIe interface would also allow you to use more than just two SATA drives. Charbax got in touch […]

June 6, 2017July 26, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

U5PVR Deluxe Set-Top Box & NAS Review – Part 2: Android TV, Debian, and Live TV App

U5PVR Deluxe is an set-top box with digital TV tuners that runs Android TV 5.1, and support 2.5″ and 3.5″ hard drive. I’ve received a model with a dual DVB-T/T2 tuner, and already posted “U5 PVR Deluxe Android Set-Top Box Review – Part 1: Specs, Unboxing, Teardown, and SATA HDD Assembly” a few weeks ago, where I described the hardware, and I inserted a one terabytes 3.5″ hard drive. I’ve now had time to test the device, but it took much longer than expected due to a partial firmware update issue, which forced me to redo many of the tests. There are also some undocumented features, so if you want to make the most of the device, be prepared to spend time in the forums. U5PVR Connections, OTA Firmware Update, and Setup Wizard The box have one USB 3.0 ports, and three USB 2.0 ports, so most people won’t need […]

May 18, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Google Releases Android O Developer Preview 2, Announces Android Go for Low-End Devices, TensorFlow Lite

After the first Android O developer preview released in March, Google has just released the second developer preview during Google I/O 2017, which on top of features like PiP (picture-in-picture), notifications channels, autofill, and others found in the first preview, adds notifications dots, a new Android TV home screen, smart text selection, and soon TensorFlow Lite. Google also introduced Android Go project optimized for devices with 512 to 1GB RAM. Notifications dots (aka Notification Badges) are small dots that show on the top right of app icons – in supported launchers – in case a notification is available. You can then long press the icon to check out the notifications for the app, and dismiss or act on notifications. The feature can be disabled in the settings. Android TV “O” also gets a new launcher that allegedly “makes it easy to find, preview, and watch content provided by apps”. The […]

March 9, 2017March 9, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

NVIDIA Shield Android TV Gets Unofficial USB Tuner (ATSC/DVB) Support

NVIDIA Shield Android TV may only be available in a limited number of countries, but if you happen to live in a country where it’s officially sold, it can be one of the best options due its hard-to-beat price to performance ratio, and official Android TV software support from Google & Nvidia. One features it does not support out of the box is support for digital TV tuner, but linux4all has released an unofficial firmware image adding USB TV tuner support to Android TV (7.0) on Nvidia Shield Android TV 2015 and 2017 models. You’ll first need a supported tuner either Hauppauge WinTV-dualHD (DVB-C, DVB-T and DVB-T2), Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-850 (ATSC), Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-955Q (ATSC, QAM, Analog), or Sony PlayTV dual tuner (DVB-T). More tuners may be supported in the future. One you’ve got your tuner connected to Nvidia Shield Android TV, make sure you have the latest Android TV 7.0 OTA […]

February 12, 2017 by Karl Johnson - 30 Comments

Xiaomi Mi Box (US) Android TV TV Box Review

Introduction The Mi Box is the first Xiaomi product I have used. I received it beginning of December and have been using it regularly since then. I have received 3 updates which went through uneventfully. I was very pleased with this box. I ended up getting one for my in-laws and one for my 4 year old sons bedroom. The UI worked as expected. I have an Nvidia Shield Android TV, and the Mi Box complements it very well. Having Plex Server running on the Shield and Plex on the Mi Box is pretty fantastic to easily share content. Not to mention way more cost effective than putting a Shield in every room. What’s Inside The build quality is good. The power supply puts out 5.2v which is not typical. I do wish it had more USB ports. A single USB is inadequate. I found myself swapping USB out frequently […]

February 3, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Linaro Home Group Releases “AOSP” Android TV for Hikey Board

The Linaro Home Group (LHG) was setup to work on “open source software for ARM-based set top boxes, smart TVs, media boxes, TV dongles and home gateway products”, and after having worked on OP-TEE (Open Portable Trusted Environment Execution) firmware as one of their first endeavors, they’ve now ported Android Open Source Project (AOSP) Android TV to 96Boards compliant Hikey board. Android TV is based on Android, but adds the TV Input Framework and the Lean Back APIs with the user interface designed for larger displays. LHG has not changed the apps and higher level software from AOSP, but they’ve made sure it could work on Hikey board by working on the Linux drivers and Android user space stack to make sure the Live TV App and Android TV Channel Service implemented in AOSP can work properly on the hardware. If you want to try it on your own Hikey […]

December 26, 2016January 19, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 25 Comments

SmartHomy Hybrid TV Box with DTV Tuner Triples as a Game Console & Home Automation Gateway (Crowdfunding)

SmartHomy Homy Player is a TV box running Android TV that includes an ATSC, DVB-T2/C,DVB-S2, or ISDB-T tuner, is said to be powerful enough to be used as a 3D gaming platform, and serves as a security system and home automation gateway using Z-Wave, Bluetooth, WiFi and IR blaster to control your things. Homy player specifications [Updated on January 19th, 2017]: SoC – Amlogic S912 octa-core Cortex A53 processor with Mali T820MP3 GPU System Memory – 3 GB DDR3 Storage – 32 GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz with HDCP 2.2, HDR, CEC Audio Output – HDMI and optical S/PDIF Video / Audio Capabilities – 10-bit 4K H.265 @ 60 fps, HD audio pass-through, Dolby Digital & DTS licenses DRM – Widevine Level 1, Microsoft PlayReader, Netflix license Digital TV Tuner – DVB-S2 (satellite), DVB-C/T/T2 (Cable/Terrestrial), ATSC, and ISDB-T Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, […]

December 20, 2016December 20, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Second Generation NVIDIA Shield Android TV Box Photos Leaked Ahead of Launch

NVIDIA Shield Android TV box may have launched in the first part of 2015, but even at the end of 2016 it’s still one of the best Android TV boxes with a powerful Tegra X1 processor, 3GB RAM, 4K video support, HD audio pass-through, the fastest GPU found in TV boxes so far, Netflix HD & 4K certified, and more. The company is allegedly preparing to launch a new model, and some photos have been leaked to Android Police. The design of the box looks basically identical to the new model, but it comes in two different sizes maybe because of extra ports and internal storage, and the game controller has been re-designed with a mix of triangular shapes. What we don’t know are the specifications. The company may have done a simple refresh, keeping Tegra X1 processor, increasing the memory and storage capacity, and possibly adding some extra interfaces, […]