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July 1, 2024July 1, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 22 Comments

Amlogic S905X5M vs S905X4 – Features and benchmarks comparison

Amlogic S905X5M is an update to the Amlogic S905X4 quad-core Cortex-A55 SoC with a higher 2.5 GHz CPU clock and a new generation Arm G310 CPU that delivers up to close to three times the performance of the Mali-G31 MP2 GPU for more advanced and smoother HDR user interfaces. The S905X5M and S905X4 share the same video decoding capabilities, notably AV1 and H265 up to 4Kp75, but the new S905X5M drops support for H.265 1080p60 video encoding, only keeping H.264 1080p30. One of the new features is the inclusion of an NPU designed specifically for Super Resolution enabling video upscaling with better image quality. You’ll find the differences between the Amlogic S905X5M and S905X5 processors in the comparison table below. The Amlogic S905X5M adds some HDMI 2.1 features that deserve an explanation: QMS (Quick Media Switching) – A source device can instantly switch its content’s resolution or frame rate without […]

March 7, 2024April 24, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

RealTek RTD1325 SoC shows up in Formuler Z mini 4K Android 12 dongle

Formuler Z mini is a 4K Android 12 TV dongle powered by the new RealTek RTD1325 SoC with a Mali-G57 MC1, 4K AV1 video processing unit, and support for features such as Quick Media Switching (QMS) from the HDMI 2.1 specifications. The Android TV dongle also comes with 2GB LPDDR4 memory, 8GB eMMC flash, an HDMI 2.1 port up to 4K resolution, WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, Widevine L1 DRM, and a Bluetooth voice remote control. Formuler Z mini specifications: SoC – RealTek RTD1325 CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 @ 1.7GHz with 512KB L3 cache [Updated on April 24, 2024 – See comments section] GPU – Arm Mali-G57 MC1 VPU – 4Kp60 10-bit AV1 video decoder System Memory – 2GB LPDDR4 @ 2400MHz Storage – 8GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI 2.1 up to 4K resolution (3840 x 2160) with 4K HDR (HDR10+, HLG), QMS support Networking – […]

December 22, 2019December 23, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

SDMC DV8919 Amlogic S905X4 Android TV 10 TV Box Supports AV1 Decoding

We’ve previously covered several TV box & set-top box SoCs with support for the royalty-free AV1 video codec including Broadcom BCM7218X SoC, and Amlogic S805X2, S905X4, and S908X processors. But so far, apart from an AV1 demo on the RTD1311/RTD1319 development board (Pymparticle EVB?), and new about Technicolor Jade STB, I had not really seen AV1-capable TV boxes so far. SDMC DV8919 appears to be the first Amlogic S905X4 TV box on the market and one of the first running the recently released Android 10 on Android TV OS. SDMC DV8919 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X4 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G31MP2 supporting OpenGL ES3.2, Vulkan 1.1 and OpenCL 2.0 System Memory – 2GB DDR memory (options: 1GB or 4GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (options: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB), MicroSD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.1 up to 4K @ 60+Hz with CEC […]

May 24, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

An Interview with a TV Box Manufacturer: Shenzhen Tomato

I’ve been interviewing Jojo Zhou, Sales Manager at Shenzhen Tomato Technology, a TV box manufacturer, over email to learn a bit more about the TV box market, and various challenges encountered by manufacturers. CNXSoft: We’ve already covered several products sold by Shenzhen Tomato on CNX Software, but for readers who may not know the company yet, could you provide a short description of the company? Jojo Zhou: With over 8-years of experience, Shenzhen Tomato Technology Co., Ltd has become one of the leading OEM/ODM manufacturers specialized in developing Android TV Box, IPTV Set Top Box, Android Media Player, Hybrid Set Top Box and media solution. ODM and OEM is our main advantage, including hardware design and software customize (such as driver porting, kernel modification, etc). We have a first-class R&D team of 30 energetic engineers with rich experience to focus on that. A strict and complete quality control system is […]

July 25, 2017July 25, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

HiMedia Q30 TV Box Review – Part 2: Android 7.0 Nougat Firmware

HiMedia Q30 is an Android Nougat TV box powered by Hisilicon Hi3798MV200 processor, a cost-down version of Hi3798C V200 processor with the same CPU, a lower-end Mali-450MP GPU, about the same media capabilities, and less I/Os. I’ve taken pictures of the device and board if the first part of the review entitled “HiMedia Q30 (Hisilicon Hi3798MV200) Android TV Box Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown“, so today, I’ll report about my experience with the device while running Android 7.0. First Boot, Setup, and First Impressions I’ve connected a USB 3.0 hard drive to the single USB 3.0 port, and filled the two other USB 2.0 ports with a USB keyboard, and a USB hub with two RF dongles for an air mouse and a gamepad. I added Ethernet, HDMI, and power cable to start the device. A typical boot takes around 25 seconds to the Android launcher below. That’s […]

July 14, 2017July 14, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Bqeel MVR9 TV Box Review – Part 1: Specifications, Unboxing and Teardown

All Rockchip RK3328 based 4K TV boxes I’ve seen so far come with Fast Ethernet, not Gigabit Ethernet, with the exclusion of Rock64, which is not a TV box, but a development board. But Nagrace sent me Bqeel MVR9 box that comes with Gigabit Ethernet, in order to write a review. I’ll start by having a look at the hardware first, before experimenting with the firmware in several weeks. Bqeel MVR9 Specifications SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor with ARM Mali-450MP2 GPU System Memory – 2 GB DDR4 @ 1066 MHz Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR10 and HLG support, 3.5mm AV port (composite video) Video Codec – 4K VP9, H.265 and H.264, 1080p VC-1, MPEG-1/2/4, VP6/8 Audio Output – Via HDMI, and AV (stereo audio) ports; optical S/PDIF […]

June 26, 2017July 25, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

A95X R2 TV Box Review – Part 2: Android 7.1, Video & Audio Tests, and Benchmarks

In the first part of A95X R2 Rockchip RK3328 TV box review, I listed the specifications of the device, took a few photos, and reported about the chip used in the PCBA. I’ve now had time to play with the box, so I can report about my experience with Android 7.1, video & audio capabilities, and the performance of the device in the second part of the review. First Boot, Setup, and First Impressions I connected a USB 3.0 hard drive to the USB 3.0 port of the box, a USB keyboard to one of the USB port to take screenshots, and a USB hub with the RF dongles for my air mouse and gamepad in the remaining USB 2.0 port. I completed the hardware setup with Ethernet and HDMI cables, as well as the power supply. I then pressed the power button on the unit to start it up, […]

May 25, 2017May 25, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

HiSilicon Hi3796M V200 UHD DVB + H.265 STB SoC Showcased at Broadcast Asia 2017

Broadcast Asia international digital multimedia & entertaiment technology exhibition & conference is taking place in Singapore on May 23 – 25, and I’ve been informed that Hisilicon showcased their latest Hi3796M V200 Set-top box SoC with support for 4K DVB, H.265, and high dynamic range technology such as HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision. Key features and specifications of Hi3796M V200 processor: CPU – Quad core ARM Cortex A53 GPU – ARM Mali-450MP Memory – DDR3, DDR3L, DDR4 Video Output – 1x HDMI 2.0a Tx with HDCP 2.2 Video format – HEVC, H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, VC1, VP9, AVS 2.0 HDR – HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, HDR and SDR conversion HiVXE 2.0 VPU – Decoder – 4K60 10-bit; Encoder – HEVC/H.264 1080p30 or 2x 720p30 Ethernet – 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x Fast Ethernet USB 2.0 – 2x USB 2.0 ports SATA & PCIe & USB 3.0 – USB 3.0, SATA 3.0, PCIe […]