Voyo (V1) VMac Mini Apollo Lake Mini PC Review – Part 2: Windows 10

Voyo VMac Mini, also sometimes referred to just Voyo V1, is an actively cooled mini PC powered by Intel Celeron N3450 or Pentium N4200 Apollo Lake processor. I’ve received samples for both, and already taken pictures of the device and motherboard. So in the second part I’ll review the mini PC checking out system info, running some benchmarks on both, and see how it performs as an entry-level desktop PC. Voyo VMac Mini Setup and System Information Setup is pretty straightforward, as you just need to connect mouse and keyboard, Ethernet, the mini HDMI to HDMI cable, optionally the included USB WiFi dongle, the power supply, and finally press the power button to get to Windows 10 desktop logged in as “admin” user in about 30 seconds. Some Apollo Lake mini PCs support HDMI 2.0 video output, but this requires a DisplayPort to HDMI 2.0 bridge chip, which not included […]

Yundoo Y8 Rockchip RK3399 TV Box is Up for Pre-order for $111 and Up

We’ve been waiting for Rockchip RK3399 TV boxes for a long time since the processor was first unveiled in January of last year, and the good news is that the first RK3399 TV box has now been launched (sort of), as you can pre-order Yundoo Y8 for $110.73 shipped with shipping planed for early March Yundoo Y8 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 hexa core processor with 2x ARM Cortex A72 cores @ up to 2.0 GHz, 4x ARM Cortex A53 cores System Memory – 2 or 4GB DDR3 Storage – 16 or 32 GB eMMC flash + SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz Video Codecs – 4K H.265 & VP9 decoding Audio Output – HDMI, optical S/PDIF Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x USB type […]

Beelink SEA TV Box with Realtek RTD1295, HDMI Input and Internal SATA Bay Sells for $105 and Up

I’ve already reviewed two Android TV boxes powered by Realtek RTD1295 processor, namely Zidoo X9S and EWEAT R9 Plus. They are quite interesting devices as beside supporting video & audio playback nicely (minus 4K H.264 @ 30fps), they also serve as a personal NAS thanks to their SATA interface and OpenWrt operating system running alongside Android, as well as a HDMI recorder and streamer thanks to the HDMI input. Zidoo firmware is a little better, but it only comes with external SATA, while EWEAT R9 Plus comes with a neat internal 3.5″ SATA bay inside a metal case. The downside is that it’s quite expensive at $200 shipped. If you’d like a Realtek RTD1295 solution with a SATA bay, but would like something more cost effective, Beelink SEA TV box with might be for you. Beelink SEA specifications: SoC – Realtek RTD1295 quad core ARM Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.4 GHz […]

Rockchip RK3328 Quad Core 64-bit ARM SoC is Designed for 4K HDR Android 7.1 & Linux TV Boxes

Beside RV1108 visual platform for applications, Rockchip also unveiled another processor at CES 2017 with RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor for 4K TV Box with H.265, H.264 and VP9 codecs support, HDR, HDMI 2.0, USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet and more. Rockchip RK3328 STB SoC specifications: Processor – Quad core Cortex A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz GPU – ARM Mali-450MP2 Memory I/F – DDR3/DDR3L/DDR4 with “large memory” support (4GB?) Video Output – HDMI 2.0a with HDCP 2.x/1.4 up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR10/HLG support, CVBS output Video Processor 4K UHD H.264, 10-bit H.265 and VP9 video decoder 1080p H.265/H.264 video encoder Audio – Embedded audio DAC Peripherals embedded USB 3.0 interface Dual Ethernet interface: RGMII (reduced gigabit media-independent interface) + Fast Ethernet PHY 8 channel I2S interface supporting PDM/TDM TS and smart card interface, with support for CSA 2.0 Security – TrustZone, Secure Video Path, Secure Boot, […]

Qualcomm Officially Unveils Snapdragon 835 Octa-core Processor for Smartphones, Mobile PCs, Virtual Reality…

Qualcomm first mentioned Snapdragon 835 processor in November, but at the time, they only disclosed it would be manufactured using 10nm process technology in partnership with Samsung, and claimed the obvious “faster and lower power consumption” compared the previous generation. The company has now provided much more info ahead of CES 2017. Snapdragon 835 key features and specifications: Processor – 8x Kryo 280 cores used into two clusters: performance cluster with 4x cores @ up to 2.45 GHz with 2MB L2 cache efficient cluster with 4x cores @ up to 1.9 GHz with 1MB L2 cache GPU – Adreno 540 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.0 full, Vulkan, DX12 DSP – Hexagon 682 DSP with Hexagon Vector eXtensions and Qualcomm All-Ways Aware technology Memory I/F – dual channel LPDDR4x Storage I/F – UFS2.1 Gear3 2L, SD 3.0 (UHS-I) Display – UltraHD Premium-ready , 4K Ultra HD 60 […]

Vorke Z3 Rockchip RK3399 TV Box to Launch in February 2017

I was expecting devices based on Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor to launch by the end of this year, that is about right now, but finally it looks like products will only start the show by the end of Q1 2017, as Firefly-RK3399 development board is scheduled to ship to backers in March 2017, while GeekBuying has started teasing us with their Vorke Z3 TV box powered by Rockchip RK3399 with 4GB RAM slated to launch in February 2017. [Update: Vorke Z3 is now up for sale for $169.99 including shipping] Vorke Z3 preliminary specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor with  2x ARM Cortex A72 cores at up to 2.0GHz, 4x Cortex A53 cores, and an ARM Mali-T860MP4 GPU System Memory – 4GB LPDDR3 Storage – 32GB eMMC flash, external SATA interface (hopefully implemented via the PCIe interface), micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ […]

YokaTV KB2 Review – Amlogic S912 TV Box with 32 GB Flash

CNXSoft: This is another review by Karl about Amlogic S912 based YokaTV KB2 TV box. Introduction Today we will be looking at Videostrong YokaTV KB2. Below are the specs from Videostrong website. This is my first S912 device so I had high expectation. I have been using it for quite some time now with no major issues. I received approximately 6 OTA updates since I started testing and some welcome updates have come. Build When I receive a box first thing I do is take it apart and check out the inside. I was excited when I found out it had 32 gig of storage. It is not too common. Then when I opened the box I was really happy to see an antenna that wasn’t soldered on. Makes it easy to add a different one. +1 for KB2. Then I noticed the heat sink. It seemed a little small. […]

Eweat R9 Plus Android TV Box and OpenWrt NAS Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown

Zidoo X9S is getting some competition with Eweat R9 TV boxes based on the same Realtek RTD1295 processor with built-in SATA, Gigabit Ethernet, 4K VP9 and H.265, HDR, and USB 3.0. The company has three R9 models, and they sent me to top of the line R9 Plus with 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, a 3.5″ SATA bay, HDMI input, and dual Gigabit Ethernet ports for evaluation. I’ll start the first part of the review by checking out the hardware inside and out, before testing the firmware in the second part. Eweat R9 Plus Unboxing The device ships in a large package with a handle which can be convenient in brick and mortar shops since the whole package weights about 1.8 kilograms.The package then contains a smaller package will all accessories: a 12V/2.5A power supply, a “Quickly User Guide” (sic.), a HDMI cable, and an IR remote control taking two AAA […]