openwrt News - Page 24 of 33 - CNX Software

October 24, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Zidoo X8 Android TV Box, OpenWrt NAS, and HDMI Recorder Sells for $109

I posted my review of Zidoo X9S Android TV box, HDMI recorder and OpenWrt NAS a few days ago, and despite some limitations with regards to 4K video playback, the device is working pretty well. The $140 price tag might be a little more than some people are ready to pay, and the good news is that the company has now launched a cheaper model based on the same processor called Zidoo X8, without the external SATA port, and less storage. Zidoo X8 specifications: SoC – Realtek RTD1295 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.4 GHz with ARM Mali-T820 MP3 GPU System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot + SATA 3.0 interface Video I/O – HDMI 2.0a output, AV output and HDMI 2.0 input (Support up to 4K60 input, but record/stream up to 1080p @ 30 Hz) Audio I/O – HDMI […]

October 19, 2016October 19, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Vocore2 Lite is a $4 Linux MIPS WiFi Module based on Mediatek MT7688AN SoC (Crowdfunding)

I’ve already written about Vocore v2 Crowdfunding campaign, where the second generation Vocore WiFi module supports audio, PoE, and ultimate dock, and price starting at $12. But there has been some development since the launch of the campaign, as the developer received request for a cheaper board, and after looking into it, has now added Vocore2 Lite WiFi module reward for only $4, or $7 once shipping included. He obviously had to make some trade-offs to bring the cost down, but the Lite board impressively still keep many of the same features. VoCore (2014) VoCore2 Lite (2016) VoCore2 (2016) Price 19.99 USD 3.99 USD 11.99 USD CPU RT5350, 360MHz MT7688AN MIPS24KEc @ 580MHz MT7628AN, 580MHz Memory 32MB SDRAM 64MB DDR2 128MB DDR2 Storage 16MB NOR 8MB NOR 16MB NOR Antenna Slot x1 x1 x2 On-Board ANTENNA √ × √ Wireless Speed ~75Mbps ~150Mbps ~300Mbps Ethernet Port x5 x1 / x5 […]

October 14, 2016October 7, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 22 Comments

Zidoo X9S Android Media Center Review – Part 2: Android Firmware & OpenWrt (NAS Functions)

Zidoo X9S is more than a simple Android TV box, as it supports NAS function via OpenWrt running simultaneously with Android 6.0 and its USB 3.0 and SATA ports, as well as HDMI input function capable of recording and broadcasting videos, and supporting Picture-in-picture, so I find “Android Media Center” better fit the description for this device. I’ve already taken pictures of the Zidoo X9S and its board in the first part of the review, so I’ll test both Android 6.0 & OpenWrt firmware, and the most of the features in the second part of the review. Initial Setup and First Boot I connected the usual accessories and cables to the box including a USB 3.0 hard drive, HDMI and Ethernet cables, USB RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad, and a USB keyboard to take screenshots. I also added a 1TB SATA […]

October 6, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

VoCore2 WiFi IoT Board Launched with Audio, PoE & “Ultimate” Docks (Crowdfunding)

Vocore WiFi IoT board was popular at its launch in 2014 because affordable WiFi boards with I/Os were not common at the time, and it came with an Ethernet dock making it a complete router within a tiny and cute cube. The developers have been working on VoCore2 (aka Vocore V2) with a faster processor, more memory, a lower power consumption, a better WiFi signal, and more I/Os for several months, and have now launched the board on Indiegogo aiming to raise at least $6,000 for mass production. Vocore2 board specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT7628AN MIPS processor @ 580 MHz System Memory – 128 MB DDR2 Storage – 16MB NOR FLASH, 1x SDXC via I/O pins Connectivity WiFi 802.11n 2T2R up to 300 Mbps with either 2 u.FL connector or 1 u.FL connector + on-board chip antenna (Max signal output >19.5dbm peak) 2x 10/100M Ethernet interfaces via I/O pins I/Os […]

September 14, 2016July 31, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Widora-NEO OpenWrt WiFi IoT & Audio Board is Based on Mediatek MT7688 SoC, WM8960 Audio DAC

A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed ReSpeaker board combining MediaTek MT7688 WiFi SoC with WM8960 audio DAC, running OpenWrt, and allowing you to perform tasks using text-to-speech and speech-to-text thanks to the built-in microphone (or optional microphone array), and a 3.5mm audio jack to connect speakers, as well as several I/O pins. It turns out there’s been board with similar features, minus the built-in microphone, available in China for a while. Meet Widora-NEO. Widora-NEO board specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT7688AN MIPS SoC @ 580 MHz with built-in WiFi System Memory – 128 MB RAM Storage – 16MB SPI flash, micro SD card Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 1T1R up to 150 Mbps with PCB antenna, or IPEX connector Audio – 3.5mm jack for stereo headphone and mono microphone, WM8960G audio codec USB – 1x micro USB port for programming via CP2104 chip, 1x micro USB host (or […]

September 9, 2016September 10, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

Zidoo X9S Realtek RTD1295 Android & OpenWrt TV Box System Info & Benchmarks

Zidoo X9S is the first Android TV box based on Realtek RTD1295 quad core Cortex A53 processor that I’ve received for review. So in this post, I’ll show some system information with CPU-Z, and Android & OpenWrt Settings, and run typical Android benchmarks such as Antutu 6.x, Vellamo, and 3Dmark. Zidoo X9S / Realtek RTD1295 Android System Info CPU-Z detects Realtek RTD1295 is a quad core ARM Cortex A53 processor clocked between 600 MHz and 1.4 GHz with an ARM Mali-T820 GPU, and uses an unknown governor… But in adb shell, tje command “cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor” reports an ondemand governor is used. The system runs Android 6.0.1 on top of Linux 4.1.17 (I think it’s the first time I see a Linux 4.x kernel used in a TV box…), and with 1920×1080 resolution. Total RAM is shown to be 1672 MB, most probably because some RAM is reserved for the GPU […]

September 7, 2016October 23, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

Zidoo X9S (Realtek RTD1295) Android TV Box Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown

Zidoo X9S is one of the first Realtek RTD1295 based TV boxes coming to market, and it has some pretty special features like running both Android 6.0 and OpenWrt simultaneously, HDMI input support for video recording and PiP, an external SATA interface, 4K media capabilities including HDMI 2.0a output, 4K 60 fps H.265 and VP9 & 4K 24 Hz H.264 video decoding, as well as HDR and 3D support. You can find the full Zidoo X9S specification in my previous post. The company has now sent me an early review sample, and in the first part of the review you’ll post photos of the devices and accessories, and perform a teardown to find out more about the electronics and thermal design. Later on I’ll publish articles with benchmarks, video performance, and the complete review. Zidoo X9S Unboxing The box comes in a light green retail package showing some of the […]

August 27, 2016August 27, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Getting Started with ReSpeaker WiFi IoT Board’s Audio Capabilities, Voice Recognition and Synthesis

ReSpeaker is a development board combining an Atmel AVR MCU, a MediaTek MT7688 WiFi module running OpenWrt, a built-in microphone, an audio jack, and I/O headers to allow for voice control and output for IoT applications. That means you could make your own Amazon Echo like device with the board and add-ons, use it as a voice controlled home automation gateway and more. The board was launched on Kickstarter a few days ago, and already raised $100,000 from about 100 backers, but I’ve received an early sample, so I’ll provide some more information about the firmware, and shows how to use with some Python scripts leveraging Microsoft Bing Speech API. You’ll need a micro USB to USB cable to connect your to computer (Linux, Windows, Mac OS…), and a speaker to connect to the board. Linux (OpenWrt) boots in a few seconds, and once it’s done all RGB LED will […]