Reviews

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments on Tronsmart Orion R28 Meta RK3288 TV Box Unboxing

Tronsmart Orion R28 Meta RK3288 TV Box Unboxing

GeekBuying sent me one of their Tronsmart Orion R28 Meta (Beta) Android TV boxes powered by Rockchip RK3288 SoC. This model comes with 2GB DDR3, 16 eMMC, and 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi. R28 Mega is the mid-range model, and there are two others models R28 Pro (entre-level) and R28 Telos (premium). I’ve already listed specifications for the three Tronsmart Orion R28 models. Today, I’ll show some picture of the device, and the board to find out more about the design of the product. Before reviewing the product in another post, I’ll probably build the image using the provided Android 4.4 SDK (provided I can download it), and perform the full review next week with the resulting firmware. Tronsmart Orion Meta R28 Unboxing I’ve received the parcel via DHL within 2 days. The same package will be used for all three models, but you’ll have a sticker on the side for Pro, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on Review of Kingnovel K-R68 (R6) Android Mini PC

Review of Kingnovel K-R68 (R6) Android Mini PC

I’ve already listed specs, and shown a few pictures of Kingnovel K-R68 (R6) Android media player based on the latest Rockchip RK3288 quad core processor. I’ve now gone through all my usual tests, so today, I’ll write the review, going through the user interface, testing video playback, reporting one various performance benchmarks including network and storage performance, tested most hardware features, and played a few games. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions Albeit there’s an infrared remote control with the device. I’ve not used it all, especially, as we’ll see below the default user interface is the stock Android home screen. As usual, I’ve connected an RF dongle to use Mele F10 Deluxe air mouse. Before powering up the device, I’ve also connected an HDMI cable, a USB hard drive, and an Ethernet cable. Albeit there’s a power button, the device will boot automatically as you connect the power adapter, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments on Kingnovel K-R68 4K Android STB Unboxing

Kingnovel K-R68 4K Android STB Unboxing

Kingnovel has sent me a sample of their K-R68 Android media player powered by Rockchip RK3288 quad core processor with 2GB RAM, 8GB flash. Today I’ll start by listing the product specifications, before showing pictures of the device and PCBA. A full review will follow in the next few days. Kingnovel K-R68 specifications The box technical specifications as shown in the product manual are pretty standard: SoC –  Rockchip RK3288 quad core ARM Cortex A12/A17 processor @ 2.0 GHz (TBC) with ARM Mali-T764 quad-core 3D GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.0, OpenCL 1.1, and DirectX11 System Memory – 2GB DDR3 (Optional 4GB DDR3) Storage – 8GB flash (16G/32G optional) + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60fps, 3.5mm AV jack Audio Output – HDMI,  AV, and optical S/PDIF Video Codecs – MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, H.265, RV,.. @ 4K resolution Video Containers – […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments on Review of UyeSee G1H Rockchip RK3288 Android TV Box

Review of UyeSee G1H Rockchip RK3288 Android TV Box

UyeSee G1H is one of the first Android TV boxes powered by Rockchip RK3288 quad core Cortex A17 SoC. I’ve already listed specs, and shown a few pictures of the device and the board in my “UyeSee G1H Unboxing” post, so today I’ll write a full review, checking out the user interface, testing video playback capabilities, network and storage performance, play a few games, check hardware features are working as expected, and runs some benchmarks on the platform. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions There’s an infrared remote control with the device. I’ve inserted a CR2032 battery, and although it works great in the user interface, it becomes useless with Android apps, so instead I’ve opted to use Mele F10 Deluxe air mouse which brings mouse and keyboard support. Before powering up the device, I’ve connected an HDMI cable, the RF dongle for Mele F10 Deluxe, a USB hard drive, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 41 Comments on UyeSee SoundMate M2 Wi-Fi Audio Streamer Review

UyeSee SoundMate M2 Wi-Fi Audio Streamer Review

UyeSee SoundMate M2 Wi-Fi music streaming receiver allows you to wirelessly play audio files from your smartphone or computer to speakers connected to a 3.5mm jack or an audio receiver connected to the optical S/PDIF output of the device. The company sent me a sample for review. I’ll first list the key features of the system, show pictures of the device, and test it with an Android smartphone using my TV speakers. SoundMate M2 Features & Specifications Listed hardware specifications and features: Processor – Unnamed router chipset and Audio DAC Memory & Storage – N/A Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi up to 150Mbps with antenna. Open (default), WPA, WPA2, WPA2 Mixed Security. Audio Output – 3.5mm audio jack, optical S/PDIF Streaming Standards – AirPlay, DLNA, and QPlay Audio Formats – aac, mp3, wav, flac, and ape USB – 1x USB 2.0 port for mass storage and/or 3G dongle, 1x micro […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments on Linux (Enlightenment and Lubuntu) in WeTek Play Amlogic TV Box

Linux (Enlightenment and Lubuntu) in WeTek Play Amlogic TV Box

Last week I reviewed WeTek Play, a TV box with two DVB-S2 tuners, powered by Amlogic AML8726-MX dual core ARM Cortex A9 processor, and running Android 4.2, but the company also released several Linux based images including one with Enlightenment window manager, and another, temporary one, with Ubuntu core which allows you to install Lubuntu or Xubuntu with apt-get. There are also working on OpenELEC, but have not released the binary yet. Today, I’ll try the Enlightenment image because it also supports hardware video decoding via Gplay (gstreamer), and show how to install Lubuntu. The instructions below have been done in a computer running Ubuntu 14.04, but a Windows computer can also be used. Download Wetek-Linux.img.bz2 Connect a micro SD card to your computer, extract and flash Wetek-Linux.img: In Linux using a terminal window:

In Windows, extract the image, and use Win32DiskImager to copy the image to your micro SD […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 23 Comments on Unboxing of UyeSee G1H Android TV Box Powered by Rockchip RK3288

Unboxing of UyeSee G1H Android TV Box Powered by Rockchip RK3288

So finally after month of waiting, and various delays, Rockchip RK3288 based Android TV box are finally coming to market. Shenzhen UyeSee Technology is the first company to send me a sample with their G1H Android TV Box, as well as their M2 wireless music streaming receiver, which will be the subject of another post. I’ll list the specifications and show some pictures of the media player and board today, and write a full review in a few days. UyeSee G1H Specifications These are the specifications provided by the company, reformatted in CNXSoft style :): SoC –  Rockchip RK3288 quad core ARM Cortex A17 processor @ 1.8GHz with ARM Mali-T764 quad-core 3D GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.0, OpenCL 1.1, and DirectX11 System Memory – 1GB DDR3 (2GB Optional) Storage – 8GB eMMC Flash (16G/32G optional) + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments on Review of WeTek Play Android DVB-S2 Satellite Receiver

Review of WeTek Play Android DVB-S2 Satellite Receiver

[Update, December 29, 2014: You may want to read the updated WeTek Play Review with newer firmware including IPTV services, and bug fixes] I’ve already posted pictures of WeTek Play and its boards, and now it’s time to do a full review of this Android DVB-S2 receiver / media player. I’ll start by giving my first impressions, going through the system settings, testing my library of video test files, as well as DVB-S2 support via WeTek Theater, and check most of hardware features. I’ll also test network and storage performance, before running Antutu benchmark to make sure the device runs at optimal speed. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions Contrary to the vast majority of devices, WeTek Play does not come with a basically useless infrared remote, but instead an RF air mouse with an IR transmitter in order to provide true power ON/OFF capabilities. The remote is very nice […]