sata News - Page 14 of 24 - CNX Software

June 28, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

LAKE I Home Cloud TV Box with HDMI Input, SATA Bay Sells for $78

Realtek RTD1295 based Android TV boxes are usually interesting devices as they play 4K videos relatively well – minus 4K H.264 @ 30 fps -, support HDMI input with PVR and PiP functions, and often come with a SATA interface for NAS functions handled with OpenWrt. Zidoo X9S and EWEAT R9 Plus are examples of such devices, and I found them to work pretty well in my reviews, but they are quite pricey with prices ranging from $130 to $200 (with internal SATA bay) including shipping. A cheaper option is Beelink SEA I, which I started to review, but one firmware update wiped out the HDCP key, and the product became unusable with the company unwilling/unable to provide the HDCP key. There’s now a new even cheaper model with LAKE I Home Cloud TV box sold for $77.99 on GearBest with GBLAKEI coupon. LAKE I Home Cloud TV box specifications: […]

June 18, 2017June 18, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 81 Comments

NanoPi NEO NAS Kit Review – Assembly, OpenMediaVault Installation & Setup, and Benchmarks

NAS Dock v1.2 for Nano Pi NEO / NEO 2 is, as the name implies, a complete mini NAS kit for 2.5″ drive for NanoPi NEO or NEO 2 board. The NEO 2 board is strongly recommended, since it’s not much more expensive, but should deliver much better results due to its Gigabit Ethernet interface. I’ve received two of those kits together with several other boards & accessories from FriendlyELEC, and today I’ll show how to assemble the kit, configure OpenMediaVault, and run some benchmarks. NAS Kit V1.2 Assembly with NanoPi NEO 2 Board The only extra tool you’ll need is a screwdriver, and potentially a soldering iron as we’ll see further below. The metal box is stuff wih accessories so the first thing is to open one or two sides to take out the content. We have the mainboard, NanoPi NEO back plate, NanoPi NEO 2 back plater, a […]

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 […]

June 6, 2017July 11, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Review of Vorke Z3 Android Mini PC with SATA – Part 1: Unboxing & Teardown

After Yundoo Y8 review, I’ve received another Rockchip RK3399 mini PC for review: Vorke Z3, which was sent to me by GeekBuying. Both devices are quite similar for Vorke Z3 adds an external SATA interface, and two external high-gain antennas. I was also expecting Android 7.1 Nougat on Z3, but I’ve been told the current SDK has too many bugs, so the device still ships with Android 6.0.1. I’ll start the review by looking into the hardware inside out, before reporting on my experience with the firmware in the second part in a few weeks. Vorke Z3 Unboxing The retail package is quite bland, but most people will probably not care a bit about this little detail. The devices ships with a 12V/2A power supply, a simple IR remote control, a HDMI cable, a SATA cable, and Vorke Z3 “4K media player” user manual. The device feels of good quality […]

June 2, 2017 by TLS - 10 Comments

LyCOM shows off a range of Raspberry Pi Hats at Computex 2017

Taiwanese LyCOM, a maker of various I/O accessories showed off a range of Raspberry Pi compatible expansion boards at Computex. Some of them are rather unusual, such as the Pi-112 which adds M.2 drive support. LyCOM also offers modules that adds SATA and mSATA support. Common among all three modules is that they use a USB to SATA bridge chip, although unfortunately I wasn’t able to determine who the manufacturer of the bridge chip was, as all the hats were in a glass display case. All three hats have a micro USB connector that needs to be connected to one of the USB ports on the Raspberry Pi board, but they can also be connected via a pin-header. The M.2 adapter also has a second micro USB port for power and it’s of course only compatible with SATA based M.2 drives. LyCOM was also showing off a full-size SD card […]

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 […]

April 28, 2017April 28, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Shuttle NS02E Rockchip RK3368 Android mini PC Supports PoE for Digital Signage and Thin Clients

The market is flooded of octa-core Android mini PCs or TV boxes for the consumer market, but Rockchip RK3368 powered Shuttle NS02E Android mini PC targets a different mark, specifically digital signage and thin clients as it’s been designed for 24/7 nonstop operation, and supports features such as PoE (Power over Ethernet). Shuttle XPC nano NS02E specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3368 ARM Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with Imagination PowerVR G6110 “Rogue” GPU System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, 2.5″ SATA bay for 7″ drives (requires one extra optional accessory), SD card reader Video Output – HDMI 2.0 Audio Output – Via HDMI, 3.5mm Line OUT audio jack Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet (RTL8211-CG transceiver) with PoE support, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 (RTL8723BS module) USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports Misc – Kensington lock hole, power button, power LED, HDD LED, […]