stb News - Page 11 of 33 - CNX Software

September 17, 2014November 12, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

MXQ S85 Android TV Box Based on Amlogic S805 is Available for $50

Android media players powered by Amlogic S805 quad core processor such as TV110 are already pretty cheap at around $60, but there’s currently a deal on Gearbest where you can get MXQ S85 for less than $50 without Bluetooth and about $55 with Bluetooth by using BackToSchool8 coupon to get 8% discount. Prices include shipping. MXQ S85 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S805 quad core ARM Cortex A5 @ 1.5GHz with quad core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1 GB DDR3 Storage – 8 GB NAND flash + micro SD slot (up to 32GB) Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and optional Bluetooth 4.0. Video Output – HDMI 1.4, AV output Audio Output – HDMI, AV, optical S/PDIF USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports + 1 x micro USB OTG port Misc – IR sensor Power Supply – 5V/2A Dimensions – 11.4x 11.4 x 2.3 cm Weight – 137 grams […]

September 17, 2014September 17, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Android TV Overview – Linaro Connect US 2014

Google announced Android TV and ADT-1 devkit last June, as the company wants to bring user-friendly Android user-experience to TVs, set-top boxes and game consoles. Mark Gregotski, head of the Linaro Digital Home Group (LHG), has provided a technical overview of Android TV during the on-going Linaro Connect US 2014. You find a summary of yesterday sessions on Linaro’s blog, and the even will last until Friday, where several demos will be showcased. SoC companies currently involved in Android TV include Nvidia, Marvell, Qualcomm, Mediatek, Intel, Broadcom, and ST micro, so none of usual Chinese Android TV Box players (Rockchip, Amlogic, AllWinner…) are represented. Android (for smartphone) currently support video playback but you may experience dropped frame from time to time, where in the STB market requirements are not stringent. For example, NTT is said to only allow one frame dropped per month! So Android TV aims to improve video […]

September 13, 2014September 13, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

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, […]

September 11, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Marvell Announces Quad Core ARMADA 1500 PRO 4K STB SoC with HEVC 10-Bit Support

Marvell has just announced a new member of its ARMADA 1500 family of multimedia processors with ARMADA 1500 PRO 4K (88DE3214), a quad-core ARM processor (12K DMIPS), with a Vivante GC3000 GPU, and Qdeo video processor supporting 4K (UHD) output and HEVC 10-bit codec. These processors will be used in smart TVs, set-top boxes (STB), over-the-top (OTT) boxes, thin-client devices, etc.. Details are scarce, but ARMADA 1500 PRO 4K could be an evolution of the ARMADA 1500 PRO processors with four Cortex A9 cores as shown above, but with a different GPU, 4K and HEVC support, and possibly some extra features for DRM. The key features mentioned by the company are as follows: 3840×2160 (UHD) at 60 frames per second 10 bit HEVC Video Decode Up to 12K DMIPs Quad Core ARM CPU Multi-core GPU, 8 shader Vivante GC3000 GPU Robust Security Engine – Security features include Trusted Rendering Path […]

September 6, 2014September 6, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

$60 TV110 Android Media Player Powered by Amlogic S805 SoC

Yesterday I wrote about MINIX NEO X6 featuring Amlogic S805 quad core Cortex A5 processor with HEVC hardware decoding. MINIX device is expected to sell later this month for around $120, but I’ve been informed there’s another model called TV110 with similar hardware specifications, but selling for around $60 or even lower on sites like GeekBuying and Aliexpress. I’ve seen one of the seller offering $10 coupon, so it might even be possible to get it for $50. TV110-S805 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S805 quad core ARM Cortex A5 @ 1.5GHz with quad core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1 GB DDR3 Storage – 8 GB NAND flash + micro SD slot Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz), Bluetooth 4.0 Video Output – HDMI 1.4, AV output Audio Output – HDMI 1.4, 3.5mm stereo audio jack USB – 2x USB 2.0 port Misc – IR sensor Power […]

September 5, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

MINIX NEO X6 Features Amlogic S805 Processor with Full HD HEVC Support

Amlogic S805 is a cost down version of the popular Amlogic S802. It features four Cortex A5 cores, and quad core Mali450-MP GPU, only support 1080p resolution (no 4K), but adds hardware decoding for HEVC / H.265 at 1080p resolution, which is not possible with his big brother. In theory, I should also support Gigabit Ethernet, but none of the upcoming media players support it, allegedly because it’s not working yet… After products by the likes of Ugoos, Eny Technology. and Geniatech, it’s time for MINIX to announce their own S805 mini PC with the NEO X6. NEO X6 Specifications: SoC – Amlogic S805 quad core ARM Cortex A5 @ 1.5GHz with quad core Mali-450MP4 GPU System Memory – 1 GB DDR3L Storage – 8 GB eMMC + micro SD slot Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz) with external antenna, Bluetooth 4.0 Video Output – HDMI 1.4 […]

September 2, 2014September 2, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Cloud Media OpenHour Chameleon Quad Core TV Box Boots Android or Linux from SD Card

Cloud Media, previously known as Syabas, has been selling Popcorn Hour media players based on Linux for several years, but with OpenHour Chameleon the company is about to launch their first Android media player powered by Rockchip RK3288. The device is similar to other RK3288 TV boxes, except it does not come with internal storage at all, and instead boots Android 4.4.2 from a provided 8GB SD card, with later plans to have support for Linux operating systems such as Ubuntu. Another particularity is that they’ll use an aluminum casing for better heat dissipation of the Rockchip RK3288 processor which can get pretty hot… OpenHour Chameleon specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core ARM Cortex A12 / A17 processor with ARM Mali-T764 quad-core 3D GPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.0, and OpenCL 1.1 System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – No Internal storage + SD card slot with 8GB card (including […]

August 29, 2014September 10, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Tronsmart Orion R28 (Beta) TV Boxes with Rockchip RK3288 SoC Feature up to 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC, Come with Android SDK

I’ve recently reviewed my first Rockchip RK3288 Android mini PC, UyeSee G1H, and while it’s not catastrophic, the box still have stability issues related to Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, AV video output, Wi-Fi performance and so on. Now Geekbuying has just announced availability of the beta versions of their Tronsmart Orion R28 Android TV box also powered by the quad core ARM Cortex A12/A17 processor. This first batch (180 pieces) is geared towards tinkerers and “ROM makers”, rather than people who just want something that works, and these first boxes will ship with an Android SDK (5.1GB) on a micro SD card. [Update: link to SDK] There will be three models: Orion R28 Pro (8GB flash, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi), Orion R28 Meta (16GB flash, 802.11ac Wi-Fi), and Orion R28 Telos (4GB RAM, 32 GB eMMC, 802.11ac Wi-Fi). They’ve just manufactured the first two models in the first batch, with 90 pieces […]