stb News - Page 13 of 33 - CNX Software

July 30, 2014July 30, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

$50 CMX Dual Core Android TV Box Runs Android 4.2, Supports XBMC Linux

XBMC Android now runs fairly well on ARM based hardware, but some people still prefer to run XBMC Linux because they want a pure XBMC experience, and Android is just an unnecessary overhead, and some features are still better supported in XBMC Linux such as frame rate switching, which is not supported in Android (You need to manually select the refresh rate in the settings). One way to go if you want to get XBMC Linux is to buy one of the boxes pre-loaded with the firmware such as Jynxbox M1V2 Pure Linux or Little Black Box. But these devices are generally significantly more expensive than their Android equivalents. So instead, some people get an Android TV box, and install XBMC Linux firmware compatible with the hardware such as MX Linux which runs on media players with a “g18ref” and “mx2ref” boards. Gbox Midgnight MX2 is one of these g18ref […]

July 28, 2014July 28, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Rockchip RK3288 Beta Firmware Release for Unnamed Android TV Box

The whole activity around the upcoming media players based on Rockchip RK3288 is pretty interesting, or some would say amusing. First, many companies started to release pictures of their boards a few months before their products are actually ready, and now we’ve got a beta Android 4.4 firmware for Rockchip RK3288 for an unknown TV box released via Geekbuying Blog. I’ve read rumors about a Tronsmart Orion R28, so it might be that one, but who knows. Before investigating the content of the firmware, here are the features that we know about the hardware: Based on Rockchip RK3288 quad core Cortex A17 processor System Memory – 2GB RAM (Samsung) Storage – 8GB flash (Kingston) Wi-Fi – AP6330 Wi-fi module The firmware is based on Linux 3.10, the build number is rk3288-eng 4.4.2 KOT49H eng.ant.20140721.164453 test-keys, and the software version RK3288_R_BOX_Android 4.4.2-SDK_v1.0.0_140613. Most people won’t need this, but if developers want […]

July 26, 2014July 27, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Geniatech Unveils ATV585 Enjoy TV Box Powered by Amlogic S805 with HEVC Hardware Decoding

After Eny Techology EM6Q-MXQ, there’s at least another Amlogic S805 based media player with Geniatech ATV585 Enjoy TV powered by the quad core Cortex A5 processor, with 1GB RAM and 8GB flash. Compared Amlogic S802 based STBs, you’ll get slower CPU and GPU performance, and lose 4K video decoding and output, but gain HEVC hardware decoding up to 1080p, if you’re lucky, you’ll get Gigabit Ethernet, and in theory, the price should be cheaper. ATV585 Enjoy TV specifications: SoC – Amlogic S805 quad core Cortex-A5 @ 1.5GHz with quad core Mali-450MP4 GPU @ 600MHz System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC FLASH + micro SD/MMC card slot up to 32GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI 1.4 and CVBS Video Codecs / Containers – MPEG1/2/4, H.264, H.265, VC-1, WMV, AVI, MKV, MOV, etc… Audio Formats – MP3, WMA, AAC, etc… Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, Wi-Fi with external antenna […]

July 22, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Probox2 EX Quad Core Android Box Comes with an Air Mouse Designed for Gaming

Probox2 EX is an Android TV Box with an enclosure similar to MX3, but with better hardware including Amlogic S802-H, 16GB eMMC Flash, 2GB RAM, dual band Wi-Fi, and more, and an interesting RF air mouse dubbed “Remote+” that can also be used for playing games, and audio chat. Probox2 EX specifications: SoC – AMLogic S802-H quad core ARM Cortex A9r4 at 2.0GHz with ARM Mali-450MP6 GPU up to 600 MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC Flash + micro SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 1.4b and AV Audio Output – HDMI, AV, and S/PDIF Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with external antenna, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports + 1x micro USB OTG Misc – IR Sensor, Power LED, power button, and recovery/update switch via AV jack Power Supply – 5V/2A Dimensions – 11.5 x 11.5 […]

July 18, 2014September 10, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 38 Comments

Amlogic S802 TV Boxes Are Getting Cheaper: Meet $72 MX3 (M82) TV Box

When Android media players based on Amlogic S802 first launched a little over 3 months ago, they all sold for over $100. Since then various products have come to market, with prices slowly edging lower. But none comes as cheap as MX3 (aka M82), whose name is probably inspired from Gbox Midnight MX2, as it sells for $72.22 on GearBest including shipping. [Update: It can be found for $70 on DealExtreme] Let’s go through the specifications: SoC – AMLogic S802 quad core ARM Cortex A9r4 at 2.0GHz with ARM Mali-450MP6 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4 GB NAND Flash + micro SD card slot Video and Audio Output – HDMI and AV Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports + micro USB OTG Misc – IR Sensor, Power LED, power button, and recovery/update switch via AV jack Power Supply – […]

July 14, 2014August 1, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Eweat EW802 Android TV Box (Amlogic S802) Supports External SATA Drives, Features Dual Wi-Fi Antennas

Amlogic S802 does not support SATA natively, so few Android media players based on this quad core SoC comes with SATA hard drive or SSD support. Zoomtak T8 is one of them, but there’s now another options with Eweat EW802, except than having an internal bay for 2.5″ hard drives, it just features an external SATA connector capable of handling both 2.5″ and 3.5″ drives, and comes with better specs including dual Wi-Fi antennas, 2GB RAM, and 16GB flash. Eweat EW802 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S802 quad core cortex A9r4 @ 2 GHz with Mali-450MP6 GPU (N.B: It could also be S802-H due to Dolby abd DTS hardware decoding claim). System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB NAND flash + micro SD slot + SATA connector Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, dual band 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi with two external antennas, and Bluetooth 4.0 Video Output – HDMI 1.4a and AV […]

July 8, 2014July 9, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Eny Technology Introduces EM6Q-MXQ Android STB Based on Amlogic S805 SoC

In the last few months, we’ve seen a few Amlogic S802 powered Android media players such as Tronsmart Vega S89, SZTomato/Eny M8, and MINIX NEO X8(-H), which have the fastest Cortex A9 processor on the market with a relatively powerful octa core Mali-450MP6 GPU, as well as 4K decoding and output capabilities. But if you’d like something a little more affordable, don’t care about 4K, and would do with a quad core SoC that’s not quite as powerful, but more power efficient, and still supports HEVC, you may consider one of the upcoming devices based on Amlogic S805. Eny Technology is one of the first company to announce an S805 media player with their EM6Q-MXQ. You can check S802 / S805 / S812 comparison for details. The enclosure and remote control both look pretty familiar, and the hardware specifications are quite similar to GBox Midnight MX2, except for the Amlogic […]

July 7, 2014May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

VidOn.me AV200 Android TV Box Review

After providing some pictures of VidOn.me AV200 media player, and its PCBA, it’s now time for a review. I’ll start by giving my first impressions, and checking out the system settigns and user’s interface, go through my library of video test files, and cover most hardware features. As usual, I’ll also test Wi-Fi performance, but I’ve now added more tests including Ethernet performance, and USB hard drive support and performance with NTFS, FAT32, EXT-4, and BTRFS partitions. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions The device comes with an IR remote control with lots of buttons, including shortcuts, D-Pad control, digit keys and trick modes (play/pause, fast forward and rewind, next and previous), but the two required AAA batteries were not included, and I did not have spare batteries, so I did not use the remote control, which looks pretty OK for XBMC, and just control the device with my Mele […]