Geniatech DB982 – An 8K TV motherboard with Amlogic T982 CPU, ATSC 3.0 TV tuner

Amlogic T982 ATSC 3.0 TV motherboard

Geniatech DB982 is a development board/motherboard powered by an Amlogic T982 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor designed for 8K televisions and equipped with an ATSC 3.0 TV tuner. The board ships with up to 4 GB RAM and up to 128 GB eMMC flash, and also includes three 4K HDMI inputs, LVDS and ultra-high-definition VX1 LCD screen interfaces, as well as Fast Ethernet and WiFI 5 connectivity.   Geniatech DB982 specifications: SoC – Amlogic T982 CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor up to 1.8GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G52 MP2 (2EE) GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.1 and OpenCL 2.0 APIs AI accelerators – 2x NNA accelerators with INT8 inference performance up to 2.6 TOPS Manufacturing process – 12nm System Memory – 2GB (4GB optional) Storage – 16GB eMMC flash (8 to 128GB optional) Video Output 1x VX1 up to 8K resolution (CNXSoft: I suppose it stands for V-By-One interface) 1x 30-pin […]

HiSilicon Hi3731V110 32-bit RISC-V processor is made for Full HD televisions

HiSilicon Hi3731V110

We’ve previously covered Hisilicon Hi3861V100 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller, but HiSilicon Hi3731V110 32-bit RISC-V processor designed for Full HD televisions, the company has gone up the scale with its RISC-V offerings. The processor is equipped with an M-LVDS interface for TCON panels, CVBS output, YPbPr, VGA, and multiple HDMI 1.4 video inputs. The processor also comes with a 1080p30 VPU supporting H.265, H.264, MPEG4, MPEG2, and other codecs. HiSilicon Hi3731V110 key specifications: 32-bit single-core RISC GPU – 2D graphics accelerator Memory – Integrated 512-Mbit DDR SDRAM Storage I/F – SPI flash support Video I/F 3x HDMI inputs with CEC, HDCP 1.4, up to 1080p60. Once supports ARC (See Audio) YPbPr/RGB interface CVBS output Video Decoding – 1080p30 H.265, H.264, H.263. MPEG2, MPEG4, VC1 Image Decoding – JPEG hardware decoding up to 64 megapixels Analog TV IF Demodulation for – All analog TV standards, including M/N, B/G/H, D/K, I, L, and L’ […]

LG 24UD58-B 24″ 4K UHD IPS Monitor Sells for $219

LG 24UD58-B

When I bought my first 4K UHD TV in January 2015, I had to pay around $600 for LG 42UB820T 42″ model. It was good for about a year, after which it started to fail, and was somewhat outdated due to the lack of HDR support. Over four years later, prices for 4K hardware as dropped significantly, as as pointed out by Michael Larabel of Phoronix, it’s now possible to buy a 24″ 4K UHD display for just $219. LG 24UD58-B 24″ 4K UHD IPS monitor also have the advantage of supporting FreeSync helping avoid stuttering and tearing in games. LG 24UD58-B specifications: Screen Size – 23.8″ up to 3840×2160 resolution (16:9 aspect radio) Panel Type – IPS Color Gamut (CIE 1931) – NTSC 72% Color Depth (Number of Colors) – 10bit(8bit + A-FRC) Response Time – 5ms GTG Refresh Rate – 60Hz Brightness – 250 cd/m2 Contrast Ratio – […]

LG Unveils 8K, HDMI 2.1 Capable TVs Powered by Alpha 9 Gen 2 Processor

LG 8K TV HDMI 2.1

Last year Samsung unveiled their first 8K TV right before CES 2018 with a 85″ QLED model that can now be yours for a cool $15,000, and capable of upscaling SD / HD content to 8K using artificial intelligence since 8K content was not – and still is not – broadly available. One year has passed, and now LG has announced two new 8K TVs with HDMI 2.1 inputs just before CES 2019. Both 88″ Z9 OLED TV and 75″ SM99 8K LCD TV are powered by the company’s α9 (Alpha 9) Gen 2 processor running  deep learning algorithms to deliver enhanced picture and sound. The press release gives an overview of how AI works on both video and audio as follows: In addition to content source detection, the new processor finely adjusts the tone mapping curve in accordance with ambient conditions to offer optimized screen brightness, leveraging its ability […]

Socionext HV5 Series HDMI 2.1 Video Processing ICs Enable 8K TVs and STBs

SocioNext HV5 Series HDMI 2.1 Processor

HDMI 2.1 specification was released late last year with the main benefit being the support of 8K videos at up to 120 Hz, and a small downside with the requirement for new 48G cables.  Samsung Q900R is one of the first 8K TV on the market, but according to the product page HDMI 2.1 is not supported just yet: Will provide complimentary upgrade for HDMI 2.1 support when available. Please contact customer support for more details So it looks like the Quantum Processor 8K processor found in the TV will be firmware upgradable to support HDMI 2.1. Anyway for 8K video equipment to be useful we’ll need video equipment to support HDMI 2.1 Tx & Rx, and SocioNext has launched what it claims are the first HDMI 2.1 compliant video processor ICs with their HV5 series. The processor family comes with HDMI Tx and Rx with two main series: Interface […]

Samsung 8K QLED TV Uses Artificial Intelligence to Upscale SD Content to 8K Resolution

You’ve probably read how artificial intelligence can be applying to modify photos, either repair them, or change the weather in photos from sunny to rainy, and vice versa. Samsung unveiled an 85″ 8K QLED TV right before CES 2018, which should be news by itself, but that I found really intriguing is the TV’s artificial intelligence capabilities that will upscale standard and other resolution content to 8K resolution. The TV will take SD, Full HD or 4K sources runs it through machine learning algorithm to re-create details, reduce noise, and restore edges to bring them back to 8K picture quality. Not your usual “dumb” upscaling 🙂 The TV is said to be equipped with a database that studies and analyzes millions of images in advance to transform low-resolution content into high-resolution, and capable of selecting the optimal filter to convert the source to higher quality. Samsung then explains the images […]

RedRat-X IR, Bluetooth & RF4CE Box Can Control Multiple TVs and Set-top Boxes

IR blasters can be used to control multiple IR devices through infrared, or other interfaces, for example DVR can use such device to change the channel of a set-top box just before recording. RedRat-X is one of those devices for automating control of TVs, STBs and other infrared equipment, but it’s quite more versatile, as beside its built-in IR blaster, it adds 3 IR outputs were you can connect your own IR transmitters, as well as USB and Ethernet for remote controls. Furthermore, it can also take add-on modules to emulate  Bluetooth and RF4CE remote controls. RedRat-X specifications: IR blaster via the front of the unit. 0 mA to 250 mA in 100 steps. 3x plug-in IR jack sockets which can be used in two modes: Current mode (default): For use with plug-in IR flashers – 0mA to 100mA in 100 steps. Voltage mode: To interface to IR distributions systems, […]

Unofficial List of TV boxes Running Android TV OS

Most TV boxes run a modified version of Android operating system for smartphone, and devices based on Google’s Android TV are harder to find, and often country specific since they are tied to local streaming services. Yesterday, I was searching for boxes based on Marvell Armada 1500 Ultra SoC, and first found a couple in Spain and the US, but eventually found a bunch more when I discovered somebody was keeping track of all/most Android TV devices in a page hosted by Google but with no actual affiliation with Google. The devices are sorted in three categories: Pay TV Providers, usually only sold in a specific country with programs in the local language, and a fairly long list Streaming / Gaming – Those are the most famous Android TV TV boxes like Xiaomi Mi Box or Nvidia Shield Android TV with only 6 models in that list TVs with Android […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC