GeekBox is a Hackable Android and Linux TV Box Powered by Rockchip RK3368 SoC

There are many Android TV boxes on the market based on Rockchip RK3368 processor, while I’m not aware of any development board based on the latest Rockchip octa-core processor, and Linux support is basically inexistent. One device may fill both gaps: GeekBox. This TV box can run both Android and Ubuntu Linux, while it’s easily disassembled to access expansion headers. The hardware specifications are a little higher-end than most Rockchip RK3368 TV boxes we’ve seen so far: SoC – Rockchip RK3368 octa core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.2 GHz with PowerVR G6110 GPU System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3@1600Mbps Storage – 16GB Samsung eMMC v5.0 flash + micro SD slot Video Output / Display I/F HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz with CEC support Display + touchscreen headers Audio Output – HDMI Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 a/b/g/n + 802.11ac 2×2 MIMO @ 867 Mbps (AP6354 module), Bluetooth 4.1 USB […]

TBS5520 Multi-Standard Tuner Box and Linux Drivers

TBS Technologies is a company that specializes in digital TV tuner cards for PC, and recently they’ve also worked on ARM based boards or devices such as the Matrix 2. The company has sent me one of their TBS5520 USB tuner board and box supporting DVB-T2, DVB-S2, DVB-C and ISDB-T for evaluation, as well as some Linux drivers. Today, I’ll provide some specifications, take some pictures, and show how I compiled and installed the drivers in my Ubuntu 14.04 computer. TBS 5520 Tuner Box specifications TBS5520 is a multi-standard USB tuner with the following features: USB – USB 2.0 device port Antenna connectors – 1x LNB IN, 1x RF IN Standards DVB-S2/S Symbol rate: 1~45Msps; FEC  DVB-S2: 8PSK: 3/5, 2/3, 3/4, 4/5, 5/6, 8/9, 9/10; DVB-S:  QPSK: 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5/6, 7/8 DVB-T2/T  Receiving channel: VHF band, UHF band; Bandwidth: 1.7,5, 6, 7, 8 MHz; FEC: QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM […]

Nvidia Tegra X1 Development Board is Finally Available… for $599

When Nvidia introduced Nvidia Tegra X1 octa processor with a 256-core Maxwell GPU at the very beginning of the year, I was expecting Jetson TX1 is follow suit in the next few months, but instead the company launched Nvidia Shield Android TV box based on the processor. The company has now launched Jetson TX1 module and development board. Let’s check the module first and its main specifications and features: SoC – Nvidia Tegra X1 octa core processor with 4x ARM Cortex A57 cores, 4x ARM Cortex A53 cores, and a 256-core Maxwell GPU System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 (25.6 gigabits/second) Storage – 16GB eMMC Connectivity – 802.11ac 2×2 Bluetooth ready, Gigabit Ethernet Video –  4K video encode and decode Camera – Support for 1400 megapixels/second Dimensions – 50mm x 87mm The module support Linux4Tegra operating system based on Ubuntu. Libraries and drivers to leverage the Maxwell GPU include cuDNN  CUDA-accelerated […]

Orange Pi Plus 2 Allwinner H3 Board Includes 2GB Memory

Shenzhen Xunlong has made yet another Allwinner H3 board. It’s called Orange Pi Plus 2 with basically the same specifications as Orange Pi Plus, but the layout has been modified with a slightly wider board, and the RAM upgraded from 1GB to 2GB. Orange Pi Plus 2 specifications: SoC – Allwinner H3 quad core Cortex A7 @ 1.2 GHz with ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU up to 600 MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC, micro SD card slot, SATA interface (via a USB to SATA chip), Video Output – HDMI, AV port Audio I/O – HDMI, AV port, on-board microphone Connectivity – 10/100/1000M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi (Realtek RTL8189ETV) USB – 4x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG port Camera – CSI Interface Expansions – 40-pin Raspberry Pi Model A+/B+ (mostly) compatible header Debugging – 3-pin UART header for serial console Misc – IR receiver; Power, […]

Nvidia Jetson TK1 Development Board is Now Selling for $99 (Promo)

Sorry that I don’t have an Nvidia Jetson TK1 board to give away…, but if you were interesting in getting one the best ARM Linux boards available today, and found the $192 price tag a little too high, Make announced a ~50% discount offer to get the board for $99 on Nvidia store using MAKEJTK1 coupon. Here’s a reminder of the board’s specifications: SoC – Nvidia Tegra K1 SoC with 4-Plus-1 quad-core ARM Cortex A15 CPU, and Kepler GPU with 192 CUDA cores (Model T124) System Memory – 2 GB x16 memory with 64 bit width Storage – 16 GB 4.51 eMMC memory, SATA data + power ports, full size SD/MMC slot, and 4MB SPI boot flash. Video Output – HDMI port Audio – ALC5639 Realtek Audio codec with Mic in and Line out Connectivity – RTL8111GS Realtek GigE LAN USB – 1x USB 2.0 OTG port, micro AB, 1x […]

EmbPower Provides Nvidia Tegra K1 RTX Modules, Carrier Boards, and Industrial Computers

EmbPower is a Taiwanese company that first focused on graphic cards, but has since then also developed other solutions requiring high GPU performance for military & aerospace applications as well as medical equipment. One of these products is TK1 Carrier Board with TK1 SoM powered by Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core processor, that can be encapsulated into TK1 PowerUnit industrial computer. There are actually two TK1 carrier boards: the larger V1.2 with more ports and features, and the smaller V2.0 that is used in TK1 PowerUnit Box, but they share most of the same (preliminary) specifications: SoC – Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core ARM Cotax-A15 processor with Nvidia Kepler 192-core GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 @ 933 MHz Storage – 16GB eMMC flash and SPI serial flash. V2.0 only: Adds micro SD slot; V1.2 only: Adds SD slot and SATA Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet; optional 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0 […]

giggleBits Hackable ARM & FPGA Router Comes with an SFP Cage and 5 Gigabit Ethernet Ports (Crowdfunding)

Remember Snickerdoodle board? If you don’t, the board is one of the cheapest Xilinx Zynq available on the market, and the project is currently on CrowdSupply, and 75% funded with 28 days left. They’ve just posted an update about a new daughterboard that I found interesting: giggleBits which provides 5 Gigabit Ethernet and an SFP cage on top of WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth connectivity already found on Snickerdoodle board. giggleBits + snickerdoodle specifications: SoC/Memory/Storage/WiFi via Snickerdoodle board: SoC Xilinx Zynq-7010 dual core Cortex A9 processor @ 667 MHz + FPGA with 430K gates or Xilinx Zynq-7020 dual core Cortex A9 processor @ 866 MHz + FPGA with 1.3million gates (~430K ASIC gates) System Memory – 512MB or 1GB LPDDR2-800 Storage – micro SD card slot, 16MB boot flash Ti Wilink 8 –  single or dual band 802.11 b/g/n WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0 Expansion – 4x 40-pin TFM headers for access […]

Inforce Computing 6401 Micro SOM is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 System-on-Module

Inforce Computing announced their 6501 Micro SOM system-on-module based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor in Q2 2015, and the company informed me that they had just unveiled a lower power version based on Snapdragon 600 processor called 6401 Micro SOM, and still featuring WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS connectivity on module. Inforce 6401 Micro SOM: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 (APQ8064) quad core Krait processor up to 1.7 GHz with Adreno 320 GPU, and Hexagon DSP v4 up to 500MHz System Memory – 2GB PoP LPDDR2 @533Mhz (Optional 3GB) Storage – 4GB eMMC v4.4.1/v4.5, with options up to 64GB Connectivity – BT 4.0 , dual band 802.11n/ac Wi-Fi (QCA6234), and GPS (WGR7640) with WiFi and GPS antennas on carrier board Peripherals and I/O via two 100-pin SoM connectors: Video / Display – 1x HDMI, 2x MIPI-DSI (4-lane) & touch screen Audio 4x Line out, 3x Mic-in, 1x headphone out 8-channel […]