CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

September 11, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 31 Comments

Amlogic S905 Android TV Boxes, Sticks, and Digital TV Receivers Are Coming Soon

Amlogic S905 is the first 64-bit ARM processor of the company, with four Cortex A53 cores, a Mali-450MP GPU, as well as support for HDMI 2.0, and 10-bit HEVC video decoding. It will come to market before S912 processor featuring a Mali-T7xx GPU, and compete with Rockchip RK3368 octa-core processor. I’ve already features two Amlogic S905 TV boxes a few months ago with Acemax G9C and Eny EM95, but these two products were announced several months before the actual release, and now several other products have been announced, and should become available very soon. Geniatech unveiled two products based on Amlogic S905: ATV495 Android TV box, and ATV1950 Android digital TV receiver with dual ATSC, DVB-T, or ISDBT tuners, while Guleek A8 is an Amlogic S905 Android TV stick. Geniatech ATV495 TV Box ATV495 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905 quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 2.0GHz with a quad […]

September 10, 2015September 28, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Zidoo X6 Pro Android TV Box To Support 4K Videos @ 60 fps, 7.1 Channels Audio Pass-through, and 3D Blu-ray Movies

With their X9 and X1 models, Zidoo selected entry-level hardware, but their latest Zidoo X6 Pro Android TV box, the company went up to mid-range devices with a Rockchip RK3368 octa-core 64-bit processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB eMMC, Gigabit Ethernet, and 802.11ac WiFi. Zidoo X6 Pro technical specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3368 octa core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.5GHz (or is it 1.2GHz?) with PowerVR G6110 GPU System Memory- 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB flash (Meta). micro SD card slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz with CEC and7.1CH pass-through support, 3.5mm AV jack (Composite shared with stereo audio) Audio Output – HDMI, AV (stereo), optical S/PDIF Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 a/b/g/n + 802.11ac (AP6335 module), Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports (including one that supports OTG) Misc – Power button, IR receiver Power Supply – 5V/2A Dimensions – 10.8 x […]

September 9, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Calao Systems SMC-NTEK1 is a SMARC System-on-Module Powered by Nvidia Tegra K1

Calao Systems has introduced a new system-on-module compliant with SGET SMARC specifications, and powered by Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core Cortex A15 processor, that targets embedded systems for vision, video, data analytic and high computing applications. Calao SMC-NTEK1-IXX module specifications: SoC – Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core Cortex A15 processor with a Kepler GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3L Storage – 8 GB e-MMC, 8 MB SPI Flash, 1x EEPROM with unique S/N and MAC address Security – 1x Trusted Platform Module (TPM), 1x Crypto Authentication I/Os via MXM3 edge connector: Storage – SATA 3Gb/s, 1x SDIO Video Output – 1x LVDS, 1x HDMI Video Input / Camera – 2x CSI Audio I/F – 1x I2S, 1x S/PDIF Out Debugging – 1x JTAG Network connectivity – 1x Gigabit Ethernet USB – 2x USB 2.0 Host, 1x USB 2.0 OTG 1x PCIe x1 4x UART, 1x SPI, 3x I2C, 12x GPIO […]

September 8, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

pcDuino8 Uno is an Allwinner H8 Octa-core Development Board with Arduino Headers

H7 Hummingbird development board powered by Allwinner H8 octa-core Cortex A7 processor with support for 1080p H265 video decoding launched this summer, but Merrii does not usually provide much support to individual developers. Linksprite is about to launch a new H8 development board that also comes with Arduino compatible headers. pcDuino8 Uno board specifications: SoC – AllWinner H8 octa-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor @ up to 2.0GHz with PowerVR SGX544 GPU @ up to 700MHz System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – micro SD card slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 1.4 up to 1080p with HDCP support Audio I/O – HDMI, 3.5mm analog audio jack Connectivity – Ethernet (100M LAN shown on board, but “Gbps” listed in specs) USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 2x micro USB ports (1x OTG, 1x power only) Camera – 1x MIPI CSI header Expansion Headers – Arduino Uno headers with 14x […]

September 7, 2015September 7, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Numato Opsis is an Open Source Hardware FPGA Board with 6 Video Inputs and Outputs (Crowdfunding)

Numato Lab is a Bangalore based company specializing in MCU and FPGA boards such as the low cost Mimas V2 Spartan 6 board, and their latest board is also based on a Spartan 6 FPGA, but a more powerful part with LX45T FPGA, and targets video applications with two HDMI inputs, two HDMI outputs, one DisplayPort output, and one DisplayPort input, among other interfaces. Instead of simply listing specifications of Numato Opsis, I’ll reproduce a table – drawn by Numato – showing Opsis features and specifications against some other FPGA video platforms. Opsis miniSpartan6+ Mixxeo Atlys Nexys Anvyl CVK 2.0 AVDB Make Numato ScarabHardware M‑Labs Digilent Digilent Digilent TED OmniTek License Open Open Open Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Cost USD $349 USD $105 no stock USD $419 USD $499 USD $539 USD $2,995 USD $999 FPGA Fab Xilinx Xilinx Xilinx Xilinx Xilinx Xilinx Xilinx Altera Family Spartan‑6 Spartan‑6 Spartan‑6 Spartan‑6 Artix‑7 Spartan‑6 Spartan‑6 Cyclone V Part LX45T […]

September 6, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Marsboard AM335X Development Board Features a TI Sitara AM335x SoM

Haoyu Electronics brought us several Allwinner and Rockchip Marsboard in the past few years, and now they’ve released a version based on Texas Instruments AM335x processor, with a form factor and features similar to the Beaglebone Black, but comprised of a baseboard and system-on-module. Marsboard AM335x board specifications: CM-AM335x System-on-module: SoC – Texas Instrument AM335x (AM3358) ARM Cortex A8 processor @ 1Ghz with SGX530 3D GPU System Memory – 512MB DDR3 SDRAM Storage – 4GB eMMC Flash Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet PHY (LAN8710A) SoM Connectors – two 50×2 pin headers, 1.27mm pitch Misc – Power Indicator LED Power Management Unit – TPS65910 SIM-AM335X Baseboard Video Output – HDMI type A socket (via TDA19988 LCD to HDMI converter) Storage – mircro SD slot (bottom of the board) Connectivity – RJ45 connector for Fast Ethernet USB – 1x USB 2.0 Host port, 1x micro USB port Debugging – 14-pin JTAG interface (not […]

September 5, 2015September 5, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

CX-S500 is a Xiaomi Mi Box Mini Clone with Amlogic S805 Processor and a USB Port

Earlier this year I reviewed Xiaomi Mi Box Mini, and so far this year it’s one of my most popular blog posts despite being basically usable for non Chinese speakers, and lacking a USB port. A Chinese company decided it might be a good idea to design an Android mini PC lookalike, but powered by Amlogic S805, while also adding a much needed USB port. C-S500 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S805 quad core ARM Cortex A5 @ 1.5GHz with quad core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1 GB RAM Storage – 8 GB NAND flash Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi (Realtek RTL8723) , and Bluetooth Video & Audio Output – HDMI USB – 1x USB 2.0 port Power Supply – Integrated into device. Probably 100-240V input (TBC) Dimensions – TBD (Specs listed as 208 x 83.05 x 22 mm, but clearly wrong) Weight – N/A The company (Sunchip?) did not […]

September 4, 2015June 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

LimiFrog is a Bluetooth 4.1 Wearables Devkit Based on STM32L4 with Lots of Sensors (Crowdfunding)

LimitFrog is a tiny board powered by STMicro STM32-L4 microcontroller with Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity, plenty of sensors, and that can run code bare metal as well as RiOT real-time operating system. LimiFrog specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32-L4 ARM Cortex M4 micro-controller @ 80 MHz with DSP, 512KB flash, 128KB RAM External storage – 8MB serial flash for data that supports FAT32 file system Display – 160×128 RGB565 OLED display Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.1 (Panasonic PAN1740) Sensors (Follow this link for datasheets of most components) Pressure, altitude & temperature (LPS25H) 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope (LSM6DS3) 3-axis magnetometer (LIS3MDL) Ambient light, proximity and distance (VL6180X) Ambient sound (SPU0414H5H) USB – micro USB port for power and programming Expansions – 11-pin (through holes) providing access to SPI, I2C, CAN, PWM, GPIOs, ADC, DAC, Analog out, and power signals (3V out GND) Battery – 500 mAh (hours to weeks of battery life depending on […]