Kodi 14.2 Linux Ported to Rockchip RK3288 with VPU Hardware Decoding

Rockchip RK3288 is one of the most popular platforms for TV boxes, and while most boxes are sold with Android OS, it can also run various Linux distributions with two main caveats: 2D/3D GPU acceleration, and hardware video decoding by the VPU. It appears the last two have been worked on, as yesterday, I got tipped that Kodi 14.2 Linux was running on Ugoos UT3 and Radxa Rock2 Square. Since both hardware platforms showcased a Kodi port at the about same time, it’s probably safe to assume they use the same implementation (despite slightly different build dates May 29 vs June 6), which has been developed by “Marc” (or is it MAC?) using the Android libraries and libhybris for video decoding, raw2 device driver for 2D HW accelerated blitting and converting frames, and ARM OpenGL library, driver and examples, among other software packages. So let’s check the demos starting with […]

Tronsmart Ara BJ19 is an NUC-like Mini PC Powered by Intel Celeron J1900 Processor

Tronsmart has launched several ARM based TV boxes in the last couple of years, but now they’ve now unveiled an Intel based mini PC with Tronsmart Ara BJ19. The barebone PC looks very much like an Intel NUC, and features an Intel Celeron J1900 Bay Trail-D quad core processor. Tronsmart Ara BJ19 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J1900 Quad core processor  @ 2.0 GHz (base) / 2.41 GHz (burst) with Intel HD graphics (10W TDP) System Memory –  DDR3L 1333/1666 MHz SO-DIMM slot Storage – 2.5″ SATA hard drive or SSD Video Output – mini HDMI + mini DisplayPort Audio – mini HDMI, 3.5 mm jack for headphone and MIC-in Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, mPCIe Wi-Fi (2.4GHz) and Bluetooth 4.0 module USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x USB 3.0 port. Misc – Power button, power LED Power Supply – 19V/2.1A Dimensions –  116.6 x 112 x 5.1 mm […]

Khadas Edge2 Arm mini PC

ODROID-XU4 Development Board is a Smaller and Cheaper Version of ODROID-XU3 Board

Many people are expecting Hardkernel to launch an Exynos 7 board, but this won’t be with ODROID-XU4, maybe with ODROID-XU5, as the latest development board from Hardkernel is a modified version of ODROID-XU3 with the same Exynos 5422 octa-core processor with four Cortex-A15 cores @ 2GHz and four Cortex-A7 cores. ODROID-XU4 board specifications (differences with ODROID-XU3 highlighted and sometimes crossed out in bold): SoC – Samsung Exynos 5422 quad core ARM Cortex-A15 @ 2.0GHz quad core ARM Cortex-A7 @ 1.4GHz with Mali-T628 MP6 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.0 / 2.0 / 1.1 and OpenCL 1.1 Full profile System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3 RAM PoP (750 MHz, 12GB/s memory bandwidth, 2x32bit bus) Storage – Micro SD slot (up to 64GB) + eMMC 5.0 module socket (16, 32, and 64GB modules available) Video Output – micro HDMI (Up to 1080p) and DisplayPort (up to 2160p) Audio Output – HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack, […]

Linux Based Zsun WiFi Card Reader Has Been Hacked Too…

A little while ago, I purchased Zsun SD111 W-Fi USB flash drive, and after several tentatives, I finally found a way to access the device’s serial console. Since then the company announced another wireless storage device with Zsun Wi-Fi card reader, and Zoobab decided to try to hack it too. Since the device is pretty hard to open without damaging the enclosure, connecting the serial pin was not really an option, and the first exploit was to input shell commands in the web interface SSID field… For example, entering reboot there, would indeed reboot the device. However, this would still not allow full shell access, and finally after a broader port scan, it was found out that TCP port 11880 was open for telnet daemon. You can then access the shell as root with the same password as SD111: “zsun1188”. For some reasons, telnet can’t work with the device, and […]

Intel Braswell Motherboards (N3150 / N3050) Are Now Available for $60 and Up

Intel recently launched Braswell processors to succeed to their Bay Trail processor family, using 14nm lithography, a newer generation Intel GPU, more L2 cache, and various other improvements. Some ASRock motherboards based on such processors are now listed on Newegg starting at $58.99 with ASRock N3050B-ITX motherboard (dual core processor), and $69.99 for the quad core version (ASRock N3150B-ITX). Apart from the different processors, both mini-ITX motherboard mostly share the same specifications: SoC Intel Celeron N3050 dual core processor @ up to 2.16 GHz with Intel HD Graphics Gen8 @ up to 600 MHz – 6W TDP Intel Celeron N3150 quad core processor @ up to 2.08 GHz with Intel HD Graphics Gen8 @ up to 640 MHz – 6W TDP System Memory – 2x 240-pin DDR3/DDR3L 1600/1066 for up to 16GB RAM Storage – 2 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, support NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug Audio Codec – […]

WeTek OpenELEC Box Comes with DVB or ATSC Tuners for $91

WeTek Play TV boxes are Android set-top boxes with DVB-T2/C2, DVB-S2, or ATSC tuner powered by Amlogic AML8726-MX dual core Cortex A9 processor. Even though the hardware is not the greatest right now, I found that it did a pretty good job with video playback and digital TV playback and recording in my review of the DVB-S2 version. The company also provided various images including one using OpenELEC, a Linux based distribution running Kodi only. But now, if you’d rather have OpenELEC pre-installed in the box, instead other Android, WeTek made an OpenELEC box based on the same hardware platform selling for $90.55 on OpenELEC website. OpenELEC box has mostly the same hardware specifications as WeTek Play: SoC – Amlogic AML8726-MX dual core Cortex A9 @ 1.5GHz with Mali-400MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4 GB NAND flash + 1x micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI, […]

UP 7000 SBC

Rockchip RK3368 based Beelink i68 Media Player Sells for $66 and Up

The 64-bit ARM TV boxes are coming either with Rockchip Rk3368, Amlogic S905, or Allwinner A64, but so far I could not find much price information. The good news is that the first 64-bit ARM mini PCs will be cheap, as Beelink i68, powered by Rockchip RK3368 octa-core Cortex A53 processor, is listed for as low as $66.35 with 1GB RAM on Gearbest, but you can also select the 2GB RAM version for $81.68. Using coupon BI68 will reduce the price further by one or two dollars. Beelink i68 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3368 octa core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz with PowerVR G6110 GPU System Memory – 1 or 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + SD card slot up to 64GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz Audio Output – HDMI, optical S/PDIF Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 […]

96Boards Enterprise Edition Specification Published

When AMD announces its 96Boards Enterprise Edition complaint server board, I could read quite a few complains because the board used a non-standard form-factor such as mini-ITX. The first version 96Boards Enterprise Edition specification has now been published, and the goods news is that there are two versions: the low cost ($199 to $399) “Standard version” with the new proprietary format, and likely more expensive “MicroATX version” that must complies with MicroATX v1.2 specs. The minimum hardware requirements are listed as follows: Small form factor Standard EE version – 160 x 120mm microATX EE version – 244 x 244mm Design is SoC independent (targets 32 or 64 bit SoCs) 1GB RAM (16GB strongly recommended for server software development) Minimum on-board connectors and expansion I/O 1x Serial over USB UART with microUSB interface 2x USB 1x RJ45 Ethernet Standard version board power from low cost 12V DC Jack connector or standard […]

Khadas VIM4 SBC