CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

August 30, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

MOI Pro AMD IPTV Streaming Server Supports Up to 16 Tuners

TBS Technologies is a company specializing in digital TV tuners, with their catalog includes various DVB-T2, DVB-C, DVB-S2 and ATSC tuner cards. They also happen to be the designer of Matrix board and Matrix 2 Android set-top box, both of which run Android or Linux and support some of the company’s tuners. But they also have higher end products such as MOI Pro AMD IPTV streamer based on an AMD Embedded G-Series processor, and supporting up to 4 tuner cards with up to 4 tuners each. TBS MOI Pro AMD specifications: SoC – AMD GX-412HC quad core processor @ 1.2GHz with AMD Radeon HD GPU @ 300MHz (7W TDP) System Memory – 4GB DDR3-1333 Storage – 30GB mSATA SSD, 1x SATA @ 6.0Gb/s, Video Output – 1x HDMI, 1x VGA (reserved connection?) Connectivity – 2x Gigabit Ethernet Tuners – Up to 4 PCIe TV tuner cards (DVB-S2 or DVB-T2/T/C) for […]

August 29, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Connect an Android Smartphone or Tablet to a Monitor, USB Keyboard and Mouse Easily with a DisplayLink Docking Station

Following my post featuring Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition smartphone with 256GB internal storage and 4GB RAM, I had an interesting discussion about mobile and desktop convergence, and we had different views on how this may pan out and what the consumers want, but we all basically agreed this was still work in progress. Another reader pointed me to his various attempts to conveniently connect his Android smartphone and tablet to a large monitor together with keyboard and mouse. He basically considered – and in most cases tested – four choices: Wireless Display solution (Miracast, Chromecast, EZcast…) together with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse Micro USB port with MHL using a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse Slimport adapter based on MHL but with USB port for keyboard and mouse. Here’s on example of Slimport to HDMI adapter ($10). Displaylink docking station with HDMI and VGA, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0 Wireless display […]

August 28, 2015August 28, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Asus Zenphone 2 Deluxe Edition Smartphone Comes with 256 GB Storage, 4GB RAM

As far as I’m concerned the talk about a “Post-PC” area is just that: talk. As long as the hardware specifications of smartphones don’t match the ones of entry-level computers, and mobile operating systems don’t support a desktop mode, desktop PCs will still be popular, and I can see it everyday as 60 to 70% of visits of this very blog are made with Windows, Linux and Mac OS computers. However, that’s not to say mobile and desktop converge is not getting closer, as on the software side, Canonical is working on bring Ubuntu to different form factors and support desktop mode for mobile desktop, and Microsoft is also working on Continuum, and on the hardware side, Asus announced a smartphone with 256 GB storage and 4GB RAM, which is pretty close to the specifications of an entry-level computer these days. Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe Edition specifications: SoC – Intel […]

August 28, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Ubuntu 14.04 / 15.04 Tested in Tronsmart Ara X5 Cherry Trail Mini PC

After reviewing Tronsmart Ara X5 with Windows 10, I decided to give a try at Ubuntu. Initially I downloaded Ubuntu 15.04 Desktop 64-bit ISO image, and prepare a bootable USB drive with UNetbootin in my computer running Ubuntu 14.04. But after inserting the USB flash drive into Ara X5, and pressing F7, there was no options to select the drive, so I went to UEFI settings, and the drive was clearly detected, but not available as a bootable device. Finally, having heard one company booted Ubuntu on MeegoPad T04 using Rufus, and Tronsmart confirming Ubuntu 14.04 could boot on Ara X5 using Pendrive Linux USB installer, I decided to try again with Windows tools, and prepared an Ubuntu 15.04 image with Rufus. Great! Pressing F7 would show the USB flash drive, and I could boot Ubuntu 15.04. But unfortunately audio output is not working (only Dummy output), nor is WiFi […]

August 28, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

The First Intel Core M Skylake-Y Low Power Processors: Core M3 6Y30, M5 6Y54, M5 6Y57 and M5 6Y75

Last year, Intel unveiled Core M Broadwell-Y processors with 4.5W TDP aimed at laptops and tablets, and offering a middle ground between the performance achieved by Atom/Celeron/Pentium processor and the more powerful Core i3/i5/i7 processors. CPU World has now released details about the new Skylake-Y Core M processor that still feature 2 cores and 4 threads, as well as a TDP of 4.5W. There are now four models: Model Cores / Threads Frequency / Turbo L3 cache Graphics GPU Frequency TDP Core m3 6Y30 2 / 4 900 MHz / 2.2 GHz 4 MB HD 515 300 / 850 MHz 4.5 Watt Core m5 6Y54 1.1 / 2.7 GHz 300 / 900 MHz Core m5 6Y57 1.1 / 2.8 GHz 300 / 900 MHz Core m5 6Y75 1.2 / 3.1 GHz 300 / 1000 MHz The processors have the same number of cores and thread, the same amount of L3 […]

August 27, 2015August 28, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Tronsmart Orion R68 Meta mini PC Unboxing and Teardown

I’ve already reviewed one Rockchip RK3368 mini PC with Beelink i68, and found out that although HDMI 2.0 up to 2160p60 was working, there was still some work to do to have 4K 60 fps videos playing smoothly, and compared to Rockchip RK3288 device performance was – as expected – significantly lower. But I now have a new RK3368 device to play with as GeekBuying has now sent me their Tronsmart Orion R68 Meta with higher specifications including Gigabit Ethernet support, 802.11ac support, and 16GB storage (vs just 8GB for Beelink i68 sample I received previously). Tronsmart Orion R68 Meta Unboxing GeekBuying sent me the package via DHL, which seems the preferred courier of many resellers who provide samples. Tronsmart Orion R68 is in a retail package with complete specifications at the back. There are two models for Orion R68: Meta (2GB RAM, 16GB eMMC, GbE, and AP6335 wileress module) […]

August 27, 2015August 27, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

Review of Mygica ATV586 Android Set-Top Box with DVB-T2 Tuner

I’ve already tested some Android TV boxes with tuners such as HD18T (DVB-T2) and WeTek Play (DVB-S2) , but they were all based on Amlogic AML8726-MX dual core processor. Geniatech recently sent me Mygica ATV586 quad core Android DVB-T2 receiver based on Amlogic S805 processor. I’ve already taken a few pictures, and look at the hardware components, so today, I’ll write the review, mainly focusing on the live TV program capabilities including PVR and Timeshifting. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions I’ve connected a hard drive, a webcam, MeLE F10 Deluxe RF dongle, and a keyboard (for screenshots) to the device’s USB ports, as well as HDMI and Ethernet cables, and a TV antenna cable, before connecting the 5V power adapter to start the device. When everything is connected, the boot takes about 1 minute 35 seconds, but without USB devices, it drops down to 44 seconds. Boot time is […]

August 27, 2015August 27, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Rockchip’s Light Work OS Makes Android Look Like Windows

Android is not exactly great to use as a desktop PC, so there’s been various attempts to improve this for Android boxes, tablets, and laptops for example with Remix OS, bringing a more desktop-like user experience. Rockchip showcased multi-window supports in some tablets a while ago, and now they have “Light Work OS”, an operating system based on Android 5.1 that feature a start menu and multiple windows support. PiPo even decided to use a background image with Windows logo in their PiPo X9 tablet powered by Rockchip RK3288. The problem with Android used as a mini PC goes much further than the lack start menu or window mode, but copy/paste can be a pain, and things you take for granted on desktop, simply may not be available in Android apps: some graphics elements may not be clickable, some website features may not work properly (I’m thinking WordPress editing here..), […]