After skipping MXQ-4K TV box review due to severe issues with video playback, Zidoo X1 II is actually the first device powered by Rockchip RK3229 processor that I’ve fully tested. I’ve already taken pictures of the box, and opened it up to check the board in Zidoo X1 II unboxing and teardown post, and confirmed 4K videos could play pretty well from my USB hard drive using Zidoo Media Center after disabling Media Scanner process. So today, I’ll review other parts of the firmware, as well as video playback with ZDMC 16.0, Zidoo’s fork of Kodi 16.0. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions The device only has two USB ports, and I used one for a USB hard drive, and the other for RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse, a USB keyboard, and the RF dongle for Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad via a USB hub. I also […]
Linus Torvalds released Linux Kernel 4.5 on Sunday: So this is later on a Sunday than my usual schedule, because I just couldn’t make up my mind whether I should do another rc8 or not, and kept just waffling about it. In the end, I obviously decided not to,but it could have gone either way. We did have one nasty regression that got fixed yesterday, and the networking pull early in the week was larger than I would have wished for. But the block layer should be all good now, and David went through all his networking commits an extra time just to make me feel comfy about it, so in the end I didn’t see any point to making the release cycle any longer than usual. And on the whole, everything here is pretty small. The diffstat looks a bit larger for an xfs fix, because that fix has […]
Rockchip RK3229 is an exciting media processor because it’s found in ultra low cost TV Boxes such as MXQ-4K, outputs up to 4K @ 60 Hz, and supports 4K video decoding of 10-bit H.264, 10-bit H.265 and VP9, including videos with very high bitrates (200+ Mbps). That’s the theory, which I’ve put to the test with MXQ-4K TV box. Since the network interfaces of the device are limited to 100M Ethernet and 802.11n WiFi, and some videos are well above 100 Mbps, I’ve decided to test video playback from a USB hard drive instead. I’ve tried the three pre-installed video player apps: Kodi 15.1, “Video”, and “Video Player” , and they all have similar capabilities except Kodi is a little less stable on this device. The system detected my 4K TV (LG ) and automatically set the resolution to 3840×2160 @ 60 Hz, which I used for the remainder of […]
MXQ 4K TV box list of features is rather impressive, as the 4K media player packs support for high bitrate (200 Mbps+) 10-bit H.265 and H.264, as well as VP9 at 4K resolution, 4 USB ports, Ethernet, and HDMI 2.0 for just $30. That price includes shipping. We just don’t know how it performs, but we’ll soon find out as GeekBuying sent me a sample for review. I’ll start by checking out the hardware, before testing it over a few days, and write a complete review. MXQ 4K Unboxing The retail package shows MXQ-4K “OTT TV Box” and some of the key selling points like Kodi support, 4K, HEVC/H.265, and son on. You’ll also find the Android 4.4 Kitkat logo since strangely Rockchip did not provide an Android 5.x SDK for their low cost processor. The device ships with an IR remote control, a 5V/2A power supply, an HDMI cable, […]
Rockchip RK3229 is a low cost 4K SoC that supports 10-bit H.265 up to 4K @ 60 fps and 10-bit H.264 and VP9 up to 4K @ 30 fps, and found in inexpensive TV boxes such as MXQ 4K. Zidoo has decided to design a new product based on the processor, with the same enclosure as Allwinner H3 based Zidoo X1 TV box, and aptly called Zidoo X1 II. Zidoo X1 II specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3229 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-400MP2 System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot up to 32GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K2K @ 60 fps, and 3.5mm AV output (composite) Connectivity – 100Mbps Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Misc – IR receiver Power Supply – 5V/2A […]
Ugoos UT4 is one of many Rockchip RK3368 TV boxes available on the market today, but it’s one of the model with higher-end specifications including 2 GB RAM, and 16 GB flash, as well as Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11ac WiFi, Ugoos offers regular firmware updates for their devices, and as I found out in Ugoos UT4 specs and teardown post, the mini PC features a fan to keep the device cool at all times. Today, I’ll focus on reviewing the firmware including video playback capabilities, performance and whether advertised features work as they should. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions Before powering on the device, I connected some cables (Ethernet, HDMI, optical audio, AV to speakers), and made use of all four USB ports with a USB hard drive, a webcam, a keyboard, and a USB hub with two RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart […]
We’ve already seen Rockchip RK3229 quad core processor with 4K 10-bit H.264 and H.265, and 4K VP9 support announced at CES 2016. Sunchip CX-R9 will be one of the first devices on the market with the new processor, and includes 1GB RAM and 8GB storage. Sunchip CX-R9 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3229 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-400MP2 System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC + SD card reader Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K2K @ 60 fps Audio Output – HDMI, and optical S/PDIF Video Codec – 4K2K 10-bit H.265 @ 60 fps (Up to 200 Mbps), 4K 10-bit H.264 @ 30 fps (Up to 250 Mbps) and 4K 8-bit VP9 @ 30 fps (Up to 200 Mbps) Connectivity – 100Mbps Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports, including on OTG port […]
With their RK3066 and RK3188 processor, Rockchip has been a clear winner in 2013 at least when it comes with HDMI TV stick, and possibly to a lesser extend with Android STBs. It has not been has popular as AllWinner SoC with development board, with only Radxa board available, due to the company policy with regards to open source software. Yet some documentation, tools and source code have either been leaked, or developed by the developers’ community. I’ll provide links to tutorials and how-tos for RK3066, RK3188, RK3288, RK3328, and RK3399 among others in this page. Rockchip Android How-tos This section only refers to Windows based tools provided by Rockchip or third parties. Some Android apps require root access, so I’ve posted simple how-tos for RK3066 and RK3188 devices. Firmware upgrade instruction may also be useful. Both rooting and upgrading firmware require Rockchip USB driver, and in the past people […]
