MINIX NEO Z64 mini PC powered by Intel Atom Z3735F was unveiled in September 2014, but as other Windows 8.1 Intel based mini PCs hit the market in late December, early January, some people suggested NEO Z64 may end up being vaporware… Fortunately, it appears those people might be wrong, as I’ve been informed of a cached page on DX.com selling the computer for $148.07 with Android 4.4.4 pre-installed. MINIX NEO Z64 specifications remain mostly the same as the ones published in September: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Burst freq up to 1.83 GHz) and Intel HD Graphics System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 32GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth 4.0 Video Output – HDMI 1.4 Audio Output – HDMI, 3.5mm stereo jack USB – 2x USB 2.0 Misc – Power […]
Popcorn Hour VTEN Media Player Powered by Sigma Designs SMP8757 STB SoC Supports 4K, H.265 Codec
Cloud Media must have noticed the shortcomings of Rockchip SDK and RK3288 processor found in their Open Hour Chameleon box with pseudo 4K video playback and only partial audio pass-through capability, and the company have not given up on more traditional Linux based media players with a proven track record, as they’ve just announced Popcorn Hour VTEN featuring the latest Sigma Designs SMP8757 SoC with 4K video output. Popcorn Hour VTEN specifications: SoC – Sigma Designs SMP8757 ARM Cortex A9 processor @ 1.2 GHz with ARM Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1024MB DDR3 Storage – 512MB SLC NAND Flash, 1x eSATA port, 1x SD card slot Video Output – HDMI Audio Output – HDMI, optical S/PDIF, and coaxial S/PDIF Video Containers – MPEG 1/2/4 Elementary, MPEG 1/2 PS, MPEG-2 TS, AVI, ASF, WMV, MKV, MOV (H.264), MP4, 3DMKV, BD-ISO, BDMV, 3D-BD Video Codecs – XViD SD/HD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 MP@HL, MPEG-4.2, […]
MBX-3G is an Android Media Player with a Built-in 3G Modem (Crowdfunding)
Most full sized TV box comes with both Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity, but if you live in remote area internet may not be easily available, except possibly via 3G or LTE. There are several ways to handle that. You could connect a 3G USB dongle to your box, but this assume the firmware on your box supports it, or you could gt one cheap of these cheap routers with a USB port, plug the 3G dongle into it, and connect your media player to the router via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. If you’d rather have a single device with an easier setup, MediaBox MBX-3G could be an interesting option. MediaBox MBX-3G specifications: SoC – Quad core ARM Cortex A9 @ 1.6Ghz with quad core GPU (This looks like Rockchip RK3188) System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8 eMMC flash + microSD slot (up to 32GB) Video & Audio Output – […]
Independent Dual Display Support on Firefly-RK3288 Development Board (Video)
From time to time, I’m being asked which platform can support dual independent displays, and although I noticed Mele A1000 (Allwinner A10) did support dual displays in Linux, I never really investigated how well it handles it, so I normally recommend to have a look at x86 platforms with AMD or Intel processor that specifically claim support for dual independent display. But today, I’ve noticed a developer working for T-Chip posted a nice demo on T-Firefly forums with two displays connected via HDMI and VGA. The demo shows Firefly-RK3288 development board running Android with two displays in three configurations: Display Mirroring – The same content is shown on both display. Especially useful for digital signage application, where one board can drive two displays with the same content Extended Desktop – The user interface is extended on both monitors. It’s like having a single large monitor with a 32:9 aspect ratio […]
Atmel SAMA5D4 Xplained Ultra Development Board Adds HDMI, 720p Video Decoding
Atmel has introduced an upgrade to their Atmel SAMA5D3 Xplained development board with SAMA5D4 Xplained Ultra replacing SAMA5D36 by SAMA5D44 embedded micro-processor for 720p hardware video decoding support, and adding HDMI output, extra storage and memory, etc… but losing one Ethernet port. Atmel SAMA5D4 Xplained Ultra (XLUT) specifications: MPU – Atmel SAMA5D44 Cortex-A5 Microprocessor @ 536 MHz System Memory – 2x 2Gbit DDR2 memory Storage – 4 Gbit NAND Flash, 1x 4-bit SD card connector (not populated), 1x 4-bit micro SD connector, optional serial EEPROM (SPI), one EEPROM with MAC address and serial number. Connectivity – 1x Ethernet 10/100M Display – 1x LCD interface connector, 1x HDMI port USB – 1x micro USB device connector, 2x USB host connectors Debugging – 1x 20-pin J-TAG connector, 1x EDBG connector (not populated), 1x serial DBGU interface (3.3V) Expansion – Arduino R3-compatible headers, XPRO set of connectors; ADC inputs and CAN interfaces Misc […]
Install Ubuntu 14.10 on MeegoPad T01 with a Live ISO Image
MeegoPad T01 has recently been shown to boot Ubuntu and Android, but no installation disk had been provided so far. But thanks to deadhp1, there’s now a “beta” Ubuntu 14.10 image with MATE desktop environment available for download in order to try or install Ubuntu on MeegoPad T01, and other Intel Atom Bay Trail-T devices. Before you decide to try or install the image, be aware that audio and Bluetooth are not working for now, but everything else should work, including hardware video decoding in Kodi. If your device is not using a Realtek rtl8723bs module, Wi-Fi won’t work, and you may need to use a USB Ethernet dongle to get IP connectivity. The instructions will keep your Windows 8.1 installation too, albeit I suppose you could also wipe out the Windows 8.1 partition completely and run Ubuntu only on the device. If the instructions are not followed carefully, you […]
Linux based Vu+ DVB Set-top Boxes Now Support XBMC/Kodi
Vu+ Duo2, Solo2 and Solo SE are high-end Linux based DVB receivers powered by Broadcom processors made by Ceru, and with a relatively active community of users and developers. All three models have recently received support for XBMC in their “Black Hole” firmware. Solo SE is the most recent model having been released in 2014, against Duo2 and Solo2 that have been selling since 2012 according to Wikipedia. Since I’ve never heard about these, I’ll check out Duo2, as it comes with the most features out of the three. Vu+ Duo2 specifications: SoC – Broadcom BCM7424 dual core MIPS processor @ 1.3 GHz with VideoCore IV GPU System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 1 GB NAND flash + SATA III interface for 2.5″ and 3.5″ HDD (internal) + eSATA + Video Output – HDMI, SCART, Composite, and Component (YPbPr) Audio Output – HDMI, stereo audio, and optical S/PDIF Tuners – […]
Mini Review of VidOn Box Android Media Player
Vidon Box is an Allwinner A31s based TV box made by Vidon.me, a Diamond sponsor for Kodi entertainment center. I’ve already listed specs, subscriber services, and uploaded pictures in the unboxing post, so it’s time for a review. Since Allwinner A31s has been around for a while, I’ve decided to write a shorter review. First Boot, Setup, and First Impressions Since the box provides some services with a subscription, with a free 1-year top-up card included, you’ll probably want to register an account on Vidon.me first, as it’s needed to activate all services in the box as shown on the back of the top-up card. After the optional Subscription is $14.99 per year, and it’s only needed if you need features like Blu-ray navigation, or audio pass-through. The simple remote included does the job if you only use the box for settings and XBMC, but otherwise you’ll need an air […]