CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 6, 2017July 26, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

U5PVR Deluxe Set-Top Box & NAS Review – Part 2: Android TV, Debian, and Live TV App

U5PVR Deluxe is an set-top box with digital TV tuners that runs Android TV 5.1, and support 2.5″ and 3.5″ hard drive. I’ve received a model with a dual DVB-T/T2 tuner, and already posted “U5 PVR Deluxe Android Set-Top Box Review – Part 1: Specs, Unboxing, Teardown, and SATA HDD Assembly” a few weeks ago, where I described the hardware, and I inserted a one terabytes 3.5″ hard drive. I’ve now had time to test the device, but it took much longer than expected due to a partial firmware update issue, which forced me to redo many of the tests. There are also some undocumented features, so if you want to make the most of the device, be prepared to spend time in the forums. U5PVR Connections, OTA Firmware Update, and Setup Wizard The box have one USB 3.0 ports, and three USB 2.0 ports, so most people won’t need […]

June 6, 2017July 11, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Review of Vorke Z3 Android Mini PC with SATA – Part 1: Unboxing & Teardown

After Yundoo Y8 review, I’ve received another Rockchip RK3399 mini PC for review: Vorke Z3, which was sent to me by GeekBuying. Both devices are quite similar for Vorke Z3 adds an external SATA interface, and two external high-gain antennas. I was also expecting Android 7.1 Nougat on Z3, but I’ve been told the current SDK has too many bugs, so the device still ships with Android 6.0.1. I’ll start the review by looking into the hardware inside out, before reporting on my experience with the firmware in the second part in a few weeks. Vorke Z3 Unboxing The retail package is quite bland, but most people will probably not care a bit about this little detail. The devices ships with a 12V/2A power supply, a simple IR remote control, a HDMI cable, a SATA cable, and Vorke Z3 “4K media player” user manual. The device feels of good quality […]

June 6, 2017June 6, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

A64-OLinuXino Open Source Hardware Allwinner A64 Development Board Launched for 50 Euros

Several boards based on Allwinner A64 quad core 64-bit ARM processor have been available on the market for a while, with products such as Pine A64(+), NanoPi A64, or Banana Pi BPI-M64. Olimex also has been working on A64-OLinuXino since late 2015, and the company has now formally launched the board for 50 Euros, which also happens to be the very first open source hardware board based on Allwinner A64. A64-OLinuXino Rev. C board specifications: SoC – Allwinner A64 quad core Cortex-A53 processor with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1 or 2GB DDR3L @ 672 MHz Storage – micro SD slot, Optional 4 or 16GB industrial grade eMMC flash, optional SPI Flash Video Output & Display I/F – HDMI, 20-pin MIPI & 40-pin LCD display connectors Audio – Via HDMI, 3.5mm Audio In and Out jacks (Headphone output and microphone input can be changed to Line-in and Line-out via jumpers) […]

June 5, 2017June 26, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 33 Comments

A95X R2 (Rockchip RK3328) TV Box Review – Part 1: Specifications, Unboxing & Teardown

Rockchip RK3328 is a new TV box SoC competing with Amlogic S905(X) TV boxes thanks to its quad core Cortex A53 processor, Mali-450MP GPU, HDMI 2.0a, and its 4K VPU with HDR support. We’ve already seen a few products launched with the processor such as A5X Plus, and T98 4K Ultra HD TV boxes, but I’ve only just received my first RK3328 TV box – courtesy of GearBest – with A95X R2 model. In the first part of the review, I’ll go through the specifications, and check out the devices, and the hardware design, before testing the firmware in several weeks. A95X R2 TV Box Specifications SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash + micro SD card Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR10 and […]

June 5, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

MediaTek Unveils MT7686, MT7682, and MT5932 WiFi SoCs for IoT and Smart Home Applications

Beside announcing MT7622 SoC for WiFi and Bluetooth 5 gateways and routers last week, Mediatek also introduced three “next generation” WiFi SoCs for the IoT and the Smart Home market during Computex 2017, namely MT7686, MT7682, and MT5932. Mediatek MT7686 is a wide temperature range WiFi SoC for appliances: MCU – ARM Cortex-M4F @ 192 MHz System Memory – 4MB + 384KB RAM Storage – 4 MB flash with XIP support Connectivity – Low-power 1T1R 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi subsystem Peripherals – SDIO I/F, UART, I2C, SPI, I2S, PWM, and auxiliary ADC Power Supply – Integrated Power Management Unit (PMU) Power Consumption – Connected DTIM1 <0.7mA Temperature Range – “Wide” Package – QFN48 (6x6mm) Mediatek MT7682 is promoted as a cost-effective, integrated SoC for multi-Cloud platforms: MCU – ARM Cortex-M4F @ 192 MHz System Memory – 384KB RAM Storage – 512 KB or 1 MB flash with XIP support Connectivity – […]

June 5, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Axiomtek NA345R is an Intel Celeron/Atom Apollo Lake Powered 1U Network Appliance with 6 Gigabit LANs

Axiomtek has just introduced an update to its Braswell based NA343R network appliance with NA345R 1U rackmount network appliance powered by either Intel Celeron N3350 or Intel Atom x5-E3940 Apollo Lake processor, and featuring 6 Gigabit Ethernet ports connected through Intel i211 Ethernet controller, and targeting VPN, network bandwidth controller, and firewall applications. Axiomtek NA345R rack server system specifications: SoC (either one) Intel Celeron N3350 dual core processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.4 GHz (Burst frequency) with 12EU Intel HD Graphics 500 (6W TDP) Intel Atom x5-E3940 quad core processor @ 1.6 / 1.8 GHz with 12EU Intel HD Graphics 500 (9.5W TDP) System Memory – 1x SO-DIMM DDR3L-1866 up to 8GB RAM non-ECC memory Storage – 1x 2.5″ SATA 3.0 HDD, 1x mSATA, one optional 3.5″ SATA HDD, AMI BIOS Video Output – HDMI port, optional VGA port Connectivity – 6x Gigabit Ethernet via Intel i211 Ethernet controller, one […]

June 4, 2017June 4, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Nordic Thingy:52 Bluetooth 5 IoT Sensor Development Kit Targets Mobile & Web App Developers

Some developers may be interested in providing solutions for the Internet of Things, but they may not have the skills or interest in making their own hardware, and/or develop firmware, and just want to create demos or prototypes quickly, focusing on app development instead. Nordic Semiconductors has recently launched Thingy:52 IoT Sensor Kit with Bluetooth 5 & NFC connectivity, and various sensors for those developers. Nordic:52 IoT Sensor development kit (nRF6936) hardware specifications: MCU – Nordic Semi nRF52832 ARM Cortex-M4F Bluetooth 5 System on Chip (SoC) Connectivity – Bluetooth 5 LE and NFC Sensors Temperature,Humidity, Air pressure, Air quality (CO2 and TVOC), color and light intensity 9-axis motion sensing – Tap detection, orientation, step counter, quaternions, euler angles, rotation matrix, gravity vector, compass heading, raw accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass data Audio Speaker for playing prestored samples, tones, or sound streamed over BLE (8-bit 8 kHz LoFi) Microphone streaming (ADPCM compressed […]

June 3, 2017June 3, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Zotac PI225 Ultra Slim Apollo Lake Mini PC is Smaller than a 2.5″ SSD, About as Thick as a Smartphone

We’ve covered a large number of tiny mini PCs and TV sticks powered by Intel processors, but usually they are thicker than your smartphone because of USB, HDMI, and Ethernet ports if the latter is included. Zotac decided to leverage USB type C data and display capabilities to do away with USB & HDMI ports, and used a micro USB port for power in their latest Zotac PI225 mini PC resulting in an ultra thin (8mm) mini PC that is smaller than a 2.5″ SSD. Zotac PI225 mini PC specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N3350 dual core “Apollo Lake” processor @ 1.1 / 2.4 GHz with 12 EU Intel HD Graphics 500 (6W TDP) System Memory – 4 GB LPDDR3 Storage – 32 GB eMMC flash, micro SDXC slot USB – 2x USB 3.0 type C connectors with data and DisplayPort support Connectivity – 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 Power […]