CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

August 19, 2016August 19, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 51 Comments

WeTek Play 2 4K Android Set-top Box with ATSC, DVB-S2 or DVB-T2 Tuners is up for Pre-order for $120

With WeTek Play 2, initially unveiled as WeTek Play+, we now have a successor to WeTek Play with the same ATSC, DVB-S2/S, DVB-T2/T/C tuners, but much better specs thanks to Amlogic S905-H processor, 8GB storage, 2GB memory, and support for HDMI 2.0 and 4K60Hz video decoding allowing you to watch 4K UHD channels via your satellite dish for example. The device can be pre-ordered for $119.90 with the tuner of your choice, and shipping is slated to start on September 6th. WeTek Play 2 specifications have changed slightly since January: SoC – Amlogic S905-H rev. C quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 2.0GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU @ 750 MHz System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 8 GB eMMC 5.0 flash + micro SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz with HDCP 2.2 support Audio – HDMI, optical S/PDIF Video codecs […]

August 18, 2016August 18, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Teensy 3.5 & 3.6 Boards Feature NXP Kinetis K64 & K66 MCUs (Crowdfunding)

Paul Stoffregen has been making Teensy USB MCU development boards since 2008, and has just launched the latest Teensy 3.5 & 3.6 boards powered by NXP (previously Freescale) Kinetis K64 & K66 ARM Cortex-M4 MCUs with a micro USB port for power and programming, a micro SD slot, and several I/Os. Boards specifications: MCU Teensy 3.5 (T3.5) – NXP Kinetis K64 ARM Cortex M4 MCU @ 120 MHz with FPU, 512KB flash, 192 KB RAM, 4K EEPROM Teensy 3.6 (T3.6) – NXP Kinetis K66 ARM Cortex M4 MCU @ 180 MHz with FPU, 1MB flash, 256KB RAM, 4K EEPROM Storage – micro SD card port USB – 1x USB Full Speed (12 Mbit/sec) Port; T3.6 only: 480 Mbit/sec host port Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet mac 62x I/O Pins (42 breadboard friendly) 25x Analog Inputs to 2 ADCs with 13 bits resolution 2x Analog Outputs (DACs) with 12 bit resolution 20x […]

August 18, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Intel Atom T5500 & T5700 Processors Architecture and (Estimated) Benchmarks

Intel announced their Joule Compute Module yesterday, but did not provide that many details about the new Intel Atom T5500 and T5700 processors used in the module. Liliputing got some more details with slides from an IDF16 presentation entitled “Accelerating Innovation With Next-Generation Intel® Atom™ Processor-Based Platform” that now require authentication for download, but we have the most important slide already starting with the block diagram. Intel Atom T5500 and T5700 SoC are both quad core Atom x7 processor, but they are based on Intel Goldmont architecture, as used in Celeron & Pentium Apollo Lake processor to be featured in laptop and mini PCs, and embed a newer 18EU Intel Gen9 graphics and media GPU with Quick Sync technology for 4K video encoding and decoding using H.265, H.264, and VP9/VP8 codecs. They also feature various peripherals and features that you’d expected in an IoT processor including: a Sensor Hub processor […]

August 18, 2016November 26, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Getting Started with B&T RTL-00 RTL8710 Module – Serial Console, AT Commands, and ESP8266 Pin-to-Pin Compatibility

The announcement of the ultra-low cost ARM based Realtek RTL8710 WiFi modules for IoT applications generated quite a lot of buzz since they can potentially compete with the popular ESP8266 modules. The main problem at the time was documentation and software support, but after some searches we could find that RTL8710 was part of Realtek Ameba family, and found some documents and an SDK for RTL8710/RTL8711/RTL8195. ICStation also kindly provided one B&T RTL-00 module for review, which costs $3.55 shipped per unit, and as low as $2.85 if you purchase 10 or more. The question here is how to get started? The answer can be found in page 8 of the Chinese datasheet for the module with GB0 and GB1 pins used for Tx and Rx to access the serial console. Time for some soldering… For the first test, we’ll just need Tx (GB1), Rx (GB0), GND and 3.3V, and […]

August 17, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Beelink GT1 Android TV Box Powered by Amlogic S912 Sells for $56 (Promo)

In a recent list of Amlogic S912 TV boxes we found out that factory prices ranged between $47 to $54 for typical devices with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage, but you can only get those price by buying in quantities, and they don’t include shipping. However, GearBest has just informed me they lowered Beelink GT1 prices to $55.99 shipped with GBGT1 coupon, which – provided the box works well – looks like a good bargain. Beelink GT1 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S912 octa-core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ up to 2.0GHz with ARM Mali-820MP3 @ up to 750MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, micro SD slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0a Audio Output – HDMI and optical S/PDIF Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports Misc – IR receiver Power Supply – […]

August 17, 2016August 17, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 26 Comments

Allwinner R40 Quad Core ARM Processor, Successor of Allwinner A20, Supports SATA & Gigabit Ethernet

One of the most common complaints I get from readers when I publish news about new ARM processor is “Why didn’t they include SATA?”. So far Allwinner A20 is the only really low cost ARM processor that includes a SATA port, but it’s been released a few years, and its dual core Cortex A7 processor is getting old. We’ve been hearing rumors about an upgraded version for one or two years with Allwinner A40 or more recently Allwinner A20E, and finally the company has now published details about Allwinner R40 processor on their revamped website, which they claim to be the successor of Allwinner A20. Allwinner R40 key specifications: CPU – Quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 Processor GPU – Mali-400 MP2 GPU Memory I/F – 32-bit DDR3/DDR3L/LPDDR2/LPDDR3 Storage I/F – 8-bit NAND flash, SD3.0, eMMC 5.0, and 1x SATA Networking – 2x MAC: 1x EMAC (10/100M Ethernet), 1x GMAC (Gigabit Ethernet) Display […]

August 17, 2016August 17, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

Allwinner H5 is a Quad Core Cortex A53 Processor for 4K OTT TV Boxes

Last year, we found that Allwinner was preparing to launch Allwinner H64 and H5 quad and octa processors in their roadmap, but there have been some changes, and the compny seems to have dropped H64 name, and has now introduced Allwinner H5 quad core Cortex A53 processor designed for 4K TV boxes. Allwinner H5 main specifications: CPU – quad core Cortex A53 with NEON, FPU, 64KB I/D cache per core, and 512KB L2 cache 3G GPU – ARM Mali-450MP GPU with 4 pixel processor cores, and 2 geometry cores with support for OpenGL ES 2.0/1.1/1.1, OpenVG 1.1 and EGL 2D GPU (Graphics and Display Processor) – Dual display; Main display: 4 video layers, 12 graphics layers, 4 alpha blending channels; Auxiliary display: 4 video layers, 4 graphics layers, and 2 alpha blending channels Memory I/F – DDR3/3L SDRAM interface up to 32-bit data width Storage I/F – SPI NOR flash, […]

August 17, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

M12N Amlogic S912 TV Box Benchmarks

Since Shenzhen Shiningworth MXQ Plus M12N is my first TV box powered by Amlogic S912 octa-core processor, I’ve decided to write a separate post to show system information with CPU-Z, and benchmark results with Antutu 6.x, Vellamo 3.x, and 3Dmark Ice Storm Extreme. Please note that it may not be representative of all Amlogic S912 boards, as mentioned in the teardown post, there are some concerns about the thermal design of M12N TV box. M12N / Amlogic S912 System Info I’ve merged CPU-Z’ SOC, DEVICE and SYSTEM data into a single table. The app correctly detects an 8 core Cortex A53 processor @ 100 MHz to 2.02 GHz with an ARM Mali-T820 GPU. The brand for this particurlar device is MXQ, and Model m12n. Frame buffer resolution is 1920×1080, and memory and storage data are both OK for a box with 2GB and 16GB flash. The device runs Android 6.0.1 […]