CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

March 4, 2016March 4, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Zidoo X1 II Android Media Player Powered by Rockchip RK3229 SoC Supports 4K 10-bit H.264 & H.265 Videos

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 […]

March 4, 2016May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Embedded Linux Conference 2016 and OpenIoT Summit 2016 Schedule

The Embedded Linux Conference 2016 and the OpenIoT summit 2016 will take place on April 4 – 6, 2016 in San Diego, California, and over 800 attended will meet including kernel & system developers, userspace developers, and product vendors. The Linux Foundation has recently published the schedule, so I’ve had a look at some of the talks, and designed my own virtual schedule to find out more the current development focus although I won’t attend. Monday April 4 10:40am – 11:30am – Linux Connectivity for IoT by Marcel Holtmann, Intel OTC There are many connectivity solutions that available for IoT. For example Bluetooth Low Energy, 802.15.4, Zigbee, OIC, Thread and others. This presentation will provide and overview of the existing technology and upcoming standard and how they tie into the Linux kernel and its ecosystem. 11:40 – 12:30 – BoF: kernelci.org: A Million Kernel Boots and Counting by Kevin Hilman, […]

March 3, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Tavolga Terminal TP-T22BT Debian 8 All-in-One Computer is Powered by Baikal-T1 MIPS Processor

A Russian company called Baikal Electronics announced it was working on Baikal T1 dual core MIPS P5600 to provide an alternative to US based Intel and AMD processor last year, not too long after Edwards Snowden revaluations about the NSA malpractices. Good progress has been made as T-Platforms has now launched Tavolga Terminal TP-T22BT All-in-One computer with a 21.5″ display, up to 8 GB RAM, and the Baikal T1 processor running Debian 8. TP-T22BT specifications (derived from product brief in Russian): Processor – Baikal dual core MIPS 5600 processor @ 1.0 GHz with 1MB L2 cache GPU – Silicon Motion SM750 GPU with 16MB video memory, 2D graphics acceleration System Memory – 2 to 8GB DDR3 Storage – Optional 8GB NAND flash, optional 8GB SSD, and optional 2.5″ SATA drive (Baikal-T1 has a built-in SATA interface) Display – 21.5″ IPS Full HD (1920×1080) display with LED backlight Audio – PCM2912A […]

March 3, 2016March 4, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Free and Discounted Development Boards: Raspberry Pi 3, DragonBoard 410c, LinkIt ONE and More

Based on the number of comments I get when I organize giveaways, I think people like freebies. I don’t have anything to give away today, but others have launched competitions to win free developments, and Seeed Studio is having a promotional event with some discount on IoT boards. DragonBoard 410c Boards “Maker Month Contest” Qualcomm has declared March as Maker Month, and is asking developer to tell them what they’d make with a DragonBoard 410c board for a chance to win the board and up to $5,000. All you have to do is to submit your idea on DragonBoardContest.com, and every week, the company will give 7 to 10 boards (31 boards in total) to the people with the best ideas as selected by popular vote. The contest has two part: Part 1 – Submit your idea as mentioned above – Open between March 1 and March 31, is open […]

March 3, 2016March 3, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

TinySine Bluetooth, WiFi and USB Relays Come with an Optional Enclosure, Support Android and iOS Smartphones

It’s now fairly easy to find the hardware to create WiFi or Bluetooth controlled relays, but you usually have to design your own enclosure and Android app, and if you’d like something that’s ready to use out of the box TinySine wireless relays such as TSRB430 (Bluetooth) or TSRW430 (WiFi) might be an interesting option. There;s also a version with USB control. TSRB430 / TSRB430 / TSRU430 specifications: 4x Omron G8P 30A/250VAC | 20A/28VDC relay; SPST-NO (normally open) types. Connectivity – XBEE module either: Bluetooth Bee module based on CSR BC417143 Bluetooth 2.0 chipset Roving Networks WiFi Bee module with 802.11 b/g radio USB Bee module with a CP2102 USB to UART chip Power Supply – 12V/1A via 2.1mm jack with positive core polarity Dimensions – 122mm x 87mm x x 31mm (board) There are also versions with 2 and 8 relays. I kind of wish they had models taking 220V AC input instead […]

March 3, 2016March 4, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

$30 NanoPi-M2 Board Packs Raspberry Pi 2 Hardware Features in a Smaller Form Factor

FriendlyARM had already launched two NanoPi boards powered by Samsung S5P4418 quad core processor, namely NanoPi 2 and NanoPi2 Fire, that were especially interesting due to their small size (75 x 40 mm) for the features including HDMI output, a camera interface, and either WiFi + Bluetooth or Ethernet. The company is now back with a third larger board, but still compact, removing the wireless module, but adding an audio jack and more USB ports, while keeping the price about the same. Meet NanoPi-M2: SoC – Samsung S5P4418 quad core Cortex A9 processor @ 400 MHz to 1.4GHz with Mali GPU including two pixel processors, and a geometry processor. System Memory – 1GB 32-bit DDR3 Storage – 1x Micro SD Slot Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port (via RTL8211E) Video Output / Display I/F- 1x HDMI 1.4a, 0.5 mm pitch SMT FPC seat for type-A full-color LCD (RGB: 8-8-8) with […]

March 3, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

DisplayPort 1.4 To Support 8K Displays over USB-C, 4K@120 Hz, 32 Audio Channels

Just as 4K UHD televisions are getting more affordable with prices ever closer to their Full HD equivalent, the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) has published DisplayPort 1.4 specifications with support for 8K QUHD (7680 x 4320) resolution, High Dynamic Range (HDR), video compression and more. Some of the key enhancements or new features of the new specifications include: Up to 8Kp60Hz HDR deep color and 4Kp120Hz HDR deep color Display Stream Compression (DSC) – DSC 1.2 natively supports YCbCr 4:2:0 and 4:2:2 coding, and offers nearly lossless 3:1 compression ratio Forward Error Correction – FEC, which overlays the DSC 1.2 transport, addresses the transport error resiliency needed for compressed video transport to external displays. HDR meta transport – HDR meta transport uses the “secondary data packet” transport inherent in the DisplayPort standard to provide support for the current CTA 861.3 standard, which is useful for DP to HDMI 2.0a protocol […]

March 2, 2016September 4, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 25 Comments

Banana Pi BPI-M2+ is another Compact Allwinner H3 Development Board

Allwinner H3 processor has become popular on hobbyist boards thanks to several Orange Pi board, especially Orange Pi PC and Orange Pi One due to their ultra-low prices, respectively $15 and $10. Olimex is also involved with their H3-OLinuXino-NANO board, and now at least one more company is about to release another Allwinner H3 board with SinoVoip’s Banana BPI-M2+. Banana BPI-M2 Plus specifications: SoC – Allwinner H3 quad core Cortex A7 @ 1.2 GHz with an ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU up to 600 MHz System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – micro SD card slot up to 64GB, optional 8GB eMMC flash Video & Audio Output – HDMI with CEC support Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, optional 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (AP6212). More options: AP6181, AP6335 USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG port Camera – CSI Interface Expansions – 40-pin Raspberry Pi compatible header Debugging – 3-pin UART […]