H96 PRO Plus Amlogic S912 TV Box with 3GB RAM, 32GB Storage Sold for $48.49 (Promo)

H96 Pro+ is a Amlogic S912 TV box with 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, that’s similar to R-Box Pro 3G TV box I reviewed, and Banggood has now a promotion for the box for just $48.49 shipped with about 850 pieces left in stock. H96 Pro+ specifications: SoC – Amlogic S912 octa-core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with Mali-820MP3 GPU System Memory – 3 GB DDR3 Storage – 32 GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0a with HDR and CEC support up to 4K @ 60 fps, and AV port for composite output Audio Output – HDMI, AV (stereo audio), and optical S/PDIF Video codecs – VP9-10 profile 2 up to 4K @ 60 fps, H.265 [email protected] up to 4K 60fps, H.264 AVC up to 4K @ 30 fps, H.264 MVC up to 1080p60, MPEG-4, WMV/VC-1 SP/MP/AP,  AVS-P16(AVS+)/AVS-P2 JiZhun […]

Zidoo X7 Review – Part 2: Android 7.1 Firmware, ZDMC, WiFi, and More

Zidoo X7 is an Android TV box powered by Rockchip RK3328 processor similar to Bqeel MVR9 with 2GB RAM, but instead of provide Gigabit Ethernet, and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, it comes with Fast Ethernet, and 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi, so is better suited to people using WiFi instead of Ethernet for media streaming. You’ll find plenty of photos in the first part of the review entitled “Zidoo X7 TV Box Review – Part 1: Unboxing & Teardown“, and I’ll report my experience with Android 7.1.2 firmware in this second part. First Boot, Setup, and First Impressions I connected two RF dongles for  MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad via a USB hub, a USB keyboard to take screenshot, and a Seagate USB 3.0 hard drive to the single USB 3.0 port on the box. I perform tests with Ethernet in most reviews, but with Zidoo X7, […]

MediaTek Helio P23 & P30 Processors Unveiled for “Premium” Mid Range Smartphones

MediaTek has introduced two more octa-core Cortex A53 processors with respectively Helio P23 for worldwide markets, and Helio P30 for China. Both processors build upon Helio P20/P25 design, but are upgraded with a faster Mali G71MP2 GPU, LTE Cat 7/13 modem, and in the case of Helio P30 the ability to record 4K videos with H.265 codec, instead of just H.264, and a new “vision processing unit”. Mediatek Helio P23 & P30 specifications: CPU – 8 core big.LITTLE processor with 4x ARM Cortex A53 @ 2.3 GHz, 4x ARM Cortex A53 @ 1.65 GHz GPU – ARM Mali-G71MP2 GPU clocked @ 770 MHz (P23) or 950 MHz (P30) Memory I/F – 2 x 16-bit @ 1600 MHz LPDDR4X, P23 only: 1 x 32-bit @ 933 MHz LPDDR3 Storage I/F – No info Display – Up to 2160 x 1080 resolution Video Encoder – P23: 2160p30 H.264; P30: 2160p30 H.264 & HEVC […]

Embedded Linux Conference & Open Source Summit Europe 2017 Schedule

The Embedded Linux Conference & IoT summit 2017 took place in the US earlier this year in February, but there will soon be a similar event with the Embedded Linux Conference *& Open Source Summit Europe 2017 to take up in Europe on October 23 – 25 in Prague, Czech Republic, and the Linux Foundation has just published the schedule. It’s always useful to find out what is being discussed during such events, even if you are not going to attend, so I went through the different sessions, and compose my own virtual schedule with some of the ones I find the most interesting. Monday, October 23 11:15 – 11:55 – An Introduction to SPI-NOR Subsystem – Vignesh Raghavendra, Texas Instruments India Modern day embedded systems have dedicated SPI controllers to support NOR flashes. They have many hardware level features to increase the ease and efficiency of accessing SPI NOR […]

X96 Mini Amlogic S905W Android TV Box Sells for $25 and Up

Last week, we discovered Amlogic S905W processor through Tanix TX3 Mini TV box, with the processor maxing out at 4K @ 30 Hz in order to provide cost-competitive solutions, for example against Rockchip RK3229 TV boxes. However, at the time, the price was not that attractive. Prices have come down quickly, as Tanix TX3 Mini can be purchased for about $29 with 1GB RAM /16GB flash, and $32 with 2GB RAM/ 16 GB flash using coupon PYNNHDAH. X96 Mini is an even cheaper option as the Amlogic S905W is sold for as low as $24.99 shipped on Banggood. X96 mini TV box specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905W quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU @ 750 MHz System Memory – 1 or 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8 or 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a output with HDR, […]

Khadas VIM2 Amlogic S912 Development Board Sells for $75 and Up

Khadas VIM2 is the only low cost development board powered by Amlogic S912 octa-core processor that I know of, but when we first wrote about the board it was not available yet. The three versions of the boards are now being sold on GearBest with the Basic version going for $74.99, the Pro version for $94.99, and the Max version for $109.99. [Update: You can get VIM2 Max for $99.99 by using GBVIM2MAX coupon code for the first 100 boards daily, and the five first boards are sold for $49.99 daily at 9:00 UTC until August 28th. Details on promotion page.] Khadas VIM2 Basic/Pro/Max specifications: SoC –  Amlogic S912 octa core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-820MP GPU System Memory Basic – 2 GB DDR4 Pro/Max – 3 GB DDR4 Storage micro SD card and 2MB SPI flash eMMC Flash – Basic: 16GB; Pro: 32GB; Max: […]

Bqeel MVR9 (NT-N9) TV Box Review – Part 2: Android Nougat Firmware, RKMC, YouTube 4K, and More

Bqeel MVR9 is another TV box powered by Rockchip RK3328, but that model comes with Gigabit Ethernet and 2GB RAM contrary to the cheaper A95X R2 TV box I previously reviewed. If you want to check thsee some pictures read “Bqeel MVR9 TV Box Review – Part 1: Specifications, Unboxing and Teardown“, as in this second part I’ll focus on the firmware, and we’ll see if the claims of better 4K video playback thanks to DDR4, optimized RKMC with HD audio pass-through, YouTube 4K, and DRM support are true. First Boot, Setup, and First Impressions One good thing about Bqeel MVR9 is that it comes four 4 USB port, so I did not need to use a USB hub to connect my two RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad, a Seagate USB 3.0 hard drive, and a USB keyboard I normally use […]

Tanix TX3 Mini TV Box is Powered by Amlogic S905W SoC

So it looks like Amlogic has outed another SoC with Amlogic S905W processor that appears to be a cost down version of Amlogic S905X limited to 4K @ 30 fps video decoding. One of the first device to used the new processor is Tanix TX3 mini TV box that should be priced similarly to Rockchip RK3229 devices. Tanix TX3 mini specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905W quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU @ 750 MHz System Memory – 1GB/2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 output, AV port (composite) Audio – HDMI, optical S/PDIF, AV port (stereo audio) Video Codecs – 4K@30fps H.265, MPEG1/2/4, H.264, HD AVC/VC-1, RM/RMVB, Xvid/DivX3/4/5/6 , RealVideo8/9/10 Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Misc – IR receiver, front panel LCD display Power Supply – 5V/2A […]

EDATEC Raspberry Pi 5 fanless case