Allwinner H6 Processor for 4K HDR Set-Top Boxes Supports USB 3.0, PCIe, and Smart Card Interfaces

Allwinner H6 is a new quad core Cortex A53 processor designed for 4K set-top boxes. It will support “6K” video decoding for 10-bit HEVC, VP9, and H.264, integrate HDR10 and HLG video processing, support high speed interfaces like USB 3.0 and PCIe, as well as security features like two ISO7816 smart card interfaces and DRM solutions. Allwinner H6 specifications: CPU –  Quad-core ARM Cortex A53 with NEON, hardware Java acceleration, and FPU 3D GPU – Dual shader ARM Mali-T720 with support for OpenGL ES3.1/3.0/2.0/1.1, OpenCL 1.1/RenderScript, Microsoft DirectX 11 FL9_3 Memory I/F – DDR4/DDR3/DDR3L interface Storage I/F – 1x eMMC 5.0 flash interface, 1x NAND Flash interface for SLC/MLC/TLC flash memory with up to 80-bit error-correcting code (ECC), 1x SPI NOR Flash interface, 1x SD Card 2.0 Multimedia via Allwinner Phoenix 3.0 VE Engine Video Decoder H265/HEVC Main/Main10 [email protected] High-tier ;4K@60fps, up to 6Kx4K@30fps H264/AVC BP/MP/[email protected], MVC, 4K@30fps VP9,Profile 0/2, […]

$44 A5X Plus Mini TV Box Runs Android 7.1 on Rockchip RK3328 Processor

Rockchip introduced RK3328 processor for TV boxes at CES 2017. The processor is based on a quad core Cortex A53 processor and a Mali-450MP is some other competitors such as Amlogic S9xx series, but what made the processor stand out is that it already supports Android 7.1, and includes a USB 3.0 port. A5X Plus Mini is one of the first TV box based on the processor, and the first “Chinese” TV box I’ve seen running Android 7.x Nougat. A5X Plus mini specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash + micro SD card Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR10 and HLG support, 3.5mm AV port with composite video and stereo audio Video Codec – 4K VP9, H.265 and H.264. 1080p VC-1, […]

MINIX NEO U9-H Media Hub Review – Part 2: Android 6.0 Firmware & Kodi 17

MINIX NEO U9-H is the successor of MINIX NEO U1 media hub with an upgrade from four to eight cores with Amlogic S912 processor, as well as added support for VP9 and HDR. The company sent me a sample, and I’ve already checked out NEO U9-H hardware in the fist part of the review, so I’ll report by testing results in Android 6.0 and Kodi 17 in the second part. Since the user interface & many of the features have not changed, I’ll refer to MINIX NEO U1 review from time to time. First Boot, OTA Firmware, Settings and First Impressions I connected the MINIX A3 air mouse RF to one of the USB port, a USB 3.0 hard drive to another, and a USB hub to the last one with Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad, a USB keyboard to take screenshots for the review, and a USB webcam. There’s also […]

Review of MINIX NEO U9-H Media Hub & MINIX A3 Air Mouse – Part 1: Specs, Unboxing and Teardown

MINIX showcased MINIX NEO U9-H TV box at IFA 2016 last year, but was not ready to launch the product or provide the full details yet. The company has now completed development of their Amlogic S912-H octa-core TV box, and sent a review sample for evaluation on CNX Software together with their latest MINIX A3 air mouse with voice command function. I’ll start by listing the specifications of the TV box, take some pictures, and tear it apart to check out how it’s been designed in the first part of the review, and test the firmware in the second part which I intend to post in a few days. MINIX NEO U9-H Media Hub specifications One of the main difference over other Amlogic S912, is the -H suffix which means Dolby and DTS licenses have been paid for so all apps will handle those audio formats: SoC – Amlogic S912-H […]

Yundoo Y8 Rockchip RK3399 TV Box is Up for Pre-order for $111 and Up

We’ve been waiting for Rockchip RK3399 TV boxes for a long time since the processor was first unveiled in January of last year, and the good news is that the first RK3399 TV box has now been launched (sort of), as you can pre-order Yundoo Y8 for $110.73 shipped with shipping planed for early March Yundoo Y8 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 hexa core processor with 2x ARM Cortex A72 cores @ up to 2.0 GHz, 4x ARM Cortex A53 cores System Memory – 2 or 4GB DDR3 Storage – 16 or 32 GB eMMC flash + SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz Video Codecs – 4K H.265 & VP9 decoding Audio Output – HDMI, optical S/PDIF Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x USB type […]

Beelink SEA TV Box with Realtek RTD1295, HDMI Input and Internal SATA Bay Sells for $105 and Up

I’ve already reviewed two Android TV boxes powered by Realtek RTD1295 processor, namely Zidoo X9S and EWEAT R9 Plus. They are quite interesting devices as beside supporting video & audio playback nicely (minus 4K H.264 @ 30fps), they also serve as a personal NAS thanks to their SATA interface and OpenWrt operating system running alongside Android, as well as a HDMI recorder and streamer thanks to the HDMI input. Zidoo firmware is a little better, but it only comes with external SATA, while EWEAT R9 Plus comes with a neat internal 3.5″ SATA bay inside a metal case. The downside is that it’s quite expensive at $200 shipped. If you’d like a Realtek RTD1295 solution with a SATA bay, but would like something more cost effective, Beelink SEA TV box with might be for you. Beelink SEA specifications: SoC – Realtek RTD1295 quad core ARM Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.4 GHz […]

HDMI 2.1 Specification to Add Support for 4K @ 120 Hz, 8K and 10K Resolutions. New 48G Cable Required.

The HDMI Forum has just announced they’ve been working on HDMI specification Version 2.1 adding new video resolutions and refresh rates including 8K60 and 4K120, as well as dynamic HDR, and increased bandwidth up to 48 Gbps for uncompressed 8K videos with HDR. The new specification also includes support for eARC (enhanced audio return channel) with support for advanced audio formats such as object-based audio, and advanced audio signal control capabilities including device auto-detect. Game Mode VRR is another new feature from HDMI 2.1 with variable refresh rate to enable a 3D GPU to display the image at the moment it is rendered in order to reduce lag and frame tearing. Beside 4K120 and 8K60, the new specification also handles 4K, 5K, 8K, and even 10K resolutions at various frame rates between 50Hz to 120 Hz, up to 10K @ 120 Hz. Higher resolutions and frame rates (>=4K @ 120Hz; […]

Review of Mecool BB2 Pro TV Box with DDR4 Memory – Part 1: Specs, Unboxing and Teardown

Mecool BB2 Pro is yet another Amlogic S912 Android 6.0 TV box, but after Eweat R9 Plus, it’s my second TV box with DDR4 memory that should deliver much higher bandwidth compared to DDR3 memory used in most TV boxes. But so far, it’s clear how much performance can be extracted from the system with higher memory bandwidth in actual use,  and that’s exactly what I hope to find out in the second part of the review, but in this post I start by going through the specs, check the box and its accessories, as well as the hardware design. Mecool BB2 Pro specifications Apart from the DDR4 memory, BB2 Pro has pretty common specifications: SoC – Amlogic S912 octo-core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-820MP3 GPU System Memory – 3 GB DDR4 Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up […]