EzeeCube is a media hub that automatically synchronizes photos, videos and contacts from your iOS and Android phones or tablets. The hardware is based on Freescale i.MX6 Dual SoC, includes a 1 TB hard drive upgradable to 9TB with 4 extra drives, can be upgraded with hardware modules, and runs a custom version of XBMC on top of Linux built with the Yocto Project.
EzeeCube specifications:
- SoC – Freescale i.MX6 Dual with two ARM Cortex A9 cores @ 1 GHz and Vivante 3D GPU
- System Memory – 1GB DDR3 @ 1066MHz
- Storage – 4GB eMMC, 1TB 2.5″ hard drive @ 5400rpm, and SD/SDXC card slot
- Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi (2.4GHz), and Bluetooth 3.0
- Video Output – HDMI 1.4 with CEC support
- Audio Output – HDMI and optical S/PDIF
- Video Containers – AVI, MPEG, WMV, ASF, FLV, MKV/MKA, QuickTime, MP4, M4A, AAC, NUT, OGG, RealMedia RAM/RM/RV/RA/RMV8, OGM, 3gp, VIVO, PVA, NUV, NSV, NSA, FLI, FLC, DVR-MS and WTV
- Video Codecs – H.264 (AVC BP/MP/HP), MPEG4 (AP/ASP), H.263, VC1, MPEG-2 (MP/HP), DivX/Xvid, and VP8
- Audio Formats – MIDI, AIFF, WAV/WAVE, AIFF, MP2, MP3, AAC, AAC+, Vorbis, AC3, DTS, ALAC, AMR, FLAC, Monkey’s Audio (APE), RealAudio, SHN, WavePack, MPC, Speex, WMA, ADPCM, CDDA and more
- USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 1x micro USB OTG
- Misc – Reset Button, EzeeStack connector for add-ons
- Power – 5V power adapter
- Dimensions – 98 x 98 x 23mm
- Weight – 272 grams
The specifications look pretty standard, except for the included 1TB hard drive, the long list of supported audio and video formats, and EzeeStack connector that will let you add extra hardware:
- EzeePlay – Blu-ray Drive
- EzeeDisk – Stackable 2 TB drive. You can add four in total to get 9TB storage (1 + 2 x 4).
The company has modified the software so that you can manage your media files (up to ~500,000 photos on a 1TB hard drive) by automatically sorting your photos and videos by albums, dates and location, finding duplicates, recognizing face and organizing them automatically, and finding locations and dates of photos to organize them into events (holidays, weddings, birthday parties, concerts, etc..). This can be achieved thanks to EzeeSync for iOS 5+ or Android 4.0+ (soon). Other features and apps supported include a dozen of (unnamed) audio, video, and photo apps, DLNA, Airplay, backup to USB hard drive, and PVR function.
The developers are currently looking for $75,000 via a fixed funding campaign on Indiegogo. A ‘Super Early Hackers Special” pledge will get your the EzeeCube with 1TB hard drive for $179, if you miss the super early pledge for the first 100 pieces, it will then be $189 for 200 more units, and $199 after that. The EzeePlay Blu-Ray player perks requires $99, and each EzeeDisk perk $129 for a 2TB hard drive. So if you want a system with 9TB storage the total cost would be $695. A first glance, I thought it was all pretty expensive, but considering the hardware corresponds roughly to a $99 Wandboard Dual with enclosure and a 1TB hard drive, pricing seems reasonable. Shipping is free to Hong Kong, and $5 to $15 for the rest of the world. “Hackers”‘ perks will be shipped by the end of the year (October, November), and after EzeeBox will be shipping in batch between December 2014 and March 2015. EzeeDisk and EzeeDrive accessories are only scheduled to ship by March 2015.
Beside the Indiegogo campaign, further details may eventually be provided on EzeeCube.com.
Via Stephan Rafin and Harley
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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Stephan “wolfgar” Rafin, one of the Linux developers working on both the Linux firmware image and XBMC port for i.MX6 have posted this article about it in his blog, which also contain more information about his i.MX6 development efforts.
What seem to make EzeeCube unique is both its modular “EzeeStack” stackable hardware design and its software extensions of the XBMC framework which enable automatic backup synchronizing of photos from their “EzeeSync” mobile apps for iOS or Android app stores making it work as a private cloud.
It looks like they are foremost marketing EzeeCube to the not so tech-savvy target audience and users who just want their stuff to work at home, (so think Apple iPhone and Mac users).
In case some people are wondering which interface is used to stack multiple EzeeDisk, they are using USB, so it’s basically a stack of USB drives, except the internal 1TB drive which must be connected via SATA (TBC).
But USB doesn’t daisy-chain, it has a tree structure. So do they have a hub in each module that connects the HDD and next module? You could quickly end up with a pretty deep tree that way.
Even the quad Krait in my Nexus 7 is kinda sluggish for large XBMC installs.
Wake me up when they go Bay Trail-D…
@Someone from the other side
That one is Bay Trail… http://www.cnx-software.com/2014/06/09/qnap-ts-x51-nas/
It does about the same things as EzeeCube and more, but will certainly be much more expensive.
And if it is at all similar to older QNAP devices, it will sound like a vacuum cleaner was mounted below your TV…
Having said that, I am very happy with my J1900 based custom built NAS.
keeping you guys posted, we now support PVR (personal video recorder) functionality to watch and record live Television by simply stacking our TV Tuner accessory and an empty DIY stackable drive case to which users can insert 2.5″ HDD