TBS launched their Matrix 2910 media player based on Freescale i.MX6 Quad processor in 2013, and what made the platform especially interesting was support for the company’s USB DVB tuners in their Android and Ubuntu images. The company has now unveiled its successor with TBS 2980 Matrix 2 powered by Allwinner A80 octa core processor that will also support USB DVB-T2, DVB-C & DVB-S2 tuners.
TBS Matrix 2 specifications:
- SoC – AllWinner A80 4x Cortex 15, 4x Cortex A7 big.LITTLE processor with PowerVR GC6230 GPU
- System Memory – 2GB DDR3
- Storage – 8GB eMMC + micro SD card slot
- Video Output – HDMI + AV port
- Audio – HDMI, AV, and optical S/PDIF
- Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
- USB – 1x USB 3.0 port, 2x USB 2.0 host ports
- Misc – IR receiver, reset button
- Power Supply – 5V/3A
- Dimensions – 101 x 101 x 31 mm
- Weight – 400 grams
Matrix 2 is significantly smaller than other Allwinner A80 devices like Tronsmart Draco AW80, mostly because it lacks the rather slow SATA port. The box runs Android 4.4 with Kodi pre-installed, and will ship with a power adapter, a remote control, and a user’s guide. I’ve also been told the mini PC will also boot Debian server or Ubuntu Linaro desktop distributions from the micro SD card.
The list of supported USB tuners are not been provided, but I do know TBS 5520 multi-standard USB tuner will be used for development, and it supports DVB-S/S2, DVB-C/C2, DVB-T/T2, and ISBT standards, so all these should be covered. It’s quite likely tuners supported by the original Matrix mini PC will also be supported on Matrix 2.
TBS Matrix 2 sells for $149.99 plus shipping on BuyDVD.net. You may find more details on TBS 2980 Matrix 2 product page.
Thanks to Ovi for the tip.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress
price 150$ http://www.buydvb.net/tbs-2980-matrix-2-arm-mini-pc-p-125.html
@maurer
Thanks!
Jean Luc was expecting the price with all standard tuner included in the price.
All standard tuner around 50$ will cost.
Only their TV tuners are interesting I think, not another Allwinner box.
excellent news, just hoping that will support OpenELEC, but at least we have something interesting here, if TBS compile DVB drivers as external modules, we could use TVHEADEND backend for android, and use it as a server
@natsu
until allwinner not releasing the proper sources won’t be able to have openelec anytime soon sadly.
I have tested intensively the TBS solution and with debian or linaro runing from a SD card i was able to run tvheadend and VDR with this multi standard USB tuner as a headless live server backend , which is quite ok.
a dual boot solution android + debian/linaro could represent a very good combination overall.
Maybe one day will have also OpenElec on the Allwinner 8 core boards but not very soon i am afraid.
@Harley
Agree, would love to see a cheap USB HD DVB-C tuner.
@FransM
Astrometa T2 or myGica T230, both 22$ on Ali
@natsu
I had Openelec running on A80 OptimusBoard but only basic system – no graphics part (didn’t know how to proceed with this with my limited knowledge).