4K AV1 Android TV dongles surface with Amlogic S905Y4 Cortex-A35 processor

S905Y4 Android TV Dongle

Amlogic S905X4 is a quad-core Cortex-A55 SoC for 4K TV boxes and set-top boxes with H.265, H.264, VP9, and AV1 hardware video decoding. The silicon vendor usually provides a lower cost version of the processor for dongles without Ethernet, but keeping most of the same features, as we’ve seen in the past with S905X2 and S905Y2 processors for instance. S905X4 has now its own cost-down version with S905Y4 for Android TV (certified) dongles relying on WiFi for connectivity, but instead of keeping Cortex-A55 cores, the processor features four low-power Cortex-A35 cores. We do not have the full details about S905Y4 processor just yet, but it has start to show in dongles from SEI Robotics and SDMC that appears idendical. SDMC DV6071Z / SEI Robotics  SEI450 TV dongle specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905Y4 quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A35 processor with Mali-G31 MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR (4GB optional) Storage – […]

Android 10 ported to RISC-V board powered by Alibaba T-Head XuanTie C910 Processor

Android 10 RISC-V

RISC-V has made a lot of progress in just a few years, but for anything requiring 3D graphics acceleration, it’s not quite there yet. and we only expect RISC-V SoC with Imagination Technologies GPU to come out later this year on hardware such as BeagleV SBC. An OS that will definitely require 3D graphics acceleration is Android, and work has already started since T-Head, a business entity of Alibaba Group specializing in semiconductor chips, has already ported Android 10 (AOSP) on RISC-V architecture with support for graphics and the touchscreen display. The demo above runs on ICE EVB powered by a XuanTie C910 based high-performance SoC board developed by T-Head. Specifically, the ICE SoC integrates two XuanTie C910 cores (RV64) @ 1.2 GHz, one other XuanTie C910V core @ 1.2 GHz with vector extensions, a single-core 3D GPU core [Update: it’s a Vivante GC8000UL GPU], DDR4 memory support, a GMAC […]

Zora P1 Amlogic A311D Development Board interfaces with Orbbec 3D Cameras

Zora P1 Development Board

We have already seen the powerful Amlogic A311D powered Khadas VIM3 SBC, and Orbbec announced the Zora P1 development board for Orbbec 3D cameras, supporting robotics, gaming, smart homes, etc. Some of the other products showcased at the CES 2021 by Orbbec include its first 3D sensor with time-of-flight (TOF) technology, the latest Astra+ camera, and a real-time industrial 3D camera. “Innovations in 3D imaging, combined with broader advances like 5G, artificial intelligence, and ultra-fast processors, are transforming the application landscape for designers and engineers,” said David Chen, co-founder, and director of engineering at Orbbec. “Our new camera with time-of-flight (TOF) technology is a great example. Its high resolution and tracking capabilities make it perfect for all kinds of products including fall detection, security, even at-home yoga and exercise products.”  Orbbec’s Zora P1 Development Board Zora P1 is a processing board for developers and enthusiasts to integrate 3D imaging and associated computing tasks for demanding industrial applications. Orbbec has specially designed this long-lasting solution to work with its 3D […]

Mecool KM6 Deluxe (Amlogic S905X4) TV Box Review

Back in September 2020, Jean-Luc wrote about the Mecool KM6 TV Box. This comes with the Amlogic S905X4 with AV1 support and preloaded with Android TV 10. Since Jean-Luc could not review the KM6, I offered to do this for him. It was already mentioned the box was delayed in the previous article published in September. After that, it was further delayed until January 2021. So last week I received the Mecool KM6 deluxe for review. It comes with a remote, a 2A/5V PSU, and an HDMI cable. My deluxe version has 4GB LPDDR4 and a 64GB eMMC flash. They also sell the KM6 Classic which comes with 2GB LPDDR4 and a 16GB eMMC flash. Under the moto, don’t turn it on, take it apart. I opened the box to see its internals. There were 4 screws to undo under its rubber feet. It comes with a metal plate on […]

Cybovac S31 Review – A smart robot vacuum cleaner with visual SLAM support

Kyvol Cybovac S31 Review

I’ve been asked to review robot vacuum cleaners in the past but refused because they were quite basic with a simple vacuum function, obstacle detection, maybe a mopping function, and not much else. But Kyvol Cybovac S31 is different as it integrates a laser distance sensor (LDS) enabling visual SLAM to create a map of your house, and can be controlled with a mobile app for Android or iOS which ended up even more useful than I initially expected. S31 Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner Unboxing The package was much bigger than I expected, mostly because the charging station also includes a dust bag where dust from the main unit is automatically vacuumed each time cleaning is complete. Key features of the system as shown above: LDS robot vacuum cleaner (main unit) 4 levels of suction power Cleaning modes – Auto, area, spot, edge Anti-drop and anti-collision features 2.4 GHz WiFi […]

ZimaBoard Intel Apollo Lake SBC and micro server goes for $69.99 and up (Crowdfunding)

ZimaBoard

We’ve had our fair share of low-cost x86 SBCs in recent years, mostly based on Intel Cherry Trail processor, with the likes of Atomic Pi and Rock Pi X. Ice Whale Technology has come up with its own low-cost Intel single board computer with ZimaBoard “single board server” as it mostly has network storage applications in mind, but with a 4K capable mini DisplayPort connector it could also be used as a standard SBC or mini PC. There are two versions of the board both with Apollo Lake processors: ZimaBoard 216 with a dual-core Celeron N3350 coupled with 2GBRAM and 16GB eMMC flash, and ZimaBoard 832 powered by a quad-core Celeron N3450 with 8GB RAM and 32GB storage. Both ZimaBoard SBC shares most of the same specifications in terms of I/Os: SoC – ZimaBoard 216 – Intel Celeron N3350 dual-core processor @ 1.1/2.4GHz (Burst freq.) with 12 EU Intel HD […]

Emini V6 mini PC integrates a tiny LCD display for CPU usage, temperature…

Emini V6 mini PC LCD Display

Emini V6 is a desktop mini PC powered by a 15W Intel Core i5-7200U Kaby Lake processor, that looks like most other comparable computers, except for one detail:  a tiny LCD display is integrated into one side of the case. At first, it seemed non-sensical, especially the photos should a Windows logo on the photos, but it made a little more sense once the company explained it was to display CPU usage, temperature, and other system information. Emini V6 (MR-V6-I5K72D4U-LCD) specifications: SoC – Intel Core i5-7200U dual-core Kaby Lake processor @ 2.5GHz / 3.1GHz with 3MB Cache, Intel HD Graphics 620; TDP: 15W System Memory – 2x DDR4 SO-DIMM slots up to 32GB RAM (dual-channel) Storage – M.2 2242 SSD and 2.5-inch SATA SSD support Video Output 1x HDMI 1.4a up to 4096 x 2304 @ 24Hz 1x mini DisplayPort (mDP) up to 4096 x 2304 @ 60Hz Display – […]

ECS LIVA Q1A Arm mini PC runs Linux or Android on Rockchip RK3288 or RK3399 SoC

LIVA Q1A Arm mini PC

ECS started the LIVA Q product line of tiny mini PCs in 2017, and so far all were based on low power, affordable Intel processors including last year’s LIVA Q1L/Q1D mini PCs powered by Intel Celeron or Pentium Apollo Lake processors. But at CES 2021, ECS will showcase its first Arm-based LIVA mini PCs with LIVA Q1A and Q1A Plus respectively powered by Rockchip RK3288 quad-core Cortex-A17 SoC and RK3399 hexa-core Cortex-A72/A53 processor running Linux or Android. ECS LIVA Q1A / Q1A Plus specifications: SoC LIVA Q1A – Rockchip RK3288 quad-core Cortex-A17 processor @ up to 1.6 GHz with Mali-T764 GPU LIVA Q1A Plus – Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor with 2x Cortex-A72 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 cores. and a Mali-T860MP4 GPU System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3-1600 Storage – 32GB (default) or 64GB eMMC flash,  1x MicroSD slot Video and audio output Both models – 1x HDMI […]

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