Geniatech XPI-S905X Board Leverages Raspberry Pi 3 Form Factor

Geniatech XPI-S905X

Geniatech is well known in the media player industry for their Amlogic based TV boxes, but in recent years, they’ve also launched some development board from other silicon vendors such as Qualcomm with Developer Board IV and Developer Board 8 powered by respectively Snapdragon 410E and 820E. The company has now launched the XPI family of single board computers that will allow closely follow Raspberry Pi 3 form factor while offering better performance and features. Geniatech will start with XPI-S905X board powered by an Amlogic S905X quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz with 4K HDR video playback and output capability. Geniatech XPI-S905X board preliminary specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X quad core ARM Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz (but they claim 1.6 to 2.0 GHz max…) with penta core ARM Mali-450MP GPU, and Amlogic Video Engine 10 System Memory – 1GB or 2GB (default) DDR3 RAM Storage […]

Beelink GT1 MINI S905X2 TV Box Ships with a Voice Air Mouse

Amlogic S905X2 TV Box Air Mouse

We’ve previously seen new TV boxes based on Amlogic S905X2 and S905Y2 processors, which mostly brings a more recent, but not necessarily more powerful, Mali-G31 GPU with OpenGL 3.2 support, and a USB 3.0 port not available in Amlogic S905/905X based TV boxes. S905X2 and S905Y2 are pretty much similar, and the main difference is that S905Y2 does not support Ethernet, so it’s only designed for WiFi/Bluetooth TV boxes and dongles. So far only generic OEM models were announced, but Beelink has now introduced their own S905X2 TV box with Beelink GT1 MINI featuring 2 to 4GB RAM, 16 to 64GB flash, and a voice enabled remote control / air mouse that works with Google Assistant. Beelink GT1 Mini specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X2 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor with quad-core Arm Mali-G31MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB or 4GB DDR4 RAM Storage – 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB eMMC flash, Micro […]

La Frite Amlogic S805X Board Runs Mainline Linux, Goes for $5 and Up (Crowdfunding)

AML-S805X-AC Board

Libre Computer first started with their AML-S905X-CC (aka Le Potato) board powered by Amlogic S905X processor last year, and they’ve since then launched several other boards based on Allwinner or Rockchip processor. But their latest “La Frite” board – also known as AML-S805X-AC – is an even lower cost version of the “Le Potato” board, with an Amlogic S805X processor limited to 1080p60 output and video decoding, a smaller footprint based on the one for Raspberry Pi Model A+, and price starting at just $5 on Kickstarter. AML-S805X-AC “La Frite” board specifications: SoC – Amlogic S805X quad core ARM Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.2 GHz with penta core ARM Mali-450MP GPU @ 650 MHz, and Amlogic Video Engine 10 System Memory – 512 MB or 1GB DDR4 @ 2400 MHz Storage –   eMMC module connector, 128 Mb SPI NOR flash Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 port Video Codecs Decoding […]

Xiaomi Mi Box S 4K Ultra HD Android TV Set-top Box Launched for $59.99

Xiaomi Mi Box S

Xiaomi Mi Box (US/International) was so far the most affordable solution if you wanted a full Android TV experience, and the box is part of our best TV boxes list for under $100. But the company has now introduced Xiaomi Mi Box S with a design very similar to Xiaomi Mi Box 4 sold in China, but running Android 8.1 TV geared towards the US market instead of Android plus a Chinese user interface. Xiaomi Mi Box S specifications: SoC –  Amlogic S905X quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR support Audio – 3.5mm audio jack, Dolby Audio and DTS support Video Codecs – 4K H.265 @ 60 fps, 4K VP9, 4K H.264 up to 30 fps, MPEG1/2/, VC1, DivX 4/5 up […]

A95X Plus TV Box Features Amlogic S905Y2 Processor

A95X Plus

Amlogic showcased three reference platforms based on new processors namely S905Y2, S905X2, and S922X at ICB 2018. Let’s forget about the more powerful S922X processor for now since it should be released a bit latter, but S905Y2 was integrated into a HDMI stick reference design, while S905X2 was found in a TV box reference design. We’ve also covered an Amlogic S905X2 TV box with X96 MAX model, but today I came across a model based on Amlogic S905Y2 processor instead. Meet A95X Plus.A95X Plus TV box specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905Y2 quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.8 GHz (TBC) with Mali-G31 MP2 “Dvalin” GPU System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 32GB flash, micro SD card slot (but not visible on any of the photos) Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a output with HDR, AV port (composite) Video Codecs –  VP9 Profile-2 up to 4K 60fps, 10-bit […]

X96 Max TV Box Features Amlogic S905X2 Processor, Android 8.1 OS

Amlogic S905X2 TV Box

Just a few days after covering Amlogic S905Y2, S905X2, and S922X reference boards from the silicon vendor, we can now see one of the first consumer devices powered by Amlogic S905X2 processor with X96 Max TV box now up for pre-order on Aliexpress for $48 and up, and with shipping scheduled for the end of October. X96 Max looks to be inspired from Amlogic S905W based X96 Mini design, but with one extra optical S/PDIF port, and improved internal specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X2 quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 2.0 GHz (TBC) with Mali-G31 MP2 “Dvalin” GPU Three configurations with System Memory / Storage / Networking 2GB LPDDR4, 16GB flash, 2.4G WiFi, 100M Ethernet 4GB LPDDR4, 32GB flash, dual band AC WiFi, Bluetooth 4.x, Gigabit Ethernet 4GB LPDDR4, 64GB flash, dual band  AC WiFi, Bluetooth 4.x, Gigabit Ethernet External Storage – micro SD card slot Video Output – […]

Amlogic S905Y2, S905X2, S922X Boards Running Android 9 Showcased at IBC 2018

Amlogic S922X Reference Design

At the very beginning of this year, we published an Amlogic roadmap showing Amlogic S922 next gen CPU/GPU, and S905X2 quad core Cortex A53 processors, but so far we still had limited information, and as per Amlogic own roadmap S922 was still at the definition stage, so exact specifications may have been expected to change at the time. The company showcased some exciting new solutions at IBC 2018 with three reference boards based on new Amlogic S905Y2, S905X2, and S922 processors all running Android TV 9 “Pie”. “Android TV Rumors” was apparently at the event and posted some photos on twitter. Amlogic S905Y2 Reference Board Amlogic S905Y2 processor is using the same old quad-core Cortex A53 configuration, but features a more modern Arm Mali-G31 MP2 GPU. The reference board is designed for OTT 4K HDMI dongles, and comes with 16GB storage, 2GB RAM, USB 2.0 interface, as well WiFi 2T2R, […]

MINIX NEO U9-H TV Box Gets Android 7.1 Firmware

MINIX-NEO-U9-H-Android-7.1-Nougat

MINIX NEO U9-H is generally considered one of the best Android TV boxes if you are after an Android experience, as opposed to a pure Android TV experience. I found the firmware solid and performing on very capable hardware when I reviewed the device in 2017 although there were a few bugs here and there for the version of the firmware I tested. The device is still the main TV box model sold by MINIX, but so far, you had to run the older Android 6.0 OS. The good news is that you can now upgrade your box, if you wish to do so, to a more recent Android 7.1 operating system. There’s no specific changelog for the release, and you can find Android 7.1 for MINIX NEO U9-H on MEGA.An important caveat is that it’s not an OTA update, so you’d have to use USB Burning Tool – also […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC