Linus Torvald has released Linux 4.15 last Sunday: After a release cycle that was unusual in so many (bad) ways, this last week was really pleasant. Quiet and small, and no last-minute panics, just small fixes for various issues. I never got a feeling that I’d need to extend things by yet another week, and 4.15 looks fine to me. Half the changes in the last week were misc driver stuff (gpu, input, networking) with the other half being a mix of networking, core kernel and arch updates (mainly x86). But all of it is tiny. So at least we had one good week. This obviously was not a pleasant release cycle, with the whole meltdown/spectre thing coming in in the middle of the cycle and not really gelling with our normal release cycle. The extra two weeks were obviously mainly due to that whole timing issue. Also, it is […]
Mainline Linux on Amlogic S905/S905X/S912 SoCs – 2018 Status Update
BayLibre is working on mainline Linux for Amlogic SoC, and in February of last year, Neil Armstrong gave a presentation entitled “Mainline Linux on AmLogic SoCs” at the Embedded Linux Conference 2017. Neil has recently (actually yesterday) given another presentation about the status of mainline Linux on Amlogic processor at linux.conf.au 2018, so we have some updated information now. He goes through the whole history of upstreaming Linux for Amlogic SoCs, but I’ll provided summary of the new features, and if you have time you can watch the video (25 minutes) embed below, or the slides. Early last year, Linux 4.10 already supported general I/Os, USB host (for S905), Gigabit Ethernet, eMMC/SD/SDIO, PSCI for SMP, and SCPI for DVFS for Amlogic processor, and BayLibre was said to be working on HDMI display support, Mali (as external module), audio input/output, and high-speed eMMC modes. Based on the slide above, with Linux […]
SDMC DV8020 & DV8035 Full HD HDR TV Boxes Feature Amlogic S805X Processor
Most new Android TV boxes on the market today support 4K resolution at least up to 30 Hz, but Amlogic decided to target the lower end of the market with S805X quad core Cortex A53 processor that supports VP9, H.265 and H.264 up to 1080p60 only. However, so far I could not find any products based on the new processor, but this has changed this afternoon, as I’ve come across SDMC DV8020 & DV8035 TV boxes powered by Amlogic S805X processor. Both models share most of the same specifications, with the main differences being an extra S/PDIF output, and the enclosure: SoC Amlogic S805X quad core Arm Cortex-A53 up to 1.2GHz with penta core Mali-450MP GPU up to 650MHz System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (option: 4GB to 64GB), micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0b up to 1080p60 with CEC & HDR support (HDR10 […]
CCC Air Stick 4K TV Stick Runs Android TV, Supports HDR10, aptX HD Bluetooth Audio (Japan)
It’s been a while since I have seen an Amlogic S912 TV stick, and so far none of them would run Android TV operating system. But CCC Air Stick 4K does, meaning it supports Google Cast like a ChromeCast, as well as Voice Commands through a remote control. The company also claims support for aptX and aptX HD Bluetooth audio, as well as online services such as Hulu, Netflix, Spotify, and some Japanese specific services, since the TV stick only targets the Japanese market. Air Stick 4K specifications: SoC – Amlogic S912J 64-bit octa core Arm Cortex A53 @ up to 1.5GHz with Arm Mali GPU System Memory – 2 GB Storage – 16 GB flash Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR10, CEC support Audio – HDMI audio output, aptX / aptX audio over Bluetooth Connectivity Dual band (2.4 GHz/5 GHz) 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi […]
$38 MECOOL M8S PRO W “with Voice Control” TV Box Runs Android TV 7.1 OS
There was a time when most TV boxes would run Android operating system for mobile with lots of modifications to make it suitable for the big screen, except for a few models that would run the official Android TV operating systems. But things are now changing, with announced from Geniatech, WeTek, and others all announcing certified Android TV set-top boxes and media hubs. We’ve even been told Amlogic will now only provide Android TV SDK from now on with no support for “normal Android”, and the good news is that inexpensive TV box running Android TV will become common place, and one of those devices, MECOOL M8S PRO W is the cheapest I’ve seen so far going for $37.99 shipped with coupon DSJMVRWB (pre-order) MECOOL M8S PRO W specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905W quad core ARM Cortex-A53 processor with penta-core Mali-450MP3 GPU @ 750 MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 […]
WeTek Unveils Hyperion 4G LTE Set-Top Box & Nix OTT TV Box Running Android TV OS
When Geniatech announced Android TV certification for their ATV598Max set-top box with digital TV tuners compliant with DVB-T2, DVB-C, ATSC, or ISDB standards earlier this week, we noticed how few official Android TV STB there was on the market. But more may be coming, as Wetek will showcase two Android TV products at CABSAT in Dubai on January 14-16 with Wetek Hyperion Amlogic S905D 4G LTE set-top box, as well as WeTek Nix OTT box powered by Amlogic S905X processor. WeTek Hyperion Specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905D quad core ARM Cortex-A53 SoC up to 1.5 GHz, with penta-core ARM Mali-450 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC 5.0 flash Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a (CEC, HDR, HDCP 1.4/2.2), mini jack analog AV output Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet Dual band 802.11 ac/b/g/n WiFi (optional 802.11ac MiMo) Bluetooth 4.0 4G LTE modem – LTE-FDD: B2/B4/B5/B12/B13/B17/B25/B26; LTE-TDD: B41; […]
Amlogic A113X1 6-Mic Far-Field Devkit is Designed for Amazon Alexa
Allwinner unveiled their SoC-Only 3-Mic Far-Field Development Kit for Amazon AVS last week, but they are now joined by another low cost silicon vendor as Amlogic has just launched their own A113X1 far-field dev kit officially support for Amazon Alexa Voice Service (AVS). The development kit is powered by Amlogic A113X SoC designed for such applications with “an audio pipeline that supports high fidelity audio with soft DSP algorithms for both frontend and backend processing”. Amlogic A113X1 far-field devkit specifications: Mainboard SoC – Amlogic A113X quad core Cortex A53 processor System Memory – 512MB DDR3 Storage – 512 MB NAND flash Connectivity – SDIO WiFi/BT (AP6356S) Audio SPDIF_IN jack LINE_IN/LINE_OUT jacks 2x Audio headers (MIC_Connector & SPK_Connector) USB – 1x micro USB 2.0 OTG port Expansion – SPI header Misc – 6x ADC Keys, IR_IN/IR_OUT, UART Interface (RS232), LEDs Power Supply – 12V/2A Microphone board 6x digital microphones in […]
Geniatech ATV598Max is a Certified Android TV Hybrid TV Box with ATSC, DVB-T2, DVB-C, or ISDB-T Digital TV Tuner
Geniatech ATV495 Max was the first model from the company to get official Android TV certifications. There now a bunch of those ATV OEM devices, but if you want one with a digital TV tuner, then the choice is much more limited, and so far, I only heard about ARRIS set top boxes. Geniatech ATV598 Max can now be added to the list, as the company informed me the Amlogic quad core hybrid TV box with ATSC, DVB-T2, or DVB-C tuner had just received official Android TV certification from Google too. ATV598Max specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905D quad core Arm Cortex-A53 processor up to 1.5 GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 (optional 1GB) Storage – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0a; Audio – Via HDMI, optical output, optional Dolby support Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi […]