AMLogic Category - Page 86 of 95 - CNX Software

May 15, 2014March 6, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 34 Comments

How to Boot a Headless Linux Image on Amlogic S802 TV Boxes (Tronsmart Vega S89 Elite)

As some of you already know, I’ve been playing around with Tronsmart Vega S89 Elite, an Android TV Box powered by Amlogic S802 quad-core ARM Cortex A9r4 processor at 2 GHz. Today, I’ll show how to boot a headless Linux image on any Amlogic-based S802 TV Box from the network. The instructions can mainly be used as a starting point for developers, as it requires access to a serial terminal via UART, but if you’ve never done it before, the instructions should be easy enough to follow. Everything is loaded from the network, the kernel (via boot.img) is loaded via TFTP, and the rootfs (Linaro ALIP image) is mounted via NFS, so it’s nearly impossible to brick your device using the method provided. Linaro ALIP rootfs comes with LXDE, but at this stage, the desktop environment is not showing, even though my HDMI TV is properly detected by the drivers. […]

May 12, 2014May 12, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 57 Comments

How to Extract a Device Tree File from Android Firmware Files

Up to now, all our cheap Android devices were based on older Linux kernel (3.0.x, 3.4.x) that still used board files (arch/arm/board, but we’ve recently seen companies like Amlogic and Rockchip release source code with Linux kernel 3.10.x. One of the key differences between these version are the move from board files to flattened device tree and multi-platform support. If it is fully implemented, a single kernel image should be able to boot multiple hardware platforms, and all low level configuration handled by the device tree file. Since I’ve connected the serial port of Tronsmart Vega S89 for debugging, and it’s a slow news day, I thought I might try to boot the Linux kernel I compiled myself, but one of the challenge was to get the device tree file. I’ll show how to extract it from the firmware. It should also be possible to get it directly from the […]

May 8, 2014May 8, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

MINIX NEO X8 and X8s Android TV Boxes are Now Available for Pre-order for $119 and up

Last month, MINIX announced their NEO X8 and NEO X8s Android TV boxes powered by Amlogic S802 and S802-H (with Dolby/DTS support). The company disclosed the specifications but they did not provide price information. This morning, I noticed the devices were available for pre-order on DealExtreme for $132 and $151.56, and I went to look for it on Aliexpress where NEO X8 sells for as low as $119 and NEO X8s for $148. All prices include shipping. One shop also sell these for well over $200 with the new MINIX NEO M1 air mouse. Both devices come with 2GB RAM, HDMI video output, stereo and optical S/PDIF audio outputs, Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity, and 3 USB ports. Whereas NEO X8 features 8GB flash, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Amlogic S802 SoC, NEO X8s boasts 16GB flash, dual band 2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi, and Amlogic S802-H which properly supports Dolby and DTS audio pass-through via […]

May 7, 2014May 7, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

How to Open Tronsmart Vega S89 (Elite) and Access the Serial Console

Tronsmart Vega S89 (Elite) is an Android TV based on Amlogic S802 quad core ARM Cortex A9 processor @ 2GHz, and is one of the fastest Chinese ARM box on the device, at least until Rockchip RK3288 and AllWinner A80 devices come to market. In my unboxing post, I mentioned the UART pins were available, and sometimes in March Amlogic released U-boot and Linux source code for M802/S808, so it’s likely some developers will play around, and eventually run Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, …) on the platform. So today, I’ve done some preliminary work by connecting a USB to serial debug board to my device. The steps to follow are straightforward, and should work on Beelink M8/S82, Jesurun S82, MBOX-S82, IdeaStar S82, etc… which are basically the same box with different names. Before accessing the serial port, we’ll need to open the box. Start by removing the 3 sticky pads at […]

April 25, 2014July 26, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 39 Comments

Amlogic STB SoCs Comparison – AML8726-MX, S802, S805, and S812

The second quarter of 2014 is promising to be an exciting time for Android TV boxes based on Chinese SoCs with lots of announcements. Devices powered by Amlogic S802 quad core SoC such as M8 and Vega S89 are already available, Rockchip RK3288 Android TV boxes are likely to sell in May, together with AllWinner A80 development board and tablets, and Android media players probably coming to market in June or July. But Amlogic S802 is not the only new quad core processor announced by Amlogic, with S805 and S812 soon to be featured in HDMI TV sticks and TV boxes. Amlogic IP/OTT STB SoC page has a comparison table for their four STB SoC. Let’s go through this table to see which processor may better match different end-users requirements. Multi-core CPU Dual Core ARM Cortex A9 Quad Core ARM Cortex A9 Quad Core ARM Cortex A9 Quad Core ARM […]

April 23, 2014April 23, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Xiaomi Unveils $64 Mi Box Pro TV Box Powered by Amlogic S802 SoC

Xiaomi, now just called Mi, has announced three new products today. Two 802.11ac Wi-Fi routers: Mi Wi-Fi Router for 699 CNY ($112), and Mi Wi-Fi mini for 129 CNY ($20), and one Android TV box called Mi Box Pro featuring Amlogic S802 quad core Cortex A9r4 processor with 2GB RAM, 4GB eMMC Flash, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi that will sell in China for just 399 CNY ($64). Mi Pro Box specifications: SoC – Amlogic S802 quad core Cortex A9r4 processor @ 2GHz with ARM Mali-450MP6 octa-core GPU System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 4GB eMMC Flash + micro SD slot up to 64 GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI (Up to 4K30) and 3.5 mm AV Audio / Video Playback – MKV, AVI, MP3 and MOV up to 4K resolution. AC3, Dolby and DTS audio support Connectivity – Dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi up to 120 Mbps (vs 40 […]

April 17, 2014August 17, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 242 Comments

Review of M8 Android Kitkat TV Box Powered by Amlogic S802 SoC

A few days ago, I wrote an Unboxing and Specs post about the M8, an Android TV Box powered by Amlogic S802 quad core Cortex A9 processor. The review took a little as I was waiting for a new firmware. I’ve now upgraded this S802 Box, and been able to complete a review. As usual , I’ll start by giving my first impressions, have a look at the user interface and settings, test different king of video files, evaluate Wi-Fi performance, and try to cover most hardware features including Bluetooth, external storage, USB webcam, and so on. The overall user’s experience, is very similar to Tronsmart Vega S89, but there are some notable differences I’ll go through during the review. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions Shenzhen Tomato sent me a sample unit which they call TM8 (Tomato M8?), but I’ll just refer to the device as M8 in the […]

April 16, 2014August 17, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 80 Comments

How to Upgrade Firmware in Amlogic S802 Devices

Shenzhen Tomato has finally sent me an updated firmware (password: 17r0) for M8 / TM8 Android TV box powered by Amlogic S802. This firmware is rooted, and adds support for Google Apps (Play Store, Gmail and so on), among others things. So it’s a good time to try out and write about the firmware update instructions which are very similar to AML8726-MX firmware instructions. Bear in mind that firmware is usually specific to a given hardware platform, and if you try it on another non-compatible S802 TV box, you may brick your device. Standard “OTA” Method Any Windows, Mac OS, Linux computer or even your own Android device should be able to handle is as you just need to download, extract and copy files to an SD card. I’ve done the procedure from a computer running Ubuntu 13.04: Download the firmware (e.g. TM8 ap6330_03102014A_0410_ROOT.rar), and extract it Copy the files […]