AMLogic Category - Page 92 of 95 - CNX Software

April 15, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

Android Set-top Boxes With Digital Satellite TV Receiver (DVB-S2)

There are now plenty of Android set-top boxes or HDMI TV sticks, but if you want to watch digital satellite or terrestrial TV, the options are limited. If you already have a satellite receiver at home, you could buy an Android set-top box with an HDMI input such as Huawei MediaQ M310, or use a DVB-S2 USB adapter, but you may need to acquire both the kernel source and DVB driver to compile it for your device. So for now, the last option is currently reserved for ODM/OEM as mentioned on Geniatech store. But today, I’m going to write about an Android set-top boxes that comes with a satellite receiver (DVB-S2). They are all based on AMLogic AML8726-M1/M3, and models include: Geniatech ATV1100B Hybrid DVB Box – Multiple standards STV-502 – DVB-S2 Monolithelec MINGLE – DVB-S2 Geniatech ATV1100B Key Features: SoC – AmLogic AML8726-M1 ARM Cortex A9 @ 800MHz System […]

April 12, 2013April 13, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

MINIX To Launch Four New NEO Set-Top Boxes: X5+, X5 Mini, X3 & X7

MINIX is a company relatively well know for its Neo G4 mini PC and Neo X5 Android set-top box based on Rockchip RK3066. They’ve now announced 4 new devices for HKTDC Electronic Fair in Hong Kong: Neo X5+ – RK3066 Set-top box based on Neo X5, but with 2GB RAM instead of 1GB RAM. Neo X5 Mini – Low cost version of the Neo X5 with 8GB NAND Flash instead of 16GB, and missing Bluetooth support. Neo X3 – Android 4.1/4.2 Set-top box powered by AMLogic AML8726-M3 with 1GB RAM, 4GB Flash, and 802.11n Wi-Fi. No word about Ethernet support. Neo X7 – Android Media Player based on Rockchip RK3188 with 2GB RAM, 16 GB RAM, HDMI, Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth support. The full specifications are not available yet, but the design of the box is nice, although it might not be to the taste of everybody, and I […]

March 30, 2013March 30, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Updated Review of Tronsmart Prometheus with Android 4.2 and XBMC

Earlier this month, a new firmware for Tronsmart Prometheus with Android 4.2 and XBMC with hardware acceleration has been released. Several users left divergent opinions about this firmware, so I’ve decided to give it a try, and write an updated review of Tronsmart Prometheus. I’ll focus on the new features and performance of Android 4.2, XBMC video testing, and see if some of the bugs I found in my earlier review have been fixed. Android 4.2 Features and Benchmarks The firmware file and instructions are available on Tronsmart website. The procedure is straight forward so I won’t repeat it here. During the first boot after the upgrade, you’ll be taken through a wizard to configure your device (e.g. Ethernet, WiFi,…). The first think you’ll notice is a slightly different Home Screen in Android 4.2. There are several small UI improvements / modifications, but the most interesting features for me in […]

March 28, 2013October 6, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Droid Stick A2 mini PC Recovery with AMLogic’s Hardware Flash Tool

In some circumstances, for example by installing the wrong firmware or doing something wrong by playing god (as a root user), it’s possible to brick your device. This happened to me with one of my Droid Stick A2 mini PCs based on AMLogic AML8726-MX. I changed some files in /system/etc/permissions directory, lost Wi-Fi access, and even replacing my changes with the backup files would not solve the problem. It also changed some permissions in the system, and it was not possible to restore the firmware the usual way. At the end of last month, dbtablets left a comment with download links to “Amlogic USB Burning tool”, but I only decided to give it a try today, and after some efforts I was successful. Just make sure you only use this method as last resort, i.e. a standard firmware upgrade does not work, and you’re about to throw your device in […]

March 27, 2013May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Mini PCs (MK802+, UG802, GK802 & iStick A200) Linux Performance Comparison

Ian MORRISON (linuxium) has tested Linux with several mini PCs powered by different processors. The main point of his tests was to evaluate the performance difference between running Ubuntu 12.04 natively, or in a chroot in Android using tools such as Complete Linux Installer. I previously tried Linux on Android in ODROID-X, and found the applications start time when running from an low-end SD card pretty dismal, and the graphics performance poor. Ian had a different approach, and decided to use a subset of Phoronix Suite benchmarks to compare different hardware / software combination and posted the results in “mini PCs” G+ community. There’s a lot of data, and analyzing the results is not really straightforward without spending some time looking at the data. In this post, I’ll explain how the tests have been conducted, explain the results and try to draw a conclusion. Mini PCs and other Hardware Under […]

March 12, 2013March 17, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Giayee TV BOX101 Looks Like a Nexus Q Clone

Last summer Google launched the Nexus Q a set-top box which main features were its rounded shape and ridiculously high price. Google eventually dropped the product, but at least one Chinese company called Giayee believes in the concept and launched TV BOX101 which just looks like the Nexus Q internally, but instead of OMAP4460, it’s powered by Rockchip RK3066. Here are some preliminary specifications of the device: SoC – Rockchip RK3066 Dual core A9 @ 1.6GHz + Quad Mali-400 GPU System Memory 1G DDR3 RAM Storage – 8G NAND Flash + micro SD slot Video Out – HDMI + AV Connectivity: Ethernet – 10/100M Wifi – 802.11 b/g/n USB – 2x USB Host Size – Diameter 117mm, Height 108.5mm Weight: 363g Air Mouse Control Wireless Microphone Somatic Joypad Customized UI This Android 4.1 device will come with an “Air Mouse Controller”, an HDMI cable, a power supply (5V/3A), and a […]

March 12, 2013March 30, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Latest Tronsmart Prometheus Firmware Features Android 4.2 and XBMC with Video Hardware Decoding

Last month I reviewed Tronsmart Prometheus, and I was pretty satisfied with the device except some bugs. There’s no a firmware update that should fix AC3/DTS static noise issues in this set-top box. Prometheus also becomes one of the first set-top boxes to support the latest Android Jelly Bean 4.2, and comes with an XBMC version supporting hardware decode using XBMC user interface, and not an external media player such as DicePlayer or MX Player. You can download the firmware ( 2013-3-08(4.2_root_ac3_dts_market_xbmc).zip), and install it using the upgrade procedure on Tronsmart website. I’m on the road, so I can’t try the firmware myself right now (which also explains why I haven’t posted in the last few days), but Geekuying has upload a short video showing XBMC with video hardware acceleration on the device. (Previous firmware in Android 4.1.2). Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, […]

February 9, 2013February 9, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 44 Comments

Tronsmart Prometheus Review

Now is the time to review another device sent to me by Geekbuying. Tronsmart Promotheus is an Android 4.1 Android set-top box powered by AMLogic AML8726-MX (aka AML8726-M6) with 1GB RAM and 4GB Flash, 3 USB ports, as well as Wi-Fi and Ethernet for connectivity. This device, which looks like a spaceship (my wife said it looks like a buffalo), has the potential to run XBMC with full hardware acceleration in Android and/or Linux. Tronsmart Prometheus Unboxing I’ve received the box in the package below. Apart from Promotheus media player, the package contains a 12V/1A power supply, an HDMI cable, an AV cable and a user manual in English that appears to be useful for once. It explains how to connect to device to the TV, to the networks, and to the power, how to do firmware upgrade, and how to troubleshoot it. It is presented in a way that […]