Stream Live TV to Your Computer or Smartphone with U4 Quad Hybrid Android TV Box, Kodi and TVheadend

TVheadend is a streaming server and recorder for Linux, FreeBSD and Android supporting DVB-S, DVB-S2, DVB-C, DVB-T, ATSC, ISDB-T, IPTV, SAT>IP and HDHomeRun as input sources, and while in theory it should be possible to configure any recent Android TV set-top box with digital TV tuners, configuration is complex, and there’s no guarantee the tuner will be recognized. However, the manufacturer of U4 Quad Hybrid has already configured their box to support HTSP clients, so I’ve installed the latest firmware, and given it a try with my Android smartphone running Kodi 15.2 with TVheadend HTSP client, and I could successfully stream live TV (DVB-T2 free-to-air channels) to my smartphone. Once you’ve scanned the channels using DVB-T2 and/or DVB-S2, there’s no other configuration in U4 Quad Hybrid TV box, but you’ll still need to find out your IP address by going to Setup->Network, and WiFi, Ethernet or 3G depending on your […]

96Boards Hikey Development Board is Now Officially Supported in AOSP

Hikey is a one of the first 96Boards compliant development board manufactured by either LeMaker in China and CircuitCo in the US, and while the hardware requirements of 96Boards specifications are rather easy to meet, the software requirements including “bootloader (open source), accelerated graphics support (binary or open source), a Linux kernel buildable from source code based from mainline, or the latest Google-supported Android kernel version” are much harder to comply with. Linaro had a very good news for Linaro Connect Bangkok as they announced Hikey board was supported in Android Open Source Project (AOSP). So that means Hikey board will run the latest version of Android like Google Nexus devices, with the advantage of also getting more recent devices. If you want to build an Android image from AOSP just retrieve the source code:

Grab & extract vendors binaries for Hikey from Google.com. and complete the build:

[…]

U4 Quad Hybrid Android TV Box Unboxing and Teardown with DVB-T2, DVB-S2 and ATSC Tuners

Yesterday, I wrote about U4 Quad Hybrid Android Digital TV receiver based on HiSilicon Hi3796M processor, and supporting for DVB-T2/T/C, DVB-S2, and ATSC standards. Today, I’ve received the device, taken a few pictures, and torn it down to find out more about the hardware. The full review will come out in a few weeks. U4 Quad Hybrid Unboxing DHL did their job quickly as I received the set-top box in about two days in the following package. The box comes with a 12V/1.5Am AV and HDMI cables, a WiFi antenna, an IR remote control requiring two AAA batteries (not included), a user’s manual in Korean language only and… a separate tuner… So let’s check that tuner more in details… The demodulator chip is LG3390A, so an ATSC tuner is included in the package. Not very useful in Thailand, but it’s good to know it’s included. I also open the cover […]

U4 Quad Hybrid Android Set-top Box Supports DVB-S2, DVB-T2/T/C & ATSC Tuners

So far most of the Android receiver with digital TV tuners I covered on CNX Software are based on Amlogic processor, with a few exceptions such as Infomir MAG277 based on STMicro STiH301 processor. There’s now another choice with U4 Quad Hybrid, an Android 4.4 TV box powered by Hisilicon Hi3796M quad core Cortex A7 processor that supports DVB-S2, DVB-T2/C, and ATSC tuners. U4 Quad Hybrid specifications: SoC – Hisilicon Hi3796M quad core Cortex A7 processor with a Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3-1600 MHz Storage – 8GB internal storage and micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI 1.4a up to 4K @ 30Hz + AV port (CBVS) Audio Output – HDMI, AV and coaxial S/PDIF (optical S/PDIF available as an option) Video Decoding – Up to 4K @ 30 fps for H.265, H.264, MPEG-4, AVS, VC-1, VP6/8, etc.. Full HD 3D video (MVC) and blu-ray navigation supported Tuners […]

Linaro Releases the First (Alpha) Version of the 96Boards Reference Software Platform

Linaro’s 96Boards initiative was launched at the beginning of the year with Hikey board, and beside the hardware specifications, 96Boards also has some software requirements that include support for “bootloader (open source), accelerated graphics support (binary or open source), a Linux kernel buildable from source code based from mainline, or the latest Google-supported Android kernel version, or the last two LTS kernels, and one of more of the following operating systems: Android, Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora/Red Hat, or an OpenEmbedded/Yocto build of a Linux distribution”. In order to achieve this goal, Linaro introduced the Reference Software Platform for 96Boards, and they’ve now pushed the first Alpha release for Hikey and DragonBoard 410c boards. The release includes a bootloader, the Linux kernel, Debian and AOSP with firmware, source code, and documentation. Some highlights of the Reference Software Platform 15.10 Alpha release include: CE Debian RPB (Reference Platform Build) Debian 8.2 “Jessie” Linux 4.3 […]

Huawei Kirin 950 Octa-core Processor Comes with 4 Cortex A72 Cores, 4 Cortex A53 Cores, and a Sensor Hub

Smartphone based on MediaTek Helio X20 (MT6797) processor with 10 cores including two Cortex A72 cores should start shipping next month, but MediaTek will soon be joined by another Asian company with a mobile SoC with Cortex A72 cores with Huawei that has recently demonstrated their Kirin 950 Octa-core processor with four Cortex A72 coers and four Cortex A53 cores, achieving over 82,000 points in Antutu 5.6 (why an older version?) on a reference board. For reference the top 10 Antutu scores so far in 2015, only got as high as ~77,000 points fro Meizu Pro 5.  Since the benchmark was run on a reference, it’s possible the score will drop once it’s in a tighter package. Some key features of Kirin 950 processors: CPU – 4x Cortex A72 cores @ 2.3 GHz, 4x Cortex A53 cores @ 1.8 GHz GPU – ARM Mali-T880MP4 GPU @ 900 MHz Co-processor – […]

LeMaker Hikey 96Boards Development Board Comes with 1 to 2GB RAM, Sells for $75 and Up

Hikey was the first 64-bit ARM development board compliant with 96Boards specifications, and supported by Linaro. Availability always seemed to be an issue however, and pricing was set to $129. But Lemaker, the makers of Banana Pi boards, recently joined Linaro, and they’ve built a lower cost version of the Hikey board, still featuring Hisilicon Kirin 620 octa-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor, but with 1GB and 2GB RAM versions, priced respectively at $75 and $99. LeMaker Hikey board specifications: SoC – HiSilicon Kirin 620 octa core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.2 GHz with ARM Mali-450MP4 GPU System Memory – 1 or 2 GB LPDDR3 @ 800 MHz Storage – 8GB eMMC + micro SD slot Video Output / Display – HDMI up to 1080p, MIPI-DSI interface Connectivity – 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1 LE (WL1835MOD module) USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG Camera – MIPI CSI […]

Open Hour Gecko 4K Android Player Features Hisilicon Hi3798M Processor

Cloud Media has just introduced yet another media player with Open Hour Gecko, an Android TV box powered by Hisilicon Hi3798M quad core Cortex A7 processor supporting H.265 and video output up to 4K @ 30Hz. Open Hour Gecko specifications: SoC – HiSilicon Hi3798M quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.5GHz with a quad core ARM Mali-450MP GPU. System Memory – 1 GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND Flash + micro SD slot Video Out – HDMI up to 4K @ 30Hz, and 3.5 mm jack AV jack Audio Output – HDMI, AV, and optical S/PDIF Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, built-in 802.11 b/g/n WiFi with external antenna USB – 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x USB 2.0 host port Misc – Power switch (On/Off) Power Supply – 5V/2A Dimensions – N/A The device ships with a power adapter, HDMI and AV cables, a remote control with batteries, a Quick Start […]

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