Some Android mini PCs come with cameras, for example Measy U2C or CS928, but depending on firmware support, most will also take a USB webcam, and the obvious application is for video conferencing with Skype or Google Hangout. But I’ve just found out an app called “AtHome Video Streamer” can transform any Android device with camera support into as IP camera for security or monitoring. The app will show with the name AVS, and it should detect your camera automatically, and show a live feed. I installed the app in Zidoo X9 TV box to which I connected a UVC USB camera in order to monitor… my chameleon plush / pillow. X9 camera support might need to be improved, as I lost access to the webcam a few times. You don’t have many options in AVS app, except Dimming the screen, and change the streamer name, username and/or password. So […]
Perseus Video Codec Claims 2 to 3 Times Better Compression than H.265 using Legacy Hardware
H.265 (aka HEVC) is supposed to half the video bandwidth / bitrate required compared to H.264 by delivering the same quality, and VP9 should also offer equivalent compression, but it’s just not as broadly supported in media processors. UK based V-Nova claims its Perseus codec can even beat that, by providing 2 to 3 times better compression than H.265 thanks to a new approach to video encoding, that allow the codec to leverage existing hardware, meaning it can be encoded with existing computers, and decoded by leveraging the CPU and GPU parallel processing capabilities in existing mobile & computing devices. Perseus codec highlights: Highly efficient – >3x compression vs. state-of-the-art in practical use cases. Benefits further increase with increasing resolutions & frame rates. Extremely fast – Significant processing time reduction thanks to massively parallel architecture. Designed to take advantage of modern hardware Multi-scale (continuously hierarchical) – Single bit stream for […]
EasyFinder Integrates Bluetooth Location Technology into AAA & AA Batteries (Crowdfunding)
Products leveraging Bluetooth Location technology have been around for a couple of years with tags like SticknFind, that you can stick to any devices and locate them with your Bluetooth enabled smartphone. A Texan inventor decided to integrate this technology into a rechargeable battery to easily let people find their remote controls or other battery operated device. The Bluetooth transmitter is part of an AA battery, but they also provide a AA sleeve if your device requires larger batteries. Once you’ve installed the battery, you need download and install EasyFinder app on your Android or iOS smartpphone, tablet, or smartwatch. It will let you register the battery, and estimate your device position, and once you are close enough, you can make the battery ring to find it more easily. In case you perfectly know where your remote control is, but you just lost your phone somewhere, you can touch the […]
Xiaomi Mi Box Mini Unboxing
Xiaomi Mi Box Mini is probably the smallest Android media player available so far. It integrates a 100-240V power supply, and only features a single HDMI output port, no micro SD slot, and no USB ports. Although the device is primarily targeting the Chinese market, with a Chinese user interface and CCC certification only, several Chinese e-retailers have started to offer it for $50 or less. GearBest sells it for $42.98 with coupon MIBOX, and they’ve sent me a sample for review. Today, I’ll post some pictures of the device, before doing a review, including trying to switch to a user interface in English. Mi Box Mini Unboxing I’ve received the package via DHL, and for once I did not have pay custom duty or other tax. On the back of the package, they listed some key features in Chinese, such as H.265 1080p video playback, quad core processor, hexa […]
Cubieboard 4 Ubuntu Review – Setup, Usability, and Performance
Cubieboard4 is a development board powered by Allwinner A80 octa-core processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB eMMC. I’ve already shown how to get started with the board using the pre-installed Android 4.4 image, and run some benchmarks in Android, so now it’s time to check out the Ubuntu Linaro 14.04 image provided by CubieTech. I’ll show how to install and setup Ubuntu 14.04 on the board using a micro SD card, run desktop applications like Chromium, Libre Office, and son on on the board, and complete the review with some Linux benchmarks. Setting up Ubuntu on Cubieboard4 Firmware images for Cubiebord4 can be downloaded @ http://dl.cubieboard.org/model/cc-a80/Image/. Currently Android 4.4, Debian server, Ubuntu Linaro server, and Ubuntu Linaro desktop with LXDE desktop environment. That’s the latter I’ll use for the experiment, and two images are available: linaro-desktop-cb4-card-hdmi-v0.4.img.7z – Bootable image from micro SD card linaro-desktop-cb4-emmc-hdmi-v0.4.img.7z – Installation image to eMMC to […]
Howchip is Teasing ExSOM-7420SB Development Board Based on Samsung Exynos 7420 Processor
We’ve already seen a few Cortex A53 boards announced in the last few months with Nobel64, as well as Hikey & DragonBoard 410c 96Boards, but none of them are based on the more powerful Cortex A57 cores. Howchip is going to change that with the upcoming ExSOM-7420SB single board computer featuring Samsung Exynos 7420 processor used in Galaxy S6 smartphone. The company has released very few details about the board, except the block diagram above that shows Exynos 7420 with 3GB LPDDR4 PoP memory, and various interfaces such as USB 2.0/3.0, UFS/eMMC, Ethernet, HDMI, MIPI DSI, Camera, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The board will support Android 5.0 Lollipop 64-bit. No word about Linux. That’s the video teaser, but you won’t learn much… More details should eventually be published on ExSOM-7420SB product page. Alternatively, Hardkernel will also probably launch an ODROID-XU4? board based on the latest Exynos 7 […]
KEECOO 1080p Wi-Fi Action Camera Goes for $49.99 (Promo)
KEECOO is yet another full HD action camera with Wi-Fi connectivity that provides most of GoPro functionalities, and while it normally sells for about $90 to $95 on sites like GeekBuying or GearBest, Focalprice is currently offering a steep discount by selling it for just $49.99 for a limited time period (1 day remaining). It looks like they changed their mind, and it’s now $79.99… Keecoo sports camera features and specifications: SoC – Alpha Imaging Technology AIT8427 32-bit processor @ 500 MHz Storage – micro SD slot up to 32GB – Class 6 or above recommended LCD screen – Tiny grayscale LCD display on the front Camera 12MP CMOS 170° wide angle lens; LENS F2.8 , f=4.93mm, M12, 7G+1IR Image resolutions: 4000×3000(12M) 2592×1944(5M) 2048×1536(3M) 1600×1200(2M); JPEG format Video resolutions: 1080p30fps, 720p60/30; H.264 video codec, AAC audio codec, MOV container. Video Output – mini HDMI and AV out (PAL / NTSC) […]
Iocean M6752 Smartphone Review
Last week I provides specs, took some pictures, and run Antutu benchmark on Iocean M6752, a 64-bit ARM smartphone powered by Mediatek MT6752 octa-core Cortex A53 processor with 3GB RAM, 16 GB eMMC, and a 5.5″ FullHD display. I’ve been using the device as my main smartphone for over a week, and I’m now ready to write a full review for the phone. General Impressions At first the material and color used on the back cover feels a little strange, but I quickly got used it, and the build quality seems pretty good, and the phone is very light. I must have made one or two calls during the week, and I mainly use my smartphone to check emails, run social network apps, browse the web, play some casual games like Candy Crush Saga, watch YouTube videos, and make Skype calls, and for these tasks I could not really fault […]