Giveaway Week – Zidoo X9 Android TV Box and HDMI Recorder

For the last day of giveaway week 2016, I’ll send Zidoo X9 Android TV box and HDMI recorder powered by Mstar MSO9180D1R quad core Cortex A9 processor to one lucky winner. The product was launched at the end of 2014 with Android 4.4, and at the time of my review, I found the HDMI PVR function to work pretty well, the device also come with very good WiFi and internal storage, but Kodi needed some work. The company has provided firmware updates for a little over a year for the device with the latest firmware release on December 2015. It’s also possible to stream video from HDMI input to the network. I’ll send the package with all items shown in the picture above. To enter the draw simply leave a comment below. Other rules are as follows: Only one entry per contest. I will filter out entries with the same […]

Remix IO+ Android TV Box Features Rockchip RK3399 Processor, 4GB RAM, 32GB Storage for $129 (Crowdfunding)

Jide Technology launched a Kickstarter campaign for Remix IO TV box a couple of weeks ago, and now they’ve added a very interesting device with Remix IO+ TV box running the company’s Remix OS operating system powered by Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor with 4GB RAM, 32 GB storage. The case design will be the same, but the hardware much more powerful than the Rockchip RK3368 based modek. Remix IO+ specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 Hexa core processor with 2x ARM Cortex-A72 cores @ up to 2.0 GHz, 4x ARM Coertex A53 cores, and Mali-T860MP4 GPU System Memory – 4 GB RAM Storage – 32 GB eMMC flash + microSD card slot up to 128GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0s port up to 4K @ 60 Hz, VGA port Audio Output – HDMI, 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet port, dual band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x […]

ONENUTS Nut 1 TV Box Specifications, Unbagging and Teardown

I first discovered Shenzhen Tomato’s ONENUTS brand through ONENUTS T1 3-in-1 projector, tablet, and mini PC, but the company has now launched a new product with ONENUTS Nut 1 Android TV box powered by Amlogic S912 processor, and the usual 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, but the product stands out a little thanks to its presentation as we’ll see below. ONENUTS Nut 1 Specifications The technical specifications are pretty much standard: SoC – Amlogic S912 octa-core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-820MP3 @ up to 750MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60Hz with CEC and HDR support, and AV port (composite) Audio Output – HDMI, AV (stereo audio), and optical S/PDIF Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 USB […]

ARM Introduces Bifrost Mali-G51 GPU, and Mali-V61 4K H.265 & VP9 Video Processing Unit

Back in May of this year, ARM unveiled Mali-G71 GPU for premium devices, and the first GPU of the company based on Bifrost architecture. The company has now introduced the second Bifrost GPU with Mali-G51 targeting augmented & virtual reality and higher resolution screens to be found in mainstream devices in 2018, as well as Mali-V61 VPU with 4K H.265 & VP9 video decode and encode capabilities, previously unknown under the codename “Egil“. Mali-G51 GPU ARM Mali-G51 will be 60% more energy efficiency, and have 60% more performance density compared to Mali-T830 GPU, making the new GPU the most efficient ARM GPU to date. It will also be 30% smaller, and support 1080p to 4K displays. Under the hood, Mali-G51 include an updated Bifrost’s low level instruction set, a dual-pixel shader core per GPU core to deliver twice the texel and pixel rates, features the latest ARM Frame Buffer Compression […]

GIGABYTE GB-BPCE-3350 Apollo Lake Mini PC to be Powered by Intel Celeron N3350 Processor

GIGABYTE GB-BPCE-3350 will be one of the first Intel Apollo Lake mini PCs powered by the entry-level Celeron N3350 dual core processor, with two SO-DIMM slots for up to 8GB RAM, SATA support, HDMI 2.0 and VGA ports, etc… and very much designed like an Intel NUC. GIGABYTE GB-BPCE-3350 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N3350 dual core processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.4 GHz with 12 EU Intel HD graphics 500 @ 200 MHz / 650 MHz (6W TDP) System Memory – 2x SO-DIMM DDR3L 1333/ 1600/ 1866 MHz slot up to 8GB Storage –  1x 2.5″ SATA 3.0 bay for drives with 7.0/9.5mm thickness, 1x micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 with HDCP 2.2 up to 4K @ 60 Hz, and VGA up to 1920×1200 @ 60 Hz; Dual independent display support Audio – HDMI out, 3.5mm audio in/mic in combo jack; Realtek ALC255 audio codec Connectivity […]

$28 MK809V 4K Android TV Stick is Powered by Rockchip RK3229 Processor

Rockchip RK3229 is found is some ultra-cheap 4K Android TV boxes such as SCISHION V88 are selling for as low as $20. If you prefer HDMI TV stick form factor, there’s now MK809V 4K TV stick based on the processor, which I’ve first noticed on DealExtreme for $30.71, but it can also be found on other sites such as GeekBuying for $27.99, or eBay for $33. MK809V-4K HDMI TV dongle specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3229 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-400MP2 System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot up to 32GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K2K @ 60 fps with CEC support Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi up to 150 Mbps + Bluetooth 4.0 LE (Realtek RTL8723) USB – 1x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG port, 1x micro […]

Beelink GT1 TV Box Review – Part 2: Android Marshmallow Firmware

I’ve previously reviewed other Amlogic S912 TV boxes such as M12N MXQ Plus or Qintaix Q912, but Beelink GT1 has the advantage of being quite cheaper at $56 and up, but still come with many of the same features as more expensive devices. I’ve already posted pictures, and checked out the hardware design in the first part of Beelink GT1 review, so in the second part I’ll report my experience with Android, including video and audio capabilities, hardware features testing, and some benchmarks. First Boot, OTA Firmware Update, Settings, and First Impressions The device comes with two USB ports only, so I connected a USB hard drive to one of the port, and a USB hub to the other with the RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad, as well as a USB keyboard to take screenshots. I completed the setup by adding […]

Zidoo X9S Android Media Center Review – Part 2: Android Firmware & OpenWrt (NAS Functions)

Zidoo X9S is more than a simple Android TV box, as it supports NAS function via OpenWrt running simultaneously with Android 6.0 and its USB 3.0 and SATA ports, as well as HDMI input function capable of recording and broadcasting videos, and supporting Picture-in-picture, so I find “Android Media Center” better fit the description for this device. I’ve already taken pictures of the Zidoo X9S and its board in the first part of the review, so I’ll test both Android 6.0 & OpenWrt firmware, and the most of the features in the second part of the review. Initial Setup and First Boot I connected the usual accessories and cables to the box including a USB 3.0 hard drive, HDMI and Ethernet cables, USB RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad, and a USB keyboard to take screenshots. I also added a 1TB SATA […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC