Amlogic S905X2 vs S905X3 – Features Comparison

Amlogic S905X2 vs S905X3

Despite Arm claiming Cortex-A55 core would bring some performance improvements, we’ve recently seen actual Amlogic S905X3 benchmarks show the performance compared to Amlogic S905X2 Arm Cortex-A53 is almost identical (3% improvement for S905X3 CPU, 9% for the GPU). So Amlogic S905X3 TV box processor must differentiate itself from its predecessor by its additional features, and while we published the detailed specifications of Amlogic S905X3 processor a few months ago, we did not provide a side-by-side comparison table just yet. So here’s one courtesy of SDMC (with some corrections). SoC Amlogic S905X2 Amlogic S905X3 CPU 4x Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1.80 GHz 4x Arm Cortex-A55 @ 1.91 GHz Neural Network Accelerator N/A Optional 1.2 TOPS NNA GPU Mali-G31 MP2 with OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.0, and OpenCL 2.0 Always-on MCU Cortex-M3 & Cortex-M4 (Optional ) Cortex-M3 & Cortex-M4 DDR DDR3-2133 /DDR3L-2133 / DDR4-2666 /LPDDR3-2133 /LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM up to 4G DDR3-2133 /DDR3L-2133 / […]

Amlogic A311D and S922X-B Processors Support 8K VP9 Video Decoding

Amlogic A311D 8K VP9

We’ve already written about future processors that will support 8K video decoding, such as Rockchip RK3588 that is expected to launch in early 2020. But I’ve just read claims that Amlogic A311D and S922X-B processors could also decode VP9 8K at 30 fps. So let’s have a look at Amlogic A311D datasheet first: Amlogic Video Engine (AVE-10) offloads the Cortex-A53 CPUs from all video CODEC processing. It includes dedicated hardware video decoder and encoder. AVE-10 is capable of decoding 4Kx2K resolution video at 75fps with complete Trusted Video Path (TVP) for secure applications and supports full formats including MVC, MPEG-1/2/4, VC-1/WMV, AVS, AVS+, AVS2 RealVideo, MJPEG streams, H.264, H265-10, VP9 and also JPEG pictures with no size limitation. The independent encoder is able to encode in JPEG or H.265/H.264 up to 1080p at 60fps There’s only mention of 4Kx2K decoding at up to 75fps, and further down in the document, […]

Amlogic S905X3 Specifications & Block Diagram

S905X3 Block Diagram

A few days ago, we wrote about upcoming quad core Cortex-A55 processors from Amlogic with S905X3, S905Y3, and S905D3 SoCs. Today, we got a little more information with a product brief including the main features, and a block diagram. Amlogic S905X3 is described as an “advanced application processor designed for hybrid OTT/ IP Set Top Box (STB) and high-end media box applications. Amlogic S905X3 specifications: CPU Sub-system Quad core Arm Cortex-A55 CPU with Armv8-A Neon and Crypto extension, 8-stage in-order full dual issue pipeline, unified system L3 cache Arm Cortex-M3 core for system control processing Optional Arm Cortex-M4 core for always-on processing TrustZone Internal QoS based switching fabrics Optional Neural Network Accelerator – 1.2 TOPS NN inference accelerator supporting TensorFlow and Caffe 3D Graphics Processing Unit – Arm Mali G31MP2 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.0 and OpenCL 2.0 support 2.5D Graphics Processor Fast bitblt engine with […]

Amlogic S905X3, S905Y3 & S905D3 Quad Core Cortex A55 AI Processors Are Coming Soon

Amlogic S905X3, S905Y3

I’ve just found out Amlogic is working on S905X3, S905Y3, and S905D3 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor, coupled with an AI processor normally used for voice recognition in TV boxes, following the introduction of Amlogic S905X2, S905Y2, and S905D2 processors last year, all based on the older and time-tested Arm Cortex-A53 cores. Arm Cortex A55 was announced together with Arm Cortex A75 processor as the first core compatible with DynamIQ processing, and so far we’ve seen a few Arm Cortex-A55 cores but mostly combined with Cortex-A75. Amlogic S905D3, S905X3, and S905Y3 change all that. We have very few details at this stage, except the new processors will have many of the same features as the S905X2/Y2/D2 models including an Arm Mali-G31 MP2 GPU, HDMI 2.1 up to 4Kp75 resolution and HDR support, 4K H.265, VP9, and AVS2 video decoding, Full HD H.265/H.264 encoding, as well as PCIe and USB 3.0 support. […]

Amlogic S922D, A311D, and A311X AI Processors Feature a Neural Network Coprocessor

Amlogic S922D

We already know Amlogic is preparing to launch a few new processors with Amlogic S922X Hexa-core Cortex-A73/A53 processor found in the upcoming ODROID-N2 board, as well as Amlogic A311D processor with a very similar features. At the time, I had been told A311 would include an NPU (Neural network Processing Unit) but with zero details. I still don’t have much details about the NPU inside A311D processor, except for performance of up to 5 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second). So it appears the same NPU will be found in Amlogic S922D processor that, based on the table above, has the exact same specifications as Amlogic S922X except for the extra Neural Network AI co-processor that delivers up to 2.5 TOPS (16-bit?) and 5.0 TOPS (8-bit?) A.I. performance. I’ve also been informed that another Amlogic A311X processor would also be introduced with the NPU. Both A311X and A311D are said to […]

Amlogic S922X Cortex A73/A53 Processor Benchmarked

Amlogic S922X Benchmarks

Amlogic S922X is an upcoming hexa-core processor with four Cortex A73 cores and Cortex-A53 cores mostly designed for devices running Android TV P, but it could also become potentially interesting for development boards and other products like Arm laptops. There aren’t any products available for purchase, but some results appeared on Geekbench in recently showing Droidlogic galilei board with a 6-core processor from Amlogic which has to be Amlogic S922X processor. There’s also g12b_w400 with a 6-core processor from Amlogic, but that’s A311D. So Amlogic S922X benchmarks report 1212 points for the single-core score, and “only” 3,133 points for the multi-core score. The base frequency in “Droidlogic galilei” board is 1.80 GHz, but 1.90 GHz in g12b_w400 “A311D” platforms. Strangely enough, the single core score is only 9xx in the latter. It’s very likely the maximum frequency drops when all four Cortex A73 cores are under loads, as the multi-core […]

Hailstorm Device Scaling Program To Enable Netflix Support on Amlogic and HiSilicon TV Boxes

Netflix Hailstorm Partners

If you’ve ever bought a random TV box you may have found out Netflix does not always work optimally, for example, HD or 4K UHD may not be available due to the lack of DRM, and/or Netflix certification even if you’re paying extra for the service. So you need to make sure you get a certified device and there aren’t that many. But thanks to Netflix Hailstorm – a program aiming at scaling the number of device officially supporting Netflix – we should see more and more TV box running Android TV with full Netflix support. I found about the Hailstorm program via an Amlogic press release, but the photo above shows some TV boxes based on HiSilicon processors will also be supported, and TV boxes manufacturers such as SDMC, Skyworth, and Himedia have joined the program. Amlogic explains they have now achieved pre-certification for its Android TV set top […]

Comparison of S905X, S905X2, and S905Y2 Processors Specifications

We’ve known the main features of Amlogic S905Y2 and S905X2 processors namely an upgrade to an Arm Mali-G31MP2 GPU with OpenGLES 3.1, and support for USB 3. since last month, and TV boxes launched earlier this month with products such as Beelink GT1 Mini or A95X Plus. But we were still missing some parameters like the manufacturing process, max CPU and GPU frequencies, and so on. We now have all this information and some more thanks to an S905X/S905X2/S905Y2 comparison table released by SDMC a few days ago, and likely coming from Amlogic themselves. There actually more differences than I expected. Going from top to bottom in the comparison table above, the new processors feature an ultra-low power MCU core to be used for wake-word detection, and possibly other features. We did not get CPU frequency numbers per se, but since Amlogic released DMIPS values and Cortex A53 core scores […]

EmbeddedTS embedded systems design