Intel introduced the Open Pluggable Specifications (OPS) defining mechanical and electrical requirements for boards used in digital signage back in 2010. Since then there has been a few Intel OPS boards launched on the market, and the company introduced OPS+ specifications with support for simultaneous display and broadcast usages, 8K resolution displays, and the ability to drive three individual 4K resolution display outputs. VIA has now launched VTS-8589 OPS board compliant with the older specifications, and featuring NXP i.MX6 quad core ARM Cortex A9 processor combined with 2GB RAM, 8GB flash, and more. VIA VTS-8589 OPS has two version of the board with the following specifications: SoC VTS-8589-QP model – NXP i.MX 6QuadPlus quad ARM Cortex-A9 processor @ 1.0 GHz with Vivante GC2000+ GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.0, OpenCL and OpenVG 1.1, 512KB embedded SRAM VTS-8589 model – NXP i.MX 6Quad quad ARM Cortex-A9 processor @ 1.0 GHz with Vivante GC2000 […]
Dell Edge Gateway 3000 Series Are Powered by Intel Bay Trail-I SoCs for Automation, Transportation, and Digital Signage
Dell has recently introduced Edge Gateway 3000 series with three models powered by Intel Bay Trail-I processor, running Ubuntu Core 16 or Windows 10 IoT, with each model targeting respectively general-purpose automation, transportation & logistics, and digital signage and retail. The specifications for the three models can be found in the table below. Dell Edge Gateway 3001 Model for General-Purpose Automation Dell Edge Gateway 3002 Model for Transportation & Logistics Dell Edge Gateway 3003 Model for Media & Retail Kiosks SoC Intel Atom E3805 dual core processor @ 1.33 GHz (3W TDP) Intel Atom E3815 single core processor @ 1.46 GHz with GPU @ 400 MHz (5W TDP) System Memory 2 GB DDR3L-1066 Storage 8 or 32 GB eMMC flash Industrial-grade Micro-SD card: 8GB / 16GB / 32 GB / 64 GB Connectivity 1 x 10/100 Fast Ethernet (RJ-45) with PoE (15.4W) WiFi 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth 4.0 LE Optional ZigBee […]
Giada F105D Apollo Lake Mini PC Supports up to 3 Displays via HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort, and VGA Ports
Giada F105D is an upcoming mini PC powered by either a Celeron N3350 dual core or N3450 quad core processor part of Apollo Lake family with up to 4GB RAM, a 2.5″ SATA bay, and three video outputs: HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort and VGA. Except for the processor, F105D-BS200 and F105D-BQ200 mini PCs have the same specifications: SoC F105D-BS200 – Intel Celeron N3350 dual core processor @ 1.1 / 2.4 GHz with 12EU Intel HD 500 graphics (6W TDP) F105D-BQ200 – Intel Celeron N3450 quad core processor @ 1.1 / 2.2 GHz with 12EU Intel HD 500 graphics (6W TDP) System Memory – Up to 4GB DDR3L-1600MHz with 2GB on-board + 2GB on 204-pin SO-DIMM socket Storage – 1x 2.5″ SATA drive bay (max. height 7.5mm), 1x M.2 (PCIe), 1x mSATA III, 1x micro SD slot Video Output VGA up to 2560×1600 @ 60Hz, 24bpp HDMI 2.0 up to 3840×2160 @ […]
Grid-EYE Breakout Board is a $49 Low Resolution Thermal Camera Module
Thermal cameras can be really expensive pieces of equipment, and even the cheap 60×60 thermal cameras available on Aliexpress costs a little over $200. However, PURE Engineering has made an breakout board with Panasonic Grid-EYE infrared 8×8 array sensor that allows you to experiment with the technology, or integrate into your own projects for just $49. Grid-EYE breakout board features: Panasonic Grid-EYE AMG8834 64 pixel infrared / thermal camera sensor with 60 degree viewing angle using MEMS thermopile technology Pinout compatible with Arduino Zero, ST-NUCLEO board, and other 3.3V boards with I2C, VDD, GND, INT, and AD pins PUREModules PCB edge connectors with UART, GPIO, to interface with the company’s IoT board Power Supply – On-board regulator handles 3 to 5V input The Panasonic sensor transfers thermal presence, direction, and temperature values over I2C. The company wrote a demo for the module with an Arduino sketech and a Processing sketch […]
Zidoo Releases Digital Signage SDK for X8 and X9S Android TV Boxes
Zidoo X9S and X8 are Android 6.0 + OpenWrt TV boxes powered by Realtek RTD1295 processor with HDMI input supporting PIP, UDP broadcasting and video recording, which works reasonably well despite some 4K video decoding limitations. The company has now released a “digital signage SDK” – which I’d rather just call a digital signage demo – working on either device on github, but you can still study the source code in order to build your own. Some of the possible features showcased in the demo include: Digital Signage (AD) player as shown above with video, picture and scrolling text Multi Views display (HDMI IN + Video playing + Web browsing) Multi Videos decode Screen rotation Screen zoom in / out Display output resolution switch HDMI IN player HDMI IN picture in picture (PIP) So it’s not a total solution, just an “SDK” showing what can be done with media files, and you’d still have to write your own app managing content updates (from storage or network), as well as some content management software. Two apks are used: […]
Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 to be launched by the end of the year, used in NEC displays
Eben Upton had already mentioned the Raspberry Pi Foundation was working on a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 based on the same Broadcom BCM2837 quad core Cortex A53 processor and 1GB LPDDR2 RAM used in Raspberry Pi 3 board earlier this year, but few details had been provided at the time. The module is still not available, but NEC Display Solutions Europe has already announced they are working on integrating Compute Module 3 into commercial displays starting with 40″, 48″ and 55″ models in January 2017, and up to 98″ by the end of next year, used for digital signage and presentation platforms. The Raspberry Pi Foundation goes on to say they’ve been working on NEC project for over a year now, and they expect to release Compute Module 3 to the general public by the end of the year. Price and complete technical details have not been released yet. […]
How to Set an Android TV Box Video Output to Portrait Mode
Most buyers who buy an Android TV box just want to use it to watch videos, browse the web, play games, and so on, so landscape mode seems to be the best choice, and the orientation option in the firmware is often disabled. However, TV boxes can also potentially be used as digital signage players, which may require landscape or portrait modes if the screen is positioned vertically. Since I’ve just been asked that question, I’ve checked for a solution, and luckily there’s an app called Set Orientation that does the job. [Update August 2021: The app has been removed from the Google Play store, it might be worth trying Screen Rotation Control app instead] When you first start the app, it will show the option “Disabled”, but you can click on the arrow to reveal more options, and select Portrait to rotate the screen. In case the screen is […]
Gateworks Ventana GW5530 SBC is Designed for Drones, Robots, and Digital Signage
Gateworks Ventana is a family of boards based on NXP i.MX6 processor designed for embedded applications, and often include one or more mini PCIe ports for expansion. Their latest single board computer – Ventana GW5530 – is powered by an NXP i.MX 6Dual processor coupled with 512MB RAM, 256MB storage, a mini PCIe port, a micro SD / SIM card slot, micro HDMI output, and some I/Os. Ventana GW5530 specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX6 Dual Core ARM Cortex-A9 processor @ 800MHz with Vivante 2D and 3D GPUs System Memory – 512MB DDR3 (Up to 2GB as option) Storage – 256MB flash (Up to 2GB as option), micro SD/SIM card slot, serial configuration EEPROM Video & Audio Output – micro HDMI 1.4 port Connectivity – Optional u-blox EVA-M8M GPS Receiver with MMCX or u.FL Antenna Connector USB – 1x micro USB 2.0 OTG Port Sensors – 9-axis inertial module (accelerometer/gyro/magnetometer) Expansion […]