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 […]
How to Install PHP 5.6 (and Xibo Digital Signage CMS) in Ubuntu 16.04
Xibo is an open source digital signage using a client / server architecture, and in the past I wrote a tutorial showing how to use it, and ran Xibo Python client on ARM Linux TV box, but with software handling only so rendering scrolling text was not very smooth at all, and video decoding was not really possible. But now I have Star Cloud PCG02U Intel TV stick which costs just $70 shipped with Ubuntu 14.04, and that I have upgraded to Ubuntu 16.04, and I thought that would be a great low cost Xibo Linux client which should have pretty good performance. I started by installing Xibo server, only to find out that the cross-platform Python client had been phased out, with now only Windows and Android clients available. So I canceled my plan. I still had some challenges installing Xibo server on Ubuntu 16.04, so I’ll report my […]
ADBoard 3G/4G Digital Signage Board is Powered by Allwinner A83T Octa-Core Processor
MQMaker officially launched their WiTi router board earlier this week, but the company has also introduced ADBoard, an octa-core board specifically designed for digital signage with a connector for LVDS display including backlight, an RTC with backup battery, and a mini PCIe connector for 3G/4G connectivity combined with a SIM card slot. ADBoard specifications: SoC – Allwinner A83T octa-core ARM Cortex-A7 @ 2.0 GHz with PowerVR SGX544MP GPU @ 700 MHz supporting OpenGL ES 2.0/1.1, OpenCL 1.1, and DX 9.3. System Memory – 1 GB DDR3 Storage – 16 GB eMMC + micro SD slot Display Interfaces / Video Output HDMI up to 1080p60 with HDCP 1.2 and CEC support connector LVDS connector, LCD backlight control header and capacitive touch panel header Audio – HDMI, 3.5mm audio output, speaker connector, microphone connector Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 1x […]
Lenkeng HDMI PowerLine Extender Brings one HDMI Signal to Many Displays over Electrical Cables
Shenzhen Lenkeng Technology is a company specializing in video converters, splitters, and extender products. One of their latest product is LKV380Pro HDbitT HDMI over powerline extender that allows to carry one HDMI signal from a source to up to 4 displays through existing electrical cabling. Some of the features and specifications listed for LKV380Pro transmitters and receivers: Technology – HDMI over power line with HDbitT technology Video I/O – 1x HDMI 1.3 / HDCP 1.2 output, transmitter also includes an HDMI loop out. Resolution – 480i/p, 576i/p, 720p50/60, 1080i50/60, and 1080p50/60 Range – 1080p video transmission up to 300 meters One transmitter supports to 4 receivers simultaneously IR pass back function (20 to 60 kHz IR devices) with IR output on transmitter, and IR input on receivers. Security – AES encryption Power Supply – 100~240V AC Dimensions – 150 x 92.7 x 25 mm Weight – Tx: 330 grams, Rx: […]
Zidoo 12K Video Player Plays…12K Videos (on 3 Synchronized 4K UHD TV)
Zidoo Android TV boxes have often been featured in this blog, but the company also has products for the industrial market such as their 4K streaming player outputting the same video to up to 8 monitors, and a “12K video player” that outputs a video to three monitors @ 3840×2160 resolution. Zidoo strength is software and support, and they are not a hardware company, and while so far they have partnered with Kaiboer for their Android media players, if the picture above is any indication, they are using Skydigita SDG-3112 player as the hardware platform. The list of specifications and features currently released are unfortunately quite sparse: Video Playback Single 12K video outputted to three 3840×2160 monitors @ 30Hz max, 1080p also supported Codecs – H.265 and H.264 decoding. Containers – TS, MKV, AVI, VOB, MPG, MPEG, MOV. Iimage formats – JPG, JPEG, GIF, PCX, PNG. Video Output – 3x […]