h.265 News - Page 20 of 33 - CNX Software

March 10, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

Amlogic 2016 Roadmap Reveals Upcoming S905D Processor, Android 6.0 for Amlogic S905 and S912 SoCs

A new Amlogic roadmap reveals the company will release at least three new processors this year: Amlogic S905X, Amlogic S912 and Amlogic S905D all based on four to eight ARM Cortex A53 cores, and that Android 6.0 support is coming to Amlogic S905 X/D and S912 processors. Since the processors are in development, there are always some tweaks and new information about the specifications, as now Amlogic S905X and S912 quad and octa core processors will be clocked at 2.0 GHz (instead of just 1.5GHz as previously reported), and S905X will support 2-layer PCB, while all other recent Amlogic processors require 4-layer, which promises some very cheap 4K TV boxes with H.265 and VP9 support. Amlogic S912 will apparently not support USB 3.x since the new document only shows 3x USB 2.0 interfaces for the SoC. Amlogic S905D is similar to S905X except it supports Gigabit Ethernet (RGMII), TS video […]

March 9, 2016March 9, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 23 Comments

10-bit H.264 and H.265 Video Playback in MXQ-4K Rockchip RK3229 TV Box

Rockchip RK3229 is an exciting media processor because it’s found in ultra low cost TV Boxes such as MXQ-4K, outputs up to 4K @ 60 Hz, and supports 4K video decoding of 10-bit H.264, 10-bit H.265 and VP9, including videos with very high bitrates (200+ Mbps). That’s the theory, which I’ve put to the test with MXQ-4K TV box. Since the network interfaces of the device are limited to 100M Ethernet and 802.11n WiFi, and some videos are well above 100 Mbps, I’ve decided to test video playback from a USB hard drive instead. I’ve tried the three pre-installed video player apps: Kodi 15.1, “Video”, and “Video Player” , and they all have similar capabilities except Kodi is a little less stable on this device. The system detected my 4K TV (LG ) and automatically set the resolution to 3840×2160 @ 60 Hz, which I used for the remainder of […]

March 9, 2016March 9, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

WeTek Hub Android & OpenELEC TV Box Features Amlogic S905-H Revision C Processor

WeTek has been working not on one, but two four new devices recently. I’ve already covered WeTek Play 2S (previously known as WeTek Play+) based on Amlogic S905 Rev. C , running Android 5.1 or OpenELEC, and featuring digital TV tuners (ATSC, DVB-S2, DVB-T2/C), which should become available in Q2 2016. The company has unveiled another model called WeTek Hub with features closer to the ones found in other Amlogic S905 TV boxes I’ve reviewed so far, except it is based on Amlogic S905-H revision C, comes with Widewine and Microsoft PlayReady DRM, and supports both Android 5.1.1 and OpenELEC. WeTek Hub specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905-H revision C quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 2.0GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU @ 750 MHz System Memory – 1 GB DDR3 Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 up to […]

March 7, 2016March 8, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 48 Comments

MXQ 4K Rockchip RK3229 Android TV Box Unboxing and Teardown

MXQ 4K TV box list of features is rather impressive, as the 4K media player packs support for high bitrate (200 Mbps+) 10-bit H.265 and H.264, as well as VP9 at 4K resolution, 4 USB ports, Ethernet, and HDMI 2.0 for just $30. That price includes shipping. We just don’t know how it performs, but we’ll soon find out as GeekBuying sent me a sample for review. I’ll start by checking out the hardware, before testing it over a few days, and write a complete review. MXQ 4K Unboxing The retail package shows MXQ-4K “OTT TV Box” and some of the key selling points like Kodi support, 4K, HEVC/H.265, and son on. You’ll also find the Android 4.4 Kitkat logo since strangely Rockchip did not provide an Android 5.x SDK for their low cost processor. The device ships with an IR remote control, a 5V/2A power supply, an HDMI cable, […]

March 4, 2016March 4, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Zidoo X1 II Android Media Player Powered by Rockchip RK3229 SoC Supports 4K 10-bit H.264 & H.265 Videos

Rockchip RK3229 is a low cost 4K SoC that supports 10-bit H.265 up to 4K @ 60 fps and 10-bit H.264 and VP9 up to 4K @ 30 fps, and found in inexpensive TV boxes such as MXQ 4K. Zidoo has decided to design a new product based on the processor, with the same enclosure as Allwinner H3 based Zidoo X1 TV box, and aptly called Zidoo X1 II. Zidoo X1 II 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, and 3.5mm AV output (composite) Connectivity – 100Mbps Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Misc – IR receiver Power Supply – 5V/2A […]

February 21, 2016February 21, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Kodi 16 “Jarvis” Release

This morning, I saw Kodi installed from Google Play get an update in one of my Android device, and that means that Kodi 16.0 “Jarvis” has now been released. As usual it’s available for Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Android, and iOS, with specific Linux ports for Raspberry Pi boards, and several Freescale/NXP i.MX6 boards such as Wandboard or EzeeCube. You can get the full Changelog in the Wiki, but some of the main changes against Kodi 15 include: Various new features for Live TV and PVR (Personal Video Recorder) Added RDS Radio, FM radio, scheduling recordings of TV shows… Various improvements such as speeding up EPG database access. Added, updated, and improved PVR backend clients addons for all popular third-party external PVR backend platforms: FilmOn, HDHomeRun, Enigma 2, Tvheadend HTSP Client, and so on. Add-ons Framework, API, and Manager improvements Platform Independent Playback improvements : software DTS-HD decode with libdcadec, […]

February 10, 2016February 11, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

SkyStream X5 Android Streaming Media Player Also Includes an ATSC Tuner

While there’s now a decent choice of Android TV boxes with DVB-S2 or DVB-T2 tuners, devices with ATSC tuners are a little harder to come by, and the few Android devices I know of include WeTek Play, U4 Quad, and some Mygica (Geniatech) and Vygica ATSC Android set-top boxes. SkyStream X5 is now another option, based on Amlogic S812, mostly advertised as an Android streaming player, but still with one ATSC tuner to watch free-to-air television in North America, and a few smaller countries. SkyStream X5 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S812 quad core Cortex A9 processor @ 2.0 GHz with Mail-450 octa-core GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB flash + SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 1.4 with HDCP support + 3 RCA ports for composite and stereo audio Video Codecs – MPEG, MPE, MPG, M2V, ISO, TS, VOB, DAT, AVI, MKV, MP4, MOV, […]

February 2, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Zidoo X5 TV Box Unboxing and Teardown

Zidoo X5 is the latest Android TV from Zidoo, based on Amlogic S905 quad core processor, with 1GB RAM and 8GB flash. The company sent me a review sample, and I’ll start with pictures of the device and board, before writing a full review in a couple of months. Zidoo X5 Unboxing I got the device by DHL in the typical white and green Zidoo branded package. The device ships with an HDMI cable, a remote control with IR learning function that requires two AAA batteries (not included), a 5V/2A power adapter, and Zidoo X5 “simple manual”. Zidoo is innovating for the enclosure of the devices, not following the rectangular shape of most TV boxes on the market. The front panel is extra thin and includes a small window for the power LED and IR receiver, while on one side, we can find two USB 2.0 ports and a micro […]