hdmi News - Page 16 of 23 - CNX Software

September 7, 2016October 23, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

Zidoo X9S (Realtek RTD1295) Android TV Box Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown

Zidoo X9S is one of the first Realtek RTD1295 based TV boxes coming to market, and it has some pretty special features like running both Android 6.0 and OpenWrt simultaneously, HDMI input support for video recording and PiP, an external SATA interface, 4K media capabilities including HDMI 2.0a output, 4K 60 fps H.265 and VP9 & 4K 24 Hz H.264 video decoding, as well as HDR and 3D support. You can find the full Zidoo X9S specification in my previous post. The company has now sent me an early review sample, and in the first part of the review you’ll post photos of the devices and accessories, and perform a teardown to find out more about the electronics and thermal design. Later on I’ll publish articles with benchmarks, video performance, and the complete review. Zidoo X9S Unboxing The box comes in a light green retail package showing some of the […]

August 13, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Zidoo X9S Android TV Box, OpenWrt NAS, and HDMI Recorder is Now Up for Pre-order for $149

Zidoo X9 was one the first Android TV boxes with HDMI input that supported video recording and PiP, and back in April, the company unveiled a new and more powerful model called Zidoo X9S with many of the same features, but based on Realtek RTD1295 64-bit processor, and with NAS features. GeekBuying has just informed me that they had started to take pre-orders for Zidoo X9S for $149 with shipping scheduled to start on August 31st. Zidoo X9S specifications have slightly changed since the announcement, and the case has been redesigned: SoC – Realtek RTD1295 quad core Cortex A53 processor with ARM Mali-T820 MP3 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC + SATA 3.0 external interface + micro SD card slot up to 32GB Video I/O HDMI 2.0a output up to 4K@60Hz; supports 23.976 and 29.94 Hz outputs HDMI 2.0 input for recording, UDP streaming, and picture-in-picture […]

July 13, 2016July 13, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 22 Comments

Ugoos UT3+ Android TV Box with HDMI Input, Rockchip RK3288 Processor Launched

Ugoos has finally announced the official release of Ugoos UT3+ TV Box based on Rockchip RK3288 quad core Cortex A19 processor with a much improved HDMI input function thanks to a Toshiba chip, and now supports DVR and PiP (Picture-in-picture) functions. Ugoos UT3+ specifications have not changed, but I’ll still reproduce them since it’s been 9 months since the device was unveiled: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core Cortex A17 @ 1.8 GHz with ARM Mali-T764 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB NAND Flash + micro SD slot up to 32 GB Connectivity – 100/1000M Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz/5GHz) and 802.11ac with external Wi-Fi antenna Video I/F Output – HDMI 1.4 output up to 4k2k @ 30 fps Input – HDMI input up to 1080p60 Audio I/F – HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack, and optical S/PDIF USB – 3x USB host ports Power Supply – […]

June 13, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

EWEAT R9 Android Media Players and Recorders Feature Realtek RTD1295 Processor with HDMI 2.0, SATA, USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, and More

Eweat has now introduced three TV box models based on Realtek RTD1295 64-bit processor with Eweat R9, Eweat R9 mini, and Eweat R9 Plus, bringing some competition to the upcoming Zidoo X9s TV box, with respectively an external SATA port, no SATA, and an internal SATA bay. All three devices share most of the same specifications: SoC – Realtek RTD1295 quad core Cortex A53 processor with ARM Mali-T820 MP3 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage R9 Mini – 8 GB eMMC + SD card reader R9 – 16 GB eMMC + SATA 3.5 connector for external drive + SD card reader R9 Plus – 16 GB eMMC + internal 3.5″ SATA 3.0 bay + SD card reader Video I/O – HDMI 2.0a output, HDMI 2.0 input, and AV Audio I/O – HDMI, AV, optical S/PDIF output Video Playback – HDR, 10-bit HEVC/H.265 up to 4K @ 60fps, H.264 up […]

May 27, 2016May 27, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Zotac PI330 Cherry Trail mini PC Supports Dual Monitor Setups with HDMI and DisplayPort Outputs

Several low power Intel mini PCs coming out of Chinese manufacturers support dual monitor setups, but usually they combine HDMI and VGA with models such as Vorke V1 or MeLE PCG03. Zotac PI330 mini PC powered by an Intel Atom x5-Z8500 processor offers instead dual independent display support via HDMI and DisplayPort connectors. Zotac PI330 hardware specifications: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8500 quad core processor @ 1.44 GHz / 2.24 GHz) with 2M Cache and Intel Gen8 Graphics System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3 Storage – 32GB eMMC flash + micro SD/SDHC/SDXC card reader Video Output – DP1.1a, HDMI 1.4b Audio – DisplayPort, HDMI and 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB 3.0 Type-C, 2x USB 3.0 port Misc – Power LED, Power Supply – 5V/3A Dimensions – 115 x 76 x 20.7 mm The fanless mini PC is pre-loaded with […]

May 26, 2016July 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 23 Comments

Updating Star Cloud PCG02U to Ubuntu 16.04 with WiFi and HDMI Audio Support

I completed my review of PCG02U Ubuntu TV stick a few days ago, and I was quite satisfied with the device, but since Ubuntu 16.04 was released last month, I thought it might be fun to upgrade to the latest version of Ubuntu. I’m go through the complete steps including building a new kernel for HDMI audio, and the drivers for WiFi, but you should be able to install Ubuntu 16.04 for Bay Trail and Cherry Trail processor with the image made by Linuxium and a USB stick. Star Cloud PCG02U OS Support and Warranty Before I go through the instructions, you may want to read the conditions on MeLE’s Aliexpress PCG02U page. They meant Ubuntu 14.04 instead of 14.0.4, but the important part is that if something goes wrong trying alternative OS, you may lose your warranty. Upgrade Ubuntu 14.04 to Ubuntu 16.04 Upgrading from one LTS version to […]

April 19, 2016April 19, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 35 Comments

HDMI Audio in Linux is Now Working on Cherry Trail mini PCs, OpenELEC 7.0 Image Released

Since Intel has decided not to officially support Bay Trail and Cherry Trail processors in Linux, and focus on other priorities, people who have tried to use HDMI audio in Linux with mini PCs or TV sticks based on the processors have always had issues. There’s a workaround for Bay Trail mini PCs with Linux 3.16 kernel, but so far I’ve never seen a Cherry Trail system working with HDMI audio in Linux. Luckily, Pierre-Louis Bossart has been working on support, and Piotr kasprzak has tried HDMI audio support with OpenELEC 7.0 and a patched Linux Kernel 4.5.1, and confirmed it to be working on Tronsmart Ara X5 Plus and Wintel 10 Pro mini PC powered by Intel Atom x5-Z8300 processor. This can also be verified in the kernel log with dmesg:

[    6.417670] had: ******** HAD DRIVER loading.. Ver: 0.01.003
[    6.421553] [drm] mid_hdmi_audio_register: Scheduling HDMI audio work queue
[    6.459006] dw_dmac INTL9C60:00: DesignWare DMA Controller, 8 channels
[    6.485499] dw_dmac INTL9C60:01: DesignWare DMA Controller, 8 channels

[ 6.417670] had: ******** HAD DRIVER loading.. Ver: 0.01.003

[ 6.421553] [drm] mid_hdmi_audio_register: Scheduling HDMI audio work queue

[ 6.459006] dw_dmac INTL9C60:00: DesignWare DMA Controller, 8 channels

[ 6.485499] dw_dmac INTL9C60:01: DesignWare DMA Controller, 8 channels

If you want to try it yourself, you can download the OpenELEC image with the modifications. If […]

March 4, 2016May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Embedded Linux Conference 2016 and OpenIoT Summit 2016 Schedule

The Embedded Linux Conference 2016 and the OpenIoT summit 2016 will take place on April 4 – 6, 2016 in San Diego, California, and over 800 attended will meet including kernel & system developers, userspace developers, and product vendors. The Linux Foundation has recently published the schedule, so I’ve had a look at some of the talks, and designed my own virtual schedule to find out more the current development focus although I won’t attend. Monday April 4 10:40am – 11:30am – Linux Connectivity for IoT by Marcel Holtmann, Intel OTC There are many connectivity solutions that available for IoT. For example Bluetooth Low Energy, 802.15.4, Zigbee, OIC, Thread and others. This presentation will provide and overview of the existing technology and upcoming standard and how they tie into the Linux kernel and its ecosystem. 11:40 – 12:30 – BoF: kernelci.org: A Million Kernel Boots and Counting by Kevin Hilman, […]