hdmi News - Page 22 of 24 - CNX Software

February 5, 2015February 5, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Onkyo TX-NR636 AV Receiver Setup and Audio Pass-through with OpenELEC / Kodi

Following up on my LG 42U820T 4K TV review, I’ll know checkout the second item purchased for my reviews thanks to the help of my readers, with Onkyo TX-NR636 7.2 channel AV receiver combined with Pioneer S-11 speaker set. As this is my first AV receiver, I still have a lot to learn, I can’t really comment on audio quality (except it sounds much better than my TV speakers, and is more powerful), so I won’t do a full review, but I’ll show some details about the receiver, explain how to it setup with speakers, show how to setup OpenELEC / Kodi for HDMI audio pass-through, and test it with various Dolby and DTS video files. Onkyo TX-NR636 Specifications But before all that, I’ll list some of the specifications of this cool AV receiver. Amplified Rated Output Power: 95 watts minimum continuous power per channel, 8 ohm loads, 2 channels driven […]

January 25, 2015January 9, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

All HDMI 2.0 Implementations Are not Equal

One of the key changes between HDMI 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 is support for up to 4K @ 60Hz instead of just 4K @ 30Hz, and at first, I thought an HDMI 2.0 capable device would be compatible with HDMI 2.0 TV, and it did not need to look into details. I was wrong. There’s a nice table in Wikipedia that explains the main differences between HDMI 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 and older versions. Other features include YCbCr 4:2:0 (That’s the important bit), Rec. 2020 color space, 32 channel audio, 21:9 aspect ratio, and more. By the way, there’s no such thing as an HDMI 2.0 cable (Source: straight from the horse’s mouth), so if you have a cable that support 4K30, it will work with 4K60 as well. Does HDMI 2.0 require new cables? No, HDMI 2.0 features will work with existing HDMI cables. Higher bandwidth features, such as […]

January 24, 2015January 24, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 44 Comments

LG 42UB820T 4K UHD TV Review

After several people often asked me about audio pass-through, and 4K video support on mini PCs, with some suggesting adding a donation button to my website, I decided to start a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for an AV Receiver and a 4K TV by asking for donations and selling some samples I used for review. Thanks to the great help of my readers, I managed to get enough money to buy LG 42UB820T on Lazada for 19,610 Baht including shipping (~$600) via 10% coupon I got in a newsletter, as well Onkyo TX-NR636 7.2 channel receiver in a local shop in Chiang Mai (Sahapanich). I’m still waiting for the speakers, so I’ll start by reviewing the TV. This model is sold as 42UB820V in Europe, and 42UB8200 in Hong Kong and probably other markets. I spent a lot of time studying about 4K TV and AV receiver features, and […]

January 20, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Independent Dual Display Support on Firefly-RK3288 Development Board (Video)

From time to time, I’m being asked which platform can support dual independent displays, and although I noticed Mele A1000 (Allwinner A10) did support dual displays in Linux, I never really investigated how well it handles it, so I normally recommend to have a look at x86 platforms with AMD or Intel processor that specifically claim support for dual independent display. But today, I’ve noticed a developer working for T-Chip posted a nice demo on T-Firefly forums with two displays connected via HDMI and VGA. The demo shows Firefly-RK3288 development board running Android with two displays in three configurations: Display Mirroring – The same content is shown on both display. Especially useful for digital signage application, where one board can drive two displays with the same content Extended Desktop – The user interface is extended on both monitors. It’s like having a single large monitor with a 32:9 aspect ratio […]

January 9, 2015December 15, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 57 Comments

AV Receiver and 4K UHD TV Crowdfunding for Better Reviews on CNX Software

I’ve written a fair amount of reviews, mostly of Android mini PCs and development boards, and I intend to continue, but there are currently a few things I’m unable to test: S/PDIF and HDMI pass-through, and 4K video output, 3D videos, and HDMI-CEC. The main reason is that the AV receiver and TVs required to test this are rather expensive, and these are not something I really need personally, since I seldom watch movies myself, I purchased a new Full HD TV last year, and I don’t expect to access 4K content for a few more years. Yet it would be interesting to prospective buyers to find out if advertized features such as audio pass-though of 5.1 & 7.1 codec does work, and whether 4K output (listed and real), HDMI-CEC, 3D videos and other features not supported by my current Panasonic can work properly. It would also be fun for […]

January 7, 2015January 22, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Unboxing of Zidoo X9 Android HDMI Video Recorder and Media Player

Zidoo X9 Android media player is powered by Mstar MSO9180 quad core Cortex A9 processor, supports 4K video output and decoding, H.265 codec, a USB 3.0 port for (hopefully) fast external storage, and in HDMI input port that allows you to record video from another HDMI input device to a USB mass storage device, or micro SD card. GearBest sent me one of the first sample, so let’s have a look at the device itself, and its boards, because getting to the full review next week. Zidoo X9 Pictures I received the parcel the exact same day, GearBest provided the tracking number, together with some invoice for custom duty, DHL duty handling fee, and VAT. The large black package has a few scratches, and makes it clear the device is called X9. Some of the main features are also mentioned on the package: 4K, 3D video, quad core, Bluetooth 4.0, […]

December 13, 2014February 13, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

How to Modify HDMI Output Parameters in Linux for ODROID-XU3 (Lite) Development Board

Good news, I’ve finally managed to make HDMI output in my ODROID-XU3 Lite development board work with the Ubuntu image after some more tweaking. So ODROID XU3 Lite Ubuntu review is coming in the next few days. But first, I’ll explain the few steps I went through, in case others experience a similar issue. I downloaded, extracted, and flashed the latest Ubuntu image to a micro SD card with dd to give another try at running Ubuntu on my board, but no luck, I still got that black screen, albeit the system boots properly, as I got the command line using the serial console. During my Android review of ODROID-XU3 Lite, I noticed the system would always revert back to 720p60 video output, and HDMI output settings can be selected in /media/boot/boot.ini with the following content:

ODROIDXU-UBOOT-CONFIG

# U-Boot Parameters
setenv initrd_high "0xffffffff"
setenv fdt_high "0xffffffff"

# Mac address configuration
setenv macaddr "00:1e:06:61:7a:39"

#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Basic Ubuntu Setup. Don't touch unless you know what you are doing.
# --------------------------------
setenv bootrootfs "console=tty1 console=ttySAC2,115200n8 root=UUID=e139ce78-984"
                                                                                
# boot commands                                                                 
setenv bootcmd "fatload mmc 0:1 0x40008000 zImage; fatload mmc 0:1 0x42000000 u"
                                                                                
# --- Screen Configuration for HDMI --- #                                       
# ---------------------------------------                                       
# Uncomment only ONE line! Leave all commented for automatic selection.         
# Uncomment only the setenv line!                                               
# ---------------------------------------                                       
# ODROID-VU forced resolution                                                   
# setenv videoconfig "video=HDMI-A-1:1280x800@60"                               
# -----------------------------------------------                               
# 1920x1080 (1080P) with monitor provided EDID information. (1080p-edid)        
# setenv videoconfig "video=HDMI-A-1:1920x1080@60"                              
# -----------------------------------------------                               
# 1920x1080 (1080P) without monitor data using generic information (1080p-noedi)
# setenv videoconfig "drm_kms_helper.edid_firmware=edid/1920x1080.bin"          
# -----------------------------------------------                               
# 1280x720 (720P) with monitor provided EDID information. (720p-edid)           
# setenv videoconfig "video=HDMI-A-1:1280x720@60"                               
# -----------------------------------------------                               
# 1280x720 (720P) without monitor data using generic information (720p-noedid)  
# setenv videoconfig "drm_kms_helper.edid_firmware=edid/1280x720.bin" <strong>          </strong>  
# -----------------------------------------------                               
# 1024x768 without monitor data using generic information                       
# setenv videoconfig "drm_kms_helper.edid_firmware=edid/1024x768.bin"           
                                                                                
                                                                                
# final boot args                                                               
setenv bootargs "${bootrootfs} ${videoconfig} smsc95xx.macaddr=${macaddr}"      
# drm.debug=0xff                                                                
# Boot the board                                                                
boot

ODROIDXU-UBOOT-CONFIG

# U-Boot Parameters

setenv initrd_high "0xffffffff"

setenv fdt_high "0xffffffff"

# Mac address configuration

setenv macaddr "00:1e:06:61:7a:39"

#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Basic Ubuntu Setup. Don't touch unless you know what you are doing.

# --------------------------------

setenv bootrootfs "console=tty1 console=ttySAC2,115200n8 root=UUID=e139ce78-984"

# boot commands

setenv bootcmd "fatload mmc 0:1 0x40008000 zImage; fatload mmc 0:1 0x42000000 u"

# --- Screen Configuration for HDMI --- #

# ---------------------------------------

# Uncomment only ONE line! Leave all commented for automatic selection.

# Uncomment only the setenv line!

# ---------------------------------------

# ODROID-VU forced resolution

# setenv videoconfig "video=HDMI-A-1:1280x800@60"

# -----------------------------------------------

# 1920x1080 (1080P) with monitor provided EDID information. (1080p-edid)

# setenv videoconfig "video=HDMI-A-1:1920x1080@60"

# -----------------------------------------------

# 1920x1080 (1080P) without monitor data using generic information (1080p-noedi)

# setenv videoconfig "drm_kms_helper.edid_firmware=edid/1920x1080.bin"

# -----------------------------------------------

# 1280x720 (720P) with monitor provided EDID information. (720p-edid)

# setenv videoconfig "video=HDMI-A-1:1280x720@60"

# -----------------------------------------------

# 1280x720 (720P) without monitor data using generic information (720p-noedid)

# setenv videoconfig "drm_kms_helper.edid_firmware=edid/1280x720.bin" <strong> </strong>

# -----------------------------------------------

# 1024x768 without monitor data using generic information

# setenv videoconfig "drm_kms_helper.edid_firmware=edid/1024x768.bin"

# final boot args

setenv bootargs "${bootrootfs} ${videoconfig} smsc95xx.macaddr=${macaddr}"

# drm.debug=0xff

# Boot the board

boot

I actually tried a few settings in my previous attempt but unsuccessfully. Now […]

December 5, 2014February 13, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 69 Comments

Zidoo X9 Android Media Player Features an HDMI Input Port with PVR & Time Shifting Functions

I’ve recently tested two Android TV boxes with an HDMI input, namely HPH NT-V6 and M-195, and with the firmware they had at the time of review, the HDMI input just acts as a dumb HDMI input port, and there was nothing much I could do with it. Now comes Zidoo X9, another Android TV box powered nby Mstar MSO9810 that also comes with an HDMI input port, but this time, they’ve implemented a PVR function, so if you have a low end satellite, cable, or terrestrial receiver, you can connect it to Zidoo X9 and record programs, which makes it much more useful. Zidoo X9 specifications: SoC – Mstar MSO9180D1R quad core Cortex A9 processor up to 1.5GHz with octa-core ARM Mali-450MP6 GPU Mali-450MP (2 or 4) GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot Video Output / Input – HDMI output […]