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September 24, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Beelink GT-King Pro Android TV Box Features Amlogic S922X-H Processor with Dolby and DTS Licenses

Amlogic offers variants of their processors depending on whether they come with Dolby and/or DTS licenses. For example, we’ve recently seen Amlogic S922XJ with Dolby license only for the upcoming MINIX NEO N22XJ TV box. Beelink has used another variant, namely Amlogic S922X-H, with both Dolby and DTS licenses in their GT-King Pro TV box as an upgrade to their Beelink GT-King TV box which Karl reviewed a few weeks ago. Beelink GT-King Pro specifications: SoC – Amlogic S922X-H hexa-core big.LITTLE processor with 4x Arm Cortex A73 cores @ up to 2.21 GHz, 2x Arm Cortex A53 cores @ 1.8 GHz, Arm Mali-G52MP6 GPU; 12nm manufacturing process System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 RAM Storage – 64GB eMMC flash, SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.1 up to 4K @ 75 Hz Video – AVE-10 engine with 4K UHD H.265/VP9/AVS2 video decoding up to 60 fps, Dolby Vision, Advanced HDR10, […]

September 21, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Samsung Exynos 9611 SoC Targets AI Powered Smartphones with a Pro-grade Camera

Silicon vendors are all launching new mobile processors with “advanced AI capabilities”, and Samsung has just announced another one of those processors with Exynos 9611 that upgrades on Exynos 9610 introduced last year. The company claims “the Exynos 9611 mobile processor brings intelligent performance for the next-generation experiences from artificial intelligent applications to pro-grade camera”, but I’m actually unable to find any differences between the two processors, except the Cortex-A53 cluster’s maximum frequency has been boosted to 1.7 GHz instead of 1.6 GHz, and possibly support for 64MP single cameras. Exynos 9611 key features and specifications: CPU – Up to 2.3GHz quad-core Cortex-A73 cluster and up to 1.7GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 cluster. GPU – Mali-G72 MP3 Memory – LPDDR4x Storage – UFS 2.1, eMMC 5.1 Display – Up to WQXGA (2560×1600) Camera – 24MP single camera (up to 64MP), 16+16MP dual camera Video – 4K UHD 120fps encoding and decoding with […]

September 18, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

A95X Max Plus S922X TV Box Targets Gaming with Wii-like Motion Sensing Remote & Bluetooth Gamepad

Amlogic S922X Android Gaming Console TV Box

Unless a new processor is out, we don’t cover most TV boxes as they mostly provide the same features with little differentiation between products. But the manufacturer of A95X Max Plus TV box has decided to leverage the excellent gaming performance of Amlogic S922X processor, by bundling the device with a Wii-like motion-sensing remote control and a Bluetooth gamepad. The mechanical design is quite different from competing products as well. A95X Max Plus TV box specifications: SoC – Amlogic S922X hexa-core big.LITTLE processor with 4x Arm Cortex A73 cores, 2x Arm Cortex A53 cores, Arm Mali-G52MP GPU; 12nm process System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 RAM Storage – 64GB eMMC flash, microSD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.1 up to 4K @ 75 Hz, AV port (composite) Video – AVE-10 engine with 4K UHD H.265/VP9/AVS2 video decoding up to 60 fps, Dolby Vision, Advanced HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and PRIME HDR […]

September 4, 2019September 4, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Khadas VIM3L SBC up for pre-order for $50 and up, VIM1 & VIM2 Price Reduced

Shenzhen Wesion recently unveiled Khadas VIM3L SBC designed for HTPC / media center use cases. The board is based on Khadas VIM3 PCB but replaces the powerful Amlogic A311D processor by Amlogic S905D3 processor that should be just as good for video playback, but enable much cheaper hardware. Khadas VIM3L Pre-orders The board is not quite available yet, but the company has started to take pre-orders for Khadas VIM3L at discounted prices either as a bare board with Android 9.0 pre-installed ($49.99), or as a CoreELEC HTPC kit with enclosure, heatsink, WiFi antennas, and IR remote control ($69.99). Both feature Amlogic S905D3 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor coupled with 2GB LPDDR4(X) RAM, 16GB eMMC flash, and support 4Kp60 video output and playback with HDR support. Prices will increase with time as follows: September 3-16 (Early Bird) – $49.99 and $69.99 for the board and HTPC kit respectively September 17 – October 7 […]

August 27, 2019August 27, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Fairphone 3 Socially Responsible Android Smartphone Launched for 450 Euros

Most phones today are disposable items, and if yours stops working for whatever reason it’s hard to repair it yourself work, and repairing it at the shop may prove to be too expensive. They are not really expandable either, so if you want a new feature, you may have to buy a completely new phone instead of simply adding a module with the functionality. The difficulty in repairing the phone and the lack of modularity leading to electronics waste. Finally, consumer products are cost-optimized, and that’s great for your wallet, but it may come at the cost of being made by slave labor either directly at the factory, or indirectly through the mining of materials. Aren’t you already feeling bad being complicit in destroying the planet and sponsoring human suffering while reading this on your device? Good! But luckily there’s a solution with Fairphone that aims to be an ethical […]

August 26, 2019 by Karl Johnson - 10 Comments

Beelink GT-King (Amlogic S922X) TV Box Review

Rant Karl here. I have been playing around with Android boxes for several years. Unfortunately, some fundamental issues from when I first started playing around with these boxes are still there. They have come a long way since the MK808 with Rockchip RK3066 processor. The MK808 was my first endeavor into Android on the TV in 2013. I can’t believe it’s been nearly 6 years. In 2014 Google introduced Android TV and the Nexus Player. It was designed for a TV and controller. The first boxes/sticks adapted the stock Android experience to run on a TV, but without a touch interface the experience was/is not optimal. Sure you get thousands and thousands of apps but a lot of them don’t work. Unfortunately, this hasn’t changed much. If these boxes came with Linux and Android I don’t think I would complain as much. I would consider it a tinkering box. But […]

August 21, 2019August 21, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 35 Comments

Khadas VIM3L Amlogic S905D3 SBC Targets HTPC Enthusiasts

Khadas recently launched VIM3 single board computer powered by Amlogic A311D that delivers the best performance among Arm-based SBC’s I have tested myself, and for instance, Amlogic A311D is significantly faster than Rockchip RK3399, and the platform is quite suitable for Android gaming. All that power comes at a price however, as Khadas VIM3 starts at $99.99 with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. That’s fine if you’re going to leverage the features and power of the board, but for some applications, it’s quite expensive. One of those applications is HTPC, as in a world of sub-$50 TV boxes, $100 is a bit too much for watching video content. So the Khadas team is currently developing Khadas VIM3L based on Amlogic S905D3 processor that should provide an excellent platform for HTPC. Khadas VIM3L specifications known so far: SoC – Amlogic S905D3-N0N quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ 1.9GHz with Arm Mali-G31MP2 GPU up […]

August 5, 2019 by Stephen Vicinanza - No Comments

IBase IBR210 i.MX 8M SBC Targets Multi-Display Digital Signage

The latest release from IBase is a single board computer that seems to be designed for the mass business markets, especially in signage. The IBR210 is a 3.5-inch (147 x 102 mm) low-power multimedia SBC based on the NPX ARM Cortex-A53/Cortex-M4 i.MX 8M processor that comes in either a dual or quad-core running in the 1.3 GHz to 1.5 GHz frequency range. The unit was announced on August 1, 2019, but as of yet there is no pricing information. The GPU is a Vivante GC7000Lite/GC7000VLX, and an integrated Cortex-M4F real-time core, in the i.MX8M. Although for the i.MX8M Mini is a faster and newer SoC, the i.MX8M supports 4K video and HDR. The system runs Android 9 or Yocto v2.5 Linux, with up to 3GB soldered LPDDR4 and up to 64GB eMMC. The video output supports 4K via HDMI 2.0, while there are 2 USB 3.0 ports. The board supports […]