Reviews - Page 84 of 127 - CNX Software

October 24, 2016October 25, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

Beelink GT1 TV Box Review – Part 2: Android Marshmallow Firmware

I’ve previously reviewed other Amlogic S912 TV boxes such as M12N MXQ Plus or Qintaix Q912, but Beelink GT1 has the advantage of being quite cheaper at $56 and up, but still come with many of the same features as more expensive devices. I’ve already posted pictures, and checked out the hardware design in the first part of Beelink GT1 review, so in the second part I’ll report my experience with Android, including video and audio capabilities, hardware features testing, and some benchmarks. First Boot, OTA Firmware Update, Settings, and First Impressions The device comes with two USB ports only, so I connected a USB hard drive to one of the port, and a USB hub to the other with the RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad, as well as a USB keyboard to take screenshots. I completed the setup by adding […]

October 19, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

MUSES-α & MUSES-β DVB-T/C, ISDB-T, DTMB & ATSC Modulator Boards Review – Part 1: The Hardware

V-Bridge Muses digital TV modulator boards launched on Kickstarter earlier this month, with the cheaper $200 MUSES-α board modulating video from a PC, and $600 MUSES-β turnkey solution capable of broadcasting HDMI or AV + stereo input to various digital TV standards including DVB-T/C, ATSC/QAM, DTMB, and ISDB-T/TB without the help of a computer. The company sent me the two hardware kits for evaluation and review on CNX Software, and today I’ll start by showing off the hardware I received. I got 3 packages and a F-female to F-female cable, which means you can connect the board directly to your TV tuner without having to rely on actual RF signals, and potential legal issues that goes with it. The first package I open if for the PC modulator kit that include MUSES-α board, an “RF” board, as a USB cable to connect to your computer. MUSES-α board features Vatek A1 […]

October 14, 2016October 7, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 22 Comments

Zidoo X9S Android Media Center Review – Part 2: Android Firmware & OpenWrt (NAS Functions)

Zidoo X9S is more than a simple Android TV box, as it supports NAS function via OpenWrt running simultaneously with Android 6.0 and its USB 3.0 and SATA ports, as well as HDMI input function capable of recording and broadcasting videos, and supporting Picture-in-picture, so I find “Android Media Center” better fit the description for this device. I’ve already taken pictures of the Zidoo X9S and its board in the first part of the review, so I’ll test both Android 6.0 & OpenWrt firmware, and the most of the features in the second part of the review. Initial Setup and First Boot I connected the usual accessories and cables to the box including a USB 3.0 hard drive, HDMI and Ethernet cables, USB RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad, and a USB keyboard to take screenshots. I also added a 1TB SATA […]

October 10, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Zidoo X9S Android TV Box HDMI Input Testing – Video Recording, PiP, and UDP Broadcasting

One of Zidoo X9S media center‘s key features is its HDMI Input port with support for PVR, picture-in-picture, and video broadcasting over UDP. The company has come a long way since the implementation of HDMI input on Zidoo X9 TV box, which would only support PVR function, and exclusively work in the foreground. For this review, I connected K1 Plus T2 S2 Android TV box to the HDMI input of Zidoo X9S, and started HDMI In app.The first good news is that HDMI input does work, as we can see K1 Plus user interface preview inside Zidoo X9S’ HDMI IN app. Before testing all features, let’s go through the options for Video, Audio, and Output. You can select various video resolution up to 1080p, but I left it to Auto, which for this test meant 1080p. Framerate cannot be changed and is set to Auto, while bitrate ranges from 1M […]

October 7, 2016October 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

RabbitMax Flex IoT & Home Automation Board and Kit for Raspberry Pi

RabbitMax Flex is an add-on board for the Raspberry Pi boards with 40-pin headers, namely Raspberry Pi Model A+ and B+, Raspberry Pi 2, Raspberry Pi 3 and Raspberry Pi 0, destined to be used for Internet of Things (IoT) and home automation applications thanks to 5x I2C headers, a relay, an LCD interface and more. I’ve received a small kit with RabbitMax Flex boards, a BMP180 temperature & barometric pressure I2C sensor, and a 16×2 LCD display. RabbitMax Flex specifications: Relay – Songle SRD-05VDC-SL-C supporting 125V/250VAC up to 10A, 30VDC up to 10A Storage – EEPROM with some system information for identification IR – IR LED, IR receiver Misc – Buzzer, Button, RGB LED Expansion Header for LCD character display + potentiometer for backlight adjustment 5x 4-pin headers for I2C sensors Dimensions – Raspberry Pi HAT compliant The assembly of the kit is child’s play as you don’t even need […]

October 4, 2016November 3, 2018 by Ray - 26 Comments

Xtream Codes IPTV Panel Review – Part 2: Movie Data Editing, Security, Resellers, Users and Pricing Management

Dear readers, after part 1 of Xtream Codes Panel v.2.2.0 EVO review, here is part 2. I tried hard to get all in two parts, but “to be exhaustive” there will also have to be a part 3… Movie Editing Section As we can see, it’s only possible to assign a movie into a single category, a SELECT BOUQUET Option under the Category would be more then useful. So while Movie Editor Section is useful right now, it still needs improvement. Also taking each movie by hand for editing, after, for example, a Main server crash or changing the Main, is really something, a waste of time. Some of the issues / possible improvements include: No mass edit of movies to bouquets If changing the category of a movie, I found no working method to change in a bulk.. Even if I tried to delete the “content” of a bouquet, […]

October 3, 2016November 17, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Rikomagic MK22 Octa-core Android TV Box Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown

Rikomagic became a much better known company when they launched MK802 TV stick in 2012, and over the years they’ve kept introducing new products, and I’ve just received a review sample of their latest Rikomagic MK22 octa-core Android TV box powered by Amlogic S912 processor. I’ve posted photos of the device and its accessories, and check out the hardware design in the first part of the review, before testing Android 6.0 firmware in the second part in a few weeks. Rikomagic MK22 Unboxing I received MK22 in its black and white retail package. The back of the package details the main features, and the hardware specifications. Instead of printing a user’s manual that anybody will hardly read, the company instead printed a QR Core to MK22 user’s manual download link. The TV box ships with a 5V/2.5A power supply, an HDMI cable, and an IR remote control that looks the […]

October 2, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Review of Allo Vana Player Linux HiFi Audio System with Max2Play, SqueezeBox and Kodi

Last month I showcased what I called “Allo Sparky Audio Kit” with a DAC board (Piano), an amplifier board (Volt), and usually hard to find reclocker and capacitance multiplier boards (Kali & CM), all connected to Allo Sparky ARM Linux development board powered by Actions Semi S500 quad core Cortex A9 processor, and running Ubuntu 12.04. In the first post, I just described the boards, and showed how to assemble the kit, but now that I have received the user’s manual, it turns out the kit is actually called “Vana Player” and the provided Ubuntu firmware image runs Max2Play Browser based system that’s also available for Raspberry Pi and ODROID boards. Before starting the kit, you’ll need to connect speakers to Piano DAC board and/or Kali board, as well as a 19.5V power source such as a laptop power supply to connect to the CM board. I connected some USB […]