Xiaomi announced the Mi Box Pro TV Box powered by Amlogic S802-H SoC and running MIUI TV user interface on top of Android. The company sells the device in China for 399 CNY ($64), but it has now found its way Aliexpress, where anybody can purchase the box for $92 including shipping, which is about the same price as most other S802 devices. Here’s a reminder of the specifications: SoC – Amlogic S802-H quad core Cortex A9r4 processor @ 2GHz with ARM Mali-450MP6 octa-core GPU System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 4GB eMMC Flash + micro SD slot up to 64 GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI (Up to 4K30) and 3.5 mm AV Audio / Video Playback – MKV, AVI, MP3 and MOV up to 4K resolution. AC3, Dolby and DTS audio support Connectivity – Dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi up to 120 Mbps (vs 40 Mbps for 802.11n) […]
Ugoos UT3 and UM3 Android TV Boxes With Rockchip RK3288 Available Soon
We’ve already seen a few RK3288 boards for upcoming Android TV boxes such as Zero Devices Z6C,Sunchip TV Box and HDMI Sticks, and Ugoos UT3. Most companies did not show off their complete products however, but Ugoos has now unveiled some pictures of their UT3 and UM3 Android TV boxes, and announced availability for next week. This is probably availability to resellers, but it should still mean RK3288 based TV devices should be available within a few weeks, especially since tablets such as Pipo P8 are already up to sale, and should start shipping within a few days. The specifications are very similar for both Ugoos UT3 and UM3: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core CortexA17 @ 2.0 GHz + Mali-T764 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0 /3.0, and OpenCL 1.1 System Memory – 2GB DDR3 (1GB optional) Storage – UT3 – 16GB NAND Flash (Options: 8, 32 or […]
Unboxing of HD18T Android Media Player with DVB-T2 Tuner
Shenzhen Tomato has sent me a sample of HD18T, an Android TV box powered by Amlogic AML8726-MX dual core processor that features a DVB-T2 tuner with In and Out antenna connectors. This is quite timely as Digital TV in Thailand has just started on April 1st of this year. Today, I’ll go through the specs, unbox the device, and show some pictures of the box, the board and DVB-T2 tuner. HD18T Specifications The device enclosure and specifications are very similar to EM6-S2 DVB-S2 Android TV box I covered previously, expect the DVB-S2 tuner is replaced by a DVB-T2 tuner: SoC – AMLogic AML8726-MX dual cortex A9 @ 1.5 GHz + Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 8GB NAND FLASH + SD card reader Video & Audio Output – HDMI 1.4, AV Audio Output – HDMI, AV, and optical S/PDIF. Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD pass-through. USB […]
MINIX NEO X8 and X8s Android TV Boxes are Now Available for Pre-order for $119 and up
Last month, MINIX announced their NEO X8 and NEO X8s Android TV boxes powered by Amlogic S802 and S802-H (with Dolby/DTS support). The company disclosed the specifications but they did not provide price information. This morning, I noticed the devices were available for pre-order on DealExtreme for $132 and $151.56, and I went to look for it on Aliexpress where NEO X8 sells for as low as $119 and NEO X8s for $148. All prices include shipping. One shop also sell these for well over $200 with the new MINIX NEO M1 air mouse. Both devices come with 2GB RAM, HDMI video output, stereo and optical S/PDIF audio outputs, Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity, and 3 USB ports. Whereas NEO X8 features 8GB flash, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Amlogic S802 SoC, NEO X8s boasts 16GB flash, dual band 2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi, and Amlogic S802-H which properly supports Dolby and DTS audio pass-through via […]
Amlogic STB SoCs Comparison – AML8726-MX, S802, S805, and S812
The second quarter of 2014 is promising to be an exciting time for Android TV boxes based on Chinese SoCs with lots of announcements. Devices powered by Amlogic S802 quad core SoC such as M8 and Vega S89 are already available, Rockchip RK3288 Android TV boxes are likely to sell in May, together with AllWinner A80 development board and tablets, and Android media players probably coming to market in June or July. But Amlogic S802 is not the only new quad core processor announced by Amlogic, with S805 and S812 soon to be featured in HDMI TV sticks and TV boxes. Amlogic IP/OTT STB SoC page has a comparison table for their four STB SoC. Let’s go through this table to see which processor may better match different end-users requirements. Multi-core CPU Dual Core ARM Cortex A9 Quad Core ARM Cortex A9 Quad Core ARM Cortex A9 Quad Core ARM […]
Review of Tronsmart Vega S89 Elite Amlogic S802 TV Box
Tronsmart Vega S89 is an Android TV Box based on Amlogic quad-core Cortex A9 processor. You can refer to Tronsmart Vega S89 specs for more technical details, and check out my Tronsmart Vega S89 Unboxing post for pictures of the device and the board. As a reminder, there are two models of the device: Tronsmart Vega S89 with 16GB flash and dual-band Wi-Fi (AP6330 module), and Tronsmart Vega S89 Elite with 8GB flash and 2.4 WiFi (AP6220 module). I’ve been sent the Elite version, but both versions should have similar performance. I’ll start by giving my first impressions, going through the user interface and settings, then I’ll switch to video and audio tests, Wi-Fi performance, and perform some other tests for Bluetooth, gaming, external storage, USB webcam, etc.. trying to cover most of the hardware features available on this device. First Boot, Settings, and First Impressions Vega S89 (Elite) comes […]
Ugoos UT3 Rockchip RK3288 based Android TV Box (Board Pictures and Specs)
We’ve already seen RK3288 based Android TV boxes and sticks started to be advertised on Alibaba, and today Ugoos contacted me and shared some pictures and specs of their PCBA for Ugoos UT3 Android 4.4 TV box based on Rockchip RK3288 quad core Cortex A17 + Mali-T764 GPU SoC. Here are the specs of the board and product: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core CortexA17 @ 1.8GHz + Mali-T764 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0 /3.0, and OpenCL 1.1 System Memory – 2GB DDR3 (Option: 4GB) Storage – 8GB NAND Flash (Options: 16, 32 or 64GB) + micro SD card slot (up to 32 GB) Connectivity – 100M/1000M Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz/5GHz) and 802.11 a/c using external Wi-Fi antenna, Bluetooth 4.0 (option?) Video I/F HDMI 1.4a output (female) up to 4k2k @ 30 fps, 1080p60 AV output (3.5mm jack) HDMI input (female) up to 1080p Audio I/F […]
Tronsmart Vega S89 (Elite) Android 4.4 Media Player Unboxing
Last review, I wrote an unboxing post about M8, an Android TV Box powered by Amlogic S802 quad core Cortex A9r4 processor with a Mali-450MP6 GPU. I’m still waiting for the firmware to test this device. In the meantime, Geekbuying sent me Tronsmart Vega S89 (Click for full specs), another Android Kitkat TV box powered by S802. There are actually two versions: Tronsmart Vega S89 (16 GB Flash, dual band Wi-Fi), and Tronsmart Vega S89 Elite (8GB Flash, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi) which is the model I received. I’ll write an unboxing post today with the device and the board, and test the firmware in the next few days. Tronsmart Vega S89 (Elite) Unboxing Geekbuying sent me the sample via DHL which I received in the package below. There are quite a few accessories included with the board. From left to right: IR remote control (2x AAA batteries not included), HDMI […]