stb News - Page 17 of 33 - CNX Software

February 10, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 34 Comments

$50 Hotach HTV003 Android Media Player is Powered by Telechips TCC8935 SoC

The last few months have been pretty quiet in terms of new Android mini PCs and media players, at least when it comes to new platforms. But finally there’s something new, as Telechips TCC893x based devices are starting to show up on the marketplace. The devices won’t beat performance records as the new Telechips SoC features a dual core Cortex A9 processor with a Mali-400MP2 GPU, but they’ll be very affordable. Hotach HTV003 is one of the first media player powered by Telechips TCC8935, and sells for $50 on Aliexpress. Hotach HTV003 specifications: SoC – Telechips TCC8935 with two ARM Cortex A9 cores up to 1GHz, one Cortex M3 core, and an ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4GB NAND Flash + micro SD card slot up to 32 GB Connectivity – Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi Video Output – HDMI Audio Ouput – HDMI USB – 2x […]

January 28, 2014May 25, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

How to Install XBMC on D-Link Boxee Box

D-Link Boxee Box is a Linux based media player powered by Intel Atom CE4100 processor that became available in 2010, and features a dual sided RF remote / QWERTY keyboard that probably inspired many of the air mouse that are available today. The box features many of the ports and connectors that are available on most Android STB today, namely an HDMI port, an optical S/PDIF) out, a stereo analog audio out, Ethernet and 802.11n Wi-Fi, two USB ports, and an SD card slot. Many people however got disappointed with the firmware at launch time, and even if subsequent firmware updates have improved the user experience, some people have considered it was worth the effort to port XBMC to the device. Myles McNamara wrote the instructions to install XBMC on D-Link Boxee Box. I’ll summarize the steps below, and it appears to be relatively easy. Installing Boxee+Hacks to gain root […]

January 20, 2014January 20, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 22 Comments

Review of Beelink A9 RK3188 Android Media Player

Beelink A9 is an Android TV Box powered by Rockchip RK3188 SoC with 2GB RAM, and 8GB RAM (See full specs). The hardware is pretty standard, but the company released Android 4.4 SDK for the device, so when Beelink / Nexteon told me they wanted to send me one for review, I accepted. I won’t test the Android SDK today, but I’ll just show the pictures of the device, and run my usual series of tests for review. The shipped sample is not running Android 4.4 (beta), but Android 4.2.2. Unboxing Pictures I’ve received this Android media player in the no brand package below. I’m not sure if Beelink will sell directly to individuals, so you’ll likely to received some different if you order Tronsmart A928 or Zero Devices Z6C which are based on the same platform. There are quite a few accessories in the package: The box itself, a […]

January 9, 2014January 9, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Media Player SoCs at CES 2014 – Qualcomm Snapdragon 802 and Sigma Designs SMP8756

Apart from Nvidia Tegra K1, CES 2014 has been somewhat disappointing when it comes to new mobile SoCs announcement. On the media processor front, we’ve had Marvell announces Skyworth Android TV set-top boxes and HDTV based on their ARMADA 1500 Plus SoC, and we’ve got at least two new processors for media players with Qualcomm Snapdragon 802, and Sigma Designs SMP8756. Let’s have a look at some of the details. Qualcomm Snapdragon 802 Qualcomm has started to enter the media player space with MPQ8064 / 8064M last year, but I haven’t seen actual products based on this SoC, except Qubi, which is not shipping yet. This year, the company announced Snapdragon 802 SoC designed for next-generation smart TVs, smart set-top boxes and smart digital media adapters. As usual, the company gave very little details in the press release, but here’s what we know: Quad core Krait processor @ 1.8Ghz with […]

January 4, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Popcorn Hour A-410 Linux Based Networked Media Jukebox is Now Available for Pre-order for $259

CloudMedia, previously known a Syabas, has announced the available of Popcorn Hour A410, a networked media jukebox (NMJ) powered by Sigma Designs SMP8911 dual core processor with 1GB RAM, Gigabit Ethernet, support for 2.5″ and 3.5″ SATA drives, USB 3.0, and numerous audio / video ports. It can be used as a media player, as well as a NAS (Networked Access Storage). Popcorn Hour A410 specifications: SoC – Sigma Designs SMP8911 Dual-Core 800Mhz processor (MIPS) with 512KB L2 Cache and VXP Video Processor System Memory – 1024MB DDR2 Storage – 256MB SLC NAND Flash, SD Card reader, 2.5″ and 3.5″ SATA HDD bay, and eSATA connector. Audio/Video I/Os – HDMI, Component, CVBS, Stereo Audio, optical and coaxial S/PDIF. Audio DAC – ESS Sabre Audiophile class DAC (24-bit, 192 Khz sampling rate) Video containers – MPEG1/2/4 Elementary (M1V, M2V, M4V),MPEG1/2 PS (M2P, MPG, DAT, VOB),MPEG2 Transport Stream (TS, TP, TRP, M2T, […]

January 2, 2014January 2, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 30 Comments

Beelink A9 Android TV Box Features Rockchip RK3188 SoC

Beelink A9, soon to be sold as Tronsmart A928 or Zero Devices Z6C, is a yet another RK3188 box with 2GB RAM, and 8GB Flash running Android 4.2, upgradeable to Android 4.4.2, and if it was not one of the four devices with Android 4.4.2 SDK I may not have decided to write about it. But since it should be more easily hackable with the SDK release, although with caveats, it becomes much more interesting. A9 Specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 @ 1.6Ghz with Mali-400MP4 GPU @ 533MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8 to 16 GB eMMC flash + microSD slot (up to 32GB) Video Output – HDMI Audio I/O – HDMI, S/PDIF, 3.5mm audio out jack, built-in MIC. Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG port […]

December 20, 2013July 2, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Jynxbox M6 Android TV Box Review

I’ve shown some unboxing pictures and video of Jynxbox Android M6 earlier this week, and today I’ll write a review of this AMLogic AML8726-M6 dual core Android media player. I’ll start with my first impressions, go through the different settings, test video playback, wi-fi performance, and reports about different miscalleous tests: Bluetooth, USB mass storage, USB webcam, etc… First Boot, Settings and First Impressions First, you’ll need to insert the provided AAA batteries in to the remote control. Opening the remote is a bit tricker than I would like as the cover does not come off that easily. Before powering up the device, I’ve connected the provided HDMI cable between the device and my HDTV, and an Ethernet cable to my hub. The first Ethernet cable would not click with in the device RJ45 connector, although it works with my laptop and other devices, but using another one worked just fine. Connecting […]

December 17, 2013December 20, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Jynxbox Android M6 and Jynxbox Live Android TV Players Unboxing Pictures and Videos

I’ve just received two new devices from theatertvbox.tv, namely Jynxbox Android M6 and Jynxbox Live. Both are Android media player, with the former being a more traditional AMLogic AML8726-MX based Android TV Box with XBMC, and the later being an Internet media streamer based on Rockchip RK3066 that focuses on playing online content from services such as Hulu or Netflix. Today, I’ll start with listing specifications, and showing some unboxing pictures and videos for both players, and write a complete detailed review, at least for the M6, in a few days. Jynxbox Android M6 The device’s specifications are somewhat similar to other AML8627-MX boxes such as Matricom G-Box Midnight MX2 or Tronsmart Prometheus: SoC – AMLogic AML8726-MX dual core ARM Cortex A9 @ 1.5GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 4GB NAND flash + microSD/SDHC slot (up to 32GB) Video Output – HDMI 1.3 and CVBS […]