TV box

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 137 Comments on Mele A1000 Android 2.3 STB Unboxing and Review

Mele A1000 Android 2.3 STB Unboxing and Review

I’ve finally received the Mele A1000 media player I ordered 3 weeks ago. I mainly plan to use it as a Linux development platform for Allwinner A10 processor, but today I’ll just post some unboxing pictures and provide some feedback about the Android software running on the box. I received the device in the box below. (Sorry about the picture quality, I took pictures with my smartphone). Once you open the box, you’ll get see the set-top box, related accessories, a (not so useful) user guide in English and Chinese and what looks like a warranty card. Once you unpack everything you get the set-top box, 2.5″ hard drive case, composite cable, remote control (infrared) and 5V power supply. You’ll noticed some buttons on the remote control have markings in Chinese, this is where the user manual can be useful. You may already have seen the box itself (with clearer […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on HbbTV Specification 1.5 Adds MPEG DASH Support

HbbTV Specification 1.5 Adds MPEG DASH Support

The HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) consortium, an European initiative for web-based smart TV applications for TVs and set-top boxes, has recently released version 1.5 of the HbbTV specification. The latest specification adds support for HTTP adaptive streaming based on MPEG-DASH (ISO/IEC 23009-1), improving the perceived quality of video presentation on busy or slow Internet connections. It also enables content providers to protect DASH delivered content with multiple DRM technologies based on the MPEG CENC specification (ISO/IEC 23001-7). Finally, HbbTV Version 1.5 significantly enhances access to broadcast TV schedule information (DVB-SI EIT-Schedule), enabling operators to produce full 7-day electronic program guides (EPG) as HbbTV applications that can be deployed across all HbbTV receivers to provide a consistent user experience. The diagram above show the main improvement of HbbTV 1.5 over HbbTV 1.0 that is, as mentionned above,  EIT-Schedule for EPG, MPEG-DASH for streaming video and MPEG CENC for multiple DRM […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments on Mele A2000 Android 2.3 Media Player Powered by AllWinner A10

Mele A2000 Android 2.3 Media Player Powered by AllWinner A10

Last month, I ordered a Mele A1000 in order to hack it to run Linux as it uses the same processor – the Cortex A8/Mali-400MP based AllWinner A10 – as the one planned for the low cost Rhombus Tech board. I have yet to receive the device, but Mele (迈乐) has already released  the Mele A2000, an Android 2.3 set-box box also powered by AllWinner A10. Here are Mele A2000 specifications: CPU: ARM Cortex A8 AllWinner A10 @ 1 GHz (It can be apparently be overclocked up to @ 1.5GHz) GPU: Mali 4000 Memory: DDR3 512MB RAM / 4GB Nand Flash OS System: Android 2.3.4 (Upgradable to Android 4.0) External Storage: Supports SD card up to 32GB, supports 2.5″ SATA HDD up to 1TB, Supports max 16GB USB flash disk Video codecs: HD MPEG-1/2/4. H.264. HD AVC/VC-1, RM/RMVB, Xvid/DviX 4/5/6, RealVideo 8/9/10, VP6 Video Formats: ts, m2ts, tp, trp, mkv, mp4, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 29 Comments on Mele A1000: AllWinner A10 (Cortex A8) Based Hackable Android STB

Mele A1000: AllWinner A10 (Cortex A8) Based Hackable Android STB

The Mele A1000 is an Android 2.3 IP Set-top Box (STB) powered by AllWinner A10 (Cortex A8) CPU with 512 MB RAM and 2 GB NAND Flash.  AllWinner A10 is the CPU to be used by the 15 USD (BOM Cost) Rhombus Tech Linux Computer, an alternative to the Raspberry-Pi. Since they do not have an alpha board yet, the Mele A1000 STB is apparently the development platform chosen by developers involved in Rhombus Tech low cost board while they wait for the hardware. Let’s have a look at the device specifications: CPU: ARM CortexA8 1GHz (AllWinner A10) Memory: DDR3 512MB RAM / 2 4GB Nand Flash OS System: Android 2.3 External Storage: Supports SD card up to 32GB, supports 2.5″ SATA HDD up to 1TB, Supports max 16GB USB flash disk Video coding: HD MPEG1/2/4.H.264.HD AVC/VC-1,RM/RMVB, Xvid/DviX4/5/6, RealVideo8/9/10, VP6 Video Format: ts/m2ts/tp/trp/mkv/mp4/mov/avi/rm/rmvb/wmv/vob/asf/flv/dat/mpf/mpeg Audio Format: MP3/WMA/WMV/OGG/FLAC/MKV Subtitle Format: SRT/SMI/SSA/ASS Network […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Coolech HbbTV DTV Set-Top Box Powered By MStar MIPS SoC

Coolech HbbTV DTV Set-Top Box Powered By MStar MIPS SoC

Shenzhen Coolech Technology demoes an HbbTV Digital TV Set-top Box (STB) at Cebit 2012, in Hanover, Germany.  HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) is a new European standard for web-based smart TV applications for TVs and set-top boxes. There are already plenty of STB solutions and Smart TVs offering Over-The-Top (OTT) features where TV channels and internet data are superimposed, but those are usually proprietary and HbbTV offers a standard that can be used by broadcasters all over Europe. Here are Coolech’s HbbTV DTV STB specifications: M-Star MIPS CPU clocked at 800 Mhz. HDMI DVB-T/T2 and DVB-S/S2 support. Ethernet SD Card 3x USB host IR Sensor SPDIF Audio Out There is no info on the OS except it does not run Android, so it must be Linux… Charbax interviewed the company at CeBit 2012 where you can learn more about the device and see a demo of ARD HbbTV Interop Portal […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Valueplus Tizzbird Stick N1: Android 4.0 HDMI/USB Media Player Dongle

Valueplus Tizzbird Stick N1: Android 4.0 HDMI/USB Media Player Dongle

Valueplus, a Korean company specialized in “media application products”, is currently showcasing the Valueplus Tizzbird N1 at CeBit 2012, in Hanover, Germany on March 6-10 2012. This device is a media player in a small form factor HDMI / USB stick similar to what we have previously seen with the Roku Streaming Stick, Always Innovating HDMI Dongle Media Player and FXI Tech Cotton Candy. The Tizzbird N1 is powered by Telechips 8925 ARM Cortex A5 processor (TCC8925C) clocked at 800 Mhz with 4 GB NAND Flash and runs Android 4.0 (ICS). The device features an HDMI port, a mini USB port for power, a USB port to connect external mass-storage devices such as a USB hard drive, a microSD card slot and an IR sensor. The device also has built-in Wifi 802.11n for network connectivity. The way it works is you plug the stick into the HDMI port of your TV […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Geniatech ATV510 Android 4.0 Media Player

Geniatech ATV510 Android 4.0 Media Player

Geniatech showcased the TV Box Nano2 ATV510 at CES 2012. This media player is powered by an AMLogic single core Cortex A9 processor (possibly Amlogic AML8726-M) with 512 MB RAM, 2GB Flash and featuring 2 USB ports,  1 microSD slot, a 10/100M Ethernet port and built-in Wifi. The remote, named AiRemote, is an RF remote with accelerometer and gyrometer. The device runs Android 4.0.1, and the company plans to port Google TV 2.0 to their media player soon. This STB should available in Europe and the US in March 2012 at an undisclosed price. Geniatech page for the ATV510 (http://www.geniatech.com/pa/atv510.asp) is currently not working, but you can have a look at the ATV500 running Android 2.3 to get details about the previous model. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Marvell Armada 1500 Google TV Reference Design

Marvell Armada 1500 Google TV Reference Design

Marvell announced that its Foresight Platform, powered by Marvell ARMADA 1500 HD Secure Media Processor System-on-a-Chip (SoC), will be officially used by Google TV (replacing Intel CE4100 SoC) and be introduced at CES 2012. The company said Google TV smart TVs, set-top boxes (STB) and blu-ray players based on its platform would be available later this year. The Foresight Platform uses Marvell’s Qdeo video processing technology designed to deliver improved 3D video, rich audio, 3D graphics and TV-friendly Web content thanks to noise reduction, de-interlacing, low bit-rate internet video enhancement and other enhancement techniques such as Adaptive Contrast Enhancement (ACE) and Intelligent Color Remapping (ICR). ARMADA 1500 (codenamed 88DE3100) contains Marvell’s ARM v6/7-compatible PJ4B SMP super-scalar dual-core CPU. The chip is designed to enable PC-like processing power to support Web browsing with support for Flash and other key technologies – with the aid of more than 6000 Dhrystone MIPS of […]

EmbeddedTS embedded systems design