TV box News - Page 18 of 108 - CNX Software

December 31, 2018December 31, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

Year 2018 in Review, Top 10 Posts, and Some Stats

That’s it, we’ve already reached the last day of 2018, and it’s time to have a look back at what happened during the past year. On the mini PC front, Gemini Lake based mini PCs took over from Apollo Lake with some performance improvements, but I expected the price point to be a bit lower than it is today. Apart from further developments with regards to mobile processors, it feels 2018 was an off-year for processors, such as the ones found in TV boxes and development boards, with mostly more of the same. Allwinner and Rockchip did not release any really interesting processor, and Amlogic only launched S905X2 and S905Y2 which are mostly evolutions of their previous generation with an OpenGL 3.x capable GPU and USB 3.0. Rockchip RK3399 stood out this year, as despite being launched in 2016, it suddenly became popular again with many RK3399 SBCs coming to […]

December 19, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

$30 MX10 MINI TV Box Runs Android 9 on RK3328 Processor

Android 9.0 TV boxes based on Rockchip RK3328 processor started to become available at the end of last month for $45 and up, but if you’d like a cheaper Android 9 TV box either for playing videos or as an inexpensive device to test apps with Google’s latest version of Android, MX10 MINI might be worth a look, as it sells for $29.99 plus shipping on Aliexpress. MX10 MINI specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP2 GPU System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a port up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR10 and HLG support + 3.5mm AV port with composite video and stereo audio Video Codecs – 4K @ 60 Hz decoding of H.264, 10-bit H.265, and VP9 Connectivity – 10/100M […]

December 8, 2018December 8, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

A95X Max S905X2 TV Box Supports 2.5″ SATA Drives

Several Amlogic S905X2 TV boxes have launched in recent months with models such as X96 Max or Beelink GT1 Mini, and if you’re the kind of user who mostly play videos from local storage as opposed to streaming, you can always connect a hard drive to one of the USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 ports of the media players. However, if you prefer something neater, A95X Max TV box offers similar features, but adds support for internal 2.5″ SATA drives. A95X Max specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X2 quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.8 GHz with Mali-G31 MP2 “Dvalin” GPU System Memory – 4GB DDR3L Storage – 64GB eMMC flash, micro SD card slot up to 128GB, support for internal SATA SSD/HDD Video Output – HDMI 2.1 output up to 4K @ 75 Hz with CEC, HDP, HDR support, AV output Video Codecs – VP9 Profile-2 up to 4K […]

November 27, 2018November 27, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

HiMedia S1 TV Dongle Runs Android TV, Supports Netflix 4K

HiSilicon Hi3798MV200 media processor was announced in 2016 as a cost-down version of Hi3798CV200 processor for 4K TV boxes, and the next year I reviewed HiMedia Q30 TV box powered by the processor. Video playback was great with good 4K support and excellent video quality, although WiFi could have been better. Anyway, the processor has been around for a while, so yet another model with the SoC would not normally be newsworthy. Except HiMedia S1 is a little different, as the company confirmed the TV box is part of Netflix Hailstorm device scaling program meaning it officially supports Netflix 4K out of the box. HiMedia S1 specifications: SoC – HiSilicon Hi3798M V200 quad-core Arm Cortex A53 processor with Arm Mali-450MP GPU supporting OpenGL ES2.0/1.1, OpenVG1.1, EGL System Memory – 1 GB or 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash Video & Audio Output – Micro HDMI 2.0a up […]

November 22, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

Android 9.0 TV Boxes Now Available for $45 and Up (Promo)

If you own a fairly recent official Android TV device, you should probably expect an update to Android TV 9.0 in due time, but for TV boxes running Android instead, I was not aware of any models running Android 9.0 so far. Having said that, with Android 9.0 support announcements from Amlogic and Rockchip made earlier, we knew Android 9.0 boxes would eventually become reality, and according to listings on Geekbuying, there are at least two Rockchip RK3328 TV boxes running Android Pie: A5X Max going for $45.49 shipped with coupon A5XMAX9, and X88 MAX+ selling for $49.99 including shipping. Both boxes come with similar features except X88 Max+ comes with 64GB flash and dual band AC WiFi, so I’ll have a look at A5X Max specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP2 GPU System Memory – 4GB DDR3 Storage – 32GB […]

November 20, 2018November 20, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Xiaomi Mi Box Android TV TV Box is Sold for $52.99 (Promo)

Xiaomi recently launched the Mi Box S an update to their popular Xiaomi Mi Box with pretty much the same specifications, but an improved remote control and a lower price of $59 in the US. We also saw promotions as low as $55.99 for the new model. That means there’s very little reason to buy the original Xiaomi Mi box at the normal price now, and it would make sense for companies to offer discounts to get rid off their stock. That’s exactly what GearBest is doing by selling the Xiaomi Mi box TV Box running an official Android TV OS for $52.99 during a flash sale starting now until November 27 23:59 (Beijing Time) with allegedly no limits in quantity for this promotion. Here’s just a quick reminder of the specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X-H quad core ARM Cortex-A53 with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage […]

November 15, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Hailstorm Device Scaling Program To Enable Netflix Support on Amlogic and HiSilicon TV Boxes

If you’ve ever bought a random TV box you may have found out Netflix does not always work optimally, for example, HD or 4K UHD may not be available due to the lack of DRM, and/or Netflix certification even if you’re paying extra for the service. So you need to make sure you get a certified device and there aren’t that many. But thanks to Netflix Hailstorm – a program aiming at scaling the number of device officially supporting Netflix – we should see more and more TV box running Android TV with full Netflix support. I found about the Hailstorm program via an Amlogic press release, but the photo above shows some TV boxes based on HiSilicon processors will also be supported, and TV boxes manufacturers such as SDMC, Skyworth, and Himedia have joined the program. Amlogic explains they have now achieved pre-certification for its Android TV set top […]

November 13, 2018November 13, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Tanix TX6 Allwinner H6 4K TV Box with 4GB RAM, Dual Band WiFi Goes for $43 (Promo)

Low cost Allwinner H6 TV boxes are now a thing, after the $40 EACHLINK H6 Mini TV box we covered last month, here’s another model slightly more expensive but with 4GB RAM instead of 3GB, and dual band WiFi. It does however drops the AV port found in EACHLINK model. Tanix TX6 can now be found on GearBest or Banggood for $42.99 and up. Tanix TX6 specifications: SoC – AllWinner H6 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor up to 1.5 GHz with Mali-T720MP2 GPU System Memory – 4GB DDR3 Storage – 32GB eMMC flash, micro SD card slot up to 128GB Video Output – 1x HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60hz with HDR support Audio I/F – HDMI, coaxial S/PDIF Video Playback H.265/HEVC Main/Main10 profile @ level 5.2 high-tier up to 4K @ 60fps / 6K @ 30 fps VP9 Profile 0/2, up to 4K @ 30fps H264/AVC BP/MP/HP@level5.1, MVC, up to […]