There was a time when most TV boxes would run Android operating system for mobile with lots of modifications to make it suitable for the big screen, except for a few models that would run the official Android TV operating systems. But things are now changing, with announced from Geniatech, WeTek, and others all announcing certified Android TV set-top boxes and media hubs. We’ve even been told Amlogic will now only provide Android TV SDK from now on with no support for “normal Android”, and the good news is that inexpensive TV box running Android TV will become common place, and one of those devices, MECOOL M8S PRO W is the cheapest I’ve seen so far going for $37.99 shipped with coupon DSJMVRWB (pre-order) MECOOL M8S PRO W specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905W quad core ARM Cortex-A53 processor with penta-core Mali-450MP3 GPU @ 750 MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 […]
H2-RK3229 is a Rockchip RK3229 TV Box with a 2.5″ SATA Drive Bay
Rockchip RK3229 is a quad core Cortex A7 for entry-level 4K TV boxes, and usually found in the cheapest TV boxes with factory price (MOQ) starting at around $18, and the bare minimum of 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of storage. Sometimes, it’s also found in higher quality models, for example Zidoo X1 II, and some models have more memory and/storage such as R-Box 4K. So I was a little surprised when I saw H2-RK3229 TV box with comes with 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, and a SATA bay for 2.5″ drives, that’s sold for around $61 shipped on Aliexpress. H2-RK3229 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3229 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-400MP2 System Memory – 2GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash. 2.5″ SATA bay, micro SD slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K2K @ 60 fps & AV port […]
Zidoo Unveils Poster Wall 2.0 App, High-end Zidoo X20 Pro RTD1296 Media Player Coming Soon
Zidoo has some news for their Realtek RTD1295/RTD1296 powered devices such as Zidoo X8, X9S, or X10. First, the company will soon release a firmware update that includes Poster Wall 2.0, an app that display movie posters and information in a concise and eye-pleasing way. The company is also working on a higher-end player called Zidoo X20 Pro powered by RTD1296 expected to launch in a few weeks, once beta testing is complete, and firmware looks stable enough. Zidoo X20 Pro RTD1296 Media Player Zidoo X20 Pro specifications: SoC – Realtek RTD1296 quad core Cortex A53 processor with ARM Mali-T820 MP3 GPU System Memory – 4GB DDR4 Storage – 32GB eMMC flash, 2x SATA 3.0 bays for 2.5 or 3.5″ drives Video 2x HDMI 2.0a output ports with HDCP 2.2, 4K 60 Hz 1x HDMI 2.0 input with HDCP 2.2 supporting PiP, stream recording, and UDP broadcasting 1x RCA composite […]
WeTek Unveils Hyperion 4G LTE Set-Top Box & Nix OTT TV Box Running Android TV OS
When Geniatech announced Android TV certification for their ATV598Max set-top box with digital TV tuners compliant with DVB-T2, DVB-C, ATSC, or ISDB standards earlier this week, we noticed how few official Android TV STB there was on the market. But more may be coming, as Wetek will showcase two Android TV products at CABSAT in Dubai on January 14-16 with Wetek Hyperion Amlogic S905D 4G LTE set-top box, as well as WeTek Nix OTT box powered by Amlogic S905X processor. WeTek Hyperion Specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905D quad core ARM Cortex-A53 SoC up to 1.5 GHz, with penta-core ARM Mali-450 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC 5.0 flash Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a (CEC, HDR, HDCP 1.4/2.2), mini jack analog AV output Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet Dual band 802.11 ac/b/g/n WiFi (optional 802.11ac MiMo) Bluetooth 4.0 4G LTE modem – LTE-FDD: B2/B4/B5/B12/B13/B17/B25/B26; LTE-TDD: B41; […]
Geniatech ATV598Max is a Certified Android TV Hybrid TV Box with ATSC, DVB-T2, DVB-C, or ISDB-T Digital TV Tuner
Geniatech ATV495 Max was the first model from the company to get official Android TV certifications. There now a bunch of those ATV OEM devices, but if you want one with a digital TV tuner, then the choice is much more limited, and so far, I only heard about ARRIS set top boxes. Geniatech ATV598 Max can now be added to the list, as the company informed me the Amlogic quad core hybrid TV box with ATSC, DVB-T2, or DVB-C tuner had just received official Android TV certification from Google too. ATV598Max specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905D quad core Arm Cortex-A53 processor up to 1.5 GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 (optional 1GB) Storage – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0a; Audio – Via HDMI, optical output, optional Dolby support Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi […]
Amlogic 2018 Roadmap Reveals S905X2, S905C, and S922 Processors
I’ve been asked what’s next for Amlogic a few times recently, and today I received an Amlogic 2017/2018 roadmap dated Q3 2017 that shows three new processors beside Amlogic S805X, which has yet to be launched into products: Amlogic S905C, S905X2 and S922. So let’s have a look at the three new processors. Amlogic S905C specifications: CPU – Quad core ARM Cortex A53 processor GPU- ARM Mali-450MP2 System Memory – Up to 3GB DDR3/3L, LPDDR2/3 memory Storage – NAND flash, eMMC 5.0 flash, and NOR flash interfaces Video – 4K60 HEVC decoder, 4K30 H.264 decoder, and AVS+ decoder with HDR10, HLG, 1080p60 H.264 encoder Video Output – HDMI 2.0b, CVBS Audio – integrated audio DAC Integrated DVB-C demodulator , 1x TS input Others – 10/100M Ethernet, 2x USB 2.0 Package – 13 x 13 mm BGA Engineering samples have been available since July 2017, and it looks to be targeting […]
SRH-X5 is a Palm-sized Android TV Box based on Amlogic S905W Processor
Amlogic S905W processor is a cost down version of S905X processor limited to 1080p60 / 4K30 video output and found in low cost TV boxes such as Tanix TX3 or X96 Mini that sells for just above $20 shipped. SRH-X5 is yet another of those boxes, but the device is more compact than the ones of competitors I’ve seen, as they’ve not included interfaces such as Ethernet or optical S/PDIF, and it could fit into the palm of your hand (although it’s not meant to be). SHR-X5 TV box specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905W quad core Arm Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1 GB DDR3 (2GB optional ) Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (Up to 32GB as option) + micro SD card slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 1.4 output Audio – 3.5mm headphone jack with stereo output/microphone, HDMI audio output […]
Year 2017 in Review, Top 10 Posts, and Some Fun Stats
2017 is coming to an end, and as I do every year, I’ll take a look back at the year that was on CNX Software. The pace of development boards launches has not slowed down this year, and we get an even wider range from the low-end with Orange Pi or NanoPi boards, to much more powerful ARM boards, and some new entrants like Libre Computer. The same is true for TV boxes, most of which now support 4K HDR, ranging from ultra cheap models selling for less than $20 to higher end Android TV boxes, while mini PCs were dominated by Intel Apollo Lake models, although some Cherry Trail products were also launched. Processor-wise, Amlogic launched more Amlogic S905X derivatives with S905W/S905D/S905Z, which are popular in the TV box market. Rockchip’s most interesting processor this year was RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor designed for 4K HDR Android TV […]