TV box News - Page 27 of 108 - CNX Software

November 8, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Sunvell R69 Allwinner H2 TV Box Sells for $19.99 (Promo)

$20 Android TV box promotions are fun. After last month, Rockchip RK3229 based A95X R1 TV box promotion, GearBest has another one with Allwinner H2(+) based Sunvell R69 TV box powered by Allwinner H2 processor sold for $19.99 with coupon R69GB. If you have no interested in Android, the good news is that since it’s based on Allwinner H2+, you can likely run Armbian images, or the recently released RetrOrangePi 4.0 with minor modifications, to have a $20 Linux server or game console. Sunvell R69 TV box specifications: SoC – Allwinner H2 quad core Cortex A7 processorwith Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB flash + micro SD slot up to 32GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI 1.4 output up to 1080p60, AV port (composite video + stereo audio) Video Codec – H.265 / H.264 up to 1080p Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (via […]

November 6, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

RetrOrangePi 4.0 Released

RetrOrangePi is a retro gaming & media center firmware based on Armbian Debian image and working on Allwinner H3/H2+ based Orange Pi boards, Banana Pi M2+, and NanoPi M1, as well as Beelink X2 TV Box. Right at the end of last year, I reviewed RetrOrangePi 3.0 on Orange Pi One board to which I connected Mars G01 gamepad, and I could play some games like Wolfenstein 3D and Quake, and watch videos on OpenELEC/Kodi 16. The firmware also comes with various emulators, but you’d have to load the ROMs yourself due to intellectual property / license issues. The developers have now released RetrOrangePi 4.0. RetrOrangePi 4.0 changelog: Latest Armbian v5.32 (Debian Jessie kernel 3.4.113) RetroPie-Setup v4.3.3 (unofficial fork, upgradeable) New RetrOrangePi repository for easy updates and fixes EmulationStation v2.6.5 with video and game collection support, Desktop/OpenELEC shorcuts from main menu New ROPi “Attract-Mode”-like theme (based on Cosmos theme) Retroarch […]

November 1, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

2017 Singles’ Day Promotions on Chinese Online Stores

Singles’ day (Guanggun Jie – 光棍节) is celebrated every year on November 11 (11.11) in China, and retailers launch promotions to attract young shoppers, especially online. Last year Singles’ day was even bigger than Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the US terms of (online?) sales,with an estimated 20 billions dollars of goods moved. Online Chinese retailers that cater to overseas market bring their promotions to the international stage, and like last year, I’ve gather some of the Singles’ day promos launched by the most popular e-retailers in China. GearBest 11.11 Sale / Double Eleven promotion will span from November 1 until November 13, with Day 1-7 being the preheat period, abd 8-13 the formal time for the promotion. The event includes flash sales for all sort of items, “lucky bags” where you buy something cheap but do not know exactly what it is…, promotions for top brands (Vernee, Creality, […]

October 27, 2017November 8, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

A95X R1 4K Android TV Box Sells for $20 (Promo)

Rockchip RK3229 quad Cortex A7 processor powers some of the cheapest TV boxes on the market. One of them is A95X R1 with 1GB RAM, 8GB flash, which likeother RK3229 boxes supports both 4K H.265 and H.264, and outputs up to 3840×2160 @ 60 Hz via its HDMI 2.0 interface. GearBest is now selling the device for $19.99 shipped using coupon AA95XR1. A95X R1 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3229 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-400MP2 System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB flash + micro SD card slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60 fps, and 3.5mm AV output (composite) Audio Output – HDMI, AV, and coaxial S/PDIF Connectivity – 100Mbps Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (RTL8189) USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Power Supply – 5V Dimensions – 9.3 x 9.3 x 1.5 cm Weight […]

October 25, 2017December 17, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

Amlogic T962E SoC Powers $55 Alfawise H96 Mini TV Box with HDMI Input, HDMI Output

HDMI input can be a useful addition to Android TV boxes, or media centers, as they allow for functions such as PiP (Picture in Picture), PVR/DVR (Personal / Digital Video Recording), and potentially video broadcasting with the box taking input from your set-top box (or other HDMI device), and broadcasting the video over your network in order to make it accessible to other computer or mobile devices on your home network, or the Internet. We started to see HDMI input on devices powered by Mstar MSO9810 processor a few years, and more recently Realtek RTD1295 processor has become more popular with products such as Zidoo X9S, Beelink SEA I, or EWEAT R9 Plus. Amlogic appears to have joined the fray with Amlogic T962E processor, a family normally used for TVs instead of TV boxes, found in Alfawise H96 mini 4K TV box with HDMI In and Out, 2GB RAM, and […]

October 23, 2017October 24, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Synaptics Introduces VideoSmart BG5CT 4K HDR Multimedia Video Processor for Set-Top Boxes

Marvell used to design Media SoCs running Android TV such as ARMADA 1500 Ultra (aka BG4CT). That part of Marvell business has very recently been sold to Synaptics, which has just unveiled VideoSmart BG5CT multimedia SoC with 4K “Advanced” HDR video processing for the set-top-box market. The BG5CT is said to be pin-to-pin compatible with BG4CT Android TV SoC, features a quad core ARM CPU @ 1.6 GHz with 15K DMIPS, an Imagination PowerVR Series8XE GE8310 GPU, and a security engine enabling secure boot, Trusted Rendering Path, full TrustZone, and video watermarking carrier-grade security making it suitable for Pay TV operators and set-top-box manufacturers. Synaptics’ Qdeo video processing technology adds 4K “Advanced HDR” – including HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, and Technicolor HDR, among user video processing technology. The company did not provide that many details, but BG5CT appears to mostly add HDR support compared to BG4CT, and replace Vivante GC7000 GPU by […]

October 20, 2017October 21, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Beelink GS1 Allwinner H6 TV Box Sells for $60

Allwinner H6 is the latest “Home Entertainment” SoC from the company. Designed for 4K HDR TV boxes and set-top boxes, it supports 6K/4K H.265, H.264 and VP9 hardware video decoding, HDR10 and HLG video processing, and features TS interfaces for digital TV tuners, and high speed interfaces such as USB 3.0 and PCIe. So far only one device was equipped with the processor: Zidoo H6 Pro TV Box launched last August, and no other companies offers H6 based products. This may be about to change, as Beelink GS1 is now up for pre-order on GeatBest for $69.99 shipped. But if you read the fine prints on the product page, you’ll find a $10 coupon code: GBGS1. Beelink GS1 specifications: SoC – AllWinner H6 quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor with Mali-T720MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, micro SD card slot Video Output – 1x HDMI 2.0a up […]

October 12, 2017November 10, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Zidoo H6 Pro (Allwinner H6) TV Box Review – Part 1: Unboxing & Teardown

Allwinner H6 is a quad core Cortex A53 processor designed for 4K HDR set-top boxes and TV boxes that also comes with high speed interfaces like USB 3.0 and PCIe. While at least one other company is working on an Allwinner H6 development board, Zidoo is the only company that I can find whose made a TV box based on the processor: Zidoo H6 Pro. They’ve just send me a sample from their local supplier for review, and as usual, I’ll start by checking out the hardware inside out, before testing the firmware and multimedia capabilities in the second part of the review in a few weeks. Zidoo H6 Pro Unboxing The company has slightly changed the design of their retail package. It also shows some icons with the main features like 4K, 3D, H.265, 2GB DDR4, Android 7.0 with ZIUI, etc… The box ships with a HDMI cable, a […]