Xiaomi has launched two new upgraded models based on their Mi Box 3 TV box powered by Amlogic S905-H processor, with Mi Box 3s with Amlogic S905X-H and 2GB RAM, and Mi Box 3c with Amlogic S905-H and 1 GB RAM. Beside the box hardware changes, the most significant updates are the replacement of MIUI TV interface by allegedly the first set-top box system with AI in the world, which the company calls Patch Wall, as well as Mi Touch IR remote control which include a touch ring in place of the usual arrow keys (3s only). Xiaomi Mi Box 3s specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X-H quad core ARM Cortex A53 processor + Mali-450MP GPU System memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 8GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI2.0a port with HDR support + AV port Audio – Dolby and DTS support Connectivity – WiFi 802.11ac Dual band 2.4 / […]
V-Bridge Muses DTV Modulator and Video Encoder Review – Part 2: Muses-β Turnkey Solution Demo
V-Bridge Muses-α and Muses-β boards can be used to respectively broadcast video to DTV standard from your PC, and as a turnkey solution taking any HDMI, CVBS, or USB inputs. The VATek SoC used in those board support various DTV standards including DVB-T, DVB-C, ATSC/QAM, DTMB, ISDB-T/TB up to full HD resolution. I’ve received an early prototype for each, and I’ve already taken pictures and show how to assemble both Muses-α and Muses-β kits in the first part of the review. Today, I’ll show a demo with Muses-β turnkey solution taking HDMI input from an Android TV box (R-Box Pro), encoding and modulating the video to DVB-T, before broadcast it to an Android STB with a DVB-T/T2 tuner (U4 Quad Hybrid). This tool could be useful to test STB featuring ATSC or ISDB-T too, as those two standards are not supported in my country, and I could instead generate signals […]
HF10 is a 2-in-1 Android 6.0 TV Box & Bluetooth Speaker Powered by Amlogic S905X Processor
We’ve previously seen CS668 TV box combining an Android TV box, a Bluetooth Speaker, and a power bank into a single device, but audio quality is likely to be mediocre on such as small device. Eny Technology HF10 is slightly different as it combines an Amlogic S905X Android TV box with a larger 10 Watt speaker with a class-D amplifier, and can also used as a Bluetooth speaker. HF10 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 (option: 2GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (Options: 16 and 32GB) + micro SD slot up to 32 GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60 Hz Audio HDMI output 2.5″ 10W mono bass speaker with class-D amplifier Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port Misc […]
November 11 Singles’ Day Promotions in Chinese Online Stores
November 11 is Single’s day in China, and just like Valentine’s day, it is used for commercial purpose to make people buy stuffs. It’s also Black Friday before Black Friday, as Chinese online stores will also offer discounts to their customers, and this remains true for stores catering to oversea customers, so you may find a few interesting deals from 11.11 day festivities around the web. I’ve gathered a few of the offers from the most popular Chinese sites catering to overseas markets. GeekBuying has an “11.11 Carnival” that actually started on November 1st, and ending on November 12th. They have promotions changing every day, as well as some coupons such as DB1111 $15 coupon if you spent over $215. Aliexpress calls it “11.11 Global Shopping Festival” instead. You can buy coupons for half price, and check out for products with the red SALE icon on the left of the […]
Giveaway Week Winners – November 2016
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to announce the results the whole world is eagerly waiting for today, and as you’ve probably guessed it, by that I mean CNX Software Giveaway Week 2016 contest… obviously… We had seven winners sharing the prizes shown below from Android TV boxes, to a Linux TV stick, and an Android virtual reality headset. 2016 has been an interesting year so far, putting statisticians, pundits, pollsters, and generally speaking odds to shame, and random.org apparently decided to join that trends, as while most of the blog’s traffic – and I’d assume entries – come from the western world (North America / Western Europe), random.org mostly selected winners from other countries: VR SKY CX-V3 VR headset – Dainis, Latvia WeTek Core TV box – Homer, Morocco Vana Player Hifi Linux audio player – Fakham, Pakistan MeLE PCG02U Ubuntu TV stick – Ziggy, Singapore Coowell V4 Android tv […]
Sunvell T95P Android TV Box in a Plug Can Be Yours for $48
If you really liked Xiaomi Mi Box mini concept of an Android TV box in a plug, you may have been greatly disappointed once you found out about the Chinese only user interface, and the complete lack of USB ports or any other external interfaces apart from the HDMI port. There’s now a new device with a similar concept thanks to Sunvell T95P Android TV box in a plug, but with a multilingual firmware, one USB port, and a choice of UK, EU, and US prongs. Sunvell T95P Android plug specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with a penta-core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot up to 32GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 (AP8189? module) USB – 1x USB 2.0 […]
Rikomagic MK22 Review – Part 2: Android Firmware, Video & Audio in Kodi, Benchmarks…
Rikomagic MK22 is one of the many Android TV boxes powered by Amlogic S912 octa-core processor with typical hardware specifications such as 2GB RAM, 16GB flash, Gigabit Ethernet and dual band WiFi. I’ve already taken the box apart to check out the hardware in the first part of the review, so I’ll focus on the firmware, but I’ll keep it short focusing on typical problem areas, as I’ve already reviewed a bunch of other Amlogic S912 TV boxes such as Qintaix Q912 or Beelink GT1. First Boot, Firmware Update, and First Impressions After having connected all usual cables and accessories include a 1TB USB hard drive, and RF dongles for my air mouse and wireless gamepad, I booted the device, and after around 45 seconds (typically), I got to the main launcher. Since I received the device about a month ago, I decided to go to the UPDATE&BACKUP app to […]
Amlogic USB Burning Tool Still Sucks in 2016
[Update November 2016: If you don’t like USB Burning Tool or don’t have the necessary USB cable, you can flash Amlogic IMG firmware to a micro SD card instead] In the first few years when Android TV Boxes/mini PCs started to hit the markets, in the 2012-2014 period, online firmware update was inexistent for the vast majority of the boxes, and if you wanted to update your firmware you had to use some windows tools like USB Burning Tool for Amlogic, AndroidTool for Rockchip, or PhoenixUSBPro / PhonixSuite for Allwinner platforms. All those tools have poor design, for example the window is not resizable, so it’s impossible to your an old netbook (1024×600 resolution), and then you have to install drivers which is easy, for after detection of the box may be hit and miss, and you have to follow a procedure with the right power sequence with a USB […]