TV box News - Page 44 of 108 - CNX Software

October 17, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

ZTE ZXV10 B860H is an Another Android TV Media Player based on Amlogic S905X Processor

It looks like Xiaomi Mi Box (US) will have some competition, as ZTE is about to introduce their ZXV10 B860H TV box at Broadband World Forum 2016 in London. The device will run Android TV on a quad core Amlogic processor, which can only be Amlogic S905X, the same processor used in the Xiaomi box, since VP9 is now a requirement for Android TV operating system, and HDR is part of the specifications. ZTE ZXV10 B860H “Android TV” box specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X (-H?) quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU @ 750 MHz System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 8GB flash Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDCP 2.2, CEC, HDR10 and HLG HDR Video Codecs – VP9 Profile-2 & H.265 MP-10 up to 4K @ 60 fps, H.264 AVC up to 4K @ 30 fps, […]

October 14, 2016October 7, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 22 Comments

Zidoo X9S Android Media Center Review – Part 2: Android Firmware & OpenWrt (NAS Functions)

Zidoo X9S is more than a simple Android TV box, as it supports NAS function via OpenWrt running simultaneously with Android 6.0 and its USB 3.0 and SATA ports, as well as HDMI input function capable of recording and broadcasting videos, and supporting Picture-in-picture, so I find “Android Media Center” better fit the description for this device. I’ve already taken pictures of the Zidoo X9S and its board in the first part of the review, so I’ll test both Android 6.0 & OpenWrt firmware, and the most of the features in the second part of the review. Initial Setup and First Boot I connected the usual accessories and cables to the box including a USB 3.0 hard drive, HDMI and Ethernet cables, USB RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad, and a USB keyboard to take screenshots. I also added a 1TB SATA […]

October 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

KM8 Pro Amlogic S912 Android Box Sells for $49.99 (Promo)

We’ve seen several Amlogic S912 octa-core TV boxes for under $60 in the past such as Beelink GT1, but KM8 Pro is the first one I see sold for less than $50, as it’s now offered on GearBest for $49.99 shipped with coupon KM8Pro. I’ve been told there are 200 units at this price, so it’s a stock limited promotion. Videostrong KM8 Pro TV box specifications: SoC – Amlogic S912 octa-core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-820MP3 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 32GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 and AV ports Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports Misc – IR receiver, power button Power Supply – 5V DC Dimensions – 98x98x21 mm Weight – 108 grams The device […]

October 6, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Hacking ARM TrustZone / Secure Boot on Amlogic S905 SoC

Amlogic S905 processor used in many Android TV boxes and ODROID-C2 development board implements ARM TrustZone security extensions to run a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) used for DRM & other security features. However, Frédéric Basse, a security engineer, worked with others and managed to bypass secure boot in one Amlogic S905 powered Android TV box, namely Inphic i7, but any other device based on the processor would have made the same thing possible. He explains the steps they went through and how they managed to exploit vulnerability to bypass secure boot in a detailed technical blog post. They first started by looking for info in Amlogic S905 datasheet, but most info about TrustZone had been removed from the public version. So not that much help here except a potential address for BOM Root (ROMBOOT_START 0xD9040000). The next step was to connect the UART pins in order to access the […]

October 3, 2016November 17, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Rikomagic MK22 Octa-core Android TV Box Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown

Rikomagic became a much better known company when they launched MK802 TV stick in 2012, and over the years they’ve kept introducing new products, and I’ve just received a review sample of their latest Rikomagic MK22 octa-core Android TV box powered by Amlogic S912 processor. I’ve posted photos of the device and its accessories, and check out the hardware design in the first part of the review, before testing Android 6.0 firmware in the second part in a few weeks. Rikomagic MK22 Unboxing I received MK22 in its black and white retail package. The back of the package details the main features, and the hardware specifications. Instead of printing a user’s manual that anybody will hardly read, the company instead printed a QR Core to MK22 user’s manual download link. The TV box ships with a 5V/2.5A power supply, an HDMI cable, and an IR remote control that looks the […]

October 1, 2016October 8, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

Review of R-Box Pro OTT TV Box with 3GB RAM – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown

R-Box Pro is just another Amlogic S912 TV box, except it comes with up to 3GB RAM, against 2GB for most other models on the market. Kingnovel sent me a sample with 3GB RAM to check it out, and today I’ll start by taking photos of the devices, and perform a teardown mostly to find out how the 3GB memory design is implemented. R-Box Pro Unboxing The retail package is minimal black box with “OTT TV Box Amlogic S912” and “R-Box Pro” markings and Kodi logo. A sticker on the side will also indicate whether you have received to 2GB or 3GB RAM version. The device ships with an IR remote control with learning function, a 5V/2.5A power supply, an HDMI cable, and a user’s manual in English. The day I received the sample the top cover looked to have many scratches, but after removing the plastic film on the […]

September 28, 2016September 28, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 51 Comments

Rockchip RK3399 Benchmarks Appear on GeekBench

Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor with ARM Cortex A72 and A53 cores and a Mali-T860MP GPU will soon be found in TV boxes, development boards, tablets, Chromebooks, virtual reality headset and more, and is widely expected to offer a significant performance boost against previous Rockchip processors, including RK3288, and outperform SoCs from competitors like Amlogic and Allwinner. We can have a first clue about the performance as Rockchip RK3399 boxes and one tablet are now showing up on GeekBench. The box is clocked at 1512 MHz, while the tablet is limited to 1416 MHz, but overall single-core score is about 1350 points, while multi-core score hovers around 2,550 points. I’m not that familiar with GeekBench so number don’t tell me anything. Let’s compare it against RK3288 which CPU-wise is the fastest processor I known of from Chinese silicon vendors targeting TV boxes. There’s a significant single-core performance boost (+73%), and lower […]

September 28, 2016September 28, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Tbee Android TV Box Supports Voice Command and Gesture Control

The first thing you notice with Tbee TV box is the beehives inspired hexagonal enclosure, as we’ve already seen with T95Z Plus TV box, but the features that really stand out are voice command, and especially gesture control thanks to the built-in microphone and camera. Tbee TV box specifications: SoC – Amlogic S812 quad core Cortex A9r4 processor @ up to 1.99 GHz with octa-core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 2GB Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + SD card slot Video & Audio I/O – HDMI input, HDMI output Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz) and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Misc – IR receiver, built-in HD ready camera and IR receiver Dimensions – 28.5 x 8.5 cm (full package) Weight – 860 grams (full package) The box ships with an air mouse with QWERTY keyboard and its RF dongle, a HDMI cable, […]