vidonme News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

April 11, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Open Hour Chameleon RK3288 TV Box Gets (Partial) DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD HDMI Pass-through Support

People owning AV receivers capable of outputting 7.1 channels or more have had a hard time finding Android TV boxes that supports HD audio pass-through via HDMI. Many devices can pass through 5.1 codec like DTS or Dolby Digital (AC3 / E-AC3), but so far, none of the boxes I’ve tried could manage content with DTS-HD (MA / HR) and Dolby TrueHD with 8 channels properly. The one that came close was Zidoo X9 with support for Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and 7.1, but it downmixes 7.1 channels to 5.1 channels. So the only cost effective options to get proper 7.1 channel pass-through were Intel based mini PCs running Linux such as Asus Chromebox M004U or Intel NUCs. But recently, I’ve seen some progress. For example, yesterday Cloud Media released a new firmware for their Open Hour Chameleon media player based on Rockchip RK3288 processor. Their Android 4.4.2 firmware (version 1.0.23) […]

March 18, 2015March 18, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Giveaway Week Winners Announced (March 2015)

The latest Giveaway week has come to an end, and I’m just coming back from the post office, having sent a few Android based TV boxes, a Linux development board, and one wireless audio streamer to the lucky winners. I’ve already announced winners daily in the comment section of each contest, but here’s the list again with the device, winners’ nickname and their country of residence: Nagrace HPH NT-V6 – Rizwan, Canada Vidon Box – bazsi, Romania RipplTV – driv3l, USA Freescale SABRE Lite – biasio95, Italy Vidon.me AV200 – cityF, Portugal HD18T – Sean, Canada SoundMate WM201 – Orel, France So people from Canada got lucky, but still no winner from Asia or Oceania. The parcel have been send via registered Small Packet Airmail, all the winners should receive them in a few weeks, and certainly I hope they’ll have fun enjoy with their devices. If you haven’t won […]

March 13, 2015May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 164 Comments

Giveaway Week – VidOn.me AV200 Android Media Player

After Vidon Box giveaway earlier this week, it’s time for another Vidon.me box with AV200 powered by Allwinner A31 qaud core Cortex A7 processor coupled with 2GB RAM and 8GB eMMC, and a metallic body. In Vidon.me V200 review, I concluded the box had pretty good video decoding capabilities in XBMC, as well as fast Wi-Fi, but the box still suffered from a few stability issues, and since the device was phased out, quite unlikely to get further firmware updates. All accessories shown above are included except the HDMI cable. You can check out more pictures here. To enter the draw simply leave a comment below. Other rules are as follows: Only one entry per contest. I will filter out entries with the same IP and/or email address. Contests are open for 48 hours starting at 10am (Bangkok time) every day. Comments will be closed after 48 hours. Winners will […]

March 10, 2015May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 161 Comments

Giveaway Week – VidOn Box XBMC Android Media Player

Vidon Box is the second item for the Giveaway Week organized on CNX Software. This nice looking media player is powered by Allwinner A31s with 1GB DDR3 and 8GB internal storage, and runs Android 4.4 with VidOn’s own XBMC version. VidOn Box is certainly not the fatest device around but in my review I found out that it mostly did the job with excellent Wi-Fi performance, and good XBMC support, but for some reasons transfer from USB hard drive was particularly slow, at least with the firmware version I used during testing. Some features that you may take for granted like Blu-ray playback and audio pass-through require a $15 one year membership, but one free year is included. I’m not sure if the one-year free card is transferable, so the giveaway winner may not be able to enjoy the remaining membership options without paying extra. Basic functionalities will work fine. […]

February 13, 2015February 14, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Egreat A9 Quad Core Android Media Player Comes with HDMI Input, a 3.5″ SATA Bay

Egreat A9 was first shown in spring last year with a Realtek RTD1195 processor, but it’s only now that I could see it for sale. But just like Zidoo X9, the device is now powered by Mstar MSO9810 quad core processor, and features an HDMI input port with PVR capabilities, but adds an internal 3.5″ SATA bay, double the internal storage (16GB eMMC), as well as a Gigabit Ethernet port. Egreat A9 specifications: SoC – Mstar MSO9180-DB2 quad core Cortex A9 processor up to 1.5GHz with an ARM Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash + 3.5″ internal SATA bay Video Output / Input – HDMI 1.4b output up to 4K30, HDMI input (1080p) with PVR support Audio I/O – HDMI Out and In, and optical S/PDIF Video Containers & Codecs DAT, MPEG, MPE, MPG, TS, TP, VOB, ISO, AVI, MP4, MOV, 3GP, FLV, […]

January 16, 2015May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Mini Review of VidOn Box Android Media Player

Vidon Box is an Allwinner A31s based TV box made by Vidon.me, a Diamond sponsor for Kodi entertainment center. I’ve already listed specs, subscriber services, and uploaded pictures in the unboxing post, so it’s time for a review. Since Allwinner A31s has been around for a while, I’ve decided to write a shorter review. First Boot, Setup, and First Impressions Since the box provides some services with a subscription, with a free 1-year top-up card included, you’ll probably want to register an account on Vidon.me first, as it’s needed to activate all services in the box as shown on the back of the top-up card. After the optional Subscription is $14.99 per year, and it’s only needed if you need features like Blu-ray navigation, or audio pass-through. The simple remote included does the job if you only use the box for settings and XBMC, but otherwise you’ll need an air […]

December 23, 2014May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

VidOn Box Android XBMC TV Box Unboxing

Vidon.me has sent me one of their Vidon Box (without asking). The box features an Allwinner A31s processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, and more. You can check my previous post for Vidon Box specifications. The company is also providing a membership for extra services such as HDMI / SPDIF pass-through, and Blu-ray menu navigation, among others, as you can see from the table below. The item with ** are upcoming features. VidOn Box Features Subscriber Non Subscriber Blu-ray Menu Navigation Y N Access to VidOn XBMC Pro Y N Access to VidOn Media Center Beta* Y Y Access to VidOn XBMC* Y Y Free XBMC Add-ons Y Y Media Library Info Collection Y Y Access Home Sharing Server Y Y 1080p Hardware Acceleration Y Y Blu-ray ISO Playback Y Y 3D Blu-ray Playback Y Y Firmware/Software Update Support Y Y SPDIF/HDMI Passthrough Y N Mobile Transfer** Y N Photo Backup** […]

August 21, 2014May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

VidOn Box XBMC Android Media Player Can Now be Pre-ordered for $72.88

Last month, Vidon.me provided me with their AV200 media player for review, and at the end of the review, I was a little surprised (and annoyed), when I discovered that the product was not for sale anymore. Since then, they’ve brought a new product to market called “VidOn Box” with similar hardware specs, but a completely redesigned aluminum enclosure, and much more attractive pricing. VidOn Box specifications: SoC – Allwinner A31s ARM Cortex-A7 quad-core CPU with PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB Flash Video Output – HDMI 1.4 Audio Output – HDMI and optical S/PDIF Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Misc – IR receiver, reset button Power – 5V/2A Dimensions – 150 x 107 x 31 mm The box now runs Android 4.4, instead of Android 4.2.2 in AV200, with a custom version of XBMC. They’ve […]