xbmc News - Page 5 of 18 - CNX Software

September 4, 2014September 4, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

iControlHub is An Upcoming XBMC Media Center Powered by Intel Celeron J1900 Processor

Earlier this week, we’ve seen MINIX NEO Z64 mini PC based on Intel Atom Z3735F that will sell for less than $150 in October. If you’d like a low power low cost Intel based fanless mini PC but with a bit more processing power, iControlHub could be an option with an Intel Celeron J1900 Bay Trail quad core processor. Preliminary specifications for iControlHub: SoC – Intel Celeron J1900 processor @ 2.0 GHz (Burst frequency 2.41 GHz) with Intel HD graphics (Max TDP) System Memory – Up to 8GB DDR3 Storage – HDD / SSD via mSATA connector Video Output – HDMI Audio Output – HDMI, optical S/PDIF Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi with two external antennas USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x USB 3.0 host port Misc – IR in and out Power Supply – 12V Dimensions – 125 x 125 mm (Board) You must be confused with […]

September 1, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

XBMC 13.2 Android and Source Code for Amlogic S802 Released

Based on comments on my M8 review post, many people have troubles with XBMC stability on this hardware, and the official XBMC 13.2 release can only be used on Android 4.2.2. But there’s hope, and maybe a solution to all these problems, as stane1983 has now released XBMC 13.2 for Amlogic S802 with backports from Kodi 14 alpha, that runs on Android 4.4.2. So if you have issues with XBMC in your Amlogic S802 Android TV box, you may want to download and install XBMC Gotham 13.2 (20140831_xbmcapp-stane.apk) from Stane1983’s download section. If you have an Amlogic device running Android 4.2.2, this won’t work due to differences with Amlogic’s libplayer header files, and you need to download and install mainline XBMC 13.2 instead. He’s also made all source available on his github account. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as […]

August 31, 2014August 31, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Armada Mach 8 Pure Linux is a Quad Core XBMC Linux TV Box

Armada Mach 8 is an Amlogic S802 based TV Box apparently based on M8/EM8 hardware, but instead of running Android, it comes with XBMC Linux. It’s unlikely a quad core media player brings much performance over a dual core media player with XBMC Linux, but Amlogic S802 adds 4K video playback compared to Amlogic AML8726-MX. One of the main advantages of Linux compared to Android is support for automatic frame rate switching depending on the video you are watching (24Hz, 50Hz, 60Hz…), in order to avoid regular skipped frames when the video frame rate does not match the video output refresh rate. Let’s double check the specifications to confirm they are indeed the same as Shenzhen Tomato / Enybox M8, except possibly for Bluetooth: SoC – AMLogic S802 quad core Cortex A9r4 processor @ 2GHz with Mali‐450MP6 GPU @ 600Mhz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND flash […]

August 28, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

ZOTAC ZBOX PI320 is a Pocket-Sized Intel Bay Trail-T Mini PC

If you’re a fan of HDMI TV sticks, but wished it could use an Intel processor, instead of the various ARM processors currently available, your dream may have come true thanks to ZOTAC ZBOC PI320 mini PC. Although it’s not quite as small as your standard HDMI TV stick, it’s small enough (115.5mm x 66mm x 19.2mm) to fit into your pocket, and it’s also much more powerful, as it features Intel Atom Z3735F quad-core Bay Trail-T processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB flash, wired and wireless connectivity and more. ZBOX PI320 pico-series mini PC specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Burst freq up to 1.83 GHz) and Intel HD Graphics System Memory – 2GB DDR3L @ 1333 MHz (soldered) Storage – 32GB eMMC flash (soldered) + “3-in-1” card reader (micro SD/SDHC/SDXC) Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11n + Bluetooth 4.0 (AP6383) Video Output […]

August 27, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Review of UyeSee G1H Rockchip RK3288 Android TV Box

UyeSee G1H is one of the first Android TV boxes powered by Rockchip RK3288 quad core Cortex A17 SoC. I’ve already listed specs, and shown a few pictures of the device and the board in my “UyeSee G1H Unboxing” post, so today I’ll write a full review, checking out the user interface, testing video playback capabilities, network and storage performance, play a few games, check hardware features are working as expected, and runs some benchmarks on the platform. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions There’s an infrared remote control with the device. I’ve inserted a CR2032 battery, and although it works great in the user interface, it becomes useless with Android apps, so instead I’ve opted to use Mele F10 Deluxe air mouse which brings mouse and keyboard support. Before powering up the device, I’ve connected an HDMI cable, the RF dongle for Mele F10 Deluxe, a USB hard drive, […]

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 […]

August 20, 2014August 22, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Raspberry Pi Based Slice, and EzeeCube Quad Media Players Support Internal Hard Drives (Crowdfunding)

Slice is a media player based on Raspberry Pi Compute Module, and EzeeCube Quad is media hub powered by Freescale i.MX6 Quad, and an upgrade to EzeeCube based on i.MX6 dual, which was successfully funded. The underlying hardware between Slice and EzeeCube is much different, but both devices have a lot in common. They are both media players currently being crowd-funded respectively in Kickstarter and Indiegogo, both comes with an internal hard drive, run XBMC, targets typical end-users (rather than tinkerers) and are somewhat pricey. Slice Media Player When I first saw Slice, all I could see was an Raspberry Pi module, put in a case with an internal hard drive bay, and lots of pretty RGB LEDs, and with an air mouse sold for an inflated price of 114 GBP ($190 US) without hard drive or 179 GBP ($300 US) with a 1TB drive, with admittedly some cheaper early […]

August 19, 2014August 19, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

XBMC 13.2 Gotham Final Release

XBMC developers have just released XBMC 13.2, which could be one of the latest, if not the latest release, under the name XBMC, before Kodi 14 makes it debut. Since it’s only a minor release (13.x), there aren’t any new features, only bug fixes, and it should be safe to upgrade from older 13.x release on various supported operating systems and probably, except possibly in some Android TV boxes where you may have a custom version of Android specific to your hardware / SoC. List of changes against XBMC 13.1: Fix audio problems with pass-through on OSX Crash in Android if an app is favourite, then uninstalled from system. Fix crash in Android when entering programs menu in some skins Bitstream conversion fix for some BD mkv iso rips Fix labelcontrols with autowidth set were always marked as dirty (re-render) Update included PVR add-on Set “remote as keyboard” default to […]