CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

February 25, 2016February 25, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

AVC8000nano mini PCIe Frame Grabber Captures up to 8 D1 Videos

There are plenty of solutions to stream or capture multiple video streams from cameras, but example for security purpose, but usually the equipment is relatively large and heavy. Advanced Micro Peripherals AVC8000nano mini PCIe capture card miniaturizes all that thanks to its form factor, and its 8 u.FL connectors used to capture eight D1 videos at full frame rate. AVC8000nano features: Video Inputs 8x Live NTSC/PAL video inputs with 8x 10-bit ADC and anti-aliasing filters 8x D1 size capture at full frame rate Formats – NTSC-M, NTSC-Japan, NTSC (4.43), RS-170, PAL-B,G,N, PAL-D, PAL-H, PAL-I, PAL-M, PAL-CN, PAL-60 SECAM Adjustments – Contrast, saturation, hue (or chroma phase), and brightness. Software adjustable Sharpness, Gamma and noise suppression Video Capture Formats – RGB555, RGB565, YCbCr 4:2:2, YCbCr 4:1:1 Windows support with Drivers and DirectShow/DirectDraw Linux with drivers and Video4Linux Form factor – Full height mini PCI Express Temperature Range – Commercial: 0°C to […]

February 25, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Alcatel OneTouch / TCL Xess 17.3″ All-in-One PC Runs Phoenix OS, Supports Gesture Control

Xess (pronounced Excess) is an All-in-One PC with a 17.3″ touchscreen that runs Android based Phoenix OS on top of Mediatek MT8783 octa-core processor, with some cool added features like an adjustable stand, retractable ports, magnetic stylus, and gesture control. It is sold under the TCL brand in China, and will be launched by Alcatel OneTouch in the US and Europe. Xess specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT8783 octa-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.5GHz with Mali-T720MP3 GPU System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 32GB storage + micro SD slot Display – 17.3” IPS panel with wide visual angle; 1920×1080 (16:9) resolution; 10-point touch Audio – Stereo speakers (JBL 2x 3W), 2x microphones, 3.5mm headphone jack Connectivity – WiFi and Bluetooth Camera – 5MP front camera USB – 2x USB 2.0 host port Sensors – G-sensor, 2x P-sensor, 1x L-Sensor Misc – 1x MagTouch Port, power and volume buttons Battery – […]

ArmSoM CM5 - Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC

February 25, 2016February 25, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

SiLabs Wireless Gecko SoCs Support Bluetooth 4.2, Zigbee, Thread, and 2.4GHz Proprietary Protocols

Silicon Labs has introduced three new Wireless SoC families with Blue Gecko for Bluetooth Smart, Mighty Gecko for Thread & Zigbee, and Flex Gecko for proprietary 2.4 GHz protocols. All three families provides up to 19.5 dBm output power & hardware cryptography, and are pin-to-pin and software compatible. SiLabs Wireless Gecko SoC highlights: MCU Core – ARM Cortex-M4 @ 40 MHz with FPU, up to 256 KB flash, and up to 32KB SRAM. Mighty Gecko also adds a DSP Peripherals AES256/128 Hardware Crypto Accelerator ADC (12-bit, 1 Msps, 286 µA) Current DAC (4-bit, Current Source or Sink) 2x Analog Comparator Low Energy UART 2x USART (UART, SPI, IrDA, I2S) I2C (Address recognition down to EM3) Timers : RTCC, LE Timer & Pulse Counter 12-channel Peripheral Reflex System Up to 31 GPIO EFR32BG Blue Gecko Family Bluetooth Smart (Bluetooth Low Energy or “BLE”) 4.2 specification as well as proprietary wireless protocols […]

February 25, 2016February 25, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Android, Chromium OS, and Ubuntu on Intel Atom x5 Compute Stick. What Works, What Doesn’t.

The latest “STK1AW32SC” Intel Compute Stick, also called Sterling City, is powered by an Intel Atom x5-Z8300 processor with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage, and pre-loaded with Windows 10. There’s also a version with operating systems dubbed STK1A32SC, but currently only the Windows version is available on Amazon US. That doesn’t not mean you can’t try to install other operating systems on the TV stick, and that’s exactly what Ian Morrison has done with Android 4.4 & 5.1, Phoenix OS, Remix OS (alpha), Chromium OS, and Ubuntu. If you want to know how to install the operating systems, you can follow the instructions for Ubuntu , Chromium OS, or Android/ Remix OS/ Phoenix OS. Bear in mind that installing Android also require that you install Ubuntu first, and there are quite a lot of steps, and once you’ve installed Chromium OS, you could also run Ubuntu using Crouton. So […]

February 24, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

HeliX2-COMExpress Module Powered by Applied Micro HeliX 2 ARMv8 Processor Supports up to 32GB RAM, 10GbE Ethernet, SATA 3, and PCie

Theobroma Systems has introduced a new COM Express module, named HeliX2-COMExpress, powered by Applied Micro HeliX 2 ARMv8 server SoC and probing 10GBe, SATA, and PCIe connectivity, as well as SO-DIMM slots for up to 32GB RAM for embedded industrial applications. HeliX2-COMExpress specifications: Processor – Applied Micro APM887104-H2 “HeliX 2” with 2 to 4 ARMv8 cores up to 2.0GHz, 32KB L1 I-cache and 32KB L1 D-Cache (per core) with parity-protection, shared 256KB L2 cache (per pair of cores) with ECC protection, and 2MB L3 cache with ECC protection System Memory – 2x 204-pin SO-DIMM slot for up to 32GB DDR3 @ 1600MHz Storage – Serial ATA SATA Gen 3 (integrated), up to 16MBit SPI NOR flash on-module, up to 128GB eMMC flash on-module Connectivity 1x 10 Gigabit-Ethernet (XAUI) 1x 1000Base-T with on-module 10/100/1000 PHY 1x RGMII Gigabit Ethernet 2x SGMII Gigabit Ethernet USB – 3x USB 2.0 (one dual-role […]

February 24, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Rho Board $35 Mstar MSO9280 Development Board Supports an Optional DTV Tuner (Crowdfunding)

Futarque A/S, a Danish company specializing in digital TV (tuners, IPTV), DVD and Blu-ray solutions, has developed the Rho Board powered by Mstar MSO9280 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor with 1GB RAM and 4GB NAND flash, and featuring HDMI 2.0 output, a Raspberry Pi 2 compatible expansion header, and a TV tuner connector for an optional DVB-T2/C tuner. Rho board specifications: SoC – Mstar MSO9280PBM quad core Cortex A7 processor with an hexacore (4+2) Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3-1666 Storage – 4GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up tp 128GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0 and AV ports Audio Output – HDMI, AV and optical S/PDIF Video Codec – MPEG 1/2, 4K @ 60 fps AVC and 4K @ 30 fps H.265 Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1x micro USB port Expansion 40-pin “Raspberry Pi” header TV tuner connector SDIO expansion […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

February 24, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

AMD Launches Embedded G-Series J Family of Low Power Low Cost Processors with HDMI 2.0 and 4K HEVC Decode

If you want 4K multimedia features like HDMI 2.0 and 4K H.265 video decoding @ 60 fps at a reasonable price point, ARM is basically the only game in town with Rockchip RK3229 and Amlogic S905 TV boxes in the low end segment ($30 to $40) and on the other side of the spectrum SoCs such as Nvidia Tegra X1 used in the Shield Android TV box for around $200. But AMD has now added the J family to its G-series embedded processor with two x86 cores, AMD Radeon GCN core, and multimedia capabilities including HDMI 2.0 and 4K HEVC decoding, with the processors targeting thin clients, IP set-top boxes and TVs, casino gaming, industrial control and automation, digital signage, and communications networks. Key features of AMD G-Series J family processors: 2x “Excavator” x86 cores with 1MB shared L2 cache AMD Radeon R5E graphics (up to 3CUs) with support for […]

February 24, 2016February 24, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Intel Showcases Mobile & Desktop “Convergence” with Android and Debian Linux on an Atom x3 Smartphone

MaruOS is an operating system combining Android and Debian Linux that – until recently – was developed by a single developer for Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (ARM) based Nexus 5 smartphones, and use Android on the go, while switching to Debian when the phone is connected to a larger display and a keyboard and mouse. It turns out Intel had the same idea, and they worked on an Intel Atom x5 smartphone with 2GB RAM running both Android Lollipop in mobile mode, and Debian Linux as desktop mode when connected to a keyboard dock. Intel does not talk about convergence, but instead calls it “Big Screen Experience”. Based on the picture above taken by WinFutures.de at Mobile World Congress 2016, it appears you can also display both Debian and Android operating systems side-by-side if you wish to. They’ve also shot a video (in German) showing the smartphone run Android, and after […]