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Hardkernel ODROID-C1 is a $35 Development Board Powered by Amlogic S805 Quad Core Processor

Amlogic S805 is a quad core Cortex A5 processor which has found it way into low cost devices such as MK808B Plus TV Stick which can be purchased for as low as $30, or full-sized TV box such as MXQ S85 or MINIX NEO X6. All this low cost devices are nice, but the full source code is not available in your want to adapt them to your need. Luckily, Amlogic releases both an Android SDK, and a buildroot for Linux with GPU and Video Processing Unit (VPU) support, so Hardkernel decided to go ahead, designed a board, and has just launched ODROID-C1 quad core development board for just $35, or the exact price of a Raspberry Pi Model B+, but with much greater specs. ODROID-C1 specifications: SoC- Amlogic S805 quad core Cortex-A5 processor with a Mali-450MP2 GPU (2x fragment cores + 2x vertex shader cores) System Memory – 1GB […]

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CX-S806 Android Media Player with 4K UHD, H.265 Codec Support Goes for $63 and Up

CX-S806 is one of the first Android TV boxes powered by Amlogic S812, providing both 4K UHD video output, and H.265 codec support. It started selling for about $80 with 2GB RAM at the end of October, but now you can get the 1GB RAM version for $62.90, and the 2GB version for $73.10, both prices including shipping from an Aliexpress seller with excellent feedback, albeit from only 22 sales. As a reminder, I’ll list the full specs again: SoC – Amlogic S812 quad core cortex A9r4 @ 2.0 GHz with octa-core Mali-450MP6 GPU up to 600+ MHz System Memory – 1 to 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB flash. No SD card slot Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, dual band 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 (AP6330 wireless module) Video Output – HDMI 1.4b up to 2160p @ 30 Hz (Summary says HDMI 2.0, specs 1.4b), 3.5mm AV jack (composite + […]

Khadas Edge2 Arm mini PC
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Unboxing of Zero Devices Z5C Thinko TV Stick based on Rockchip RK3288 Processor

It’s been a long long while since I’ve received an Android HDMI TV Stick, probably because many people prefer TV boxes, and the new ARM processors usually dissipate a lot of heat so thermal management may be an issue with small form factors. But I’ll finally get the opportunity to test a powerful HDMI dongle based on Rockchip RK3288 quad core processor, as Zero Devices sent me their Z5C Thinko TV stick. I’ll start by listing the specifications, and taking some pictures of the device and the board, because doing a full review hopefully sometimes next week. Zero Devices Z5C Thinko Specifications The stick has specifications similar to full sized Android media player minus ports like Ethernet and S/PDIF: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core Cortex A12/A17 @ 1.8 GHz + ARM Mali-T764 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0 /3.0, and OpenCL 1.1 System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage […]

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A80 OptimusBoard Development Board Pictures and Benchmarks

A80 OptimusBoard is a development board featuring the latest AllWinner A80 SoC with 8 ARM Cortex A15/A7 cores in big.LITTLE configuration, and a PowerVR GC6230 GPU. Availability was announced about 2 weeks ago for $345, but partially thanks to reader comments on CNX Software, Merrii Technology decided to lower the price to $169 (and $50+ for shipping) to stay competitive against similar boards such as Hardkernel ODROID-XU3. I’ve now received a sample for evaluation. I won’t go again through the specs, but today I’ll take a few pictures of the board, and provide benchmark results to compare them to the ones I got with Rockchip RK3288. Normally, I would also play with the SDK provided with the board, but sadly (and amazingly), there’s currently no such SDK for A80 OptimusBoard, except a leaked Linux SDK which failed to build with recent tools and operating systems. A80 OptimusBoard Pictures I’ve received […]

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Probox2 EX Android TV Box and Remote+ Unboxing

W2COMP sent me their Probox2 EX Android TV Box (click link for full specs) powered by Amlogic S802-H processor with DTS and Dolby hardware decoding, 2GB RAM, 16GB eMMC, and the usual USB ports, and wired and wireless connectivity. Probox2 EX is a direct competitor to MINIX NEO X8-H with similar features, and it also comes with an air mouse called Remote+ with gaming and voice control functions. Today, I’ll post some pictures, and videos about the device and its internal, following by a full review sometimes next week. Probox2 EX Unboxing I’ve received not one, but two boxes in the package I received via Fedex. The first package contains Probox2 EX Android media player, and the smaller one Probox2 Remote+ air mouse. The device comes with a few accessories including a 5V/2A power supply, HDMI and AV cables, an external Wi-Fi antenna, a micro USB to USB cable, an […]

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Eny Technology Introduces EM6Q-MXQ Android STB Based on Amlogic S805 SoC

In the last few months, we’ve seen a few Amlogic S802 powered Android media players such as Tronsmart Vega S89, SZTomato/Eny M8, and MINIX NEO X8(-H), which have the fastest Cortex A9 processor on the market with a relatively powerful octa core Mali-450MP6 GPU, as well as 4K decoding and output capabilities. But if you’d like something a little more affordable, don’t care about 4K, and would do with a quad core SoC that’s not quite as powerful, but more power efficient, and still supports HEVC, you may consider one of the upcoming devices based on Amlogic S805. Eny Technology is one of the first company to announce an S805 media player with their EM6Q-MXQ. You can check S802 / S805 / S812 comparison for details. The enclosure and remote control both look pretty familiar, and the hardware specifications are quite similar to GBox Midnight MX2, except for the Amlogic […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs
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Zoomtak T8 Android TV Box Powered by Amlogic S802 Features a 2.5″ SATA Bay, an Aluminum Enclosure

There are now several Android TV boxes powered by Amlogic S802 such as Tronsmart Vega S89, SZTomato/Eny M8, and Minix Neo X8, and Zoomtak T8 hardware specifications are quite similar to these three devices, except it happens to feature an internal 2.5″ SATA bay placed under the board, and the body is made of aluminum. Zoomtak T8 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S802 quad core cortex A9r4 @ 2 GHz with Mali-450MP6 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND flash + SD/MMC/MS card reader + 2.5″ SATA bay Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi with external antenna. Video Output – HDMI 1.4a, composite output, and component output Audio Output – HDMI, stereo RCA, and optical S/PDIF Video Container Formats – DAT, MPEG, MPE, MPG, TS/TP, VOB, ISO, AVI, MP4, MOV, 3GP, FLV, MKV, M2TS, MTS, M4V, WMV, ASF, RM/RMVB, etc… Audio Formats – MP2, MP3, WMA, WAV, […]

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List of Rockchip RK3288 Android TV Boxes So Far

In the previous years, you’d normally learn about new devices as they get listed on Alibaba or Aliexpress, and that’s how I built my – now very incomplete – list of Rockchip RK3188 based devices. But now companies seem to be anxious to let people know about their new devices even before they hit the market, and albeit I’ve been told full production of Rokchip RK3288 powered Android TV boxes is only planned by the end of July, many companies are already showing off their new devices, even though only the PCBA may be ready, or in development. Let’s go through the list of Rockchip RK3288 quad core Cortex A17 media devices that’s known (to me) so far: No brand D368 – HDMI 1.4 TV dongle with 1 or 2 GB RAM, 4, 8 or 16 GB flash, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac + (optional) Bluetooth, and 2x USB host ports. No […]

Khadas VIM4 SBC