CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

September 20, 2016September 20, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

How to Download YouTube 4K Videos with Youtube-dl Script

Many Android devices can now support 4K VP9 and/or H.264 video decoding, but for some reasons, Google only serves 4K videos to devices running Android TV OS, as opposed to just Android, with the latter limited to 1080p videos. If for some reasons you want to watch a YouTube 4K video on a capable device, you could download it with youtube-dl script written in Python, and available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS. I’ve been using the script for a while to download various video or audio files from YouTube, and other website, but for the purpose of this post, I made sure to update it to the latest version:

sudo curl -L https://yt-dl.org/downloads/latest/youtube-dl -o /usr/local/bin/youtube-dl
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/youtube-dl

1 2	sudo curl -L https://yt-dl.org/downloads/latest/youtube-dl -o /usr/local/bin/youtube-dl sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/youtube-dl

If you have already installed the script, it can also be updated with:

sudo youtube-dl --update

1	sudo youtube-dl --update

I’ll use one of the most popular 4K videos on YouTube as example, namely: COSTA RICA IN 4K 60fps (ULTRA HD) w/ Freefly Movi. The […]

September 20, 2016September 20, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

ARM Unveils Cortex-R52 ARMv8-R CPU Core for Safety-Critical Systems

ARM has introduced their very first ARMv8-R real-time 32-bit CPU core with Cortex-R52 designed for safety-critical applications in the automotive, industrial and health-care markets. It has been designed to address higher workloads with increased performance (up to 35%) compared to Cortex-R5 processor. The processor should be used in systems capable of fulfilling IEC 61508 SIL 3 and ISO 26262 ASIL D functional safety requirements. ARM explains the new processor address both random errors for example bit flipping from radiation, and systemic errors more related to software or design faults. The latter can be addresses with the right development processes, including following aforementioned functional safety standards, but random errors require some extra hardware features such as ECC memory, or dual core lock step processors, where instructions are run on two processors simultaneously and results compared. Normally, the whole software stack must be validated and certified on safety-critical systems, even for part […]

ArmSoM CM5 - Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC

September 19, 2016January 3, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Amlogic S905 vs Amlogic S912 Benchmarks Comparison

Amlogic has unveiled three new processors this year with Amlogic S905X, S912 and S905D. The latter is not found in devices yet, we’ve seen Amlogic S905X is a bit slower than Amlogic S905, but surely Amlogic S912 with eight Cortex A53 cores and its “multi-core high performance 3D GPU”, namely ARM Mali-T820MP3 must deliver a significant boost in performance. I now have full benchmarks results for two devices: M12N MXQ Plus and Qintaix Q912. M12N is the fastest devices of the two according to benchmarks, and I’ve been told YokaTV KB2 has about the same Antutu score (41K points) as M12N, so I feel confident enough that we have relevant benchmark’s results to compare Amlogic S912 and Amlogic S905 performance using M12N (MXQ Plus) and MINIX NEO U1 TV boxes. The comparison table below contains scores for Antutu 6.x, Vellamo 3.x, and 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme. MINI NEO U1 runs […]

September 19, 2016September 19, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 51 Comments

Orange Pi One Development Board Sells for $3.69 Shipped (Promo)

[Update: Sorry the promo is over, and price is back at $13.79] Last time, we had a promo for Orange Pi PC for $8.57 on GearBest, and it was legit, but quantity limited, so not so easy to get. There’s now another promo from the same parent company, as Orange Pi One is sold for $3.69 including shipping on Everbuying with 289 pieces and about 8 days left. In case you can’t recall Orange Pi One specs, it’s a development board based on Allwinner H3 quad core Cortex A7 SoC, with 512 MB RAM, micro SD card for storage, 10/100M Ethernet, a USB ports, and HDMI output. The best Linux OS for the board is probably Armbian. The normal price is around $13 to $14 shipped. Thanks to Theguyuk for the tip.

September 19, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Sonoff TH10/16 WiFi Relays Support Temperature and Humidity Probes

Sonoff are dirt cheap WiFi AC/DC relay systems based on ESP8266 selling for about $5 with board and case. They are made by ITEAD Studio, and the company has now new versions supporting up to 16A @ 250V, and with a 2.5mm connector to connect external temperature and humidity probes. Two models are available Sonoff-TH10 (10A max) and Sonoff-TH16 (16A max) with the following specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP8266 Tensila L106 32-bit MCU up to 80/160 MHz with WiFi Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi with WPA/WPA2 support Relay Sonoff-TH10 – HK3FF-DC5V-SHG supporting 90 to 250 VAC input, up to 10A (2200 Watts) Sonoff-TH16 – Hongfa HF152F-T supporting 90 to 250 VAC input, up to 16A (3500 Watts) Terminals – 6 terminal for mains and load’s ground, live and neutral signals. Misc – 4-pin 2.5mm jack for external probes, LEDs for power and WiFi status Dimensions – PCB: 89.1 x 45.0 […]

September 19, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 79 Comments

LibreELEC 8 for Intel Atom Bay Trail and Cherry Trail Devices with 32-bit UEFI Binary

LibreELEC, a fork of OpenELEC, was announced several months ago, and images for various hardware platform were released in that time period. However, support for Intel Bay Trail and Cherry Trail platforms using a 32-it UEFI binary might not have always work, or was more difficult to install. piotrasd has now created a LibreELEC 8 + Kodi 17 beta 3 build especially for this type of devices, and tested it on Tronsmart Ara IZ37 Bay Trail mini PC. However, it should work on other Intel Atom Z3735F or Intel Atom x5/z7 mini PC or sticks with a 32-bit UEFI bootloader. If you have such device, you can try it the following instructions using a USB flash drive: Download and install Rufus or LibreELEC SD USB creator Download and unpack LibreELEC 8 32-bit UEFI image file Launch your USB creator program, select the firmware file, and make a bootable USB flash […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

September 19, 2016May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Android 7.0, Android TV 7.0, and Yocto Project Ported to Pine A64 Boards

A few weeks ago, Raspberry Pi 3 got an Android 7.0 Nougat port, and it’s usable for some app even simple games like Angry Bird, but there are still problems with 3D graphics, and hardware video decoding. But thanks to Pine64 forum’s member Ayufan, we now have Android 7.0 and Android TV 7.0 for Pine A64 boards with 1GB or more memory with 3D graphics, and hardware video acceleration for most apps. Everything is said to pretty much work, but there are some known issues, such as camera support (being worked on now), touchscreen support (not tested), YouTube is limited to 360p/480p as it does not support hardware video decoding, and Widevine DRM is not supported. Android 7.0 has also been shown to be about 10 to 15% faster than Android 5.1.1 in GeekBench. Ronnie Bailey has shot a video showing Pine A64 running Android TV 7.0 Nougat. If you […]

September 18, 2016November 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Qintaix Q912 Android Box Review – Part 2: Android 6.0, Kodi 17, Benchmarks, etc…

Qintaix Q912 is one of the many octa-core Android boxes based on Amlogic S912 processor. I’ve already shown photos of the device and its internal design in the first part of Qintaix Q912 review, so today I’ll report the results of my testing with Android firmware, video & audio capabilities in Kodi 17 Alpha 3 (pre-installed), features supports, benchmarks, and other comment. I will also be interesting to find out how it compares to M12N TV box, also based on Amlogic S912 processor. First Boot, Settings, and First Impressions I’ve connected all necessary cables including HDMI and Ethernet, added some USB devices including two 2.4 GHZ USB dongles for my air moues and wireless gamepad, a USB keyboard to take screenshots, and a USB 3.0 hard drive to the USB 2.0 ports of the device. Once you apply power, the LED is turn red, and you need to press the […]