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MXQ 4K Rockchip RK3229 Android TV Box Unboxing and Teardown

MXQ 4K TV box list of features is rather impressive, as the 4K media player packs support for high bitrate (200 Mbps+) 10-bit H.265 and H.264, as well as VP9 at 4K resolution, 4 USB ports, Ethernet, and HDMI 2.0 for just $30. That price includes shipping. We just don’t know how it performs, but we’ll soon find out as GeekBuying sent me a sample for review. I’ll start by checking out the hardware, before testing it over a few days, and write a complete review. MXQ 4K Unboxing The retail package shows MXQ-4K  “OTT TV Box” and some of the key selling points like Kodi support, 4K, HEVC/H.265, and son on. You’ll also find the Android 4.4 Kitkat logo since strangely Rockchip did not provide an Android 5.x SDK for their low cost processor. The device ships with an IR remote control, a 5V/2A power supply, an HDMI cable, […]

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Zidoo X5 TV Box Review

Zidoo X5 is TV box running Android 5.1 powered by Amlogic S905 processor like so many competing products on the market. I’ve already listed the full specs and taken pictures of the Zidoo X5 case and hardware, so today we’ll see how the device performs against the many Amlogic S905 mini PCs I’ve reviewed so far, and if it fixes some common bugs. First Boot and First Impressions Before starting the media player I’ve connected all cables and made sure to fill the two USB ports with a bunch of peripherals including a 1TB hard drive, keyboard, webcam, and so on. There’s no power button, and the device boots immediately once you connect it to the mains, with a standard boot time being around 40 seconds. The company has used the exact same Zidoo launcher as in their X6 Pro TV box, however they’ve decided to use a 1280×720 framebuffer, […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM
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Embedded Linux Conference 2016 and OpenIoT Summit 2016 Schedule

The Embedded Linux Conference 2016 and the OpenIoT summit 2016 will take place on April 4 – 6, 2016 in San Diego, California, and over 800 attended will meet including kernel & system developers, userspace developers, and product vendors. The Linux Foundation has recently published the schedule, so I’ve had a look at some of the talks, and designed my own virtual schedule to find out more the current development focus although I won’t attend. Monday April 4 10:40am – 11:30am – Linux Connectivity for IoT by Marcel Holtmann, Intel OTC There are many connectivity solutions that available for IoT. For example Bluetooth Low Energy, 802.15.4, Zigbee, OIC, Thread and others. This presentation will provide and overview of the existing technology and upcoming standard and how they tie into the Linux kernel and its ecosystem. 11:40 – 12:30 – BoF: kernelci.org: A Million Kernel Boots and Counting by Kevin Hilman, […]

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Tavolga Terminal TP-T22BT Debian 8 All-in-One Computer is Powered by Baikal-T1 MIPS Processor

A Russian company called Baikal Electronics announced it was working on Baikal T1 dual core MIPS P5600 to provide an alternative to US based Intel and AMD processor last year, not too long after Edwards Snowden revaluations about the NSA malpractices. Good progress has been made as T-Platforms has now launched Tavolga Terminal TP-T22BT All-in-One computer with a 21.5″ display, up to 8 GB RAM, and the Baikal T1 processor running Debian 8. TP-T22BT specifications (derived from product brief in Russian): Processor – Baikal dual core MIPS 5600 processor @ 1.0 GHz with 1MB L2 cache GPU – Silicon Motion SM750 GPU with 16MB video memory, 2D graphics acceleration System Memory – 2 to 8GB DDR3 Storage – Optional 8GB NAND flash, optional 8GB SSD, and optional 2.5″ SATA drive (Baikal-T1 has a built-in SATA interface) Display – 21.5″ IPS Full HD (1920×1080) display with LED backlight Audio – PCM2912A […]

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64-bit ARM (Aarch64) Instructions Boost Performance by 15 to 30% Compared to 32-bit ARM (Aarch32) Instructions

Yesterday was quite an eventful day with the launch of two low cost 64-bit ARM development boards, namely Raspberry Pi 3 and ODROID-C2, and as usual there were some pretty interesting discussions related to the launch of the boards in the comments section. One of the subject that came is that while Raspberry Pi 3 board is using a 64-bit processor, the operating systems are still compiled with 32-bit instructions (Aarch32) and even optimized for ARMv6, and they intend to keep it that way according to Eben Upton interview: Eben readily admits that not all the capabilities of the new parts are going to be used at launch, however. “Although it is a 64‑bit core, we’re using it as just a faster 32-bit core,” he reveals about the Pi 3’s central processing unit. “I can imagine there’d be some real benefits [to 64-bit code]. The downside is that you do […]

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Hubpixed is a Neat and CableFree USB Hub for the Raspberry Pi Zero (Crowdfunding)

While the Raspberry Pi Zero is not exactly broadly available, there are still several tenths of thousands who own, and I’ve seen several use a USB to OTG adapter combined to a USB hub to add USB devices such as a WiFi dongle, or/and keyboard. This works, but it’s quite messy. That’s why Vikas Shukla created Hubpixed USB hub for the Raspberry Pi that does not require any cables and cleverly uses the test pins on the back of the board for USB data and power. The board’s spring pins are the only electrical connections between Raspberry Pi Zero and the hub, with both boards attached with spacers, screws and bolts using the four mounting holes of RPi0. Vikas also showed the hub in action with a USB WiFi dongle. I’m not sure how it would fare with a USB hard drive however. Hubpixed is on Kickstarter, and has already exceeded […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
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Review of K1 Plus Android TV Box with Combo DVB-S2/DVB-T2 Tuner

VideoStrong has launched K1 Plus TV box powered by Amlogic S905 processor last year, and I had the chance to review their model last November. But here I am reviewing K1 Plus again. Why? That’s because the company’s has several K1 Plus models: the “standard” version that’s just like any Android TV boxes, and the DVB version with DVB-S2, DVB-T2/C, or DVB-T2/C + DVB-S2 combo, and the latter is the one I’m reviewing today. K1 Plus DVB combo teardown revealed that the main board was exactly the same as K1 Plus “standard”, and that only a tuner card was added. So I’ll have a two part review with the first part checking if they fixed any of the bugs found on K1 Plus “Standard” with “November 2015” firmware in the new “January 27, 2016 DVB” firmware, and the second part will focus on testing DTV app with DVB-S2 and DVB-T2, […]

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Variscite DART-SD410 Snapdragon 410 SoM Comes with WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1 & GPS

Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 is the 64-bit ARM processor used in DragonBoard 410c 96Boards platform, but it’s also found in several phones, some single board computers such as Inforce 6309, and we’ve also seen it in system-on-modules includes Graperain G8916 and Intrinsyc Open-Q 410. Variscite has developed their DART-SD410 system-on-module based on the processor with up to 2GB RAM, up to 16GB storage, and on-board 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1. DART-SD410 module specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.2GHz with Adreno 306 GPU @ 400 MHz System Memory – 1 to 2GB LPDDR3 @ 533 MHz Storage – 8 to 16 GB eMMC 4.5 flash Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth 4.1 LE (WCN3620), GPS (WGR7640), and two u.FL antenna connectors Audio – PM8916 PMIC/Audio codec I/Os available via 2x 90-pin board-to-board connectors: Display 4-lane DSI up to 720p60/1080p30, 24-bit On-carrier DSI to HDMI […]

Boardcon CM3588 Rockchip RK3588 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications