set-top box News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

September 15, 2022September 15, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 23 Comments

Realtek RTD1319D STB processor supports 4K H.266 and AV1 video decoding

Realtek RTD1319D is the first set-top box processor to support H.266 (aka Versatile Video Coding) video compression standard. The new SoC also provides a GPU with 10-bit graphics, support for multiple Conditional Access Systems (CAS), and HDMI 2.1a video output capable of up to 4Kp60 with HDR. One would have thought the royalty-free AV1 video codec might have killed licensed codecs such as H.266, but it’s clearly not the case, since Realtek decided to launch the RTD1319D processor with the new codec, and the primary reason may be because the H.266/VCC codec was added to the DVB specification last February for both 4K (3840×2160) and 8K (7680×4320) resolutions. Realtek RTD1319D preliminary specifications: CPU – Quad-core Arm processor GPU – Unnamed GPU with 10-bit graphics Video Output – HDMI 2.1a up to 4Kp60 HDR Video Codecs 4Kp60 Versatile Video Coding (VVC/H.266) 4Kp60 AV1, H.265 Tuner support Built-in DVB demodulators Multiple TS […]

February 4, 2022July 14, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Amlogic S905C2 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor supports digital TV tuners, CAS

Amlogic S905C2 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor has been showing up in some Android 11 set-top boxes (with tuner), and a development kit, but with limited public information. The specifications appear to be similar to the ones for Amlogic S905X4 processor plus additional support for DVB tuners and conditional access (CAS) with the latter confirmed by an independent source saying the Amlogic S905C2 processor is part of the Android 11 SDK with a reference board named “ohmcas”. Amlogic S905C2 preliminary specifications: CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A55 up to 2.0 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G31MP2 with support for OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.0/1.1, and OpenCL 2.0 Memory I/F – Up to 4GB DDR3-2133, DDR3L-2133, DDR4-3200, LPDDR3-2133, LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM Storage I/F – eMMC 5.0, NAND Flash, SPI NOR/NAND, SD Video Output – HDMI 2.1 up to 4Kp60, HDCP2.3, CVBS Video Decoding – AV1 up to 4Kp120, 10-bit H.265, VP9, AVS2 up to 4Kp75, H.264 4Kp30 […]

April 18, 2021December 10, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Mecool KT1 4K AV1 capable Android TV STB ships with DVB-T2 tuner

Amlogic S905X4 TV boxes such as Mecool KM6 have already been available for a few months with the main selling being support for 4K AV1 video hardware decoding. But if you’d like to watch AV1 YouTube or Netflix videos, and also get free-to-air channels using older codecs, Mecool KT1 adds a DVB-T2 TV tuner that works in the EMEA region, some Asian countries, Oceania, and a few other countries that adopted the standard. Mecool KT1 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X4 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G31MP2 supporting OpenGL ES3.2, Vulkan 1.1, and OpenCL 2.0 System Memory – 2 GB RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, MicroSD/SDXC card socket Video & Audio Output HDMI 2.1 up to 4K @ 60Hz with CEC, HDCP2.2, HDR AV output with composite video and analog stereo audio Video Playback Codecs AV1 up to 4K @ 60 fps H.265 HEVC […]

October 22, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

How to develop Gstreamer-based video conferencing apps for RDK & Linux set-top boxes

CNXSoft: This is a guest post by Promwad that explains the basic steps to develop a video conferencing app with Gstreamer on TV boxes running Linux. The COVID-19 pandemic has become a catalyst for new online services. For example, Zoom became so successful that it overtook IBM in terms of capitalization this month. The software engineers at Promwad were inspired by this success and decided to go even further: what about implementing video conferencing on Smart TV and STBs? Then the users of such an application will have an opportunity to communicate not only at work but also to enjoy remote meetings with friends, cheer for a soccer team, watch a movie together, or do sports with a coach. For some reason, most digital TV operators do not have such a service, although, from an engineering point of view, all these features can be implemented on set-top boxes based on […]

January 2, 2020January 2, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

DV8845 Amlogic S905C1 Android TV Hybrid Set-top Box Comes with DVB-T2 or DVB-C Tuner

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about SDMC DV8919 TV box with Amlogic S905X4 processor capable of decoding 4K AV1 videos beside the usual H.265, H.264, and VP9 codecs. But it turns out the company has other devices based on a “new” Amlogic S905C1 processor, namely two hybrid set-top boxes running Android TV and equipped with either a DVB-T2 tuner (digital terrestrial TV) or a DVB-C tuner (cable). DV8845 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905C1 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G31MP2 @ 850 MHz supporting OpenGL ES3.2, Vulkan 1.1 and OpenCL 2.0, and optional 1.2 TOPS NN inference accelerator System Memory – 2GB DDR memory (options: 1GB or 4GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (options: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB) Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.1 up to 4K @ 60+Hz with CEC & HDCP2.2, AV output with composite video and stereo audio Video Playback […]

September 25, 2019September 26, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Broadcom BCM7218X STB SoC Comes with AV1 Hardware Decoding, WiFi 6

CNX Software first covered AV1 open-source, royalty-free video codec aiming to compete against H.265 and succeed VP9 in 2016. I also tried the reference implementation and both encoding and decoding were really slow at that time and an AMD FX8350 powered computer would only achieve 0.36 fps encoding on a 352 x 288 video, while decoding was much faster at over 1,000 fps. This was really early work, and the final AV1 specifications were only released in March 2018, before companies like YouTube and Netflix started to publish AV1 video samples, and now I’ve noticed the former is sometimes streaming videos using AV1 codec on desktop computers and laptops. This still relies on software decoding, and most Arm platforms and entry-level level Intel computer may not be able to handle AV1 decoding, so hardware decoding will eventually be required, especially on battery-operated devices since it will consume much less power. […]

January 28, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

WeTek Air Hybrid 4K HDR Set-top Box Now Available for 119 Euros and Up

We previously covered WeTek Air, an upcoming Android TV set-top box taking DVB-T2/C, DVB-S2 or ATSC tuner cards and certified by Google. The company has now officially launched the device, and you can buy WeTek Air for 119.00 Euros without tuner or for 129.90 Euros with either a DVB-S2 or DVB-T2/C tuners. Just two caveats, only 400 pieces are available now, and they will only ship to Europe, although a worldwide launch is planned for the next batch. Here’s a reminder of the specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905D quad core Arm processor System Memory – 2 GB DDR4 Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60Hz with HDR-10 support Video codecs – H.265 & H.264 AVC up to 4K60Hz, H.264 MVC, MPEG-4 ASP, VC-1, AVS, MPEG-2, MPEG-1 up to 1080p60 Audio codecs – MP3, AAC, […]

January 14, 2019January 14, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

SEI 520 is a 2-in-1 Android TV Hybrid Set-top Box and Smart Speaker

SEI Robotics has showcased a new device at CES 2019 that looks like a smart speaker, and SEI 520 is indeed a smart speaker with Google Assistant support, but it also adds a digital TV tuner and a quad-core Cortex A53 processor running Android TV 9.0 operating system to allow you to watch live TV, and stream videos. Preliminary specifications for SEI 520 smart speaker: SoC – Quad core Arm Cortex-A53 processor, possibly Amlogic S905X2 System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI up to 4K UHD Video Decode – VP9 and H.265/HEVC Audio Output – HDMI audio + optical S/PDIF Input – Far-field microphone Speaker – No technical details provided Connectivity – Ethernet, 2T2R MIMO WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0 Tuner – DVB-S2X/T2/C, ATSC, ISDBT USB – 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x USB 2.0 port Misc – IR blaster Power Supply – 12V DC via […]