Qualcomm has announced three new Snapdragon 400 & 600 SoCs for entry-level and mid-range LTE smartphones that share Quick Charge 3.0 and dual camera support, as well as an a Snapdragon X9 LTE CAT 7 modem capable of 300Mbps downlink, 150Mbps uplink.

Snapdragon 427

Snapdargon 427 quad core Cortex A53 processor is a pin-to-pin compatible update to Snapdragon 425 processor with a faster Cat 7 modem. The Snapdragon 427 is also the first in the Snapdragon 400 family to offer TruSignal antenna tuning for 802.11ac WiFi, includes a 16MP dual ISP, and supports displays up to 1280×800 resolution.

You’ll find more details on the product page.

Snapdragon 626

Snapdragon 626 octo-core ARM Cortex A53 processor up to 2.2 GHz features a “PC-class” Adreno Adreno 506 GPU,  a 24MP dual ISP, also supports TruSignal, 4K @ 30 fps video recording, and displays up to 1920×1200 resolution. It’s a pin-to-pin compatible upgrade to Snapdragon 625 with about 10% performance improvement.

You can visit the product page for additional info.

Snapdragon 653

The faster processor out of the three SoCs, Snapdragon 653 quad core Cortex A72 @ up to 1.95 GHz + qua core ARM Cortex A53 is a pin-to-pin compatible update to Snapdragon 652 & 650 processors with up to 10% performance improvement compared to the latter. The dual ISP supports camera sensors up to 21 MP, records 4K @ 30 fps video using H.264 or H.265 video codecs, and the SoC an be used in smartphone with displays up to 2560×1600 resolution. The addressable memory has also doubled compared to 652, which means Snapdragon 653 smartphones with up to 8GB RAM are feasible.

Snapdragon 653 and 626 processors will be available to Qualcomm customers before the end of the year, and Snapdragon 427 will be found in devices early next year.

Tweet Qualcomm has announced three new Snapdragon 400 & 600 SoCs for entry-level and mid-range LTE smartphones that share Quick Charge 3.0 and dual camera support, as well as an…

Las month I reviewed VR SKY CX-V3 Android virtual reality headset based on Allwinner H8vr octa-core SoC, and based on a report from Netbook Italia at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair, PiPo will launch a device looking exactly the same but featuring a much more powerful Rockchip RK3399 processor, next month for about $200.

Beside Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core SoC with two cores ARM Cortex-A72 cores and four Cortex-A53, and a Mali-T864MP4 graphics, Pipo V5 VR headset will support 4K video with HEVC/H.265, H.264 and VP9 video codec support, features 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, one USB type C port, one USB 2.0 host port, a microSD slot, an audio jack,  and a 5.5″ Full HD (1920×1080) IPS display.  The headset will also include sensors such as an accelerometer and s gyroscope.

Just like VR SKY CX-V3, it will include power, back and Nibiru buttons, and a touchpad. One important features missing from VR SKY CX-V3 wiull be present in PiPo V5: an adjustable interpupillary distance (IPD) thanks to a wheel to adjust the eye distance and the focus.
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Pipo V5 is said to be the first RK3399 all-in–one VR headset, and you should be able to purchase it in November for $199.

Tweet Las month I reviewed VR SKY CX-V3 Android virtual reality headset based on Allwinner H8vr octa-core SoC, and based on a report from Netbook Italia at the Hong Kong…

Following on Kirin 950 processor found in Huawei Mate 8, P9, P9 Max & Honor 8 smartphones, Hisilicon has now unveiled Kirin 960 octa-core processor with four ARM Cortex A73 cores, four Cortex A53 low power cores, a Mali G71 MP8 GPU, and an LTE Cat.12 modem.

The table below from Anandtech compares features and specifications of Kirin 950 against the new Kirin 960 processor.

ARM claims 30% “sustained” performance improvement between Cortex A72 and Cortex A73,  but the GPU should be where the performance jump is more significant, as ARM promises a 50 percent increase in graphics performance, and a 20 percent improvement in power efficiency with Mali G71 compared the previous generation (Mali-T880). Kirin 960 also integrates twice the GPU cores compared to Kirin 950, and some GPU benchmarks provided by Hisilicon/Huawei confirm the theory with over 100% performance improvement in both Manhattan 1080p offscreen and T-Rex offscreen GFXBench 4.0 benchmarks.

The first smartphone to feature Kirin 960 is likely to be Huawei Mate 9 rumored to come with a 5.9″ 2K display, 6GB RAM, and 256 UFS flash.

Tweet Following on Kirin 950 processor found in Huawei Mate 8, P9, P9 Max & Honor 8 smartphones, Hisilicon has now unveiled Kirin 960 octa-core processor with four ARM Cortex…

Vulkan was introduced as the successor of OpenGL ES in March 2015, promising to take less CPU resources, and support multiple command buffers that can be created in parallel and distributed over several cores, at the cost of slightly more complex application programming since less software work in done inside the GPU drivers themselves with app developers needing to handle memory allocation and thread management.

This was just a standard at the time, so it still needed some time to implement Vulkan, and work is still in program but ARM showcased the power efficiency of Vulkan over OpenGL ES in the video embedded at the end of this post.

The demo has the same graphics details and performance using both OpenGL ES and Vulkan, but since the load on the CPU in that demo can be distributed over several CPU cores with Vulkan against a single core for OpenGL ES, it’s possible to use low power cores (e.g. Cortex A53) operating at a lower frequency and voltage, hence reducing power consumption.

ARM also measured that the complete OpenGL ES demo would use 1270 joules against 1123 Joules for the Vulkan demo, resulting in about 15% energy savings in this “early stage” demo.

[embedded content]

Tweet Vulkan was introduced as the successor of OpenGL ES in March 2015, promising to take less CPU resources, and support multiple command buffers that can be created in parallel…

You can use any Android TV box to watch movies on your TV, play some games as you would on a game console, and perform tasks such as checking email, browsing the web or editing documents like you’d do on your computer. However, this is not always as straightforward and/or user-friendly as it could be, so Jide Technology worked on Remix OS, a fork of Android, to make the experience more PC-like when needed. Recently they’ve also worked on improving gaming and a TV interface, and the company has now launched a new Kickstarter campaign for Remix IO Android mini PC based on Android 7.0 and including software improvements to create an all-in-one device acting as a TV box, mini PC, or game console.

Remix IO specifications:

It will ship with an IR + BT 4.0 remote control.

Remix IO will run the latest version of Remix OS upgrade to Android 7.0 Nougat with a large collection of apps accessible from Google Play Store, TV and PC modes, muti-user support, and a gaming toolkit. Apps will have different behavior and look in TV and PC modes, for example, YouTube for Android TV app will be launched in TV mode, and the standard YouTube app in PC mode. The gaming toolkit allows users to to map touch controls to keyboard, mouse, and game controller inputs.

[embedded content]

The company will also provide 2 sets of SDKs to backers with a vanilla AOSP SDK to port stock Android into Remix IO, and a Remix OS SDK to customize features and look, and also modify the kernel, for example to add support for extra hardware peripherals.

Jide has already raised over $250,000 for Remix IO, but the $99 early board pledge for the box is still available. After 4000 units, the price goes up to $109, and you can also pledge for rewards with multiple units to get a discount. Shipping adds $10, and delivery is planned for March 2017,  except for the developer pledge, where backers should get Remix IO board in January 2017, before getting another Remix IO in March.

Tweet You can use any Android TV box to watch movies on your TV, play some games as you would on a game console, and perform tasks such as checking…

We already have a fair choice of boards with Arduino compatible headers powered by an FPGA with options such as $99 Digilent Arty (Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA), FleaFPGA (Lattice FPGA), Papillio DUO (Xilinx Spartan 6), or Snickerdoodle + shieldBuddy (Xilinx Zynq-7010/20). There’s no yet another choice with Alorium Technology XLR8 Arduino UNO like board powered by Altera MAX10 FPGA.

XLR8 board specifications:

• FPGA – Altera MAX 10 FPGA
• MCU – Atmel/Microchip ATmega328 8-bit MCU
• Digital I/Os
  • 5V inputs, 3.3V outputs
  • 14x Digital I/O Pins
  • 6x PWM Digital I/O Pins
  • 6x Analog Pins
• Analog Inputs
  • 5V tolerant
  • Op-amp circuit emulates 0-5V behavior of the ADCs on the Arduino UNO
  • Performance: 1 MHz;
  • Resolution: 12-bit sustained
  • Sample Rate: 154k samples/second
• Power Supply – 5V via USB or barrel connector
• Dimensions – Arduino UNO form factor

The board is supported by Altera Quartus Prime Lite Edition, and programmable either via JTAG though a USB blaster, or USB with OpenXLR8 and Arduino IDE without additional hardware as shown in the diagram below.

The FPGA can be programmed with what the company called Xcelerator Blocks (XB), an optimized hardware implementation of a specific processor intensive function, with functions such as  Floating-point math, servo control, or NeoPixel shields, strips, and arrays control currently available. Future implementations likely to be worked on include: Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control,  event counters  and timers, quadrature encoders/decoders, PWM, multiple UARTs, and enhanced Analog-to-Digital  (ADC) functionality.

Alorium XLR8 board can be purchased on Mouser for $75. More details, including a wiki, a user forum, videos, and various getting started resources are available on Alorium Technology website.

Thanks to Nanik for the tip

Tweet We already have a fair choice of boards with Arduino compatible headers powered by an FPGA with options such as $99 Digilent Arty (Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA), FleaFPGA (Lattice FPGA),…

I first heard about ExoPlayer in an Android TV Overview presentation at Linaro Connect 2014, but I never really looked into it. The source code is available on Github, and I’ve been given ExoPlayer.apk as it can be used to test UHD H265 support, HDCP 1.x, HDCP 2.x compatibility, PlayReady & Widevine DRM using different format and so on.

ExoPlayer Demo – Click to Enlarge

So I installed it on Beelink GT1 Android TV box which I’m currently reviewing, and only include basic Widewine Level 3 DRM, and certainly does not support HDCP features.

There are 9 sections in the app to test various videos and DRM schemes:

• YouTube Dash
• Widevine Dash Policy Tests (GTS) – Widewine with or without HDCP, with or without secure video path
• Widevine HDCP Capabilities Tests – NoHDCP, HDCP 1.0, HDCP 1.1, HDCP 2.0, HDCP 2.1, HDCP 2.2, and HDCP no digital output
• Widevine Dash MP4, H264 – Various resolution (SD, HD, UHD) for clear or secure videos
• Widevine Dash WebM, VP9
• Widevine Dash MP4, H.265
• SmoothStreaming – Super speed or Super speed (PlayReady)
• HLS – Apple master playlist, Apple TS media playlist, Apple ID3 metadata, etc…
• Misc – Various video & audio formats and codecs (MKV, FLV, Google Play videos…)

I tested a few the tests without HDCP nor secure data requirement will work just fine. Widevine secure SD (MP4, H.265) would work fine, but as expect Widevine Secure HD and UHD would not work, and only show a black screen with audio since Level 1 DRM is not supported by my device.

Then I switched to Widewine HDCP 2.2, and to my surprise the video could play… I later found out that HDCP does not kick-in immediately, and if I play the video for a longer time, the video will stop after 9 seconds because Beelink did not get the HDCP 2.2 license for their box.

AFAIC, there’s automatic testing, and each test must be started manually. But it’s still a useful if you are interested in copy protection schemes supported by your Android device.

I’ll complete the post with something unrelated with ExiPlayer, but still interesting to check HDCP support if you own an Amlogic device, as there are some commands to check the status of HDCP:

• Show whether the TV is currently working with HDCP 2.x or HDCP 1.x:

22 = HDCP2, 11 = HDCP1, off = HDCP not enabled right now

• Check HDCP authentication status:

1=authenticated ok, 0 = failed to authenticate.

• HDCP keys for device

00 = no HDCP key, 14 = has HDCP1_key, 22 = has HDCP2_key

• Check TV HDCP version

22 = TV supports HDCP2, 14 = TV supports HDCP1)

• Disable HDCP protection:

Tweet I first heard about ExoPlayer in an Android TV Overview presentation at Linaro Connect 2014, but I never really looked into it. The source code is available on Github,…

Webduino Smart board reminds me of Witty ESP8266 board with its RGB LED and photocell sensor, but the design is a little different, and does not come with an extra USB to TTL board, as it’s designed to be programmed over the air using Blockly Editor.

Click to Enlarge

Webduino Smart specifications:

• WiFi Module – AI Thinker ESP-12F module with Espressif ESP8266 WiSoC
• Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
• 2x 8-pin headers with GPIOs,  ADC (Connected to Photocell), UART, VCC, 3.3V, GND, and Reset.
• USB – 1x micro USB port for power
• Misc – Photo resistor, RGB LED, micro switch button for firmware upgrade (connected to GPIO 4)
• Dimensions – 3 x 2.5 cm (See comparison to AA and AAA batteries below)

While Witty board was mostly targeting mainland China market with all documentation in Chinese, Webduino Smart does have some documentation in English, and is made by Banana Pi team (SinoVoIP). The default firmware allows you to program the board through WebSocket and a web-based graphical interface by accessing the board using Webduino Blockly Editor.

You’ll find some Webduino Smart JavaScript samples on github too.

I could not find information about price and availability yet, but eventually the information should be shown in Webduino.io website, where they sell their older Webduino boards, shields, and kit in Taiwan. Banana Pi also have a dedicated forum page, and we should expect them to sell the board worldwide once it’s launched.

Tweet Webduino Smart board reminds me of Witty ESP8266 board with its RGB LED and photocell sensor, but the design is a little different, and does not come with an…

Earlier this week, Nintendo unveiled their innovative switch game console that can be used in various configuration such as a portable game console, and a TV connected game console by inserting the portable game console into its dock, and detaching the game controllers on each side of the display. There are many ways to play with the console in single or multiplayer mode, and the best way to understand what’s possible is to check out the video on Nintendo Switch product page. Few other details were provided but we do know it’s based on a custom Nvidia Tegra processor, and it should be available in March 2017. It turns out Aikun is already selling a similar concept with their Morphus X300 game console, available on Amazon.co.uk for 299 GBP, and slated to ship next month.

Gaming performance should be much lower than Nintendo Switch but still enough for many Android games, and it incldues a glasses-free 3D display too. Morphus X300 specifications:

Charbax interviewed the company a few days ago, where you’ll find a demo of the system in the video below.
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Aikun Morphus X300 will also soon be available on Amazon US for $249, Amazon Europe websites for 249 Euros, and Amazon Japan for 28,999 JPY. More details can be found the product page.

Tweet Earlier this week, Nintendo unveiled their innovative switch game console that can be used in various configuration such as a portable game console, and a TV connected game console…

I posted my review of Zidoo X9S Android TV box, HDMI recorder and OpenWrt NAS a few days ago, and despite some limitations with regards to 4K video playback, the device is working pretty well. The $140 price tag might be a little more than some people are ready to pay, and the good news is that the company has now launched a cheaper model based on the same processor called Zidoo X8, without the external SATA port, and less storage.

Zidoo X8 specifications:

• SoC – Realtek RTD1295 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.4 GHz with ARM Mali-T820 MP3 GPU
• System Memory – 2 GB DDR3
• Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot + SATA 3.0 interface
• Video I/O – HDMI 2.0a output, AV output and HDMI 2.0 input (Support up to 4K60 input, but record/stream up to 1080p @ 30 Hz)
• Audio I/O – HDMI in and out, AV, S/PDIF output
• Video Playback – HDR, 10-bit HEVC/H.265 up to 4K @ 60fps, H.264 up to 4K @ 24 fps, VP9 up to 4K @ 30 fps, BDISO/MKV, 3D videos, etc… automatic frame rate switching
• Audio Features – DTS HD and TrueHD 7.1 channel audio pass-through
• Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 (RTK8821)
• USB – 1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0 ports
• Misc – IR receiver, VFD display, restore pin hole.
• Power Supply – 12V/3A
• Dimensions – TBD

The media center runs Android 6.0 and OpenWrt simultaneously, and ships with  a remote control, an HDMI cable, a power adapter, and a user’s manual.

So the only thing really missing compared to Zidoo X9S is the external SATA port, but since there’s still a USB 3.0 port, you’ll still have decent storage performance. I’d expect the firmware to work as well as on Zidoo X9S with HDMI audio pass-through up 7.1, automatic frame rate switching, and 4K video playback to work very well with Media Center app, but a little less well, especially for videos, using ZDMC (Kodi 16.1 fork) internal player. HDMI input will also you to setup a PiP window, record videos to your hard drive, or stream videos to the network, while OpenWrt will add support for NAS functions such as SAMBA share, FTP, Bittorrent downloader, and more.

Zidoo X8 is currently selling for $109 on GeekBuying, or about $30 to $40 cheaper compared to Zidoo X9S. You’ll also find a few sellers on Aliexpress, and it should be sold on Amazon US soon.

Tweet I posted my review of Zidoo X9S Android TV box, HDMI recorder and OpenWrt NAS a few days ago, and despite some limitations with regards to 4K video playback,…

I’ve previously reviewed other Amlogic S912 TV boxes such as M12N MXQ Plus or Qintaix Q912, but Beelink GT1 has the advantage of being quite cheaper at $56 and up, but still come with many of the same features as more expensive devices. I’ve already posted pictures, and checked out the hardware design in the first part of Beelink GT1 review, so in the second part I’ll report my experience with Android, including video and audio capabilities, hardware features testing, and some benchmarks.

First Boot, OTA Firmware Update, Settings, and First Impressions

The device comes with two USB ports only, so I connected a USB hard drive to one of the port, and a USB hub to the other with the RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad, as well as a USB keyboard to take screenshots. I completed the setup by adding HDMI and Ethernet cables, and connected the power supply to start the system.

Click to Enlarge

A typical boot will take 30 seconds, and brings you to the home launcher.

Click to Enlarge

You’ll find a section with date & time, and weather for your city, icon to main app (Kodi, Browser, Play Store, File Manager, Settings…), and a section with favorites, which the first time is empty, but you can easily add or remove icons as I did in the screenshot above. You’ll also have access the more favorites on the left and right of the main screen. If you’ve connect a hard drive, you’ll also get the annoying “USB device connected” window(s) at each boot just like in NEXBOX A95X TV box.

I had received the box early September, but now we are close to the end of October, so one of the first thing I did was to go to the list of apps, and start UPDATE&BACKUP app to check for any Online (OTA) firmware update.

Click to Enlarge

Good, so I could update 20160819 firmware to 20160902 firmware. It did not work the first, as my USB hard drive was connected, but I repeated the update with USB mass storage devices connected to the device, nor a micro SD card, and it worked smoothly, and did not mess with my settings, nor the few apps I installed with Google Play at the time.

I went to the app again, and it found another update, so I update to firmware 20160930. I would be extra nice, if this would be handled automatically, but that’s just a minor issue. The changelog is completely useless, as they just copy “1. Optimization system 2. Minor bug fixes” for each firmware update…

I did on more check, and this was the latest version when I started the review. But before testing Kodi a few days later, I checked one more time, and I found yet another version with the exact same changelog, but a new 20161022 version which I installed successfully.

So the good news is that OTA firmware update is working fine, and Beelink is providing them fairly often at this stage. I’d also like it them to offer a detailed changelog the way Zidoo is doing.

The settings part is the same as on Qintaix Q912 Android TV box, except they’ve added HDMI CEC options, and removed “Power key  definition”

Some of the most useful options include:

• Device
  • Network – WiFi, Ethernet, and VPN
  • Display
    • Screen resolution: Auto switch on/off, deep color mode on/off, 1080p24/50/60, 720p50/60, 4k2k 24/25/30/50/60/SMPTE, 576p50, 480p60, 1080i50/60
    • Screen position, Day Dream, HDR (Auto, On, Off)
  • Sound -> Digital Sounds -> Auto detection, PCM, HDMI, SPDIF
• Preferences
  • HDMI CEC – See screenshot above
  • Playback settings – HDMI self-adaptation on/off (aka automatic frame rate switching)
  • More settings – Access to Android Marshmallow settings

My Onkyo AV receiver will detect Beelink GT1 through HDMI CEC, but as usual I can’t use the arrow keys on Onkyo remote to control the device. The Android TV box will also prevent me to turn of the AV receiver, even if HDMI CEC is turned off in the box. The only work around is to disable HDMI CEC (RIHD) in the receiver itself. It’s a bug common in all Amlogic TV boxes running Android 6.0.

The good thing with Beelink GT1 is once I configure video output to 4K 60Hz it will stay that way all the time, contrary to many other TV boxes, not only based on Amlogic or also other processors.

We can go to More Settings to access Android Marshmallow settings with all the usual options. The settings also report an internal 16GB partition, but it’s obviously an hard coded value, possibly to avoid some customer complaining about not getting 16 GB storage, but only 11 or 12 GB… The About Mediabox section shows Beelink GT1 runs Android 6.0.1 on top of Linux 3.14.29 as per About Mediabox section. The firmware is rooted.

The included infrared remote control works OK, but the range is limited to 4 to 5 meters.  I’ve still used an air mouse for most of the review, since that type of device is more suited to Android, and a keyboard is included.

I had no problems with Google Play store, and I could install all apps I needed for review. I also installed the free version of Riptide GP2 racing game through Amazon Underground app.

The power button on the remote control will let you turn off, enter sleep mode or reboot the device, and it works… most of the time. For some reasons, at one point the box would just reboot, when I select the Shutdown option, and I could reproduce the issue 3 times. However, later one, the problem completely disappeared and turning off the device worked 100% of the time. I cannot remember if this was done before or after applying the last firmware update (20161022). You can also turn on the device from your sofa using the remote control.

Power consumption is not too bad, but bear in mind that Beelink decided to keep USB and Ethernet on in standby mode:

• Power off – 1.0 watt
• Standby – 2.0 watts
• Idle – 2.4 watts
• Power off + USB HDD – 1.1 watt
• Standby + USB HDD – 4.0 watts (USB HDD + Ethernet still on)
• Idle + USB HDD – 4.4 watts

That’s an advantage if you download files in the background for example, but if you want to save power, then power off mode is recommended. Ideally, power off consumption should be a bit lower than 1.0 watt.

Beelink GT1 did not get overly hot during testing. The maximum top and bottom covers’ temperatures after Antutu were respectively 47 and 51 °C, and about 47°C and 59°C after playing Riptide GP2 for 20 minutes.

Based on several comments I had read last month, and earlier this month, about apps crashing, some green screen flickering, and even Kodi forums recommending to avoid Amlogic S912 TV boxes and giving the “Buggiest Android Kodi Box award of the quarter” to “any Amlogic S912 box running Android Marshmallow 6.0”, so I was expecting a lot of troubles with the device. However, my experience was actually pretty good, as the firmware was responsive, I did not experience apps crashing nor random reboot at any times, never saw the green screen issue, and as we’ll see below, Kodi worked reasonably well for a cheap device. So either I was lucky, or the firmware update since then, helped fixed many of the issues. This does not mean it’s perfect, as it still have HDMI CEC issues, small pointer at 4K resolution, and other small bugs.

Video & Audio Playback with Kodi 16.1, Antutu Video Tester 3.0, and DRM Support

Beelink GT1 comes pre-loaded with a version of Kodi, but I’m not sure which, as while in Google Play I saw a few apps needed some upgrade, and I just clicked on upgrade all, and I only saw too late than it would mean an “upgrade” to Kodi 16.1 from Google Play. But finally, I found it may not be a bad idea, as usually I test the pre-installed version of Kodi, but for that review I can see how Kodi 16.1 from Google Play works on an Amlogic S912 TV box.

Some piracy add-ons are installed in the box by default, and an installation from the Play Store, will not remove them. I first went to the settings to make sure Video->Playback->Adjust display refresh rate is set to Always, as I had already enabled HDMI self-adaption in Android settings.

I played all videos from a SAMBA share over Gigabit Ethernet, unless otherwise stated.

Starting with some 1080p (and 720p) videos from Linaro media samples, and Elecard:

• H.264 codec / MP4 container (Big Buck Bunny) – 1080p – OK
• MPEG2 codec / MPG container –  1080p – OK
• MPEG4 codec, AVI container – 1080p – OK
• VC1 codec (WMV) – 1080p – 1080p – OK
• Real Media (RMVB), 720p / 5Mbps – OK (software decode)
• WebM / VP8 – 1080p – Not smooth (software decode)
• H.265 codec / MPEG TS container  – OK

Automatic refresh rate switching is not working as on most other Amlogic TV boxes. VP8 is not playing smoothly because it’s relying on software decide. More videos with various bitrates:

• ED_HD.avi (H.264 / 10 Mbps) – Not smooth
• big_buck_bunny_1080p_surround.avi (1080p H.264 – 12 Mbps) – OK, excepting while panning in some scenes due to 60 Hz video output. If I manually switch to 24 Hz, the video is smooth.
• h264_1080p_hp_4.1_40mbps_birds.mkv (40 Mbps) – OK
• hddvd_demo_17.5Mbps_1080p_VC1.mkv (17.5Mbps) – Could be smoother
• Jellyfish-120-Mbps.mkv (120 Mbps video without audio) – OK

Not quite perfect, but pretty much the expected behavior on most Amlogic devices. Dolby and DTS audio testing was then performed using both PCM output (stereo downsampling) through my TV speakers, and HDMI pass-through via Onkyo TX-NR636 receiver. Kodi audio options only allow DTS and AC3 pass-through, and there was nothing about TrueHD, nor DTS HD.

So that’s clearly not as good as more expensive Android TV box, as Amlogic S912 does not include Dolby nor DTS license (required for stereo downsampling for most apps), but it’s still slightly better than most cheap TV boxes, as HDMI pass-through works for DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 in Kodi, and TrueHD also supported in other video apps like Video Player or MoviePlayer. I did not notice any audio cuts with HDMI audio pass-through, as I experienced in many other devices.

Time for some 4K videos:

• HD.Club-4K-Chimei-inn-60mbps.mp4 (H.264, 30 fps) – OK
  
• sintel-2010-4k.mkv (H.264, 24 fps, 4096×1744) –  OK
• Beauty_3840x2160_120fps_420_8bit_HEVC_MP4.mp4 (H.265) –  OK
• Bosphorus_3840x2160_120fps_420_8bit_HEVC_MP4.mp4 (H.265) – OK
• Jockey_3840x2160_120fps_420_8bit_HEVC_TS.ts (H.265) – OK
• MHD_2013_2160p_ShowReel_R_9000f_24fps_RMN_QP23_10b.mkv (10-bit HEVC) – OK
• phfx_4KHD_VP9TestFootage.webm (VP9) – OK
• BT.2020.20140602.ts (Rec.2020 compliant video; 36 Mbps; 59.97 Hz) – OK
• big_buck_bunny_4k_H264_30fps.mp4 – OK
• big_buck_bunny_4k_H264_60fps.mp4 – Not smooth, and audio delay (not supported by S912 VPU)
• Fifa_WorldCup2014_Uruguay-Colombia_4K-x265.mp4 (4K, H.265, 60 fps) – OK
• Samsung_UHD_Dubai_10-bit_HEVC_51.4Mbps.ts (10-bit HEVC / MPEG-4 AAC) – OK
• Astra-11479_V_22000-Canal+ UHD Demo 42.6 Mbps bitrate.ts (10-bit H.265 from DVB-S2 stream) –  OK
• 暗流涌动-4K.mp4 (10-bit H.264; 120 Mbps) – ~1 fps, lots of artifacts (not supported by Amlogic S912 VPU)
• Ducks Take Off [2160p a 243 Mbps].mkv (4K H.264 @ 29.97 fps; 243 Mbps; no audio) – SAMBA: bufferring a lot; USB HDD: Slow motion
• tara-no9-vp9.webm (4K VP9 YouTube video @ 60 fps, Vorbis audio) – OK
• The.Curvature.of.Earth.4K.60FPS-YT-UceRgEyfSsc.VP9.3840×2160.OPUS.160K.webm (4K VP9 @ 60 fps + opus audio) – Plays but could be a bit smoother

So overall, 4K video playback is pretty decent on Beelink GT1.

Sintek-4k.iso & amat.iso Blu-Ray ISO’s samples, and MPEG2 1080i videos could play just fine. A 720p Hi10p video could play smoothly with subtitle and audio, but 1080p is not smooth, as on other Amlogic S912 TV boxes. Since Hi10p relies on software decode, you need more powerful hardware, and I expect Rockchip RK3399 based TV boxes to easily handle Hi10p 1080p videos, but not 4K ones.

I’ve also tested some 3D stereoscopic videos only to see if the device could decode them since my TV does not support 3D:

• bbb_sunflower_1080p_60fps_stereo_abl.mp4 (1080p Over/Under) – OK
• bbb_sunflower_2160p_60fps_stereo_abl.mp4 (2160p Over/Under) – Black screen, audio only
• Turbo_Film-DreamWorks_trailer_VO_3D.mp4 (1080p SBS) – OK

I also tested a bunch of other videos including MKV, VOB/IFO, AVI, XViD/DViX, MP4, and FLV videos and I had no problem whatsoever.A full 2-hour 1080p H.264 movie could fully play from the SAMBA share without issues

Antutu Video Tester 3.0 benchmark reports 866 points, roughly the same as on other Amlogic S912 I’ve tested so far.

DRM info reports Widevine Level 3 is supported.

Click to Enlarge

YouTube app could play videos up to 1080p.

WiFI & Ethernet Performance

I copy and paste a 278MB file between a SAMBA share and the internal flash using ES File Explorer in order to evaluate WiFi performance. Beelink GT1 achieved a lowly 1.7 MB/s on average with 802.11n @ 2.4 GHz, but a more respectable 4.36 MB/s with 802.11ac (434Mbps Link Speed). It should be noted that download and upload speeds are asymmetrical, and downloads reach about 6.0 MB/s using 802.11ac, and ~2.2 MB/s with 802.11n.

Throughput in MB/s – Click to Enlarge

Gigabit Ethernet works pretty well, as shown with iperf full duplex results:

Miscellaneous Tests

Bluetooth

I could pair Beelink GT1 TV box () and Vernee Apollo Lite smartphone in order to transfer a few pictures. Smart Movement has no issue connecting and synchronizing data to my Bluetooth LE fitness tracker, and I could listen to audio through SPORTS-S9 Bluetooth headset.

Since the firmware is already rooted, so I tried Sixaxis app with PS3 Bluetooth game controller close as explained in the post entitled “How to Play Games in Android TV Boxes With a PS3 Bluetooth Controller“, and it worked perfectly. So Bluetooth appears to be working very well on that device.

Storage

NTFS and exFAT partitions on a 1 TB USB 3.0 Seagate hard drive could be mounted, but not BTRFS nor EXT-4 ones. a FAT32 micro SD card could also be mounted in read/write mode.

A1SD bench app confirmed results found in most Android TV boxes with USB 2.0 ports, with 30+ MB/s for read speed for both NTFS and exFAT file systems, but a much lower sequential write for exFAT (6.8 MB/s) compared to NTFS (22.37 MB/s).

Read and Write Speeds in MB/s – Click to Enlarge

The eMMC flash performance is clearly above average at 57.60 MB/s read speed, and 30.71 MB/s write speed.

Read and Write Speeds in MB/s – Click to Enlarge

Gaming

I played Candy Crush Saga with the air mouse, and as Beach Buggy Racing with the wireless gamepad are both games played perfectly, even with graphics set to the highest settings in the latter. Riptide GP2 had acceptable performance even with “highest resolution” setting, not quite as smooth as on devices with a better GPU, such as Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced, but as expect just the same as other Amlogic S912 TV boxes, and the best Amlogic S905 TV boxes. I played the game for 15 to 20 minutes, and performance was constant throughout.

Beelink GT1 Benchmarks

Let’s start with CPU-Z. Beelink has not updated the firmware to reflect Amlogic S912 is actually limited to 1.5 GHz (1.65 GHz in best case), but apart from that we have the same values as on other S912 TV boxes. The manufacturer is Netxeon (Beelink is their brand), and the board is named q201_9377.

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Antutu 6.x results varied quite a bit, with the first run achieving only 37,013 points, and another run around one hour latter getting 41,287 points, or about the same as M12N MXQ Plus TV box. RAM speed tests seems to be especially variable on Amlogic S912 devices.

Vellamo returned results slighly better to what I got with Qintaix Q912, namely 792, 1,488, and 2,858 points for respectively Metal, Multicore, and Browser benchmarks, against 787, 1,422, and 2,336 points for the Qintaix device. M12N did not manage to complete the Multicore test.

Conclusion

Beelink GT1 works relatively well for this price, with a responsive and very stable firmware, most features working just fine, Kodi 16.1 working with DTS and Dolby audio pass-through, very good storage performance, but of course you can’t expect the same level support as more expensive devices, so for example TrueHD and DTS-HD are not working, automatic frame rate switching neither, and there are still some bugs common to other Amlogic Android Marshmallow devices.

PROS

• Stable and responsive Android 6.0 firmware
• Good 4K video support for VP9, H.265 and H.264 codecs in Kodi 16.1
• HDMI audio pass-through for Dolby 5.1 & DTS 5.1 i Kodi 16.1, plus TrueHD 5.1/7.1 in Video Player & MoviePlayer (and other video apps relying on Android APIs)
• Fast eMMC flash leading to fast boot and app loading times
• Good Gigabit Ethernet performance, and decent WiFi 802.11ac performance (with my setup)
• Google Play Store works fine
• Good Bluetooth support with file transfer, BT audio, Bluetooth LE, and Sixaxis controller (PS3 gamepad) all working
• OTA firmware update, and frequent firmware releases (about once a month so far)
• Support forums (with Beelink more or less active)

CONS (and bugs)

• HDMI audio pass-through not working for TrueHD and DTS HD 7.1 in Kodi 16.1, Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD 7.1 not supported in other apps
• Automatic frame rate switching not working properly in Kodi and other apps (e.g. Video Player)
• Overall performance and user experience very similar to Amlogic S905 TV boxes, except for Android 6.0, VP9 and HDR support.
• 802.11n WiFi performance under average (with my setup)
• Potential issue with Shutdown not working all the time (it will reboot instead). N.B.: I can not reproduce it easily.
• HDMI CEC bug keeps my A/V receiver on (when pressing the power button on the receiver), even when HDMI CEC is disabled (unless I disable CEC in the receiver itself)
• DRM: Only supports Widevine Level 3
• Dolby & DTS licenses not included (Only a problem for apps other than Kodi, for people not using HDMI or S/PDIF audio pass-through). This would require Amlogic S912-H (Dolby+DTS) or S912-B (Dolby only) processor
• Minor – Mouse pointer quite small when 4K video output is selected
• Minor – “USB device connected” window(s) always autostart at boot time when USB mass storage device is connected.

Beelink GT1 price makes it attractive compared to other Amlogic S912 devices, but you don’t already gain much compared to cheaper, and some would argue more stable, devices based on Amlogic S905 processor, beside an upgrade to Android 6.0, VP9 video decoding, and HDR support.

I’d like to thank Netxeon/Beelink for sending the review sample. Resellers and distributors can purchase in quantities directly with the company, while individual will be find Beelink GT1 on Amazon US for $66.97, GearBest for $55.99 with GBGT1 coupon, and from several sellers on Aliexpress for $59.99 and up.

Tweet I’ve previously reviewed other Amlogic S912 TV boxes such as M12N MXQ Plus or Qintaix Q912, but Beelink GT1 has the advantage of being quite cheaper at $56 and…

After NXP bought Freescale, you had development tools for Freescale Kinetis MCUs such as Design Studio or Kenetis SDK, and others such as LPCXpresso for NXP LPC microcontrollers. The company has worked to unifying software and tools support between its ARM Cortex-M MCU families, and has now announced MCUXPresso software and tools for both NXP Kinetis and LPC MCUs.

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MCUXpresso unifies thousands of Kinetis and LPC microcontrollers under a set of compatible tools including

• MCUXpresso SDK – Open-source software MISRA-compliant development kit (SDK) with peripherals drivers, wireless & wired connectivity stacks, middleware, real-time OS, getting started guides, API documentation, and application examples.
• MCUXpresso IDE – Integrated development environment (IDE) for editing, compiling and debugging. It also integrates MCU-specific debugging views, code trace and profiling, multicore debugging, etc… Both free and professional edition of the IDE will be available, and LPCXpressor and previously Freescale Freedom & Tower platforms will be supported.
• MCUXpresso config tools:
  • An SDK Builder enabling custom-built SDKs for specific MCUs or evaluation boards.
  • A graphical pins tool to assist with routing of internal signals to external pins, and generates ANSI-C source for the MCUXpresso SDK environment.
  • A clocks tool with a graphical representation of the MCU clock tree system, interactive user controls, and assistance with system fine-tuning.
  • A power estimation tool to allow application modeling and assessment of power consumption under user-defined parameters.

MCUXpresso SDK Architecture

The MCUXpresso SDK and config tools will be available around the middle of next month, and beside built-in support for the MCUXpresso IDE, the SDK can also work with IAR Embedded Workbench, ARM Keil  MDK, Atollic TrueSTUDIO, SOMNIUM  DRT, and others. That’s not a bad thing since MCUXpresso IDE will only be released in March 2017.

You’ll find many more details, and download links for the SDK on MCUXpresso page.

Tweet After NXP bought Freescale, you had development tools for Freescale Kinetis MCUs such as Design Studio or Kenetis SDK, and others such as LPCXpresso for NXP LPC microcontrollers. The…

Another board has gotten initial mainline Linux support recently, with Renesas SK-RZG1M starter kit board based on Renesas RZ/G1M dual core ARM Cortex A15 SoC with 2GB RAM, a SATA interface, HDMI, LVDS, AV Ethernet bridge, and more.

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Renesas SK-RZG1M starter kit board actually has the exact same features as Renesas R-Car M2 Porter board except for the processor:

• SoC – Renesas RZ/G1M (R8A7743) dual core ARM Cortex-A15 processor @ 1.5­GHz with PowerVR SGX544MP2 3D GPU, Renesas 2D graphics processor
• System Memory – Dual channel 2GB DDR3
• Storage – On-board 4 MB SPI, and 64 MB SPI, 1x SATA rev 3.1 connector, 1x SD card slot, and 1x micro SD card slot
• Video Output / Display I/F – HDMI (via ADV7511), and LVDS + touchscreen
• Analog Video In – ADV7180 video decoder with RCA jack, NTSC/PAL/SECAM autodetection
• Audio codec – AK4643EN with 3.5mm jacks for Line In and Line Out
• Connectivity – 100 Mbps (debug) Ethernet and Ethernet AVB (Auio Video Bridge) connector
• USB – 1x USB 2.0 port, 1x micro USB port that supports host, device and OTG modes
• Serial – CAN transceiver
• Expansion
  • 1x PCI Express x1 slot
  • EXIO connector
• Debugging – 20-pin JTAG connector, micro USB port for debugging
• Misc – Power LEDs for 12, 5 and 1.35V, power switch, 3 user buttons, reset button, heatsink and fan
• Power supply – 12V/5A
• Dimensions – 170×125 mm

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While R-Car M2 porter board and processor are targeting automotive applications, RZ/G1M processors are designed for industrial, home appliance, office and medical equipment, especially for connectivity and human interface applications. So for example, the IEBUS connector is still there, but it’s not documented in the hardware manual, and likely not available. You’ll more more software and hardware technical details about the board in the board’s eLinux wiki.

Reneas RZ-G1M SoC Block Diagram – Click to Enlarge

You’ll also be able to get more details about the processor itself on Renesas RZ/G1M product page.

Renesas SK-RZG1M starter kit board can be purchased for about $400 on Digikey.

Thanks to Nobe for the tip.

Tweet Another board has gotten initial mainline Linux support recently, with Renesas SK-RZG1M starter kit board based on Renesas RZ/G1M dual core ARM Cortex A15 SoC with 2GB RAM, a SATA…

Theobroma Systems, an Austrian based engineering services and embedded systems solutions company, has been designing Allwinner based systems-on-module compliant with Micro Qseven standard for a while, starting with Allwinner A31 A31-μQ7 module in 2015. The company has now launched A64-μQ7 system-on-module powered by Allwinner A64 quad core Cortex A53 processor.

A64-μQ7 module specifications:

• SoC – Allwinner A64 quad core ARM Cortex A53 processor with Mali-400MP2 GPU
• System Memory – Up to 2GB DDR3 on module
• Storage – Up to 64GB eMMC flash, Up to 16MB SPI NOR flash
• Display I/F (via edge connector) – HDMI 1.4 up to 4K @ 30 Hz, MIPI DSI up to 1920×1200 @ 60 Hz
• Connectivity – 10/100/1000 Mbps PHY
• USB – 7x USB 2.0 ports including one dual-role port
• Other I/Os – On-module communication offload controller for CAN, UART, 8x GPIO, I2S, I2C, SMBus, SPI, FAN
• Security – Optional Global Platform 2.2.1 compliant JavaCard 2.2 environment, and EAL4-certified smartcard controller
• Power – 5V; AXP803 PMIC
• Dimensions – 70mm x 40mm (μQseven form factor)
• Temperature Range – Commercial: 0ºC to 85ºC; Extended range available on request

The company provides support for Linux 4.x, Debian 8, and Android 6 for the module. There’s no word about a baseboard / carrier board for the SoM, but since it should be mechanically and electrically compatible with previous micro Qseven module (that’s what standards are for), and we do know a Mini-ITX baseboard is available for previous Theobroma modules.

The price has not been disclosed publicly. A few more details may be found on the company’s A64-uQ7 product page.

Thanks to tkaiser for the tip.

Tweet Theobroma Systems, an Austrian based engineering services and embedded systems solutions company, has been designing Allwinner based systems-on-module compliant with Micro Qseven standard for a while, starting with Allwinner…

Installing or upgrading packages in Linux distributions does not normally require rebooting your system, except for the Linux kernel and drivers. But since Linux 4.0 kernel, Live Kernel patching is possible, meaning Linux kernel updates can be performed without having to reboot your server or computer. Canonical is now taking advantage of this new feature with their Livepatch Service available for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and greater.

If you want to enable it on your machine, you’ll have to authenticate to Livepatch portal to get a key / token for the service as shown in the screenshot above.

Now you can install the service:

and enable it with your token:

That’s it. Your can check Livepatch service status with the command:

In my case, an update was not necessary, but if there’s one you should see something like:

That way you can make sure your system always have the latest security patchsets. This is mostly useful for servers, but it might not be a bad idea to enabled for your computer too, especially it’s free for end-users for up to 3 machines. Companies need to apply to Ubuntu Advantage for business to support more machines.

Tweet Installing or upgrading packages in Linux distributions does not normally require rebooting your system, except for the Linux kernel and drivers. But since Linux 4.0 kernel, Live Kernel patching…

ARM TechCon 2016 is now taking place in Santa Clara, California, USA, as ARM has made three announcements for the Internet of Things, the focus of SoftBank going forward, with two ARM Cortex-M ARMv8-M cores integrating ARM TrustZone technology, namely Cortex-M23 low power small footprint core, and Cortex-M33 core with processing power similar to Cortex-M3/M4 cores, as well as Cordio Radio IP for Bluetooth 5 and 802.15.4 connectivity.

ARM Cortex-M23

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ARM Cortex-M23, based on the ARMv8-M baseline architecture, is the smallest and most energy efficient ARM processor with TrustZone security technology,and targets embedded applications requiring both a small footprint, low power, and security. Its power consumption is low enough to be used in batteryless, energy harvesting IoT nodes, and is roughly a third of Cortex-M33 processor size, and offers more than twice its energy efficiency.

Cortex-M23 is a two-stage pipelined processor, software compatible with other processors in the Cortex-M family.

You’ll find more information on ARM Cortex-M23 product page, and related blog post.

ARM Cortex-M33

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ARM Cortex-M33, also based on ARMv8-M architecture with Trustzone technology, is the most configurable of all Cortex-M processors, includes FPU, DSP, a co-processor interface, a Memory protection unit (MPU) for task isolation, and ARM claims it “delivers an optimal balance between performance, power, security and productivity”.

The Cortex-M33 processor has an in-order 3-stage pipeline, which reduces system power consumption, and most instructions complete in two stages, while more complex instructions require three. The core also has two AMBA5 AHB5 interfaces: C-AHB and S-AHB, which are symmetric in nature and offer identical performance of instruction and data fetches.

You can visit the products page, and ARM blog post for further details.

ARM Cordio Radio IP

ARM has also introduced Cordio IP which offers Bluetooth 5 or 802.15.4’s ZigBee or Thread connectivity using ARM RF or 3rd party front-end. The IP supports TSMC 40nm LP/ULP, TSMC 55nm LP/ULP and UMC 55nm ULP manufacturing processes, and three solutions are available with Cordio-B50 with Bluetooth 5 only, Cordio-E154 with 802.15.4 only, and Cordio-C50 with both Bt5 and 802.15.4.

More details can be found on that ARM community blog post.

Tweet ARM TechCon 2016 is now taking place in Santa Clara, California, USA, as ARM has made three announcements for the Internet of Things, the focus of SoftBank going forward,…

congatec, a company specialized in embedded computer modules, single board computers and embedded design and manufacturing services, has just introduced their conga-SA5 system-on-module family compliant with SMARC 2.0 specifications, and powered by the latest Intel Apollo Lake processors.

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conga-SA5 SoM’s specifications:

• SoC (one of the list)
  • Intel Atom x7-E3950 quad core processor @ 1.6 / 2.0 GHz with 2MB L2 cache, 18 EU Intel Gen 9 HD Graphics (12W TDP)
  • Intel Atom x5-E3940 quad core processor @ 1.6 / 1.8 GHz with 2MB L2 cache, 12 EU Intel Gen 9 HD Graphics (9W TDP)
  • Intel Atom x5-E3930 dual core processor @ 1.3 / 1.8 GHz with 2MB L2 cache 1MB, 12 EU Intel Gen 9 HD Graphics (6.5W TDP)
  • Intel Celeron N3350 dual core processor @ 1.1 / 2.4 GHz with 1MB L2 cache, 12 EU Intel Gen 9 HD Graphics (6W TDP)
  • Intel Pentium N4200 quad core processor @ 1.1 / 2.5 GHz with 2MB L2 cache, 18 EU Intel Gen 9 HD Graphics (6W TDP)
• System Memory – Up to 8GB LPDDR4 with 2400MT/s
• Storage – 8 to 32GB eMMC flash; 8 MB serial SPI firmware flash with AMI Aptio 2.X (UEFI) BIOS
• Connectivity
  • Up to 2x Intel I210 (Industrial) /I211 (Commercial) Gigabit Ethernet Controller with SDP support, 2x Real Time Trigger
  • Ooptional M.2 1216 WiFi module (soldered down)
• Video Chips – NXP PTN3366 HDMI Level Shifter, NXP PTN3460 eDP to LVDS bridge
• 314-pin edge SMARC 2.0 connector with
  • 2x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0
  • 1x SATA3, SDIO
  • Up to 4x PCIe Gen2
  • 2x I²C bus, 2 x SPI, 4 x UART
  • 2x GbE interfaces
  • Video Output – Dual channel LVDS transmitter up to a resolution of 1920×1200 @60Hz (shared with eDP or 2x MIPI-DSI x4), 1x DisplayPort 1.2 up to 4096×2160, or HDMI 1.4b up to 3840×2160
  • Camera IF – 1x MIPI-CSI x4 and 1x MIPI-CSI x2
• congatec Board Controller – Multi stage Watchdog, non-volatile User Data Storage, Manufacturing and Board information, Board Statistics, BIOS Setup, Data Backup, I²C bus (fast mode, 400 kHz, multi-master), power Loss Control
• Power Management – ACPI 5 .0 compliant, Smart Battery Management
• Temperature Range –  Operating: -40° to + 85°C Storage: -40° to + 85°C
• Relative Humidity – Operating: 10 to 90% non cond. / Storage 5 to 95%  non cond.
• Dimensions – 82 x 50 mm (3,23” x 1,97”)

The module can run Microsoft Windows 10 / Windows IoT Core, Linux, Wind River VxWorks 7, or Android.

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conga-SA5 modules can compatible with conga-SEVAL evaluation carrier board for SMARC 2.0 modules, but the company has not provided details nor pictures about the board.

Pricing and availability information has not been made available. You’ll find more details include Linux and Windows drivers on Congatec’s conga-SA5 product page. The company also offers Apollo Lake Qseven and COM Express modules through their conga-QA5 and conga-TCA5 systems-on-module.

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Tweet congatec, a company specialized in embedded computer modules, single board computers and embedded design and manufacturing services, has just introduced their conga-SA5 system-on-module family compliant with SMARC 2.0 specifications,…

Intel previously introduced Celeron and Pentium Apollo Lake processors for laptops and mini PCs, and it seemed Atom was gone for good from that processor family, but the vendor has now introduced Atom E3900 “Apollo Lake” processor family for IoT, industrial and automotive applications with three models: x5-E3930, x5-E3940, and x7-E3950.

All three new processors will support up to 8 GB of LPDDR4/DDR3L memory, come in a FCBGA1296 package, be manufactured using 14 nm process, support 4K UHD video output up to 60 Hz on three independent displays, up to 15 simultaneous 1080p30 video stream, as well as 13MP cameras for photos and 1080p60 video capture. Peripherals interfaces include SATA 3.0,  PCIe lane, HDMI, DisplayPort, embedded DisplayPort, USB 3.0 & 2.0 ports and more.

The new processors also integrate Intel Time Coordinated Computing (TCC) Technology that “coordinates and synchronizes peripherals and networks of connected devices, achieving improved determinism. It can resolve latency issues in applications, such as robotics manufacturing, by synchronizing the clocks of devices across networks to within 1 μs”. The technology will be available through Linux built with the Yocto Project.

Intel Atom E3900 Processor Series Reference Platform Block Diagram – Click to Enlarge

Reliability is achieved via ECC memory, high-temperature rating between -40°C to 110°C, and some upcoming A3900 SKUs will be qualified for automotive applications. Atom 3900 series also include some security features through Intel Trusted Execution Engine 3.0 (TXE 3.0), secure or measured boot, DRM with HDCP 1.4 wired / HDCP 2.2 wireless, protected audio video path (PAVP), and Intel Platform Trust Technology to store keys and perform crypto operatings compliant with TPM 2.0 specifications.

The three Atom E3900 SKUs most differ by their number of cores, clock speed, max TDP, and GPU.

Operating systems supported will include Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise (64-bit) and IoT Core (32-/64-bit), Linux through Wind River 8 (64-bit) and a Yocto Project BSP (64-bit), Android 7.0 Nougat 64-bit (Q2 2017 target release), and Wind River VxWorks 7 real-time operating systems.

The processors will be used in industrial settings for predictive maintenance, accelerated time to market and increased quality and remote management,  digital security and surveillance (DSS) / vision systems (video) for visual data identification and analysis, safety and security, traffic management and monitoring, agriculture and pipeline monitoring, manufacturing inspection…, as well as for transportation and automotive applications for software-defined cockpits and vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

You’ll find more details on Intel Apollo Lake products’ page.

Tweet Intel previously introduced Celeron and Pentium Apollo Lake processors for laptops and mini PCs, and it seemed Atom was gone for good from that processor family, but the vendor…

Back in September, Pine64 unveiled their $2 PADI IoT Stamp based on Realtek RTL8710 ARM Cortex M3 WiFi SoC aiming to compete with Expressif ESP8266 solutions.  The company has now sent me their complete kit for review, which beside the module itself includes a breakout board kit, and some hardware debug tools. In the first part of the review, I’ll check out the hardware, and solder the kit.

I received a package with four antistatic bags.

From top left to bottom right, we have PADI IoT Stamp, JLINK-OB debugger based on an STM32 MCU with some jumper wires (aka Dupont cables) for SWD signals, and a USB cable to your computer in order to flash the firmware or do some bare metal programming, a breakout board kit including two headers, a RED LED, and a resistor, and finally a USB to Serial board based on CH340G with 4 jumper wires for Tx, Rx, GND and 3.3V to access the serial console.

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PADI IoT stamp looks very similar to B&T RTL-00 RTL8710AF board so I compared both board side-by-side.

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So it’s 100% clear the PCB is exactly the same, but I’ve been told the module has some differences which may make PADI IoT stamp firmware incompatible with other Realtek RTL8710 modules such as B&T RTL00. The bottom of PADI IoT stamp board indicates it’s the PCB antenna version, because a u.FL antenna version is also planned, and it should look like B&T RTL01. Pine64 RTL8710 module cover also has some more details like the amount of flash (1MB) and RAM (512KB), as well as the FCC-ID number: 2AJFN-RTL00-01 which has been applied by B&T (Zhongshan Boantong Communication Technology Co. , Ltd).

It’s not really fun to use the module standalone as you’d need to solder the wire one by one as I did for B&T RTL00, so unless you have already made your own custom board for the module, the first thing you’ll want to do is to solder PADI IoT module, headers, and passive components “Pine64 Padi Breadboard Adapter”.

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I’ve started by soldering PADI IoT Stamp, and used some sticky tape first to solder the first few points, then I went to solder the LED (make sure to use the right polarity) and the resistor, and finally I inserted the two headers into a breadboard, and inserted the module in order to complete the soldering. You can ignore C1 capacitor as it’s not provided, nor needed.

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That’s fun to do, and not too hard to do, but I’d assume many people would rather just have everything already soldered, but it’s not available yet. Once it’s done you just need to provide 3.3V and GND to power the board.

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That’s all I’ve done today. For the second part of the review, I’ll most probably skip the AT commands set since it should be very similar to that I did in my Realtek RTL8710 getting started guide, albeit possibly with some various to the exact command. So instead, I’ll likely try to play with the JLink debugger, and their RTL8710 GCC SDK, or mbed 5.0 SDK, if the latter is released at the time of the review.

Pine64 has kept everything very inexpensive, as beside the $1.99 PADI IoT stamp, the breakout board kit is only $0.5, the USB to serial debug board is $1.99, and the JLink debugger is $7.99. You may not even need the last two if you already have such tools. All items can be purchased on Pine64 online store, and shipping should add between $7 and $12.

Tweet Back in September, Pine64 unveiled their $2 PADI IoT Stamp based on Realtek RTL8710 ARM Cortex M3 WiFi SoC aiming to compete with Expressif ESP8266 solutions.  The company has…