Optimum Semiconductor Technologies Inc shows this single-core Freescale i.MX53 ARM Cortex-A8 and single-core AmLogic ARM Cortex-A9 based Android Set-top-box for $100-$120 depending on order quantity.
Category: Set-top-boxes
Marvell Armada 1500, ARM Powered Google TV
Posted by – January 9, 2012
This is the new ARM Powered Google TV solution ready to ship in full production early Q2 2012 in set-top-boxes and built-in into HDTVs by all manufacturers wanting to build and sell cheap ARM Powered Google TV solutions. The performance is faster than Intel’s discontinued Google TV solution, this one lowers the cost, lowers the power consumption, makes it more compact all the while including all the HDMI input/output and IR blaster features of a full Google TV.
Geniatech shows Ice Cream Sandwich Set-top-box preview
Posted by – December 31, 2011
Geniatech sent me this video demonstrating a preview version of Ice Cream Sandwich running on one of their Set-top-boxes. The processor is not yet confirmed, I don’t know if it is ICS running on the single-core AmLogic ARM Cortex-A9 AML8726-M which I filmed Genitech a few months ago demonstrating here and here. I think ICS is the version of Android to merge (passthrough or non-passthrough) Google TV features over onto ARM Powered devices with HDMI outputs, ICS set-top-box developments are to be confirmed at CES next week.
Read more about the Geniatech ARM Cortex-A9 set-top-box platform at: geniatech.com
MHL Consortium shows some of the latest MHL features
Posted by – October 30, 2011
There are now 2 HDTVs that are MHL compliant, the Toshiba WL800A and the Samsung UN46D7000 now also got a firmware update that ads MHL support. Possibly that all new HDTVs will include this functionality. It allows for charging MHL compliant phones and tablets and to remote control them with the TV remote through one simple cable and one Micro-USB connector. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich might add new MHL features to the UI, otherwise the MHL Consortium is trying to convince app developers and smart phone makers to design the apps and the OS to take advantage of the 1920×1080 resolution of the HDTV when using the HDMI output, to provide higher resolution user interfaces, higher resolution games, the ARM Processors and GPU in those phones and tablets are now getting powerful enough to output full 1080p UIs, videos and graphics, it’s time for the industry to take advantage of that! One pocketable phone can now combine the features of Android, Chrome OS and Google TV, it’s now a phone, a desktop, a set-top-box and a home console all in one!
Latest news from Texas Instruments at ARM TechCon 2011
Posted by – October 27, 2011
The OMAP5 ARM Cortex-A15 processor is taped out, they are about to show impressive samples soon, they will then be tweaking and optimizing it before release in commercial products within about a year. OMAP4 is being launched in the Motorola Razr and in the Samsung Galaxy Nexus phones, each more awesome than the other. Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0 works awesomely on OMAP4, Honeycomb 3.2 tablets like the Archos 101 G9 are being released now, TI is also looking forward to power products such as Laptops that run Chrome OS, Ubuntu and Windows 8.
Mentor Graphics at ARM TechCon 2011
Posted by – October 27, 2011
Mentor Graphics is one of the major EDA providers of the ARM industry. At their booth they are showing some impressive 3D graphical user interfaces that they say is easy and cheap to implement on ARM Powered devices to make them more appealing and to differentiate in the UI design, and they are also showing an auto-balancing lego robot built using Texas Instruments Sitara microcontrollers and the nucleus real-time software.
Coupoint.net $65 1Ghz Single-core HiSilicon ARM Cortex-A9 Android set-top-box
Posted by – September 4, 2011
Here’s the first time that I see an Android set-top-box with the new HiSilicon ARM Cortex-A9 Single-core processor made by Huawei. This seems to be a pretty smooth Android set-top-box implementation for the price, though obviously, just as for all other Android set-top-boxes, this will only really be useful once the Google TV software is finally open sourced for ARM Powered devices, which is expected to happen next month when Ice Cream Sandwich is released and open sourced. It’s very interesting to see this new HiSilicon ARM Cortex-A9 processor from Huawei.
Opera TV Store at IFA 2011
Posted by – September 2, 2011
Opera Software presents a new Web TV user interface for the set-top-box market, one that requires least processing power to run, to enable any HDTV access to the Web, video on the web, apps, widgets and more.
Toshiba Stor.E TV Pro, Rockchip RK2918 Linux based Connected Set-top-box
Posted by – September 1, 2011
Toshiba is using Rockchip RK2918 ARM Cortex-A8 processor in this new low cost Internet set-top-box.
Panasonic UniPhier, 1.4Ghz ARM Cortex-A9 for HDTV/Set-top-box
Posted by – June 12, 2011
New Panasonic ARM Processor
The Panasonic UniPhier MN2WS0220 is claimed to be one of the fastest to use for HDTV and Set-top-box will begin sample shipments this month.
Panasonic’s new chip will open the way for a new generation of smart TVs that allow users to simultaneously enjoy two TV broadcasting channels, as well as Internet-based content and applications in high-resolution at the same time. In addition, the new chip is able to reduce power consumption of and the number of components used in smart TVs, which will help drive smart TVs to spread in the global market.
I would find it normal for Google to qualify this Panasonic UniPhier MN2WS0220 ARM Dual-core chip to be used to run the Google TV software, and I would find it normal for Panasonic to start using Google TV for their Smart TVs instead of that proprietary Viera SmartTV stuff. I think all future Panasonic HDTVs should include Google TV, to provide for the best software for WebTV, interactive features, I think it’s the best full integration of the web in the TV.
I am not sure how big ARM has been thus far on being inside all those HDTVs, but now it seems all the major HDTV makers have serious ARM Powered HDTV plans underway, LG is definitely using ARM for their next SmartTVs, Samsung has their ARM Powered Google TV plans, what is Sharp, Philips going to do? How soon until Sony’s HDTVs shift from Intel to ARM for Google TV? How soon until all the major HDTV makers agree that Google TV is the software that they should all use?
Source: panasonic.co.jp
Found via: engadget.com
Related articles
- ARM Powered Google TV now confirmed officially by Google (armdevices.net)
- Panasonic, ARM work on 1.4GHz dual-core chip for set-top box (electronista.com)
- Panasonic targets smart TVs with 1.4GHz Cortex-A9 SoC (linuxfordevices.com)
- Panasonic’s 1.4 GHz dual-core Smart TV chip is industry’s fastest, should load Netflix quicker (engadget.com)
