Eddy Lab

전번주 미니PC포럼 5년째 17년 정기모임이 있었습니다.

자세한 정모 내용은 하기 ㅋㅋ잠자님의 정모 후기를 참조 해 주시기 바랍니다.

17년 정모 후기

http://cafe.naver.com/mk802/24254

추가로 중요한 내용 발표가 있어서 관련 글을 올려 드립니다.

추가 내용으로는

1. U5PVR 후속 저가모델 U5 OTT 제품

2. U5 SBC 제품 개발  입니다.

오늘은 U5 OTT제품 HW리뷰만 먼저 소개해 드립니다.

1. U5 OTT HW리뷰 (1) 

Hisilicon Hi3798MV200 칩셋을 기반으로 만든 저가 OTT셋탑입니다.
GPU는 Mali T450을 채용하였습니다.

OTT라는 것은 Over the Top이라는 의미로, 일반 Settop을 능가했다는 뜻인데,

통상 스트리밍 영화 서비스 (넷플릭스, 구글 무비, 유투브 등)을 지원하는 셋탑을 의미 합니다.

위에서도 언급을 드린 바와 같이, AMLogic S905x가 가성비로 워낙 유명하기 때문에,

이를 대응하기 위한 저가형 안드로이드TV OS기반 셋탑이라고 보시면 됩니다. ^^ 

OS는 Android TV OS 7을 지원하며, 

U5PVR의 1201FW와 동일한 기능을 그대로 사용가능합니다.  

(TV Tuner기능은 HW적으로 빠져 있으므로, 배제 되었습니다.

Android Over Linux 기능은 포함되어져 있습니다.)

비디오 재생기능에 있어서, 

4K@60fps 지원이 됩니다만, 8bit디더링 방식으로 10bit를 지원합니다.

이는 S905x와 동일합니다.

하기 제품 사진은 U5 OTT 셋탑 제품 디자인입니다.

U5PVR 후속 저가모델 U5 OTT의 HW리뷰 (1)

1. U5 OTT HW리뷰 (2)

기본적으로 U5 OTT는 안드로이드 TV OS(ATV) 7버젼을 기초로 만들어졌습니다.

이 제품의 경쟁제품은 샤오미 구글판 미박스입니다. ^^

샤오미 구글판 미박스는 ATV6입니다만, 

국내 KT스카이라이프에서 ATV7까지 업그레이드가 된 제품이 있습니다.

ATV OS기반으로 정식 제품과 차이가 있는 점은 구글 크롬캐스트 기능만 지원을 못하고, 

다른 미디어 기능은 더 많이 지원을 하고 있습니다.

- 내장 4K 미디어센터 (Media Center)

* 방송 녹화 TS코덱 재생 지원

* 4K UHD블루레이 네비게이션 지원

* 4K UHD 블루레이 다이렉트 재생 지원
* 4K UHD 블루레이 한국어 외부자막 지원 (SRT)

- 국내 방송앱 - ATV용 APP 지원 (Pooq / Viewing etc)

- 4K 넷플릭스 재생 지원 (Widevine DRM L1 지원)

- Android Over Linux 지원

* U5PVR와 동일한 Linux 지원

- TVHeadend Server 지원

- Plex Server 지원 (다이렉트 재생 기준)

그렇다고 문제점이 없는 것은 아닙니다. ^^

- 유투브 재생

* 4K@60fps 유투브 재생 문제점 (비디오 재생 NG, Audio OK)

* VP9 재생 지원 불가

- 네이티브 10bit 미지원 (8비트 + 디더링 처리) 

==>  이는 S905x와 미박스 모두 8비트 + 디더링 처리를 하고 있습니다.

하기 내용으로 안드로이드 셋탑 CPU기준으로 벤치마킹 비교 자료를 올려 드립니다.

상기 내용으로 U5 OTT 관련 성능 분석을 하였습니다.

Low End 안드로이드 셋탑에서는 

가성비 대비 내가 원하는 기능이 지원되는가 ?  입니다.

AMLogic S905x셋탑 제품와 U5 OTT 제품을 비교 했을때,

S905x셋탑의 장점은 Libelec지원이라고 생각합니다.

그리고 안드로이드TV OS 커펌을 올려서 사용이 가능합니다.

그리고, 미디어 재생기로서는 역시 Libelec OS를 기반으로, 

익숙한 UI의 Kodi에서 미디어 재생능력과 빠른 반응속도가 좋습니다.

그러나, 현재 4K UHDTV를 보유하고 있지 않으시지만, 

높은 해상도의 4K UHD영상 재생을 원하시고,

한국어 기준으로 원하시는 미디어 재생지원을 필요로 하신다면, 

당연히 국내 개발진이 개발한 U5 OTT제품이 적합하다고 판단합니다. ^^


앞으로 Low End U5 OTT셋탑으로, 좀 더 많은 분들이 편리한 미디어 재생기로 사용하시길 기대 합니다. 

U5 OTT 셋탑 벤치마킹 백데이터 입니다.

Azulle Byte3 Mini PC Review ??Windows 10, Linux Support, Benchmarks, and Video Playback

The Azulle Byte3 is a fanless Apollo Lake device featuring both M.2 slot and a SATA connector, as well as supporting HDMI and VGA. It includes USB (both 2.0 and 3.0 including a Type-C port) as well as Gigabit Ethernet:

It features an Apollo Lake N3450 SoC and comes with 32GB of storage plus an option of either 4GB or 8GB of RAM and a further option of either with or without Windows 10 Pro meaning Linux users can save around USD 20.

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Azulle provided me with a device for review and it came in a presentation box complete with a power adapter, and remote control together with a quick guide pamphlet.

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Whilst the power adapter includes an interchangeable plug it only came with one suitable for the US.

Looking at the detail specifications:

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it is important to realize that the Type-C USB is USB 3.0 which provides a theoretical transfer speed of up to 5 Gbps, and that this particular device does not support “alternate mode” protocols meaning it cannot be used for HDMI output.

The device under review is the version with 4GB of RAM together with Windows Pro installed which became fully activated after connecting to the Internet:

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The basic hardware matched the specification:

with just under half the storage used after Windows updates:

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Running my standard set of benchmarking tools to look at performance under Windows:

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The performance is as expected for the N3450 SoC and is comparable with other Apollo Lake devices: ECDREAM A9, BBen MN10, and Beelink AP34 Ultimate.

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Next I installed Ubuntu to the eMMC as dual-boot. Fortunately, the BIOS supports Linux by configuring the setting under Chipset/South Bridge/OS Selection:

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So it was only necessary to change the OS from ‘Windows’ to ‘Intel Linux’ and use a standard Ubuntu ISO. Alternatively you could leave the setting on ‘Windows’ and respin a standard Ubuntu ISO using ‘isorespin.sh’ script with the ‘–apollo’ option.

Performance is again as expected:

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and can be compared with other Intel Apollo Lake devices:

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Revisiting the hardware using Linux commands additionally shows the full-sized SD card is running the slower HS200 interface:

and that ‘Headphones’ shows up in the sound settings only when an external speaker is connected through the 3.5mm audio jack:

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Turning to real-world Windows usage cases the first tested was watching a 4K video using Microsoft Edge which worked perfectly.

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The same video when watched using Google Chrome resulted in the very occasional dropped frame:

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with the GPU having to work harder.

Watching the same video and changing the video quality to high definition (1080p resolution) results in zero dropped frames:

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Unfortunately the same video in Google Chrome on Ubuntu at 4K was unwatchable with excessive dropped frames and a stalled network connection after a short while:

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At 1080p the video is watchable with only the occasional dropped frame:

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Running Kodi on both Windows and Ubuntu show similar ‘differences’ in the results.

On Windows if the video is encoded using the VP9 codec then decoding is using software resulting in high CPU usage:

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However when the video is encoded with the H.264 codec then Windows uses hardware to decode:

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and similar for videos encoded with H.265 or HEVC:

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with no issues playing the videos.

On Ubuntu hardware is used to decode all three codecs:

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However some H.265 videos resulted in a blank (black) screen just with audio whereas others played without issue:

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As previously mentioned the device is passively cooled and does not require an internal fan:

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although the device can get quite warm:

with the highest observed reading being 45°C.

Inside the device it is possible to mount both an SSD and an M.2 SSD:

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To open the case you only have to remove the outer four screws as the inner four are used to secure the SSD. The M.2 slot is for the longer 2280 card and you are meant to attach one of the included thermal strips to the aluminium heat sink for best results. I found that you could use the heat sink to effectively hold down a smaller 2242 M.2 card in place through a combination of force and gravity if you don’t have the correct size. The included instructions do not cover installation in detail however Azulle have uploaded the following useful videos online:

Once both SSDs were connected I then installed LibreELEC (or Just enough OS for Kodi) to the M.2 and Linux Mint to the SSD. Interestingly the M.2 showed up as a UEFI device in the boot menu which may mean installing Windows to an M.2 card is relatively simple although licensing should be considered. The SATA connected SSD was accessible through GRUB as the original Ubuntu installation had already created an NVRAM entry for ubuntu:

which when selected provides a GRUB menu updated with entries for Mint after the installation:

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Notice how the GRUB menu also includes an entry to boot Windows from the eMMC which works despite the OS now being set to Linux in the BIOS. There is also a working entry to access the BIOS (System setup).

Finally the BIOS is reasonably open with the key settings being available.

I’ve found this device to be very flexible. Storage is not an issue given the ability to expand through additional SSD or M.2 or even by using an SD card. Although the memory cannot be upgraded you do have the initial choice of either the 4GB or the 8GM device. Also having a BIOS that supports Linux means that you are not restricted in what OS you can install so the device is a viable HTPC especially as there is no residual noise from a spinning cooling fan. The connectivity and ports including their location on the device are also well planned. I’d like to thank Azulle for providing the Byte3 for review. The mini PC is also sold on Amazon US for $199.99 and up.

https://www.cnx-software.com/2017/12/08/azulle-byte3-mini-pc-review/