[RockerC]

Noticed this Kickstarter with 4K HEVC capable media player / dev board is available for pre-order from only $35(US):

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/9288...escription



Hardware looks to offer great value for the price but can it deliver for Kodi fans on the OS/firmware software-side?

http://www.cnx-software.com/2016/02/24/r...wdfunding/

Futarque A/S, a Danish company specializing in digital TV (tuners, IPTV), DVD and Blu-ray solutions, has developed the Rho Board powered by Mstar MSO9280 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor with 1GB RAM and 4GB NAND flash, and featuring HDMI 2.0 output, a Raspberry Pi 2 compatible GPIO expansion header, and a TV tuner connector for an optional DVB-T2/C tuner.

The board supports Android only, and the company has provided a tutorial showing how to get started, control the GPIOs from Android, and more. Some Java source code can be found in Github, and a support forum has already been setup.
If you do get the tuner, the company has also installed the full version of Aurora TV, an Android app developed by the company that allows you to watch live TV via DVB-T2 or DVB-C. You can also try the app before getting the board, since it also works with HDHomeRun or Sat>IP networked tuners, and that means the Rho Board can be used to stream live TV to any of your other Android devices at home.

The company is looking to raise 100,000 DKK (Danish Krone) or close to $15,000 on Kickstarter to fund mass production of the board. Pledges starts at $35 for the Rho Board only, and up to $79 for the board with the tuner, a 12V power supply, an air mouse, and a plastic case. Shipping adds 100 DKK (~$14.72), and delivery is scheduled for May 2016.

Rho board specifications:

• SoC – Mstar MSO9280PBM quad core Cortex A7 processor with an hexacore (4+2) Mali-450MP GPU
  
• System Memory – 1GB DDR3-1666
  
• Storage – 4GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up tp 128GB
  
• Video Output – HDMI 2.0 and AV ports
  
• Audio Output – HDMI, AV and optical S/PDIF
  
• Video Codec – MPEG 1/2, 4K @ 60 fps AVC and 4K @ 30 fps H.265
  
• Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet
  
• USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1x micro USB port
  
• Expansion
  
• 40-pin “Raspberry Pi” header
  
• TV tuner connector
  
• SDIO expansion connector
  
• Misc – IR Receiver, reset button, RS232 minijack
  
• Power Supply – 12V via power barrel
  
• Dimensions – TBD

[Appropriately Vulgar]

Pretty cool Raspberry PI liek device in Kickstarter. Basically an Android board with TV tuner option for a really decent price. Not quite as small as the RP but more powerful geared to be used as a media center out of the box rather than a tinkerer/learning tool.

The kickstarter is here and chances of them hitting their goal is pretty promising.

Quick article on the little guy.

[Theetjuh]

There was already a thread about this board here: http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=261553

[PatK]

Now that the FCC has changed the TV box rules, we're going to see a lot of interesting boxes. Competition is going to get stiff.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/18/110469...t-top-vote
http://www.wired.com/2016/02/fcc-set-top-box-rules/
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/fe...ule-change

This box at base level looks interesting, but more euro centric, with the pwrsupply and tuner.

[noggin]

HEVC on the Rho is max 30fps.

[RockerC]

IMHO they should have gone with an Amlogic based SoC for it instead, like the S905X or S912 for the set-top box market that they are targeting. As while Amlogic may be more expensive they offer much better upstream development and better track record with open source.

http://www.cnx-software.com/2015/12/17/a...-and-more/

As an example, there appear to be no support for Linux on the MSO9280 SOC from upstream manufacturer Mstar. And no official upstream support probably means that there is a very slim chance of getting Linux distros with Kodi like OpenELEC fully working on it.

Not a showstopper if they could extend Android to do more, but unlike the competition like WeTek it sounds like Futarque doesn't yet have in-house software developers skilled with Android firmware or Linux kernel and OS distribution developers.

I hope that Futarque understand that they will need to get developers with such skills and maintain that in-house in order for them to develop this into a potentially popular OEM hardware platform for set-top box like it sounds is their wish for the future.

[jensk_dk]

@RockerC
At Futarque we have been doing Linux-based set-top boxes, TV sets and similar product for more than a decade now, on a handful of different chip architectures. We have had our own Linux distro for embedded use, developed against SoC drivers, developing our own drivers, FPGAs, etc. etc. so I'm quite confident we have the skills and the engineers necessary to do what you suggest.

However, none of this helps if we do not get the support, source and documentation needed for a particular chip, and in the case of the Rho Board, the supported OS is Android. Surely we could make a Linux kernel run on the board, but without access the chip specific hardware like the A/V decoders, none of this would be of much use.

If you're looking for a platform to run your own Linux distro on, the Rho Board is probably not what you're looking for. Think of it more like a preconfigured, but flexible Android board/box.

Regarding Kodi in general, we have of course been running the app on Android. It works great with hardware assisted A/V decoding, thanks to the MediaCodec/OMX drivers in Android. But to be sure it is tested properly, we would like an Kodi developer to put it through its paces. Please reply to if you:

1) Are one of the Kodi developers able to compile and run the Android version in debug mode, if necessary.
3) Have access to test material (A/V files in various formats)
2) Are willing to provide feedback and assist in debugging.

Thanks,
Jens Kristian Jensen
Futarque A/S

[keith]

Jens,
I'm Keith and I help with Biz Dev at Kodi. Please email me at keith at kodi.tv and let's talk! I am not a dev (however can do what you requested above) but would gladly do this if nobody who is more qualified is interested. Esp since I haven't heard of Mstar before.