Firefly RK3288 Development Board with Linux and Android support available for $189
#1
Firefly-RK3288 is now available at a quite low price for a very powerful ARM Development Board based on Rockchip RK3288

http://www.cnx-software.com/2014/09/27/f...e-for-189/

Other that the normal expansion headers you would expect from development boards it supports both Android and Linux.

Specifications:
  • SoC – Rockchip RK 3288 quad core ARM Cortex A12 / A17 up to 1.8 GHz with Mali-T764 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0 /3.0, OpenVG 1.1, and OpenCL 1.1
  • System Memory – 2G DDR3
  • Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot
  • HDMI 2.0 up to 3840×2160@60p
  • VGA out (D-SUB connector)
  • Dual MIPI, Dual LVDS and and EDP signal available via expansion headers
  • Audio Output / Input – HDMI, optical S/PDIF, microphone header, and built-in MIC
  • Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band 802.11 b/g/n and 802.11ac Wi-Fi with external antenna, and Bluetooth 4.0
  • USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG
  • Serial console for debugging
  • Expansion Headers – 2x 38-pin headers with access to MIPI, LVDS, EDP, PWM, SPI, UART, ADC, GPIO, I2C, I2S
  • Misc – IR receiver, 2x user LED, power, recovery and reset buttons.
  • Power – 5V/2A DC
  • Dimensions – 118 x 83 mm
The board ships with a USB cable and a Wi-Fi antenna. An acrylic enclosure and a 5V/2A power adapter are available as options.
Image
Warning! Note that this a DEVELOPMENT BOARD that is only meant for developers, hackers, and enthusiasts, not end-users.

Website: http://www.t-firefly.com/html/en/home/
Wiki: http://wiki.t-firefly.com/index.php/Firefly-RK3288/en
Downloads: http://www.t-firefly.com/html/en/download

Linux Kernel Source Code and Chromium OS Overlay for Rockchip RK3288:
http://www.cnx-software.com/2014/04/23/r...romium-os/


End-users only looking for an Linux Mini-PC based on Rockchip RK3288 might want to look at Rikomagic MK902II LE instead, see:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=205411

And end-users just looking for an Android media player might want to look at something like Tronsmart Orion R28 instead, see:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=202924
Reply
#2
The website claims HDMI 2.0 compatibility with 4K@60p output supported in a number of places. This is potentially quite interesting - particularly if it supports hardware 4K HEVC decoding at 60p.

However if there aren't OpenSource-friendly Linux drivers for the VPU it will be another non-starter I guess...

Pity there isn't USB 3.0 or SATA connectivity - but the 802.11ac at 5GHz is welcome (though it appears to only have one antenna?)
Reply
#3
(2014-09-29, 13:56)noggin Wrote: The website claims HDMI 2.0 compatibility with 4K@60p output supported in a number of places
At least the SoC does support all that, so it is up to the board manufacturer to enable support for it. The specifications for all the SoC features are quite impressive, checkout them here:
http://www.rock-chips.com/a/en/products/...4/484.html
http://www.rock-chips.com/a/en/News/Pres...0/227.html

(2014-09-29, 13:56)noggin Wrote: However if there aren't OpenSource-friendly Linux drivers for the VPU it will be another non-starter I guess...
Unfortunately the SoC manufacturer which is Rockchip have already stated that they currently have no plans for releasing Linux drivers/libraries for the VPU neither closed or open source.

SoC hardware VPU does support:
Video Codecs – MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.263, H.264, H.265, AVS, VC-1, RV, VP6/VP8, MVC (1080p) Sorenson Spark, MVC up to 4K2K @ 60fps
Audio Formats – MP1, MP2, MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, OGA, APE, FLAC, AAC, M4A, 3GPP, etc.


While reverse engineering is otherwise an option it have not been proven usable for end-users in the past, so better would probably be to pressure Rockchip into releasing drivers/libraries.

Workaround for now would be use Libhybris with Android drivers/libraries on Linux.


If only someone would release a cheap Linux box or mini-PC based on RK3288 which could gain a larger userbase then Rockchip might eventually change their mind.

Hey! What do you know, Rikomagic have now released MK902II LE for $130 which is a Ubuntu based Mini PC powered by Rockchip RK3288 SoC, checkout:
http://www.cnx-software.com/2014/09/25/r...k3288-soc/
http://www.cnx-software.com/2014/05/09/r...ming-soon/
Reply
#4
They are have a new devboard,FirePrime with Android5.1+Ubuntu15.04 will be avilibale~it use RK3128

FirePrime:http://bbs.t-firefly.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=557&extra=page%3D1
Reply

Logout Mark Read Team Forum Stats Members Help
Firefly RK3288 Development Board with Linux and Android support available for $1890