PINE A64 - Raspberry Pi's Newest Competitor

[Sauron]

It's a kickstarter... take everything they say with a huge grain of salt.

 

If it's true it would be pretty cool, but for it to be as versatile as the PI it will need good software support - with arm it's not as simple as popping in the installation usb and expecting stuff to install. Also, it's missing a couple of usb ports and most importantly, the 15$ version ONLY HAS 512MB OF RAM. For the 2GB model you need to pay twice as much.

[LAwLz]

Click the link and look just under the heading it says

"It has a 64-bit processor, supports up to 2GB of RAM and can output 4K video."

Also if you go down says

"It'll handle Android 5.1 (Lollipop), Ubuntu Linux, openHAB, OpenWRT and Kodi, which offers 4Kx2K output via the H.265 video standard (1080p60 and 4Kp30) and also supports Miracast."

It also says 

"While there are plenty of 4K streamers now available, namely via Amazon and Roku, nothing quite beats being able to build one yourself.The open-source community has already fully embraced the Raspberry Pi and ported powerful media center software so it can run on the Pi's ARMv7 chipset, but video decoding is stable but not spectacular. Sure, you can throw a 4GB Matroska-encoded (MKV) file at it and it'll do the job, but extra performance is always welcome. That's not to say the PINE A64 is a 4K powerhouse, and a lot also depends on the software you're using for the job." Which makes me believe it isn't the best at 4k.

Well I stand corrected. So my guess is that they got another chip in there for decoding video. Since they claim it also supports HEVC I don't see any reason to doubt that it will do 4K video without any issues, assuming you configure your software properly. Smooth video playback on these super low cheap boards simply comes down to "can it be hardware accelerated or not", and it seems like it can on this device.

 

Apparently the 19 dollar model comes with a touch panel and a camera as well. Seems too good to be true at that price.

Well it was too good. I thought it came with the touch panel and camera but apparently it "includes touchpanel, camera and LCD Port accessibility".

[GeekJump]

Well I stand corrected. So my guess is that they got another chip in there for decoding video. Since they claim it also supports HEVC I don't see any reason to doubt that it will do 4K video without any issues, assuming you configure your software properly. Smooth video playback on these super low cheap boards simply comes down to "can it be hardware accelerated or not", and it seems like it can on this device.

 

Apparently the 19 dollar model comes with a touch panel and a camera as well. Seems too good to be true at that price.

 

Maybe I should have done a better job quoting the article (lessons for future news posts)

The $19 doesn't come with the touch screen just more memory. The touchscreen, pre-loaded sd card, case, etc. are included in higher tiers of the boards ($35 and up) and are also suppose to be available individually on their site once the campaign ends

[Technous285]

I've put in a pledge for the $89USD (+$15USD S&H to Aussie land) "PlayBox" tier with all bar the battery pack to make it a tablet.

Mentioning it to me Dad and he's interested in getting the same set to build his own tablet with, alongside the $19USD A64+ level for building as a "hide behind the monitor" type low-power system, plus upgrading all 3 units to the 2GB version when the time comes around to do so.

My only minor gripe with the "PlayBox" tier specs, is the 7" screen they're using is 1024x600 (so 480p fits nicely, but 720p will need a bit of shrinking), but that can be mitigated with the fact it handles 1080p60 over HDMI so it can be hooked up over HDMI/DVI (via passive converter) to a TV or monitor if you want 720p or 1080p playback if you get the current offerings.

[GeekJump]

I've put in a pledge for the $89USD (+$15USD S&H to Aussie land) "PlayBox" tier with all bar the battery pack to make it a tablet.

Mentioning it to me Dad and he's interested in getting the same set to build his own tablet with, alongside the $19USD A64+ level for building as a "hide behind the monitor" type low-power system, plus upgrading all 3 units to the 2GB version when the time comes around to do so.

My only minor gripe with the "PlayBox" tier specs, is the 7" screen they're using is 1024x600 (so 480p fits nicely, but 720p will need a bit of shrinking), but that can be mitigated with the fact it handles 1080p60 over HDMI so it can be hooked up over HDMI/DVI (via passive converter) to a TV or monitor if you want 720p or 1080p playback if you get the current offerings.

 

I was planning on using this for a low end android TV type deal for watching streaming content (only up to 1080p60). But I didn't want to wait for February shipping so I just caved and bought a Roku 4

I've been hearing mix reviews about the idle fan noise so if its loud I'll just return and make a pledge for one of the A64+ tiers.

[ManWithBeard1990]

I really like where the market is going with all these little boards. Especially this one is really impressive, in terms of what it brings to the table. I fact, I could use one of these as a server and be reasonably sure it'll do the job.

[Pehehetri]

there already are a lor of raspberry pi clones that are better than the rpi itself so there's no need to talk about some kickstarter single-board thing that after the campaing ending will cost the same as the competition. just my toughts about this.

[GeekJump]

there already are a lor of raspberry pi clones that are better than the rpi itself so there's no need to talk about some kickstarter single-board thing that after the campaing ending will cost the same as the competition. just my toughts about this.

 

Tell us where the orange pi touched you~

 

Yes but all the clones that cost the same lack support so it becomes useless. Previous clones just released the boards and told the public "go nuts" and didn't bother doing much more. At least this one is promising to continue support and improvements based on feedback. 

[bobhays]

They are not claiming 4K playback. They are just saying the HDMI port supports up to 4K.

I am not sure it will even play 1080p 60fps smoothly. The GPU itself most likely don't support it, and I doubt they are adding an extra chip to the board just for video decoding.

It's not a dedicated chip. The gpu probably has it built-in.

[VerticalDiscussions]

For someone like me anyways, a raspberry pi or a competitor is not benefitial in any way , so may the ones who need it, actually get it.

[LAwLz]

It's not a dedicated chip. The gpu probably has it built-in.

The GPU is a Mali 400. It does not support HEVC nor 4K H.264. So this board either has a dedicated video decoding chip, or some extra logic on the board.

Their SoC is really weird as well. I didn't even know a quad core A53 + two core Mali 400 existed. It's the Allwinner A64 SoC that was announced earlier this year. The 5 dollar SoC.

 

 

I am very tempted to get the 19 dollar A64+.

[bobhays]

The GPU is a Mali 400. It does not support HEVC nor 4K H.264. So this board either has a dedicated video decoding chip, or some extra logic on the board.

Their SoC is really weird as well. I didn't even know a quad core A53 + two core Mali 400 existed. It's the Allwinner A64 SoC that was announced earlier this year. The 5 dollar SoC.

 

 

I am very tempted to get the 19 dollar A64+.

Yea 4k seems a bit much for this board, but I don't doubt it can do 1080p 60fps. It does look very tempting, I just need to see how much support they have.