Nixeus Fusion XS Network Media Player on AnandTech.com Review

[Destiny]

New upcoming media player using Marvell SoC and Android 2.2

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4214/nixeus-fusion-xs-brings-marvell-into-the-dma-market

Initial Tech Specs:


Processor:
Marvell Armada 1000 88DE3010 Dual Sheeva Procesors @ 900Mhz
Operating System:
Google Android 2.2 Froyo
Memory:
512MB DDR2, 2GB NAND FLASH
Video Output:
HDMI 1.3
Composite (CVBS)
Audio Output
HDMI, Stereo (CVBS), S/PDIF (Optical)
Networking:
10/100 Ethernet (RJ45)
802.11 b/g/n (USB Wireless-N Dongle not included)
Media Storage
2 x USB 2.0 (External Storage Support)
Media Format Movie Video Containers:
AVI, WMV, MPG, ISO, VOB, IFO, MP4, ASF, TP, TS, M2TS, MOV(H.264), MKV, M-JPEG, RMVB, FLV
Video Decoder:
MPEG 1/2/4 SD/HD, AVI, H.264 HD, WMV9, VC1, Resolution up to 1920 * 1080p
Music Audio Decoder:
MP3, WMA, AAC, Dolby Digital, DTS, FLAC, OGG, MPEG 1 Layer 2, PCM, WMA PRO, Real Video
(Pass through): Dolby True HD, DTS HD Master Audio
Photo Graphic Decoder:
JPEG, PNG, GIF, Bitmap, TIFF
Web Browser:
Google Chrome

 

[dclive]

New upcoming media player using Marvell SoC and Android 2.2

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4214/nixeus-fusion-xs-brings-marvell-into-the-dma-market

I own the Nixeus Fusion HD and I agree with the reviewer that their support is superb...

Looks interesting. Upgraded GUI. However, I still think the Patriot Box Office ($45-ish with the right deal) with the MEDE8ER firmware upgrade (http://www.wdtvlive.net/showthread.php?406-Svelte-1080-by-GizmoDaddy&p=3124#post3124 shows sample pics) is the best thing going right now. The Astro Boy and Secretariat pictures are literally what I see when I select those from the video wall presentation. Video wall: http://megaswf.com/serve/44912/

Only issue is that it could be faster - moving from video wall screen to video wall screen (ie from the first 20 movies to the next 20 movies) could be faster.

 

[Modelworks]

I got one of the reference designs from Marvell last year and the downside I saw with it is lack of identity. It seems to be trying to do too much rather than focusing on what it really wants to be. If they would just focus on making it a media player chipset it could excel but when they also tried to make it run android apps the feeling I got from the board and the SDK was they were trying to make it jack of all trades master of none.

The SoC companies still haven't decided that the set top box player is a big enough market on its own to justify a chip of its own and that is really hurting the platform. So currently they are making chips that try to target a wider usage like phones, portable media players, cameras as well as home media players and that hurts cost and features.

There isn't a media player for the home for sale yet that uses a chip that was designed for that purpose. They all use chips that are re-purposed from blu-ray, DVR, or other devices.

 

[Destiny]

I got one of the reference designs from Marvell last year and the downside I saw with it is lack of identity. It seems to be trying to do too much rather than focusing on what it really wants to be. If they would just focus on making it a media player chipset it could excel but when they also tried to make it run android apps the feeling I got from the board and the SDK was they were trying to make it jack of all trades master of none.

The SoC companies still haven't decided that the set top box player is a big enough market on its own to justify a chip of its own and that is really hurting the platform. So currently they are making chips that try to target a wider usage like phones, portable media players, cameras as well as home media players and that hurts cost and features.

There isn't a media player for the home for sale yet that uses a chip that was designed for that purpose. They all use chips that are re-purposed from blu-ray, DVR, or other devices.

@ ModelWorks: I knew I can always count on you for your insightful and informative input!

We'll see what Nixeus can do with Marvell's SDK in these next few months... depending on Ganesh's final review of the Fusion XS I may or may not pick one up...