S905x3 Vs S905x4

S905x3 and S905x4 are two very similar Android TV boxes Soc, the two have little difference in running performance, the main difference is decoding, S905x4 pays more attention to decoding experience and functions. Now S905x3 vs S905x4 start.

S905x3 Vs S905x4 CPU

Amlogic S905X4 and Amlogic S905X3 also use 12nm process, and the core architecture is also the same quad-core Cortex-A55, but Amlogic S905X4 is superior in integer computing power (DMIPS), up to 21800+. DMIPS will not be popularized here. We generally use MIPS as the unit of performance indicators. The higher the better, of course.

In terms of neural network, Amlogic S905X3 has a computing power of 1.2 TOPS. There is no detailed information on the S905X4 yet. Personal guess will be higher, but not too much higher, after all, the core architecture and process technology are the same.

S905x3 Vs S905x4 GPU

In terms of GPU, S905X4 supports Vulkan 1.1 standard, while Amlogic S905X3 is 1.0 standard. New features in Vulkan 1.1 include subset operations, enabling efficient data sharing and manipulation when multiple tasks run simultaneously on a single GPU. Vulkan 1.1 also enables applications to complete rendering and display operations from sources they cannot access or copy, for secure playback and display of protected multimedia content. Of course, the extensions in Vulkan 1.0 have also been retained, including simultaneous rendering of multi-picture viewing, multiple GPUs used in a single system, commonly used for example in advanced rendering and editing operations in virtual reality widely cited programs interoperate across process APIs .

S905x3 Vs S905x4 Decoding

The biggest difference between Amlogic S905X4 and Amlogic S905X3 is actually in video decoding. S905X4 supports the latest 4K 120 10bit AV1 decoding. Compared with traditional video encoding, AV1 can bring better volume and picture quality advantages in 8K and other ultra-high-definition videos, which also means that devices equipped with S905X4 have huge advantages in decoding and playing 8K ultra-high-definition videos. Far from being comparable to Amlogic S905X3.

YouTube and Netflix have planned to require full use of AV1 decoding at some point in the future, and hardware manufacturers such as Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, Samsung, and MediaTek have also joined the ranks of AV1 hardware decoder support.

What is AV1, please refer to our article.

In terms of audio processing, Amlogic S905X4 adds support for the fourth-generation HiFi DSP based on Amlogic S905X3. The fourth-generation HiFi DSP is a highly optimized audio/voice processor for efficient execution of audio/voice codecs and pre- and post-processing modules and other demanding DSP functions in wireless communications. Compared with other audio DSPs, HiFi 4 DSP performs more than 2 times higher performance in computationally intensive functions such as fast Fourier transform and finite impulse response. At the same time, it is also compatible with the existing HiFi DSP family, offering more than 140 HIFI optimized audio/voice codecs and audio enhancement software packages.

In terms of video output, Amlogic S905X4 mainly improves security and supports HDCP 2.3 protocol, which can bring stronger protection to the transmission of new 8K ultra-high-definition program sources. At present, some high-end TVs have begun to use HDCP 2.3 protocol.

S905x3 Vs S905x4 Table

Conclusion

The performance difference of the CPU is negligible for ordinary users. The S905X4 cancels the support for the NPU, which may be due to the fact that there is no powerful artificial intelligence application in the home audio and video market, and simple NLP applications rely heavily on network services. Edge computing Demand is not strong. As a SoC designer focusing on the home audio and video market, Amlogic has its strengths in audio and video playback. In the case that the S905D3 can occupy the artificial intelligence scene, it is also a good strategy for the S905X4 to focus on the audio and video market as a small upgraded product.

From the comparative analysis of Amlogic S905X4 and Amlogic S905X3, Amlogic S905X4 is mainly improved in audio and video processing. Amlogic S905X4 is obviously more suitable than Amlogic S905X3 for the upcoming 8K Ultra HD era. Of course, the specific product performance also depends on the processing of downstream manufacturers, whether it can exert 100% of the strength of Amlogic S905X4