Micca Slim-HD - The Works

The Slim-HD is based around the Boxchip F10, a new for 2010 SoC that’s pretty mysterious, all things considered. It’s based around the SoChip SC9800, which is another high-end PMP media player SoC. You can see a block diagram of the SC9800’s microarchitecture below.

But beyond the SC9800 base, not too much is known about the F10. We don’t have a clockspeed or anything else really - no datasheets to be found, no nothing. We do know that it has full 7.1 downmix capability along with performance roughly on par with the old Realtek 1073 series of SoCs. We expect it to be less powerful than most dedicated media streamer SoCs like the upcoming Realtek 10x5 and current Sigma 864x and 865x lines.

Further analysis of the Slim-HD logic board shows that it has a Samsung 512MB DDR SDRAM chip and a 2GB Hynix NAND chip. There is also an Analogix CoolHD ANX7150 HDMI transmitter, along with a JMicron high-speed USB-SATA bridge to make the connector side of things work.

We should note here that the WD TV Live Plus has the Sigma 8654 media processor inside, but also has a pretty beefy heatsink. Passively cooled, yes, but the Slim-HD does that one better by not having a cooling system. The SoC is just...there. No heatsinks, no vents, and definitely no fans. This was probably done in the interest of portability, and it seems to have paid off for Micca, given the size difference between the Slim-HD and the WD TV. Even without a real cooling mechanism, the Slim-HD is completely stable and doesn't heat up much at all, even during our strenuous test bench, which really points to the low power consumption of the F10 SoC.

Micca Slim-HD - User Interface Micca Slim-HD - Performance
Comments Locked

40 Comments

View All Comments

  • Freddo - Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - link

    I wasn't aware of this device, and I feel that with better support for file format (like ogm) and supper for all kinds of subtitles, it would suit me perfectly. So something I will keep my eyes on when they decide to release a new device next year or whenever it happens.

    I also like that the UI seem to be very basic, which suits me just fine.
  • GreenArrow2k4 - Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - link

    Can this device play the iso format?
  • therealnickdanger - Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - link

    I would say "RTFA", but that would be rude.

    No, it does not play ISOs.
  • Pino - Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - link

    Can someone comment about subtitles support?

    Wich formats are supported?

    How the subtitles looks on screen? Yellow? White?

    Thanks.
  • jack@micca - Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - link

    Hi,

    For subtitle, this player supports SUB, ASS, SRT, SSA, SMI. Of course it also supports embedded subtitles in MKV files.

    The subtitles are white .

    Here are some additional specs for this player:

    http://content.miccastore.com/micca-slim-hd

    Jack
  • Sufo - Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - link

    So, if it supports ass in mkv, does that mean it supports proper styling (colours, packed fonts, animations)? Or does it just render them in a default config, as your "The subtitles are white" statement would suggest?
  • jack@micca - Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - link

    Hi,

    The subtitles will be displayed, but will not be stylized. This is a limitation of the player for the moment.

    Jack
  • MrCromulent - Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - link

    Thanks for the thorough review.

    Are subtitles shown while fast forwarding at 2x and 4x speed (or even higher)?
  • MrCromulent - Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - link

    Since jack@micca didn't answer, I guess the answer is no :)
  • jack@micca - Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - link

    I needed to get my hands on one to check. And the result is that subtitles are not displayed when fast forwarding.

    Jack

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now