Introduction
GuruPlug Display (gplugD) Overview
Copyright © 2010 Marvell
CONFIDENTIAL
Doc. No. MV-S158458-00 Rev. -
December 7, 2010,
Document Classification: Proprietary Information
Page 7
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1
Introduction
1.1
GuruPlug Display (gplugD) Overview
The Marvell® ARMADA™ 16x Plug Computer Development Kit User Manual describes procedures
for operating the GuruPlug
1
Display Development Kit, referred to throughout this document as the
“gplugD.” The gplugD device is an evaluation platform for the Marvell
®
ARMADA™ 168 Applications
Processor. It takes the shape of a plug computer, a small form-factor computing platform created by
Marvell that integrates a high-performance, power-efficient system-on-a-chip processor with network
connectivity, peripheral expansion, and the Linux™ operating system. The entire system is housed
in an AC-to-DC adapter that plugs into a wall outlet, thus the term “plug computer.”
The gplugD expands upon existing plug computers by incorporating a display controller with an
HDMI output for a LCD TV or monitor, extra USB ports for connecting a keyboard and mouse, and
extra flash memory storage via internal and external microSDHC card slots. Quite simply, the
gplugD is a complete computer that is smaller than a traditional desktop PC power supply.
1.2
gplugD Functionality
Unlike other plug computers, which are limited to running applications that either are non-interactive
or deliver content via terminal console or web browser, the gplugD can drive a HDMI-capable display
with both bit-mapped graphics and sound. This makes it an ideal platform for developing
energy-efficient interactive kiosks and smart displays.
Without any optimization, the gplugD running MPlayer on Linux and X11 can render 30 fps
H.264-encoded CIF (352 x 240) video with a 48 kHz AAC LC stereo audio track. While higher
performance is possible using Marvell's Integrated Performance Primitives-based (IPP) multimedia
codecs, the gplugD is not intended to be a high-performance video playback device for home theatre
applications.
The gplugD runs Debian Linux. It can access the complete range of Debian repositories with more
than 18,000 precompiled packages for armel (ARM EABI) targets. Add in projects from other Open
Source collaborative efforts and end user-developed software, and the gplugD becomes a flexible
and capable device for a wide range of applications.
1.3
Hardware Overview
Though about the same size as a typical notebook computer AC-to-DC power supply, the gplugD is
equipped with a full set of memories and peripherals:
̈
Marvell ARMADA 168 processor (88AP168) running at 800 MHz
̈
512 Mbytes DDR2-800 SDRAM
̈
4-Mbit SPI boot flash holding the pre-boot loader and U-Boot
̈
Two Class 6 microSDHC cards
•
4 GB in external slot with Debian Linux 5.0
•
8 GB on CPU and memory board
̈
4 high-speed USB ports
̈
10/100 Mbps Ethernet
̈
HDMI 1.3 video and stereo audio output
1. GuruPlug is a registered trademark of Globalscale Technologies, Inc.
