As we eagerly await the RK3668 and RK3688 high-end processors, Rockchip is set to launch two mid-range SoCs: the RK3538 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor for TV boxes, and the RK3572 hexa-core Cortex-A73/A53 SoC for HMI (Human Machine Interface) applications.
Rockchip RK3538 TV Box SoC
Rockchip RK3538 specifications:
– CPU: Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor with NEON, FPU, ARMv8 Crypto
– Cache:
– 32KB L1 instruction cache
– 32KB L1 data cache, 64KB L2 data cache
– 512KB unified system L3 cache
– GPU:
– Arm Mali-G310 3D GPU supporting OpenCL 3.0, OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, Vulkan 1.2
– 2D Graphics Engine
– VPU:
– Decoder:
– H.265, H.264, AV1 (up to two simultaneous 1080p60 channels)
– VP8, VC1, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, MPEG-1 up to 1920×1088 @ 60 FPS
– H.263 up to 720p60
– (M)JPEG up to 8176×8176 @ 76 million pixels per second
– Encoder: N/A
– MCU core: RISC-V MCU in PMU domain with dedicated mailbox and watchdog
– Memory: 32-bit DDR3(L)/LPDDR3/DDR4/LPDDR4(4X) up to 2GB
– Storage: eMMC 5.1, SD 3.0/MMC 4.51, FSPI, NANDC interface
– Video Output:
– HDMI 2.1 up to 1080p60 10-bit, with HDCP 2.3, HDR10+ support
– CVBS/PAL TV interface
– Audio:
– 24-bit audio DAC
– 2x 2-channel SAI, 1x 8-channel SAI; up to 192 kHz sample rate
– 8-channel PDM up to 192 kHz sample rate
– S/PDIF output
– Networking: 10/100 Mbps Ethernet controller and MAC PHY
– USB: USB 2.0 DRD, USB 2.0 Host
– Other peripheral interfaces:
– GPIO
– SDIO 3.0
– 6x UART, 2x SPI, 6x I2C
– 8x PWM
– 4-channel DMAC
– Analog:
– 13-bit SARADC up to 2 MS/s
– Temperature sensor (TS-ADC)
– Timers:
– 2x 64-bit secure timers with interrupt-based operation
– 6x 64-bit non-secure timers with interrupt-based operation
– 1x high precision timer
– Security:
– AES, DES, 3DES, SM4 symmetrical algorithms
– RSA, ECC, SM2 asymmetrical algorithms
– SHA-1, SHA-256/224, SHA-512/384, SHA-512, MD5, SM3 hash algorithms
– Key ladder
– Security TRNG and non-security TRNG
– Secure OTP
– Secure debug
– Secure OS
– Misc: Watchdog timer
– Package: FBGA434L (body: 13.3mm x 13.5mm; ball size: 0.3mm; ball pitch: 0.65/0.6mm)
– Temperature Range: Junction up to 125°C; storage -40 to +125°C
We have more information about the RK3538 since the datasheet is available, but there’s no device based on it yet. The first product is likely to be TV boxes as it’s the target market for the chip.
Rockchip RK3572 HMI SoC
Information about the RK3572 first appeared on the SBCWiki website and both processors are often mentioned together on GitHub, indicating they might share some IP blocks, such as the VPU. The RK3572 datasheet and TRM are unavailable, so most info is from SBCWiki. The RK3572 is in the Rockchip HMI roadmap, offering an “Advanced” HMI solution between the RK3568 and RK3576.
Rockchip RK3572 specifications (preliminary):
– Hexa-core CPU: 2x Arm Cortex-A73 @ 2.3 GHz, 4x Arm Cortex-A53 @ 2.0 GHz
– GPU: Arm Mali-G310 v