After Hours

Logitech Revue with Google TV teardown

By · January 3, 2011, 11:48 AM PST · billdetwiler

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  • Cracking open the Logitech Revue

    TechRepublic's Jason Hiner tested the Logitech Revue for his roundup of Internet TV set-top boxes, "Internet TV: Roku still trumps Apple, Google, and Boxee". Luckily, after Jason was finished with the Revue, I got a chance to crack it open. Follow along as we see what hardware is hidden inside the Logitech Revue with Google TV.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Box - Top

    The Logitch Revue is available from Logitech for $299.99 (US). It allows you to search the Web for video content (although, Jason wrote that the device's Google TV interface is skewed heavily toward YouTube and Google video search).

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Box - Bottom

    Along with watching video clips on YouTube, you can also stream content through apps from Netflix, Pandora, and CNBC.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Wireless keyboard

    The Logitech Revue comes with a full-size, wireless keyboard that has a built-in directional control pad and multi-touch trackpad.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Device and cable container

    Under the keyboard are the device and cables (inside the box on the right).

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Box contents

    Inside the box, you'll find the Logitech Revue, keyboard, HDMI cable, power adapter and cable, an IR mini blaster, product documentation, and two AA batteries for the keyboard.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Top

    The Logitech Revue's black, plastic case has a shinny top that's a definite fingerprint magnet.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Bottom

    Four rubber feet are attached to the bottom of the Logitech Revue.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Front

    Along the front edge of the Logitech Revue are three IR and RF windows and two status LEDs.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Back - Ports

    Along the back of the Logitech Revue are the Logitech Unifying button and ports. From left to right, you'll find the Loitech Unifying technology button (which allows you to pair the device with other Logitech devices), HDMI in, IR blaster ports, two USB ports, Ethernet port, HDMI out, SPDIF port, and power connector.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Side

    Vents along each wide of the Logitech Revue help keep the unit cool.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • External case screws

    Four Phillips screws are hidden under the rubber feet on the bottom of the Logitech Revue.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Popping off the top cover

    With the screws removed, you can use a small metal blade or plastic case opening tool to pop the top half loose from the bottom half.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • First look inside

    Take care when opening the Logitech Revue's case. The cooling fan cable connects the top and bottom halves.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cooling fan cable

    Disconnect the cooling fan to completely separate the case's two halves.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cooling fan and air duct

    The Logitech Revue's cooling fan and air duct are mounted to the underside of the case's top half.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cooling fan screws

    A pair of Phillips screws hold the fan in place. Four screws hold the air duct in place.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cooling fan and air duct removed

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cooling fan

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Four PCBs inside device

    With the top half of the case completely removed, we can get a good look at the main components inside the Logitech Revue. There are four separate PCBs--the large motherboard, and three smaller, function-specific PCBs.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Wi-Fi PCB and antenna

    We'll remove the AzureWave Wi-Fi card first. A single Phillips screws secures the card to the case.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Removing the Wi-Fi antenna

    Two screws hold the Wi-Fi antenna to the plastic case.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Wi-Fi card and antenna

    With the their screws removed, you can detach the AzureWave Wi-Fi card from the motherboard and the antenna from the case.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • AzureWave AW-NU137 Wi-Fi card

    The Logitech Revue has an AzureWave AW-NU137 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi card.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Stickers

    Two stickers cover the chips on the underside of the AzureWave Wi-Fi card.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Atmel H934 IC

    On the back of the AzureWave AW-NU137 card is an Atmel H934 IC

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • RF Transceiver board

    Two PCBs are located at the front of the Logitech Revue. A small square board that contains the RF transceiver and a longer PCB with the IR LEDs.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Nordic Semiconductor nRF24L01 RF transceiver

    The smaller board contains a Nordic Semiconductor nRF24L01 RF transceiver.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • RF board - Back

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • IR PCB

    Next, we'll remove the longer IR board.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Removing the IR PCB

    Like the other PCBs, the IR board is secured to the Logitech Revues case with Phillips screws.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • IR board removed

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • IR PCB - Top

    The IR board has four IR LEDs.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • IR PCB - Bottom

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • IR LEDs and receiver

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • GIGABYTE PCBs

    Markings on the IR and main PCBs indicate that GIGABYTE made both boards.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Removing the motherboard

    With the Wi-Fi, RF, and IR boards removed, we can lift the Logitech Revue's main PCB away from the case.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Empty case

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Main PCB - With heatsink

    Before we look at each of the chips on the main PCB, we'll remove the CPU's heatsink.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Two Phillips screws

    The CPU heatsink is held in place with two Phillips screws.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Screw heads on the underside of motherboard

    The head of each heatsink screws is accessible from the underside of the main PCB.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Removing the CPU heatsink

    With its two screws removed, you can pop loose the CPU heatsink. I used a plastic spudger to gently pry up on the heatsink.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Lifting away the heatsink

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Heatsink and main PCB

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Motherboard - Top

    Let's take a look at the chips on the top of the Logitech Revue's motherboard.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Samsung K9F8G08U0M 1 GB NAND Flash

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Hynix H27UBG8T2ATR NAND Flash



    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • PHISON PS2251-50 USB-to-Flash micro-controller

    PHISON PS2251-50 USB-to-Flash micro-controller

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Silicon Image SiI9135 dual-input HDMI 1.3 Receiver

    Silicon Image SiI9135 HDMI 1.3 Receiver

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Genesys Logic GL850G USB Hub controller

    Genesys Logic GL850G USB Hub controller

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • IDT 9LPRS525AGLF Motherboard clock

    Integrated Devices Technology (IDT) 9LPRS525AGLF Motherboard clock

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • IDT 6V49061PAG

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Texas Instruments TPS2062 power-distribution switch

    Texas Instruments TPS2062 power-distribution switch

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Nanya NT5CB128M8CN-CG 1 GB DDR3 SDRAM

    The Logitech Revue has eight Nanya NT5CB128M8CN-CG 1 GB DDR3 SDRAM chips.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Microchip PIC24FJ64GA004 16-bit microcontroller

    Microchip PIC24FJ64GA004 16-bit microcontroller

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • APW7080 3A, asynchronous, step-down DC-DC converter with integrated Power Switch

    Anpec Electronics APW7080 3A, asynchronous, step-down DC-DC converter with integrated Power Switch

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Intel Atom CE4150 1.2 GHz CPU

    Intel Atom CE4150 1.2 GHz processor

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    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Motherboard - Back

    There's only one chip of interest on the underside of the Logitech Revue's motherboard.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Realtek RTL8201N 10/100M Fast Ethernet PHYceiver

    Realtek Semiconductor RTL8201N RealSingle-Chip/Port 10/100M Fast Ethernet PHYceiver with Auto MDIX

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Fairchild Semiconductor FDS8880 30V N-Channel PowerTrench MOSFET

    Fairchild Semiconductor FDS8880 30V N-Channel PowerTrench MOSFET

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • K3918 MOSFET

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • 24C04WP

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Completely disassembled

    With its standard Phillips screws, the Logitech Revue was very easy to disassemble. If you could get replacement parts, the Revue would be an easy device to repair.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

Cracking open the Logitech Revue

TechRepublic's Jason Hiner tested the Logitech Revue for his roundup of Internet TV set-top boxes, "Internet TV: Roku still trumps Apple, Google, and Boxee". Luckily, after Jason was finished with the Revue, I got a chance to crack it open. Follow along as we see what hardware is hidden inside the Logitech Revue with Google TV.

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

Caption by: Bill Detwiler
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By Bill Detwiler

Bill Detwiler is Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop support specialist in the ...

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