If I remember well I did dodge the BL808 as it seems to be very difficult to have a clean RISC-V 64bits kernel to run since the real core is a RISC-V 32bit MCU. It seems to be the same thing with the SG2000.
I may go first with some code extraction and customization from linux, before probably ending with a lot of "hand compiled" linux code.
And yes, lower-power for the moment, since I would first use that for self-hosting.
The BL808 does use a 32-bit core for the secondary core, but the SG2000 series uses the same 64-bit C906 core for both RISC-V cores. The only difference is the reduced clock speed and a lack of vector extensions.
Indeed, it seems there is something about the SG2000, maybe I should have a look at the various boards with it. I don't really mind about the vector extensions right now as I do code RISC-V core only assembly (not even compressed) with near 0 pre-processing (as it should be for all system software, and yes that includes the kernel).
EDIT ---
It seems the SG200X includes an ARM block and this is a definitive nono for me. I want to buy a SOC free from ARM royalties. I tolerate HDMI/mpeg royalties though.
The CV1800B on the original 64 MB Milk-V Duo does not have an Arm core. It is otherwise very similar to the 256 MB and 512 MB SG2000 chips (Sophgo bought CVITECH, so the CV -> SG is just a rename)
Well, we can all expect sophgo will refrain putting ARM cores in their SOC in the future :( (... and I would not mind displayport instead of hdmi and av1/opus codec block instead of a mpeg one neither... 0 royalties...)
All MP3, MP4, and H.264 patents have expired, so you don't have to worry there. I don't get why more hardware doesn't adopt DisplayPort, though. At least HDMI ports accept DVI signals, and DVI is also in the public domain.
I mostly agree with you, but nowadays codec blocks are mostly h.265 and ac3 :( They are smart as they will just do a little bit more things in a new codec and renew their patents. The thing is displayport, yep, something is off here, hardware ppl don't need a expensive hdmi connector, just another USB-C... I wonder if the HDMI people are not doing things in the shadow to end up favored...
That said, I have to point the fact, those patents are only valid in some countries, namely subject to royalties (USA, UK, Japan... but not EU for instance).
I don't know why raspberry is not selling some of their SOCs with the ARM blocks hard disabled at sell time, namely they did not pay for the ARM royalties.
In the end, it is near impossible to buy all those RISC-V boards in my country with a noscript/basic (x)html browser, and if possible with wallet codes (or bank swift) instead of a credit card.
I may go first with some code extraction and customization from linux, before probably ending with a lot of "hand compiled" linux code.
And yes, lower-power for the moment, since I would first use that for self-hosting.