Xiaomi Mi Box S review: Android TV is cheap and functional

Design

Mi Box S is a small flat block with rounded corners that fits easily in the palm of your hand. It is made in black, matte plastic with glossy “Mi” embossed on the front panel. The plastic itself is not easily soiled, and possible contaminants can be removed without problems. Such a device will fit into any interior without any problems and will not attract unnecessary attention. Dimensions of the device are 95x16x95 mm.

The front and side edges of the device are empty, they are only decorated with a decorative bevel and a small LED. All ports are concentrated at the back, these are HDMI 2.0, USB 2.0 and an audio jack combined with optical SPDIF. One of the disadvantages is the lack of rubberized legs, which is why the console can slide on the table.

Interfaces

All connectors are on the back of the case. They are located on two sites. Those inputs that you will rarely use, such as the antenna, are hidden in the central part of the case. Sockets for flash drives, headphones and other devices that require quick access are located on the side to make them easier to reach.

Here is the entire list of interfaces:

• Ethernet input for connecting a LAN cable - for a wired connection to the Internet;
• optical output - for connecting Hi-Fi speakers;
• RCA inputs - classic “tulips” for connecting external sources;
• RF input - for connecting an analogue terrestrial television antenna;
• USB connectors - three slots for flash drives, external hard drives, mice and keyboards;
• CI interface - for connecting a pay digital television smart card;
• mini-jack input - analog audio jack for connecting headphones or external speakers;
• HDMI inputs - three jacks for connecting sources, one of which supports ARC (useful for simplifying the switching of external audio devices).

There are some oddities: some connectors on the side panel are located as if at random. A pair of USBs are separated from the third similar connector by all other sockets, and the headphone input and CI interface are located as if no one had thought through their placement in advance. This does not affect the quality of switching, and under normal conditions this oddity is hidden from view, so this is hardly a drawback.

Remote controller

The remote control that comes with the console is miniature and very light. It is made of the same matte plastic as the Mi Box itself and runs on a pair of AAA batteries. It fits comfortably in the hand. The remote control connects to the set-top box via Bluetooth, thanks to which the connection is stable, and household members passing by do not disturb it. There are a minimum of buttons, and all controls are intuitive. At the top we see the on/off key, below is the voice search, followed by a multifunction joystick with a selection button in the middle. Below the joystick we see a row of Android system keys (applications, back and home), and even lower there is a dedicated button for calling Netflix and Live Channels. Even lower is the volume rocker. The microphone hole is located on the top edge, so interacting with the voice assistant is quite convenient.

Specifications

The “heart” of the console is a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor with a frequency of 2.0 GHz and Mali-450 graphics. The size of the built-in storage is 8 GB, RAM is 2 GB. Mi Box S runs Android TV version 8.1 Oreo. As for stability, there are no complaints about this parameter. The set-top box works quickly, processing all requests and commands without problems. No freezes or spontaneous reboots were observed during use. Maximum video broadcasting is possible in 4K resolution (3840×2160) with a frequency of 60 fps. No lags or slowdowns were detected. Video codecs supported are VP9, ​​H.265, H.264, MPEG (1/2/4), VC-1, as well as Dolby and DTS. Wireless interfaces include dual-band Wi-Fi with Miracast support and Bluetooth 4.2.

Review of Android box Xiaomi Mi Box S

Xiaomi Mi Box S (MDZ-22-AB) is the direct successor to the Xiaomi Mi Box (MDZ-16-AB). There have been no significant hardware changes. Both the box itself and the remote control were changed to reduce costs. But in the software part, the box received the Android TV 8.1 system. In general, despite the obvious disadvantages, which you will learn about in the review, Xiaomi Mi Box S is still a unique (not to be confused with the words “good” or “bad”) device on the market without obvious competitors in its price niche - a box with Android TV Certified and Netflix Certified.

Xiaomi Mi Box S (MDZ-22-AB) for review provided by GearBest . At the time of publication of the review, its price in the store was $79.99 . The price is quite high, but for different promotions it can reach $55.

Content

• Specifications
• Equipment and appearance
• Disassembly of the device and cooling system
• Software and overall stability
• Remote, gamepads and HDMI CEC
• Performance
• Internal and external storage
• Network interfaces and network services
• Supports direct audio output and audio decoders
• Support for video decoders, video playback, auto frame rate
• DRM, Google Cast and legal VOD services
• Illegal VOD services and playing videos from torrents directly
• IPTV
• YouTube
• Conclusion

Specifications

Equipment and appearance

The box comes in a bright cardboard box.

Inside: set-top box, remote control, HDMI cable, power supply, quick guide in several languages.

Branded power supply (AY11BA). Plug type A (American/Chinese). Voltage 5.2 V, maximum current up to 2.1 A. Cable length approximately 110 cm. DC connector 4 x 1.7 mm.

The remote control is neat. Works via Bluetooth. Powered by two AAA batteries, they are included.

The materials are not the same as the Xiaomi Mi Box remote control - in the hand it feels like a cheaper product. The D-pad rattles, i.e. Doesn't sit tight. The D-pad has a worse tactile feel (due to its flat shape) than the previous version.

The microphone hole is at the end.

The box itself is very compact. The body is made of matte plastic. Weight about 150 grams. Size 95x95x17 mm.

On the front there is a barely noticeable white LED indicator. It lights up when the device is working.

There is nothing on the sides. Rear: analog audio output combined with optical S/PDIF (Mini Toslink/Miniplug), HDMI, USB A 2.0, power connector (DC 4 x 1.7 mm).

There are only plastic feet on the bottom cover.

Disassembly of the device and cooling system

The bottom cover fits very tightly on the latches. Removable with any flat plastic tool.

All key elements on the underside of the board are hidden under a metal shield. It is soldered to the board.

Unscrew the 4 screws and remove the board.

On the front side of the board, all key elements are also hidden under soldered metal shields. The location of the SoC through the thermal substrate is in contact with a large metal plate at the top of the case. The Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antenna is located on the board itself. The analog audio amplifier is based on the SGMicro SGM89000 controller. You can notice that the Xiaomi Mi Box S has lost the IR receiver, which was unofficially present in the Xiaomi Mi Box. In general, there is nothing to complain about - extreme minimalism (but sufficient) in circuit design.

The 15-minute stress test runs without throttling with constant maximum performance. Maximum temperature no more than 50 °C.

Software and overall stability

Xiaomi Mi Box S comes with Android TV 8.1 system. This is a standard Android TV system based on the Amlogic SDK with some modifications from Xiaomi.

For those who do not know how Android TV 8.1 differs from the regular version of Android 8.1, I will briefly list some differences:

• There is no navigation bar or status bar.
• The launcher (home screen) is firmly fixed - Google Home Launcher. It displays only those programs and games that are adapted for Android TV. Under certain conditions, Google allows the manufacturer to replace the launcher.
• Global voice search in installed programs / Google Assistant.
• A number of unique features, such as special channels (formerly recommendations), special alerts, picture-in-picture on the home screen, etc.
• The interface is adapted for TV screens and control from a remote control (D-Pad and voice) or gamepad.
• Google programs and services are also adapted for TV screens and remote control.
• Google Play Store for Android TV contains only those applications and games that are adapted for Android TV (interface and control from the remote control/gamepad).
• There is support for Google Cast (on certified boxes).

You can install any programs. But remember that Google Play Store for Android TV only contains apps and games that are adapted for Android TV. You can safely install all other programs via apk, Aptoide TV (illegal software), etc. For programs that are not adapted for Android TV, you may need a mouse. Here you also need to take into account that some programs that require a mouse may not work correctly on the Xiaomi Mi Box S. These are bugs of the Xiaomi Mi Box S system. For example, the appearance of a phantom cursor, incorrect processing of a left mouse button click, etc.

The ideology of Android TV is based on simplicity. But if you start to fight it (“I need it like a smartphone, and I want to control everything with a mouse”), then negative impressions await you. If you accept its ideology, and all your current programs are adapted for Android TV, then you will simply enjoy the operation of the system.

It is also important to understand that Android TV is currently the only official box system from Google. Certification of the regular Android system for boxes has been discontinued for more than two years. In the near future, you will no longer see boxes from A-brands or from operators with a regular Android system.

Xiaomi has reworked and combined Settings (in the Amlogic SDK, the settings are divided into two programs). Localization into Russian has not been completed completely. Elements of the general Android system have been translated (i.e. by Google itself) and some of the settings from Amlogic. What Amlogic added is mostly not translated. For example, screen settings, sound output, etc. in English.

The firmware version with all updates at the time of publication of the review is OPM1.171019.011.430. The firmware uses a 64-bit kernel version 4.9.61. But the Android layer itself is 32-bit.

Global Search/Google Assistant behavior is slightly different from Nvidia Shield TV, for example. Apparently, the difference is in the version of the Google program (it is responsible for search) that is installed on the box. Let me give you a particular example. In the Google Play Store, you click on the Global Search button and search for Kodi. On Nvidia Shield TV, results from the Google Play Store program are shown in priority (priority is given to the results of the active program), i.e. everything is correct according to logic. And in Xiaomi Mi Box S, priority is given to global results; only by pressing Down, you will see other results, including those in the Google Play Store. However, in some programs priority is still given to the results from the active program.

It is also worth noting that Google Assistant still does not fully work with the Russian language in Android TV. Those. just basic search and basic commands. Although it has been working fully on smartphones for almost a year.

There is no root support in the system and it cannot be added.

In general, the system works stably. There are no critical mass problems or bugs in the system. On the Internet you can find possible complaints about the operation of HDMI CEC, sleep mode, Wi-Fi, etc. But here it is worth considering that in terms of sales, the Xiaomi Mi Box S is comparable to the sales of all “Chinese” boxes combined for the same period of time. The more sales, the more possible complaints.

Remote, gamepads and HDMI CEC

The remote control can be called very good. The only criticism is the shape of the D-pad (flat). The central button is tactilely difficult to distinguish from the ring. The remote control works via Bluetooth. The microphone has excellent sensitivity, you don’t need to bring the remote control closer to your mouth, voice recognition works clearly. You don’t need to hold the Global Voice Search / Google Assistant call button for the microphone to work; you just need to press it once to call. The microphone is activated by software by the system if necessary.

There are complaints about the work of Global Voice Search. There is a lag in the audio level display when you make a request, which can be misleading. Those. you start talking, and the level image displays silence and begins to change only after some time.

The Netflix and Live Channels launch buttons are handled non-standardly in the system. Those. you won't be able to remap them to other programs, such as using Button Mapper or Key Remapper.

The button with nine dots opens a window of all installed programs on the system.

I note that the system does not have a menu of previously launched programs activated for convenient switching between programs, quick return to the previous program, and for forced closing of programs if necessary. Those. This menu is not called up by double or long pressing Home (although this option is provided in Android TV), which for some may add discomfort to use.

Pressing the Power button on the remote sends the box to sleep. A long press brings up a ridiculous power menu with one command (this menu was migrated from the Amlogic SDK, and Amlogic has plenty of sick designers and “miracle” managers).

The box can be brought out of sleep mode only with the power button of the standard remote control. If necessary, you can enable the Keep Screen On feature in the Developer Options. Partial sleep mode will work and the box can be woken up by any RF remote control.

Support for different HDMI CEC functions varies from one TV model to another. I have not yet met a single Android box that would have perfect support for HDMI CEC with all TVs, even with different TV models of the same brand. On Amlogic boxes, HDMI CEC support has never been good (mainly due to selective power functions and lack of volume control). HDMI CEC support is enabled in the settings.

HDMI CEC working with a Samsung test TV (just as an example, because your picture may be different):

• You send the box to sleep using the box's remote control, the TV turns off (goes into standby mode) - yes.
• Wake up the box using the box's remote control, the TV turns on - yes.
• You turn on the TV using the standard TV remote control, the box wakes up - yes.
• You turn off the TV using the standard TV remote control, the box goes to sleep - yes.
• You can control the box with a TV remote - yes.

I tested two gamepads with the box - GameSir and Xiaomi. GameSir G3s could not be connected to the box (this is the first case when a specific gamepad does not pass pairing) - I’m just stating a fact, I didn’t understand the problem in detail. Everything worked fine with the Xiaomi gamepad.

Performance

The set-top box uses the outdated Amlogic S905X SoC - 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores up to 1.5 GHz and a Mali-450 MP GPU. This is a budget SoC. In general, the system works acceptable if you do not load it with several simultaneous tasks. For example, if the system updates software through the Google Play Store, then it is better to refrain from using the box, because the work becomes uncomfortable. The S912 or S905X2 are rockets compared to the S905X. This SoC is not intended for 3D games at all due to the weak GPU. You need to understand that the main thing in Android boxes is media functionality, i.e. VPU and implementation of its capabilities in software. But the processor and GPU must have enough power to make working with the device comfortable. The S905X provides a comfortable level, but on the edge.

The interface is displayed with a maximum resolution of 1920×1080. Even if you select 3840x2160 resolution on the system, the interface and all programs will continue to run at 1920x1080 resolution and scaled to 3840x2160. As with many boxes, only SurfaceView objects can output true 4K resolution (which is what media players and some games use). In fact, it doesn’t matter at what resolution you run test programs and games - at 1920x1080 and 3840x2160 the result will be identical.

For convenience and clarity, I will compare performance with boxes on Amlogic S905X2.

CPU

GPU

Most 2D games performed acceptably.

Streaming games via Nvidia GameStream (Moonlight), 1080p60 stream, 30 Mbit/s - decoder output delay up to 40 ms for H.265. In this case, a violation of uniformity is visually visible once per second. In principle, you can play many games (here it is important to note that the Keenetic Ultra router was used, you will learn more in the network interface test).

Internal and external storage

In the latest Xiaomi Mi Box S system, about 4 GB of internal memory is available to the user. It’s not enough, but if you don’t install games, it’s enough for most tasks. Moreover, if necessary, you can use a USB storage device (for example, a flash drive) to expand the internal memory.

The linear and random write speed of the internal flash memory is low. Reading speed is good for boxes.

With support for file systems on external drives (as an external drive), everything is bad.

Network interfaces and network services

There is no Ethernet support in the box. If necessary, you can use USB adapters based on the Asix AX88179 controller (USB 3.0 > Gigabit Ethernet) and get a speed of about 250 Mbit/s. The most popular and proven adapters are from Ugreen.

The Broadcom controller is responsible for the wireless network (I won’t name the exact model, because the controller is hidden under a metal screen) with support for Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, MIMO 1x1 .

The tests were carried out using iperf 3. The iperf server was launched on a computer connected to a local network via Gigabit Ethernet. The R key is selected - the server transmits, the device receives.

The box was located 5 meters from the router through one reinforced concrete wall - this is the place in which I test all Android boxes and mini-PCs. The line connecting the box and the router passes through the wall at an angle of 45 degrees. So that you understand, I have no goal of finding out the maximum Wi-Fi speed of a particular box 1 meter from the router without obstacles (it doesn’t matter to me whether it squeezes out 200 or 300 Mbit/s there). I simulate a typical case, and all boxes are tested under the same conditions. I test only with the 5 GHz band (if the box has such support).

This time the role of the router was Keenetic Ultra (KN-1810) and Xiaomi Mi Router 3G (Padavan).

During the entire testing period, there were no complaints about the operation of Wi-Fi. The work was stable, there were no disconnections or reconnections.

There are no network file services (server and client) in the system.

Supports direct audio output and audio decoders

The Xiaomi Mi Box S system contains decoders (decoding and mixing in stereo) Dolby Digital and DTS. Both MediaCodec and StageFright have them.

For direct audio output tests, an Onkyo receiver was used.

HDMI Direct Output in Kodi (17.6):

Support for video decoders, video playback, auto frame rate

Xiaomi Mi Box S has HDMI 2.0b output. Supports resolutions up to 3840x2160 at 60Hz, 10bit with HDR10. You can choose color coding in Settings. The interface is displayed with a maximum resolution of 1920×1080. Even if you select 3840x2160 resolution on the system, the interface and all programs will continue to run at 1920x1080 resolution and scaled to 3840x2160. As with many boxes, only SurfaceView objects can output true 4K resolution with HDR support, and they are used in many players.

The system has a non-switchable noise reduction for video (this can be seen with the naked eye even without tests).

HDR

I didn't notice any problems with HDR10 output (in UHD Blu-ray). HDR to SDR conversion is supported in case you need to watch HDR content on an SDR TV. Amlogic's conversion is not ideal (and it cannot be ideal), but it is one of the best.

Deinterlacing system

Deinterlacing does not work in either StageFright or MediaCodec. Only one of the two fields is displayed. Those. At the output of the decoder for streams with interlaced video, you get half the frame rate and half the vertical resolution.

Playing video

Boxing handles almost any current content in Kodi (17.6) on NAS. Any UHD BDRemux played without problems (when connected via Keenetic Ultra). 2160p60 files and streams encoded by H.265 Main10 also play without problems. 2160p60 streams encoded with H.264 (for example, from some action cameras) play poorly because The H.264 decoder in the S905X does not support such parameters (only 2160p30 or 1080p60 H.264).

Autoframerate

About autoframe

For those who don't know, let's briefly talk about autoframe... Autoframe is the automatic setting of the screen frequency (and in some cases, resolution) in accordance with the frame rate of the video being played (and in some cases, resolution). Autoframe ensures uniformity, which is part of smoothness.

Let's take a movie on Blu-ray or UHD Blu-ray disc as an example. Most of this content is 23.976 fps (frames per second) content. For simplicity, we will assume it is 24 fps.

Your device (box) outputs data in 3840×2160 mode at 60 Hz (as you set in the system settings). How to output a movie 24 fps at 60 Hz, i.e. turn 24fps into 60fps? The most trivial method, and the one used on the vast majority of media players, is the 3:2 pull down conversion. Here is its meaning in the picture:

Two frames are made from the first frame, three from the second, two from the third, three from the fourth, etc. Thus, you got a conversion of 24 frames > 60 frames. But this conversion has a negative effect, which is called the judder effect (use Google search to understand the scale of this problem, and what actions are being taken to solve it, which famous companies are involved in this) - unevenness. Those. in reality, some frames take longer to display than others. Imagine a ball flying (24 frames). The first frame is displayed 1/30 sec, the second 1/20 sec, the third 1/30 sec, the fourth 1/20 sec, etc. Uneven flight, “twitching” ball. No problem if there is no dynamics in the video. But as soon as the dynamics begin (it doesn’t matter vertically or horizontally), then all this manifests itself.

But as soon as the scanning frequency is 24 Hz, then everything will fall into place. There will be no transformations, because... there is no need to adjust a sequence of 24 fps to 24 Hz. Each frame will be displayed for an equal amount of time - 1/24 sec. The uniformity will be perfect. The ball will fly evenly. This is precisely why autoframe rate (a generalized concept) exists. When a video stream starts, the player program (if it is a modern autoframe rate) or the system (if it is a system autoframe rate) sets the screen frequency so that it matches the frame rate in the stream or is a multiple of it.

Let me also remind you about the types of autoframe rates...

An autoframe rate implemented in a specific program specifically for a specific box (i.e. using some proprietary functions or commands of the system of a specific box). This is old school and the worst option for implementing autoframerate on a box.

System auto frame rate. Can be implemented either through separate StageFright and MediaCodec libraries with output to SurfaceView, or for two at once. In essence, this is a universal crutch. The programs don’t even know what autoframe rate is or that the output mode changes. Because This is a universal solution, but this type of autoframe may cause problems in some cases. For example, in some programs intermediate switching may occur when rewinding, in IPTV managers unnecessary switching may occur when switching channels, etc.

The so-called modern autoframe rate is an API that Google introduced back in the Android 6 system. An API similar in functionality is found in the system from Amazon, and in the tvOS system from Apple. But only a few box manufacturers have implemented this API in the system. Its essence is that the program can change the resolution and frequency of the display at its discretion. These changes affect only the program itself, and not the system as a whole. This is the most correct and ideal implementation of autoframe rate in programs, because everything is under their control, and not a system that cannot take into account special cases. This is why it is sometimes called modern autoframe for simplicity. The most popular programs that support modern autoframe rates: Kodi, ViMu, Perfect Player, Plex, Archos, Amazon Video, etc. And there will only be more such programs.

Xiaomi Mi Box S does not support any kind of auto frame rate. Xiaomi recently released a test update for Mi Box with support for the so-called modern autoframe rate. So there is every chance that Xiaomi Mi Box S will still receive an autoframe rate in the future.

3D

MVC MKV and BD3D ISO in Kodi only play in 2D.

DRM, Google Cast and legal VOD services

Xiaomi Mi Box has support for Widevine DRM Level 1 and HDCP 2.2, Microsoft PlayReady DRM and CENC. Those. many legal VOD services will work without problems.

It is officially certified by Netflix and supports 4K with HDR10.

There is full support for Google Cast.

Illegal VOD services and playing videos from torrents directly

There were no problems with content from HD VideoBox (various sources) in ViMu.

To test torrent playback directly, I used TorrServe. If you don't take into account the general problems that can arise when playing through TorrServe, then almost all UHD BDRemux that I tried played well using Keenetic Ultra. And with Xiaomi Mi Router 3G, all the BDRemux and BDRips that I tried were played.

IPTV

IPTV from EDEM, OTTClub, Rostelecom (Wink), Beeline, etc. worked perfectly. There were no problems. Perfect Player with HW+ decoder switched channels in a split second.

With torrent TV services (streams with interlaced video of original quality), everything is bad, because... The systems lack deinterlacing in both StageFright and MediaCodec. Those. High-quality reproduction of such channels on Xiaomi Mi Box S is impossible - the frame rate is halved and the vertical resolution is halved. At the same time, there were frequent jams associated specifically with boxing, and not with the operation of torrent TV at a specific point in time.

YouTube

2160p60 videos played without problems. In videos with 5.1 audio (AAC), only stereo was output. HDR support is still not available in the official YouTube client for Android TV (Google is in no hurry to include it in its own product for some reason).

Conclusion

Is Xiaomi Mi Box S good? More "yes" than "no". For little money you get a working box out of the box, which does not need to be flashed, modified in hardware, etc. We took it out of the box, turned it on and went to install the necessary programs. It is suitable for consumers who are undemanding in terms of video and sound quality, who need simplicity and convenience, a fresh Android TV system, and use is limited to watching IPTV (with progressive video streams), legal and illegal VOD services, watching videos from a NAS, broadcasting videos and photos to TV, 2D games, etc. For movie fans who care about high-quality work with media content (auto-frame rate, direct audio output, UHD Blu-ray, etc.), this box is not suitable. For those who want to watch torrent TV (a free version of IPTV with excellent quality but low stability), this box is not suitable. For those who like to play games (3D, game streaming), this box is not suitable. For those who like to use a browser on TV (there are still such people), this box is not suitable.

Let me remind you that Xiaomi Mi Box S (MDZ-22-AB) can be purchased at GearBest . At the time of publication of the review, its price in the store was $79.99 .

First start

This is a model with the letter S, which means that this is an international version of the Xiaomi TV set-top box, which means that Google services are installed on it out of the box. So, you have successfully unpacked and connected your Android TV. When you turn it on for the first time, you will need to select the interface language, connect to the Wi-Fi network (enter the password using the virtual keyboard) and connect to the desired Google account. The last procedure occurs automatically; you only need to confirm your login. The remote control also undergoes a kind of test - following the prompts on the screen, you will need to press the buttons several times. When the basic setup is complete, you are taken to the TV console's home screen. Using the joystick buttons, you will navigate between available services and installed applications. The first line is favorites, where you can list the most popular sources. You can also control the TV set-top box from your smartphone; to do this, you need to install the Android TV application on your smartphone - the name speaks for itself. What’s interesting is that, despite the fact that the set-top box is formally tied to a specific Google account, all devices on the same Wi-Fi network can use it. True, in a somewhat limited format: you can pause the playing video or turn off the sound, you can also send the video to the big screen from your smartphone. The remaining actions are linked to the previously entered account.

Conclusion

Mi TV is already more of a computer than a TV. Or even a huge Android tablet. With all the roughness of Android. Set it up here, update it there, google it here, and come to terms with it here. You can find TVs with more stable systems, where everything works perfectly out of the box. But there is no possibility for customization. The same with the matrix, you just need to look at the picture and decide for yourself whether it suits you. If you want cooler hardware, the shops are open. Xiaomi products respond to such arguments with low prices.

And as far as the possibilities were concerned, the TV suited me. PatchWall offers truly interesting films, plus learns from the tastes of the viewer. If you don't like it, here are the TV channels. Or playing on a console with 4k HDR. Finally, there's an Android app store that gives you plenty of room to experiment. You can connect Bluetooth headphones, a keyboard, a mouse, a gamepad, install a browser, and if that’s not enough, then even install applications from a flash drive.

Xiaomi releases new firmware versions, patching holes and eliminating problems. Maybe after this review they will enable HDMI EDID for set-top boxes by default and turn off image enhancements. They will add a keyboard with an adequate layout, allow you to program buttons on the remote control and add more subtle PatchWall settings: for example, move the signal switching icons to the top or show movies only from “active” subscriptions. These are not the TVs of yesteryear, where any awkward menu or feature stayed with you forever.

Digital television is sweeping across Russia, analog televisions are becoming a thing of the past, and there is simply no money to upgrade to something prohibitively expensive. Therefore, Mi TV is a good option. Just try to see the picture with your own eyes, play a couple of videos from a flash drive and decide if it’s right for you. I personally like this one, although I had to dig through a bunch of material to tell you everything succinctly and clearly. And if Xiaomi had not been refused, I would have kept the TV and used it with pleasure.

Installing applications

The appearance of the “green robot” on the TV set-top box is very different from what you are used to seeing on smartphones, but this, in this case, is for the better. The Android TV launcher is ideally adapted for large screens and remote control. In the pre-installed applications we find Spotify, Netflix and Red Bulls TV. You can install applications from the adapted Google Play available on the TV set-top box or from a flash drive in .apk format. For the second method, do not forget to install a file manager first. The choice of programs here is small. Basically, these are online cinemas, IPTV services or channel applications. There are also games, although they are few. If you want, you can try to install the tiles you are interested in as .apk, but do not forget that the hardware here is not gaming hardware and it will impose restrictions on your choice.

Files on USB flash drive

Next, let's look at how to read files that are located on a flash drive or SD card . To do this you need to use a file explorer. We connect the flash drive and go to the menu. Click on the “ FileBrowser ” icon:

We see the SD card :

If there is a video on the flash drive, then when you click on it, the set-top box will give us a choice of video player:

We can choose the player we want to use Only Now or the player we want to use Always.

Use cases

First of all, such a set-top box will be of interest to owners of TVs that lack smart functions. But it can also serve as a new “brains” for an outdated Smart TV, which no longer receives updates or installs applications. Mi Box is no less convenient for broadcasting images from a smartphone to a monitor or TV. This way you can view your browser tabs, photos on the big screen. Very convenient for a large company. A slightly stranger, but nevertheless feasible scenario is the transfer of games from a smartphone to a larger diagonal. But this operating scenario has one serious drawback - a noticeable delay in the signal from the wireless joystick to the console, so you can’t play dynamic games like runners or shooters comfortably.

Google Assistant

You can find downright contradictory information on the Internet regarding the presence/absence of Google Assistant. In order to avoid confusion, we decided to include this point in a separate paragraph of our review. Google Assistant is available on Mi Box S and it works correctly, both in Russian and in English, but only if English is selected as the interface language. If you prefer to use your native language, you will have to limit yourself to Google Search. However, given the capabilities of voice Search and the limitations of the Assistant in our localization, this can hardly be considered a serious drawback.

Results

Xiaomi Mi Box version S has become a logical continuation of the line beloved by users. The device demonstrates excellent value for money, is easy to use and offers a wide range of usage scenarios. The disadvantages of the console include a rather simple design and the lack of premium materials in the body. However, this is rather nitpicking, given that the Mi Box is not designed to attract attention. This is just a modest hard worker who will help you while away the long winter evenings. All of the above makes the Xiaomi Mi Box S a great buy and allows us to recommend it to the widest range of users. Moreover, the cost of the TV set-top box is only $60 - not so much considering the existing functionality.