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.

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.

Photo and video equipment

In this comparison, you will find out what is the difference between Mi Box 3 and Mi Box S. We will compare from the box to the quality and response time of the voice assistant. Despite the fact that the kit is identical, the box of the S version is much more compact.

On one side is an image of what is included in the kit, in both cases it is a set-top box, a remote control, an HDMI cable and a network adapter.

On the other hand, it says that connecting consoles takes just three steps. Just below we see that the first console is the winner of the prestigious RedDot Award 2016 design award and the winner of the equally prestigious Good Design award. Mi Box S has not yet received any awards.

On the front side there are images of set-top boxes and labels of pre-installed services. On the reverse side, the main characteristics are identical in both cases. The boxes open differently, in the first version the lid is removed, but the new one opens with a book, and the packaging material is less dense.

The design of the consoles themselves is significantly different. In the first case, the prefix looks like some unidentified flying object. It has smoother edges and transitions.

The leg on which it stands is in the shape of an uneven circle; it is made of anti-slip material. On the front side, closer to the front edge, there is a logo. Just below is a rectangular glossy window, behind which there are on and off LEDs. The S version is smaller in size, the logo on the front side is located in the center. The console has sharp edges and a more square shape.

Another design - there is a groove along the perimeter on the edge. The four legs of the support are not rubberized, so it slides on the surface.

The interface in the new version remains the same. Unless all the ports have changed places. The audio output has swapped with the power port, HDMI has swapped with USB.

Mi Box S weighs 143 g, 30 g less than Mi Box 3, it weighs 178 g.

The remote controls differ noticeably both in tactile sensations and in the location of the buttons.

In the S version it is a little longer and a little narrower. It is rougher and appears toy-like. The remote control of the first version is heavier, it weighs 65 g and looks more impressive.

The new version has additional buttons: Netflix and live. The voice assistant call button has acquired bright colors and moved to the top, right under the power button. The back button and the home button moved to the free space and a menu button appeared. The circular joystick has become flat. The volume swing remained in place. The microphone remained in the same place, on the top edge.

Both remote controls run on two AAA batteries, which by the way are included in the kits.

The new version does not have a hole for attaching a strap.

Both set-top boxes support voice search, which works great in both. You can ask about the weather, and the system will not only show the current weather on the screen, but also speak it out loud.

When connected, it loads, then you are prompted to install batteries.

Next comes pairing the remote control.

Next, you are asked to set up your account using your gadget or manually. When you connect for the first time, pre-installed applications are automatically updated to the latest versions. On the main screen of TV set-top boxes we see four customizable lines with recommendations for YouTube, NetFlix and other programs and online cinemas.

The pre-installed ones include Netflix, RedBull Tv, YouTube, Google Play movies, Google Play Music, Google Play Store and Google Play Games. Well, as you understand, you can download and install a huge number of compatible applications and games from the Google Play Market.

The home screen can be customized to your liking.

Since the version of the Play Market for consoles is limited, I will need ES Explorer to install Antutu and other applications for the test. We go to the market, search, install.

Afterwards, download the necessary programs with the APK extension to the cloud storage in any convenient way. Then we go from the console to the storage and install the programs.

Comparison of performance in synthetic tests

The hardware in the Mi Box S remains virtually the same: it is AMLogic S905X, 4 Cortex A-53 cores with a frequency of up to 1.5 GHz (in the Mi Box MZD-16-AB - up to 2 GHz) GPU Mali-450.

AnTuTu

3DMark
Ice Storm Extreme: 4477

Ice Storm Extreme: 4149

Geekbench 4

Single-Core: 647 Multi-Core: 1773 Single-Core: 643 Multi-Core: 1759

The temperature of both consoles without load is slightly more than 30 degrees. With a load of about 40 degrees.

Of the 8 GB of built-in memory of the set-top boxes, only 4 GB is available.

For Mi Box MZD-16AB and Mi Box S, the Wi-Fi controller supports the 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4/5 GHz standard. The signal quality is excellent, stable, without interruptions.

The set-top boxes have HDMI 2.0a and support image output with a resolution of 3840× [email protected] Hz. and HDR, subject to TV support. Both consoles play videos well at different resolutions, but 4K with high bitrates may have difficulties. What's the difference?

The difference in prefixes is insignificant. They differ in the design of both the consoles themselves and the remote controls. In the S version the remote control is lighter and the plastic is different. According to our feelings, the Mi Box MDZ-16AB bullets are much more pleasant - both in terms of pressing buttons and visually. On the technical side, the Mi Box S has a processor clock speed of 1.5 GHz, versus 2 GHz for the Mi Box MDZ-16-AB. But for me, as for most users, this is not so important - there is no difference. Judging by the fact that in version S the operating system is Android 8.1 and in the other Android 8.0, I dare to assume that the Mi Box MDZ-16-AB will no longer be updated.

FRIENDS, YOU CAN WATCH A VIDEO COMPARISON OF THESE TV SET-UPS ON OUR WEBSITE:

Xiaomi TV box

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.

Mi Box with Android TV 6 - international version of Android box from Xiaomi

Recently I told you about Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced, a powerful Android box that is designed for the Chinese market. But today it’s my turn to talk about the Xiaomi Mi Box with the international version of Android TV 6. I also bought it as a New Year’s gift (and it has already settled in a new family). But giving it away without writing a detailed review would be a sin... I ordered it from the popular MOBASE store on Aliexpres for $74.99, because... At the time of ordering, based on reviews on various forums, only they had the box in real stock (now many already have it).

Xiaomi stated that Mi Box was created in partnership with Google. At a minimum, Google is involved in its promotion. The operating system is the stock Android TV 6 from Google.

There are only three boxes with Android TV on the Google website, and one of them is Mi Box.

At the time of writing the review, Mi Box was officially sold on the American market, but it can also be purchased in Chinese online stores without any problems. The very appearance of boxing on sale was a surprise to many. News about the collaboration between Xiaomi and Google on a TV box has been circulating since the spring of 2016. And at the end of September, without any announcement, Mi Box appeared on the shelves of all Walmart stores, causing a heated discussion of this event on the Internet. In early October, Xiaomi made an official announcement, putting all the dots in place.

Content

• Range of Xiaomi boxes
• Specifications
• Equipment and appearance
• Android TV 6
• Performance in synthetic tests
• Internal and external storage
• Network interface speed
• General information about the audio and video decoding system
• Sound format support and audio output
• Video format support and video output
• IPTV and Torrent TV
• YouTube 1080p60
• HDMI CEC
• Conclusion

Range of Xiaomi boxes

Before I start a detailed story about Mi Box, I’ll briefly talk about the range of Android boxes from Xiaomi, because...
the confusion in the names misleads some people. Xiaomi Mi Box mini / 小米盒子mini版 / MDZ-15-AA

The smallest Android box from Xiaomi.
Made on the basis of SoC MT8685 from MediaTek (4 Cortex-A7 cores with a frequency of up to 1.3 GHz, Mali-450 GPU). 1 GB RAM and 4 GB ROM. Supports Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n 2.4/5 GHz (MIMO 1x1) and Bluetooth 4.0. The operating system based on Android 4.4.2 is entirely in Chinese and with Chinese services (no Google services). The only interfaces are HDMI 1.4. Remote control with Bluetooth support. This box is intended for the Chinese market only. Xiaomi Mi Box 3c / 小米盒子3c / MDZ-16-AA
Made on the basis of SoC AMLogic S905-H (4 Cortex-A53 cores with a frequency of up to 2 GHz, Mali-450 GPU). 1 GB RAM and 4 GB ROM. Supports Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2.4/5 GHz (MIMO 1x1) and Bluetooth 4.1. The operating system based on Android 5.0 is entirely in Chinese and with Chinese services (Google services are not available). Interfaces: HDMI 2.0, USB 2.0, analog audio output, Mini Toslink optical audio output (combined with analog). Remote control with Bluetooth support and microphone. This box is intended for the Chinese market only.

Xiaomi Mi Box 3s / 小米盒子3s / MDZ-19-AA
Made on the basis of SoC AMLogic S905X-H (4 Cortex-A53 cores with a frequency of up to 2 GHz, Mali-450 GPU). 2 GB RAM and 8 GB ROM. Supports Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2.4/5 GHz (MIMO 1x1) and Bluetooth 4.1. The operating system based on Android 6.0 is entirely in Chinese and with Chinese services (no Google services). Interfaces: HDMI 2.0a, USB 2.0, analog audio output, Mini Toslink optical audio output (combined with analog). Remote control with MiTouch touch ring (not Bluetooth, IR). This box is intended for the Chinese market only.

Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced / 小米盒子3 增强版 / MDZ-18-AA
The most powerful box from Xiaomi and one of the most powerful on the market.
Made on the basis of SoC MT8693 from Mediatek (2 Cortex-A72 cores + 4 Cortex-A53 2 GHz cores, PowerVR GX6250 GPU). 2 GB RAM and 8 GB ROM. Supports Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2.4/5 GHz (MIMO 2×2) and Bluetooth 4.1. The operating system based on Android 5.1 is entirely in Chinese and with Chinese services (no Google services). Interfaces: HDMI 2.0, 2 x USB 2.0. Remote control with Bluetooth support, microphone, large number of sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, etc.). This box is intended for the Chinese market only. This console already has an official international name - Xiaomi Mi Box Pro, but the international version has not yet been officially announced. Xiaomi Mi Box / MDZ-16-AB
Essentially this is Xiaomi Mi Box 3s (MDZ-19-AA). Only the operating system is a pure Android TV 6 system with Google services, a complete remote control without a MiTouch touch ring, but works via the Bluetooth interface and has a built-in microphone. This is the console we will talk about today.

Specifications

__table_placeholder1__Sometimes the question is raised online about how the AMLogic S905X-H differs from the S905X. The letter H means that the SoC already has licenses for decoding DD 5.1 and DTS, and the manufacturer of the final product does not need to pay for them additionally.

Equipment and appearance

Mi Box comes in a cardboard box. Technical data is printed on the back of the box.

Inside: set-top box, power supply, remote control, HDMI cable, brief instructions in English.

The attachment is very compact, 101x101x20.5 mm, but heavy - 178 g, because There is a large metal plate installed inside for cooling. Housing made of black matte plastic.

There is a rubberized insert on the bottom.

There is a small window on the front, behind which a white LED is hidden. It shines softly and does not catch the eye. Behind the same window is an undocumented IR receiver. The set-top box can be controlled not only by a Bluetooth remote control, but also by an IR remote control with a corresponding known set of codes (this has been confirmed by several owners).

At the rear there are: DC power connector, USB 2.0 port, HDMI 2.0a port, mini-jack audio output combined with optical Mini Toslink.

If you already have a cable with Toslink connectors, then just buy a small Mini Toslink adapter for 30 cents.

The Android TV control panel operates via the Bluetooth interface. Buttons: Power, D-pad with central action button, Back, Home screen, microphone activation, volume control. The remote control is powered by two AAA batteries. There is no strap included, but the remote control itself has a strap holder. The remote control has a built-in microphone. Unlike Xiaomi Mi Box Pro, the remote control does not have any sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, etc.). The original kit includes a Xiaomi power supply with an American-Chinese plug. The seller replaced the power supply with a version with a European plug. Power supply characteristics: 5.2 V / 2.1 A. Cord length is about 1 meter. DC connector 4 x 1.7 mm.

The included HDMI cable is about 90 cm long.

It is difficult to disassemble the attachment without damaging it. I will provide photographs of the disassembled box from the Internet. A massive iron plate is installed inside, which cools the SoC, memory chips and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth controller through thermal substrates. The Wi-Fi controller itself is implemented on a Broadcom BCM4345 chip.

Android TV 6

The “pure” Android TV 6 system is the best thing about this set-top box. The system is in Russian (there are some untranslated elements in the settings), voice search is supported in Russian, which works just fine. Google's Android TV Launcher is used as a launcher.

Global search works great.
You can watch the weather, search for videos on YouTube, etc. For example, if you search for a movie, then in the search results you can see its description and actors. You can go straight to Google Play Movies. If you have another program for online video installed that is fully integrated into Android TV (for example, ATV Videobox), then in the search results you can immediately go to this program if the movie is there. The children figured out the console themselves in a couple of minutes; they liked the quick voice search for cartoons.

In the Home Screen settings, you can enable recommendations from different programs (even third-party ones, if they support this feature). For example, on the main screen there may be recommendations for videos from YouTube or films and TV series from ATV Videobox and other installed programs.

The Google Play Store here is different from the app store on the regular Android system. Here are only those programs whose interface is adapted for control from the remote control, including games that can be played using the remote control. There are also games that can be played using a gamepad. You can install them if your gamepad is connected to the console. Playing with a remote control is no more difficult than playing on a smartphone. The entire range of Google Play Store can be explored in about 10 minutes. Many popular programs (for example, MX Player, Kodi, VLC, ES Explorer, ivi, etc.) are already here. But every day there will be more programs adapted for Android TV.

You can install an Android TV remote control on your smartphone - this is a program from Google. All controls are there and you can enter text using your smartphone keyboard.

If you wish, you can always install regular Android programs. You can install them through a browser on your computer (just select installation on a console on the Google Play website) or simply using an apk file. You can even use a browser (for example, Chrome) on the console itself. But to fully work with such programs, you will need, at a minimum, to connect a mouse or remote control with mouse emulation. My devices (Logitech K400r keyboard with touchpad and Rii mini i25 remote with gyroscopic mouse and keyboard) worked without problems. In Android TV settings, you cannot select additional layouts for hardware keyboards. I used the External Keyboard Helper Pro program, in it you can select layouts for any languages ​​and a keyboard shortcut to switch between layouts. The system interface and animation work quickly and smoothly, there is no discomfort.

Of course Google Cast works. You can, for example, open a video on YouTube on your smartphone and start playing it in Mi Box with one click. You can control playback from your smartphone. If necessary, you can close YouTube on your smartphone, but playback on Mi Box will not be interrupted. The same applies to music and, in general, to any programs that support Google Cast.

Interacting with Android TV 6 and programs is a pleasure - very simple and effective.

Performance in synthetic tests

The set-top box uses SoC AMLogic S905X. This SoC is not characterized by high performance; its main purpose is media content. 4 Cortex-A53 cores with a frequency of up to 2 GHz, Mali-450 GPU.

I performed all tests with a resolution of 1920x1080.
If you use 4K resolution, gaming performance will drop catastrophically. AnTuTu v6.2.6 Overall index: 35591 3D: 2783
GFXBench T-Rex: 9.9 fps T-Rex offscreen: 10 fps

Bonsai Overall Index: 1753 Average FPS: 25 fps 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme: 3917 Geekbench 4 Single-Core: 630 Multi-Core: 1737

Google Octane Overall index: 3519 Without load, the temperature of the outer body of the box is about 33 °C. With load it reaches 40 °C. No overheating or throttling was noticed.

Internal and external storage

Xiaomi Mi Box has only 8 GB of internal memory. Of this, about 4 GB is available for installing games and programs. When you connect a USB flash drive, you can set programs to be installed on this drive. But when selecting this menu, the system gives an error. There are similar reviews from other owners. You need to wait for a system update to fix it.

Internal memory speed test in A1 SD Bench: The set-top box supports FAT32, exFAT, NTFS file systems on external media.

Network interface speed

The Xiaomi Mi Box has a Wi-Fi controller from Broadcom BCM4345 with support for the 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4/5 GHz, MIMO 1×1 standard.
The set-top box is located 5 meters from the router through one reinforced concrete wall. At this point, most of my 802.11n (MIMO 1x1) devices show speeds up to 50/50 Mbps. Laptop with MIMO 2x2 around 80/80 Mbps. Smartphones with MIMO 2×2 are also around 80/80 Mbit/s. A stationary computer with MIMO 3x3 at 5 GHz here (if placed nearby) squeezes out about 100/100 Mbit/s. All this is the real data transfer speed (measured by iperf), and not the connection speed. Of the latest devices tested: Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced - 150 Mbit/s, Morefine M1s stick - 95 Mbit/s.

The sensitivity of the Xiaomi Mi Box is quite high; the set-top box has seen many Wi-Fi networks. We connect to the 5 GHz network. Internet speed 80/108 Mbit/s .

The actual data transfer speed within a local network using iperf is
111 Mbit/s .

The speed is at a very high level.
It was not possible to beat the record holder Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced, but the result is excellent compared to other devices. But the speed of work via the Samba protocol was a little disappointing. Without buffering, MX Player only pulled streams up to 40 Mbps.

You can connect a USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet adapter to the set-top box via USB (directly or via a hub). In this case, the speed will be slightly higher than 200 Mbit/s. Adapters that are made on ASIX controllers are supported (confirmed by the owners). I have a USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet adapter on Realtek, but it didn't work, i.e. There are no drivers for Realtek in the system - this needs to be taken into account.

General information about the audio and video decoding system

Android has two libraries for system (hardware) decoding of video and audio content: Stagefright and MediaCodec.
For example, the popular player MX Player uses Stagefright in HW mode, and MediaCodec in HW+. Kodi uses MediaCodec by default. In Xiaomi Mi Box there is a complete mess going on with decoders in different libraries. Some decoders are supported in one library but not in another. For example, looking ahead, system audio decoders only work with Stagefright, and 4K HEVC Main 10 decoding only works with MediaCodec. But these are all little things that can be resolved by setting up and choosing a video player. But I would like to pay attention to the rendering when using Stagefright (HW). If you look closely when playing some video files, in HW mode the rendering quality is significantly lower than HW+. This is the first time I've encountered something like this. Here are two still frames (I took it with a camera, because in HW mode screenshots do not capture video).

I can only give one small recommendation - use MX Player with an additional set of software audio codecs in HW+ or Kodi / SPMC mode.

Sound format support and audio output

The set-top box can output sound via HDMI, optical output, and analog output.
For the test I will use four MKV files with tracks: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, Dolby TrueHD 7.1, DTS-HD MA 7.1. As players I will use MX Player (without installing additional codecs, only system decoders) and Kodi (it uses software decoders). I can’t check the Pass-Through output for Dolby TrueHD 7.1, DTS-HD MA 7.1, because... my equipment does not support these formats, but other owners confirm that HD audio output is not supported in RAW format. First, let's check the local audio decoding:__table_placeholder2__Audio output via HDMI and optical (Pass-Through):__table_placeholder3__

Video format support and video output

The set-top box has an HDMI 2.0a output and supports image output with a resolution of 3840× [email protected] Hz (10 bits per channel) and HDR, if the TV has the appropriate support. I cannot check support for 4K and HDR mode. But real owners on various forums confirm that there are no problems with this resolution and HDR. I will test on TV in 1920× [email protected] Hz mode.
You can download all video files from the test using the link.

The set-top box does not have “autoframe” support, i.e. The scan frequency does not switch during video playback.

Using the Judder_test_24p.mp4 file, we check for the presence of a judder effect (unevenness). We start the video and take a picture of the screen with a shutter speed of 1 second.

Judder effect is present. The set-top box does a standard 3:2 pulldown conversion for 24p > 60p conversion, frames are displayed for a different amount of time.

Enable the HDMI self-adaptation function in the settings. And we take a photo.

As you can see, now the system does not do a 3:2 pulldown, but for each frame changes the display time on the screen, based on some internal algorithm. This is not motion interpolation (I double-checked that no additional frames are generated), but the visual judder effect is much less noticeable. So it's better to enable HDMI self-adaptation.

Using the 1080p60.mp4 file, we check the fairness of the 60p output (so that there is no duplication of frames). We start the video and take a picture of the screen with a shutter speed of 1 second.

Fair and uniform 60 frames per second without duplicates.

Using the file jellyfish-55-mbps-hd-h264.mkv we will check support for the H.264 codec. This file has a bitrate of 55 Mbps and a resolution of 1920x1080. The maximum video bitrate on Blu-ray is 48 Mbps. If the test file is played without drops and freezes, then the set-top box will easily play absolutely any BD Remux (and any BDRip). The file plays perfectly. There are no complaints about the H.264 decoder. The video was decoded without any problems using the Stagefright (HW) and MediaCodec (HW+) libraries.

Using the file jellyfish-140-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv, we will check support for the HEVC/H.265 Main10 codec. This file has a bitrate of 140 Mbps and a resolution of 3840x2160. The maximum video bitrate on Ultra HD Blu-ray is 128 Mbps. If the test file is played without drops and freezes, then the set-top box will easily play absolutely any UHD BD Remux (and any UHD BDRip). The file can only be played using the MediaCodec (HW+) library. The video plays, but frame drops are visually visible. As the bitrate decreases, there are fewer drops, and they disappear completely only with a flow of about 70 Mbit/s. Xiaomi Mi Box cannot cope with perfect playback of UHD BD Remux and UHD BDRip. 4K decoding support only applies to online content (which typically does not have a high bitrate) up to 70 Mbps.

Another bug has been discovered. If 4K HEVC Main10 is played back, then at lower resolution 1080p the HEVC Main10 decoder does not work correctly. This bug is confirmed by other owners.

Using the 1080p_Hi10P.mkv file, we will check whether the SoC is powerful enough to play H.264 Hi10p video (this is H.264 10 bit) - the format is non-standardized, hardware decoders are rare. In program mode without drops, this file cannot be played. Using the MediaCodec (HW+) library, the hardware decoder is turned on, the video is played, but there are too many visual artifacts.

In general, we can say that the Xiaomi Mi Box plays video well, but 4K content with a high bitrate is not for it.

IPTV and Torrent TV

IP television from a provider with IPTV + MX Player or Kodi, pirated television OTT CLUB (the program of which is also optimized for Android TV), Torrent Stream Controller (Torrent TV) + MX Player - all this worked flawlessly.
When working with IPTV, one significant bug was discovered in the operation of system decoders. In fact, I already read about it in thematic forum threads, but now I personally confirmed it. In Xiaomi Mi Box at the time of writing the review, deinterlacing in video did not work! This is a childhood disease (for example, the first Nvidia Shield firmware also suffered from it), and I can’t even imagine how this could have been missed before the product was released. Deinterlacing only refers to interlaced video, not progressive, but these are the types of streams that are often found in IPTV. In HW mode (Stagefright library), deinterlacing did not work correctly, creating unpleasant flickering in some parts of the image. In HW+ mode (MediaCodec library), only one field was displayed (the second was simply discarded), which reduced the actual video resolution. For example, here is a piece of video with a resolution of 576i, on the left is HW+ (one field is discarded), on the right is the correct operation of deinterlacing:

YouTube 1080p60

The YouTube client, which is also adapted for Android TV, supports 1080p60 on this box. But one unpleasant bug surfaced when playing 1080p60 YouTube. At some point (most often this happens after sleep modes), 1080p60 videos on YouTube begin to briefly jam every 5 seconds. Only rebooting the console helps. At the same time, 1080p50, 1080p30, etc. are played normally. The problem is confirmed by many owners on various forums. Those. Again, you need to wait for a system update to fix this bug.

HDMI CEC

Of course, HDMI CEC operation floats from TV to TV. But in my case with two LG TVs, HDMI CEC support was very limited in this device (or completely absent). The set-top box can only go into sleep mode when the TV is turned off. The TV remote control does not work.

Conclusion

Overall, I really liked the Xiaomi Mi Box. High-quality manufacturing, convenient remote control, fast Wi-Fi, convenience of stock Android TV 6, excellent voice search, Google Cast support. But the presence of bugs slightly spoils the overall impression of the console. Let me remind you of the main ones: the deinterlacing system does not work (critical for those who watch IPTV), DTS output (Pass-Through) does not work, assigning a USB drive as main memory does not work (you cannot install many games), periodic problems with 1080p60 content on YouTube. I would like to believe that the bugs will be fixed during the next system update, but there are famous companies behind the box - Xiaomi and Google.

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.

Mi Box firmware instructions

If the reason for the malfunction of the set-top box is determined to be a software violation, it is worth changing the software to the current version. It’s worth noting right away that we recommend downloading the Russian global firmware archive only from trusted sources. To carry out the operation, you need to prepare a cable with which the set-top box will be connected to a computer or laptop. You also need to first disassemble the device, since in the future you will need to close the contacts.

The flashing procedure consists of several simple and understandable steps.

1. On the PC, launch UBT and select the firmware. Check to see if the checkboxes are checked correctly and press the “Start” button.

2. We connect the cable to the ports of the computer and set-top box, then press the testpoint.
3. Turn on the power. As soon as the connection beep sounds, the firmware has begun.
4. After 5 minutes the loading bar turns green. You can connect the set-top box to your TV.
5. After switching on, the first boot will begin. It takes 5-7 minutes, then it goes faster.

How to set up Kodi player on Android TV Box: step by step instructions?

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.

Method 2 – flashing with one ZIP file

With this method we will perform the update, also called OTA , it always comes in a file with a ZIP extension that we must not unzip because the file signature will be damaged and it will not be possible to apply it.

1. Copy the update ZIP file to a USB drive or SD card
2. Launch the UPDATE & RESTORATION application on your set-top box. You can find it in the settings menu or among installed applications.

1. Click on the Select button and select the ZIP update file
2. Click the Update button to begin the update process
3. The process will take a few minutes.
4. After updating the firmware, you may need to restore the factory settings.

This version continues to include Google certification , supports Google Cast to stream content from our mobile devices, and allows Amazon Prime Video in 4K . Updates actually change the core of the system to a new one, which gives us more options in the future, but for the user the changes are minimal. This is the same convenient voice search and proprietary Android TV interface.

The well-known manufacturer of smart set-top boxes Mecool has released an update for the KM9 and KM3 . This time we are getting a new version of the Android TV 10 . The new firmware is available for the KM9 Pro Classic, KM9 Pro Delux, KM3 4/64, KM3 Rare 4/128 consoles.

This version continues to include Google certification , supports Google Cast to stream content from our mobile devices, and allows Amazon Prime Video in 4K . Updates actually change the core of the system to a new one, which gives us more options in the future, but for the user the changes are minimal. This is the same convenient voice search and proprietary Android TV interface.

Mecool KM3 review

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.