As I’ve mentioned a few times recently, I’ve been thinking of covering streaming media boxes other than the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick a little more frequently than I have in the past, so I picked up a Xiaomi Mi Box and a Roku Express. I selected these two devices because I consider them to potentially be the best competitors to the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, respectively. The Mi Box seems to have a decent set of specs and features without breaking the bank, which is a category the Fire TV dominates, and the Roku Express is a super cheap media streamer, which is a category the Fire TV Stick dominates. Covering these devices in relation to Fire TV devices is new territory for me, so I’m asking for your help and suggestions on what you’d like to see from me regarding non-Fire TV streaming devices.
There are already plenty of reviews for these devices, and I’m sure more are being posted daily, so just reviewing them and moving on is not what I’m interested in doing. I’m more interested in covering and comparing things that get glossed over or ignored entirely in your average review. I’ve got some ideas of my own, but let me know in the comments below what you’d like me to explore, no matter how specific or broad it is, when it comes to non-Fire TV streaming devices, both in relation to the Fire TV and not. Any feedback you can give me to steer me in the right direction is greatly appreciated.
@AFTVnews
AFTVnews
What channels are available/ not available? Which has more storage? Which is faster? Can you add storage to either? Easiest to use? Can you sideload any apps? Etc. Pretty much everything :)
I second this… while performance is important for media devices as the saying goes: “Content is King”. Side by side comparisons of what this device can offer (both app store and third party) compared to the FTV would be useful.
I am currently using a rooted Fire TV 1. I want to see if there is any benefit to switching to the Xiaomi box. I don’t care about 4K at this point.
I would like to see the performance between the Xiaomi box and fire tv 1 and 2, some benchmarks and how it they all perform in Kodi.
Does Kodi support all the 5.1 capabilities with Xiaomi?
Thanks!
I was exactly where you are – running a rooted 1st gen fire tv. I made the switch to the mi box a few days ago, and I have to tell you – it’s sweet. It’s my secondary bedroom box (I have a Shield TV in the living room), but I have to say I’m loving the performance. Very snappy, responsive – and everything I use runs natively, so no worrying about root or side loading. So far, it’s been very stable using Netflix, Hulu, Sling, and Kodi (my primary source of media). No crashes, no wifi lag or dropped connections, no issues at all. For the price, I’m so happy with it as a secondary unit.
+1 on your comment. I purchased the Mi and I’m real happpy with it. Kodi runs great, and the UI does seem very snappy and quick. I really like that you can add a usb drive to it and either move apps to it, or format the usb drive as internal storage. All this is done natively without having to root it or run scripts or anything. I can sideload apps on it using es file explorer but haven’t been able to connect it to adb, but I think I just haven’t really tried hard enough to get it connected. And as I mentioned in another comment, you can install a leanback version of Amazon Prime Video and it seems to work great.
Have you successfully formatted a usb drive as internal storage? If so, what drive worked? I’ve tried a couple different usb 3.0 flash drives, SanDisk Ultra 128gb and a 32gb PNY – both caused Settings to crash when formatting as an internal drive.
I thought it was just me. I tried a 128 gig PNY Turbo USB Stick, and had the same result, settings would crash trying to format. Never figured out why.
Nice review of your own, thanks!
As far as Kodi Video Playback, I am seeing mixed results with the new Mi Box as compared to both the 1st and 2nd gen FireTV boxes. I am able to use an old Wii USB ethernet adapter to eliminate possible wireless issues.
Kodi on the Mi Box plays clean H264 files very well, such as bluray rips. I also have one 4K file that plays fine.
The H264 files from Comcast with an HDhomerun and a cablecard are more demanding. These files have some slight stuttering with the Mi Box. These files play better on the 1st gen FireTV and very well on the 2nd gen FireTV, even in software decoding mode.
The Kodi HDhomerun plugin playback is incredibly choppy on the Mi Box. Maybe this is an android 6.0 issue. The 1st and 2nd gen FireTV work well enough with the Kodi HDhomerun plugin.
I have noticed 5.1 audio pass through working with Kodi on the Mi Box, but I have not tested it enough.
My initial impression is that the 2nd gen FireTV is a more powerful and more stable device all around for Kodi video playback compared to the Mi Box.
I hoping to see some benchmarks comparing all three devices.
Good review! Sounds like this box has issues with HD Streaming Live TV.
Plugged Ethernet into a USB Ethernet adapter into the Mi Box and I cannot tell the difference in speed, am I missing something? Pretty straightforward right? All that shows up is Wi-Fi in the settings and like I said no speed difference.
Does its Netflix client pass through Dolby Digital, or just Dolby Digital Plus like the Shield?
And by that I mean does it convert DD+ to DD like the FireTV does, and the Shield doesn’t.
I would like to know how Kodi runs on it. The Mi box IMO seems to be the middle point between the fire stick and amazon box.
It typically Asian fashion — and you know what I mean if you are a regular traveler to Asia — Xiaomio completely ripped off the look of the Fire TV — right down to using the same ridiculous bright orange cover?
Really?
‘Typically Asian fashion’… wow…
Looms like the Roku box, except that one is blue. But I guess that’s okay because it wasn’t made by a bunch of stereotypical Asians.
Hey, he’s right. Patent and copyright laws are almost nonexistent over there.
https://postimg.cc/image/kt8lmg4ht/
k, ceded, the boxes are both orange, but what, the flat square with the round corners is a ripoff of the square cornered block that is the Fire?
Besides, some of us aren’t happy with how tightly Amazon controls this device, treating it more like a rented cable box than a product a consumer actually owns. See: the blacklisting of Firestarter (a legal product) and myhouse.apk.
Now some Amazon boosters would inevitably say “So? You don’t have to buy it. You don’t like it? Go buy something else.” Well, this could be a something else.
Only fanboi’s get angry over a product they own getting competition.
Considering how cheaply Amazon sells their devices, I am ok with how they “control” the use. I suspect they sell some of this stuff at cost or even lower.
Oh, no doubt.
I don’t think anybody disputes that they sell these at cost with the intent of making money off Amazon Video sales.
That’s fine. But like I said, some of us chafe under them actively controlling what we can and can’t put on a device we buy, not rent.
I’ve said before I would be more than happy to pay, say, $150 for a Fire TV with an unlocked bootloader. See the Google Nexus and the legendary Linksys wrt54gl for examples of how a company can make a lot of money by selling power users devices they can use how they want.
However Amazon chooses not to follow that path. That’s fine as well. However it leaves the door wide open to hungry competitors, (sorry Larry, even those…”Asian” ones)
The clearly observed interest in this device attests to a consumer demand not being met by the FieTV.
Adam – He is referring to some Chinese companies propensity to copying western brands. No need to be sensative.
Eh, maybe I’m overly sensitive, but nothing happens in its own vacuum, and the current environment has a lot of… lets say willfully callous aspersions being made by people using what people in the “Diversity” field call code-words. Mind you, I’m a middle-aged white male republican, I’m officially not in the “Diversity” field.
But even I blanch a little at consciously chosen word sequences such as “typically Asian”
So maybe I’m being overly sensitive, or maybe I’m responding as people should respond. I’ll leave it to the individual reader to consider our respective postings.
“Code words”? Maybe that’s the problem. People need to stop looking for reasons to get offended.
I agree there is almost nothing similar about the Fire TV and Mi Box. I really like my Fire TV 1 and my Fire TV 2. their very powerful boxes, but I like the Mi because you’re not limited in what you can install on it. And you don’t have to root it and install Xposed or anything like that just to get basic apps working on it.
just my cents
Your comment really shows how ignorant and prejudices you are. Xiaomi started selling Mi Box is way before Amazon start selling Fire TV. When I first got the Fire TV and look at its remote, my thought was what a ripe off it was compared to my Mi Box (two generations ahead of the current one)that I was using for some time. And the orange color? It was Xiaomi’s logo color from day one!
Can we use NTFS drives with the Mi BOX? Install apps into the external storage?
I’m more interested in hearing about the Mi Box. Can it play x265, 10bit, 4k etc without skipping a ton of frames? How is the Kodi experience as compared to the Fire TV? How does the voice remote compare? Thanks
Does a decent Ethernet to USB 2.0 converter have the same, or at least sufficient throughput (ie. 4k) as the native Ethernet of the FireTV?
DTSHD?
Nope. No DTS-HRA, X nor Dolby Digital +/TrueHD/ATMOS either. All HD audio passed as PCM 2.0.
1080/24p? (manual , or auto frame rate switching)
Automatic, nope. Manually forcing to 1080p/24 somewhat works… you’ll get 23.85x, 23.87x, 23.89x or other wacky framerates not quite 23.976, depending on content source.
Does the Xiaomi Mi TV suports Netflix 4K?
Yes, but not HDR. Coming later per Xiaomi.
I don’t see the 4K icon on any Netflix videos. Are you seeing the icon? Thanks.
I had the same issue. After about an hour and an update from netflix, 4k content appeared.
I got a Mi Box a couple of days ago and the issue that i have is that Netflix is only playig audio in 2.0, its not possible to play in 5.1? 4K UHD seems to work fine.
I’m curious how the Xiaomi Mi box compares to Xiaomi’s other streaming boxes. They have more than 1 streaming box in their product family. I’m also curious how the Xiaomi Mi box compares against the NVidia Shield product.
I would like to hear about peripherals to the devices like a better remote than default or a TV Tuner if there is one compatible and the performance of the device. I would also like to see the device setup and what the UI looks like. You could also update us on your experience over time.
How does the mi box form factor and build quality compare to the firetv? Does it also have a dense heavy heatsink like the firetv?
Does it have bluetooth?
Does it stream YouTube, netflix, and Hulu in 1080p/4k quality?
I will be considering this along with the firetv stick as my 5th streamer device for another room in the house.
About the Mi Box
– can we connect an external HDD to i? Can we run Kodi from the HDD? Videos?
– Does it support CEC? For me, that one of the fire TV’s main advantages, as I can control it from the TV remote or use its remote to turn the TV on.
Yes
Yes
and Yes
Yes on Cec, when you bring it out of sleep the TV turns on. However the Roku stick seemed to change TV input back to Roku when hitting home button. I don’t see MI box changing input back unless you hit power button twice, once to make it sleep, then again to resume. Will mess with it more, but because it is a Googlecast receiver, I rarely change inputs anymore.
I used my tv’s settings to override that obstacle. It worked tho.
I think it will come down to the box. Most of these have similar specs, but os and hardware implementation cab make a big difference. I would get a wide array of video formats (mpg2,mpg4,.h264,.h265) and put it through the video paces. Do the same with aftv to compare as a baseline. Also where some of these boxes do differ is in their use of wired or wireless connection. Check how well these boxes handle wifi connection. Do the same with the aftv and if you want to test well, continue to moved the boxes further and further away from the router. Of course real world speed and ease of use will be major factors as well. Either way I am interested(would like to see the nvidia shield in the mix too). :: Getting popcorn::
Just some advice for the Roku. I’ve own two of them and they will frustrate the (S) out of you. In my personal opinion, Roku’s are design for lite use. I don’t have a cable subscription so I used my Rokus a lot and everyday I had some type of error with them. Whether it lock up where I would have to get up and unplug it, or the it wouldn’t pause/resume, delete account info like Netflix. It was a huge piece of (S). I sure you’re going to find out soon… best of luck and remember if you put it the microwave for 2 seconds it will never hurt another living soul again… lol
Roku stick I agree. Roku 3 seems pretty stable to me, just sucks using private channels and having to mirror screen for kodi. But screen mirroring seems kinda weaker than Google. I don’t use the function on my firestick. Roku stick takes like 5ish attempts to successfully mirror my screen.
Which one of these has a TWC App … ??
How about amazon prime instant video support in these boxes?
The roku habe a dedicated app for it, as i know.
The mibox is a AndroidTV device where, if i’m right, only the shield-like way via kodi plugin works, that allow only SD streaming from amazon prime instant video.
Am I guessing right?
I bought the Mi Box to get an improved 4K experience (compared to the AFTV2). Oh boy … what a disappointment! While there UI runs at 4K@60 … It’s buggy as hell. Vudu does not show it as being 4K capable. Netflix app never starts a 4K movie … it quits after buffering up to 94% (I have a 100Mb pipe and AFTV2 does 4K fine).
-No Ethernet Jack. I always prefer hard wire.
-No Amazon Instant app.
-After a few minutes of real fast UI … it slowed to a crawl. (Android blues?)
-No way to have US and UK apps share same UI (AFTV2 allows that). So no BBC iPlayer.
-UI is not optimized for 4K (CBS News logo looks really rough)
-only app that consistently worked fine was YouTube. 4K videos looked great. Wish I could say the same for Netflix and Vudu 4K.
Overall a ‘Meh Box’!
Returning it soon.
The inability to have more than one play account with Android TV is a very strange omission. Google TV didn’t have that. It is an important restriction which is why you are unable to have both iPlayer and Hulu on the same box. Supposedly that is to be fixed in the next major OS upgrade.
Multiple user support has been in beta since March and was in final release this past summer. The Mi Box just isn’t running the latest and greatest OS yet. Mult-user support works great on the Nexus Player.
I thought the Nexus player had been discontinued? Is there a current Android TV player which runs this new OS or is it specific to the Nexus player? My Shield TV says it is up to date but I guess the OS, if it happens, has to come from Nvidia?
Thanks for the info. Hope there is an update to the Shield. Odd that a newly released player would be running the previous OS.
Nexus Player is discontinued and yes its the only one running Android 7 but Android 7 is coming to the Nvidia Shield and should be coming to the Mi Box. We just don’t know when.
Android 7 is a much larger upgrade IMO than 6 so it will be great when the other devices get it.
Android 7 Adds: DVR, PiP, Multi-User, App Multi-tasking Menu and Vulkan support.
How are you getting US and UK apps on the same box on the AFTV2?
Are you just side loading the other countries apps?
On a PC, log in into Amazon account and go to Account Settings and Change region to a UK based address. Use some valid UK address. This will allow you to pull up UK apps for Fire TV. Push app to Fire TV. Change region back to US.
Need SmartDNS for this to function.
Its crazy that you went in with these requirements when there is the Nvidia Shield Android TV that full fills all of them. Instead you go cheap and buy a super budget streaming device with little features and a slow chipset. Android blues..? Yeah right, lets pointlessly blame the operating system which has nothing to do with it. Open your wallet next time and Android TV will do everything you want it to.
Nvidia shield definitely is a powerful beast with more ram that can handle it all. No software problems, stable performance and the best GPU in any android platform. It was a purchase I never regretted.
I had a crap fest with mine to. I enhanced it and the replaced box from Wal-Mart worked solid. I can’t say the symptoms were the same but it may help. I agree should have multiple USB ports and a hardwire option.
the problem with comparison, is all a bit subjective, tech specs can be superior but the device useless, it all becomes a p*sing contest. Other blogs do a better job to be honest doing this kind of thing, I think aftvnews is just about right, right now, interesting mix with a look over the fence rather than, 913x v whatever.
I’d like to know basically 3 things about the Mi Box:
1.- Can you use a USB drive formatted as internal storage with it like you can in Marshmallow phones? I read that Android TV 6.0 allows any USB drive of say 32_/64/128 GB to be formatted as internal storage but don’t know if it’s true.
2.- How well does HD streaming with Kodi work on this? Basically for Live TV and movies/tv shows.
3.- Do you or anybody know of an online store that sells these internationally? I’ve seen them on eBay already but don’t fancy paying nearly double the price of it’s retail price.
Thanks
1.) Yes.
2.) Works very well for me. Much smoother than my Firestick.
3.) Don’t know.
Oh and you can use a USB hub in order to utilise more USB devices while still able to use use a USB drive as internal storage.
The settings crash when migrating data to external storage. You must do it app by app. Kodi will not use external storage at all on the mi box.
Is there a way (official or unofficial) to get Amazon Prime Video up and running on the Mi Box?
Yes, there is a way!
But not Amazon 4K
Is there any way to get the Plex Media server on the mi Box, like the shield?
Mi Box uses Android TV, so everything is the same, its Android TV!!!
No! Shield TV has a powerful processor capable of running the Plex Media Server. Mi Box is only able to run the Plex Client.
Have you found a way to do this? Thanks
What can the Mi Access that the FireTV can’t? To me the biggest one I can see so far is UltraViolet content.
I really think that the Xiaomi guys will dominate the smartphone/smart band/tv box global market in the future, because they are too cheap for what they deliver. Because of this I would prefer, if you would compare their products to the ones Amazon offers in the future.
I would like to see an Android TV Mi Box in the price segment of 100$, which should be at least as fast as FTV2 Box. I think, it is nothing, that can not happen.
The answer was not intended as reply to Jim’s comment, sorry.
Thank you for taking an interest in Android TV, I think the best thing you can do is compare the pros/cons as to using Amazon Alexa on the Fire TV and using Google’s Voice Search on this Android TV device.
For example I believe you can search the TuneIn app with Google voice search on an android tv, I believe you can also tell the device to play certain stations while Alexa definitely has that ability but what about for the other major streaming music apps? I don’t believe Google Voice has a news flash briefing yet but I thought I read somewhere they would be adding such a feature.
Also when you simply say “OK Google” a bunch of categorical options pops up.
How about the use of screensavers when listening to streaming music?
Is the 5GB storage limit enough if all you will be adding is streaming video/music apps?
At this point I believe if the Google voice search functions can operate close to or match the Amazon alexa in terms of searching and playing stations, it makes it easier to pull the trigger on this device.
Thanks for the site and your time.
Could you please test if you can access and use two NTFS formatted drives with media on them simultaneously in kodi when connected via usb hub?
Doe it support hardware decode of VC1 codec (used by some older Blu-ray)
Plays, but with stutters, especially w/1080i 29.970 VC-1 (like music concerts).
Can you test the wifi range and the actual vs rated speed, please.
Does the Mi Box have an IR sensor?
Yes.
No it doesn’t. Remote is Bluetooth. You can add Bluetooth mouse and Bluetooth controller.
I’d like to know…
– Can you install the latest Xfinity TV app (to watch Live TV) on it?
– Can you install an app to watch Cartoon Network? (for my son)
– How well do Plex and Kodi work on them (at least as good as 1st gen fire tv)?
– Is there a Disney Movies Anywhere app available?
– How well does Vudu and CinemaNow work?
– Are there apps for HboGo, CinemaxGo, Showtime, Starz, Encore?
– How easy is it to hook WIRED ethernet to it? and can it be done cheaply? i.e. what is needed, and what works?
And finally… is there away to install Amazon Video player and Music player? (for Prime Video and Music)?
As far as the latest Xfinity TV app on the Mi Box, I can not get the latest version 3.9.0.036 to launch, similar to the FireTV.
Version 3.1.1.019 of the Xfinity TV app will run on the Mi Box, but the video playback is a bit choppy, similar to the 1st gen FireTV.
The Xfinity TV app on the 2nd gen FireTV has smooth video playback.
If the Xfinity TV app is a high priority, the 2nd gen FireTV is a better solution at this point in time.
Thank you, clocks, for your 7:25 comment. You got exactly what I was referring to.
Sure thing. Unfortunately we live in a time when everyone is looking for something to get upset about. I miss the old days.
Back when you could say “typical ” pejoratively without being called on it.
Yeah, man, those were great times….
oooh, I stumbled into html coding in my answer. Retry with much less effect:
Back when you could say “typical $people-that-aren’t-me” pejoratively without being called on it.
Yeah, man, those were great times….
I thought we were supposed to say Asian. Isn’t Asian the pc correct word? Lol
I bought a Mi Box and absolutely love it. I have the Shield TV in the living room for more power user situations and the Mi Box in the bedrooms.
HD Homerun and Plex are working great on both Android TV devices. The Mi Box is extremely polished considering the price and the google cast support is an awesome bonus. Just waiting for Android 7 to hit it so I can add multiple users to it!
I find the HD Homerun doesn’t play as well on Mi as FireTV gen 2 box, but I do like the way it integrates into the my channels feature a lot. The best by far is the AppleTV with the Channels app. The Mi runs Kodi/SPMC like butter.
I would really like the WiFi evaluated. I don’t think the WiFi is as good as FireTV gen 2 box or my AppleTV.
I am clueless about Google cast Can you give me an example of how different Google cast is from say … the casting feature on Fire TV 2 or Airplay on Apple TV 4?
I would like to figure out how to sideload the Mi.
Sideloading on the Mi Box is pretty similar to doing so on the Fire TV box. You install the ES File Explorer app onto the Mi Box.
And then, use the browser in ES File Explorer to either download the apk file you want, or to locate the apk file on a USB stick or drive that can be connected to the Mi Box’s full size USB port.
Lots of great suggestions so far! In addition to those, I’d like to see some discussion about the UI and ease of use of these Android boxes. It’s my understanding that many things in the Mi are in Chinese, as are many of the included Kodi addons.
I got mine from Walmart and everything is in english. I think it asks you for what language when you first set it up.
You can also purchase the U.S. version of the Mi Box from Xiaomi’s U.S. website. The box is shipped from Hong Kong, I believe, but the version that arrives is the U.S. one with Google Play, etc.
You do have to be careful, however, as OTHER sites do sell Mi Boxes that are the Chinese variant, don’t have Google Play, and have various other differences.
When Walmart was sold out of the Mi Box both on their website and in their local stores, I ordered my from Xiaomi’s U.S. website, and the box I received came just fine, U.S. version and all.
That’s the Chinese market Mi boxes. This official AndroidTV OS and made for US Market.
You have the best tutorials. So a rooting guide or if you could put a full android rom or an amazon video/music apk that would work. Sideloaded apks that work/don’t work.
Hi all. I have a FireTV Stick that I bought 2 years ago. I’m VERY pleased with it.
I’m not a power user. I use it for Netflix and Amazon Prime, both of which run fine.
I’ve used it in the past for Kodi, and that also ran fine.
I have a hard drive that has a lot of movies stored on it. It was a second drive on a computer.The computer it was installed in died a while back. If I put the HDD in an enclosure, can I connect it to any of these boxes via USB and play the movies using, say, BS Player?
Thanks.
Where I’ve had the easiest time is plugging it into the USB on my router and using the router to share it via SAMBA.
‘Course you have to have a router that supports that, but alot do in recent years.
I’m surprised to see so many people posting about USB drive capability when this method is so much more elegant since it allows you to copy movies to the drive without moving it between the Fire and your PC.
Thanks Adam. Unfortunately my router doesn’t have a USB port. It’s a ten year old Lihksys that I’ve stuck with simply because it works. Solid and stable.
When I was using Kodi to access the computer the hard drive was installed in everything worked like a charm. I could play the movies on my tablet or on my Fire stick.
We have a new computer that I can install the drive in, but I was hoping that I can use the drive as I asked in my previous post.
I’m looking to buy another streamer for the TV in the bedroom. As I’m very happy with the Fire stick, I was going to buy the new one when it’s released and use it on the set in the living room, and use my current one on the bedroom set. If one of these boxes can access an external drive as I described I’m thinking it would take the load off the computer so to speak. I have the stick connected to my receiver, and I get DD+ and full surround using a Yamaha 7.1 receiver. I’m a bit leary about using a different device simply because the stick works so well for me.
Thanks again for the reply!
Wow, ok.
After ten years I think it might be time time to declare victory and move the “it works” router into the “I got the freaking /heck/ out of my money’s worth out of this purchase” category, and then get a new router. Seriously, you won, but, “Just works” is holding you back at this point. Enjoy the fruits of your victory and then take part in the new technology that’s now cheaply available.
I have a nice Asus RT-AC66U myself, but there’s already much better routers out there these days.
Do like we all do at times like this and bring yourself up to speed on whats current. Then get yourself a decently equipped router that allows you to share files from a external drive attached via gigabyte Ethernet and revel in again having the capability of having network wide media capability simply by copying files to the network-attached drive.
Oh, and if you’re considering going through with the expense of buying an enclosure, spend a little instead on a actual external drive (I use a WD MyCloud), and invest in the future by copying your files, by whatever means you choose, to it.
Thanks again, Adam. Great advice; I really appreciate it!
Anyone have a way to get Mi/Android TV to use AirPlay from iPhone/iPad which will work with amazon video.
There’s an airplay app in the google playstore. The pro version works very well with airplay.
Also on most video interfaces does it have a mini preview window so you can see where you are fast forwarding to? Rarely on these streaming reviews do I see the reviewer display what happens when you are fast forwarding on the various video apps.
If you have the usb to ethernet adapter and you have a laptop computer wired via ethernet, both sharing the same router, can you Chromecast to the Mi Box via Chrome if neither the laptop or Mi Box is using Wifi?
Thanks Elias. Would like to know the following (may have already been mentioned)
– Benchmark results across all device (including Nexus Player if you have it)
– How bad is the frame drops on the Mi Box for 4K
I would like sideload and test the Dish Anywhere app. Anyone know an easy way to do this?
I run both a NVidia Shield and a Fire TV 2nd gen. I prefer the Android TV UI over the Fire TV which is far less cluttered. There is also A new box from ZTE running true Android TV.
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/zte-unveils-4k-enabled-android-tv-stb–1166926
Remember these are brand new devices and are not yet running the most current version of Android TV which is on the Nexus Player. Like the Fire TV these companies will take a little time to release bug fixes for issues that come up. People bash the Asian STB’s but I would be willing to bet the Fire TV Box itself is manufactured in Asia?
Glad to see AFTVNews starting to cover other devices it will lead to a much more broad view of topic’s and help keep readers up to date on the market in general. I personally have been a advocate for this for a long time. Though Google does not advertise Android TV much it is being inter-graded with a growing number of STB’s and many Major brand televisions.
I like my Minix box. I don’t need root. I can run Kodi and use NTFS on my external drive for those big HD files. I would rather not have a box that’s a walled garden. So being able to see you do Fire TV like articles for a more open platform is awesome. Do these boxes work with Netflix without issue?
Yes, MIbox shows Netflix info in settings and runs Netflix in HD no issues.
Using Kodi, (which is all I wanted it for) has given me issues. I’ve experienced a lot of bufferingthat my first gen fire tv boots up right away, so much so that I had to disable hardware acceleration. Any one else having issues like this in Kodi?
Did you get your Mi Box from Xiaomi directly, at an online store or a brick and mortar?
I for one picked it up at a local Walmart … and I am in a small town in the US.
I am curious how game play is with Bluetooth controllers , Logitech remote controls and USB perifials.
I ended up picking up one of these from WalMart this weekend. I figure I’d give it a try over my Amazon Fire TV (original rooted). Its a lot quicker than the FTV and also has built in IR so i dont have to deal with the Flirc adapter. I havent ordered the ethernet->USB adapter yet but its been running fine with WiFi.
I couldnt get the WWE app from google play store so i downloaded the apk onto a thumb drive (on my computer) and then plugged it into the Mi Box. From ES File Explorer i was able to select the apk and install the program. very easy.
I now have to figure out how to get all the old Kodi buttons back on my remote (harmony).
Where do sideloaded apps show up? Are they on the homescreen, or do you have to dig around in the menus to find them? Can I use a different launcher?
they’re on the home screen. You can use a different launcher but i havent tried any yet. I heard Halauncher can be installed from the Play store so i might try it
I have a Mi box and can´t play 4k 60 fps youtube video only 4k 30 fps and kodi only recognize it at 1080p resolution, just wondering if there is a fix for that?
update your androidtv via android settings, just like you do on android phones…
HI,
i can’t play HEVC 10bit on the mi box ,it’s really bummer !
is it not support hevc 10 bit ??
Out of my experience with ftv, ftv2 and other android based media streamers, I must say I really like the MI Box 4k. Yes, there are a few issues which can and most likely will get sorted with software updates in the near future. What I want to express here is that for the price of this box and the potential of it, I can see amazon boxes having some stiff competition. After I updated a few apps and made some adjustments I have not had any crippling issues that would make me consider returning this box. There is a pass through issue that I’ve noticed very similar to the one amazon ftv2 had when it first came out. I was told by support that updates are going reslove a few issues and to be patient. Sound familiar? :) There are a few issues with certain formats of 4k files that I’ve tested. There is some stutter. But again, a software update can easily resolve the issue. Overall, I’d recommend this box to anyone. The price alone for something with this much potential was worth it for me.
We have a mi box and really like it. We notice we can’t get The CW app on it so we were going to cast it from our iPad mini and/or our iPhone. We can’t get casting setup. Does anyone have instructions on how to set the mi box up for casting? Thanks
If the app has a cast button, you should be able to cast to MI box just like a Chromecast. On my Android phone it shows up as MIbox.
How to side load amazon tv and xfinity tv go App on the mibox.
Also doesn’t seem to run hot, and small size is nice. Power supply seems bulky and is barrel style connector not micro USB. Comes with HDMI cable and batteries for remote. As side note my TV days for HDMI 2 on 4K you have to enable color sub-sampling for best results.
So ive had the Xiaomi mi box for about two weeks. I had a fire stick for 3 years prior and I’ve had the Roku 2 for a while. The mi box knocks the two out of the park as far as response time and loading. I hate the sync ur phone feature doesn’t work. I’m thinking hell yeah get all my apps, pics, and stuff from my phone onto this bad boy! But I’m yet to get them synced. And why doesnt it have Facebook!!?? It’s Google play for common sense sake. I feel like the TV part od Android TV is basically screwing up what could be truly amazing. I’m pretty tech savvy and I’ve been very surprised I haven’t been able to download several different apps. I like how it’ll play music and still allow me to search other things. All in all its faster then the fire stick in click response, search response, load response, stream speed, and command speed. I added an x1 thunb drive so I have all the memory I could ever need but even though I’m not a gamer it’s a big deal having that USB drive port.
I want to hook up a usb hdd with my films on it but it doesn’t seem to mount and nothing happens even though I can hear the hdd spinning – how can I resolve this so I can play my movies using VLC?
The drive is NTFS formatted which I understand is compatible.
Hi Michael.
Did you manage to get around this problem?
Thanks
please let me know where to get the non android tv version of amazon video (hacked) apk?