All About Mi Box S

Mi box S is a 4K HD streamer that is soft on the pockets and is a good value for money. This product from Xiaomi attempts to take on the likes of Roku, Apple TV, other Android TV and Fire TV. The Mi box S, package contains a voice remote, which makes it handy to kick off a voice search with just a press of a button on the remote. Considering the comparatively low price and sporting features like integrated Google Cast and voice search, the Mi box S, promises to be a compelling buy. Mi box S is compatible with thousands of apps, giving you access to tons of premium video services and a constant stream of fresh new content. It features the latest 4K HDR technology and high-speed 4K processing for up to 60fps playback. You can enjoy an ultra, high-definition, lifelike viewing experience right in the comfort of your home!!

Design/Hardware

The sleek and innovative design of the Mi Box, has received international acclaim and is the recipient of both Red Dot and Good Design awards. The Mi Box S has a simple, clean, compact and minimalistic look, which can blend with the room interiors. The box measures just 3.5 x 3.5 inches and comes with rounded edges, a Xiaomi logo on the top and an HDMI port, a USB port, a 3.5mm audio port and a power port at the back. The Android TV box packs a powerful Cortex A53 Quad-Core processor that has been clocked at 2.4 GHz. Along with its CPU comes 2GB of DDR3 RAM and 8GB internal storage. It features the latest 4K HDR technology and high-speed 4K processing for up to 60 fps playback. However, note that the TV box is set at 720p playback by default and you will need to go into Settings and change that manually to get the most out of the experience. Mi Box supports both Dolby Digital Plus and DTS multichannel HD audio encoding. The result is smoother, dynamic, immersive and more realistic stereo surround sound during ultra HD Blu-ray video playback. For those of you who need more storage, this Android TV box allows you to slide in a USB. Thanks to this, you never have to worry about running out of storage space for your media again.

Chromecast

Google ChromeCast is inbuilt in Mi Box S. Mi Box S comes with Android TV operating system and hence any apps that work with android phone or tablet operating system may not be directly compatibile with android TV operating system that runs on Mi Box S. In this scenario, the inbuilt chromecast feature in MI Box comes handy, which lets you stream shows, movies, music and more, which are externally available and support GoogleCast. C

Google Assist

The new remote has a Google Assistant button. The voice remote has a microphone built into the remote so that you do not have to shout your queries across the room.

 Google Assistant is a part of the Google App. The Google Assistant will perform tasks like opening apps, switching off the lights etc. Google Assistant will also learn from you everytime you need something. Once the Google Assistant setup is complete, the Google Assistant button on the voice remote, could be used, for using Google Assistant functionality.

Pros and cons of Mi Box S

Pros

• It is compact, stylish portable and versatile.
• It loads apps quickly and can handle demanding apps such as PlayStation Vue without major slowdowns.
• This product provides an excellent video output that can go up to 4K resolution.
• Given the price factor, it is good for viewing high definition content with a lifelike viewing experience and powerful voice controls, in the comfort of your home.
• Not only does it support the same phone-based controls as Chromecast, it also offers a full on-screen menu system and voice controls powered by Google Assistant.
• Best of all, Google Assistant’s genre search supports detailed queries. Genre search on Roku and Fire TV is not nearly as thorough.
• Full-sized USB port for hard drives or external controllers

Cons

• No Ethernet support
• Remote lacks full TV controls
• When the box is asleep, it becomes unavailable for casting. If you want to launch a video from your phone, you must first grab the Mi Box’s remote and turn the device on, which defeats the purpose of using your phone as the remote in the first place.
• Low frame rates in live TV streaming apps

If price is not a factor, you can consider the Nvidia Shield TV, which comes with all the benefits and none of the drawbacks of the Mi Box S. But, for a budget streaming box coming with Android TV, the Mi Box S is hard to beat.