Xiaomi Mi Box - A small but capable Android TV device

Android TV is a version of the Android operation system Google tailored for TV sets. It is not the first attempt by Google to make an operating system for TVs. Its predecessor, Google TV, did not do well because its interface was too much like the touch UI of the smartphone/tablet Android versions, and it did not work with users' TV viewing experiences too well since the apps were not designed for simple remote control navigation.

With the release of Android TV, Google also sells the Nexus Player to promote it. And in this iteration, its UI is more similar to that of the TV game console such as XBox One or PS4, which is more suitable to navigate an app's functions through remote control. It therefore attracts company like Nvidia to build the Shield TV device and several name brand TV manufacturers to build TV sets with Android TV built-in.

The brief Android TV history aside, this blog is to introduce the Xiaomi Mi Box. It is a cheaper and more powerful Android TV device to replace the Nexus Player which Google no longer sells in its store.

The Mi Box is available in Xiaomi's Global store or WalMart for US$69. It is much cheaper than the Nexus Player or the Nvidia Shield TV. And unlike the Nexus Player which only supports WiFi network connection, the Mi Box also comes with an Ethernet port. Internet connection through Ethernet port is genuinely better for streaming performance, and it makes sense to households who actually have their cable modems or DSL modems near their TV sets; the Mi Box can conveniently connect to the modem with an Ethernet cable.

The content of the Xiaomi Mi Box package

In comparison to the Nexus Player, the Mi Box has a few features best the prior. As shown in the photo here, the Mi Box remote(the one at the bottom) has a Power On/Off button and the volume Up/Down buttons.

The Mi Box' Power button does not fully shut down the device by default, it is the Suspend/Resume button. Users can configure the Power button in the "Preferences, > Power key definition" option to do Restart instead but since such an option is available in "Settings > About", it is ideal to leave the Power button with its default setting.

As for the volume button, Google designed the Nexus Player to have the audio volume fully controlled by the TV's remote control, however, there are occasions where it is more convenient to control the device's audio output independently. For example, when the user is using the Android TV device to switch between streaming contents, it is more intuitive to adjust volume on the same remote control.

Another feature with the Mi Box worth pointing out, is in the Settings menu, it has a "Display" menu with options to set up how it works with the TV display. The most useful Display option among all, is the "Screen Position" option. Android TV devices do not work with all TVs display sizes perfectly. On some incompatible TVs, it is common to see "Overscan"(the device's display output is bigger than the TV's display area. To resolve such Overscan issue, on the Mi Box, users can go to "Settings > Display > Screen Position" to select "Zoom in screen" or "Zoom out screen" to adjust the device's display output to match the TV's display area(see screenshots below).

TV manufacturers like Sony and Sharp have products that have Android TV built-in. To those who are in the market for a new TV and want one with the Android TV capability, those are good options. However, they are generally a few hundred dollars more expensive than TV sets of about the same models but without the Android TV feature. Therefore, unless operating one additional remote controller is a concern, it is cheaper to attach an Android TV device like the Mi Box to the TV.