Should I buy the Mi Box S?

by pussyjuicelover

So I've had the latest firestick for a while now and while it was nice for my first dabble in Android TV I'm looking to upgrade and also a shield is a little too steep in my country otherwise I'd definitely get that. Here's my questions

I've seen a lot of mibox related questions in the sub due to errors and such and I'd like to know how people using it feel about it and any hiccups they might face
I have a bunch of 10bit x265 content, Will that be a problem since the firestick can't play it
Overall are you happy with your purchase? If you could would you do buy it again?

Thanks :)

[deleted]

Just buy it, they work. They're are so many questions due to the popularity of the box and inexperience using them.

We have 6 and only issue was having to factory reset then all after updating to 8.0 for Amazon prime to work. And if your closet to WM you can always test and return.

Max_Roc

The only reason to change from 4k fire stick to a mi box is you prefer Android tv UI and can't afford shield. A mi box is a lateral move at best.

Rwin01

Mi box s is the little sister of nvidia shield , good experience.

supafly11

I recommend it.

geoblainville

Great device, with Chromecast to boot!

Kurzaa

I have Chromecast in my house and have wanted to upgrade to something with a remote as using my phone is a hassle at times, especially when I get a call while watching something and can't pause the show. Last Christmas I tried the FireStick, but didn't care for the UI as I felt I had to have Amazon Prime. Later I tried the Roku, but didn't have a lot of control over the UI and didn't appreciate Roku's constant advertisements.

I like the default Android TV layout on the Mi Box S, but the reliability and availability of the apps feels a little inconsistent. For instance, my Emby and Netflix queues didn't seem to be updating properly on the Mi Box unless I forced them close or restarted the device. After a few weeks, I have started getting audio stuttering problems and low FPS recently in video playback.

Not worth it for me to return Mi Box S, especially given the hassle of getting it delivered from Walmart Online, but if I did it over, I might look at the Jet (?) box instead, though I think it is about $20 more.

BiggussDikkuss

Do NOT buy the Mi Box S if you need working 5.1 Netflix audio. Expect audio dropout with that combo.

Also do Not buy the Mi Box S if you need HD audio working with Apps like Kodi.

Do Not buy the Mi Box S or any Android TV media player if your old audio receiver only supports Dolby Digital audio and you need 5.1 Netflix or Amazon Prime 5.1 audio.

Dolby audio support is extremely poor (Mi Box) to non existent (NVIDIA Shield) on such Android TV devices.

Honestly Xiaomi have no idea what they are doing when it comes to such audio support - yet they continue to falsely advertise with "Dolby Audio" Logos.

In English speaking lands we call such sellers Con Artists !

The Amazon and Apple devices have far far better Dolby audio support if you have older Dolby Digital only audio equiptment and want surround audio from copy protected video streaming Apps.

The new FireTV Stick 4K easily handles 10bit h.265 content - it's another Tech generation ahead of the Mi Box S hardware. MIMO (dual antennas) AC WiFi on it for example is definitely superior vs the Mi Box. The Stick also does auto Frame Rate matching with various Apps.

2.0 audio and basic non demanding, relatively low bitrate Internet video steaming is the Mi Box's target market, and yes it does 10bit HEVC decoding.

flokkki

Upgrade from a Fire Stick 4K to a Mi Box S?

ahahahah let us know how that goes.