[cdmonk]

Long time XBMP/XBMC/KODI user. I just bought one of these through GearBest and received it a few days ago. Its a great little box which will replace my Asrock ION 330 which has been my main media PC for the last 8 years (with an original Xbox before that). The ION is still wonderful, however now that I have moved from a HD TV to a UHD TV i need to upgrade (like I did when I went from SD to HD).

The Mi Box is running 16.1 from the Play store (This is my first Android device apart from a cheap android media player from Aldi that is in the kids room, so i haven't looked in to side loading yet. Once I updated the firmware everything is running pretty well in Kodi playing h265 10bit UHD files, however bandwidth is my killer. I have a TP-Link UE300 USB to Ethernet adapter which was plug and play, but no good.

I found the post with bandwidth comparisons between USB to Ethernet adapter VS 801.11AC however i don't have an AC access point atm).

What UHD content are people playing as the content that I have has a data rate of about 65Mbit according to MediaInfo and even with a 400MB buffer (which I suspect is pushing it as its held in memory not disk) It just came keep up.

I don't think I am having any other issues, but I have not really put it through its paces. Bandwidth seems to be my main issue at the moment I think (and that 10bit h265 UHD files don't play in SPMC, but that is for a different forum

Im having the same as you... it plays for a few seconds but then complains about source rate being too low or something... and that is with AC wifi too, beggining to think maybe it just cant handle that high data rate...

Try turning off bluetooth, I had massive problems with the wifi when bluetooth where turned on, as soon as i turned it off it worked great.

@dyera: It definitely can decode it, it's just a matter of getting the data in to it. I can't see this data rate being much higher than a BR ISO. I reencoded the video at 45mbit/sec and it still struggled, so I tried again at 30mbit and it seemed OK. What is the video data rate you are trying to play? If I had 802.11AC based on the tests I saw posted in this thread, it should just play if you tweak your cache settings.


@charliebrown: Cheers, I'll need to give it a try. I'm guessing that the BT remote stops working if you do that tho LOL.

I'm using 5Gz so I am not expecting it to reduce interference on the radio, but it could be something else so I'll give it a go.

[ByteShare]

Did anyone else lose SMPC as a suggestible app on the home screen (with latest firmware update)? It is still enabled in the settings as an app to use for suggestions but I'm only getting YouTube now.

I got it mostly working again by doing a factory reset (tried uninstalling and reinstalling SMPC and even Kodi with Genie. I say mostly because I'm not getting a lot of suggestions like I did before but I'll wait and see if it gets better.

[dyera]

Im having the same as you... it plays for a few seconds but then complains about source rate being too low or something... and that is with AC wifi too, beggining to think maybe it just cant handle that high data rate...

Try turning off bluetooth, I had massive problems with the wifi when bluetooth where turned on, as soon as i turned it off it worked great.

@dyera: It definitely can decode it, it's just a matter of getting the data in to it. I can't see this data rate being much higher than a BR ISO. I reencoded the video at 45mbit/sec and it still struggled, so I tried again at 30mbit and it seemed OK. What is the video data rate you are trying to play? If I had 802.11AC based on the tests I saw posted in this thread, it should just play if you tweak your cache settings.


@charliebrown: Cheers, I'll need to give it a try. I'm guessing that the BT remote stops working if you do that tho LOL.

I'm using 5Gz so I am not expecting it to reduce interference on the radio, but it could be something else so I'll give it a go.

The same as yours about 65Mbit


Could you share what you think i should have the buffer set too and ill give it a go, router is about 4m away so should be getting good speeds.

[ozeiboy]

Hi WRXTASY,

Hi Everyone.

I've been a regular reader of this thread for the last more than a month, then a month ago, I got my MiBOX. Great little unit. I bought it along my Mi Max from AliExpress with DHL shipping and got it in within 5 days with weekend in the middle.

Wrxtasy, I have the similar setup as you for the live TV here in Ingham, QLD. I have TVHeadend as the backend with Sony Play TV dual tuner on my Xpenology NAS. All the channels working in SPMC except the HD channels that loss voice sync and play in "slow motion". Can you please advise if you got the same set up and you are seeing the same with HD channels? I have also tried the Live TV app and it works but shows a green vertical line on the right side of the screen.
Just wondering if you have any suggestions for me please. The MiBOX is connected to my Apple Airport TimeCapsule Express on 5GHZ N. I think it should be fine for at least the HD channels. But I have tried playing 4K content and it works just about fine.
Any advise is appreciated,
Thanks,

[wrxtasy]

Hi mate, yes I see all the same issues with HD TV and any version of Jarvis or Krypton. AMLogic Mediacodec need some attention before HD deinterlacing gets fixed for TV viewing. Kodi devs know about this issue as well.

I've also seen that green vertical band in the Live Channels App when using TvHeadend for SD channels.

Q. Have you joined up to the TvHeadend / Live Channels Beta - test Google Group ?
I believe you have to if you want to get the latest TvH / Live Channels App thru the Play Store.

Also I take it you have checked for any App Updates in the Google Playstore ?

When Configuring Sources in TvHeadend / Live Channels, use the 2nd option - Mediaplayer
That green Band Vertical line is fixed when using the latest Mi Box updated Firmware and TvH / Channels & VLC.

Surprisingly, considering there is no Refresh switching happening.
Even when I have the Mi Box configured to a 1080p60hz Resolution, I can still watch 25/50fps OTA, Live TV with a pretty smooth video playback, the Oz Open Tennis, with all that ball movement, certainly looks fine when I'm watching.

Not sure if the Mi Box is correcting all this Automatically or the Motion Estimation and Motion Compensation (MEMC) algorithm in my TV is.

[robboman93]

hey guys

I've owned the Wetek hub for about half a year. It's a great device but I've ran into some troubles. There is no optical port on the hub, and I can't get it to work with passtrough etc. It was my first android box and the lack of Android TV turned out to be a greater issue then I thought. Apps like Spotify are very remote unfriendly to say the least.

I've been researching the Mi box a bit and it looks like a great replacement. I have a few questions

1. I read the Mi box has a optical output, but then I looked at some pictures and it's a different port then I'm used to. My 5.1 surround set only has optical out, no hdmi.

Will a cable like this work?



The normal optical will go in my Logitech z-5500 and the mini Toslink in the Mi box correct?

Will this give my 5.1 audio like dts and dolby digital in Kodi? Is that the correct cable to use?

thanks everyone

[ozeiboy]

Hi Wrxtasy,

Thanks for the quick reply. Yeah, so HD channel viewing needs some work in the SPMC/Kodi.
No, I do not remember joining any group for the TvHeadend / Live Channels Beta - test Google Group ? I just installed the app from the play store. I must say that I have not checked for any app updates since I installed it, but not been using much as I find SPMC working better and much more control over the live channels and recording schedules etc. I have updated the Mi firmware though.
Thanks for the suggestion, I will reset the TvHeadend / Live Channels as you suggested and see what it does.
I must say that I am using this MiBOX until I upgrade to a Shield Pro, when its available and shipped to Oz by Amazon. But I must say, I am really getting to used to the MiBOX, so double thinking if I should really spend all the money on the Shield TV. What you think?
Oh, one more thing, when I am playing the 4K video using Plex with direct play, it plays a lot smoother (nearly perfect) in compared to SPMC that struggles and buffers quite a bit. Any thoughts?
Thanks,

[wrxtasy]

@robboman93, Have you used the Android TV OS, remote friendly Apps, inc. Spotify for the WeTek devices (inc. Hub), found Over HERE

Combine that with a HDMI > Optical extractor and you would be good to go. It's OS platform and hardware independent and can then be used with LibreELEC too.

I don't use Optical personally.

---

@ozeiboy,
Suggestion is to join up to the TvHeadend / Live Channels - Google test group, which then gets you access to the most recent bug fixed TvH Live Channels App. Then check for the updated App in the Play Store.

Shield vs Mi Box. Depends on what A/V media you actually want to playback and Apps you want to use. I cannot answer that for you.
If you need HDR 4K content from Netflix and Amazon - well there is no competition. HD deinterlacing will also work for HD TV on the Shield. Refresh switching will work as well. 4K video playback will be better too.
There are users that hate the Up/Down Volume touch controls on the Shield remote tho, because its too easy to accidentally active.

IMHO - 4K HDR Media Player marketing is a complete con job unless you can get access to properly encoded HDR content. The same really for 4K device marketing. In reality how many 4K test clips can one person watch ?

I actually use the Mi Box for remote friendly Android Apps primarily. The remote is excellent. And then various AMLogic S905 test/development devices for LibreELEC Kodi. Because with LE Kodi on a device like the S905 ODROID C2 - virtually everything just works, pretty much seamlessly.

[ozeiboy]

Thanks again for the quick reply Wrxtasy,

Yeap, I have joined up and got the latest TVH live Channels update V 0.2.71 installed. For some reason I could not edit my sources settings so I just uninstalled and then reinstalled. Set it up using the settings you recommended and Voila, its working perfect. Even the HD Channels. Thanks.
So that tells me that that my WiFi bandwidth is fine, so may be i should try the cache size tweak in SPMC settings?
Yeah, I do not have much media at the moment Just a fan of the new devices and I've looking at the Shield for quite a while. But will try the Netflix HDR. Amazon video , hmm not until i can pay for it using the telstra prepaid credit. Not actually know much about Amazon Video.
May I as what "remote friendly Android Apps" to name a few if you like?
So for 4K I am thinking either using Plex or try with some cache setting for the SPMC and same for the PVR for live TV on SPMC, just to get that working too. I like the SPMC live tv interface and the ability to select and schedule recordings etc.
Regards,

[robboman93]

@robboman93, Have you used the Android TV OS, remote friendly Apps, inc. Spotify for the WeTek devices (inc. Hub), found Over HERE

Combine that with a HDMI > Optical extractor and you would be good to go. It's OS platform and hardware independent and can then be used with LibreELEC too.

I don't use Optical personally.

---

@ozeiboy,
Suggestion is to join up to the TvHeadend / Live Channels - Google test group, which then gets you access to the most recent bug fixed TvH Live Channels App. Then check for the updated App in the Play Store.

Shield vs Mi Box. Depends on what A/V media you actually want to playback and Apps you want to use. I cannot answer that for you.
If you need HDR 4K content from Netflix and Amazon - well there is no competition. HD deinterlacing will also work for HD TV on the Shield. Refresh switching will work as well. 4K video playback will be better too.
There are users that hate the Up/Down Volume touch controls on the Shield remote tho, because its too easy to accidentally active.

IMHO - 4K HDR Media Player marketing is a complete con job unless you can get access to properly encoded HDR content. The same really for 4K device marketing. In reality how many 4K test clips can one person watch ?

I actually use the Mi Box for remote friendly Android Apps primarily. The remote is excellent. And then various AMLogic S905 test/development devices for LibreELEC Kodi. Because with LE Kodi on a device like the S905 ODROID C2 - virtually everything just works, pretty much seamlessly.

Thanks for your reply. I've tried using a optical extractor and it did not work, it did not give me 5.1 audio. I don't want to use extractors anymore, i'd like to have 1 cable, and also no pas-trough anymore (got it to work with a Intel nuc, but not with the hub). The android tv rom was not stable for me at times.

Should the cable I linked to work? I already found someone that wants to buy my hub, it would cost me only 10,- to get the Mi box.

[cdmonk]

hey guys

I've owned the Wetek hub for about half a year. It's a great device but I've ran into some troubles. There is no optical port on the hub, and I can't get it to work with passtrough etc. It was my first android box and the lack of Android TV turned out to be a greater issue then I thought. Apps like Spotify are very remote unfriendly to say the least.

I've been researching the Mi box a bit and it looks like a great replacement. I have a few questions

1. I read the Mi box has a optical output, but then I looked at some pictures and it's a different port then I'm used to. My 5.1 surround set only has optical out, no hdmi.

Will a cable like this work?



The normal optical will go in my Logitech z-5500 and the mini Toslink in the Mi box correct?

Will this give my 5.1 audio like dts and dolby digital in Kodi? Is that the correct cable to use?

thanks everyone

That's the cable you need. I use Optical and am about to get one of those, ot a 3.5mm Optical to TOSlink adapter for my existing cable.

[KoopaTroopa]

Firmware update the Mi Box and the TV if you have not done so already would be my suggestion.
Mi Box Firmware update pops up in Android settings > About

I updated the Mi Box

I didn't update the Hisense because it was already on the latest software

So, the symptom is still there!

Hisense set to HDMI-CEC, Mi Box "works" first time but as soon as you switch inputs or anything besides using it that first time, all hell breaks loose.

I have now tried the Mi Box on the old 1080p Samsung TV and that doesn't miss a beat. Everything just works.

The Hisense minus the Mi Box "just works"

I can only think that somehow the MI Box is interfering with the Hisense somehow, you can't change channels on the TV and you can't control the Mi Box

[wrxtasy]

Normal Marshmallow Firmware has an option to switch OFF HDMI-CEC completely, this is missing with Mi Box MM Firmware.

To make matters worse they seem to have stuffed up HDMI-CEC behavior with the latest Firmware update. My TV no longer Autoswitches ON and selects the correct HDMI input when the Mi Box wakes up from sleep. This used to work before.

I have none of those remote channel change issues and problems you describe on my 2015 HiSense 55K321UW.

[PeterMorgan]

Hi, can anyone recommend a store other than aliexpress? (Chinese new year means orders won't be processed for a coupe of weeks). I'm based in Australia if that helps. Thanks.

[wrxtasy]

Q. Does anyone else have terrible Jittery video playback when using SPMC 16.5.5 ?

Well I have observed that just this morning. Kodi Krypton RC4 was Minimised in the background and SPMC 16.5.5 was giving terrible Jittery Video playback and also broken scrambled 10bit video.
I simply Quit Krypton completely and normal video playback was then restored when using SPMC 16.5.5.