We recently brought you a story on a trio of Xiaomi media players that can turn any TV or monitor into a smart viewing experience, and now we’re back to dig into things a bit more.
Whether you’ve already bought your Xiaomi media player locally from Takealot or you’re still on the fence, the below will allow you to get the absolute most out of this hardware.
While all of Xiaomi’s products are made as easy to use as possible, our five tips below get into the heart of things and will help you understand some of the technical terms used in the media player world.
4K streaming, your display and you
Resolution – the actual number of pixels a display outputs – is like many things in life where it’s only as good as the weakest link.
If you are, for example, intending to enjoy a 4K experience, a streaming service only offering a 1080p resolution will mean that you don’t get a 4K picture.
Your content, display and media player all need to support the same resolution for the best experience.
Keeping this in mind you can shop accordingly for hardware, content and subscriptions to create a media landscape that’s right for you.
This same principle applies to features like Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, where every part of the chain needs to support it to function properly.
Know your streaming platform
One of the best things about Xiaomi’s media players is the great support for various streaming platforms from the established ones like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to newer players on the block like Disney+.
While more choice is always good it does come with the issue of your content maybe not appearing where you may expect it to on the platform you may be watching.
Should your movie, show, documentary or other form of media not appear on the streaming platform you’re currently using it is worth remembering that this depends on that platform and your country or region.
While Xiaomi’s media players will stream just about anything, the content itself is up to the platform and you should consult them for availability.
Keep storage in mind
You may notice that the available storage of your Xiaomi media player in use is less than what is listed on the product page. This is entirely normal! A small portion of storage in all electronics is set aside to host the operating system and other vital software which allows these devices to function as intended.
Thankfully, in the age of streaming, actually hosting your own content is much less of a concern. This ability to stream as you need means that you don’t need to wait for downloads and you don’t need to hang onto content until you’re ready to enjoy it.
This system also means cheaper electronics as you’re not spending money on storage you don’t need.
Get on the same wavelength
Similar to our discussion about resolution above, Bluetooth functionality also needs to be matched up.
The Bluetooth standard that your devices uses, indicated by a number after the word “Bluetooth”, should be kept in mind.
Thankfully this usually shouldn’t be a problem especially as most baseline functionality works between technologies.
That being said, some of the advanced features, such as with the newest Bluetooth 5.2, needs to be paired with other Bluetooth 5.2 devices.
Chromecast and connectivity
Several Xiaomi media players have voice-activated Chromecast functionality built into them which can be accessed by simply speaking into the remote control.
The only limitation to keep in mind with this fantastic tech is that it works on an app to app basis. As always, have a look around the apps and services you intend to use to see if they support Chromecast functions.
