Comparison Xiaomi Mi Box S vs Xiaomi Mi Box 3 International

— Proprietary system. The operating system of the device is represented by the proprietary software shell of the manufacturer. Usually, such operating systems have an attractive and convenient menu. A proprietary operating system is developed directly by the manufacturer for the hardware resources of a particular model or a whole line, but has limited capabilities.

— Android (AOSP). This type of operating system is a modification of the popular Android OS, mainly notable for being open source. It is a versatile operating system that gives the user much more freedom to create changes and customizations within the system itself. At the same time, the installation and stability of certain applications on this platform are not guaranteed, and the overall system management was not specially “tailored” for large screens, which may cause some inconvenience. First of all, such solutions will interest users who understand the features of the Android OS, like to customize and control everything for themselves, and have time for this.

— Android TV. Devices of this type have full-fledged Android TV software, specially adapted to work on large screens. In accordance with the name, it is a type of Android OS, specially designed for such equipment. In addition to the common features of all Androids (such as the ability to install additional applications, including...even games), it has a number of special features: an optimized interface, integration with smartphones (including the ability to use them as a remote control), voice search, etc. Thanks to this, TVs with this feature are significantly superior in functionality to models with a “regular” Smart TV. Of course, a dedicated processor, graphics subsystem and memory are provided for the operation of a multifunctional OS, and the presence of such hardware resources is reflected in the overall cost.

— Google TV. Rebranding of the Android TV platform for TVs and smart consoles, or rather, a new shell on top of the operating system under the sign of the “green droid”, introduced since 2021. Among the innovations, it has a redesigned user interface, an improved knowledge base that more efficiently distributes content by genre and collects search information from the entire list of installed applications and subscriptions. The voice assistant now understands the needs of the audience better and provides a detailed list of what was found. A separate tab in the interface contains live broadcasts of current events, whether it be sports events or a rocket launch to Mars. Among other things, the aspects that involve the use of TV as a command post for managing a single ecosystem of a “smart” home have been improved in the system.

The technology of broadcasting audio and video signals through a Wi-Fi connection. Widely used in Apple electronics, the media centre with AirPlay will make it easy to duplicate a “picture” on a TV, for example, from an iPhone or iPad. The main disadvantage of this technology compared to similar Miracast is the need for a local network with a wireless router.

HDMI is the most common modern interface for working with HD content and multi-channel audio. Video and audio signals with this connection are transmitted over a single cable, and the bandwidth in the latest versions ( HDMI 2.0 and HDMI 2.1) is enough to work with UltraHD resolution and even higher. Almost any modern screen (TV, monitor, etc.) with HD support has at least one HDMI input, which is why most media players and TV receivers have outputs of this type. However, there are also models without HDMI — these are mostly outdated or the most inexpensive solutions that use only analogue video interfaces. There are also models for several HDMI and in most cases one of these ports is for the incoming signal, while the HDMI ports differ in versions.

— v 1.4. The version presented back in 2009, however, does not lose popularity to this day. Supports 4K (4096x2160) video at 24 fps and Full HD at 120 fps; the latter, among other things, allows you to transfer 3D video over this interface. In addition to the original v 1.4, there are also improved versions v 1.4a and v 1.4b, where the possibilities for working with 3D have been further expanded.

-v 2.0. Version released in 2013. Among other things, it introduced the ability to work with 4K video at speeds up to 60 fps, compatibility with ultra-wide format 21: 9, as well as support for up to 32 channels and 4...audio streams simultaneously. HDR support was not originally included in this release, but was introduced in v 2.0a and further enhanced in v 2.0b; media players from this category can support both the original version 2.0 and one of the improved ones.

— v 2.1. 2017 version, also known as HDMI Ultra High Speed. Indeed, it provides a very solid bandwidth, allowing you to work even with 10K video at a speed of 120 fps; in addition, a number of improvements have been made to HDR support. Note that the full use of HDMI v 2.1 is possible only with a special cable, but the functions of earlier versions remain available when using conventional wires.

The model of the CPU installed in the media player.

This information is mainly of reference value: the processor is selected in such a way as to provide certain practical characteristics (maximum resolution, support for certain standards, embedded applications, etc.). So when choosing, you should focus primarily on these specifications. However, if you wish, knowing the processor model, you can find detailed data on it and evaluate the capabilities of the media centre to work with resource-consuming applications. This can be useful, in particular, if you choose an Android model (see above) and plan to use additional software intensively — the set of applications for this OS is very extensive, and some of them are quite demanding on system resources.

Also note that CPU data is often specified for advertising purposes — to emphasize that the device has a fairly advanced chip from a well-known brand. Among the most common brands of such processors are Allwinner, Amlogic, Rockchip, Realtek.

HDR standard supported by the media player.

For more details about HDR in general, see above, while the standard defines some features of the implementation of this feature. Today, the following HDR formats are relevant:

— HDR10. Historically the first of the consumer HDR formats, less advanced than the options described below, but extremely widespread. In particular, HDR10 is supported by almost all streaming services that provide HDR content at all, and it is also common for Blu-ray discs. Allows to work with a colour depth of 10 bits (hence the name). At the same time, devices of this format are also compatible with content in HDR10 +, although its quality will be limited by the capabilities of the original HDR10.

— HDR10+. An improved version of HDR10. With the same colour depth (10 bits), it uses the so-called dynamic metadata, which allows transmitting information about the colour depth not only for groups of several frames, but also for individual frames. This results in an additional improvement in colour reproduction.

— Dolby Vision. An advanced standard used particularly in professional cinematography. Allows to achieve a colour depth of 12 bits, uses the dynamic metadata described above, and also makes it possible to transmit two image options at once in one video stream — HDR and standard (SDR). At the same time, Dolby Vision is based on the same tec...hnology as HDR10, so in modern video technology this format is usually combined with HDR10 or HDR10 +.

The set of audio codecs supported by the device

Codec — from the phrase "Encoder-DEcoder" — in this case, the format used for encoding and compressing sound in digital form during storage/transmission and decoding — during playback (digital sound is basically impossible without encoding, and compression allows to reduce the amount of data). Information about supported codecs is relevant primarily for assessing whether the player will be able to work with sound in a particular video file. The fact is that even in video files of the same format (see below), sound can be compressed by different codecs; and if the player supports the file format, but does not support the codec, sound playback will become impossible.

Theoretically, these rules are also relevant for audio files and online broadcasts (all formats — TV, video, audio). However, in fact, when working with such content, you can ignore codec data. So, for each audio file format, usually, its own standard codec is used, and file type support automatically means codec support. Broadcasts usually use generally accepted audio decoders like MPEG-1 or MPEG-2, which are practically guaranteed to be supported by any modern player designed for such broadcasts.

As for specific codecs, detailed information on them can be found in special sources, however, with the standard use of devices, such details are usually not needed.