Nvidia Shield (2017-?)

[Jai Dee]

On 3/24/2018 at 8:53 AM, jphasia said:

Where can you find Samsung T3 SSD in Bangkok. I have looking for it but can't find it.

I don't think that you can get a T3 anymore... it's a superseded model.

 

You could get a Samsung T5 500GB portable SSD from InvadeIT here or a T5 250GB here.

 

 

[Polanskiman]

Anyone could recommend a good tuner for the NVIDA Shield? I want to be able to watch Thai TV.

[JHolmesJr]

Anyone know how I can clone my entire Shield setup onto a new Shield?

[Smileygc]

10 April 2018

 

I have a Minix X6 & Minix U1 and have been very happy with them. Running IPTV, Kodi with Plex, Motor Replays etc.

Happy that is, until I recently got Netflix and discovered the Minix is not a 'supported Netflix device' and so doesn't get surround sound.

My PC (Windows 10 Netflix app and Plex server) does get surround, but its in a different room.

 

So, as I have a buyer for the Minix x6 and need a replacement box, I am looking for a new device.

As Minix and most other Android TV boxes don't get Netflix 5.1 (a Netflix limitation, it seems) and I don't want to move my PC into the lounge, I need a new box that will give me the full Netflix experience.

Reading this thread, it would seem the Nvidia Shield fits the spec I want.

 

My question is :-

Is the Shield, now 3-4 yrs old, still the box to buy?

If so, where in Thailand is best to buy it (a respectable company that honours warranties etc)

Or should I source from the US - will the voltage be 110v or ok for Thailand & what about customs duty...

 

Thanks in advance 

[JaseTheBass]

10 April 2018
 
I have a Minix X6 & Minix U1 and have been very happy with them. Running IPTV, Kodi with Plex, Motor Replays etc.
Happy that is, until I recently got Netflix and discovered the Minix is not a 'supported Netflix device' and so doesn't get surround sound.
My PC (Windows 10 Netflix app and Plex server) does get surround, but its in a different room.
 
So, as I have a buyer for the Minix x6 and need a replacement box, I am looking for a new device.
As Minix and most other Android TV boxes don't get Netflix 5.1 (a Netflix limitation, it seems) and I don't want to move my PC into the lounge, I need a new box that will give me the full Netflix experience.
Reading this thread, it would seem the Nvidia Shield fits the spec I want.
 
My question is :-
Is the Shield, now 3-4 yrs old, still the box to buy?
If so, where in Thailand is best to buy it (a respectable company that honours warranties etc)
Or should I source from the US - will the voltage be 110v or ok for Thailand & what about customs duty...
 
Thanks in advance 

Fire TV box?

Sent from my R2D2 droid using my C3P0 manservant

[touch]

Does anyone know if the Mi box 3s gets netflix in 5.1 surround? I'm reading that there might be problems after the latest update to the netflix app.

 

[Pib]

2 hours ago, touch said:

Does anyone know if the Mi box 3s gets netflix in 5.1 surround? I'm reading that there might be problems after the latest update to the netflix app.

 

I really can't answer you specific regarding Netflix on the Mi3s box since I don't use Netflix, but I did receive a Mi3 box (International version..MDZ-AB-16) yesterday.  Ordered it from GearBest for 59 U.S. Dollars....it was on sale at the time....it's normal price on GearBest is around 67USD.  It was shipped out of their Hong Kong warehouse....took 15 days to arrive via free registered mail which is the shipping method I chose....didn't pay any VAT or customs on my Thailand end. 

 

And if  you decide to read in detail the above GearBest ad it "does" come with an HDMI cable as several of Gearbest answers to customers questions says it does not ship with an HDMI cable.  But many of the customers feedback with pictures says/show it does come with a cable.  The box also allows an language selection of 75 different languages to include Thai although the GearBest ad says it English language only.   Seems the GearBest ad and answers to some questions is somewhat dated.

 

Anyway, used it for the first time yesterday.   Right after the initial bootup it automatically did a system update check and updated its Android OS.  The first snapshot below shows the download process and the main reason for the update which was to fix Youtube playback problems.  The second snapshot shows the Android OS info after the system update..it runs Marshmallow 6.0.1...some NetFlix numbering also.

 

Logged onto Google Play and it updated various apps to include Youtube to the latest Youtube ATV ver 2.01.04...the exact same youtube version running on my Nvidia Shield (2017) and my AIS Playbox (latest box, not 1st box).

 

Using Youtube on the Mi3 box was total frustration because I couldn't play many videos unless you repeatedly tried starting the video. The box would show the video thumbnails, click on the thumbnail, and "sometimes" the video would run; "sometimes" it would not.  Go to another video and it would run....go back to the video that would not run earlier and now it would run. 

 

Over the next few hours I tried all kinds of things...like uninstalling Youtube updates, but it would be long before they would reinstall...clearing data and cache...and even doing a factory reset of the box....all to no avail...youtube problem still exist. 

 

For the first few hours of trying/doing all of this I would estimate around 30% of the time a video would not run on the first try...you would have to repeatedly try to finally get it running.  I got so frustrated after a few hours I just completely unplugged the Mi3 since I had other things to do....and then hooked it back up later that night to play with it again.   When plugging it back up last night I still had the same problem except only around 10% of the time video wouldn't start on the first try.   And when and what videos had issues starting on the first try...may only start on the 2nd, 3d, etc., try did not follow any pattern....purely intermittent.  And before I forget, when playing the video quality and sound is excellent...no complaints there.

 

I have an AIS Fibre 200/50Mb plan...internet speed is not the problem.   And using the Youtube setting to see what download speed the videos are streaming at they were streaming at over 50Mb.  Plus, both times yesterday I had the Mi3 box setup right next to my Nvidia Shield and AIS Playbox.  The Shield and Playbox had zero problems running each-and-every video, each-and-every time you clicked on a video.  All three boxes running the exact same Youtube ATV ver 2.01.04.  However, the Mi3 box just wouldn't run a video on the first try every time....you had to repeatedly try for about 5 to 10% of  the videos and it almost always started on the 2nd try where earlier in the day it might take 3 or more retries of a video to get it going.  Last night's session was a good deal better than the first session during the day....a person could live with.   

 

I did load the CBS News app which streams CBS News live 24/7 and it streamed that live video each and every time on first try...and I tried it at least 20 times during the day.   

 

So, now I started googling about the Mi3 box and youtube streaming issues and found plenty of people having the exact same problem.   I don't know how I missed this big negative on the Mi3 box as many, many reviews give it glowing results...but when googling along the lines of "Mi3 box Youtube problems" you pull up many negative reports from many folks.

 

I will not be sending the box back, "but if I had it to do over again at this point in time" based on my day one use of the Mi3 box with Youtube (which will be it's primary use in one room in my house) I would not buy it.   I'm going to continue to research/play with this problem...try different things to see if I can get the box to "always" play a youtube video on first try like the Shield and Playbox have no problem in doing...but deep down I know it probably won't help.

 

Please keep in mind my current negative view of the Mi3 is purely based on my Youtube experience with it; it could very well be an outstanding box for other streaming services.   And I really liked the Mi3 remote.

 

Mi3 Box owners complaining about the Youtube Problem:

https://xiaomi.eu/community/threads/mi-box-youtube-not-playing-videos.41749/

 

Xiaomi plans for Mi3 boxes/fixes....talks the youtube video playing problem also"

https://www.androidheadlines.com/2018/03/xiaomi-has-no-plans-for-new-android-tv-based-mi-box.html

Quote

Not all of these issues are entirely Xiaomi’s fault, actually. Take for instance, the Netflix issue that was reported on last fall. Where users were getting error messages when attempting to play content on the Mi Box 3. Netflix actually fixed these issues with an app update for Android TV. But when it comes to YouTube TV, which just plain doesn’t work on the Mi Box 3, neither party seems to know what the problem is, nor doing anything to fix it. In fact, when the YouTube TV app came to Android TV, it didn’t support the Mi Box 3, as Google had to develop an app specifically for the Mi Box 3, but not for other Android TV set-top boxes. Another problem with the Mi Box 3 includes a number of users having issues where some apps will stop working after having the Mi Box 3 for around five or six months, without the apps getting any updates, and a factory reset doesn’t fix the issue. When that happens on a smartphone, or even other devices, a factory reset would normally resolve the issue. But that’s not the case with the Mi Box 3. Other users are having trouble Casting to the Mi Box 3 as well, which is a core Android TV feature.

 

 

Note where it says this Android System update is to fix Youtube TV playback issues....but it don't.  But if the fix made it better then things must have been "bad" before.

 

Android Version Info After System Updte

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

Logged onto Google Play and it updated various apps to include Youtube to the latest Youtube ATV ver 2.01.04...the exact same youtube version running on my Nvidia Shield (2017) and my AIS Playbox (latest box, not 1st box).

 

My U.S. MiBox is showing a YouTube system app installed of version 2.02.14. And for whatever reason, I haven't had any of the kind of regular YouTube playback issues you describe above, now or in the past under presumably earlier YouTube app versions on the box.

 

BTW, I believe the firmware update you're showing above that references fixing a "Youtube TV" playback issue pertains to the U.S. OTT streaming service Youtube TV, not the regular Google YouTube app.

 

When Google launched YouTube TV (an OTT U.S. cable TV replacement service) last year, they supported Android TV devices, specifically the NVidia Shield. But because of some unspecified issue, not the other main Android TV device, the MiBox. So now finally months later, they upgraded the MiBox firmware to allow the box to download, install and run Google's own OTT YouTube TV streaming service, which is only available to U.S. IP addresses and many, but not all, U.S. geographic locations.

 

FWIW, my Mi Box is showing all the same system detail info as your second photo above: MiBox3, Android patch level July 1 2017, version 6.0.1, serial number 130..., and build once-user 6.0.1 MOB31Z 1901.

 

 

[touch]

Thanks Pib and TGJ

I've read about the issues with YouTube TV and also some people having problems with Netflix. I don't need the power of the Shield since I'm not playing games on the TV screen. The reason for buying the Mi would be to be able to watch Netflix in 4K with 5.1 surround sound. I can't get a definitive answer from my internet searches as to wether its working now or not. 

Would really appreciate it if someone that owns the MI could try it out and let me know. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Obviously I have the MiBox, but don't have a current Netflix subscription or a 4K TV, only full HD. So I don't think I can be of any help on your question.

 

-----------------------------------

 

Meanwhile, this update from Google's latest IO conference on their plans for Android TV moving forward... Promises, promises...  Remains to be seen what if anything will come from them.

 

https://www.techhive.com/article/3271430/streaming-hardware/google-retools-its-smart-tv-plans.html

 

Quote

 

Google didn't make a big deal out of it,but the company has revealed a significant shift in its streaming TV strategy.

The company suddenly seems a lot more interested in Android TV, its streaming platform that's long been overshadowed by Google's Chromecast streaming dongles. During its I/O developers conference this week, Google promised cheaper Android TV hardware, a smoother path to market for device makers, better support for app developers, and a general recommitment to getting Android TV onto more streaming devices.

 

 

One thing that's also a bit unclear about that entire discussion is how much, if any, of Google's future plans for Android TV will be pushed down to the older/existing devices like the Shield and the MiBox via firmware/OS updates, or are they only talking about stuff that will be aimed at future, not currently released Android TV devices?

[Pib]

3 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

One thing that's also a bit unclear about that entire discussion is how much, if any, of Google's future plans for Android TV will be pushed down to the older/existing devices like the Shield and the MiBox via firmware/OS updates, or are they only talking about stuff that will be aimed at future, not currently released Android TV devices?

My money is on little will be pushed down to older devices.   Now some manufacturers will push more than others, but overall I expect it will be little.

 

Seems after around 3 years most smartphone/tablet/Android box manufacturers abandon their products for additional updates...the older products get put in the obsolete/legacy product category whether they are really obsolete or not hardware-wise.  Need to buy their new hardware (sales...profit) to get the latest and greatest updates. 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Except, at least regards the MiBox, there are reports circulating now that Xiaomi/Google have already released an Oreo OS update for the MiBox to beta testers, and "supposedly" will be releasing the same Oreo OS update to all MiBox users soon via OTA update.

 

After waiting for 2 years for a promised Nougat update that never came except via numerous beta releases to beta testers and never was made final or formal, I'll believe it when I see it.  But this latest one does seem to have some credibility to it.

 

https://xiaomi.eu/community/threads/mibox-mdz-16-ab-oreo-released.44113/

 

 

[Pib]

Update on my $59/Bt1850 Mi3 box. 

 

I moved it to my office/computer room this evening as that the spot it will probably end-up living....this room is a couple of concrete walls and a wooden closet from where I did my testing yesterday.  The previous tests were done in the masterbed room within a meter of my Wifi router feeding the Mi3 its Wifi signal. 

 

With the Mi3 in the next room its Wifi circuit had no problem getting excellent Wifi signal strength with some concrete walls and wooden closet between it and the Wifi router.  And while using youtube I checked to see what speed youtube was streaming at and it was 55Mb....the same as I got when it was in the other room.  Saying all of this just to show the Mi3's Wifi works fine.   I don't have any type of speedtester type app loaded on the Mi3 so I have done any speedtest to see what kind of max speed it pulls on my AIS Fibre 200/50 plan, but I expect the Mi3 would probably pull the 200Mb speed...way, way more than needed to stream any resolution of video.

 

Today I documented my youtube tests.  I started up 50 randomly selected videos...44 started on the first try; 6 required a second attempt but at least they did start on the second try.  So, 44 out of 50 starts on the first try equates to 88% first start rate...pretty close to my earlier off the cuff estimate of around 90% I was getting last night. 

 

Somewhat relieved after 3 testing sessions over the last two days that today's 3d session and last night's 2nd session gave me approx 90% first start result....whereas, the 1st session  yesterday mid day after the Mi3 had fully updated itself gave much poorer first stats results....like around on a 70% first start rate.   I can live with a 90% first start rate.

 

The video and sound is excellent on the Mi3...can't complain about that.

 

Then moved the Mi3 box downstairs to the living room and let it do it's Wifi connection to the router downstairs...no problem.  Let the wife play with it for about an hour....I just watched her.   She probably viewed around 20 videos; 2 of the videos didn't start on first try but started on the second try.  Once again getting around a 90% first start rate.

 

As mentioned earlier I can life with an approx 90% first start rate, especially since it does start when trying the video again.  It should be close to 100% like on the Shield or my one Playbox that hasn't been upgraded by AIS yet to not allow 3d party apps such as youtube...one these boxes youtube videos always start on first try. 

 

As TallGuy mentioned above maybe Xiaomi/Google will release an OS update for the Mi3 box which will totally fix the Youtube issue that many people have with the box.

 

I did install NetFlix which went OK but since I don't have an account I didn't give it a try.    Also loaded the RedBull TV app which stream it's channels OK...and the CBS News app continues to stream CBS News live with no problem.   

 

 

[touch]

Pib, if you have the Netflix app they have a free one month trial with no obligation. If your Mi is connected to a receiver or soundbar or whatever that has 5.1 sound and hdmi or an optical input you should be able to choose 5.1 sound by clicking the speech bubble on the top right. 

It might not be straightforward. I've seen that it also depends on hdcp and which HDMI input is used and so on... 

I don't know if Sokee sees this, he's probably tried it already

[Pib]

Yea....I know about the free trial period.  But I don't have anything that does 5.1 sound...no audio receiver/soundbar to hook it too....I'm not to picky on sound....simple stereo is fine for me.  Sorry.     

 

[Pib]

touch,

  Maybe the Mi3 audio info at below website helps....some partial quotes from the website also below.

 

https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/audio-player/media-streamer/xiaomi-mi-box-review/

Quote

One big problem with the Mi Box that I briefly mentioned above is audio codec compatibility, or lack thereof. The Mi Box is not able to pass any lossless audio formats like Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio. The best it can do is Dolby Digital Plus (EAC-3, which is lossy like AC3 but with more bandwidth and channels) and traditional DTS 5.1.

 

SOUND:

DTS 2.0+ Digital Out, Dolby Digital Plus
Up to 7.1 pass through

 

 

[Pib]

TallGuy,

  Thanks for the info regarding the pending update to Android 8.0 Oreo for the Mi3 box.  I did a little googling after reading your post and see what you mean.  Like these two below weblinks...the first one gives an overview of the update and the next one is a Reddit thread talking people already getting it....don't really know if it's beta testers or everyone.  

 

Kinda funny, the first post in the Reddit thread has a statement saying, "YouTube is working for me now. Was broken on the last build for me." 

 

And then a little further down another poster says, "I like it. Performance is better, and its fixed my YouTube issues."

 

[touch]

19 minutes ago, Pib said:

touch,

  Maybe the Mi3 audio info at below website helps....some partial quotes from the website also below.

 

https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/audio-player/media-streamer/xiaomi-mi-box-review/

 

SOUND:

DTS 2.0+ Digital Out, Dolby Digital Plus
Up to 7.1 pass through

 

 

Actually that would be enough if it works with Netflix. Thing is I've read reports of people getting it to work with Netflix and people having big problems with it. Some have even been talking with Netflix and MI support and they've been passing the ball between them. There recently was an update to Netflix that people said broke the sound decoding on the Mi. Not sure if that's correct since the sound setup isn't completely straightforward. Anyway, after that there's been another update and who knows whar might have been broken, or fixed for that matter. 

If the new update of the Mi S3 fixes the problems with YouTube, who knows what that means for Netflix.. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

54 minutes ago, Pib said:

TallGuy,

  Thanks for the info regarding the pending update to Android 8.0 Oreo for the Mi3 box.  I did a little googling after reading your post and see what you mean.  Like these two below weblinks...the first one gives an overview of the update and the next one is a Reddit thread talking people already getting it....don't really know if it's beta testers or everyone.  

 

 

AFAIK and from everything I've read, no one outside the Xiaomi beta program -- which is no longer open to new participants -- has received the Oreo update. So the vast majority of MiBox users are still waiting.

 

As for YouTube, it might not make any difference, but since you're in a testing mood, there's an alternate YouTube app -- Smart YouTube TV -- that can be sideloaded onto the MiBox that's generally gotten good reviews, and supposedly cuts down/out on the video advertising.

 

https://smartyoutubetv.github.io/

 

Also, here's a link to the latest Google YouTube app for Android TV that I mentioned earlier, 2.02.14. I believe, you should be getting the same version from the MiBox's own Google Play Store.

 

https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/youtube-for-android-tv-android-tv/

 

 

[Pib]

On 5/11/2018 at 8:37 PM, Pib said:

Update on my $59/Bt1850 Mi3 box. 

 

I moved it to my office/computer room this evening as that the spot it will probably end-up living....this room is a couple of concrete walls and a wooden closet from where I did my testing yesterday.  The previous tests were done in the masterbed room within a meter of my Wifi router feeding the Mi3 its Wifi signal. 

 

With the Mi3 in the next room its Wifi circuit had no problem getting excellent Wifi signal strength with some concrete walls and wooden closet between it and the Wifi router.  And while using youtube I checked to see what speed youtube was streaming at and it was 55Mb....the same as I got when it was in the other room.  Saying all of this just to show the Mi3's Wifi works fine.   I don't have any type of speedtester type app loaded on the Mi3 so I have done any speedtest to see what kind of max speed it pulls on my AIS Fibre 200/50 plan, but I expect the Mi3 would probably pull the 200Mb speed...way, way more than needed to stream any resolution of video.

 

Today I documented my youtube tests.  I started up 50 randomly selected videos...44 started on the first try; 6 required a second attempt but at least they did start on the second try.  So, 44 out of 50 starts on the first try equates to 88% first start rate...pretty close to my earlier off the cuff estimate of around 90% I was getting last night. 

 

Somewhat relieved after 3 testing sessions over the last two days that today's 3d session and last night's 2nd session gave me approx 90% first start result....whereas, the 1st session  yesterday mid day after the Mi3 had fully updated itself gave much poorer first stats results....like around on a 70% first start rate.   I can live with a 90% first start rate.

 

The video and sound is excellent on the Mi3...can't complain about that.

 

Then moved the Mi3 box downstairs to the living room and let it do it's Wifi connection to the router downstairs...no problem.  Let the wife play with it for about an hour....I just watched her.   She probably viewed around 20 videos; 2 of the videos didn't start on first try but started on the second try.  Once again getting around a 90% first start rate.

 

As mentioned earlier I can life with an approx 90% first start rate, especially since it does start when trying the video again.  It should be close to 100% like on the Shield or my one Playbox that hasn't been upgraded by AIS yet to not allow 3d party apps such as youtube...one these boxes youtube videos always start on first try. 

 

As TallGuy mentioned above maybe Xiaomi/Google will release an OS update for the Mi3 box which will totally fix the Youtube issue that many people have with the box.

 

I did install NetFlix which went OK but since I don't have an account I didn't give it a try.    Also loaded the RedBull TV app which stream it's channels OK...and the CBS News app continues to stream CBS News live with no problem.   

 

Update on Mi3 box:  Today, I moved the Mi3 back upstairs...moved it back to my computer/office room where I was getting around a 90% success rate in each video starting first time.  Had an excellent Wifi strength connection....5Ghz band connection.  Started 20 videos....17 of 20 started on first try....an 85% success rate on first start.  The 3 that didn't started on the second try.   OK, pretty still getting the 85 to 90% rate like testing sessions #2 and #3 talked about above.

 

Then I noticed I was still connected to the router downstairs...so, I connected to the router upstairs...a 5Ghz band connection... like I had used for sessions 2 and 3.  Now I had a little stronger signal strength signal.  Reran tests and got dismal results...only around a 30% first start success rate....back to like the #1 testing session.  So I remake the connection to the downstairs router...still dismal results...still around 30%.   Most videos would start on second try but some would not start period.

 

I then turned on my Shield...started 20 videos on the 1st try....zero non-starts on the 1st try.  100% first start success.

 

I then tried a variety of things.....unplugging the Mi3 for a minute or so and powering  back up....trying 2.4Ghz band connections to the upstairs and downstairs routers....resetting the Youtube app....cleared data and cache....etc...etc...etc....just did a variety of test seeing if I could figure what causes my Mi3 to play this Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde routine. 

 

Maybe a Wifi circuit issue....maybe compatibility issue with Youtube...etc.   If I go into another streaming app like CBS News that streams 24/7 it works fine...the stream starts each and every time.   Basically, I'm experiencing what many Mi3 owners experience in Youtube not working very well and on an intermittent basis....where other Mi3 users don't seem to experience the problem.  

 

I'm beginning to wonder since the firmware/apps are the same that it might be slightly different chips used in Mi3. Like maybe Xiaomi buys the components that make up the Mi3 from various manufacturers.....say chip A is bought from two different manufacturers and the chip from each manufacturer are supposed to meet the "exact same specs" but the chip from one of the manufacturers really doesn't meet the exact same specs as the chip made by the other manufacturer.  Just enough difference to be causing this Youtube problem that many Mi3 owners are reporting.

 

Anyway, I'll do more testing...maybe sideload and earlier version of Youtube or another Youtube variant like the one TallGuy mentioned.

 

Yeap, my Mi3 is a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde when it comes to using Youtube...it either works pretty good and works pretty bad.

 

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, Pib said:

 I don't have any type of speedtester type app loaded on the Mi3 so I have done any speedtest to see what kind of max speed it pulls on my AIS Fibre 200/50 plan, but I expect the Mi3 would probably pull the 200Mb speed...way, way more than needed to stream any resolution of video.

 

Pib, re running speedtests on the MiBox, one of the nice things I've noticed about using the TV Repo app on Android TVs is its feature to create "custom shortcuts" using any web address you key in. The app then creates a leanback launcher icon for that specific website address you entered. So I used it to set up launcher icons for Fast.com, testmy.net and mylocation.org.  It's easy and takes just a minute or two per site. Then it's one click and go.

[Pib]

On 5/11/2018 at 10:28 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

AFAIK and from everything I've read, no one outside the Xiaomi beta program -- which is no longer open to new participants -- has received the Oreo update. So the vast majority of MiBox users are still waiting.

 

As for YouTube, it might not make any difference, but since you're in a testing mood, there's an alternate YouTube app -- Smart YouTube TV -- that can be sideloaded onto the MiBox that's generally gotten good reviews, and supposedly cuts down/out on the video advertising.

 

https://smartyoutubetv.github.io/

 

Also, here's a link to the latest Google YouTube app for Android TV that I mentioned earlier, 2.02.14. I believe, you should be getting the same version from the MiBox's own Google Play Store.

 

https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/youtube-for-android-tv-android-tv/

 

 

 

TG,

You are da man!!!!   I owe you a beer or two! 

 

Why you may ask am I saying such good things about you?

 

Well, I did some more Mi box and Youtube testing over the last hour.  Although I was running the latest YouTube Android TV ver 2.02.14 as installed from the Google Play Store I decide I would just download the APK (same version number) and side load it.  I just wanted to do a test of reinstalling Youtube via sideload although I had reinstalled it numerous times from Google Play.    Then did my video start tests....no change in the  Mi3 box Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde personality when using Youtube....still a lot of videos that just would not play on first try or subsequent tries.   Now I got that long-shot out of my system....that is, wondering if I sideload Youtube will it magically start working properly. 

 

Oh well, I now move on.  I now sideload the SmartYoutubeTV app you mentioned in your post.  During the install process it asks what kind of box you are installing it on (see photo below)...and specifically identifies the MiBox as I annotated on the photo below.   I'm not sure if the other three box settings can also apply to my particular Mi box and MiTV is a different box(es).  I need to experiment later/read-up more on that.

 

Anyway,  I complete the install process which is nothing more than making the selections below you want.  After it finishes It basically looks 99% as the Youtube downloaded from Google Play but I noticed it don't have voice audio for searching capability ...you know, speak into the remote to say what to search for (assuming your remote has voice capability which the Mi box remote does have as you know). 

 

I now start the test.  I do 50 for 50 successful 1st starts.  And what is different with SmartYouTube when you select a thumbnail to start playing you will see "loading..." flash on the screen for maybe a "half a second" and the video is playing.   The video starts really fast....faster than the regular YouTube which usually has the spinning wheel for around 2 seconds when a video successfully starts.   

 

I then started the regular Youtube and immediately ran into the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde attitude....only about 50% of the videos would start on first try.

 

I then put the Mi box to sleep...turn it back on...and try SmartYoutube again.  I do 20 for 20 successful 1st starts.  I'm now up to 70 for 70 using SmartYouTube.   I then do something else to see if can cause Mr Hyde to appear....and I did get him to appear briefly for 1 video...got a 4 of 5 success rate.  In fact, I just couldn't get that video to start after several tries....and who knows maybe there was something wrong with that one video back on the Youtube servers.

 

I then did something else...and something else....trying to cause Mr Hyde to appear and the videos fail to start on first try repeatedly....but I couldn't.  I must have started around 25 more videos successfully on first try.  So when the dust settled I had like 99 out of 100 successful 1st starts using SmartYouTube....a 99% 1st start success rate. 

 

So, this confirmed to me "my" particular Mi box 3 and the regular Youtube ATV just don't agree with each other...just like many other Mi 3 box owners are experiencing.  But SmartYouTube and my Mi Box 3 get along durn near 100%.  

 

Tomorrow I will try the 1080 and two 4K settings shown below to see what happens....also read up some more on SmartYoutube.  Thanks again.  

 

Snapshot of the SmartYouTube initial setup...I selected the first box (the white one) which I have annotated....will test the other 3 box selections over the coming days.

[Pib]

42 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Pib, re running speedtests on the MiBox, one of the nice things I've noticed about using the TV Repo app on Android TVs is its feature to create "custom shortcuts" using any web address you key in. The app then creates a leanback launcher icon for that specific website address you entered. So I used it to set up launcher icons for Fast.com, testmy.net and mylocation.org.  It's easy and takes just a minute or two per site. Then it's one click and go.

Yea, I installed the TV Repo app yesterday on my Shield and Mi box....just haven't used it yet since I haven't installed any apps yet where I need to create some Leanback shortcuts.  Plus I been busy cuzzing at my Mi box while doing the Youtube testing....but it looks like I can now stop cuzzing.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

For a long time, I never really used my MiBox much -- after an initial post purchase round of trying (not very successfully) to get it set up and working the way I wanted. Unlike Android phones and tablets, the Android TV box never had the easy, built-in adjustability and range of apps available on the broader Android platform. So it pretty much sat behind my Fire TV Box and later my Roku Premiere.

 

But then a few things began happening. First, the MiBox finally gained support for Google's cable TV OTT replacement service YouTube TV that I use. And then, even more recently, the talk began about the looming Oreo OS update for the MiBox, meaning perhaps the support for it is not actually dead. And both of those got me taking a harder look at the MiBox, and delving into the various things you can do with it, and the ways you can configure it, if you venture beyond just the Android TV Google Play Store and the MiBox's own limited settings menu.

 

Another of the apps I installed lately that substantially improved my personal user experience for the MiBox was to get the HAL Launcher out of the Google Play Store for Android TV (didn't even have to sideload it). It takes a bit of time and work to customize it the way you want it, but it's ultimately flexible in terms of how you want your tiles/icons categorized and arranged on the home screen. And that's a feature I found achingly missing from the default MiBox home screen setup.

 

Here's a video re the HAL Launcher, and a screen shot that illustrates what you can do with it.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpAQzJEtoUI

 

 

Each of the categories on the left can be changed, renamed, added, deleted and re-ordered, and you can have as many or as few categories as you like. And then, you can drop the launcher tiles for any app you wish into any of those categories/folders you wish, and custom set the order they appear in the horizontal scroll of app tiles for each category. Also, you can customized the background and graphic element and even text colors used. And a bunch of other stuff as well.

 

All in all, launchers are a very personal thing, and what appeals to one person may be distasteful to another. But for me, the HAL Launcher totally changed and improved my feeling about interacting with the MiBox. And with the addition of one more sideloaded app, Launch on Boot, it enables you to select any app to auto start each time you restart the box, so the HAL Launcher is now my auto-start app.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

OK, so now that I'm on an Android TV/MiBox jag, another of the things that totally drove me crazy with the platform was the sorry as* TuneIn radio app for Android TV, which unlike the regular Android version and even the Fire TV version, inexplicably has no account sign-in / saved Favorites functionality.  Now, I love the regular TuneIn app and listen to it a lot on other platforms, and regularly use my Favorites list on those other platforms. But not on TuneIn for Android TV. Why????

 

So, over a period of time, I tried every way under the sun to remedy that with the MiBox. Tried sideloading the regular Android mobile/tablet version. Tried sideloading the Amazon app store Fire TV version. I think I tried a TuneIn Pro tablet version app I had access to. But no matter what I did, once the app landed on the Android TV platform, the account sign-in capability was gone and thus so was my established Favorites list of stations. ANNOYING!!!

 

So in the end, I was forced to find a workaround solution (and there may be others as well). And now that I've got it set up, it's a pretty decent substitute for the TuneIn app, and DOES provide a saveable Favorites list of the stations you like. That is the free Radio.net app.  It doesn't provide access to all of the TuneIn favorite stations I had, but at least, it provides easy and direct access to a lot of them. And I guess, that's enough under the circumstances.

 

Again, it's just a matter of wrestling with the MiBox to finally get it to operate the way I want vs the way it wants to operate.

 

[Pib]

23 hours ago, Pib said:

Tomorrow I will try the 1080 and two 4K settings shown below to see what happens....also read up some more on SmartYoutube.

 

Snapshot of the SmartYouTube initial setup...I selected the first box (the white one) which I have annotated....will test the other 3 box selections over the coming days.

Update:

 

Last night and today I tested the 1080 and two 4K resolution selections shown above in the SmartYoutube setup.  They all worked with the Mibox3.   Basically the different selections determine what range of video resolutions can be used.

 

However, since all my TVs are 1080p max resolution (i.e, Full HD resolution 1920 x 1080) I could not fully test the 4K settings.  All of my TVs are 5 to 10 years old....Philips and Samsung TVs...bought them when 4K TVs were still in their infancy and cost about a million dollars.  I did select some 4K videos on Youtube and they would play no problem, but were displayed on my TV at 1080 since my TVs can only do 1080 max.

 

So, I have selected the "1080 MiTV and Legacy" selection when setting up SmartYouTube.   

 

More testing today between using the official Google Youtube ATV which came installed on the Mi and as installed/updated from Google Play (latest ver 2.02.14) and SmartYouTube.   

 

YouTube did very poorly today in starting videos....less than a 50% 1st start success rate...very frustrating.    SmartYouTube....100% success rate.  My Mibox works like a charm using SmartYoutube.

 

[Pib]

This guy's posts on the Mibox3 pretty much mirrors my Youtube problems except when a video starts for me it will continue to play OK versus the problems he having in getting video to start and/or continue to play; my problem was just getting the video to run.     And he also had total success with SmartYoutube.

 

https://xiaomi.eu/community/threads/problems-playing-youtube-videos-on-mibox-3-mdz-16-ab.43530/

 

Quote

 

#1Mar 6, 2018

Hi all,

I recently (last two weeks) purchased a MiBox3 MDZ-16-AB. All seemed to work well like Netflix, Plex and Spotify, however I was having problems playing YouTube videos. Some videos would play fine, others would stop half way through, some would not play at all. Once this happened, the whole system seemed to become unstable and I would need to reboot.

I googled and found this forum and have read through a lot of the posts and it seems a lot of people have similar problems with YouTube. My device is running Build "once-user 6.0.1 MOB31Z 1304" - its just either what came with it, or what it updated itself to once connected to the network.

I read that there are "beta" versions of later software for this device, but I didnt think I would be able to work out how to install and didnt really want to try this as I am not really technical.

I also read somewhere that I should try a 3rd party YouTube app called "Smart YouTube TV", so I thought I would try this. It turns out that this is quite easy (even for me!) to install even though it is not in the google play store. I downloaded the APK (use google to find the homepage for this software), copied it to a USB drive, installed the first filemanager that came up in google play (TV file commander), turned on "allow unknown sources" in the settings on my MiBox, plugged in my USB drive and installed the APK.

So far I have had no problems playing YouTube videos. I have even disabled the included YouTube application so I only have Smart YouTube TV on my home screen. The only feature that seems to be missing (for me) is voice search, but I can live without it.

I dont really know what this means regarding the problem with the included YouTube on my MiBox, but it doesnt really matter to me now as I can watch YouTube (so far) with no problems, and the other apps I need are also working fine.

I just thought I would post this here incase it is able to help someone else.

Cheers,

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

52 minutes ago, Pib said:

 

Last night and today I tested the 1080 and two 4K resolution selections shown above in the SmartYoutube setup.  They all worked with the Mibox3.   Basically the different selections determine what range of video resolutions can be used.

 

 

In my situation, I've got two TVs at home, an older 720p version, and a newer full HD 1080p version. But my MiBox is connected to the older 720p version, so that's where all my exposure with the regular YouTube app and the Smart Youtube app have occurred. And as said before, haven't had any problems with either app operating in that environment on my MiBox.

 

BTW, the place where the Smart Youtube app first appeared on my radar was back during the whole kerfuffle when Google stopped supporting the native YT app on the Fire TV platform. And that led various maneuvering by Amazon, including bringing its Silk browser and a new Firefox version to the FTV platform that could be set to essentially play the web version of YouTube content on the FTV platform in place of the original app. That's where the Smart YouTube app gained attention as a viable alternative on both platforms.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 5/14/2018 at 8:37 PM, Pib said:

   SmartYouTube....100% success rate.  My Mibox works like a charm using SmartYoutube.

 

Pib, I think you'll get a chuckle out of this:

 

Tonight, I was reading some info about my Roku box at home, and just by chance came across a discussion about a YouTube replacement app (MyVideoBuzz) for the Roku platform that apparently can be sideloaded thru a semi-secret developer's menu on Roku -- something I didn't even know existed. But the reason for the discussion was, apparently, the official YouTube app for Roku isn't such great shakes either, so people were anxious to find an alternative  -- which is pretty hard to do on a Roku.

 

And then came this tidbit in that Roku thread discussion:

 

Quote

 

Also, if you have a TV streaming device (/box) that runs Android, Android TV, or Fire TV O.S. and you just want something that is much better than YouTube's official Android app to use to play YouTube videos, you can easily sideload an app Smart YouTube TV onto hardware that runs any of those O.S. platforms. See https://smartyoutubetv.github.io/ for details. There are also plenty of videos that show various methods for getting the Smart YouTube TV installed. From my experience, Smart YouTube TV outperforms every other YouTube player I've used, but one reason for that is that it isn't running on ROKU's half-assed hardware and operating system.

 

 

 

[Pib]

It just shouldn't be this hard to get "all" Android boxes to reliably stream Youtube, but it sure seems Youtube and some devices simply don't get along.   And I don't know who to blame....the Google programmers who make/update the Youtube app or the Android box manufacturers.   Probably blame on both sides.