New life of an old TV. Installed a miniature and functional Smart TV box

It so happened that no one watches TV in the family. Namely, TV channels. All of them receive content via smartphones and computers. There is neither time nor desire to watch broadcasts, diluted with advertising every 5 minutes.

The TVs in the apartment, although LCD, are old, without USB connectors, Smart TV and Wi-Fi. I caught myself thinking that sometimes I would like to watch some youtube video on a construction site before going to bed screen. But I decided to tackle this issue only now. I got a prefix Xiaomi Mi TV Stick.

This is a set-top box the size of a GSM modem that connects to the HDMI jack on the TV. And it allows you to watch installed and built-in services. System based Android, is configured for your or a new account. And also via Wi-Fi allows you to broadcast audio, video and photos from your smartphone (technology Chromecast).

I purchased an L-shaped adapter for the console in advance, because The HDMI connectors on the TV are located at the back, not the side. But that was superfluous. An HDMI cable was included.

The console comes with a prefix. There is nothing superfluous in it. There are buttons for quick access to services Netflix and Prime Video. But the most important thing in the remote control is that it has a built-in microphone and it connects to the set-top box via Bluetoothand not through an IR LED (like in a TV remote). Call up with a button Google Assistant and with your voice you ask what to find. Recognizes speech well, the function is very convenient. Although, there is also a set of queries in letters and symbols.

Through the adapter I connected the set-top box, turned on the power (the adapter is like from a phone, complete with a micro-USB power cord). Can be connected from the USB port of the TV, but it should output 1A. Not everyone has such meanings. They are not on my TV. The remote control requires two AAA batteries (not included). I hid all the wires behind the TV, nothing sticks out.

Brief characteristics: dimensions (95x35x20 mm), built-in memory 8 GB (half are busy for Android). RAM 1 GB. Full support HD 1080p. The price of the set-top box is the same in all stores. Price for today - 3490 RUBLink. But there are cheaper offers in online stores:

At first leaned towards the much-hyped simple media player Sberbox. But I didn’t like it any more in terms of functionality. Everything is tied to Sberbank-online. Rather, you will not be able to watch services without registering there. Xiaomi Mi TV Stick, although it is more expensive by 1000 rubles, but I liked the voice search, broadcast content from the smartphone and the Android platform, where you can install any programs. For example, you can even play games through a bluetooth joystick (who's a fan of that).

If you do not want to pay for the Netflix service, then you can install the IVI program or something similar and watch movies there for free. But the films will be broadcast with advertisements.

You can install IPTV. But since I don’t watch TV programs, I haven’t installed it yet.

I tried a couple of programs for broadcasting video and photos from the phone. Because my router is weak, then I stopped at the program Castto . It is downloaded from the Play store. It is the least demanding on equipment resources.

Run it on your phone and everything that happens on its screen is broadcasted to the set-top box. The video comes with sound. For example, you can watch youtube from your smartphone at an increased speed (I always do this to save time). Other programs do not allow this, like youtube itself in the set-top box.

First impressions of the console are only positive. No need to purchase a new Smart TV. Xiaomi is generally great, they delight with their gadgets.

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