Modern Xiaomi Mi TV and Redmi TVs, which run on Android TV or proprietary PatchWall, offer users a wide range of multimedia content. However, often when you first connect or change the source of the signal, owners face the problem of incorrect display of the picture. The image can be stretched, compressed or have black stripes at the edges, which significantly reduces the quality of perception.
In most cases, the screen resolution on Xiaomi smart TVs is fixed and corresponds to the physical matrix of the device, whether it is Full HD or 4K. By “size change”, users usually mean correction of the aspect ratio, scale or framing mode. Properly adjusting these parameters allows you to adapt the content to the display format, removing excess fields or, conversely, returning cropped parts of the frame.
In this guide, we will discuss in detail the software methods for customizing images through the built-in menu, the possibilities of engineering settings for advanced users, as well as how to fix problems with external devices. You will learn how to set the parameters for watching movies, games and television to get the best possible picture without distortion of geometry.
The main image settings in the TV menu
The first step to adjust the display of content is to refer to the standard settings of the system. the interface of Android TV and the shell PatchWall may vary slightly depending on the model and year of release of the device, but the logic remains the same. You need to access the section responsible for visual parameters.
To enter the settings menu, click the gear button on the remote control or select the appropriate item at the top of the interface. Next, find a section that may be called Image, Screen, or Display Settings. This is where the key switches affecting the geometry of the frame are located.
The default TV is often in Auto or 16:9 mode. If you watch older 4:3 content, the image can stretch to the full screen, making people disproportionately wide. Switching to 4:3 or Original mode will return the correct geometry by adding black bars on the sides, which is the norm for such content.
Also in this section, you often see the option "Scale" or "Zoom" that you can force to stretch the picture to the full screen if the source of the signal is feeding an image of less resolution than the physical matrix of the TV, but it is worth remembering that artificial magnification can lead to loss of clarity and the appearance of artifacts.
Elimination of black stripes and cropping of the frame
One of the most common problems is that there are black bars not only on the top and bottom (which is normal for a widescreen movie), but also on the sides, or vice versa, cropping important parts of an image, a phenomenon called overscan or underscan. A TV can "not see" the edges of a video signal and automatically cut them off or compress them.
To solve this problem, look for “Screen Mode”, “Format” or “Picture Size” in the image menu. The following options are often available on Xiaomi models:
- 🖼️ Just Scan: A mode where each input pixel is displayed on the corresponding matrix pixel without cutting edges.
- 📺 16:9: Forced stretching of any signal to widescreen format.
- 🎬 Cinema Zoom – zoom in the central part of the frame to fill the screen when watching movies with black fields.
- 🔄 Auto: The TV itself tries to determine the signal format, but often makes mistakes, especially when switching between applications.
⚠️ Note: When selecting Just Scan mode, make sure that the signal source (such as a console or PC) does not use its own zoom. Double zoom can lead to blurring of fonts and interfaces.
If standard settings do not help remove black bars when connecting a computer, the problem may lie in the drivers of the graphics card or the settings for displaying images on the computer itself.
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Use Just Scan or Screen Size mode only when connecting PCs or game consoles to achieve maximum text and interface clarity.
Configure permission through the engineering menu
For power users who want to access hidden display settings, there is an engineering menu that allows you to change system settings that are usually hidden from the end user. Changing the parameters in the engineering menu can lead to unstable system operation or a “brick” of the device if you do not know the exact values.
Signing into the engineering menu on Xiaomi TVs is usually done through a special application or a combination of buttons. Often used by the input method through the application "Adb Keyboard" or similar, where a special code is entered in the command input field. For example, to enter hidden settings Android TV may require a command:
adb shell am start -n com.android.tv.settings/.SettingsActivityHowever, a safer way to change the depth of the resolution settings is to use ADB (Android Debug Bridge) from a computer, and by connecting to a TV over the network, you can change the pixel density (DPI) or force the resolution if the display driver allows it, and the command to change the density of the interface looks like this:
adb shell wm density 240Here, 240 is density. Standard values range from 160 to 480 depending on the diagonal and resolution of the matrix, and changing this parameter affects the size of icons and fonts, creating the illusion of changing the size of the screen.
How to return the settings if the screen is turned off?
Scale correction when connecting external devices
When you connect a laptop, a desktop PC or a gaming console to a Xiaomi via HDMI TV, you often have a situation where the desktop does not fit into the boundaries of the screen. The edges of the taskbar or the Start menu can be cut off, in which case you need to set up not on the TV, but on the signal source.
If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, open the NVIDIA control panel, go to Display → Adjusting the size and position of the desktop, and select the Size tab and move the sliders so that the angles of the image match the angles of the physical matrix of the TV. Be sure to tick the box "Enable GPU zoom."
For AMD Radeon cardholders, the algorithm is similar: in AMD Radeon Settings software, you need to find the “Display” section and enable the “HDMI Scaling” option (or GPU Scaling), setting a value of 0% for full pixel matching.
☑️ Checking PC connection to TV
Importantly, the use of adapters (e.g., VGA-HDMI or DVI-HDMI) can introduce additional limitations: Analog signals through adapters often require manual phase adjustment and tracking, which is poorly implemented or not implemented on modern digital TVs.
Comparison of Content Display Modes
Understanding the differences between image modes will help you navigate your settings more quickly. Different use cases require different zooming and color rendering approaches. Below is a table to help you choose the optimal mode for your task.
| Regime. | Description | What's the point? | Impact on size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard. | Balance of brightness and contrast | TV channels, YouTube | Automatic zoom |
| Movie (Movie) | Warm color scheme | Movies from files | Keeps the proportions. |
| Game (Game) | Minimum input delay | Console, PC | 1:1 (pixel to pixel) |
| Bright (Vivid) | Maximum saturation | By day in bright light | Often cuts edges |
Game Mode is especially important for Xbox or PlayStation users, and in this mode, the TV disables most image enhancement algorithms, which reduces input lag, which often looks less “processed” but is more responsive and sized.
For analog TV (via the DVB-T2 tuner), Standard or Dynamic mode is best, as the signal is often of poor quality and requires software interpolation to fill the screen. Here Auto Stretch can be useful to hide noise at the edges of the frame.
Diagnostics and Solving Scaling Problems
If none of the above methods helped to change the screen size to an acceptable one, it may be the hardware or a specific firmware file that is the problem.In some cases, an updated version of Android TV may contain bugs that misidentify the EDID (display passport) of the connected device.
Try resetting your image to factory settings. This will return all the brightness, contrast and size settings to the original values determined by Xiaomi engineers. The path to reset is usually found in the menu: Settings → Device → About TV → Reset (or similar item in the Storage and Reset section).
⚠️ Note: Full TV reset will remove all installed apps and Google accounts. Before doing this, make sure you remember the passwords for re-authorization.
It is also worth checking out yourself. HDMI-A poor wire may not transmit resolution control signals correctly, causing the TV to go into safe mode in low resolution or incorrect format. HDMI Often solves problems with floating resolution.
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If software methods don’t help, the problem may be an HDMI cable or a physical matrix malfunction that requires a call to a service center.
In rare cases, it helps to flash the TV through USB-The official firmware files can be found on the forum 4PDA or Mi Community support site, where installing the current version of the software can fix video output errors.