Buying the Xiaomi Mi Curved Gaming Monitor 34 is a great step towards productivity and immersion in games, but out of the box, the image often requires manual fine-tuning. Many users are faced with the fact that the colors look faded and the hertz does not rise above 60 Hz, which does not allow you to unlock the potential of the matrix. The correct initial configuration will save you from having to climb the engineering menu later.
In this article, we will discuss the process of connecting, adjusting refresh rates, calibrating color reproduction and activating game functions. The quality of the image depends on how correctly you configure the parameters of the video signal in the operating system and in the display menu itself, ignoring these steps will turn buying a top device into a regular office dashboard.
Before you go to software settings, make sure the physical connection is done correctly. To operate in 3440×1440 and 144 Hz modes, using the right cable is critical. Standard HDMI cables that come with other equipment may not pull this bandwidth.
Connecting and selecting the right cable
The first thing to do is to choose the right video interface. For the Xiaomi Mi Curved Gaming Monitor 34, the best option is to use the DisplayPort port. DP achieves a maximum refresh rate of 144 Hz and a color depth of 8 bits without compromise. While the HDMI 2.0 port also supports high resolution, it is often limited to 100 Hz or requires signal compression.
The monitor usually comes complete with a DisplayPort cable, but if you use yours, make sure it's certified to the VESA DP 1.2 standard or higher. Cheap cables can cause artifacts, screen flickering, or prevent the system from identifying the monitor as a high hertz device. Connect the cable to the video card and the corresponding port on the back of the monitor.
After you're physically connected, press the joystick button on the bottom of the case to turn on. If the screen catches fire but the image is missing, check the signal source. The monitor menu is called by a short tap on the joystick, and the input is selected via Input. Make sure that DisplayPort is selected if you're connected through it.
💡
Use only the DisplayPort cable supplied as a bundle or the certified DP 1.4 analogue to ensure a stable 144Hz performance without loss of quality.
There is a common misconception that any modern HDMI cable will do the job. However, HDMI 2.0 bandwidth is limited, and for a native resolution of 3440×1440 at 144 Hz, bandwidth may not be enough, as a result, the system will automatically reduce the frequency to 120 Hz or even 60 Hz, which will make the cursor movement less smooth.
Setting Update Frequency in Windows
Once the monitor is connected, Windows can default to a standard 60Hz, which is the most common problem new owners face. To fix this, you need to manually change the settings of video mode. Without this step, you will not feel the smoothness that you paid for when buying a gaming device.
To change your settings, right-click on your desktop and select Screen Settings. In the window that opens, scroll down to Additional Display Settings. Here you will see the current refresh rate. Click on the drop-down list and select 144Hz. If there is no such value, the problem is most likely in the cable or the graphics card drivers.
☑️ Checking the 144 Hz setting
Video card owners NVIDIA and AMD You should also check the control panel of the graphics adapter. NVIDIA Go to Change the permission and make sure that in the section "Use of color settings" NVIDIA" color format RGB and a color depth of 8 bzk (or higher if supported). YCbCr422, which worsens the clarity of the text.
Importantly, some users are faced with a situation where after a computer restart, the settings are reset to 60 Hz. This can be due to the Windows fast boot function or driver conflict, in which case it makes sense to reinstall the graphics card drivers, pre-deleting the old ones through the DDU program.
Navigation on the monitor menu (OSD)
The display itself is controlled through a hidden joystick located on the bottom edge, in the center of the Mi logo. The menu interface (OSD) is intuitive but has its own features. A short tap causes the menu, a turn of the joystick left or right switches the main categories, and a click up or down changes the parameters.
You'll find a few key tabs on the menu: Picture, Game, System, and Exit. Most people are interested in the image tab, which adjusts brightness, contrast, and color mode. You don't have to change all the parameters at once, you're better off going sequentially.
Pay special attention to Low Blue Light mode, which reduces eye strain when working with text in the dark, making the picture warmer, but for graphics or games, this mode is better to turn off, because it greatly distorts color reproduction, it is activated through the System menu or a separate button depending on the version of the firmware.
⚠️ Note: Do not set the brightness setting on 100% When working in the office, maximum brightness in the 300 cd/m2 is excessive for normal lighting and quickly tires the eyes — 40-60%.
Also available on the menu is DCR (Dynamic Contrast Ratio), which automatically adjusts brightness depending on the content of the screen. For games and movies, this effect can be pleasant, but for working with documents it is better to turn it off, since the white background will constantly "float" in brightness, which is annoying.
Image calibration and color modes
The factory calibration of the VA matrix in the Xiaomi Monitor 34 is usually not bad, but the Standard mode often has oversaturated colors and overpriced gamut. To get the most realistic picture, it is recommended to switch to sRGB mode if it is available in your version of firmware, or manually adjust the settings in User mode.
If you're a photo or video editer, you'll need to calibrate accurately. In manual mode, try to reduce saturation to 50-55 and set the gamut to 2.2. This is standard for Windows and most web content. The 2.4 gamut is better for watching movies in a darkened room.
| Parameter | Recommended value (Office/Web) | Recommended value (Games/Cinema) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brightness | 40-50 | 60-70 | Intensity of matrix illumination |
| Contrast | 70-75 | 75-80 | Difference Between Black and White |
| gamma | 2.2 | 2.4 | The luminance curve of the halftones |
| Color temperature | Warm or 6500K | Cool or Normal | A shade of white |
To activate HDR (High Dynamic Range), you need not only to enable this feature in the monitor menu, but also to activate it in Windows. Go to Settings → System → Display → Windows HD Color and turn on the Use HDR switch. However, it is worth remembering that the actual support for HDR on this model is limited by the brightness of the backlight.
The truth about HDR on Xiaomi 34
Game settings and elimination of plumes
The VA-type matrices installed in the Xiaomi Mi Curved Gaming Monitor 34 have high static contrast, but can suffer from ghosting on dark transitions. To minimize this effect, the monitor menu has an Overdrive (or Response Time) option, which speeds up the response of pixels.
Don't set Overdrive to a maximum value (Fastest), which will result in artifacts, so-called "inversion plumes" or halos around moving objects. The optimal choice is Normal or Middle mode, in which the balance between response speed and lack of artifacts is most acceptable.
For competitive games (shooters like CS:GO, Valorant), turn on FreeSync (or G-Sync Compatible) to synchronize the frame rate of the graphics card with the refresh rate of the monitor, eliminating image tears. Make sure that this feature is also activated in the control panel of the graphics card.
⚠️ Warning: With FreeSync enabled, Overdrive may not work properly or be available.If you notice strange artifacts in dynamic scenes, try temporarily disabling sync to check.
There are also auxiliary tools available on the game menu: a timer, a sight and an FPS counter. The sight (Crosshair) puts a crosshair on the center of the screen, which can be useful in games where there is no sight. However, in multiplayer projects, the use of third-party overlays can be regarded as cheating, be careful.
Frequent problems and their solution
One of the common problems is that you turn off your monitor spontaneously or flash your screen, often with energy-saving settings or poor-quality cables, check if you have a tight DisplayPort cable, and if the problem persists, try replacing it with a better cable, with thick walls and ferrite filters.
Another problem is broken pixels, which on large 34-inch matrices, 1-2 stuck pixels can unfortunately be found, and you can use YouTube videos with fast-changing colors that are launched to a full screen for several hours to try to restore them, which sometimes helps to "curb" the subpixel.
If the monitor is not turned on and the indicator is orange, but the image is not, check whether the HDMI port is selected as the signal source when the cable is plugged into the DP. Also the problem may be in the resolution: if the graphics card produces a signal that the monitor does not support (for example, 4K), the screen may go out. Try to start the computer in safe mode and reset the resolution settings.
💡
Most image problems on Xiaomi Monitor 34 are solved by replacing the DisplayPort cable with a high-quality analogue and updating the graphics card drivers to the latest version.
In case of stripes on the screen or uneven backlighting (clouding), it is worth checking the temperature in the room. VA-And the sensors are cold sensitive, and when you have low temperatures, the response time increases, and the plumes become more visible. 15-20 minutes after.