How to play video on a Xiaomi TV: the complete guide

Xiaomi Mi TV and Redmi TV are powerful multimedia centers capable of processing high-resolution video streams. Owners often face the need to stream content not only through embedded applications, but also from external media or mobile devices. Understanding all available connectivity methods allows you to unlock the full potential of Android TV installed on board.

There are several main ways to transfer images: wired USB connection, wireless Wi-Fi broadcasting and using a local network. Each method has its own settings and limitations on file formats. In this article, we will discuss in detail how to correctly play video on a Xiaomi TV, avoiding common codec compatibility errors.

Whether you’re using an old computer or a new smartphone, Xiaomi’s ecosystem offers flexible integration tools, and it’s important to choose the best option for your specific situation and the quality of the source file.

Launching video files from USB-storage

The easiest and most reliable way to watch movies is to use them. USB-Xiaomi TVs are equipped with ports with different bandwidth, usually marked with different colors. 4K-High bitrate files are recommended to use ports USB 3.0, which often have a blue color designation inside the connector.

The file system is critical. Android TV's default operating system works perfectly with NTFS and FAT32 formatting. However, if your file weighs more than 4 GB, the FAT32 format will not allow it to be written to a flash drive and the TV will not see the content, in which case you need to reformat the drive to NTFS or exFAT on the computer before connecting.

⚠️ Attention: Don't pull out USB-a drive while reading data or playing video.This can damage the file system of the flash drive or freeze the media player, requiring the TV to restart.

Once the device is connected, a notification about the new device will usually pop up automatically in the TV menu. If this does not happen, go to My Applications → Media Player. The standard Mi Video player supports most popular formats, but specific codecs may require the installation of third-party software.

  • 🎬 Supported video formats: MKV, MP4, AVI, MOV.
  • 🔊 Audio tracks: Compatibility with Dolby Digital, DTS (model).
  • 💾 The maximum volume of supported drives often reaches 2 TB.

For advanced users, alternative players such as VLC for Android or MX Player are available.These applications have their own codec sets and often cope with playback where a standard player gives an error or no sound.

Broadcasting of the smartphone screen (Miracast and Chromecast)

Wireless image transfer allows you to stream content directly from the screen of a mobile device to a large display. Xiaomi TVs support Miracast technology (often called “Translation” or “Wireless Display”) and the Google Cast protocol. This allows you to duplicate the screen of a smartphone or output content from specific applications.

To use the Miracast feature, make sure both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. On the remote, click the button with the image of the square and waves (or go to the signal source settings) and select Wireless Monitor. On an Android smartphone, open the notification curtain and find Translation, Smart View or Screen projection.

📊 What type of broadcast you use more often?
Through the YouTube app
Through Miracast (screen duplication)
Through DLNA (files)
On HDMI cable.

Chromecast built-in doesn't work by duplicating the screen, but by linking to the video stream, which reduces the load on the smartphone and saves battery power. Simply click the stream icon on the YouTube app, Netflix or Chrome browser and select your TV from the list.

  • 📱 For iOS, use AirPlay (in new Xiaomi models) or intermediary apps.
  • 📶 Connection stability depends on the quality of the Wi-Fi router signal.
  • ⏱ The delay in screen duplication can be from 0.5 to 2 seconds.

If you're experiencing audio and video desynchronization when wirelessly transmitting, try reducing the quality of the stream in the application settings or bringing the router closer to the TV. Real-time video compression protocols are demanding on channel bandwidth.

Use of media player applications and DLNA

Protocol DLNA (The Digital Living Network Alliance, which allows you to transfer media files between devices on a local network without duplicating the screen, is the perfect way to watch movies stored on your computer or on your computer. NAS-storage using the TV as a client. To implement this scheme on the Xiaomi TV, you need to install the appropriate application.

One of the best solutions is to install the VLC for Android app or use the built-in Explorer. From the source menu, select Neighborhood Devices or LAN. The TV will scan the network and find computers that share folders.

☑️ Setting up DLNA PC-based

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On a Windows computer, you need to set up a shared access setting. Open the movie folder properties, go to the Access tab and select Advanced Setting to activate Sharing. Also make sure that the network settings select the Private Network profile, not Public.

AnnexSupport for codecsInterface.Difficulty
Mi VideoBasicSimple.Low.
VLC PlayerComplete.FunctionalMedium
MX PlayerTall.FlexibleMedium
Nova Video PlayerTall.Beautiful.Tall.

The use of specialized players gives the advantage of the ability to select audio tracks and subtitles on the fly. Embedded tools may not correctly display external.srt subtitles files if their encoding does not match the system.

Network Storage Configurement (Samba/NFS)

For owners of large film collections (>1TB) Connecting an external hard drive directly to a TV can be inconvenient due to power restrictions USB-The best solution is to configure the network storage through Samba protocols (SMB) or NFS.

Protocol SMB This is the standard for Windows networks, while NFS It is used more frequently in Linux environments and NAS-Xiaomi TVs work well with both, but SMB version 2.0/3.0 Provides better compatibility with modern OSes. To connect in the file manager, select Add Device and enter IP-server address.

⚠️ Note: When using older versions of the protocol SMB (SMBv1) on new versions of Android TV There may be a connection error due to security reasons. SMBv2/v3 server-side.

If the automatic search doesn't find the storage, try to manually write the path. smb://192.168.1.XX/shared_folder. Make sure that on the network storage, guest access is allowed or you know the login and password of the account.

Problems with buffering speed
If the video is slowing down when playing over the network, check the connection speed. 4K HDR The content needs a stable channel at least 50-100 Mbps: Use an Ethernet cable for your TV or a router with support 5 GHz Wi-Fi.> The advantage of network storage is that you can access files from multiple devices at the same time, so while one family member is watching a movie on a TV, another family member can download new files to the same drive from a laptop at the same time. Codec and format solution The situation where a file is present but the TV writes "Unsupported format" or plays video without sound is common, because the TV's hardware decoder does not understand the specific compression algorithm used to create the file. The most common problems are associated with audio codecs DTS and AC3. License restrictions prevent Xiaomi from embedding support for these formats in all models, so you see a picture, but there is no sound, VLC), It's a process that decorates sound software, or connects external acoustics that can handle these formats. HEVC (H.265) 10-bit or AV1 It's the power of the TV's processor. TV They may not be able to handle heavy files by giving a slideshow instead of a smooth video, in which case only converting the file on the computer to a lighter format or using it will help. TV-boxing with a more powerful "iron». 🛑 The error “Format not supported” means a problem with the codec, not the file extension. 🔊 Lack of sound in the presence of an image is a sign of lack of a license for an audio codec. 🎞 The video (friest) shows a lack of power CPU/GPU or network speed. After successfully launching a video, it is important to adjust its display. Xiaomi TVs offer various image modes that can automatically switch when a video player is launched. For movies, we recommend Movie or Movie mode, which provides the most accurate color reproduction. Pay attention to the refresh rate settings. If you play 24 frames per second and the TV is 60 Hz, you can have a "judder" effect. In the image settings, find the item associated with Motion Flow or MEMC, and adjust it level or turn it off for a classic cinematic look. 💡The right image calibration and the right movie mode are more important than just the high resolution of the original file. Some players can stretch the image by cutting edges. Set up screen size zoom mode or 16:9 through the TV menu (the menu button on the remote during playback) to avoid distortion of geometry. Why can't the TV see the flash drive from the video? The most common problem is the file system: Android TVs may not see the exFAT format without additional drivers, or the flash drive is formatted into the file system. NTFS, port USB 2.0 doesn't provide enough power. Try reformatting the drive to FAT32 (If the files are less than 4GB, or use USB-- External power hub. Can I watch the video? 4K from a normal hard drive? Yes, if the port USB Supports 3.0 standard and file system NTFS. However, the speed of reading is normal. HDD may not be sufficient for very heavy files with high bitrate (more than 100 Mbps). For 4K HDR Content is preferable to use SSD-If you want to play, you can use the TV's internal memory, or the drive, if you want to. How do you turn on the subtitles if they don't show up? When you play, click on the "Menu" or "Down" button on the remote to call the player. Find a dialog bubble icon or a message «CC». If the subtitles file is separate, make sure the file name matches the video file name and they are in the same folder.