Modern smartphones like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 have powerful screens and great multimedia capabilities, but sometimes 6.3 inches diagonal isn’t enough for a family to enjoy movies. The desire to bring your favorite picture or photos from the gallery to the big screen of the TV arises from many owners of Android devices. Fortunately, the MIUI ecosystem offers several built-in tools, and third-party apps extend these capabilities to the maximum, allowing you to enjoy content in high resolution.
The process of synchronizing your gadget with your TV can be done over wireless channels or physical cables. The choice of the specific method often depends on your TV model, whether you have Smart TV support, and the desired signal quality. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the current ways that will help you turn your smartphone into a powerful home theater control console.
It is worth noting that before you start setting up, it is recommended to update the software on both the phone and the TV to the latest versions, which will ensure connection stability and eliminate possible compatibility bugs of data protocols. Let's review each method in detail so that you can choose the most suitable for your situation.
Wireless broadcasting through the built-in function "Translation"
The easiest and fastest way to bring a Redmi Note 8 image to your TV screen is to use a standard Android feature called Translation in the MIUI shell, which is based on Miracast technology, which allows you to stream video directly without using a router, as long as the TV supports this feature.
To get started, make sure your TV is on and in standby mode (often called Screen Mirroring, Smart View, or just the Wireless Monitor). On your smartphone, lower the notification curtain from top to bottom and find the Translation icon. If it's not on the main control screen, click on three dots or the edit icon to add this switch to the active menu.
Once activated, the phone will start looking for available devices within range. When your TV name appears on the list, click on it. The screen of the smartphone will instantly appear on the large display. It is important to understand that when using this method, the phone works as a transmitter, and its screen must be constantly on, which affects energy consumption.
- 📺 Make sure your TV supports Miracast or Wi-Fi Direct technology.
- 📶 For stable operation, both devices must be in the same room.
- 🔋 Keep an eye on the battery level as the broadcast consumes energy quickly.
⚠️ Note: There may be a slight delay in image when streaming wirelessly via Miracast, making this method unsuitable for dynamic online gaming, but quite acceptable for watching video.
The quality of the image depends on the Wi-Fi signal strength of the module in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 and the TV antenna. If you notice a dissection of colors or twitching images, try to get closer to the receiver or eliminate physical obstacles between devices.
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To reduce the latency of broadcasting, close the background apps on your phone that may consume internet traffic or processor resources.
Using Chromecast technology and Google Home app
If your TV doesn’t support native Miracast but has a built-in Chromecast or you’re using an external set-top box from Google, the best solution is to use the Google ecosystem.Redmi Note 8 owners need to install the official Google Home app from the Play Market store, if it’s not already preinstalled.
The way it works here is different from simply broadcasting a screen: you can either mirror the entire display of a smartphone or send content from specific applications (YouTube, Netflix, KinoPoisk) directly to the TV. In the second case, the phone acts only as a remote control, and the video is buffered by the TV itself, which ensures high quality and no delays.
For a full mirrored screen, open the Google Home app, find your device in the list, and select Translate screen. The system will warn you that all actions on the phone will be visible on the TV. Confirm the action and the image will appear on the big screen.
To work properly, Chromecast is critical that both your phone and your TV are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. If you have a dual-band router, make sure both devices sit on the same frequency (e.g. 5GHz), although modern routers often combine networks under the same name.
| Characteristics | Miracast (Translation) | Chromecast (Google Home) | DLNA (Video/Photo) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type of connection | Wi-Fi Direct | Through a Wi-Fi router | Through a Wi-Fi router |
| Internet dependency | Not required | Required for streaming | Required for online content |
| Phone battery consumption | High-pitched | Medium/Low | Low. |
| Image quality | Depends on the signal. | Up to 4K HDR | Original file |
Broadcasting through DLNA-server
If your goal is to watch movies stored in Redmi Note 8 internal memory or on a microSD card, DLNA is the best way to stream media files to your TV without loading your phone's processor, because the device simply sends a stream of data and decoding is done by TV.
To implement this method, you will need an Android media player application, such as VLC for Android or a built-in Explorer with DLNA. In the application settings, you need to activate the Renderer or Transfer to DLNA function. After that, select your TV from the list of available devices.
Navigating files from the TV screen or through the application interface on the phone is ideal for viewing heavy high-resolution files that can slow down during normal wireless screen broadcasting, and allows you to control playback (pause, rewind) without interrupting the flow.
Why can video twitch at DLNA?
It's worth mentioning that file format also matters. Although today's TVs read most formats, MKV or MP4 containers with H.264 or H.265 codec work most consistently, and if the TV can't see the file, it may lack codecs, and then you'd better use the screen broadcast.
Wired connection via USB-C to HDMI adapter
For users who want maximum image quality without compression and delay, there is a wired method. However, there is an important technical nuance: the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 is equipped with a USB 2.0 Type-C port, which, unfortunately, does not support video output through the standard USB-C to HDMI adapter (DisplayPort Alt Mode technology).
This means that a cheap adapter purchased from an electronics store will probably not work. To wired the device, owners need to use special adapters that work through DisplayLink technology, which require the installation of an additional application and drivers on the phone, or use the wireless methods described above.
If you still decide to try a wired connection through the DisplayLink adapter, you will need to:
- 🔌 adapter USB to HDMI Supported by DisplayLink.
- 📲 Installed DisplayLink Presenter from Google Play.
- 🔋 External power for the adapter (optional, but desirable).
Once the adapter is plugged in and the app is launched, the phone will create a virtual display, a technique that allows you to stream the image even to projectors or monitors without a Smart TV, but it puts additional strain on the smartphone's processor.
⚠️ Note: Don’t buy cheap adapters USB-C on HDMI They're hoping they'll make money on the Redmi Note 8, and 99 percent of the time, they're only for flagship models with the same name. USB 3.0 and higher.
Despite the limitations, a wired connection via DisplayLink guarantees a stable picture without interference from microwave ovens or neighbourhood routers, which can be critical in apartment buildings with noisy ether.
Use of Mi Box and Android TV
Owners of Xiaomi equipment are often encouraged to use ecosystem solutions such as the Mi Box S console or Android TVs. In this case, the integration takes place at a deep system level. the Translation feature in MIUI sees Android TV devices first and connects to them with minimal latency.
In addition, when using the Xiaomi set-top box, the “Sound Translation” mode is available, when the smartphone acts as a Bluetooth headset for the TV. This is convenient if you want to watch a movie at night without disturbing the household, connecting wireless headphones to the phone while the image is on TV.
The setup is done via the Settings menu → Connected Devices → Broadcast. The system will automatically offer available devices on your network. If you have a Xiaomi smart home, the controls can be even deeper, allowing you to pause a movie when you get a call, for example.
☑️ Checking before buying a prefix
The advantage of using native devices is the optimization of data protocols, the picture is transmitted in native resolution, and the sound can be broadcast in Dolby Digital formats, if your audio system supports it.
Problem Solving and Quality Optimization
Even with the right setup, users can experience problems such as black screens when audio is turned on, audio and video desynchronization, or intermittent connection breaks, often due to energy-saving MIUI settings that aggressively kill background processes.
To avoid forced closure of the broadcast app, go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Monitoring the activity of the application. Find the application you are using (for example, Google Home or YouTube) and set the “No Limits” mode, which will prevent the system from turning off Wi-Fi modules for this application.
It's also worth checking the screen resolution settings. If the TV is old and doesn't support Full HD, and the phone is trying to output 1920×1080, the image may not appear. In some advanced broadcast applications, you can manually set the resolution and frame rate.
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Connection stability is more important than maximum resolution. Better to reduce the quality to 720p, but watch a movie without jerking, than to suffer with constant buffering in 4K.
If the sound is coming and the image is not (black screen), it often indicates a problem with the sound. DRM-Some streaming services prohibit full screen broadcasting unless you use the secure Cast protocol, in which case use the "Translate" button inside the video application itself, rather than the system mirroring feature.