Xiaomi has introduced a few new products yesterday including Mi TV 3 60″ 4K UHD television, a cheap Bluetooth voice remote, as well as Ninebot Mini self-balancing two-wheel scooter. But the company has also launched a product that looks like the offspring of a sound bar and a TV box with MI TV Bar, featuring Mstar 6A928 quad core Cortex A17 processor with 2GB RAM and running Android 5.1 Lollipop as well as built-in speakers with Dolby Audio technology. It’s actually designed to be the smart system for Mi TV 3, as Xiaomi found out that while TVs may last 10 years, the “smart” part in smart TV may need an update every couple of years.
Mi TV Bar specifications:
- SoC – Mstar 6A928 quad-core ARM Cortex A17 processor @ 1.4GHz with Mali-760 MP4 4 + 4 core GPU
- System Memory – 2GB DDR3
- Storage – 8GB eMMC 5.0 flash
- Video Input / Output – 3x HDMI 2.0 ports, 1x VGA, 1x AV port, Mi Port
- Audio Speakers
- 2.5mm Line Out connection to subwoofer (6.5″ subwoofer sold by Xiaomi)
- 4x 2.5″ bass speakers
- 2x dome tweeters
- Video Codecs – H.265 4K @ 60fps (10-bit / 8-bit),H.264 4K @ 30fps, H.263 1080P @ 30fps, MPEG 1/2/4 1080p @ 30fps,VP8 1080p @ 30fps, Real Media 7/8/9 1080p @ 30 fps, MJPEG 1080p @ 30fps
- Audio – Dolby and DTS support, virtual Surround, Bass Boost, automatic volume adjustment, etc…
- Tuner – Antenna input for DTMB (Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcast) used in China
- Connectivity – Ethernet, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFI with dual antenna, Bluetooth 4.1
- USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 1x USB 3.0 port
- Misc – 7 buttons on top of the device
- Power – Via Mi port (TBC)
- Dimensions – N/A (Metal Body)
The concept is very interesting. Mstar 6A928 is not an STB SoC, but a TV SoC, so what they’ve done here it taking out the hardware usually found inside your TV, but put it into an easily replaceable box. The video, power, and possibly other data signal are going through the television via Mi port, a proprietary port from Xiaomi.
With Mi TV 3 and Mi TV Bar products, Xiaomi intends to replace you other equipments like AV receiver, game console, set-top box, etc.. and greatly reduce the cable mess in your living as only the power cable and “Mi cable” would be needed. At first I thought HDMI, VGA, and AV ports were only input ports, but Xiaomi also showed their TV Bar connected to a projector, a computer monitor, an existing TV, and a VR headset.
Xiaomi Mi TV Bar will sell for 999 RMB (~$157) while accessories such as the 6.5″ subwoofer and Bluetooth voice remote control will go for 599 RMB (~$94), and RMB 99 (~$16) respectively. Mi TV 3 will sell for 4999 RMB (~ $786). You can get all the details on MIUI website.
Via Liliputing
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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