Xiaomi to launch Mi TV Q1 75" on 23rd March - QLED, 192 Zones, 120Hz

[Love4sound]

Firestick outputs digital audio, and digital audio should sound the same unless some transcode is happening. There will only be a difference if you play HD audio(like Dolby TrueHD) which firestick can't handle. Everything else will be bitstreamed to the AVR.

Netflix/Prime etc only use Dolby Digital Plus, which will be bitstreamed from firestick.

By theory you are right but practically No that’s not how audio works in certain cases. For example take bitstream. A 5k Bluray player also can bitstream compared to a blu ray player like oppo that costs 1 lakh and the decoding is done by the avr. But people who have all compared it side by side can assure you the difference in soundstage is huge between a 5k blu ray player and oppo. I am also stating the same after doing side by side comparisons with Bluray player,ps4. Let firestick output digital audio the same way shield or any other devices. The output is just not the same. If you can test and confirm I am all ears. Also the OTT performance was better in my ps4,Bluray player compared to shield. Another fm recently sold his shield since his Xbox was better for OTT. In an avr set up firestick is just not meant to be. Sorry Mi owners didn’t mean to de rail the thread. Just suggested the other fm based on my experience

 

[vikrantxtrad]

I thought they only do ONE TIME free INSTALL service. Did you have to pay them or make special request and under what CONDITIONS?

Did you move the TV to diff city or what? I am confused by this 2 CITY Service? Do clarify if im missing part of the story here.

Obviously they will take money

 

[ankurjaiz]

Yeah it will. Firestick does not belong in an avr set up. Dynamics in sound stage is very poor in the firestick. When I tested it in my set up I had to use -10 to -15 db to get the same level of volume that I get in a Bluray player or shield or Ps4 at -25db. Even then it felt compressed. I am sorry to say that firestick is garbage in an avr set up.

+1.
In my experience even Mi TV sounds much better than Firestick 4K.

 

[lightgamer]

By theory you are right but practically No that’s not how audio works in certain cases. For example take bitstream. A 5k Bluray player also can bitstream compared to a blu ray player like oppo that costs 1 lakh and the decoding is done by the avr. But people who have all compared it side by side can assure you the difference in soundstage is huge between a 5k blu ray player and oppo. I am also stating the same after doing side by side comparisons with Bluray player,ps4. Let firestick output digital audio the same way shield or any other devices. The output is just not the same. If you can test and confirm I am all ears. Also the OTT performance was better in my ps4,Bluray player compared to shield. Another fm recently sold his shield since his Xbox was better for OTT. In an avr set up firestick is just not meant to be. Sorry Mi owners didn’t mean to de rail the thread. Just suggested the other fm based on my experience

In that case this means that there is an issue with the app, perhaps a bug. Bitstream should sound exactly the same. If it doesn't sound the same, it's a software bug or misconfiguration. Component quality has nothing to do with digital audio or video.

And if firestick sounds bad, Nvidia shield will too since both use the same android apps. This is why I'm actually considering buying the Apple TV 4k over the shield, as some software things are just way better in tvOS like refresh rate switching and colour gamut handling.

 

[vikrantxtrad]

In that case this means that there is an issue with the app, perhaps a bug. Bitstream should sound exactly the same. If it doesn't sound the same, it's a software bug or misconfiguration. Component quality has nothing to do with digital audio or video.

And if firestick sounds bad, Nvidia shield will too since both use the same android apps. This is why I'm actually considering buying the Apple TV 4k over the shield, as some software things are just way better in tvOS like refresh rate switching and colour gamut handling.

Also calibration using iphone is lit

 

[crashnburn]

Yeah it will. Firestick does not belong in an avr set up. Dynamics in sound stage is very poor in the firestick. When I tested it in my set up I had to use -10 to -15 db to get the same level of volume that I get in a Bluray player or shield or Ps4 at -25db. Even then it felt compressed. I am sorry to say that firestick is garbage in an avr set up.

How is the internal App compared to FS and others?

 

[Love4sound]

How is the internal App compared to FS and others?

You mean the internal apps of the MI tv? Another FM commented the tv is better then FS. In an avr set up for sure the FS is a bad investment

 

[crashnburn]

Obviously they will take money

Exactly. But first INITIAL INSTALL VISIT is typically INCLUDED. Hence, I asked.

 

[neogen]

Nice set up. It’s sad to see that you are using firestick in an avr set up. I got rid of it within 1 hour of usage and it’s the worst device I have ever experienced in my chain. Audio is very much compressed and defeats the purpose of using an avr. If budget permits look at Apple TV or shield if local playback is important.

Thanks for your reinforcement. Yes, I do have plans to get shield pro. Only question is when.. will there be a 2021 Shield pro? That's what is holding me to pull the trigger

 

[Love4sound]

Thanks for your reinforcement. Yes, I do have plans to get shield pro. Only question is when.. will there be a 2021 Shield pro? That's what is holding me to pull the trigger

Nvidia has released 2015,2017 and 2019 so one in every two years. But there is no assurance they will release one in 2021. But if you can get your hands on 2021 shield go for it. Apple TV is better as per owners feedback for ott alone. Shield main advantage is Kodi and local playback.

 

[OM_2K19]

By theory you are right but practically No that’s not how audio works in certain cases. For example take bitstream.

My hunch is the Exo Player, which most of the FireStick Apps leverage for playback, has some role. I have to super cheap Roku, and it outperforms FireStick in every possible way (Tested with Hulu/Netflix/Apple Tv+).

 

[lightgamer]

My hunch is the Exo Player, which most of the FireStick Apps leverage for playback, has some role. I have to super cheap Roku, and it outperforms FireStick in every possible way (Tested with Hulu/Netflix/Apple Tv+).

That might definitely be the case. However, if ExoPlayer is responsible all android based media players will have this issue, including the shield.

 

[OM_2K19]

However, if ExoPlayer is responsible all android based media players will have this issue, including the shield.

That got me thinking that probably it's a combination of the Player and the Audio framework; Shield uses stock Android (TV), whereas FireStick is on a customized version of Android.

 

[lightgamer]

That got me thinking that probably it's a combination of the Player and the Audio framework; Shield uses stock Android (TV), whereas FireStick is on a customized version of Android.

Actually I found the issue. Android downsamples everything to 24-bit 48KHz and hence can't bitstream high resolution HD audio to anything. You'll need to use custom firmware (Tidal uses it) to fix that, and ExoPlayer definitely doesn't.

Since firestick won't be bitstreaming, there will be a transcode happening which will lower the quality depending on the algorithm used.

 

[jarneevan]

By theory you are right but practically No that’s not how audio works in certain cases. For example take bitstream. A 5k Bluray player also can bitstream compared to a blu ray player like oppo that costs 1 lakh and the decoding is done by the avr. But people who have all compared it side by side can assure you the difference in soundstage is huge between a 5k blu ray player and oppo. I am also stating the same after doing side by side comparisons with Bluray player,ps4. Let firestick output digital audio the same way shield or any other devices. The output is just not the same. If you can test and confirm I am all ears. Also the OTT performance was better in my ps4,Bluray player compared to shield. Another fm recently sold his shield since his Xbox was better for OTT. In an avr set up firestick is just not meant to be. Sorry Mi owners didn’t mean to de rail the thread. Just suggested the other fm based on my experience

Based my personal experience with both FS and Nvidia, it is not just the audio but even the HDR performance of FS is quite poor compared to the latter.

I understand the argument that bits are bits in digital domain but the reality is that there is difference between the two.

 

[Love4sound]

Based my personal experience with both FS and Nvidia, it is not just the audio but even the HDR performance of FS is quite poor compared to the latter.

I understand the argument that bits are bits in digital domain but the reality is that there is difference between the two.

Exactly. It’s not that others here aren’t aware of the technical details. I have done enough side by side comparisons and shared my feedback. There is no need for me to explain technically and waste every ones time when I can just finish it in one sentence that FS is crap in an avr set up. I know a lot of other fms who also stated the same and moved to other devices like Apple TV or the shield. Even a blu ray player is a better choice in an avr set up as most players now come with Netflix and prime app. I have no interest to argue with anyone that I know better. I am here in this forum sharing my gears and how they perform in my room so others like me can benefit. I don’t want to waste time taking about things I don’t own. Any one can do that. That other fm set up is really good looks beautiful as well.So I just advised him to move from fs which is absolute BS in an avr set up

 

[OM_2K19]

Actually I found the issue. Android downsamples everything to 24-bit 48KHz and hence can't bitstream high resolution HD audio to anything. You'll need to use custom firmware (Tidal uses it) to fix that, and ExoPlayer definitely doesn't.

Since firestick won't be bitstreaming, there will be a transcode happening which will lower the quality depending on the algorithm used.

Here is another clue..

Amazon Digital and Device Forums - US

Amazon Digital and Device Forum United States

www.amazonforum.com

 

[jarneevan]

I am here in this forum sharing my gears and how they perform in my room so others like me can benefit.

Precisely the point. I learnt a lot from this forum based on other FMs experiences and thier mistakes.

 

[lightgamer]

Here is another clue..

Amazon Digital and Device Forums - US

Amazon Digital and Device Forum United States

www.amazonforum.com

It's a fairly buggy device and Amazon can't be bothered to fix it. Even basic things like framerate/res matching only work on 2 apps. I've mentioned about the bugs multiple times in the past.

Then again it's a 3000 rupee device so can't fault it too much. If you can afford it, there are definitely better streamers out there like Apple TV 4k which also has Infuse and direct play for SSA subtitles on Plex.

 

[OM_2K19]

Then again it's a 3000 rupee device so can't fault it too much.

That's true; I can't blame them much. Also, it's not their core business; else, they would have delivered a quality product like Roku within the same price bracket.