Playing Netflix Movies in Xiaomi TV4 (MiTV4)

05 April 2019 Update

Link :    https://tinyurl.com/y3v3uq5f
normal;">google:  https://tinyurl.com/y52k88dd
# MiTV,  Netflix, Modded version

1) MiTVs Can Play Netflix @HD only
2) Reasons Why MiTV Cannot Play Netflix?
3) What Can Be Done ?
4) Will one get Netflix 4K thro' OS update?
5) How do We get MiBox S to Play 4K Netflix on MiTV4 ?

Understand there are users of Mibox S able to play Netflix at 4K UHD mode using MiTV4 as a "dummy" TV.   

Comparing the technical specification between Mibox S and MiTV4,  one could quickly tell that MiTV4 is much more superior in term of graphic capability and other aspect except MiTV4 does not have VP9 and some video formats which are firmware related.

It would appear that  the issue of not being able to play Netflix at 4K UHD mode are just one or more of the following

1.  The Google DRM certification;
2.  The Netflix certification and 
3.  The lack of VP9 video decoder.

	MiBOX S	MiTV4  55"
Specification
Output Resolution:	4K (3840 x 2160)	-Ditto same
CPU:	Cortex-A53 Quad-core 64bit	-Ditto same
GPU:	Mali-450	Mali-830
RAM:	2GB DDR3	2GB DDR4
Storage:	8GB eMMC	-Ditto same
Operating System:	Android 8.1	-Ditto same
Decoders
Video decoder:	4K@60fps，VP9， H.264，  MPEG1/2/4，VC-1，Real8/9/10	4K@60fps, H.264, MPEG1/2/4 VC-1 DivX4/5 WMV3 REAL8/9/10
Video Format:	RM，MOV，VOB，AVI，  MKV，TS，Mp4，3D	RM、FLV、MOV、AVL、MKV、TS、MP4
Audio decoder:	DOLBY, DTS	-Ditto same

If one must use Mibox S to play 4K Youtube and 4K Netflix on MiTV4,  one would be able to do it as illustrated in this article
https://tinyurl.com/y2x3lkbo

04 April 2019  Update

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MiTVs Can Play Netflix @HD  only

Using the "Test Pattern" video clips  provided by Netflix,  it is found that the MiTV4 could only get a picture resolution as high as 850 x 480 with a streaming speed of  1750 kps as shown;  also,  the picture frame is only  24 fps.  

This is not as good as expected although the internet speed test showed that the download speed can go up as high as 90 Mbps and also, Netflix's  prime time Netflix performance was around 4 Mbps or about 32,000 kps which should be enough to play Netflix movies at 4K quality as it requires only 25,000 kps or 25 mbps..

The bottleneck could be caused by the streaming speed capability of MiTV.    The MiTV's own test speed showed a maximum streaming speed of about 1,000 kbps but this could be the streaming test speed from a server in China.   

The problem could also be the APK did not solve the DRM certification and still stuck in level 3 certification.

Notes
1.   The "Test Pattern" video clip can be accessed by typing "Test Pattern" in the Netflix's search box
2.   The video clip might not work and give server error on the older Netflix APKs downloaded from Apitiode TV site
 3.  According to this web site,  Netflix has over 4,500 servers located all over the World as shown in this World map.  

31 March 2019
http://tinyurl.com/y3v3uq5f

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Reasons Why MiTV Cannot Play Netflix

Many Chinese TVs or handphones,  especially those like Xiaomi could not  play Netflix  movies properly in HD mode.   The same was found in other non- Chinese brands like Motorola and ASUS,  Because of this,  many MiTV users have bought additional set top box  and used MiTV as “dumb Display TV” to watch Netflix.    

This article will describe the use of some APKs that will allow these android devices to  play Netflix in HD quality. 

Why ?

According to the explanations of  most research groups,  there are 2 “locks” designed to protect the playback and streaming  of the media contents.  One is a "Google's lock" called “Widevine Digital Rights Management (DRM)”;  the other is the “Local lock” provided by the content providers such as Netflix or Amazon Prime to protect their media contents separately. 

What is DRM?

DRM is nothing but a certification for content providers to check if the device has been certified safe to play their contents.   It is designed to protect the media  contents from  copying or piracy.  Presently,  the certification from Google is free of charge.  

Before playing the media content,  the media player will check the certification.  Those devices certified to be  Level-1 will be allowed to stream the content at HD quality or 720p and above.  Those certified under Level-2 will have  some restrictions whereas those certified for level-3 will not be able to play the HD content  altogether without error messages.

How to Check the DRM Certification?

1. Download this APK and run.   It will show the certification level of the device as follows.

 Double click picture to enlarge

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What Can Be Done ?

Most hardware are designed to play HD contents but they were not certified level-1 because there was no demand for the manufacturers to do so.   For example in China,  most viewers don’t watch Netflix and Amazon Prime and therefore,  most TV or phone manufacturers could not bother to get their hardware certified.  

The content provider like Netflix would not normally provide the "local lock" unless the  devices have been blacklisted for violating copyrights.

The best bet therefore is for users to search around for a solution.   XDA is one good platform; GitHub is another  platform.   These platforms are developers' websites and forum.   Sometime,  they release the solution intentionally.  In the case of Netflix,  3 Netflix files were found in XDA that can be used  in MiTV4.   It is known to work also in many phones and TV that cannot play Netflix properly.   One can download the 3 files from the following site

1.   The Netflix APK for device with HD players

2.  The Netflix APK for device with UHD players

3.  The Netflix APK for device with UHD and Dolby 5.1 players

Note:

1.  One would have to uninstall any version of Netflix first before installing newer ones.   Updating service will not work; 

2.  Do not click update when there is a prompt,  just click cancel. 

3.  It is normal for the first play to be reboot itself  as it is a modded version

4.  To get 4K display on MiTV,   one must also turn on the HDMI 2.0 function of the MITV. The default is always off.  

For Patchwall OS,  one should first select the correct HDMI input on the TV.   After that press the 3 horizontal bar menu button of the TV's remote,  a side screen will appear on TV.  Select "Playback setting" to turn HDMI 2.0 from off to on.   

As for Android OS model,  one should first select the correct HDMI input on the TV. After that, press the Center Button of the TV's remote to turn on the HDMI 2.0. This will allow users to turn on the Mibox's "Enhanced HDMI setting".

5.  If the device is not 4K capable,  it will be good to use only No.1 and not 2 or 3 so as not to expect unnecessary results.  

6.   If the device is  4K capable,  it might not play Netflix video in 4K.  Like MiTV4,  it can only play the 4K movie in HD 1080p quality at best as it does not have the Google's VP9 unless movies is in H264 or H265 format.    Presently,  there is still  no solution found to upgrade MiTV4 to play movies with VP9 format; understand that the TV's firmware would have to be rooted or updated. 

7.   In Netflix,  the video playing format is always showed in the content page of each movie

 Quality of the 4K Movies Playing in MiTV4

Although the 4K movies are played in HD in MiTV4,    it is considered acceptable as shown in the following clip

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Will one get Netflix 4K thro' OS update? 

It will depend on where the TV is located.  If the TV is in areas where Xiaomi did not have a license to use Netflix,  one will never get Netflix 4k through OS update.  This is because Netflix has a geographical restriction on the use of its services. It is varying from country to country, depending on the agreement signed between Xiaomi and Netflix..