Mar 28, 2016

Xiaomi Mi TV 2 - Setup and English UI Interface (firmware ver. 1.1.92)

Happy New Year 2016 all! (this post is a bit overdue as I was sharing these tips in the Xiaomi MIUI forum first)


I had recently purchased a Mi TV 2 55" with soundbar and sub-woofer from an ecommerce site during Christmas and it was delivered just a few days ago .

The first thing I had wanted to go was obviously to change the User Interface from Chinese to English Language. There were a few threads on this forum giving suggestions as well as on YouTube.

When the TV arrived, it came with firmware version 1.1.70 (Stable) and thanks to Alex's thread and video, I was able to use "XH Home for TV" to access the settings and change the language. (Thanks to @Alexfenix: http://en.miui.com/thread-117856-1-1.html).

Even with the tips available and not being able to read or understand Chinese, I found myself having to trial and error with the options available till I found the right one . Hence I decided to produce a step-by-step video guide.

So to produce the video, I decided to do a Factory Reset, however unknown to me the TV had automatically updated it's firmware to version 1.1.92 (Stable). After the reset, I found that I was NO LONGER ABLE TO INSTALL "XH Home for TV". I started to panic and tried & error again as there was no tips or video regarding 1.1.92.

I FOUND A WAY , and it is using "Shafa Market" & "Shafa TV Launcher".

Below is a step-by-step video of what I did and I hope it helps you guys feel more comfortable about this TV and it's interface.



A short video of when;

  • the Mi TV 2 is first started up,
  • connecting to WiFi,
  • sound bar & sub-woofer, and
  • the sound test & Dolby surround demo.



A short video of the Mi TV 2 and the app, CloudTV which I used to watch live television channels streamed online.


Jan 18, 2016

Happy Chinese New Year @ 1 Utama Shopping Centre

Chinese New Year festive season is one of my personal favourite time of the year. The malls are filled with elaborate decorations, activities, events and performances. One of the first malls my partner and I visited was 1 Utama Shopping Centre at Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya.With the theme "Time To Flourish" the mall is decorated with bamboo fixtures, round lanterns that appear to represent flowers, and temporary stalls with streams of red ribbons hung on them. Another thing my partner and I chase after during this period are the performances, and during 16th (Saturday) and 17th January (Sunday) 2016, we manage to catch some.

On Saturday, 16th Jan 2015, the first lion acrobatic lion dance performance held at 1 Utama was Acrobatic Lion Dance performance by Kedah Hong Teik (2015 Genting Lion Dance Champion).



This lion dance troop was the champion during the recent 2015 17th Malaysia National Lion Dance Championship organized by Resort World Genting. You can watch that performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZLT_tz11fk

During this weekend, an event was taking place at the open air car park by the Old Wing of 1 Utama, and it was called "Pesta Selangor 2016". One of the performances featured was an Acrobatic Lion Dance performance by E-Xin Dragon And Lion Dance troop.



On Sunday, 17th Jan, there were two groups performing "24 Festive Drums" performances. The first group was from VR Drumming Academy and it featured 38 drummers at the New Wing lower ground (LG) Oval;




Next was by a famous lion dance troop, Kun Seng Keng and they too performed the "24 Festive Drums" with 24 teenage drummers at the Old Wing Ground Floor (GF) Centre Court;



Between these two groups, I felt the first was better. Perhaps it was due to a larger group of drummers with two distinct uniform colours and a flashy finish.

If you are interested to catch any of the performances that will run till the middle of Chinese New Year week, below is the schedule for 1Utama;



Happy Chinese New Year from 1 Utama.

Dec 1, 2015

Dreamy Christmas at Paradigm Mall

JAT Paradigm Mall - Dreamy Christmas
- Click on the photos to enlarge images -
Christmas is one of my favorite time of the year (next being the Chinese New Year). One of the reason is because the shopping malls usually pull out all the stops and decorate their respective complex to bring out the festive cheers (and hopefully the shoppers' wallets *smile*).

The first mall that started early with their Christmas decoration was Paradigm Mall (https://www.facebook.com/ParadigmMall/) located along the Damansara-Puchong Highway (commonly known as 'LDP' acronym for highway's Malay name 'Leburaya Damansara-Puchong').

The mall theme is called "Dreamy Christmas" and it has aligned the decorations to the upcoming "Snoopy and Charley Brown: The Peanuts Movie". At one of the entrance to the main area, your family and you can to snap a photo with your favorite Peanuts characters.

JAT - Dreamy Christmas The Peanut Characters

JAT Paradigm Mall Christmas decoration 1
Once you enter the main area you'll able to see more individual characters such as Schroeder, and Patty on the right side of a blue house (I'm not sure if it was to be align to the production studio, Blue Sky Studios that is producing the movie).

In my opinion the mall could have the piano songs playing in the background, giving the impression that Schroeder was playing :-)


JAT Paradigm Mall Christmas decoration 2
 This is the the main 'stage' where performances are held. Not very big but the house allows performing artists to rest and store their equipment during intermission.

On the left side of the house, you'll find more Peanut characters such as Linus van Pelt, Sally Brown, and Charlie Brown.


JAT Paradigm Mall Christmas decoration 3

Surrounding this center page are stalls selling Christmas accessories, wares, and cookies.

JAT Paradigm Mall Christmas Performance schedulePerformances and Events
From 27 November 2015 to 3 January 2016, you and your family are treated to a number of events such as;
  • Santa Claus and Elf Meet & Greet
  • Snoopy Meet & Greet
  • Live Band performances
  • Carolers 
  • Live Bands
  • Harmonica performances
  • Dance show
  • Musical shows
Kindly refer to the photo on the right for the dates and times, or you can refer to the mall's Facebook page.

On the 29th November, an acapella group which calls themselves "Of Feathers and Chapters" (https://www.facebook.com/offeathersandchapters/) performing a medley of Christmas carols and songs. This group was good and you can catch their performances on the weekends before and after Christmas.



If you look up from the center space, you'll see Snoopy's archnemesis the Red Baron flying overhead.

JAT Paradigm Mall - Red Baron

Overall the mall's Christmas decoration was rather simple but the trees, colors, lights and 'snow' does give out the Christmas mood, spirit and cheer.

Merry Christmas in advance !