HI BOX TV mini PC's are designed specifically for the IPTV/OTT services market and are used for broadcasting digital television and transmitting media content over the Internet. Currently, the HI BOX TV product line includes three models - HI BOX TV A3, HI BOX TV A3 LIGHT and HI BOX TV A6 PRO.

Brand manufacturer, COSMOS NETWORK LIMITED sells mini PC's worldwide. In addition, Techsane LLC distributes its products in the Russian Federation.

For questions about updating the firmware on mini PC, you must contact the technical support department (support@hi-box.tv).

IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is a package of services for digital broadcasting and transmission of media content within the network of a particular Internet provider. The latter simultaneously acts as the operator of these services and provides access to them through the platform he had created and controls. OTT (Over-The-Top) operators provide their media content to customers directly, through their own web application (Netflix, Amazon Prime, IPTVportal, Impulse TV, etc.).
The main types of IPTV/OTT services: viewing live media or television, access to time-shifted programming, and watching videos on demand (VOD) from the operator’s library. In addition, the user can interact with the media content transmitted by the operator through the user interface (search and view the description of programs, films and series, channel programs, etc.).

IPTV platform consists of software and hardware necessary for the organization of the IPTV operator’s services. It is responsible for receiving and processing video streams, recording, pausing and continuing the streaming of media content, storing and transmitting it over the Internet, protecting it from piracy. Also, it allows the integrating of the entire system with external applications, including billing and user interfaces, statistics collection, etc.

Being a key component of IPTV/OTT platforms and portals, this type of software is used by their owners for managing media content and services provided for their users. Middleware processes incoming requests from clients and gives them access to the requested services on the operators’ servers. It also allows the IPTV/OTT operators to build the subscriber functionality of their platforms and portals in accordance with the chosen approach and depending on the types of media content they provide.

This is a type of hardware one uses in order to be connected to the platform of a particular IPTV operator and to get access to the media content provided by him. The mini PC also allows you to open and view your own media files on the TV screen, connect to and work with external applications via the Internet.

The transmission of digital television via the Internet is without any interferences or data losses and provides maximum sharpness and picture clarity only if one has the unlimited access to the Internet, the required speed and stability of the connection, and controls the load of its network (by connecting to it other devices). The quality of IPTV broadcasts can also be affected by malfunctions in the operation of network equipment and untimely software updates on it.

In recent years, a new video format has appeared, called Ultra High-Definition Television (UHDTV). The most common screen resolution for it is 3840x2160 pixels and is called 4K, since it has approximately four times more pixels than Full HD (1920x1080). The term Ultra HD refers more to the devices capable of supporting 4K resolution, although it is often used as the synonym of 4K.
4K resolution yields more detailed images, with much more clarity and color depth then Full HD, making them look just like alive. However, to see the difference in full, you need to watch 4K video on a large screen (45 inches and above).

For the normal operation of their services, various IPTV operators recommend to their subscribers to have a minimum Internet connection speed of 3.5 to 6 Mbit/s. For comfortable viewing of 4K media content via the Internet on one device, at least 10 Mbit/s is usually required. In case of connecting to the user’s network other devices, this speed will not be sufficient and the quality of 4K video stream will suffer.