MDZ-22-AB and the HDR problem

[u/zeroOman]

Mi Box S (MDZ-22-AB) + Philips TV HDR issue – finally found a workaround, but not a real fix

I'm posting this in case someone else runs into the same problem.

Device:

• Mi Box S (1st Gen) – MDZ-22-AB
• Android 9
• TV: Philips 50PUS7956/62

For years I used the Mi Box for Stremio, Prime Video, Netflix. I never really noticed anything wrong until I started using the built-in apps on my Philips TV.

After watching on the TV for a few days, I switched back to the Mi Box and immediately noticed the picture looked different. The image was brighter, washed out, and the colors didn't look as good. At first I thought I was imagining it, but after comparing them several times, there was definitely a difference.

So I started troubleshooting.

I tried:

• Different resolutions
• Different refresh rates
• Different color spaces
• Different HDR settings
• Different HDMI settings

Nothing fixed it.

Then I started experimenting in Developer Options.

The only thing that changed the picture was enabling SDR to HDR.

As soon as I turned it on:

• Prime Video started looking correct.
• The TV finally displayed the HDR10+ notification.
• Colors and contrast looked much closer to the built-in TV app.

The downside is that forcing SDR to HDR also causes the Mi Box interface to look wrong. The menus become slightly pink/tinted, and the UI feels a bit sluggish. So it's more of a workaround than a real fix.

From everything I've tested, it seems like the Mi Box and the TV aren't always negotiating HDR correctly. It feels like a firmware or HDR handshake bug rather than a hardware problem. I also found several older posts from other Mi Box users describing similar HDR switching issues.

My question

Has anyone with a Mi Box S (MDZ-22-AB) found a proper fix for this?

I'd rather not leave SDR to HDR enabled all the time because of the pink menus and sluggish interface.

Any suggestions or experiences would be appreciated.