Please don't recommend VLC Player, it's far inferior to most other, contemporary players with VASTLY enhanced decoders. Even if you don't notice this during playback of standard-res videos, your battery will

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Did you install the official XBMC version from the
http://mirrors.xbmc.org/apt/ios/* repository, as is explained HERE
http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?titl..._iPad/iPhone/iPod_touch#Installing_from_Cydia , in section "
1 Installing from Cydia"?
You do NOT need to manually install DEB files unless you need high-res TV or AirPlay output. (With the Mini, it's the only two cases you'll want to use non-official / stable builds.)
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BTW, you can do the same to almost all AppStore players if you use symlinks (more info:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1464236/ )
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After installing DEB files directly (ANY of them), you will always need to respring. (As opposed to some other advice in this #, you do NOT need a complete restart).
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RP+ is definitely better at hi-res (e.g., 1080p) MKV playback on such a constrained, slow(ish) iDevice like the iPad Mini. (On the much faster iPhone 5 / iPad 4, the difference isn't that big.)
Also see my dedicated articles and benchmarks (I've published tons of them here at MR.)
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In addition to XBMC / RP+, you may also want to give a try to AppStore players. Some players are WAY better than XBMC at, say, regular hi-res MKV playback.
Consider following my multimedia-related articles here at MR - you'll learn a lot from them.
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You only need this Alpha7 version on an iPad mini if and only if you output the video to an external monitor via either AirPlay or the Lightning-VGA / HDMI adapter. On the built-in screen, there's no difference from the official build - as opposed to Retina-screen iPads.