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Following QLED norm provides solid foundation for Xiaomi’s new X Pro TVs

Sep 28, 2024 03:39 PM IST

For a televisio that costs as much as this does, the Xiaomi X Pro QLED 55-inches isn’t leaving any cards on the table

What an LED or light-emitting diode TV was to us a few years ago, the QLED technology has effectively provided a technological step forward for the mid-range price bands. Think of QLED, or Quantum-dot Light Emitting Diode TVs, as similar to LED TVs except the LED backlighting in this implementation passes through a layer of nano-crystals, instead of a placement directly behind the panel. There are advantages, including controllable regional illumination, deeper blacks, better contrast and more in tune for dynamic range requirements. We’ve seen many a successful implementation around the 50,000 price point (that’s the sweet spot for balancing caliber and experience), and equally, some that have underwhelmed.

 (Official image)
(Official image)

Xiaomi’s new X Pro QLED range adds another chapter to it. Think about value too, with the range’s entry point being 34,999 for the 43-inch screen, and 69,999 for a mammoth 65-inch canvas. Our experience is with the 55-inch QLED TV, priced 49,999 makes one thing clear—Xiaomi has done quite well to build the experience around what’s essentially a high-quality panel. Speaking of which first and foremost, this can go really bright. That’s good news for the active living rooms that tend to have a lot of natural light streaming in during the daytime, or have bright ambient lighting indoors otherwise.

If neither of these scenarios hold true in your home, my recommendation would be to keep the backlight slider as low as possible, for better skin tone reproduction. Else, you’ll be left with everyone looking like a mix of ivory and porcelain. That’s a persistent problem with most TVs in this price band, and hence the insistence on spending some time getting the picture just right. More to that point, the out-of-the-box calibration is perplexingly much less refined, than what this display is capable of.

Spend some time (and it will take some time, considering the detailed settings) getting the ideal balance between backlighting, brightness, contrast, colours, and sharpness, and you’ll begin to realise how good this panel can be. Particularly with 4K resolution content. On Xiaomi’s part, they’ve tried to simplify the picture settings as much as possible, without compromising depth. The performance is all about context. Do not expect this to be anywhere close to an OLED viewing experience (they are part of much higher pricing echelons), but far better than a typical LCD or LED TV that you may be replacing.

For instance, colour temperature options, which add another step between the traditional cool, normal and warm toggles. Xiaomi claims this panel can reproduce 94% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, and we have no reason to disbelieve. Tuned properly, this TV can look really crisp with lively colours. For higher resolution content, particularly HDR formats including Dolby Vision, the inherent crispness of the panel means you can keep the sharpness toggle at as low as 2 or 3 steps. However, switch to a source such as a set-top box which would also have standard definition content (that holds true for 720p resolution videos on YouTube too), and there is that persistent urge to increase the sharpness. Its a balance you’ll have to find.

For a TV that costs as much as this does, the Xiaomi X Pro QLED 55-inches isn’t leaving any cards on the table. The panel quality, display tuning, even the optimisation of the Google TV foundation, all point in the right direction—the quad core processor plays its part, as does opening up storage headroom with 32GB instead of 16GB that’s par for course. Processing has been subtly improved, and those instances of unnaturally darkened HDR10 content (because this TV doesn’t support this format) have been eliminated. Dolby Vision content looks brilliant, non-HDR content leaves little to complain about.

More to that point, even the remote has been subtly updated to include a quick access key to Sony Liv and all apps, in addition to the familiar quick keys for Netflix, Amazon Video, Disney+ Hotstar and YouTube. The design too, which is as close we get to ‘frameless’ for similarly priced TVs, will look good in any living room. That too is a criteria many buyers tick off on a checklist.

Where the X Pro QLED 55 struggles, is something that’s inherent to smart TVs in general. That is, sound. It’s just about enough for clear speech and vocals, but there is a perceptible lack of depth with lower frequencies (not even a whiff, let alone any sort of thump). That may be okay for sports, for instance, but perhaps a no-go for movie and TV show enthusiasts. A soundbar purchase, may well be in order.

We have to make it plainly clear, the X Pro QLED 55-inch (and indeed the other screen sizes) find themselves in a very competitive space. That isn’t to say all QLED TVs are on an equal footing, because they aren’t, but a buyer is potentially looking at more choices than perhaps ideal. The Blaupunkt 55QD7020 and Skyworth’s Coocaa 65Y73 Pro are two QLED TVs we have tested recently, and these definitely can give Xiaomi’s X Pro QLED range tough competition. For what Xiaomi could have done to tick off large parts of the checklist a user may be ticking off too, they have. That is a solid foundation to build on, and hope a buyer’s choice aligns. That’s just how ruthless the TV market is.

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