Is this the greatest low-cost Ultra-HD TV available right now?
Xiaomi has made significant inroads into the Indian television market in a very short period of time. Xiaomi’s televisions are among the top brands in the smart TV industry and a popular alternative for shoppers searching for economical, value-for-money big-screen TVs in India. While it does offer some high-end alternatives, such as OLED and QLED TVs, the company is most recognized for its low-cost goods, making the new Xiaomi Smart TV X Series stand out in its expanding product selection.
The Xiaomi Smart TV X Series, which is priced at Rs. 34,999 in India for the 50-inch model (L50M7-A2IN) on review here, is similar to the Mi TV 5X, which was introduced in 2021, but with a more austere approach that sees less features and frills in favor of more competitive pricing. Xiaomi has kept certain crucial specs, such as the Ultra-HD screen, Dolby Vision HDR compatibility, and Android TV with the PatchWall and vanilla Android TV UIs. Is this the greatest low-cost Ultra-HD TV available right now? Learn more in this review.
Design and characteristics of the Xiaomi Smart TV X Series X50
The Xiaomi Smart TV X Series comes in three different sizes, ranging from 43 to 55 inches. According to the company’s launch pricing, the 43-inch model costs Rs. 28,999, the 50-inch variant costs Rs. 34,999, and the 55-inch variant costs Rs. 39,999. At the time of writing, I found the 50-inch X50 model for Rs. 31,999 on the company’s official web site. Because all three varieties have the same features and Ultra-HD quality, the only notable variation between them is the display size.
As previously stated, the Xiaomi Smart TV X Series foregoes a few features in favor of lower cost, including several aspects of the television’s appearance. The back of the TV is unadorned, and the provided supports are constructed of plastic (unlike the metal stands included with the Mi TV 5X). However, there are no notable modifications at the front of the TV, which has a very conventional design with low bezels and a relatively high screen-to-body ratio.
The Xiaomi logo is at the bottom, directly above the indicator light module. There is no hands-free Google Assistant on the Xiaomi Smart TV X50, unlike the Mi TV 5X, and hence no microphone on the TV or a sliding button to silence it. The ports on the back of the TV are on the left and bottom, with plenty of room around them to enable for simple hookups even if the TV is wall-mounted.
Furthermore, Xiaomi hasn’t skimped on the connectors, which remain identical from the Mi TV 5X. Three HDMI 2.1 connections (one of which supports ARC/eARC), two USB Type-A ports, a 3.5mm socket for wired headphone or speaker communication, as well as Digital Optical (Toslink), Ethernet, AV Input, and Antenna connectivity are available.
I had the TV wall-mounted for my evaluation, and even with a low-profile wall-mount kit, it didn’t sit too close to the wall, allowing me to reach the ports as required. The wall-mount kit is not included in the sales package; however, the Xiaomi expert may give one during the installation process.
The Xiaomi Smart TV X50 has a 50-inch Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) LED screen with a refresh rate of 60Hz and compatibility for the high dynamic range codecs Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG. The TV’s down-firing speaker system produces 30W of audio and supports the Dolby Audio, DTS-HD, and DTS Virtual X codecs. There is dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5, and the TV features a quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage for applications and app data, which is less than the Mi TV 5X’s 16GB storage.
Xiaomi Smart TV X Series X50 features and remote
Xiaomi’s simple remote returns, although with slight alterations, for the X50 TV. In addition to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, there are two new hotkeys for Disney+ Hotstar and applications, and the ‘Mi’ logo has been replaced by the PatchWall logo for the button that swiftly changes to Xiaomi’s proprietary UI for its TVs. Aside than that, it’s the same old remote, although significantly bigger than prior remotes.
The remote is powered by two AAA batteries, which are thankfully included with the purchase. Some of the software-based changes made to the remote to compensate for the absence of physical buttons remain in place. To mute, hit the volume down key twice fast, and to access the quick settings menu, long-press the PatchWall button.
The Xiaomi Smart TV X50 also has auto low-latency mode (ALLM) for gaming, Dolby Atmos passthrough when utilizing HDMI ARC with compatible speaker systems, and remote access to Google Assistant. There are also Google Chromecast and Miracast built-in for casting from compatible devices.
Software and user interface for Xiaomi Smart TV X Series X50
The Smart TV X50 retains Xiaomi’s traditional dual-UI approach based on the Android TV 10 operating system. If you prefer the PatchWall UI, the company’s proprietary user interface is always improving in terms of speed, curation, and recommendations from over 30 integrated streaming providers, among other things. There is also direct access to the Mi Home app on the TV, which is great if you own any Xiaomi IoT devices.
If you prefer the comfort of the Android TV user interface, it is also available. Soon after installing the Xiaomi Smart TV X50, the basic Android TV UI was changed to a more modern, Google TV-inspired appearance. The applications remain the same regardless of the UI you like, including access to over 7,000 apps on the Google Play store for Android TV to download any more apps and games that you may desire.
I did have some UI difficulties with the Android TV interface, with the Xiaomi Smart TV X50 seeming a little slow to browse about. Applications would also fail to load correctly on occasion, and subtitle timing on apps like Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar was wrong by a second or two. However, the solution was simple: a complete reboot would have the TV operating great for the most part, until the difficulties reappeared a few days later.
The Xiaomi TV+ app is an intriguing new addition to the software package. This gives you access to linear, pre-programmed ‘channels’ similar to those found on a DTH set-top box-based service, with the apparent distinction being that the material is streamed over the Internet.
I did find it a little sluggish, and it took a long time to load even on my typically fast Internet connection, but this should improve with time. The channel selection provided a good amount of variety and substance, and it was a good diversion when I couldn’t think of what to watch or simply wanted to watch anything for a few minutes.
Performance of the Xiaomi Smart TV X Series X50
The Xiaomi Smart TV X Series is priced lower than the Mi TV 5X, although this is due to minor modifications in the feature set and style of the television. The Xiaomi Smart TV X50 performs well for a television in its price range, due to its Ultra-HD screen with Dolby Vision HDR compatibility, overall acceptable image quality across multiple resolutions, and adequate sound quality.
I viewed a wide selection of material on YouTube and Hotstar, ranging from Ultra-HD with Dolby Vision or HDR10 support to standard definition video snippets and programs. While the differences in top-quality video were obvious, the 50-inch size of the X50 model seemed to help mask some of the downsides of lower-resolution material at common living-room viewing distances.
When compared to all other material, watching episodes of Home on Apple TV+ in Ultra-HD Dolby Vision was expectedly excellent, with the Xiaomi Smart TV X50 doing a respectable job with the high dynamic range format. This did not seem to translate into a large increase in brightness as one would anticipate from a high-end LED or quantum-dot LED TV, but the colors and tones appeared to be improved.
On an entry-level Ultra-HD HDR TV, the gorgeous, frequently colorful residences and surrounding wildlife on Home looked about as nice as can be anticipated. Chef’s Table: Pizza on Netflix had a naturally bright and brilliant image that appeared very appealing in terms of colors and clarity, and the light motion in these two episodes was usually handled well by the TV.
The darkness levels in shows like Andor and House of the Dragon created a somewhat different viewing experience. Because the Xiaomi Smart TV X Series is an entry-level LED TV, there was always a small grey tint across the screen.
This didn’t matter or show too prominently with bright, colorful material, but with the aforementioned two series depending largely on gloomy, night-time sequences, it made the image seem a little boring and frequently impossible to view unless the room was entirely black. Andor seems to benefit from its Ultra-HD resolution and Dolby Vision compatibility to look relatively watchable, however House of the Dragon’s full-HD resolution looked weird in dark situations, with a lot of artifacts and colors being washed out.
The TV seemed to be almost as competent with HDR10 material as it was with high-quality Dolby Vision programming from Apple TV+ and Netflix. The current episode of The Grand Tour was vivid and entertaining to watch due to its mostly brilliant snowscapes, but the technically inferior HDR format seemed to manifest in the colors being somewhat less powerful.
However, the material itself will make or break the experience, and The Grand Tour’s high-quality programming and video certainly looked better than Andor’s bland Dolby Vision broadcast on the Xiaomi Smart TV X50. Despite the evident changes in crispness, Full-HD titles such as House of the Dragon and Welcome to Wrexham looked well because to the X50 variant’s 50-inch screen size.
Lower-resolution material, such as Sarabhai versus Sarabhai episodes on Disney+ Hotstar, was also handled quite well by the TV, with reasonable upscaling and the size of the screen itself masking some of the picture’s shortcomings from standard living room viewing distances.
Given the price and size of the TV, the sound quality on the Xiaomi Smart TV X Series was rather good. The TV is loud, and the sound is well-tuned to accentuate speech and background music. While the sound wasn’t as strong in the lows and background sounds, it was enough for most of what I wanted to see. This is a very beneficial advantage at this price range, since consumers will not need to purchase a soundbar or speaker system in addition to the TV.
Verdict
Xiaomi’s TVs in India have always outperformed the competition in terms of value for money, and the X Series refines the notion even further. In terms of fundamental characteristics, it’s not much different from the more costly Mi TV 5X series, although it does forego several features that may be deemed superfluous frills.
The result is a good budget Ultra-HD TV that mostly performs its job and, at Rs. 34,999 for the 50-inch model (which may go as low as Rs. 31,999 depending on seasonal pricing), provides great value for money. With a few minor exceptions, the picture quality is adequate, the sound quality is excellent, and the software and UI performance are adequate overall. If you’re wanting to upgrade to a huge screen and want to explore the ever-growing list of Ultra-HD and HDR material available right now, this is a reasonable choice for the price.
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pic by – Xiaomi