The Mi TV 4X Pro has a simple, and slightly dumbed down design. But what you lose in build quality, the TV makes up for with a smooth UI, good picture performance and a functional easy to use remote control. Where it falls short is with its audio performance along with the lack of native support for Netflix and Prime Videos. However, for a budget of 40k this TV is definitely a value for money proposition.
A quick search of Flipkart and Amazon reveals that there are a lot of TV makers offering 4K TVs between 50 and 55-inch screen size and some of them boasting of smart capabilities at about Rs 40,000. Xiaomi has launched the Mi TV 4X Pro, 55-inch 4K HDR TV at Rs 39,999. Does it do enough to disrupt the market?
Key specifications at a glance
Panel Size: 55-inch
Panel Type: IPS (also available in VA)
Panel Resolution: 3840 x 2160 – 4K
Panel Refresh Rate: 60Hz
HDR 10 support: Yes
Dolby Vision Support: No
Weight (with stand): 13kgs
HDMI Ports: 3
USB Ports: 2
Bluetooth: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
Ethernet: Yes
Speakers: 2 x 10W
CPU: Amlogic Cortex A53 Quad core
GPU: Mali-450
RAM: 2GB
Built-in storage: 8GB
OS: Android TV 8 with PatchWall UI
Price: Rs 39,999
Build and design
Kicking things off with the build of the Xiaomi Mi LED TV 4X Pro, it isn’t as slim as the other 55-inch offering from Xiaomi and that’s ok if for the price you get a good panel. The TV has a plastic shell, something we have seen on a large number of budget TVs. The borders of the TV surrounding the display look like they are brushed aluminum, but they aren’t. They are plastic borders. Nonetheless they give the TV a premium feel. You can choose to either wall mount the TV or put it on a table top. We put the TV on a table top and the two feet that come in the box are also plastic, but hold the TV firmly in place.
The plastic borders have a brushed aluminum finish
One notable thing is that when the TV is on a table top, there is about 3.5-inches of space between the TV and the table. When we placed the Xbox One X below the TV, it just about fit and didn’t cause a hindrance in our viewing experience. You may want to check the size of your soundbar when putting this TV on a tabletop.
Overall, the build of the TV is sturdy. It isn’t as premium as we have seen on the Mi TV 4.
Ports and connectivity
When it comes to connectivity, the Xiaomi Mi LED Smart TV 4X Pro has three HDMI ports (one of them is ARC), two USB ports, an Ethernet port, AV input, good old antenna connection and S/PDIF for audio out. The TV only has an S/PDIF port for audio output. If you are one that has a pair of speakers that support 3.5mm only, then you won’t be able to connect it to the TV as the TV lacks 3.5mm connectivity. If you have a pair of speakers that support Bluetooth, then you can connect them to the TV via Bluetooth. The TV also supports Wi-Fi.
All the HDMI ports are on the side
Display and picture quality
Just like the Mi TV 4, the Mi TV 4X Pro boasts of a 10-bit panel. Thanks to the 10-bit panel, the TV boasts of 4K capabilities along with HDR. To know the advantages of a 10-bit panel, you need to read this. The Mi TV 4X Pro is available in VA and IPS panel options. There is no way for you to chose one when you purchase the TV but when you get your TV, you can check which panel you have. Simply switch on some content on the TV and press the panel with your finger. If you see a rainbow like colour where you press the panel, then it is a VA panel. If you don’t, then it is an IPS panel.
4K and HDR playback
It has been a year since Xiaomi unveiled its PatchWall UI and even though the service has added new content partners, none of the content partners are broadcasting in 4K or HDR to take advantage of the performance of the TV. Xiaomi also announced that Prime Videos support would be coming soon to the TVs but as of writing this review, it isn’t here yet. There is no Netflix support on the TV either. So, keeping these limitation in mind, we turned to our trusted gaming consoles and streaming devices to exploit the 4K capabilities of the TV.
The Xiaomi Mi LED TV 4X Pro has a 10-bit Panel
When it comes to 4K videos, the TVs performance is as good as its predecessor if not better. This time around content looks sharp and sequences in brightly lit scenes look vivid. There is an option in the settings to toggle the dynamic backlighting on and off and if you switch this on, sometimes content looked dimmer than I liked. I like the backlighting to be high with brightness and contrast set just right to make the colours and black levels look appealing. This is of course subjective, but i think switching the dynamic backlighting off when playing HDR content like Star Trek Discovery, DareDevil and more makes sense.
This dynamic backlighting toggle is the key to enjoying content in dimly lit scenes like the staircase fight sequence in Daredevil or the first episode of Star Trek Discovery. Netflix is littered with a lot of HDR content and considering the price of the TV, its performance is good.
We played content from the Xbox One X. The TV doesn't support Netflix or Prime Videos natively
Toggle the dynamic backlighting on and off and keep the picture preset at standard. This is good enough to enjoy most content on the TV, be it 4K HDR, SDR and even HD content.
The TV panel is noticeably reflective, and that is the case even with our IPS panel variant. Keeping this in mind, you may want to control the light in your room where the TV is going to live. It has good viewing angles, however, after a point, about 150 degrees, you will start to notice a slight colour shift. The TVs viewing angles should work fine in the average living room or bedroom.
The table top stand has a curved design
1080p content
It’s no secret that 1080p content greatly outnumbers the amount of 4K content available today. Hotstar, which earlier did not support 1080p now does, so yay! 1080p content looks good if you have a good source. Whether its videos coming from your set-top-box or streaming services all of it looks good. For shows like Young Sheldon, where the content is anyways bright, you may want to toggle the dynamic backlighting off as the backlight may be too high (on full) for you to enjoy it in a relatively dark room.
If you will consume content from a Fire TV stick on this TV, then your experience will be good overall. There isn’t any visible native upscaling per say on the TV, and the experience is enjoyable. Watch a trailer like Cyberpunk 2077 on YouTube to get an idea of the colours on the TV; they are good.
Gaming
The Xiaomi Mi LED Smart TV 4 has a Game preset, which should help with input lag. We played a variety of games on the TV like Ashen which is a 4K SDR game, Doom which is again in 4K SDR, Gears of War 4 which is in 4K HDR and of course Hellblade which is in 4K and HDR. All the games look really good. Some games, especially the ones in HDR give you the option to toggle the games brightness to optimize its visual performance. I highly recommend you do that as it will make a difference. In a game like Gears of War 4, content in indoor environments and shadows made all the difference thanks to tweaking this setting.
The Xbox One X has a good library of 4K HDR games
Sticking with Gears, the game has a lush environment with red storms, blue accents on armour and an overall vibrant but destroyed world. Hellblade on the other hand has a dark desolate world, a good test for black levels in a game. All of the content was quite immersive especially considering the price of the TV. Switch to a game like Ashen which isn't HDR and the performance in dark sequences is commendable too.
Overall, if you have a PS4 Pro or an Xbox One X, then you can enjoy your 4K games library on this TV.
Audio
The Mi TV 4, because of its slim form factor could only house two 8W speakers. This time around we have two 10W speakers in the 4X Pro. The audio from the speakers is loud and for everyday TV viewing be it soap operas or news, it should get the job done. But for movies and gaming, it is quite underwhelming. In games like Doom, it lacks the thump you need when firing a shotgun. In a movie like Blade Runner, the soundtrack at the opening of the film feels lost and in the Cyberpunk 2077 E3 2018 trailer, the voice of the narrator got thoroughly muddled with the background score. It's safe to say, that you will need a pair of speakers to enjoy movies on this TV. For news and regular TV viewing, like TV shows, etc. the speakers get the job done.
The thickness of the TV allows it to house two 10W speakers
UI and remote control
Xiaomi’s PatchWall is one of the better UI’s found on budget TVs. The UI on the Mi 4X Pro is the same that we have seen on the Mi Tv 4A Pro. It agricates content from service providers and presents them to you in a orderly manner. There is also a special section for regional content which is nice if you are one that wants to consume more regional content. You can also integrate your set top box content into this UI top have a seamless experience. You can read more about the UI here.
The TV runs on Android 8 and PatchWall
The remote control on the Mi 4X Pro is the same as the one that we have seen on the Mi TV 4A Pro. It is minimalistic, has few buttons and the only one that is missed is the mute button. Since it connects to the TV using bluetooth, you don’t need to point it directly at the TV to use it. It also has voice controls bringing up the Google Assistant on the TV which works very well.
The remote control is the same as the Mi TV 4A Pro
Bottom Line
The Mi Tv 4X Pro is priced at Rs 39,999 and for the asking price, it is a great value for money proposition. It runs on Android TV out of the box which is always appreciated, has a good panel and the overall performance is good. However, we wish the performance of the audio output of the TV were better and the TV would support Netflix and Prime Videos out of the box. If you have a budget of about 40k, there are a few TVs for you to choose from including the Thomson UD9, iFFALCON smart TV, MarQ, TCL and more. Sadly, we haven't reviewed them so we can’t draw a comparison. However, what the Mi TV has going for it is its unique UI, good picture performance and simple remote control.
Also Read:
Kodak 50 inch Ultra HD (4K) LED Smart TV Review
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Sameer Mitha
Sameer Mitha lives for gaming and technology is his muse. When he isn’t busy playing with gadgets or video games he delves into the world of fantasy novels. View Full Profile
