The Mi TV 5X is available in three screen sizes – 43, 50 and 55-inch. We reviewed the 55-inch variant which, as of writing this review, retails for about Rs 48,000. What the TV has going for it is very good picture performance for SDR content and very good colour reproduction for HDR content. It also has ALLM and eARC and is a good TV for gaming as well. The audio output is loud and good enough for everyday TV viewing. PatchWall works extremely well as a smart TV UI. Where the TV falls short is with its peak brightness, which is acceptable for darkroom content consumption. Just don't expect the bright highlights to jump out. We faced some lag in the UI which we believe can be fixed via a software update. Overall, the Mi TV 5X is a good TV. However, at this price point, we also have the 50-inch TCL C715. While it is 5-inches smaller and if you don't mind 50-inches, it could be one to consider. If you are not a gamer and ok with a 50-inch TV with very good picture performance for movies and TV shows, then you can consider the Philips PUT8215. It comes with better picture performance at the cost of screen size for the same price as the Mi TV 5X.
Xiaomi disrupted the TV market in India with the launch of the Mi TV 4 (review) back in 2018 and in the past three years, the company has added a number of TVs to its portfolio, ranging from 32-inch TVs going all the way up to 75-inches. Xiaomi also has QLED TVs as a part of its portfolio (read our Mi QLED TV 75 review here and Mi QLED TV 55 here). Xiaomi TVs aim to offer the best features at an affordable price. Xiaomi also has its own PatchWall UI which, over the years, has evolved to offer a content-first experience to users. Until now Xiaomi has launched TVs under its Mi TV 4 umbrella or Mi QLED TV umbrella. For the first time, the company has jumped from the Mi TV 4 lineup to the Mi TV 5 with the launch of the Mi TV 5X. Is it a worthy upgrade? Let's find out.
Panel Size: 55-inch (available in 43 and 50-inch screen sizes)
Panel Type: VA and IPS with D-LED backlighting
Panel Resolution: 3840 x 2160 – 4K
Panel Refresh Rate: 60Hz
HDR 10 support: Yes
HDR 10+ support: Yes
Dolby Vision Support: Yes
Weight: 10.35 kgs
HDMI Ports: 3
USB Ports: 2
Bluetooth: Yes, 5.0
Wi-Fi: Yes, dual-band
Ethernet: Yes
Speakers: 40W (30W on 43-inch variant)
Built-in storage: 16GB
Price: MRP: 47,999
The Mi TV 5X has D-LED backlighting and does not come with any dimming zones. We recorded a peak brightness of slightly over 350 nits which is low for consuming HDR content. It is a bit higher than what we recorded on the OnePlus U1S (review). However, the OnePlus U1S had better-sustained brightness. Needless to say, this isn't the brightest TV out there but it does have good colour reproduction.
Kicking things off with our ColorChecker Calman Analysis, we found some interesting results for the TV. In HDR we saw an average delta error of 12.1 and 13.3 for the Movie and Standard preset respectively. While this is high, remember, that when it comes to HDR, no TV is accurate as a lot of TVs cannot display the full BT2020 colour space.
Above: ColorChecker in HDR for the Movie preset
Below: ColorChecker in HDR for the Standard preset
In the SDR ColorChecker Analysis we saw an average delta error of 8.5 for the Standard preset and 3.5 for the Movie preset. This makes the Movie preset one of the closest to the D65 white point for SDR content consumption which is good. So how does this affect real-world performance?
Above: ColorChecker Analysis in SDR for the Standard preset
Below: ColorChecker Analysis in SDR for the Movie preset
Let's kick things off with the 4K and HDR performance of the TV. The TV supports all HDR formats including HDR 10, 10+ and Dolby Vision. The TV has an ambient sensor to adjust the backlighting based on the light in the room but this will not work for Dolby Vision. Why? Because Dolby Vision has its own version of this tech called Dolby Vision IQ which is available on TVs like the TCL C825.
Coming to the HDR performance, we saw our standard slew of content from Netflix and Prime Video and were surprised at the performance of the TV. While the brightness of this TV is higher than what we saw on the Realme 43-inch 4K TV (review), it isn’t a whole lot brighter. But the colour reproduction on the TV is good as you can see from our Calman analysis above. So, when we consumed content in a well-lit room, the brightness of the TV didn’t give us the best experience. However, when the lights went down and we were in a dark room with some biased lighting, the content on this TV was quite enjoyable.
The colours of the wildlife in Our Planet on Netflix just popped and some of the fight sequences in Altered Carbon which lacked the punch in a well-lit room, regained it when the lights went down. Needless to say, this is a TV to enjoy in a room where you can draw the curtains to drown out the natural light. More than the brightness, it's the colours that make this TV enjoyable.
Even in HDR 10+ shows like Jack Ryan on Prime Video, which has a dark sequence we use to test, there is a loss of detail, but unlike other budget HDR TVs, the scene was still watchable. The green tint issue we’ve faced with HDR 10+ content in the past is also almost gone from a show like the Grand Tour. The Grand Tour Season 1 Episode 1 has this shot of a bunch of cars driving across the desert and only those that know where to look will notice the clipping of the highlights due to the low peak brightness. However, the colours and the preset of the TV work in its favour.
Overall, for HDR content, while the TV has a low peak brightness, the colours are really good, making consuming content fun on this TV in a dark room.
As you’ve seen from our Calman analysis, the SDR ColorChecker Analysis has a delta error slightly higher than 3 for the Movie preset. To put things into perspective, the human eye can perceive colour imperfections at delta errors higher than 3. Considering the price and performance of this TV, I’d say the SDR performance is quite good. It can get quite bright and colours pop especially in the movie preset for SDR content. The Standard preset has a cool bias to it, but you can always adjust the colour temperature in the settings to warm if you like. My only recommendation is to switch the ambient light detection off and control the backlighting as you prefer for the best experience. For me, I left it at 100 throughout my time with the TV.
The SDR playback of the TV was good for both bright and dark sequences. We saw our standard slew of content from Young Sheldon to Mission impossible and the Movie preset worked well. While I missed to colours found on the Sony X80J (review), considering the price of the TV, it gets the job done quite well. Even in Spider-Man: Homecoming on the Standard as well as Movie preset, the reds and blues in Spider-Man’s suit looked right and the Movie preset though having a warmer tone, didn’t change the skin tones to yellow, which is very good. Even in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, during the desert bike chase sequence, the colours look natural giving you an immersive experience.
For all content consumption, I switch off motion smoothing as I do not like the soap-opera effect it produces.
The Mi TV 5X boasts HDMI 2.1 features like ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) but does not support VRR (Variable Refresh Rate). The TV has a 60Hz refresh rate. You can game in 4K at 60Hz with YUV422 HDR and not RGB HDR found on other HDMI 2.1 enabled TVs like the Sony X90J (review) or even the X85J (review) for that matter. So while the TV has some HDMI 2.1 features, it misses out on others that gamers may look for.
Once again, our results are in line with what we found with our content consumption test. The TV is a good gaming TV, provided you can control the ambient light in the room. We played games like Ghost of Tsushima: Directors Cut, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (review), Spider-Man Miles Morales (review) and Dirt 5 (review) on the TV and for the most part were quite impressed.
You may want to switch the colour temperature to neutral, switch ambient backlighting off and also switch off any other form of post-processing like noise reduction, etc to get the best experience. The TV identified the PS5 (review) when plugged in and automatically switched to HDR game mode. While we don't know the exact input lag, we can confirm that it is quite low.
The games looked good on this TV. From the soft sun in Spider-Man producing some beautiful colours to the rainy weather in Ghost of Tsushima and even the sun pouring down on you in Dirt 5, gaming was enjoyable on this TV.
The Mi TV 5X has 40W of sound output and can get really loud at high volumes, I found myself leaving the TV on 30 or 40 and the sound was loud enough.
Tip: If the audio from Hotstar sounds too low, and it's a piece of content with sound in 5.1, go to the audio and subtitles option in the top right corner, and select English instead of English 5.1. It makes the world of a difference.
Overall the audio output from the TV is good, dialogue is clear even if the bass is lacking. Mixed audio like a background score, explosion and people talking is also discernable. At higher volumes, the quality of audio suffers but I doubt you’ll put this TV on full volume.
The TV also supports Dolby Atmos and I recommend that you switch this toggle on and forget about it. In Netflix, we noticed that switching this toggle on and off did not have any discernable difference for Atmos content from the TV speakers.
If you've used a Xiaomi TV in the past, you should feel right at home with the UI. It offers the best of both Android TV and the company’s own PatchWall UI. PatchWall has evolved slightly this time around to give you IMDB ratings of content, although this isn’t present for all pieces of content. There are also IMDB top 100 list, and more lists like HDR 10+ content, Dolby Vision content, content segregated by actors, directors, etc. for you to choose from. There is also a section for Live TV for those interested.
Above: IMDB rating visible for content
Below: No IMDB rating visible for Loki
PatchWall is one of the better TV UIs out there and Xiaomi is expanding on it in the right direction. For those that want traditional Android TV, that's there too.
The HDMI 2.1 settings are still buried and to access them when connecting a gaming console, I suggest you watch this.
Just like the Mi QLED TV 75 and the Realme 43-inch 4K TV, the Mi TV 5X comes with far-field mics to let you control the UI. It works just like it did on those two TVs with one small hiccup – the Assistant took a little longer than I liked to do things. It was quicker for me to just open Netflix and navigate to the piece of content I was looking for rather than say “OK Google, Play Stranger things on Netflix”.
I also noticed some stutter and lag in the UI. First, I brushed this off as internet woes, but when it persisted, I realised that the UI is lagging when consuming content. This isn't as bad as what we experienced on the OnePlus U1S but it happened often enough for me to notice and mention here. Hopefully, it can be fixed via an update.
You get the same remote control we’ve seen with Xiaomi TVs for a very long time now. It's slim, sleek, and minimalistic. It has directional buttons, power, Google Assistant, OTT hotkeys for Netflix and Prime Video and a volume rocker. You still need to double-tap the volume down button to mute the TV and I wish we get a dedicated mute button on the remote with the next refresh.
The Mi TV 5X has taken design cues from the 55-inch QLED TV with a gunmetal finish to the feet and sides of the TV. While the housing is still plastic, the finish looks premium and the feet hold the TV in place nicely. There is a physical toggle for the hands-free Google Assistant below the LED’s or you can go into the settings to toggle the far-field mics on and off. There are LED indicators at the bottom of the TV that turn yellow when you mute the mic and this can be a bit of a distraction, especially for those late-night movie sessions. I wish you could dim or turn the LEDs off like you can for the far-field mics on the Sony X90J.
The rest of the design is quintessentially Xiaomi, especially with the port placement. For connectivity, you have three HDMI ports with the HDMI 2 port supporting eARC, two USB ports, an ethernet port, an AV port, an optical port and a 3.5mm port.
The Mi TV 5X is available in three screen sizes – 43, 50 and 55-inch. We reviewed the 55-inch variant which as of writing this review retails for about Rs 48,000. What the TV has going for it is very good picture performance for SDR content and very good colour reproduction for HDR content. It also has ALLM and eARC and is a good TV for gaming as well. The audio output is loud and good enough for everyday TV viewing. PatchWall works extremely well as a smart TV UI. Where the TV falls short is with its peak brightness which is acceptable for darkroom content consumption. Just don't expect the bright highlights to jump out. We faced some lag in the UI which we believe can be fixed via a software update. Overall, the Mi TV 5X is a good TV. However, at this price point, we also have the 50-inch TCL C715. While it is 5-inches smaller and if you don't mind 50-inches, it can be one to consider. If you are not a gamer and ok with a 50-inch TV with very good picture performance for movies and TV shows, then you can consider the Philips PUT8215 (review). It comes with better picture performance at the cost of screen size for the same price as the Mi TV 5X.