TCL C9K vs Xiaomi S Pro 2026

As we mentioned regarding black levels and contrast – the C9K can make a huge impression in synthetic tests. Our measurements showed that on a screen 10% filled with white, the television can achieve... 4000 nits of brightness! It sounds out of this world, but – and here's where the pattern unfortunately repeats – the numbers say one thing, and the practical experience says another. In real movie scenes, the situation looks different. In the best-case scenario, when light effects occupy a large part of the image and the local dimming algorithm doesn't have to ponder too much about what to do with thousands of zones, the effect is really quite good. At that point, the C9K can hit around 1500 nits, which delivers a pleasant, intense burst and can indeed leave a positive impression.

The problem arises with smaller elements – such as stars in the sky, the moon, or individual reflections. That's when the proverbial cat comes out of the bag: the algorithms are not yet refined, and brightness drops to as low as 400–500 nits. That's a huge difference from the potential 4000 nits we saw in lab tests. Why does this happen? Most likely, the television is trying to protect the black levels in this way and minimize the halo effect around bright objects. Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of detail – some details simply vanish, and the scene loses its nature.

When it comes to HDR quality, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is undoubtedly a very bright television. On our synthetic measurement patterns, we were able to achieve peak brightness of around 1400 nits. This result is not only very good but quite spectacular, considering the price of this model. However, as we always say, our editorial team values measurements and the viewing experience of content that people watch on a daily basis – from movies to series. So let’s analyse how Xiaomi performs with film material. The result is, unfortunately, quite mixed. When very bright scenes appear on screen, the S Pro 2026 truly shows its full capabilities and can achieve a real 800-1000 nits on bright elements. Moreover, even smaller objects can "burn" the eyes – in scenes from the movie Sicario 2, small metallic parts of the helicopter were really vivid. The problem is – and here the story comes full circle, returning to our contrast assessment – that in such scenes, we can’t count on absolutely cinematic black. In our opinion, this compromise is too significant; the high visibility of details in bright sections should not come at the expense of such a substantial drop in blacks. And even though the HDR effect can create a stunning impression here, it’s important to remember that when very challenging, mixed scenes appear on screen, we may feel a slight disappointment. Precisely the one we mentioned in the previous paragraph regarding issues with dimming in HDR mode. As a consolation, it’s worth adding that the S Pro 2026 is equipped with an additional PFS filter (similar in function to a QLED layer), which effectively broadens the colour gamut coverage. As a result, measurements showed DCI-P3 coverage reaching 94%. This gives us confidence that in most colourful scenes, the image will look rich and properly saturated.

For colour tests, we once again reached for the Filmmaker mode – a new feature in TCL televisions for 2025. While the direction is a step in the right way, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The white balance in SDR content turned out to be too warm – there was an excess of red. On the other hand, in HDR, it swung in the opposite direction: the image became excessively blue. The Colour Checker test revealed quite a few colour inaccuracies that were noticeable to the naked eye. An even bigger problem turned out to be what we mentioned above – brightness management. Regardless of whether we were watching SDR or HDR content, the image tended to wash out the entire scene, giving it an unnatural, almost grotesque character. Therefore, it’s hard to call this a "director's mode" – because no director has ever seen such an image.

Of course, all our measurements were conducted in "Film" mode, which is typically the best and most faithful choice we get straight after taking the TV out of the box. And to put it bluntly: while this is the best mode, it is still very far from perfect. Above all, the TV has a clear tendency to give the picture a cool, blueish tint – this is due to poorly set colour balance. Additionally, there is the issue of how the S Pro 2026 manages its brightness straight out of the box, which results in an over-saturated image. These two flaws contribute to really significant colourimetric errors (Delta E). In HDR content, they could double exceed our expected error scale of "10" (i.e. reaching values close to 20). Just to remind you – the threshold of perceivable error by the human eye is a Delta E value of around 3. Results at the level of 20 mean that the image significantly deviates from what the director intended.

After calibration, we finally managed to tame the white balance – and it immediately translated into a more natural image. Colours finally started to look as they should, and the overall presentation was incomparably better than on the factory settings. In other words – it’s worth taking a moment to improve this, as the gain is really significant. The gamma responsible for brightness management also managed to be brought into order in SDR content, and the effect was more than satisfactory. Unfortunately, when we turned on HDR materials, the situation quickly became complicated. No matter how we set the local dimming, the television had a tendency to do what it liked with the image – either it overexposed everything or darkened the darkest parts too much. Just like we saw in the scene from the movie Billy Lynn. Colour-wise, the improvement after calibration makes a great impression, but brightness management in HDR remains the Achilles' heel of the C9K and presents a certain technological limitation.

So how does the S Pro 2026 perform after our calibration process? We must admit that after calibration, the TV becomes a really enjoyable device for watching everyday content. As you can see in the charts, in HD (SDR) material, both white balance and gamma values have been brought to nearly perfection. Most importantly, colourimetric errors have become practically invisible to the human eye. In this scenario, the S Pro 2026 is simply a great TV that, after professional calibration, can provide a lot of joy from viewing. However, it is worth noting clearly – our efforts did little to help in 4K HDR mode. Despite the calibration, the TV still interprets the image quite strongly in its "own way," which is clearly evident in the measurement of the EOTF curve (brightness tracking). It's a bit of a shame because it shows that the problem lies not with the panel itself, but with the software. Poorly refined image management algorithms in HDR content can, unfortunately, rule this TV out for many more discerning users.

Digital image processing on the TCL C9K is rather average. The smooth tone transition feature seems to be present, but activating it practically changes nothing – colour bands are still visible, and it can unintentionally highlight elements we’d rather keep hidden, such as object textures. Fortunately, it doesn’t remove film grain, but that’s poor consolation given that the effects are still meagre. It’s therefore hard to recommend using this option.

On the other hand, image scaling presents itself much better. Lower quality materials look quite decent – characters and backgrounds are rendered clearly, although of course, with sources like 576p, the laws of physics cannot be fooled. Occasionally, there’s characteristic edge distortion of objects, but that’s the fault of the source itself, not the algorithm. A plus for not having issues with overscan – the image isn't artificially cropped or enlarged.

Let's start with the issue we raised in the previous paragraph: can a TV even fix the problem of terrible tonal transitions in dark scenes? Theoretically yes – in the menu, we find a feature with the promising name "Colour Contour Removal." Well, "theoretically." Unfortunately, in practice, this setting – regardless of which of the three power levels is chosen – yielded absolutely no real results. So we are dealing with a feature that practically only exists in the menu. Moving on to the quality of upscaling (scaling from a lower resolution to 4K), unfortunately, we have more bad news for you. The S Pro 2026 handles this task very poorly. Interestingly, the phenomenon of "overscan" (slight image cropping) is not a major issue here. The problem is that the TV simply shows a very raw, unprocessed image. Its attempt to boost the signal to a higher resolution looks simply dull and lacks any "intelligent" enhancement. There's no denying it – the entire digital image processing is the true Achilles' heel of this model.

Similar to the C8K, the C9K is also a really fast TV – both figuratively and literally. It features a 4K panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, and at lower resolutions, the panel can even ramp up to 288 Hz. Such speed translates into practice – while watching sports or playing games, the image looks very smooth and clear. Additionally, in movies, we get an extra motion smoother called Motion Clarity, which allows you to adjust the smoothness to your own preferences – from cinematic "judder" to almost theatrical smoothness.

On paper, the specifications of the S Pro 2026 look impressive. The television is equipped with a native 144 Hz panel, capable of displaying images at up to 288 Hz in a dedicated gaming mode. These are incredible results, but what we were most interested in, in the context of everyday use, was how the TV handles motion blur and how the picture looks at 120 Hz. After all, this is the frequency used today by consoles such as the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and it is desirable for sports fans. Generally, the panel "holds up". The matrix is quick enough to meet these challenges, and objects displayed at a native smoothness of 120 Hz are rendered correctly. When it comes to software, the TV is equipped with motion smoothing technology, but with a key caveat – it only works for input signals up to 60 Hz. This means it's mainly suitable for traditional TV, movies, and series. With it, we can adjust the smoothness of the picture to our own preferences – ranging from a very smooth, "theatrical" approach, to setting the slider at "zero" and maintaining a fully cinematic character.

From a gaming perspective, the TCL C9K is a complete tool. It features two (out of four) full bandwidth 48 Gbps HDMI 2.1 ports, so all the key technologies work: VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode). Additionally, the manufacturer has included a really intuitive Game Bar that allows you to quickly check the most important parameters and adjust settings without fumbling through menus. Also, TCL's policy is a plus – the TV isn’t afraid of any HDR formats, even in game mode. Whether it's HGiG or Dolby Vision for the Xbox Series S/X console – everything works as it should, giving the player plenty of freedom.

For gamers, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is on paper an almost perfect proposition. It has been equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports, which allow us to unlock (although these options are somewhat hidden in the menu) the full suite of features: ALLM, VRR, and, crucially, the ability to operate in 4K at 144 Hz. This last feature should particularly please owners of powerful PCs. The TV also has something resembling a gamer panel – and while it’s hard to call it a full-fledged "Gamebar," it does its job by displaying key information. It’s just a shame that in its default form, it covers a relatively large part of the screen.

The biggest problem we have with this model, however, concerns how the S Pro 2026 handles games in HDR mode. To put it bluntly: it doesn’t handle it well. Due to the poorly implemented HGiG feature (the HDR tone mapping standard for games), during the initial HDR calibration on the console, it’s very easy to "blow out" the image. If someone is unaware of this software flaw and follows the on-screen instructions, they will simply set the picture incorrectly, with burnt-out details in bright areas. Another significant issue is the Dolby Vision mode for games. While it works, it generates such a high input lag that it becomes noticeable in dynamic titles. (You can check all our lag measurements in the paragraph below). In summary: Generally, this is a really very good screen for gamers, but with one small caveat. We would rather avoid HDR mode on it – unless we decide to manually set the brightness slider on the console "by eye," completely ignoring the tips from the console's pictogram.