XIAOMI A PRO 2026 vs TCL V6C

If you're counting on the cinematic HDR experience in the new Xiaomi A Pro 2026, it's best to temper your expectations. This TV is simply too dim to fully realise the potential of contemporary films or series designed for the highest quality image. Our measurements showed brightness levels in the range of 200–300 nits, which are values that are more suited to SDR content than to ambitious HDR productions. In practice, this means that while most films look decent, they certainly won't evoke the 'wow' effect that other TVs do. Fortunately, not everything is lost – credit has to be given to the PFS LED filter used here, a solution similar to the quantum dot technology found in QLEDs. Thanks to this, the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette reaches about 94%, resulting in vibrant, saturated colours in the vast majority of materials.

When it comes to HDR, the TCK V6C clearly shows that it is not its strong suit. A peak brightness of around 200 nits makes it difficult to talk about true HDR effects – the picture simply remains too dark to bring out details in bright scenes or convey the appropriate dynamics. Although the television formally supports many HDR formats, it is not practically equipped for such demanding content. The lack of additional layers that enhance colors, such as QLED or PFS LED, further limits the appeal of the image – in more spectacular productions, the colours may seem washed out compared to more expensive models. Therefore, the V6C will primarily serve as a television for everyday viewing, YouTube, or SDR content, rather than as equipment for high-quality cinematic experiences.

What we saw in Filmmaker mode really surprised us – and unfortunately not in a good way. The mode advertised as the Hollywood standard resembled more of a display in a shop window. The white balance was shifted towards blue, which led to massive colour errors and the effect of blown-out scenes in SDR content. It was a bit better, though far from perfect, in HDR materials. There were also problems there – colour saturation and the entire palette consistently drifted towards cooler tones, resulting in an image that had an artificial, cold tint rather than a cinematic character. In other words: even in Filmmaker mode, which should be the showcase of this television, we got an effect far from expectations.

We started colour reproduction tests with the Filmmaker mode, which in theory should be the best choice straight out of the box. It certainly performs better than the Eco or Dynamic modes, which heavily interfere with the image and spoil its natural character. As you can see in the graphs, the factory tuning of the V6C is not ideal, although it's not a disaster either. The biggest issue turned out to be a lack of red – the TV clearly "cools" the image, which is especially noticeable on human faces, giving a "zombie skin" effect. This particular issue was the most bothersome during everyday viewing. Looking at the colour palette in HDR content, the shortcomings in red are also noticeable, and their source is the relatively narrow coverage of the colour space. Of course, every TV can be calibrated, so we decided to check how the V6C would perform after such an adjustment.

Even though Xiaomi isn't a brand associated with top-tier televisions, it's fair to say that even in a budget model like the A Pro 2026, the manufacturer left plenty of calibration settings. After a few adjustments, the SDR picture took on a completely new look. The colours stopped veering into blue tones, the whites gained a sense of naturalness, and most errors dropped to a practically invisible level. As a result, SDR content looked very good, surprisingly so for this price range.

It was a slightly different story with HDR materials. Here, it was immediately noticeable what we had already mentioned – the overexposure of bright scenes and issues with balance control. Calibration helped only partially, as the limitations of the panel itself were at play. However, it must be emphasized that in the case of SDR, the television changed beyond recognition, and definitely for the better.

My dear friends – we haven't faced such a difficult "calibration battle" in years. The V6C turned out to be one of the most stubborn TVs we've dealt with in the office. The calibration trials alone took us several hours of work and required a lot of patience. We finally managed to slightly warm up the skin tones, which made faces stop looking like they were pulled straight out of a horror film, a common issue with the factory settings. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it – the TV reacted to our adjustments in white balance in a completely unpredictable manner. Where we expected stability in the image in a certain area, new errors appeared, and Color Checker measurements showed deviations that couldn't be rationally explained. It's hard to say whether the fault lay with the software or the design itself, but one thing is certain – the V6C put up exceptionally strong resistance. Ultimately, the calibration brought improvement, especially in SDR content, where the image became more pleasing and natural. However, it must be clearly stated that the design limitations remain. The TV still flattens the image in HDR materials and has noticeable deficiencies in colour reproduction. This is equipment more suited for everyday TV watching or SDR content rather than for cinematic experiences in the highest quality.

Upscaling and digital image processing in the Xiaomi A Pro 2026 are not among the model's strong points. One might expect that since the television was not designed to achieve record brightness levels, the manufacturer would have opted for a more robust processor and a set of features that would "enhance" lower quality images. Unfortunately – we were also met with significant disappointment here. On the plus side, it has reasonably decent upscaling, which handles HD content and boosts it to 4K in an acceptable manner. However, that is where the list of advantages ends. The television does not offer any features to improve tonal transitions or smooth out digital imperfections, so in most cases, we receive a raw image, exactly as we deliver it from an external source. On a large screen, this lack of support makes lower quality content look simply bland. An additional problem is the phenomenon of overscan. When watching older material, it happens that part of the image is cut off, which only intensifies the impression that Xiaomi has quite a bit of catching up to do in this category.

When it comes to upscaling, the V6C doesn't bring anything groundbreaking to the table. Lower quality content is heavily sharpened, making the image look quite unnatural, at times almost artificial. This can be somewhat alleviated by reducing the sharpness level in the settings, but the effect isn't spectacular. The image still falls short of perfection. The digital processing itself performs better. The function responsible for smoothing tonal transitions works quite effectively, especially at the medium setting, where the image truly appears smoother. Unfortunately, its operation is rather aggressive – it heavily interferes with the overall scene, causing actors in the foreground to start looking like characters from super smooth soap operas. Therefore, we would not recommend using this option if a natural viewing experience is important to us.

The motion fluidity in the Xiaomi A Pro 2026 is an interesting compromise that results from the hybrid matrix used here. At a native resolution of 4K, the maximum refresh rate is 60 Hz – sufficient for those who mainly watch movies and series. It is with them in mind that the manufacturer added a motion smoother, allowing users to adjust the image to their own preferences – one can opt for greater fluidity or leave it with more "cinematic" frames depending on the settings.

Smoothing and motion fluidity are areas where the V6C quickly reveals its limitations. It's a 60 Hz TV, so it was hard to expect miracles here. In dynamic sports scenes, the image performs rather mediocrely. This is most noticeable in darker scenes, where distinct trails and blurred "halos" follow moving objects, which can be quite distracting. This is definitely a weaker point of this model. Fortunately, there is also a small plus. The V6C is equipped with a motion smoother that works while watching movies. Thanks to it, productions filmed at 24 frames per second, which is practically all cinema titles and series, can look smoother than they were actually recorded. Importantly, the intensity of the effect can be adjusted to personal preferences – from slight smoothing to the full "soap opera effect."

No indeed – since Xiaomi has added the "Game Boost 120 Hz" feature here, one might expect that they'd follow up with a solid gaming package. Unfortunately, reality quickly dampens that enthusiasm. Aside from this mode (which, it must be said, is a great addition in a budget build), we only have a rather peculiar player panel. It's hard to call it a full-fledged "game bar" – it's more of a simple overlay on the TV's Menu with limited options. And that’s about it. There’s no ALLM, so the TV won’t switch to game mode automatically. There’s no VRR, so you can forget about smooth frame synchronisation. We also won’t find support for Dolby Vision in games or the HGiG format, which are increasingly becoming the standard on consoles. In short: apart from Game Boost 120 Hz, which indeed allows for a more enjoyable experience at 1080p or 1440p, Xiaomi A Pro 2026 offers nothing that particularly appeals to gamers.

Even though the V6C is not a TV designed with avid gamers in mind, TCL has included a few features that may appeal to more casual users. You'll not find a 120 Hz panel or HDMI 2.1 ports here, but there is an ALLM mode that automatically switches the TV into low latency mode. There's also a quite practical Game Bar – a simple panel allowing the preview of basic parameters, changing the picture mode, or even enabling a virtual crosshair on the screen. Another interesting feature is the support for Dolby Vision Gaming, intended for Xbox Series S/X consoles – a nice addition, although in practice it doesn’t offer as much as in more expensive models. However, the biggest issue remains the HDR configuration. The HGiG function, responsible for adjusting the brightness and contrast of games to the capabilities of the panel, doesn't respond as we would expect – the picture can be overly dark or too flattened. As a result, a better solution turns out to be simply playing in SDR mode, where the V6C operates steadily and doesn’t try to pretend to be an HDR TV.