LG UR781 vs XIAOMI S Mini 2026 (55"-75") 60Hz

In HDR mode, LG UR781 unfortunately does not impress with its brightness. In tests on five screens, the television achieved only around 200 nits, which is quite a low value for HDR standards. This brightness is similar to levels typical for SDR, causing HDR effects to be insufficiently pronounced, and the image may appear less impressive, especially in dynamic, bright scenes. In HDR mode, it has certain limitations in colour reproduction. This means that colours may not be as intense and rich as in televisions that manage better with a wide colour gamut. In practice, this can make the image less vibrant and dynamic, and HDR effects will not be as spectacular as one might expect. Additionally, UR781 LG has some issues with accurately reproducing colours in HDR mode, resulting in content that may look less vivid.

When it comes to HDR, the capabilities of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 are really good, especially given the segment this model belongs to. The TV reaches around 1,000 nits of brightness without much trouble, allowing it to show a very pronounced HDR effect in bright scenes. The sun, reflections and brightly lit parts of the image can be really intense and at times almost striking in their brightness. It is a bit different in dark scenes, though. Very small light sources surrounded by black are displayed at much lower brightness, so they lack that pinpoint intensity seen on the best TVs. That said, this is not unusual for a Mini LED. The local dimming algorithm reduces the backlight to preserve the deepest possible blacks, which in such scenes matter more than a few extra nits.

HDR colours

Colour reproduction also performs well. Xiaomi markets the S Mini 2026 as a QLED TV, although the solution used here is effectively based on a PFS phosphor. The result is what matters, and it's quite good. Our measured coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut was about 94%, while in the much wider BT.2020 colour space it was about 74%. This means the TV can reproduce most colours used in HDR films with suitably high saturation. Its limitations are most visible with very intense shades of green, where the colour gamut starts to run out.

The colour reproduction in LG UR781 in Filmmaker Mode, which although is the best mode available from the factory settings, is not without its flaws. Firstly, the issue is white balance, where the graph shows dips in blue colour levels. This phenomenon results in a shift of hues towards yellow tones, causing the image to appear warmer than it should. Such deviation means that the colours on the screen are not naturally reproduced, which can be particularly noticeable in scenes with a white or neutral background. This can be confirmed by the Test Color Checker, which showed that some colours "shift" into other shades, meaning that the LG UR781 television does not display colours in accordance with reality. This distortion can affect the visual experience, making movie scenes seem less realistic, and details might be displayed in inappropriate colours, negatively impacting the overall image quality.

In terms of contrast, the analysis of the gamma graph revealed drops to a level of 2.0, whereas the optimal value should be 2.4. This means that the television may display darker parts of the image brighter in certain scenes, which reduces their depth and dynamics. Additionally, on the EOTF curve, which is responsible for brightness reproduction, an unnatural spike was observed at the beginning. This phenomenon can result in excessive brightness boost in the brightest parts of the image, leading to loss of detail in very bright scenes.

We tested the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 in sizes from 55 to 75 inches in Film mode, which offered the most accurate colours compared with the other presets. That did not mean the picture was correctly set up straight away. In our sample the white balance was clearly shifted towards warmer tones. There was too little blue and too much red, so whites and greys had a slightly warm tint. The TV also tended to brighten darker parts of the image too much. This was due to the gamma, which instead of staying around 2.4 dropped in places to about 2.0. As a result there was more detail visible in the shadows, but the image lost some depth. The factory settings were therefore not bad, but there was still some way to go to achieve accurate image reproduction.

After calibration, the colour representation in SDR content is quite good. The white balance has been effectively improved, resulting in natural, balanced hues across various scenes. The gamma has also been adjusted, providing more precise detail in the shadows and highlights of the image. As a result, the LG UR781 television performs well in everyday use, offering solid colour quality and clear, well-balanced images in SDR mode.

However, the situation is worse for HDR content. The LG UR781 television does not support a wide colour gamut, which limits the depth and richness of colours that HDR can offer. The EOTF curve deviates from the ideal, resulting in excessive highlighting of details in the bright parts of the image. Unfortunately, this results in significant colour reproduction errors, as confirmed by tests on the Colour Checker. Additionally, the low brightness level of the panel further negatively impacts the quality of HDR images, causing dynamic range effects to be not fully realised, and colours to appear washed out.

Despite some shortcomings in HDR mode, the television has improved significantly after calibration, especially in SDR content. The improvement in white balance and gamma has greatly enhanced image quality, providing a more natural and cohesive colour representation. Compared to its state before calibration, the difference is clear, and the LG UR781 television now offers better performance in everyday use, particularly in the standard dynamic range.

Contrary to appearances, the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 responds quite well to calibration. After our adjustments the white balance was noticeably improved and the picture stopped leaning towards overly warm tones. With SDR material the effect is really good, and the TV can render such content very accurately; it is hard to fault it on colour reproduction. We applied similar corrections for HDR, though not everything could be fixed there. Colours look better than on the factory settings, but the TV still tends to display the image a little brighter than it should. This is visible in the EOTF curve, which sits above the reference value. In practice this means some HDR scenes are brighter than the creators intended. It is a quirk of this TV and we have no influence over it.

Now let’s address the function of smoothing tonal transitions and its impact on overall image quality. As illustrated in the photo on the left, this function performs exceptionally mediocrely; we selected the "low" level, which does not improve quality but also does not blur the film grain. There is the option to increase the power of this function, which would soften the gradation; however, one must reckon with the fact that the image will be too softened in some scenes.

On the other hand, regarding image scaling, the television does not perform exceptionally, which can be particularly noticeable with lower resolution content. The LG UR781 television applies a slight, artificial sharpness boost, which makes the image appear sharper, but this primarily results from the overlay of artificial contours. For some users, this can be an advantage, as they prefer more vivid, accentuated details. However, this is a subjective matter—such an effect may not appeal to everyone, especially if they desire a more natural look to the image.

Digital image processing in the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 is handled by the MT5896 processor. Unfortunately, in this respect the TV is rather mediocre. Low-resolution content is not scaled very well, and its limitations quickly become apparent on a large screen. The picture looks quite digital, and the TV cannot bring out many extra details. Additionally, overscan cannot be turned off for low-resolution content. The situation is even worse when it comes to smoothing posterisation. On the smaller models there is not even a dedicated setting to reduce visible banding between similar shades. So if such imperfections are already present in the source material, Xiaomi essentially does not mask them.

The LG UR781 television offers quite decent smoothness for films, thanks to the "True Motion" option, which allows users to adjust the level of motion smoothing on a scale from 0 to 10. The user can choose whether they want to preserve a more traditional, cinematic effect with subtle judder (lower settings) or prefer a smoother, theatrical image that, although slightly deviating from the cinematic standard, may appeal to many.

In dynamic sports content and games, the LG UR781 television performs worse. The television has a 60Hz panel, which limits its interpolation capabilities to these values; therefore, it can improve fluidity in films but cannot reduce motion blur. Additionally, the lack of support for 120 Hz and BFI (Black Frame Insertion) technology means that quick movements of objects become blurred, and the response time of the panel is too long, negatively affecting clarity in fast scenes. As a result, the television may not meet the expectations of gamers and sports fans who are looking for a smooth, clear image without motion blur.

The smaller variants of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 use a 60 Hz panel, and that is their biggest limitation when it comes to motion. For films and series this is not yet a major issue, because the TV has a classic motion interpolation for 24/30 fps material. So we can reduce the characteristic judder and adjust the motion settings to our own preferences. Sports and other 50/60 Hz content fare worse, because there is no additional function to improve smoothness. In such material we are therefore limited by the panel's capabilities.

In terms of motion blur the TV performs quite typically for a VA panel. Most trailing is visible behind objects moving on a dark background, while in brighter scenes the effect is noticeably reduced. It is not at a level that completely ruins the perception of motion, but in dynamic scenes you can tell the panel is not among the fastest.

While gaming on the console, the television LG UR781 offers several important features that can affect the gaming experience, but it also has some limitations. A positive aspect is the presence of ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), which automatically optimises picture settings by switching the television LG UR781 into low latency mode, which is beneficial for gamers. The television also supports proper implementation of HGiG, meaning HDR games look as intended by the developers.

Unfortunately, it lacks support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), which may result in poorer fluidity of gameplay, particularly in more dynamic games. It also does not support Dolby Vision mode for games, which limits the HDR picture quality in games using this format. The television has a panel with a frequency of 60hz, which means it does not support higher frequencies at other resolutions, such as 1080p@120Hz, 1440p@120Hz, or 4K@120Hz, which is a significant drawback for gamers expecting smoother gameplay at higher resolutions. It also lacks support for G-Sync technology, which limits image synchronisation in games.

However, a positive aspect is the presence of the Game Bar feature, which allows quick access to settings for gamers and makes it easier to adjust picture parameters during gameplay.

In larger sizes the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 is a much more interesting proposition for gamers. The panel natively runs at up to 144 Hz, so when connected to a PC you can use the high refresh rate even in 4K. At lower resolutions the TV can go even further, reaching up to 288 Hz. It also supports ALLM, automatic switching to game mode, and a Game Bar with the most important settings to hand. Of course, the TV has two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports. In terms of smoothness the difference compared with the 55 to 75-inch versions is therefore significant and especially noticeable with a PC or console. Not everything works perfectly, though. As with the smaller variants, we have reservations about the implementation of HGiG. The HDR setup screens on the PS5 and Xbox do not accurately match the TV's real capabilities, so if you set your console according to those prompts the brightest parts of the image can be blown out and lose some detail.