Philips MLED920 / MLED910 vs XIAOMI S Mini 2026 (55"-75") 60Hz

Philips MLED920 in our measurements in static tests even reached around 900 nits, which is really a solid result for a mid-range model. In practice, this translates to a lot of satisfaction during viewing sessions – in scenes rich in bright light, such as the first, third or fifth test slide, the screen managed to generate about 700 nits, which is sufficient to feel the true "HDR effect." However, it cannot be denied that the limited number of dimming zones and the compromises typical of mini-LEDs in more demanding scenes reveal their nature. In sequences with small light sources – like the moon or a scene from the film Sicario 2 – the television clearly prioritises maintaining deeper blacks at the expense of the brightness of these small elements. For most viewers, this is still a reasonable compromise, as the dark background looks significantly better, though it is important to be aware that the details themselves may not impress with their intensity. There is also a certain sense of dissatisfaction regarding the colours. Although the applied PFS filter (the equivalent of quantum dots known from QLEDs) does its job and the colours appear quite vivid, the coverage of the DCI-P3 palette reaches “only” 90%. In everyday viewing, this will be sufficient, but in extremely colourful productions – like the latest Disney animations – one can notice that some tones are not as vibrant as they could be in other setups.

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.

Like every Philips television we tested, we primarily assessed the MLED920 in Filmmaker mode – this is meant to be the "most honest" mode, designed for films and to faithfully convey the intentions of the creators. Indeed, in terms of colour reproduction, it performs the best among all the modes available on the television, but it is not without flaws. The first thing that catches the eye is the white balance. The image has a slight tendency towards purple-pink tones, which gives it a somewhat unnatural character. An even bigger problem, however, turned out to be what we mentioned earlier – image blooming. Just looking at the gamma or EOTF charts reveals that the line significantly deviates from the norm, dropping below a value of 1.8. In practice, this means "bleeding" of the brightest whites, where the image becomes almost milky. Fortunately, most of these issues can be corrected – the MLED920 responds well to calibration, and with a few adjustments, one can significantly improve the viewing experience.

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, we managed to largely tame the white balance – to the extent that the average viewer will not be able to detect distortions in colours. The characteristic pink-purple haze that previously disrupted the naturalness of the image has also disappeared. The colour palette has been organised, and the colours appear more coherent and neutral. The gamma in SDR content post-calibration looks really good – there is no longer any mention of the previous 'bleeding' effect in bright scenes. The image has become more contrasty and devoid of that milkiness which had previously greatly harmed the viewing experience. In the case of HDR content, the improvement is also noticeable, although here it is still evident that the television is going 'its own way'. The EOTF curve cannot be fully shaped, as Philips simply does not offer the tools to allow precise control over this parameter in its settings. In many films, the television still exposes the image 'in its own way'. Despite these limitations, the calibration has delivered quite a bit of good – most of the colour distortions have been minimised, and the overall balance of the image has significantly improved. However, it must be noted that certain barriers stem from the very design of the hardware and simply cannot be overcome.

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.

The manufacturer has equipped this model with several features that improve signal quality, and although we usually approach such "enhancements" with caution, here they prove to be really helpful. The key option is called "distortion reduction" – it works best at a medium level, as on one hand it effectively smooths out unwanted stair-stepping and colour banding, while on the other it does not excessively cut out details, allowing the image to still look natural.

Things are a bit worse with upscaling. Lower quality materials – such as the test video with the model – appeared soft and lacking in sharpness. Indeed, it can be partially corrected with the sharpness slider in the menu, but the effect remains far from what competitors in a similar price range offer. Philips therefore still needs to work on this element, as compared to the successful improvement of tonal transitions, the upscaling simply falls short.

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 Philips MLED920 features a 144 Hz panel, which immediately suggests that we shouldn't complain about motion smoothness. And indeed – the motion blur is relatively low for a VA panel, and although slight issues can sometimes be noticed on darker backgrounds, they are not something that would stand out to most people during regular viewing.

Another significant advantage is the presence of a motion smoother called “Motion Style.” It allows you to adjust the sensation of smoothness to your own preferences – if someone prefers a more “theatrical,” almost television-like image, they can increase the sliders, whereas if they prefer to maintain the natural “jumps” of cinematic frames, it’s enough to set lower values. This way, everyone can find their golden mean.

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.

For gamers, the Philips MLED920 is truly a complete tool. The manufacturer has taken care of everything that is considered standard in televisions designed for consoles and PCs today. It features ALLM, so the console automatically switches the screen to game mode, alongside VRR and a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which guarantees smooth gameplay even in fast-paced titles. All key HDR formats are supported – including HGiG and Dolby Vision Gaming for Xbox – which means that regardless of what you are playing and on which console, the television will be able to extract the maximum potential from the image. The Game Bar also proves useful in daily gaming – a relatively simple implementation by Philips, but a functional panel where you can quickly check image parameters, enable VRR or adjust settings without leaving the game. It may not be as comprehensive as the competition, but it performs its task flawlessly. And finally, something that sets Philips apart from the competition – Ambilight. The three-sided LED backlighting can create a huge impression in games, especially in the evening. It's also a way to slightly 'extend' the screen and enhance the feeling of immersion. And as colourful LEDs have recently become almost a mandatory element of a gamer’s room, the MLED920 fits into this trend perfectly.

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.