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

In HDR mode, the LG UR781 falls short of the brightness expected for high-quality HDR experiences. Tests across multiple panels revealed a brightness of around 200 nits, which aligns more closely with SDR standards. As a result, HDR effects lack the desired impact, with bright and dynamic scenes appearing less striking than they should.

The television also exhibits limitations in colour reproduction under HDR settings. The colours may not appear as intense or rich as those on models that handle wide colour gamuts more effectively, leading to a less vibrant and dynamic image overall. Additionally, the LG UR781 struggles with accurate colour representation in HDR mode, which can result in muted content, particularly during daylight viewing when the image can lose its intensity.

Although the dynamic tone mapping feature helps optimise the image, it does not overcome these shortcomings. For users seeking a truly immersive HDR experience with vivid colours and bright highlights, the LG UR781 may not meet expectations.

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 set reaches roughly 1,000 nits of brightness without much trouble, allowing it to deliver a very pronounced HDR effect in bright scenes. Sun highlights, reflections, and brightly lit parts of the image can be very intense and at times almost blindingly bright. It’s a little different in dark scenes, though. Very small light sources surrounded by black are shown at significantly lower brightness, so they lack the point-like intensity seen in the best TVs. This is not unusual for a Mini LED. The local dimming algorithm limits the backlight to keep blacks as deep as possible, which in those scenes matters more than a few extra nits.

HDR Colors

Color reproduction also performs well. Xiaomi markets the S Mini 2026 as a QLED TV, although the solution used here is practically based on a PFS phosphor. What matters most is the result, and it’s quite good. Our measurements showed about 94% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut, while in the much wider BT.2020 space it was around 74%. That means the TV can reproduce most of the colors used in HDR films with suitably high saturation. Its limitations are most visible only with very saturated shades of green, where the color range starts to fall short.

In Filmmaker Mode, the LG UR781 demonstrates the best factory-calibrated performance but exhibits notable flaws. The primary issue lies in white balance, where the graph indicates a drop in blue levels, resulting in a warmer image with a shift towards yellow tones. This deviation impacts the naturalness of colour reproduction, particularly in scenes with white or neutral backgrounds. The Test Colour Checker confirms that some colours deviate into incorrect shades, leading to a lack of true-to-life representation. This can diminish the realism of film scenes, with certain details appearing in inaccurate colours.

In terms of contrast, the gamma graph reveals a drop to a level of 2.0, below the optimal value of 2.4. This results in darker parts of the image appearing brighter than they should, reducing depth and dynamic range. Additionally, the EOTF curve shows an unnatural spike at the beginning, leading to over-brightness in the brightest areas of the image. This can cause a loss of detail in high-luminance scenes, further impacting the overall image quality.

We tested the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 in 55–75-inch sizes in Film mode, which offered the most accurate colors compared with the other presets. That said, the picture wasn't perfectly set up out of the box. In our unit the white balance was clearly shifted toward warmer tones. There was too little blue and too much red, so whites and grays had a slightly warm tint. The TV also tended to brighten darker parts of the image too much. This came from the gamma, which instead of staying around 2.4 sometimes dropped to about 2.0. That made more shadow detail visible, but the picture lost some depth. The factory settings weren't bad, but they still needed tweaking to reproduce the image correctly.

After calibration, the LG UR781 demonstrates commendable colour reproduction for SDR content. The calibration effectively improves white balance, yielding natural and balanced tones across various scenes. Gamma adjustments contribute to precise detail representation in shadows and highlights, enhancing overall image clarity. This results in a well-rounded performance for everyday use, with solid colour accuracy and well-balanced imagery in SDR mode.

HDR content, however, reveals the TV's limitations. The lack of support for a wide colour gamut restricts the depth and vibrancy that HDR is capable of. The EOTF curve deviates from the ideal, overemphasising details in bright areas, which introduces inaccuracies in colour representation. Tests using the Colour Checker confirm significant errors in colour reproduction. Additionally, the panel's relatively low brightness exacerbates these issues, diminishing the impact of dynamic range effects and causing colours to appear washed out.

While HDR mode highlights the TV's shortcomings, the improvements after calibration, particularly in SDR performance, are significant. Enhanced white balance and gamma adjustments greatly improve the viewing experience, providing more natural and consistent colour reproduction. Compared to its pre-calibration state, the LG UR781 now offers a much better performance for everyday use, especially in standard dynamic range scenarios.

Contrary to appearances, the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 responds quite well to calibration. After our adjustments we were able to noticeably improve the white balance, and the picture stopped leaning too warm. With SDR content the result is really good, the TV can display such images very accurately, and it's hard to find major faults in its color reproduction. We applied similar corrections in HDR as well, though not everything could be fixed. Colors look better than at factory settings, but the TV still tends to render the image slightly brighter than it should. You can see this in the EOTF curve, which sits above the reference value. In practice this means some HDR scenes are brighter than the creators intended. This is a quirk of this TV and we can't do anything about it.

The tonality smoothing function on the LG UR781 yields mixed results. At the "low" level, it neither enhances image quality nor effectively diminishes film grain, making its impact relatively negligible. Increasing the strength of this function can soften gradations and reduce visible banding, but it risks over-softening the image in certain scenes, which may compromise the overall sharpness and detail.

As for image scaling, the LG UR781 struggles to deliver exceptional performance, particularly with lower-resolution content. The TV employs an artificial sharpness enhancement technique that introduces defined contours to create the illusion of sharper images. While this may appeal to users who prefer pronounced, vivid details, others seeking a more natural and authentic look may find this effect distracting or unrealistic. Ultimately, the perception of these enhancements will depend on personal preferences, with some users valuing the added sharpness and others prioritising natural image quality.

Digital image processing in the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 is handled by the MT5896 processor. Unfortunately, in this respect the TV performs rather average. Low-resolution content is not upscaled very well, and its limitations become quickly apparent on a large screen. The image looks quite digital, and the TV can't extract many additional details from it. Additionally, you cannot disable overscan for low-resolution material. Things are even worse when it comes to smoothing posterization. On the smaller models there isn't even a dedicated feature to reduce the visible banding between similar shades. So if such imperfections are already present in the source material, Xiaomi effectively does not mask them.

The LG UR781 television provides decent motion fluidity for movies, primarily due to its "True Motion" feature. This option lets users fine-tune motion smoothing on a scale from 0 to 10, catering to different viewing preferences. Lower settings preserve a traditional cinematic effect with some judder, while higher settings create a smoother, more theatrical image. Although the latter deviates from the cinematic standard, it may appeal to viewers who prioritise seamless visuals.

However, performance declines when handling dynamic sports content and fast-paced games. Its 60Hz panel limits interpolation capabilities, meaning motion smoothness in movies can be improved, but motion blur cannot be effectively reduced. The absence of support for 120Hz and BFI (Black Frame Insertion) technology exacerbates this, causing fast-moving objects to blur. Moreover, the panel's slower response time further reduces sharpness in rapid scenes, which can be a drawback for gamers and sports enthusiasts seeking clear, fluid visuals in high-speed scenarios.

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

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 smaller. It's not at a level that completely ruins motion perception, but in dynamic scenes you can tell the panel isn't among the fastest.

The LG UR781 provides several features designed to enhance console gaming experiences but comes with notable limitations. On the positive side, it includes the ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature, which automatically switches the TV to a low-latency mode, optimising response times for gaming and benefiting fast-paced titles. The television also supports HGiG, ensuring HDR games are displayed enhancing the overall gaming experience. Additionally, the Game Bar feature allows gamers to quickly access and adjust settings during gameplay, offering added convenience. However, there are significant drawbacks. The TV lacks VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), which may result in screen tearing or stuttering, particularly during dynamic scenes. It also does not support Dolby Vision for gaming, limiting HDR picture quality in titles that use this format. The 60Hz panel restricts gameplay to 60Hz, excluding smoother experiences available at higher refresh rates like 1080p@120Hz, 1440p@120Hz, or 4K@120Hz. The absence of G-Sync or FreeSync technology reduces compatibility with systems designed to synchronise the frame rate between the console and TV, potentially affecting gameplay fluidity. The LG UR781 is a functional choice for casual gamers who value affordability and features like ALLM and HGiG. However, it falls short for those seeking advanced gaming features such as high refresh rates, VRR, or Dolby Vision gaming.

In larger sizes the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 becomes a far more interesting option for gamers. The panel natively runs at up to 144 Hz, so when connected to a PC we can take advantage of the high refresh rate even in 4K. At lower resolutions the TV can go even further and reach up to 288 Hz. There’s also ALLM, automatic switching to game mode, and a Game Bar with the key settings at hand. Of course, the TV is equipped with two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports. In terms of smoothness, the difference compared to the 55 to 75 inch versions is therefore substantial and especially noticeable when using a PC or console. Not everything works perfectly, though. As with the smaller variants, we have reservations about the HGiG implementation. The HDR setup screens on the PS5 and Xbox don’t exactly match the TV’s real capabilities, so if you configure the consoles according to those prompts the brightest parts of the image can be blown out and lose some detail.