LG UT8100 (IPS) vs XIAOMI S Mini 2026 (85"-98") 144Hz

The LG UT8100 television unfortunately does not meet expectations in the HDR effect category. The peak brightness of only 300 nits on the luminance graph is significantly below the required value to fully enjoy HDR effects. In practice, the image resembles SDR quality more than true HDR, which is particularly evident in demanding high-contrast scenes. The coverage of the DCI-P3 color palette is only 82%, which further limits the ability to present vibrant and rich colors. Instead of impressive visual experiences, we get a muted and washed-out image. For those looking for a television to fully utilize HDR content, the LG UT8100 model proves to be highly disappointing.

The larger versions of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 offer very similar HDR capabilities. Peak brightness reaches around 1,000 nits, which is a very solid result for a TV at this price point. This is most apparent in bright scenes, where large, heavily lit areas of the image can look really striking. The TV has enough brightness headroom that HDR isn't reduced to just a slightly brighter image. However, very small pinpoint highlights on an almost completely black background perform worse. In those situations the local dimming system significantly reduces their brightness to avoid illuminating adjacent image areas and to preserve deep blacks. As a result, small specular highlights or single lamps don't have the same intensity as in much more expensive designs. This is, however, typical behavior for Mini LED TVs and is hard to treat as something unique to Xiaomi.

HDR colors

Color performance is similarly comparable. Although the manufacturer uses the term QLED, the expanded color gamut here is achieved by a PFS phosphor. In our measurements the TV covered about 94% of the DCI-P3 color space and about 74% of the much more demanding BT.2020. In practice this yields well-saturated colors in most HDR material and it's hard to point to obvious shortcomings. Limitations appear mainly with the most saturated shades of green, which the TV can no longer reproduce in full.

The Filmmaker Mode on LG UT8100, although theoretically the best for watching movies, has significant flaws. The biggest issue is white balance – drops in blue color cause noticeable yellowing of the image, visible in both HD and 4K content. These errors are confirmed by the measurement results in the Colour Checker test, which indicate significant deviations in color reproduction.

As for brightness characteristics, both HD and 4K content feature a high tonal boost. The gamma curve in both cases remains well below the reference value of 2.4, leading to excessive brightening of darker elements in the image. A similar problem is evident in the EOTF curve – in the case of 4K content, the TV struggles with proper brightness management, resulting in issues with screen brightness. This means that the factory settings of this model require significant adjustment to achieve better image quality.

In the larger versions of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026, Film mode performs best, although the factory settings here are not without flaws. In SDR the white balance was noticeably warm due to an excess of red. In HDR the situation was the opposite: there was too much blue and too little red, which made the image cooler. Additionally, both the gamma curve in SDR and the EOTF curve in HDR were slightly above the reference values. In practice this resulted in a slightly brighter image, especially in the midtones. It wasn't a major fault, but with more demanding content you could tell the image wasn't reproduced exactly as the creators intended.

After calibrating the Filmmaker Mode, the gamma has been aligned to practically ideal, reference values, which significantly improved the overall tonal characteristics in HD content. 4K HDR content also looks better, although some issues are still visible at the end of the graph, where the curve deviates from the ideal. The EOTF curve performs worse, as the television struggles to maintain appropriate brightness values. As a result, the image in some scenes may be overly bright or slightly dimmed, which stems from the device's design. Nevertheless, the calibration has brought significant improvements, especially in the case of HD content, where tonal balance and color reproduction are now at a much higher level.

After calibration, we were mainly able to even out the white balance, so colors in both SDR and HDR look much more natural. We also improved the gamma curve, so SDR content is no longer unnecessarily bright and stays closer to reference values. The only significant remaining issue is in HDR. Xiaomi still controls brightness a bit too aggressively and renders some scenes brighter than it should. That is less noticeable on larger screen sizes than on the 55–75 inch models, but the EOTF curve still runs slightly above the reference. In practice, HDR is therefore slightly brightened, even though color reproduction after calibration already looks very good.

The fluidity of tonal transitions is also correct, although the effect depends on the settings. The update improved the functionality of smooth gradation, smoothing transitions better than before, but introduced minor issues with loss of detail, e.g., on textures.

Image scaling on LG UT8100 performs very well. The image presents itself decently, without major issues with edge aliasing. Details are preserved at a satisfactory level, which makes lower-resolution materials look really solid on this TV. As a result, users can enjoy watching older content without obvious quality flaws.

Larger variants of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 also use the MT5896 processor and perform similarly in terms of digital image processing. Upscaling is not a strong suit of this model. Low-resolution content is upscaled to 4K in a fairly basic way and it does not recover fine detail as well as more refined TVs. The 85- and 98-inch versions do include a feature intended to reduce posterization, but its effectiveness is very limited. With it turned on it's hard to notice any real improvement, so in scenes with visible color banding the TV still does little to address it.

LG UT8100, equipped with a 60 Hz display, will be especially suitable for people watching movies. The television offers the TruMotion system with de-judder effect adjustment, allowing users to customize the fluidity of the image – from more choppy to exceptionally smooth, reminiscent of a soap opera effect, depending on user preferences.

The biggest difference between the various sizes of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 is the panel's refresh rate. The 55–75-inch models use a 60 Hz panel, which in practice means noticeably less motion smoothness than the larger versions. It's easiest to notice this when watching sports, fast-moving scenes, or playing games, where the picture isn't as smooth or clear in motion.

LG UT8100 offers basic features for gamers, such as ALLM and Game Bar, which makes access to settings easier. The TV also supports HGiG, which improves image quality in HDR games. Unfortunately, the lack of support for Dolby Vision and VRR limits the capabilities of the device, as does the 60 Hz panel, which excludes support for 120 Hz resolution. This model will be more suitable for less demanding gaming applications.

Unfortunately, the smaller versions of the Xiaomi S Mini 2026 have a significant limitation for gamers: a 60 Hz panel. In 4K we're therefore limited to 60 fps and can't fully take advantage of the PS5 or Xbox Series X. You can run 120 Hz, but only after dropping the resolution to 1080p or 1440p. Otherwise it's fairly reasonable. The TV supports ALLM and automatically switches to Game Mode when it detects a console. There's also a Game Bar that lets you quickly view the most important gaming settings. Our biggest issue is with HGiG. The HDR calibration screens on the PS5 and Xbox don't match the TV's actual capabilities. If you set HDR exactly according to them, some of the brightest highlights may simply be clipped.