Philips MLED920 / MLED910 vs Xiaomi S Pro 2026

In our measurements, the Philips MLED920 achieved even around 900 nits in static tests, which is a really solid result for a mid-range TV. 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 screens, the screen was able to generate about 700 nits, which is enough to feel the true "HDR effect." However, it cannot be denied that the limited number of backlighting zones and the compromises of mini-LED dimming algorithms in more demanding scenes reveal their nature. In sequences with small light sources – such as the moon or a scene from the movie Sicario 2 – the television clearly prioritizes maintaining deeper blacks at the expense of the brightness of those small elements. For most viewers, this is still a reasonable compromise, as the dark background tends to look much better, though one must be aware that the details themselves may not impress with intensity. There is also some disappointment regarding colors. Although the applied PFS filter (the equivalent of quantum dots known from QLEDs) does its job and colors appear quite vivid, the coverage of the DCI-P3 color space reaches "only" 90%. In everyday viewing, this will be sufficient, but in extremely colorful productions – such as the latest Disney animations – one can notice that some tones are not as vibrant as they could be in other constructions.

When it comes to HDR quality, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is undoubtedly a really bright TV. On our synthetic measurement charts, we were able to generate a peak brightness of around 1400 nits. This is not only a very good result but even spectacular, considering the price of this model. However, as we always repeat, for our editorial team, measurements and experiences from the content we watch every day—movies and series—are more important. So let's analyze how Xiaomi handles film material. Unfortunately, the result is somewhat mixed. When very bright scenes appear on the screen, the S Pro 2026 truly shows its full potential and can achieve real brightness of 800-1000 nits on bright elements. Moreover, even smaller objects can "burn" the eyes— in scenes from the movie Sicario 2, small metallic elements of the helicopter were really bright. The problem is this—and here the story comes full circle back to our assessment of contrast—that in such scenes, we cannot count on absolutely cinematic black. In our opinion, this compromise is too significant; high visibility of details in bright areas should not come at the expense of such a substantial boost in black levels. And even though the HDR effect itself can be striking here, it is important to remember that when very difficult, mixed scenes appear on the screen, we may feel a slight disappointment. Exactly the one we mentioned in the previous paragraph regarding dimming issues in HDR mode. On a positive note, it is worth adding that the S Pro 2026 is equipped with an additional PFS filter (which works similarly to a QLED layer), effectively broadening the color palette coverage. As a result, measurements showed a DCI-P3 color gamut coverage of up to 94%. This gives us the confidence that in most colorful scenes, the image will look rich and appropriately saturated.

Like every Philips television we tested, we primarily evaluated the MLED920 in Filmmaker mode – this is supposed to be the "most honest" mode, designed for films and to faithfully convey the creators' intentions. Indeed, in terms of colorimetry, it performs the best among all the modes available on the television, but it is not without its flaws. The first thing that stands out is the white balance. The image has a slight tendency to take on purple-pink tones, which gives it a somewhat unnatural character. However, an even bigger problem turned out to be what we mentioned earlier – image clipping. Just look at the gamma or EOTF graphs to see that the line deviates significantly beyond the norm, falling below the value of 1.8. In practice, this means "clipping" the brightest whites, where the image becomes almost milky. Fortunately, most of these issues can be corrected – the MLED920 responds to calibration, and with a few adjustments, the image quality can be significantly improved.

Of course, we conducted all our measurements in "Film" mode, which is usually the best and most accurate choice you get straight out of the box. And we have to say it bluntly: even though this is the best mode, it is still very far from ideal. First of all, the television has a clear tendency to give the image a cool, bluish tint – this is due to a poorly set white balance. Additionally, there is a problem with how the S Pro 2026 manages its brightness right after being taken out of the box, which results in an overly bright image. These two flaws contribute to really huge colorimetric errors (Delta E). In HDR content, they were able to exceed our expected error scale of "10" (meaning values close to 20). For reference – the threshold of perceivable error by the human eye is a Delta E value of around 3. Results at the level of 20 mean that the image significantly deviates from what the director intended.

After calibration, we managed to largely tame the white balance – to the extent that the average viewer will not be able to detect color inaccuracies. The characteristic pink-purple glow that previously disturbed the naturalness of the picture has also disappeared. The color palette has been organized, and the colors appear more consistent and neutral. The gamma in SDR content after calibration looks really good – there's no sign of the earlier “bleeding” effect in bright scenes. The picture has become more contrasted and devoid of the milkiness that previously spoiled the perception significantly. In the case of HDR content, the improvement is also noticeable, although it is still evident that the television is “doing its own thing.” The EOTF curve cannot be fully shaped, as Philips simply does not provide tools in its settings that allow for precise control over this parameter. In many films, the television simply still showcases the image “in its own way.” Despite these limitations, calibration has brought quite a lot of good – it has managed to minimize most of the color inaccuracies and significantly improve the overall balance of the picture. However, it must be remembered that certain barriers arise from the very hardware construction and they simply cannot be overcome.

So how does the S Pro 2026 perform after our calibration treatment? We must admit that after calibration, the television becomes a really pleasant device for watching everyday content. As you can see in the graphs, we managed to bring both white balance and gamma values to nearly perfection in HD (SDR) material. Most importantly, the colorimetric errors have become practically invisible to the human eye. In this scenario, the S Pro 2026 is simply a great television that, after professional calibration, can provide a lot of enjoyment while watching. However, it is worth noting clearly – our efforts helped little in 4K HDR mode. Despite calibration, the television still interprets the image rather strongly "in its own way," which is clearly seen in the measurement of the EOTF curve (luminance tracking). It's a bit of a shame, because this shows that the problem lies not in the panel itself, but in the software. Underdeveloped image management algorithms in HDR content can, unfortunately, disqualify this television for many more discerning users.

The manufacturer equipped this model with several features that improve signal quality, and although we usually approach such "enhancers" with skepticism, they turn out to be really helpful here. The key option is called "distortion reduction" – it works best at a medium level because, on one hand, it effectively smooths out unwanted banding and color transitions, while on the other, it doesn't excessively cut details, which keeps the image looking natural.

The situation is a bit worse with upscaling. Lower quality materials – such as test videos with models – appeared soft and lacking in sharpness. Yes, this can be somewhat corrected with the sharpness slider in the menu, but the effect still remains far from what competitors in a similar price range offer. Philips therefore still needs to work on this aspect because, in light of the successful improvement of tonal transitions, the upscaling simply performs poorly.

Let's start with the issue we addressed in the previous paragraph: can a TV even fix the problem of poor tonal transitions in dark scenes? Theoretically, yes – in the menu, we find a feature with the promising name "Color Contour Removal." Well, "theoretically." Unfortunately, in practice, this setting – regardless of which of the three power levels is selected – yielded absolutely no real results. So we have a feature that, in practice, only exists in the menu. Moving on to the quality of upscaling (scaling the image from a lower resolution to 4K), unfortunately, we have more bad news for you. The S Pro 2026 handles this task very poorly. Interestingly, the phenomenon of "overscan" (slight image cropping) is not a big issue here. The problem is that the TV simply displays a very raw, unprocessed image. Its attempt to upscale the signal to a higher resolution looks simply poor and lacks any "smart" enhancement. There is no denying it – the whole digital image processing is the true Achilles' heel of this model.

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 here for a VA panel, and although one might occasionally notice slight issues on darker backgrounds, they are not something that most people would notice during regular viewing.

A major plus is the presence of a motion smoother called "Motion Style." It allows you to adjust the smoothness to your own preferences – if someone prefers a more “theatrical,” almost television-like image, they can increase the sliders, and if they want to preserve the natural “jitter” of a cinematic frame, they just need to set lower values. This way, everyone can find the perfect balance.

On paper, the specification of the S Pro 2026 looks impressive. The television is equipped with a native 144 Hz panel, capable of displaying images up to 288 Hz in a dedicated gaming mode. These are amazing results, but what interested us the most, in the context of everyday use, was how the television handles motion blur and how the image looks at 120 Hz. After all, this is the frequency used today by consoles like PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and it is desired by sports fans. Generally speaking, the panel "holds up." The matrix is fast enough to meet these challenges, and objects displayed at native 120Hz fluidity are shown correctly. As for the software, the television is equipped with a motion smoothing system, but with a key caveat – it only works for input signals up to 60 Hz. This means it is mainly suitable for classic television, movies, and series. Thanks to this, we can adjust the fluidity of the image to our own preferences – from a very smooth, "theatrical" approach to setting the slider to "zero" and maintaining a fully cinematic character.

For gamers, the Philips MLED920 is truly a complete tool. The manufacturer has taken care of everything that today is considered standard in televisions designed for consoles and PCs. It features ALLM, so the console automatically switches the screen to game mode, it has VRR and 144 Hz refresh rate, which guarantees smooth gameplay even in fast 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 TV will be able to extract maximum potential from the image. In everyday gaming, the Game Bar also proves to be useful – a relatively simple implementation by Philips, but a functional panel where you can quickly check image parameters, turn on VRR, or adjust details without leaving the game. It may not be as advanced as the competition's offerings, but it performs its job flawlessly. And lastly, something that distinguishes Philips from its competitors – Ambilight. The three-sided LED backlighting can make a huge impression in games, especially in the evening. It also provides a way to slightly "expand" the screen and feel greater immersion. And since colorful LEDs have recently become almost a mandatory element of a gamer’s room, the MLED920 fits into this trend perfectly.

For gamers, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is, on paper, an almost ideal proposition. It is equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing us to unlock (although these options are somewhat hidden in the menu) the full suite of features: ALLM, VRR, and, crucially, the ability to work in 4K at 144 Hz. This last feature should particularly please owners of powerful PCs. The TV also has something akin to a gaming panel – and while it’s hard to call it a full-fledged "Game Bar," it does its job by displaying key information. It’s just a shame that in its default form, it covers a relatively large part of the screen.

However, our biggest issue with this model concerns how the S Pro 2026 handles gaming in HDR mode. To put it bluntly: it doesn’t handle it well. Due to the poorly implemented HGiG function (the HDR tone mapping standard for games), during the initial HDR calibration on the console, it’s very easy to "blow out" the image. If someone is unaware of this software flaw and follows the on-screen instructions, they will simply set the image incorrectly, with burnt-out details in bright areas. Another major problem is the Dolby Vision mode for gaming. While it does work, it generates such a high input lag that it becomes noticeable in dynamic titles. (All our latency measurements can be checked in the paragraph below). In summary: generally, it’s a really good screen for gamers, but with one small caveat. We would rather avoid HDR mode on it – unless we decide to manually adjust the brightness bar on the console "by eye," completely ignoring the instructions from the console's pictogram.