XIAOMI A PRO 2026 vs Blaupunkt UGC5500S

If you are hoping for a cinematic HDR effect in the new Xiaomi A Pro 2026, you better quickly cool your expectations. This TV is simply too dark to fully convey the capabilities of contemporary movies or series prepared for the highest quality picture. Our measurements showed brightness in the range of 200-300 nits, which are values that suit SDR content more than ambitious HDR productions. In practice, this means that most movies look okay, but they definitely won’t give you the "wow" effect that other TVs deliver. Fortunately, not everything is lost – a plus here is the use of the PFS LED filter, which is a solution similar to the quantum dot known from QLEDs. Thanks to this, the coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut reaches about 94%, resulting in vibrant, saturated colors in the vast majority of materials.

Here, we won't beat around the bush either – if you're looking for a TV strictly for cinematic HDR experiences, you've come to the wrong address. The Blaupunkt UGC5500S unfortunately is not a machine designed for such challenges. This is primarily due to its very low brightness, which we measured during our tests. A result of around 250 nits on film screens speaks for itself. It's simply too little to even talk about any real HDR effect. To be honest, everything displayed here in this format can best be considered a slightly "boosted" SDR mode. We expected this because practically every device in this price range fails in this regard, but we feel obligated to warn you. Manufacturers love to boast about HDR compatibility stickers on the boxes, but in reality, this format simply doesn't exist here – it lacks the "fuel" of brightness.

The situation is made all the more difficult for Blaupunkt because we have a panel with a very basic DCI-P3 color gamut coverage of just around 80%. You won't find any advanced coatings that enhance these capabilities (like quantum dots), making scenes that are supposed to burst with richly saturated colors appear simply desaturated on this screen. Therefore, we have a concrete piece of advice for you: do not push the HDR mode on this model. If you have the option in the streaming app settings – just turn it off. Sticking with the classic SDR mode will ensure that the TV won't try to "enhance" something that it can't handle hardware-wise.

What we saw in Filmmaker mode surprised us greatly – and unfortunately not in a good way. The mode advertised as Hollywood standard resembled more of a display in a store window. The white balance was shifted towards blue, leading to huge color errors and the effect of washed-out scenes in SDR content. It was a little better, though far from perfect, in HDR materials. There, problems were also visible – color saturation and the entire palette consistently shifted towards cooler tones, which made the image appear more artificial and cold rather than cinematic. In other words: even in Filmmaker mode, which should be the showcase of this television, we got a result far from expectations.

We also took a close look at how Blaupunkt handles colors in movie mode, and here the situation is, to put it briefly, twofold. We must clearly separate what we see in the standard SDR format from what happens when HDR is turned on, as these are two completely different worlds. Let’s start with the better side of the coin. If you plan to watch classic television, YouTube, or older movies on this TV, you can count on really well-tuned colors. In our test sample, the white balance in movie mode was exceptionally accurate, which honestly surprised us. Of course, to not make it too rosy, we noticed some flaws. Looking at the gamma charts, we observed that the processor struggles with properly dimming the image in its brightest parts. Additionally, there is quite strong, at times too aggressive, red saturation, which resulted in noticeable errors in reproducing certain shades. Nevertheless, in general terms, the image in SDR is simply solid and watchable without a grimace on your face. Unfortunately, the magic fades when we re-enter the world of HDR. Here, Blaupunkt behaves as if we suddenly switched it to store mode, and in its worst form. The excess blue in the white balance is so overwhelming that it literally clashes with the eyes, ruining any realism of the scene. Furthermore, the TV interprets brightness very loosely, which, when analyzing the EOTF curve, clearly showed that for most of the time the colors appear simply washed out and lacking depth. This is, by the way, perfectly visible in the color errors that become evident in this mode. Once again, we are left with the same conclusion: Blaupunkt in SDR mode looks significantly better and more natural than in HDR, which feels forced and not properly refined.

Even though Xiaomi is not a brand associated with top-of-the-line televisions, it must be acknowledged that even in a budget model like the A Pro 2026, the manufacturer left quite a few calibration settings. After a few adjustments, the SDR picture gained a completely new character. The colors stopped veering into blue tones, the whites became more natural, and most errors dropped to a practically invisible level. As a result, SDR content looked very good, surprisingly so for this price range.

It was somewhat different with HDR material. Here, it was immediately noticeable what we had already mentioned - the overexposure of bright scenes and issues with balance control. Calibration only helped partially because the limitations of the panel itself played a role. However, it should be emphasized that in the case of SDR, the television transformed beyond recognition, and in a decidedly positive direction.

It may sound like a joke – pulling out professional measurement equipment for a television costing around a thousand zlotys / 250 dollars – but we wouldn't be ourselves if we didn't check it out. The question is: does such cheap equipment give us any room for calibration? To your surprise, the answer is yes, and absolutely so. In the Blaupunkt UGC5500S menu, we found surprisingly many options that allowed us to really work on the picture. These are not just empty sliders; they are concrete tools that enabled us to make use of our measurement sensors and software. In SDR mode, the effects were noticeable to the naked eye. We successfully eliminated the issue we mentioned earlier – that excessive, almost artificial saturation of reds. We also fixed the problem of incorrect dimming of the brightest parts of the image. After calibration, the standard format picture became much more balanced and simply correct. As for HDR, the situation was again more complicated. Although we managed to "tame" that aggressive blue tint in the white balance, it was evident that we were fighting a bit in vain. Even after changing the settings, the television still tried to intervene in the image in its own way, as if the electronics knew better than we did how the scene should look. Additionally, there's a hardware barrier that no slider can overcome – colors in HDR still remain unsaturated. This simply results from the quality of the panel itself; it physically cannot produce the most vibrant colors. To summarize this point: if any of you ask whether it’s possible to calibrate a television for "a thousand," we respond with full conviction: it is possible.

Upscaling and digital image processing in the Xiaomi A Pro 2026 are not among the strengths of this model. One might expect that since the TV wasn’t designed to achieve record brightness levels, the manufacturer would have opted for a more robust processor and a set of features that would "enhance" lower quality images. Unfortunately – we were also quite disappointed here. On the plus side, there is reasonably decent upscaling that handles HD materials and elevates them to 4K in an acceptable manner. However, this is where the list of advantages ends. The TV does not offer any features to improve tonal transitions or smooth out digital imperfections, so in most cases, we get a raw image, exactly as we deliver from an external source. On a large screen, this lack of support makes lower quality materials look simply bland. An additional problem is the phenomenon of overscan. When watching older materials, it sometimes happens that part of the image is cut off, which only intensifies the impression that Xiaomi still has a lot to catch up on in this category.

If you expect that the processor in this model will magically "fix" the poor quality signal from cable TV or old films from YouTube, we must disappoint you. The capabilities of this television end with absolutely basic upscaling, which is simply stretching the image to a higher resolution. It does this correctly in that the image is not blurry, but there is no talk of any intelligent sharpening or adding details. Worse still, Blaupunkt is completely devoid of any functions that reduce unwanted tonal transitions. If the material being viewed has so-called banding (ugly "steps" instead of a smooth transition of colors, e.g., in the sky), this television will display them in all their glory. Additionally, the television tends to slightly crop the edges of the image. Instead of displaying 100% of what the source sends, Blaupunkt slightly enlarges the frame, causing us to lose details located at the very edges of the screen. In summary: in the category of digital "enhancement" of the image, Blaupunkt simply performs poorly. We receive a raw, unprocessed signal with all its flaws.

The motion fluidity in the Xiaomi A Pro 2026 is an interesting compromise that results from the hybrid matrix used here. At the native resolution of 4K, the maximum refresh rate is 60 Hz – sufficient for those who mainly watch movies and series. It is precisely for them that the manufacturer added a motion smoother, allowing users to adjust the image to their own preferences – one can opt for greater fluidity or leave the more "cinematic" frames depending on the settings.

When it comes to motion fluidity, Blaupunkt has nothing to defend itself with. A 60 Hz panel at this price is standard, so none of us expected a perfectly sharp image during fast action scenes or while watching a game. However, the biggest drawback of this model is that you won't find any digital smoothers in the menu. The manufacturer did not give us any room to maneuver – there's no way to smooth anything out or adjust the image to our preferences. The image is always "raw" and we receive it exactly as the source transmits it. For fans of cinematic "motion jump," this might be fine, but everyone else just has to get used to the absence of any motion support.

Indeed – since Xiaomi has added the "Game Boost 120 Hz" feature here, one might expect that they would follow up with a solid gaming package. Unfortunately, reality quickly dampens that enthusiasm. Aside from this mode (which, it must be said, is a great addition in a budget build), we have just a rather bizarre player panel. It's hard to call it a fully-fledged "game bar" – it's more of a simple overlay on the TV Menu with limited options. And that would be about it. There is no ALLM, so the TV won't automatically switch to game mode. There is no VRR, so you can forget about smooth frame synchronization. We also won't find support for Dolby Vision in games or the HGiG format, which are becoming increasingly standard on consoles. In short: apart from Game Boost 120 Hz, which does indeed make playing more enjoyable in 1080p or 1440p, the Xiaomi A Pro 2026 offers nothing particularly appealing to gamers.

When it comes to gaming on the Blaupunkt, we didn’t expect miracles and indeed – the list of features is not very long. However, there are two interesting points worth mentioning, as they may be significant for some of you at this price. The first advantage is that the TV quite efficiently detects the connected console. Thanks to the ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature, the device automatically knows when you start gaming and switches to low latency mode. This is convenient because you don’t have to fiddle with the settings every time to prevent input lag from ruining the fun. The second point is a real curiosity that surprised us. Even though it’s a 60 Hz panel, the Blaupunkt can display images at 120 Hz at Full HD resolution. Sure, we lose 4K details then, but for those playing more dynamic, online shooters where fluidity is more important than resolution, it’s a really nice and unexpected addition in such an inexpensive piece of equipment. Besides these two points, however, you won’t find anything else here. There are no advanced systems for improving fluidity for gamers or extensive gaming menu bars. It’s a simple screen for occasional gaming.