Xiaomi S Mini 2025 vs Samsung U8000F (IPS)

Since the Xiaomi S MiniLED boasts an impressive number of 308 dimming zones, it was time to see how it performs in HDR tests. Starting with luminance, or the ability to display bright scenes, the television achieved nearly 1000 nits of brightness – a result that can be considered outstanding in this class. However, do these numbers translate into real experiences in movie scenes? In the case of less demanding shots, like those from the film The Meg, the television indeed showed excellent results, reaching up to 900 nits. Such values are impressive and can truly convey the strength of HDR effects.

Unfortunately, similar to the contrast situation, there were issues. When smaller, brighter elements appear on the screen – as in challenging scenes from Sicario 2 – the aggressive operation of the dimming zones spoils the whole effect. Brightness during these moments drops to just 100 nits. This is definitely too little to capture the full magic of HDR. Instead of a dynamic and detailed image, the viewer gets a muted, almost flat impression, which diminishes the enjoyment of the viewing experience.

In summary, if we are looking for a television with high brightness for watching movies during the day, the Xiaomi S MiniLED will easily fulfill that task. However, its inability to precisely manage dimming zones means that watching movies in the evening, especially in demanding HDR scenes, can be more frustrating than satisfying.

Better does not mean good – and that perfectly summarizes the capabilities of the U8092F when it comes to displaying bright movie scenes in HDR mode. The brightness of the panel is just under 250 nits, which is definitely too little to enjoy any lighting effects. An interesting situation was noted during the measurement of the fourth scene from the movie Sicario 2 – the television clearly dimmed the entire screen in an attempt to achieve better black levels (which are still weak). One could even suggest that the device uses some form of "global dimming," but unfortunately, the results are still very poor. To make matters worse, the television does not support a wide color gamut – the coverage of the DCI-P3 space is about 80%, so there’s no hope for truly vibrant colors. HDR images here look rather like lightly brightened SDR, and that's the form we would suggest sticking to when it comes to this television.

Xiaomi, like many manufacturers, offers a wide range of picture modes. On the S MiniLED, we can find both IMAX Enhanced and Filmmaker. We conducted our tests in Filmmaker mode, which theoretically is supposed to reference the original image, but the reality turned out to be somewhat different.

Let's start with the test of SDR materials. Here, the television had quite a few problems, especially with white balance. The clearly visible dominance of red made the image appear too warm, and all colors gained a reddish tint. This was particularly noticeable in a comparative scene from the Star Wars movie. The brightness characteristics (gamma) also left much to be desired – instead of a smooth transition, we had a real "rollercoaster," with a visible excessive brightening of the screen.

In 4K materials, the situation looked much better. The white balance, while still not perfect, was much more balanced, with a slight dominance of red and blue, but without excessive influence on the overall perception. The EOTF curve (responsible for brightness in HDR) showed some brightening in the brightest parts of the image, which was noticeable, for example, in the test scene from the Pan movie that we described above. These brightening effects can disrupt image precision, but in 4K, the overall effect was much more acceptable than in SDR.

Although the Xiaomi S MiniLED can positively surprise in 4K materials, its factory settings in SDR require significant adjustments, especially in terms of white balance and brightness. It is definitely a television that would benefit from calibration.

The Samsung U8000F was tested in the best possible picture mode built into the TV, which is Filmmaker Mode. This mode should – at least in theory – offer a cinematic, reference-quality image without unnecessary enhancements. For SDR content (mainly HD/SD), the TV performed surprisingly well straight out of the box. White balance errors hovered around a value of 3, which is roughly at the threshold of perception. The only complaint could be about brightness management – the gamma chart showed a slight tendency to brighten or darken certain areas, but overall it performed quite well for this price segment.

Unfortunately, it looks much worse in HDR mode. Although the white balance wasn't terrible, the TV had significant color errors – particularly noticeable on the Color Checker chart, where almost every sample landed outside the target point. The HDR image simply looks unnatural, and colors can be shifted, dull, or too cool. This largely stems from the fact that the U8000F does not support a wide color gamut (DCI-P3). The TV is physically incapable of displaying accurate colors in HDR standard – and this unfortunately shows in every more demanding material.

Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 is a television that gains a whole new life after calibration. The results are truly remarkable and show how much potential this model has.

In SDR mode, the white balance is nearly perfectly aligned. The errors are minimal enough that in many cases they can be considered negligible. This is confirmed by the Colour Checker palette results, where the errors did not exceed 2 ΔE – a result that is indeed quite rare. Gamma also looks very good, although at the beginning of the graph, there are slight brightenings in the darkest elements. However, this is a minor exception that does not significantly affect the image perception.

In 4K HDR materials, calibration also brought visible improvements, especially in white balance. The image looks natural and consistent. However, the brightness characteristic remains a problem. EOTF analysis in film materials shows that the television tends to over-brighten or darken the smallest elements on the screen. This is a result of limitations in the dimming algorithms that we previously discussed concerning HDR and contrast testing. Unfortunately, this is a technical feature of this model that cannot be completely eliminated.

Despite this minor flaw, calibration allowed extracting the maximum capabilities from this television. The image now looks phenomenal, and its quality impresses with every type of material. Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 demonstrates that with the right settings, it can compete with more expensive models.

Although the U8000F offered quite a decent picture in SDR right out of the box, we were able to adjust it a little more. We managed to eliminate a slightly purplish tint and calibrate the gamma to a more reasonable level. However, the television still tends to overemphasize the smallest and brightest parts of the image – the gamma chart shows a characteristic "dip" that is difficult to completely correct.

Unfortunately, the situation looks worse in HDR. It's hard to talk about any significant improvement here – the television is simply not designed for HDR content. We tried to adjust the picture in the advanced settings, but despite everything, the color errors remained quite large – a delta E above 7 indicates noticeable deviations. It's a bit of a shame, but that's the charm of a budget design. In SDR, the U8000F performs just fine, while HDR is simply not its league.

When it comes to color transitions in lower quality materials like YouTube or television, the Xiaomi S MiniLED is equipped with the "Color Contour Removal" feature. In the "low" setting, it works quite well, but its effectiveness can be uneven. Sometimes it seems like the TV struggles with smoothing, which creates a certain dissonance. On the plus side, we did not notice any visible side effects, although given the instability of this feature, one might suspect that unexpected issues could arise in some situations.

Image scaling also performs average. There is slight aliasing, especially on thin elements like branches, and subtitles can appear a bit jagged. While it may not be very bothersome, a more discerning eye will certainly catch these shortcomings. Overall, most users should be satisfied with the scaling and smoothing quality, but the TV may not satisfy those who expect perfection in every frame.

When it comes to how the Samsung U8000F handles lower-quality materials, we have to admit that Samsung has made progress compared to its predecessor from last year – the DU7192 model, which theoretically occupies the same place in the lineup.

This year's model is equipped with a function to improve the fluidity of tonal transitions, which has been implemented much better than last year. Yes, the television still uses quite strong algorithms that can distort details or remove film grain, but even so – it can be confidently said that it works effectively.

However, not everything went perfectly. The U8000F has noticeable issues with slight frame cutting when watching very old content in very low resolution. If someone plans to play their old VHS tape, they should be prepared for the image to appear slightly “cut off.”

Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 is equipped with a display that refreshes at 4K@120Hz (1080p@240Hz), providing sufficient smoothness for both watching dynamic sports broadcasts and playing the latest games. This level of refresh rate makes the image look smooth, even in the most intense scenes. Additionally, the TV offers a "Motion Smoothing" feature that allows users to adjust the way images are displayed in movies. We can choose a more frame-like effect, typical of cinematic experiences, or a smoother one reminiscent of the so-called "theatrical effect." This way, every user can tailor the settings to their preferences and enjoy smooth images in their favorite content.

The Samsung U8000F is equipped with a 60 Hz panel, so right from the start, it’s clear that we shouldn’t expect any miracles. This is simply the standard in this class – sufficient for everyday viewing, but without any fireworks.

The TV offers one motion smoothing slider – a feature called "Motion Blur Reduction", which allows us to adjust the smoothness of the image in movies. Higher settings provide a more "theatrical" and smoothed effect, while lower settings help retain the original character of the film with a slight 24p effect. Interestingly, there is a feature called "Clear Motion LED", which is a BFI mode – that inserts black frames between the frames of the picture to improve motion clarity. However, in practice, the screen flickers significantly when activated, and it should be regarded more as an experiment than something that realistically enhances gaming comfort.

Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 is a television that has a lot to offer gamers. With two HDMI ports with 48 Gbps bandwidth, we can easily connect modern consoles or PCs, utilizing their full potential. Additionally, the ALLM feature automatically switches the television to low latency mode – something we will appreciate during dynamic games without annoying lags. No matter what we connect, it works smoothly, and the television handles various resolutions well. There is also GameBar, which may not look as impressive as the "bars" from the competition, but makes up for it with practicality. It's a simple settings panel that allows us to quickly change the most important options or check statistics – an ideal solution when time is of the essence.

However, we have to admit that operating the television itself – or rather finding the gaming features – was quite a challenge for us. We approached the Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 test several times to find all the necessary options. The hidden menu allowed us to discover the "GameBoost" feature, which enables switching the television to 240 Hz mode, activating VRR at 120Hz, and turning on the image in HGIG mode.

In summary, the Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 is a television that definitely deserves praise in the gaming hardware category. Its rich set of features – 240 Hz mode, VRR, HGIG, and "GameBoost" – provides exceptional gaming experiences. Unfortunately, the intuitiveness of the menu itself leaves much to be desired and may pose a certain challenge for the average user.

Samsung U8000F offers a basic set of features for gamers, which nonetheless may be sufficient for less demanding users. We have an automatic game mode here – when a game is launched on the console, the TV automatically switches to low latency mode, which significantly improves response time. We also find the VRR feature, or variable refresh rate, which operates within a range of 48 to 60 Hz. This means that both Xbox and PS5 will not produce the "tearing" effect, as long as we stay within this range.

And unfortunately, that's about it for the advantages. Add-ons like Game Bar or higher refresh rates are reserved for the higher models of Samsung from the 2025 line. In theory, the TV also supports the HGiG feature, which should adjust HDR images to the intentions of game developers. Unfortunately – even though this feature appears in promotional brochures and store materials – its configuration on the Xbox console turned out to be... impossible in practice.