TVs
Xiaomi

Xiaomi X50 4K LED TV review

Patchwall brings the X-factor

₹ 31,999

Going for simplicity, backed by performance, the new Xiaomi X Series is a no-frills telly that doesn't claim to be the world's first with artificial intelligence or machine learning or neuron-controlling smarts. What it focuses on instead is taking a good idea and ensuring it works flawlessly. In the case of the budget-oriented X Series, that means a good 4K LED panel with Android TV with Xiaomi's own Patchwall baked right on top of it. Available in three sizes, our 50in review sample slots right in between the 43 and 55in offerings and is, as expected, light enough to be carried from room to room in a bachelor pad! Of course, that isn't a regular scenario in most homes, so the X50 is built mostly out of metal to grace even the primary viewing area without prejudice. The thin bezels are metal too and the panel is cleanly finished with all connectivity on one side.

Features

Being a 4K LED panel, it makes use of Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG to handle any high dynamic range content that comes its way. Not much is known about what the Vivid Picture Engine really does, but it is Xiaomi trying to get the best colours from the incoming signal. For the most part, we didn't feel the need to tweak the picture too much, but it does take over some of the duties of Dolby Vision content. Of course, you can override the defaults and generally, we found ourselves switching the colour temperature back to Standard from the Warm setting it sets on its own. Motion processing is best left off, along with sharpness at 0 and even with just these two settings, the picture straight out of the box was quite enticing.

A strange quirk we discovered was that while making any picture setting changes on Amazon Prime Video, pressing the back button just exited the app and dropped you back on the home menu. This seems to be an easy bug fix during a routine update though. Xiaomi has been relentlessly working on improving its Patchwall interface and the X50 comes one step closer to the eternal family conundrum, "what should we watch?". It consolidates all the relevant content from over 25 apps and categorises them in fields that are easy to search and relate to. So you can choose from BBC Shows or Nat Geo documentaries, IMDB top-rated movies and even show content relevant to an age group!

Performance

On darker scenes, the X50 will show its lack of perfect contrast and backlighting zones, but for the vast majority of your viewing time, it delivers punchy colours with enough sharpness and detail to make 4K HDR content addictive. House of Dragons is a particularly difficult piece of material to handle for any display and while the X50 struggled to dig out shadow detail from the darkest parts of a scene, it managed to preserve the natural skin tones and textures of the intricate costumes without oversharpening. What is even more impressive at its price point is the sound quality. It doesn't pretend to have any bass, but the suite of DTS sound enhancements adds some weight and the Virtualizer makes it sound much larger too. It's a clean, distortion-free sound and goes plenty loud.

Conclusion

With a remote control that is meant to be as easy as possible to use and a birds-eye view of all the content you can consume, the X50 is a great budget TV. Throw in HDMI eARC connectivity for gamers and you have it all!

Stuff Says

A budget 4K TV that aims higher and mostly achieves its targets. Vivid picture, acceptable sound and fantastic price!
Good stuff
Bad stuff
  1. Patchwall makes life easy

  1. Colour balance

  1. Google voice on remote

  1. Black levels could be better

  1. Minor bug that can crash Prime Video

  1. Nothing much at this price, really!

Specifications
Screen: 4K Dolby Vision 50in
Connectivity: HDMI 2.1 x 3, ethernet, optical, USB, 3.5mm
Capacity: 2GB RAM/8GB storage
Sound: 30W, 2 speakers
OS: Android TV 10 w/Patchwall
Weight: 9.4kg