Local contrast in the Xiaomi TV: understand the details and adjust correctly

Have you ever noticed how some scenes in movies have dark areas that look blurry and some that look very detailed? Or why some Xiaomi TVs have flat sunsets and some have three-dimensional skylines that go from turquoise to purple? It all depends on how your TV handles local contrast, one of the key technologies of today's displays.

In this article, we will not only explain what local contrast is in Xiaomi TVs, but also show how to properly customize it for different scenarios: from watching movies to playing games. You'll learn how it differs from global contrast, how it affects power consumption, and why some users turn it off. TV Local contrast works best – and why budget options often make it easier to use.

If you want your TV to show a picture that is not like everyone else, but with deep shadows and bright highlights, read on. We have gathered all the relevant information, including hidden settings and life hacks, which are not in the official documentation.

What is local contrast and why is it needed?

Local dimming is a technology that allows the TV to illuminate different parts of the screen unevenly, and unlike global contrast, where the brightness varies for the entire screen at once, here the backlight adapts to each fragment of the image separately.

• 🌑 In dark scenes (night sky, basement) the lights go out almost completely, making the black color really deep.
• ☀️ In bright scenes (sunshine day, explosions) the backlight is amplified only in the right areas, without affecting the rest of the screen.
• 🎨 In gradient scenes (sunsets, space), technology smooths transitions, eliminating "stripes".

In Xiaomi TVs, local contrast is implemented differently depending on the type of backlight:

In Xiaomi TVs with OLED-screens (e.g., Mi) TV 6 OLED) Local contrast works at the level of individual pixels, each of which can be completely turned off, creating a perfect black color. LED-TVs, where even in the "off" areas there is a small illumination.

⚠️ Note: In budget models Xiaomi (for example, Mi) TV 4A) Local contrast function often only works in mode HDR and can automatically turn off when viewing SDR-content (ordinary films, TV).

Local vs Global Contrast: What’s Best for Xiaomi TV

Many users confuse local and global contrasts, although the difference is fundamental.

• 🔍 Global contrast changes the brightness of the entire screen at once, for example, in a dark scene, the TV just dims the lights completely, which is a cheap solution, but it leads to loss of detail in the shadows and overlights in bright areas.
• 🎯 Local contrast analyzes the image by zone (or pixels in the image). OLED) And it's a point-based lighting, for example, in a light scene on a dark street, only the area around the light will be bright, and the rest of the screen will remain dark.

In Xiaomi TVs, global contrast is usually referred to as Contrast or Dynamic Contrast in settings, and local contrast is referred to as Local Dimming or Zone Control.

The advantages of local contrast:

• 🖼️ A more realistic picture with deep shadows and bright highlights.
• 🎬 It is better to convey the idea of the director in the cinema (especially in films with high dynamic range).
• 🕹️ In games, it improves visibility of detail in dark locations (e.g. Horizon Zero Dawn or Cyberpunk 2077).

Disadvantages:

• ⚡ Increased energy consumption (15-30% more than in the global contrast).
• 🐢 May cause delays in image processing (input lag) in games if aggressive algorithms are enabled.
• 💡 In cheap models, artifacts sometimes appear - light halos around bright objects (blooming).

In practice, the choice depends on the content:

• 🎥 Movies and TV series: local contrast is preferred, especially for the HDR-content.
• 🕹️ Games: It is better to turn off local contrast or use minimal settings to reduce input lag.
• 📺 Conventional TV and YouTube: Global contrast is often good enough and doesn't overload the TV's CPU.

How to enable and configure local contrast on Xiaomi TV

Depending on the Xiaomi model, the path to local contrast settings may differ. Here is a universal guide for most TVs (as shown in Mi). TV Q2 2023):

1. Press the Settings button on the remote.
2. Go to Display and Sound → Picture → Additional settings.
3. Find Local Dimming or Area Control.
4. Turn on the function and select the intensity level (usually Low, Medium, High).

In some models (e.g., Mi). TV 5 Pro) settings are hidden deeper:

Settings → Device → Display → Image Mode → Advanced → Local contrast

Recommended settings for different scenarios:

Set the Mode "Film" or "Cinema"

Insert local contrast on "Mediocre"

Turn off "Dynamic Contrast"

Set the color temperature on "Warm"

Activate "Noise Canceling" for Old Movies-->

Hidden customization for advanced users: In some Xiaomi models (e.g. Mi) TV 6) you can activate the advanced local contrast mode via the engineering menu:

1. Press the Menu + Volume Down button for 5 seconds.
2. In the engineering menu go to Picture → Local Dimming → Advanced Mode.
3. Set the Zone Count setting to Max (if available).

⚠️ Warning: Changing the settings in the engineering menu can cause the image to crash or even the TV to fail.Do this only if you understand the risks and are ready to reset your settings.

Problems with local contrast in Xiaomi TV and how to fix them.

Even in top Xiaomi models, local contrast may not work perfectly, and here are the most common problems and solutions:

1. Blooming around bright objects

This is when there's a light "shining" around white text or bright objects on a dark background, especially in subtitled movies.

How to fix it:

• 🔧 Reduce local contrast from High to Medium.
• 📉 Lower the overall brightness of the screen to 40-50%.
• 🔄 Turn on Movie Mode instead of Dynamic – it uses softer processing algorithms.

2 Screen flickering in dark scenes

Some users complain of shivering brightness in movies with frequent light-dark transitions (for example, in The Walking Dead).

Decisions:

• ⚡ Turn off the function Automatic brightness in the display settings.
• 🔄 Switch to Game mode - it turns off aggressive energy saving algorithms.
• 📋 Update the TV firmware (in new versions Xiaomi has improved transition processing).

3. Local contrast doesn't work in some applications

Sometimes the feature is disabled automatically on Netflix, YouTube or Prime Video.

Causes and fixes:

• 🎥 On Netflix, check that the film is played in HDR (press Info on the remote. Local contrast may not work in the SDR-content.
• 🔄 Restart the app or TV – sometimes the settings of the display driver are confused.
• 📋 In the application settings (for example, YouTube) enable the option HDR Dolby Vision and.

If none of these methods helped, try resetting the image settings to factory:

Settings → Display and sound → Picture → Resetting image settings

Local contrast and energy consumption: is it worth saving?

One of the hidden disadvantages of local contrast is the increased power consumption. TV Q2 55 consumes:

• 🔋 No local contrast: 80-90 watts in cinema mode.
• ⚡ Local contrast (medium): 100–110 W.
• ⚡⚡ Local contrast (high): 120-130 W.

This means that when watching a film with a maximum local contrast of 2 hours, you will spend 0.1-0.2 kWh more than without it. During a month of active use (4 hours a day), the difference will be about 2-3 kWh - that is about 10-15 rubles at tariffs in 2026.

Should you save money? Depends on your priorities:

• 💰 If saving is important: use local contrast only for the purpose of HDR-Disable the content and for normal TV.
• 🎬 If high-quality sound is important: it is better to spend an extra 10 rubles a month, but get deep shadows and bright highlights.
• 🌍 If you care about the environment: in the daytime, you can reduce the level of local contrast - in bright light, the difference is less noticeable.

💡

In Xiaomi TVs with OLED-screens (e.g., Mi) TV 6 OLED) Local contrast has almost no effect on power consumption, since there is no traditional backlight - each pixel glows independently.

Another nuance: in some Xiaomi models (for example, Mi). TV 5X) When you activate local contrast, you automatically activate Eco Mode, which dims the brightness. To avoid this, manually turn it off:

Settings → Energy saving → Eco-mode → Off.

Comparison of local contrast in different Xiaomi models TV

Not all Xiaomi TVs are equally good at local contrast, and we tested several popular models and ranked them as follows:

As you can see from the table, only models with Full Array backlit (Q2, A Pro) and OLED (Mi TV 6 OLED) They're doing really well. They're doing really well on budget TVs (4A, 5X) local contrast is often included only for a tick - the real benefit of it is little because of the small number of backlight zones.

If you choose a Xiaomi TV and want the best picture quality, pay attention to:

• 📺 Mi TV 6 OLED — Best contrast thanks to pixel lighting, but expensive.

💡

If your budget is limited, it is better to choose a model with high-quality global lighting (for example, Mi). TV 5 Pro) than a cheap TV with poorly implemented local contrast.

Life hacks: how to improve local contrast on Xiaomi TV

Even if your TV is not from the top line, you can improve the local contrast with these techniques:

Calibration using test images

Use special videos on YouTube (search on request) TV calibration test patterns) for fine-tuning:

• 🔍 Test ANSI Contrast will help you to evaluate the real contrast in different areas of the screen.
• 🎯 Gradient test will show whether there is a "strip" with smooth transitions.
• 🖼️ The Black Clipping test will help you adjust the shadows so that they don’t stick together".

2. Optimization for specific content

On Xiaomi TVs on Android TV You can create separate profiles for different sources:

Settings → Display and Sound → Picture → Image Modes → Configure for HDMI1/HDMI2/Netflix, etc.

Examples of settings:

• 🎮 For games (PS5/Xbox): Local contrast Low, brightness 80%, play-play.
• 🎥 For Netflix (HDR): Local contrast High, color gamut BT.2020.
• 📺 For cable TV: local contrast Rekl., noise reduction On..

3. Firmware update

Xiaomi regularly improves image processing algorithms to get the latest updates:

1. Go to Settings → About TV → System Update.
2. If the update is not automatically available, check the firmware version on the Xiaomi Support website and install it manually through the X-ray. USB.

💡

After updating the firmware, reset the image settings to factory and adjust the local contrast again - sometimes the algorithms of work change, and the old settings can give a suboptimal result.

4. External devices for improving the picture

If the built-in settings do not suit, you can use:

• 🔧 Calibrators (e.g. X-Rite) i1Display Pro: allow you to fine-tune the gamut and color temperature for perfect contrast.

FAQ: Frequent questions about local contrast in Xiaomi TV