When choosing a large TV for the living room, potential buyers often face a dilemma: whether to overpay for top brands or can you trust a popular Chinese manufacturer? Xiaomi Mi TV 4S 65 model has become a real hit in the market thanks to aggressive pricing and support for HDR10. However, the main stumbling block is the question of which matrix is installed in a particular instance, because this directly depends on the quality of the picture.
Panel manufacturers often change suppliers even within the same model line, which creates confusion in user reviews. Some praise the deep black color, while others complain of fading when viewed from the side. In this article, we will discuss in detail the technical features of the screen, methods for determining the type of matrix without opening the case and real-world scenarios for using this device.
Understanding the physics of the screen will help you avoid disappointment after buying, and if you plan to use the TV to play on next-generation consoles or watch movies in the dark, the backlight and contrast characteristics will become critical. Let's dive into the technical details.
Specifications and types of panels in the 4S line
Xiaomi Mi TV 4S series is positioned as a budget solution with support for 4K resolution. For a diagonal of 65 inches (model L65M5-AS), the manufacturer most often uses VA panels (Vertical Alignment). This is standard practice for budget and mid-budget TVs, as such arrays provide significantly higher native contrast compared to IPS counterparts.
The main advantage VA-The matrix is the ability to block out more light when it's off, which means that the black on the screen will be really black, not dark gray, as is often the case in the case of the black screen. IPS But there's a downside to this technology: narrow viewing angles, and if you look at the screen from an angle, the colors can invert or turn pale.
It is important to note that Xiaomi does not manufacture its own matrixes, but buys them from large suppliers such as BOE, CSOT or Innolux. Depending on the lot and region of sales, the same case can be panels of different factories, which sometimes leads to differences in the uniformity of the backlight and color reproduction.
⚠️ Warning: Don't blindly trust the information on the box or in the store.Sellers often don't know the exact type of matrix and may claim that it's a real thing. IPS because of wide viewing angles that subjectively seem normal in bright light.
You can use software to determine the exact model of the panel without disassembling the device. TV, which is installed in this model, you can install applications like TV Panel Info or use it ADB-A visual test against a black background in a dark room will also give 90% of the information about the type of screen.
Advantages of VA matrix in the 65-inch model
Vertical Alignment technology in a 65-inch TV has tangible benefits for home theaters, with static contrast that can reach 3,000:1 or even 4,000:1 in quality VA panels. In comparison, IPS panels rarely exceed 1000:1.
High contrast is critical for watching dark scene movies, and in such shots on the IPS matrix, the black background will be highlighted, creating a “luminous veil” effect, especially noticeable in a darkened room. Xiaomi Mi TV 4S with a VA screen copes with this much better, keeping the detail in the shadows.
In addition, VA arrays often have a smaller Glow effect around the edges of the screen, which makes the picture more uniform and pleasing to the eyes during long-term viewing. If you like watching movies in the evening with the lights out, this type of screen will be preferred.
- 🎬 Deep black provides immersive effect when watching movies.
- 👁️ Absence of the effect of "lights" at the corners in a static image.
- 💰 Best Price-to-Quality Contrast Rate in the Budget Segment.
However, it is worth considering that the pixel response time in VA matrices can be slightly higher than in IPS. This sometimes leads to the appearance of black smearing in very fast scenes or when the mouse cursor moves over a black background. While this is almost imperceptible for ordinary video content 24-60 FPS, gamers can feel the difference.
What is the Smearing Effect?
Disadvantages and limitations of viewing angles
The main drawback that owners of Xiaomi Mi TV 4S 65 will have to face is the limited viewing angles. If in an IPS TV the picture remains stable even when viewed at an angle of 45 degrees, then the VA panel begins to lose saturation and contrast already when deviating 20-30 degrees from the center.
When viewed from the side, black can turn grayish or even purple, a physical feature of the technology that you can't software to fix, so it's important to consider the layout of the furniture in the room when you install a TV.
If you plan to watch TV with a big group sitting on the sides of the screen, or hang it in a bar/restaurant where people sit at different angles, the VA matrix may not live up to expectations, in such cases it is better to consider alternatives or accept that the best picture will only be in the center.
⚠️ Warning: When mounting the TV on the wall, make sure the bracket allows you to adjust the slope. VA It is extremely important that the center of the screen is at the level of the eyes of the viewers sitting in the main viewing area.
There is a myth that polarizing glasses (used in theaters) don't work with some types of screens.In the case of Xiaomi Mi, it's a myth. TV 4S his VA matrix, 3D-It's not hardware-supported, but it's not polarized in the context of glasses, because it's monoscopic. However, if you plan to use the TV as a PC monitor sitting on the side of it, you'll notice the color distortions immediately.
Color Transfer and Support for HDR Formats
The L65M5-AS supports HDR10, which is a basic requirement for 4K content. However, supporting the format on paper does not always mean perfect display in practice. The key here is color gamut and peak brightness, which are directly dependent on the quality of the installed matrix and backlight system.
The VA arrays used in this model usually have good color saturation in the center of the screen, but because of the pixel design, small steps can be visible when displaying gradients, especially in dark areas of the image, a characteristic feature of 8-bit panels with deithering.
To calibrate color in the TV, you can switch the modes of the image. Movie or Standard usually gives the most accurate color reproduction, while Bright mode greatly increases the saturation and temperature of the color, which distorts the intention of the director.
| Parameter | Expected value (VA) | Impact on the picture |
|---|---|---|
| Contrast | 3000:1 - 4000:1 | Deep black, three-dimensional image |
| Viewing angles | 160-170 degrees | Loss of flowers when viewed from the side |
| Response time | 8-12 ms. | Possible plumes in dynamics |
| Brightness | 250-300 cd/m2 | Enough for SDR, not enough for full HDR |
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To adjust the color rendering, use YouTube test videos (search for "TV Calibration"). Turn off all image "improvers" in the menu to see the real picture.
Impact of lighting on image quality
The Xiaomi Mi TV 4S 65 uses Edge-LED sidelighting, which means that LEDs are located around the perimeter of the screen (usually at the bottom or on the sides), and light is distributed throughout the area using a special diffuser panel, which makes the TVs very thin, but has its own quality implications.
The main problem with Edge-LED is the unevenness of the backlight, and in dark scenes, you can see lighter areas at the edges of the screen or in the corners, a phenomenon called clouding, and the severity of the defect is different for each instance, and depends on the particular panel.
Also worth mentioning is the black crush effect. Due to the light control features of LEDs, the darkest shades of gray can blend into black, losing detail. In the settings of the TV, you can sometimes find the Local Dimming option, but in budget models it works quite rough and often creates halos around bright objects.
- 💡 Edge-LED allows you to make the case ultra-thin and lightweight.
- ⚠️ The risk of uneven lighting on the edges of the screen in the dark.
- 📉 No full-scale local dimming (Full Array Local Dimming).
If you find a strong uneven backlight immediately after purchase, it makes sense to use the warranty. However, light cloudiness in corners with a 100% white screen is considered the norm for Edge-LED technologies and is not a manufacturing defect.
☑️ Checking the screen when buying
Comparison with competitors and alternatives
In the 65-inch TV market, the Xiaomi Mi TV 4S has serious competitors such as TCL, Hisense and Haier. Many of them also use VA arrays in this price segment, and the differences often lie in the Smart TV platform used and the quality of video processing (upscaling), rather than in the matrix itself.
For example, TCL models often come with the same manufacturer's CSOT, because these brands are part of the same corporation, which can mean similar picture quality but different software optimization. If you care about the type of matrix, it's almost impossible to find a 65-inch IPS with good brightness in a budget of up to $500, because it's the lot of more expensive models.
If you’re critically interested in wide viewing angles, you’ll either have to increase your budget significantly and look towards LG’s top-end IPS models, or come to terms with a smaller screen size where IPS panel quality is usually higher.
⚠️ Warning: When comparing in the store, pay attention to the source of the signal. Cheap cable. HDMI or a bad TV signal stream can ruin the impression of any, even the most expensive matrix.
As a result, Xiaomi Mi TV 4S 65 remains one of the best options for price / quality thanks to the use of VA technology, which at 65 inches gives a more cinematic picture than the average IPS counterparts in this price category.
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The choice between VA and IPS is a trade-off between contrast and viewing angles. The sofa living room opposite the TV VA is preferable to the matrix.
Final recommendation and conclusions
To sum up, it’s safe to say that the Xiaomi Mi TV 4S 65 has a VA array, which is the optimal choice for most home-use scenarios where the TV is watched primarily front-facing, and its deep black and high contrast make it an excellent companion for evening movie viewing.
However, if your use case involves watching TV in the kitchen, bar, or room where guests often sit on the sides, narrow viewing angles can be an annoying factor, and it’s worth considering models with IPS, even if they cost more or have a smaller diagonal.
Remember that the quality of a particular instance can vary, checking for lights and broken pixels in the first days after purchase is a mandatory procedure, and properly configuring the image parameters will make the most of the capabilities of this panel.
Ultimately, the Xiaomi Mi TV 4S proves that the budget segment can offer decent image quality, and the key is to understand the physical limitations of the technology and position the device in space.