Mi QLED TV 75 review: Go big or go home

But before you fork over the not-so-insignificant Rs. 1,19,999 for this TV, let’s go over what you need to consider, in our full review of the Mi QLED TV 75
Mi QLED TV 75
Mi QLED TV 75

There was a time when every Redmi or Mi product would be clubbed under the broad ‘Mi’ umbrella by most consumers. Off late, Xiaomi’s made the conscious and sustained shift towards positioning the Mi brand as the more premium offering, leaving the budget segment in the hands of the super successful Redmi lineup. This year, Xiaomi has really leaned in on this effort, launching the Mi QLED TV 75 in India alongside the high-end Mi 11 Ultra (review out soon). It’s all in the name – a monstrous 75-inch QLED TV that packs in all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a premium TV, one that sits a clear step above the Mi QLED TV 4K 55 I reviewed earlier this year. But before you fork over the not-so-insignificant Rs. 1,19,999 for this TV, let’s go over what you need to consider, in our full review of the Mi QLED TV 75.  

The first thing you realize when you unbox this 33.3kg heavyweight of a TV – quite literally, it needs two people to install safely – is that it is massive, almost the size of two 55-inch TVs in terms of screen area. Accommodating the Mi QLED 75 into your home is likely the biggest consideration you’ll have to make, in terms of whether the 167 cm x 97cm dimensions will fit on the wall or the 107cm stand on your TV unit. Much like the 55-inch model, the 75-inch model looks premium, with slim bezels and the aluminum alloy frame with sandblast coating, but the highlight this time around is the tabletop stand. No more side mounted metal stands, instead you have a center-biased metal stand with a plate in the front that looks like the TV is balanced on a single, central stand. The effect is visually striking while still staying sturdy and well-balanced. Below the Mi logo on the front is a small strip that houses the power button and the microphone toggle for the newly added far-field mics that let you control the TV hands-free with Google Assistant.

Around the rear, the design is quite a bit functional, and the selection of ports is rather like the 55-inch QLED – two HDMI 2.0 ports, a single HDMI 2.1 port (with eARC), two USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, 3.5mm and optical out, and composite input. Bluetooth 5.0 and dual-band Wi-Fi round out the wireless connectivity options. In all, you’re getting a product with a clean design with enough premium flourishes, and I highly recommend the table-top placement if that’s an option. The remote is just like what you’ve seen on plenty of Xiaomi TVs thus far, and I’d have liked a more premium remote for what is clearly their highest of high-end offerings.

Yet, it’s going to come down to the panel, isn’t it? Xiaomi’s specced it to the brim, with HDR10/10+, Dolby Vision and HLG support on the 4K 8-bit QLED panel (check the Mi QLED TV 55 review for the lowdown on QLED). The TV features full array local dimming with 192 dimming zones for precise control on the backlights, allowing the blacks to appear deeper and the highlights brightened while watching HDR content.

Right out of the box, the Mi QLED TV 75 impresses with its extreme viewing angles, high brightness levels and super-poppy saturated colors. If you’re a stickler for some modicum of color accuracy, you could dig into the exhaustive color calibration controls Xiaomi offers, right from altering flesh tones and backlight levels to turning off MEMC for watching sitcoms and movies. Contrast levels are excellent and thanks to the QLED panel and the local dimming, black levels are particularly good, and while it isn’t an OLED panel, it is by no means a pushover.

Getting into the weeds about how the TV performed on different kinds of content, I tried it with a bunch of Dolby Vision content on Hotstar and Netflix and was impressed by the brightness and color reproduction in scenes from Our Planet, and how it pulled out details even in dimly lit scenes in The Mandalorian. HDR10+ scenes are equally impressive. At this size of TV, 1080p content scrapes through while being upscaled but 720p or lower content, particularly on standard-definition set top boxes is expectedly bad, so while it may be obvious to some, an upgrade to the DTH box is in order if you’re considering this TV.

Gaming performance, particularly with the 120Hz rating on the TV, is a bit of a mixed bag as the TV doesn’t support true 120Hz (uses MEMC instead) and consoles like the Xbox Series X will not detect the display to run at 4K 120Hz - you can game at 1080p / 120Hz though. There are a bunch of TVs at lower sizes but similar price points that do better at gaming, but if you’re content at running games at 60Hz, the TV is a treat to play games on, with the rich colors and deep blacks accentuating the in-game environments. Xiaomi has talked up the audio improvements on the TV, with its 30W output six-speaker setup (two tweeters and four woofers). The sound is clean and the volume plentiful, but it’s just to cover the bases - I’d save up and buy a supported Dolby Atmos speaker array over time. Finally, the software is much of the same refined PatchWall/Android TV experience we’ve seen on their TVs, and a recent software update has fixed the few initial quibbles one had around performance.

There’s no denying what the Mi QLED TV 75 does well – the panel is good for 4K HDR content, it looks premium and is one of the more affordable 75-inch TVs around, leave alone one that packs in a QLED panel. Similar QLED models from other brands cost several magnitudes more, or you could look at much smaller OLEDs in the same price range. But if a massive TV is what you’re after, and your home can accommodate this somewhat theater-sized experience, the Xiaomi delivers, in spades.

Highlights: Mi QLED TV 75
Pros: Good panel, great Dolby Vision and HDR10+ performance, premium design, PatchWall
Cons: Lacks true 4K 120Hz for gaming, average speakers
Rating: 8/10
Price: Rs. 1,19,999

Tushar Kanwar is a tech columnist and commentator, and tweets @2shar

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