• Present in the world of televisions for a year, Xiaomi is showing its muscles by unveiling in Paris its Mi TV Lux Transparent Edition, a transparent OLED television.

  • Only sold in China for the equivalent of 6,000 euros, the device is technically impressive, even if its image quality is still far from equaling that of a classic OLED television.

  • Already seen, this technique could develop first in the fields of display before taking over our salons.

Xiaomi shows her muscles.

Usually, it is at tech shows like the IFA in Berlin or the CES in Las Vegas that we see these demonstrations of force.

This time, it is in Paris that the Chinese manufacturer has chosen to unveil its know-how by presenting its OLED Mi TV Lux Transparent Edition television.

20 Minutes

was able to discover this OLED screen with a transparent panel which perhaps foreshadows a new revolution in our living rooms.

The ability to innovate

It looks like a simple window pane planted on a rounded plinth.

At the Xiaomi Store * where it is on display, the Chinese manufacturer's Mi TV Lux Transparent Edition television is a real eye-catcher.

“It's like a work of art”, explains one in the store where this screen has found its place in the middle of scooters, connected speakers and kettles of the brand which is definitely firing on all cylinders.

Present for a year in France in the world of television (thanks to its P1 Series declined from 32 to 55 inches), Xiaomi wants with this extraordinary device to offer "proof of its ability to innovate", says a French representative of the Mark.

A contrast far from that of OLED

After the “wow” effect caused, the TV is revealed more.

It is based on a 55-inch (140 cm) Full HD OLED panel.

Impressive, this one is only 5.57mm thick.

All the electronics have been cleverly deported in the base which also acts as a sound bar with its two 2 x 8 watt speakers and its Dolby Atmos compatibility.

Information taken, the transparent panel was manufactured by LG Display.

Its display frequency is 120 Hz, with a response time of 1 ms.

Its contrast ratio is 150,000: 1, which is far below that of a classic OLED panel which is 1,000,000: 1. And it shows.

Much better in low light

Lit in daylight, the transparent television displays a rather degraded, milky and grayish image that hardly convinces.

Like a fine mesh crimped into the panel, the pixel grid remains quite visible when you are close to the screen.

The viewing angle remains fairly standard: 178 °.

The image however has its small effect with isolated subjects, like this panther which seems to float in the room.

This is the advantage of OLED and its self-emitting pixels that do not require backlighting.

The only pixels displaying the image are used.

On the other hand, when one makes the half-light in the room, the image gains largely in density, in colors but also in contrasts with a largely improved quality.

For its part, the back of the base reveals an honest connection with three HDMI 2.0 ports (but not 2.1 to be compatible with the new consoles), two USB 2.0 sockets, an optical socket, an antenna socket and an Ethernet socket.

Xiaomi is not the first

Problem: we have already seen transparent televisions, especially at the IFA electronics fair in Berlin where Panasonic presented in 2019 the prototype of such a Full HD TV in 55 inches.

It was designed by Scandinavian designer Daniel Rybakken and was to be marketed in 2020. We are still waiting for it.

And we will still wait for the Mi TV Lux Transparent Edition from Xiaomi which will not be marketed in France, or even in Europe.

Only available to the general public in China (for an amount equivalent to 6,000 euros), this television could however find its place in stores where it could be used for display.

Technology, it, undoubtedly remains promised with a certain future.

Xiaomi does not rule out seeing it, for example, used on the windows of metro trains to display timetables and other information.

* Xiaomi Store, 38, boulevard de Sébastopol, 75001, as well as at Fnac Ternes, 26/30 avenue des Ternes, 75017 Paris.

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