In the experiment with Samsung The Frame: A more artistic flat-screen TV

Ever since flat-screen TVs have been on the market, many have wondered if it wouldn’t be great if a TV could actually be like a wall-mounted painting. Well, now that’s possible too!

Text: Jonas Olsson & AVPlus editorial team
Photos: Manufacturer

Over the years, flat-panel TVs have become ever thinner, but they really haven’t been able to be called true flat screens – until Samsung released The Frame TVs. You can already quite confidently call them a table that includes the frames and everything essential.

Television manufacturers have been competing with each other to see who can take the resolution, color reproduction, physical dimensions, and unique features a step further. This, as well as the ongoing price competition, has dictated the pace of the industry for some time. We, on the other hand, have focused our television reviews on the technical differences between different panel implementations and have sought to find the best possible image quality. But in reality, modern television is much more than that, and good picture reproduction is, in a way, just a basic starting point.

Samsung’s The Frame is a great example of a flat-screen television that is something else entirely in its genre. When The Frame does not display moving images, it looks like a genuine work of art and seamlessly blends into the rest of the home’s visual art. The additional stands available as accessories further enhance the artistic effect, one of which even resembles an authentic painting canvas to emphasize the point.

Elegant installation

In order to make the implementation elegant and discreet enough, it requires outsourcing the television’s wiring from the actual panel structure. With The Frame, this has been implemented with Samsung’s One Connect Box, a small central unit that connects the other peripherals and from which a thin and transparent cable is then connected to the panel itself. And if the cable still catches the eye, you can draw a paint or wallpaper on it.

The sales package includes a five-meter cable, but an optional 15-meter cable is available for those who need it. What’s great about the cable itself is not only its discreet design and convenient connection method, but also the fact that it also supplies the necessary power to the panel in addition to the image signal. This is a very well-thought-out and implemented solution, as it’s all too often the case with other seemingly neat TV mounts where there’s a vague bunch of dangling cables visible.

Sophisticated image reproduction

Compared to last year’s models, Samsung has boldly updated and improved its operating system. The manufacturer says, among other things, that the more time users spent watching television, the more frequently they wanted to change the images and artwork displayed on the panel. Therefore, a feature has been added that changes the repeating image according to a specific, pre-set interval. The user can thus organize their favorite content into a sort of playlist that updates from one minute to a week in a time frame.

The update to last year's models brought the opportunity to update The Frame's photo library using a memory stick or the smart device's control app. So, for example, you can entertain guests with more or less successful holiday photos from last summer. Whether such content is actually art is a matter of discussion, but at least everything will be reproduced with stunningly good 4k resolution.

"The content can be obtained from the manufacturer's own Samsung Art Store. There is a huge variety of choices, ranging from the work of established artists to the work of those who have made a name for themselves in the photography industry."

The most essential thing about the Framen is, however, all the so-called real art that can be reproduced through it. And the content itself can be obtained from the manufacturer’s own Samsung Art Store. There is a huge selection of options, from photography to works by established artists. The basic membership includes one hundred optional artworks, and with the more versatile search features in the entire library, you can access it for 4.99 euros per month. Individual artworks can also be purchased from the Art Store for 19.99 euros per piece. The added bonus is also the opportunity to explore the backgrounds of the works, and the frame paper color and layout can be customized.

Connecting Art Mode simply involves pressing the power button on the remote control, which automatically adjusts the panel’s brightness to match the environment and other artwork. And when no one is in the room, the TV automatically enters hibernation mode. This also saves energy.

The fact that The Frame has to be turned on every time you want to display art is ultimately not a bad thing at all. In fact, it would seem somewhat strange that the TV would be on even when no one is home or everyone is sleeping.

Frames in place

To make The Frame even more perfectly match the rest of the decor, its frames are interchangeable. Depending on the size of the TV (43–65”), the frames are available in four different finishes, costing €199–279 each. The easy-to-change process is made even more convenient thanks to the magnetic attachment.

The concept also includes Samsung’s handy No Gap Wall-mount mounting system, which allows the panel to be either tightly attached to the wall or slightly tilted forward. The mounting can also be fine-tuned by six degrees to the side, which saves the potential hassle of drilling. Overall, the mounting system also appears secure and sturdy even from the perspective of a less experienced installer.

"It will also include all the necessary smart TV features with their applications and services."

The size options include the previous 43, 55 and 65 inch models, and as a novelty, the 49 inch model is also available for those looking for just the perfect size. The panel construction in all models is the 4k UHD version with the image quality of the top cabinet.

It also comes with all the necessary smart TV features, including apps and services, and the system can be controlled both with the app that can be downloaded to the smartphone and with the small but versatile remote control. You can learn to use the remote control, which consists of only ten buttons and a cross button, quite quickly, and navigating through the menus becomes quite natural without even noticing it.

Convincing image

If The Frame takes its performance as a starting point in presenting the task of art, Samsung has succeeded in achieving an astonishingly uniform brightness across the entire panel surface. If the panel has, for example, a painting on it, it really does look like it. Only when viewed very closely can one notice that it is a display. The photos of The Frame, on the other hand, show the colors with the most vivid colors, with good contrast and excellent sharpness. And if you need more brightness, The Frame certainly has the ability to provide it when necessary.

"The Frame succeeds in delivering high-quality images on almost all metrics, and it leaves no impression of compromise in the way it displays both art and movies."

With The Frame, there is hardly any reason to complain, as the cinematography is natural and the colors are consistent – as is to be expected from a better-endowed director. However, the film does not quite meet the standards of a reference-class film, but it will easily meet even the criteria of a more demanding viewer for a good film. At least we liked The Frame not only as a creator of artistic content, but also as a fundamentalist and filmmaker.

The Frame manages to deliver high-quality visuals on almost all metrics, and it doesn’t leave the impression of compromise in terms of both the art and the movies it displays. This is most likely a carefully thought-out basic premise, as it meets the needs of a wide range of users in every way, smoothly and without remaining a niche product.

Well done!

Samsung’s The Frame is, in a nutshell, a stunningly well-designed and fun device that is anything but a traditional tablet, at least in terms of performance and originality. Its design is handled with the expertise of its class, which only a manufacturer the size of Samsung can achieve.

If you still need even better performance from the image display in this series, you should wait for this year's The Frame models, which use Samsung's qled technology. We, at least, are looking forward to it and will definitely come back to this topic once the more detailed pricing and availability information is available!

+ Successful idea and implementation
+ Image quality
+ Ease of installation
– Performance is not quite at the reference level

Samsung The Frame

Price: 998.99–1,999 €
Additional information: Samsung
Size: 43, 49, 55 or 65 inches
Panel: LED (Premium UHD)
Resolution: 3,840 x 2,160
HDMI connections: 4 pieces
Other: Controller app, remote control, frames available for an additional fee