Is the TV that displays art worth it? I'm sharing my honest Samsung Frame TV review as a home decorator who didn't want to give up the decor space above the mantel!
You've probably seen this picture frame TV all over the internet. It's the TV that displays art when it's turned off, and I'm here to share my honest review and answer the question: is the Frame TV worth it?!
Short answer: yes! Long answer: also, yes!
We've had our Samsung Frame TV for more than a year now and we love it so much. I wanted to wait a while before sharing my thoughts, because I wanted to live with it for a bit. But for my husband and me, it lives up to the hype.
It's the TV we all want to watch even though we have two other TVs in the house, and it's constantly our favorite.
Our Story of Buying the Frame TV
We bought the TV that displays art when we lived in our old house. (But it's wild how we had no intention of moving when we bought it, and it fits our new house to perfection.)
It was time to upgrade our outdated, un-smart TV to a larger smart TV. Coach (my husband) asked for something a bit larger than the 32″ TV we bought when we got married 11 years ago. And I decided that if I was giving up decor space on the sides and above the TV, I'd rather look at art on the wall than an ugly black rectangle.
We settled on the 55″ Frame TV (and you'll see why I'm so glad we didn't get a larger one in a sec).
I know nothing about the fancy 4K UHD Dual LED Quantum HDR business, but I guess that's code for "it looks good," because it does have great picture quality. I mean, it's way better than the 10-year-old TV we had before it. My professional opinion, of course.
But the thing I cared about most was that it displays art when the TV is turned "off." This is actually called ambient mode or art mode. This is how it shows something on the screen while the TV isn't on.
The other great thing that makes the Frame TV look like art is that you can mount it flush to the wall, like a real piece of art. This is because the brains of the TV are in a separate "connect box" linked to the TV with a very thin, clear wire.
Every Frame TV comes with a no-gap wall mount, but you'll need a completely flat wall (no outlets or sockets) to get the gapless look. Ours sticks out just a smidge because we didn't use a recessed outlet cover, but you can't tell because of our mantel trim.
In our old house, we just ran the wire down behind the TV and housed the connect box inside our media stand. We never got around to hanging it on the wall before we decided to move.
Then we moved in December 2019, and the new, smaller living room presented a whole new challenge.
Putting a TV Above the Mantel in the New House
Ahh, the age-old question: do we put the TV above the mantel or somewhere else in the room?
Since our new living room was smaller and we had a large sectional coming, there really wasn't an option other than putting the TV above the mantel. Womp. womp. I was sad to lose my prime real estate for decorating.
But if you have to put a TV above the mantel, the Frame TV is the one you want, right? I'd say so!
Thankfully, we chose the perfect size TV for the space above the mantel, and it was like they were made for each other!!
While you can buy a magnetic frame for your Frame TV, we don't have one because I like how the black edge blends into our navy walls. But maybe someday we'll try one. I think if I did buy one, I'd get the beige bezel frame.
We even figured out how to run the TV cord behind the wall and store the TV box in the closed cabinets on the right side of the fireplace.
I will say that wall mounting the TV was a job for two strong people. We did it ourselves, but if you aren't confident hanging the TV on the wall, I'd hire it out. Most people I know hire someone to mount it.
What is the Samsung Frame TV?
The Samsung Frame TV is a 4K TV that sits flush to the wall, making it look like art! It displays digital art when not in use, and it even has motion detection that lets it go completely off when no movement is detected. The art turns back on when someone walks back into the room.
While it looks 1000% better than a black box on the wall, it will never look 100% like an actual piece of art because it's backlit. But I'll tell you that I had a dinner party recently, and my guests who had never seen one before were fooled at first.
You can purchase frames at an additional cost to make your TV look even more like a piece of art on your wall.
Decorating around the Frame TV on a Mantel
One of the biggest questions about putting a TV above the mantel is, how do you decorate around it? It's such a common question that I wrote a blog post years ago explaining how to decorate around a TV above the mantel.
Home decor is my jam, so I'm always thinking about these things. The good news about the Frame TV is that you can change the art on it whenever you want! Some of my favorite places to find art, besides the Samsung Art Store, are Etsy and Juniper Print Shop.
I don't have room for much more than the TV on my mantel, so I've been putting a pair of trees on either side. This Christmas will be challenging since I've always enjoyed decorating my Christmas mantels in the past. But I have a plan, and I think it will look really good!
In the future, I may put some pretty sconces on the molding on either side of the TV, but that'll be way down the road!
But as a decorating blogger, I've been happy with the Frame TV above the mantel and how it has looked with my decor.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Frame TV
How do you Get Art on the TV?
A few digital art pieces come preloaded on the TV, but you'll probably outgrow that collection quickly. If you'd like to use the Samsung Art Store, you'll have to pay a small monthly fee for that art.
Instead, I find art I like on Etsy, Juniper Print Shop, or photos I've taken myself, and upload them to my phone.
You'll have to download the SmartThings app and make sure your TV and phone are on the same router in your home. Then you can follow the instructions in the app to upload your art to the TV. I keep a folder in the photos app on my phone for "TV art" and just keep everything there.
What size digital art works on the Frame TV?
You'll want to resize your art to 3840×2160 pixels if you want it to fit perfectly and not require a mat. If the image is too small, your TV will add a mat, and I don't prefer that. But it's personal preference.
I don't think there's an option to fill the frame with a wrongly sized photo. I may be mistaken, but I've found that I either have to buy digital art sized specifically for the TV or resize it myself.
If you buy Frame TV-specific art, it should already be sized properly.
SHOP FRAME TV ART
Do you have to keep the Connect Box out in the open or behind glass?
No! You can put it anywhere nearby because it works on an "invisible connection," which is simply a radio frequency.
So I don't have to have my cabinet doors open for my remote control to work. Yay!! No need for glass-front cabinets or a screen or anything. It's awesome.
Does it turn all the way off? Does it emit light when it's turned off?
It DOES turn all the way off. It's completely black with only a small red light at the bottom. And that teeny red light would be covered if you have a frame on it.
The TV has motion and ambient light sensors, so if it detects no light or movement for a certain amount of time, it will turn completely off on its own. But you can also hold down the power button for 2-3 seconds, and the TV will turn completely off.
Overall, we love it! We're so glad we bought the Frame TV. We have other TVs in our home, and it's our favorite, hands down. While the Samsung TV we bought last year for our bedroom is the same in a lot of ways, I prefer the remote that comes with the Frame and the flush mount with art mode.
Let me know if you have any more questions in the comments below, and I'll do my best to answer them!
SHOP THE TV's & ART
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