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Our Samsung Frame TV – An Unsolicited Review

September 20, 2018

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Last month we used the awkward nook in our bedroom to add an electric fireplace. We’ve loved the new vibe, but also knew that we wanted a TV above it, as well. We’ve actually had a TV in this little corner for the past couple years, but with such an improvement in that space, we knew we wanted something that would feel like part of the design – not just something threw in there so we could watch it.

An unsolicited review of the Samsung Frame TV

After lots of research, we decided to buy the Samsung Frame TV, and have had so many questions about it we wanted to give an honest, unsolicited review for anyone curious about it. And since one of the most common questions we received was, “Why did you choose that TV?” We’ll start there.

It looks like art.
The reason we chose this TV is because it blends seamlessly into the room, and there are a few key features that make it so.

1. No Gap Wall Mount. This is a pretty cool thing. Because of the design of the wall mount for this TV, it sits as flush to the wall as a picture would. And the best part is that the No Gap Wall Mount is included with the TV – you don’t have to pay more for it. Have you ever seen a TV sit so flush to the wall?

An unsolicited review of the Samsung Frame TV

2. Frame options. Most TVs (and by that I mean all TV’s I’m aware of) just come in whatever color they come in. Usually black. The Frame comes standard in black, but you can buy white, dark wood, and light wood magnetic frames that pop into place without any tools required. We went with the light beige/wood.

An unsolicited review of the Samsung Frame TV

3. Art. The Samsung Frame comes with a library of art that is preloaded (seriously, close to 70ish!), as well as additional options available for purchase. But even if you don’t want to buy additional art, the preloaded options are surprisingly great, and they allow you to load any of your own personal art or photos via the app (also free, of course). I actually bought this CATTAIL print from Jenny’s Print Shop, downloaded it onto my phone and set it as the art for our TV. I’ll also definitely do something myself at some point. It’s so fun and easy to change the art. There are matte options, too.

Another great aspect to the art is the TV’s automatic color adjustments. The TV reads the ambient light in the room and automatically adjusts the brightness and contrast to keep the image looking as close to real art as possible. It’s really an impressive thing to experience.

An unsolicited review of the Samsung Frame TV

Other questions we’ve received:
Does it use a lot of energy while on art mode?
According to Samsung, the Frame operates on around 30% of typical energy consumption when in art mode, depending on the ambient light in the room and the brightness of the screen. Typical consumption in art mode is very minimal.

Will the image burn into the screen?
The screen has been designed so as not to be prone to image burn, like other screens. But the TV also detects motion in the room and turns the screen to standby when nobody is around. It kicks back on automatically when someone comes back into the room. When you press the power button after watching TV, it automatically goes to the art mode–love that! If you hold down the power button, it turns completely off. We turn it completely off while we sleep.

Hiding our Samsung One Box

What cables does it have and how do you hide them?
In order to keep the TV as thin as possible, a lot of the actual “thinking” components are stored in a separate box (also included with the TV). There is a single, slim cable that runs from the TV to this box that transfers the image signal as well as power.

Hiding our Samsung One Box

All other components are meant to plug into the box as well. That includes things like sound systems, Blu-Ray players, gaming consoles etc.. To keep cable clutter minimal, you’ll want to plan for somewhere this box can hide. For us, we made the back section of our mantle removable, and the box sits right inside there. We went one step further and ran the cable through the wall, so there’s no visible cables at all. Because the TV is a smart TV, it’s loaded with netflix, hulu, amazon prime–the works!

The remote for the box is RF, which means it runs on a radio frequency so the box doesn’t need to be line-of-site in order to work. You can hide it somewhere and, as long as the radio signal from the remote can reach it, it’ll work great.

Hiding our Samsung One Box

The Verdict
So, all that said, do we like the TV? Unequivocally, yes. The image is crisp and clear both in TV mode and art mode. The Smart features of the TV make it super functional. Instead of having a dark blank box on the wall when we aren’t watching TV, the Frame switches function (instead of just switching off) and enhances the room it’s in, at all times. We would suggest this TV again and again and hope to use a few of them in the cabin as renovations continue up there.

An unsolicited review of the Samsung Frame TV

 

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What do you think?

  1. Evi says:

    This is the most brilliant solution for hiding the One connect box! Would you have any recommendations for a similar wall-mounted piece I could use!! Beautiful job!! I am honestly impressed

  2. Chris says:

    Could you also share about your fireplace and the marble tile surrounds? Nice work.

  3. Kate says:

    Hi Chris and Julia – thank you for sharing this. It is such a clever idea to hide the TV box behind the mantle. Could you also share a little bit on your fireplace and the marble you have used around it? They look fantastic.

  4. HD says:

    Its not obvious where you’ve hidden the power supply transformer & cable for the One Connect Box, or the cable set top box. they can’t all be hidden in the fireplace.

    • Chris says:

      We love hearing that! Wherever you put it you don’t want it to be obvious. But there are lots of other options for hiding the cables.

  5. Jennifer says:

    How is the sound? My husband is worried the sound will not be as good! Thank you!

  6. Audrey Dubie says:

    We are going to be moving, and I would love to purchase this TV. On Amazon, it says do not mount above a fireplace, but that is exactly where we would want to mount it! Thoughts?

    • Chris says:

      You’ll have to look at the rules for both. Our TV would get a little warm on the bottom of it after running the fireplace for a few hours, but if you can get a little more distance between the fireplace and TV you may be ok, but that’s situational so I don’t know that we could recommend it for everyone.

  7. Ceunline says:

    Hi, if im on a budget do you thing Evervue’s Spectrum TV can be the perfect dupe for Samsung’s The Frame?

  8. Patty Chapman says:

    We just got ourselves a frame and we love it! How did you hide the power cord? We ran the other cords through the wall. We live in Texas so it isn’t code compliant to run the power cord through the wall. If it caught fire insurance wouldn’t help us. Did you face a similar problem? How were you able to get the tv flush to the wall?

    It may also be important to mention that we got our tv for a quarter of the price since it was a display and came without a box and no instructions. So maybe there is something in the back or in the mount built in for this cord?

  9. Dagon Ryan says:

    I actually just bought he Frame TV also for the bedroom. For the past couple weeks I have had it in the living room because it is such a great TV. For those that are commenting that this is not as “high end” as other high end TVs, it all is a matter of perspective and what your priorities are. My current TV is a 50″ 720p plasma – so the 65″ Frame looks awesome next to it. Like Chris& Julia, we wanted a TV for the bedroom that would complement the room, not detract from it. We selected the TV because we recently were married and have hundreds of pictures we wanted to rotate through. I will say, there are still some room for improvement when it comes to personal photos, but it does work.

    @Chris& Julia Nice review! My question is how have you addressed the on/off in the bedroom? Are you using the night mode? motion sensor mode? both? Or do you manually turn to art mode when not in use? Specifically I am trying to figure out the “going to bed” experience before I commit to installing it in the bedroom.

  10. Jess says:

    Just hung one of these in our kitchen and am only moderately happy. One thing that hasn’t been anywhere in the reviews I’ve seen is that to upload and display personal pics as you wish, you need to use Samsung’s app SmartThings which doesn’t work completely with with the current iOS. I called Samsung about the issue and they claim that apple is actually blocking their app from working properly. However, it did work for mere moments one night and I was able to upload a handful of images. If you’re and iPhone/apple family, you’ll loose some of the functionality of this TV.

  11. Jenny says:

    No comment on the huge price point difference between this and a regular tv? A lot of the components aren’t even as top end if you liked at equivalent non-Frame tvs.

  12. M says:

    Very interesting, thanks! Do you happen to have a shot how it looks when it’s totally off?

  13. Sherri says:

    I’ve loved watching this process. I REALLY wish they had a much smaller version, though. I have a spot in our lakehouse where I’d love to put one of these. We currently have a 43″ mounted on a side wall with a mount that allows it to pull out away from the wall, but I hate how far it sticks out when we’re not using it. I need a 30-33″ version! :-)

  14. Tori says:

    This is awesome and th is for the info. We have a samsung ap based TV in our master as well, do you know if there an ap to have a picture displayed? Or is this specific to this line of Tvs?

  15. Sarah says:

    Thank you so much for writing an unsponsored post on this! I’ve been so interested in it for a long time, as we live in a 100 year old home without a good spot for a tv (so it’s above the fireplace in the living room, our only sort of space with a sofa). I guess I was afraid it would look cheesy in real life? I’m glad to see it doesn’t!

  16. jillian says:

    Great job! Is this the 55″ one?

  17. andrea in mn says:

    This is probably obvious to other readers, and I feel silly for asking…. but is it plugged into the wall for electricity directly behind the frame. How does it get power??? Is there short cord back there and you have an electric outlet in the right place?

    • Chris says:

      The power comes through the cable to goes to the component box, which is plugged in, hidden in the fireplace mantle.

      • Julia says:

        Follow-up question because I was wondering the same thing! Is it possible to use the no gap wall mount and plug it into the wall behind it? We just finished renovating our house and had the cable built into the wall where a TV would be … it would be unfortunate to now buy this TV and have to move the outlet somewhere else

      • Chris says:

        You would need a recessed cable box, which is what we have.

      • Fred says:

        Curious if you had any problems getting it centered on the wall and still drilled into studs per the specific instructions… or did you use drywall anchors (provided?) for any of it? we just got the 65″ and I don’t think they allow/include drywall anchors on this model, and the mounting bracket is a little lackluster for adjustability for centering options.

  18. Brooke says:

    Is it possible to put the TV on something that allows it to change its angle? I want one of these for our living room but when we actually watch TV it will need to move based on where the TV will be in the room. My husband is against it but I REALLY want one! Thanks!

  19. Cici Haus says:

    I love the Frame!! Definitely on my wish list.

  20. Oh wow! I love this! Our living room TV is a nasty black rectangle and it sticks out SO FAR from the wall. I’d love to get one of these so it was pretty when it isn’t in use as a TV.

  21. Julie S says:

    Nice, great to know how you are liking it and I do appreciate the unsponsored review! I’ve got this product tucked away in my mind for the future if I can ever convince my husband to spend that much on a TV when we are next in the market for a new one, fingers crossed.

  22. Shelley says:

    Very cool. How’s the sound? Do you use an additional sound source- soundbar, WiFi speaker, stereo connection?

  23. Em says:

    It’s definitely a cool design feature, but I don’t like the idea of it being on all the time. There’s an environmental impact to consider besides your electric bill. Is it totally silent when in art mode?

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