An Honest to Goodness Review of Samsung The Frame TV

With the size of televisions rising, it is becoming increasingly crucial that our television sets fit in with their surroundings. Samsung has been setting the trend with its Samsung The Frame TV sets for some years, however, the 2021 edition finally brings the range up to par with Samsung’s best.

With the capacity to show artwork in standby mode and a wall-mountable frame, The Frame TV for 2021 is as functional as it is elegant to have around the house.

This review is based on the 4K 43-inch QLED model and this comes in sizes that range from 32 inches to 75 inches.

Samsung The Frame TV: In terms of its price and availability

The 2021 version of the Frame TV collection is now available except for the 1080p 32-inch model, the remaining choices still include a 4K resolution. The price of the 32-inch frame tv model starts at $599, while the 43, 50, 55, 65, and 75-inch variants start at approximately $999 and can go up to $2,999 for the models with bigger dimensions. 

While the tech list is impressive, it is not quite flagship level, and hence you are paying a premium for The Frame TV’s interior design-friendly aesthetic and it can still be a touch costly, but, the image quality upgrades make this a far better bundle this time around.

Samsung The Frame TV: Design

Normally, the thoughts on design and television software interface are provided in separate reviews, but The Frame is an exception since the two go hand in hand. As a result, you’ll find information here on not just the industrial design, but also on some of the software features that complement the appearance.

When turned off, many televisions are designed to vanish into a black hole in your living area, while The Frame TV is designed to be ornamental. While the set is unimpressive out of the box owing to its simple black frame, Samsung sells a range of clip-on bezel pieces that could be used to help the set match in with a variety of decors, ranging from vibrant color finishes to wood-like frames.

When wall-mounted, such bezels contribute to the illusion that you’re seeing a painting rather than television and this works in conjunction with Samsung’s Art Mode app that grants access to a lot of artworks that can be showcased on the phone’s screen when it’s in standby mode, with collections drawn from famous and world-class galleries like the Louvre in France, and the Van Gogh Museum, as well as artists that are ranging from contemporary artists like Sutianto or some of the classic masters like Monet. 

These can then be placed on a number of matte ‘mounts,’ which helps to reinforce the idea that the work is a painting rather than a technology hanging on the wall. The outstanding anti-reflective coating on the screen, as well as environmental and motion sensors that automatically adjust brightness and contrast and activate the TV’s Art Mode as you approach, make it truly exceptional at producing the appearance of a painting on your wall with paint and paper.

Additionally, it’s one of the simplest TVs ever tested to set up, so when it is not wall-mounted then it will sit flush against a wall due to its relatively thin, flat form, and it is supported by two independent feet that may be adjusted to allow a soundbar beneath the screen. These easily fit and click into place on the back of the TV at each end, eliminating the need for screws, furthermore, a tripod-like Studio mount may be purchased separately.

The integration of Samsung’s amazing One Connect box simplifies setup even further. Using a single clear fiber-optic connection, this breakaway box links to the screen and is equipped with all of the external device ports you’ll need. Some connections that are available are four HDMI ports, one digital optical output, one Ethernet port, on a CI card slot, and it also has two USB ports on the back part of the box. Tuners for terrestrial and satellite broadcasts, and also dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled for wireless devices such as headphones, keyboards, and mouse, are all supported by the device. 

A pair of remote controls complete the kit. These are already equipped with shortcuts to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Samsung TV Plus, the company’s free television streaming service, which is available on each of the devices. However, while one includes a full array of rubberized volume, playback, and channel selection controls (among other things), the other is a stripped-down remote with dedicated buttons for only the most often used tasks. It’s easy to use, but its finest feature is concealed on the back — a solar panel that eliminates the need for batteries.

Samsung The Frame TV: Picture and sound quality

Samsung’s Frame television sets have always wowed in terms of appearance, but have occasionally failed in terms of visual quality. But what is great is that these 2021 models are already free of such flaws because this QLED set is at the very least competitive with what Samsung is offering at the top of its mid-range series. 

As we’ve grown to anticipate from QLED technology, The Frame TV features a Dual LED backlight system that combines two color temperatures to get the finest image possible from its Quantum Dot filter array. While it will not affect OLED displays, black levels are profound and convincing, with the backlight guaranteeing that no one point on the panel seems washed out by a light leak. Additionally, the Quantum Processor 4K impresses — motion is handled deftly, and the 4K material is razor-sharp. The best feature, though, is the screen’s handling of lower-resolution video. Standard definition material may appear slightly soupy but is still viewable, whereas 1080p content scaled well and is clear and snappy on The Frame TV.

Apart from the fact that the tv also supports HDR10+ and HLG, which is also of the same case with the rest of the range of Samsung, some points are lost at this point because of the lack of Dolby Vision, which has now been gaining increasing popularity and it is even being supported now by the Xbox series X. Nonetheless, HDR performance is remarkable, with highlights appearing much more bright in the HDR10+ test footage.