Verdict
A TV for those with artistic tastes , Samsung ’s The Frame ( 2022 ) is both a amercement - looking and a very well - performing TV , with a matte exhibit that stops manifestation from becoming an irritant . It is relatively expensive equate to the higher - performing Neo QLED models .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
We ’ve mentioned many time that Samsung makes TVs for all types of people . If you ’re a gamer , Samsung has a TV for you ; if you need press clipping - boundary goggle box technical school , there ’s 8 K , and if you ’re a cognoscente of art there ’s The Frame .
The Frame is a boob tube and yet not a television set . Samsung has long been bothered about what happens when you turn a tv set off with that black vacancy in the centre of the room .
In Samsung ’s mind The Frame becomes part of a elbow room ’s furniture , but for all its artistic esthesia , it still has to perform like a TV .
Design
The Frame ’s has a depth of just 24.9 mm – slimmer than mostOLED screen . The rear jury is also uniformly flat , which helps it sit down wealthy against the wall if the preference is to bulwark - mount , a design feature that ’s assist and abetted by Samsung ’s One Connect box .
The One Connect features all the TV ’s processing units and connections in a separate box : power , picture , and audio recording fed to the TV via a slim cable . It ’s a brilliant mean of maintain cable clutter forth from the TV , though sequester the cable to the tellies ’ rear is a fiddle .
If you choose not to wall mount , foot are provided that can be well clipped on . The want of any turnkey makes it a simple and immediate assembly process . The bezel can also be customised with different colours available , and there ’s another base option in the three - legged Studio stand .
The screen is an edge - lit one , which means the LEDs in the backlight are placed around the edge . This keep the TV slim but affect moving picture quality as I ’ll get to later . As The Frame also uses a VA panel , contrast and black levels should be gamey though the weakness of VA board consist in their viewing slant . Samsung has hike this with its panoptic Angle see technical school .
The Frame ( 2022 ) ’s screen also features an excellent spotlight free matt display . fall a light on the screen and the presentation diffuses and refracts the light so it has less impact . I discover it a benediction many times given the test room ’s bright light ; The Frame is the one TV where reflections have been batted away with ease .
Tizen interface
This is the same Tizen smart port Samsung revamped in 2022 , and it still suffers from issues I ’ve note in several other reexamination . It ’s inert to respond , specially with the voguish remote control but on occasion with the ‘ normal ’ remote , most noticeable during start up or after perish an app .
Tizen also support from a rather haphazard organization . Features such as Multi View are obscure forth to the peak where I wonder why they ’re even publicize .
The interface is divided into hubs : Media for swarm apps / curated content / stimulation , Search , Art Mode ( more on that later ) , and Gaming . gambling is where you may hold apps and appurtenance ( such as adding controllers ) , with access to cloud gaming apps such as Xbox Game Pass , GeForce Now , and Utomik .
When it comes to app availability there are few that top Tizen . From the individual UK get up and on - requirement apps to the likes ofNetflix , Prime Video , Disney+to Spotify , Tidal , and Apple Music , there ’s a massive amount of breadth to its options . If paid - for access to content is n’t what you ’re after , you ’re covered bySamsung TV Plus , a gratis - to - memory access streaming - ground service as well as movie from Plex .
mental process is via a minimalist remote that features a solar cell that douse up ambient light source to institutionalise itself ( or you’re able to plug it into a USB - C port wine ) , as well as the standard remote that includes ‘ all ’ the buttons . It ’s a fleck busy and might be tricky to use for those with bounteous figure .
Features
Surprisingly for a modus vivendi TV , The Frame ( 2022 ) is stock with feature expect from aSamsung Neo QLED . Indeed , it ’s not far off theQN95Bin the region it covers .
Connectivity covers four HDMI inputs , with HDMI 4 designated as theHDMI 2.1input with support for 4K/120Hz frame rates ( despite the screen only being 100Hz ) . Other feature from the 2.1 standard includeeARC(for passing through high-pitched calibre audio recording to a soundbar),auto crushed latency mode(for exchange the telecasting into its game mode ) andvariable refresh rates(to ameliorate gaming fidelity ) .
Two USB , Ethernet , digital ocular out , CI+ 1.4 , two RF aerial inputs , as well as Wi - Fi andBluetooth 5.2make up the rest of the association option .
Given the art focusing , you might think The Frame would give gaming a wide spot but that ’s not the case . I assess input as 11.8ms – not the fastest Samsung but better than most of the competition – and with its Game Motion Plus mood , which improves the image quality at a toll to latency , it ’s 13.8ms . Again , not too tatty in the grand scheme of things .
There ’s support for HDMIVRRfor console table gamers andAMD FreeSync Premium Profor PC . Though Samsung does n’t officially supportNvidia G - Sync , you’re able to at least use it with this television .
On the voice assistant front there’sAmazon AlexaandGoogle Assistantsupport , as well as Samsung ’s own Bixby for search . Samsung’sSmartThingsintegrates the telly within a smart home lot - up , and it ’s also helpful in quickly setting up the TV for initial exercise .
Then , of course of study , there ’s Art Mode . While most Samsung TVs support this feature in some agency or other , it ’s underlying to The Frame ’s purpose . Art does wait marvellous on this TV ; the lack of reflection concentrate the reviewer on the screen .
There ’s a natural selection of art to peruse through and you could also buy piece of artistry and efficaciously ‘ hang ’ them up . It ’s deserving noting that hitting the off clitoris does n’t bend the TV off but cast it into Art Mode . A clench turns the TV off altogether .
Picture Quality
Dual LED , LED LCD , QLED , sharpness - illume dimming organisation , VA control board – these are all technology The Frame stick out , and it can be easy to get bogged down in all the acronyms , but the final result is The Frame puts in an enjoyable functioning across a range of resolutions .
Black profundity , specially with HDR content , has its limits , evident from the opening credits of The Martian in 4 K HDR as the solidness and depth discover with OLED screens are n’t present . The goggle box ’s restraint over brightness level and black levels with its edge - dismount dimming organisation is fair though , and The Frame can provide levels of good contrast where required , though there are some blue - ish tone in the black borders .
But for the most part , mordant level , while not inky in their blackness , are stronger than anticipated . The scene in The Martian where the astronauts are forced to evacuate show those black levels and direct contrast to be solid . The Christ Within of their visors against the Nox sky does n’t result in any distracting blooming , and while the disastrous levels perhaps are n’t strong enough to make a full three - dimensional image , there is a sense of profoundness to the image only potential with HDR content .
Peak brightness with HDR substance is consistent across picture mode . In the Standard preset I measured it at 667 nits on a 10 % while , while Dynamic is only slightly brighter at 670 nits . That ’s enough to give a good account of HDR , and along with theQLED jury , The Frame ( 2022 ) draw the various hue of Martian landscape painting with attainment . Yes , it ’s mostly red , but the variations of it from orangey - scarlet , to productive or hoary tone is well delimit .
More than anything , this feels and looks like the type of image you ’d get from Samsung ’s Neo QLED TVs . There ’s punchiness to colours that ’s ally with a wide telescope to the colour range – nothing is overstated ( at least not in Movie orFilmmaker mode ) ; and the levels of fine detail from the grains of sand to the setting of the ‘ Hab ’ or the materials of the spacesuits holds up excellently on this 55 - inch screen . It ’s a clean , sharp ( but not overly ) and delicately detailed double .
Switching to a 4 K Blu - beam of light of Bad Times at the El Royale , there are some key but insidious difference between the HDR10 andHDR10 + . tincture point is good , allowing a good peak into dingy scene , such as when John Hamm ’s character start nose around the hotel ’s hidden region .
With HDR10 + , the film is also slightly lustrous , the colours a picayune richer and the darker part of the film are described with more depth . In HDR10 these same moments can look slightly muddied or weak , like the absence of the dark , fix patches on Hamm ’s case during a phone call .
move to a Blu - ray of John Wick , The Frame ’s upscaling is as inviolable as I ’d wait from a Samsung set . There are satisfactory levels of item , uncloudedness , and keenness – the photographic film ’s secure sense of colour descend through but in a natural manner and not overly boosted .
color have mickle of slug and strength , like the red shirt Viggo wears , and the film ’s contrast - profound approach is one that The Frame bring out well . point in the faces of the player is unassailable , revealing defect , creases , and fine detail in facial hair . It ’s a fine take care image .
Dropping to standard definition and a videodisc of Drive and there ’s no doubt it ’s a soft - look epitome but comfortably than expected . There ’s a want of sharpness but decent enough detailing to dress and environments . Colours are both strongly reproduced and wide set out in orbit , the atomic number 10 - soaked visuals are entertainingly bring to life .
pelt tincture appear natural to the source and black levels are secure . There ’s depth to the image as well , the luminousness in some conniption almost feels HDR in verbal description . There ’s also a little backlight bleeding , as well as some local dimming , which is unusual believe this is SDR mental object . Nevertheless , this film attend much better than I would have expected , and noise is massaged well to not be a distraction .
The Frame ’s motion processing hews similar to the rest of Samsung ’s TVs . Apply the car setting and there ’s a hazy sense of apparent movement as well as the comportment of judder with more dynamic movement . It ’s not as acuate or as clear with detectable instances of judder and screen tears in tight - moving scene . With slower - paced it ’s fine , but that Soap Opera Effect is still evident .
It ’s better to switch it off or alternate to Custom . The latter handles motion with more smoothness and clarity , maintaining the motion picture ’s 24fps visual aspect while reducing judder . The deviation between this option and turning it off completely is n’t massive , so if you prefer not to have motion on , that ’s what I ’d advocate .
Sound Quality
The overall theme thus far of The Frame has been one of welcome surprises , and that continues with the sound system . Packing 40W of mogul and Samsung ’s OTS audio system , it ’s a large sounding feat for a screen as slim as this .
Do n’t take expectant to take as bigger than the TV itself , but whatever processing is being done , it chip in to soundtracks being more spacious than expected . The Amplify musical mode is the most industrious and dynamic modality – in Standard a series like The Mandalorian is n’t as energetic or has the same good sense of scale . But the Amplify fashion does invoke straining with dispirited frequencies , the bassy voices of the Mandalorian soldiers stress the speakers more .
Vocal clarity is good , and sound effects have the uncanny knack of sounding where they are on screen , as does dialogue . There ’s decent bass part too , a practiced heavy thump is provided in some example to the John Wick soundtrack , but nothing here that would make a soundbar envious .
Purchase a soundbar like the HW - S61B and it ’d be an instantaneous improvement and with Samsung soundbars you ’ll also get the Q - Symphony feature that bring on an even bigger audio performance .
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Should you buy it?
The Art Mode combined with the matte display oeuvre well , make this TV an genuine piece of work of art .
If it ’s HDR you ’re interested in , the QN90B andQN95Bare better options .
Final Thoughts
The Frame ( 2022 ) is a surprise , much like Samsung’sThe Serifwas when I reviewed it last year . The picture performance impresses , it is well covered for gambling , and the invention is exceedingly simple-minded , especially with its flatness cover that reduces the impact of reflections .
Then there ’s the prowess manner , which is heavy if you ’re an art connoisseur turning the TV into a proper form if wall mounted .
But it costs around the same Mary Leontyne Price as the Neo QLEDQN90B / QN95B , both of which provide a stronger HDR performance . In fact , the price rag experience steep if you ’re purely buying this television for its art functions .
think its lifestyle ambition , The Frame ( 2022 ) did n’t need to be as upright or as well specified as it is . I ’ve been a sceptic of Samsung ’s tv in the past , but this is a okay endeavor , particularly for those who want their TV to coalesce in with its surroundings . The Art Mode may even make you forget there ’s a telecasting there in the first stead .
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