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Samsung's Frame TV Doubles as Artwork

Hanging a TV above your fireplace mantle is nothing new, but a new model from Samsung mounts flush with the wall and includes a bezel that looks like an actual picture frame.

 & Tom Brant Managing Editor

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You could hang a painting above your fireplace, but then where would your giant TV go? To solve that conundrum, Samsung wants you to hang its new Frame TV, which is designed to be both a painting and a giant TV.

Available later this spring, the Frame enters a special "art mode" when you turn it off. Together with a bezel that looks like an actual picture frame, the overall effect approximates a work of art, albeit a backlit one. The customizable art mode includes more than 100 works in 10 different categories such as landscape, architecture, and wildlife.

The picture frame bezel is also interchangeable to match the art you choose to display as well as the rest of your decor. A special no-gap wall mount and support for Samsung's new "invisible cable" completes the painting effect. Alternatively, if you'd prefer to set the Frame on a table instead of mounting it to the wall, there's also an optional studio stand.

Samsung didn't announce detailed specs or pricing for the Frame, but given that the company hired renowned Swiss designer Yves Behar to help create it, we expect it to cost as much or more than an actual work of art.

The Korean electronics giant also teased its 2017 QLED TV lineup on Tuesday, which is available now and starts at $2,800. In addition to picture quality improvements—Samsung claims QLED technology eliminates color distortion and achieves 100 percent color volume—the new sets come with revamped software. An updated Smart View app now has voice control for many functions, and there's also a redesigned Samsung TV Plus interface for streaming films, music, and TV shows.

For more on Samsung's QLED technology, check out our explainer from CES.

About Our Expert

Tom Brant

Tom Brant

Managing Editor

I’m a managing editor at PCMag.com focused on PC hardware. Reading this during the day? Then you've caught me testing gear and editing reviews of Wi-Fi routers, printers, laptops, and tons of other personal tech. (Reading this at night? Then I’m probably dreaming about all those cool products.) I’ve covered the consumer tech world as an editor, reporter, and analyst since 2015.

I've covered most major consumer tech events, including CES, Computex, Google I/O, and IFA. I've also appeared on CBS News, in USA Today, and at many other outlets to offer analysis on breaking technology news.

Before I joined the tech-journalism ranks, I wrote on topics as diverse as Borneo's rainforests, Middle Eastern airlines, and Big Data's role in presidential elections. A graduate of Middlebury College, I also have a master's degree in journalism and French Studies from New York University.

The Technology I Use

While most people buy a phone or laptop and stick with it for years, I’m lucky enough to use devices based on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows daily as part of my job. As a result, I cycle through lots of tech in addition to my IT-issue work laptop. (Yes, that's a ThinkPad.) Personally, I’ve also owned a lot of tech products both cutting-edge and cringeworthy, from the Nintendo GameCube and the original MacBook to the Palm m105 and the CueCat.

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