Samsung 65 Inch TV The Frame Art Mode 4K Smart TV - QA65LS03AAUXZN (2021 Model)

Easy to mount, excellent features but gives reflection in bright room. Not what I expected of The frame feature.

I really love the tv. It’s been 11 months and the picture quality is great. It fits tight to the wall which is perfect. The solar remote however has just stopped charging and since there are no buttons on the tv, I can’t use the tv until we get a new remote.

We bought the 65" for a ship-lapped mantle/gas fireplace. It looks fantastic. We've used it for two primary purposes so far - art mode and Disney+ - and it has excelled at both of those things. We've had three or four people say "wow that's a beautiful painting" or "is that painting backlit" and they're shocked when we point out that it's actually a TV. While the kids are watching Disney movies, I've been turning lights on/off, moving around the room, etc. to get a feel for the viewing angles. So far, the only time there's been any glare is with super bright lights (our Christmas tree had bright white LEDs), but only at extreme side angles. From straight-on, both standing and at couch-height, there is little-to-no glare regardless of the environment.I can see why some reviewers don't like the one-box technology. I don't like it, either, but it isn't a big enough deal for me to take a star. With the way we set our TV up over the mantle, I'd be pretty upset about this mandatory box *if* the cord wasn't long enough for us to mount the box a few feet to the side, on a bookshelf, where you really don't notice it. If Samsung is going to stick with the one-box idea, what I would suggest is multiple lengths of cable so people have more flexibility in where they put the receiver. Even though ours is out of the way, I'd still actually prefer to move it over another 4ish feet, but I have it sitting as far as the cable allows.Setup was as easy as I've ever experienced with a tv/wall mount. The TV itself makes wifi connection and app login very easy, but that's par for the course with smart TVs these days. The wall mount is where it really shines. Hanging this thing on the included thin mount (or flat mount, whatever it's called) was a breeze. The template makes it all very easy - we didn't even take the template down, we just drilled thru the paper and mounted the brackets over it. The whole process for sure took less than 10 minutes.The only real con is one everyone probably expects when they buy this: the speakers are...acceptable. But, if you're buying a super-thin tv, you likely already know that speaker size is one of the things you have to give up. That said, the speakers get the job done for basic use (kids movies), but if you're a cinephile like myself, or a music nerd like my wife, you'll absolutely need to connect some kind of audio device to this. I tried watching the new James Bond on this and just gave up (but didn't mind the poor quality audio when I watched some old Home Improvement episodes). We tried some music, but the Echo + Echo sub we have setup are, of course, far superior. Adding a soundbar or something to this wouldn't be a big deal...if it weren't for the fact that the box is sitting multiple feet away. So now I'll either be stuck with bad sound, or will have to run a cable that is 100% going to stick out like a sore thumb. Again, not enough for me to dock a star because I went into this expecting mediocre audio quality, at best, and that's about where this thing lands.

I pre-ordered this TV and before it arrived, the first reviews started coming in and most of them mentioned the horrible mount design on this version. "How bad could it be?" I thought. Once I got the TV, I opened the mount box and carefully read through the "instructions" (more like hieroglyphics, really -- hardly any text to be found) and thought it seemed straightforward enough. It wasn't until I almost got ready to hang the TV that I realized how truly dumb the mount design is.There's a reason basically every TV mount is a single bracket, and that's so it's wide enough to span two studs and need just 4 screws. Well, Samsung decided to split the bracket into two pieces. At first you might think that this makes it flexible since you can move each piece independently. Wrong. The most asinine part of the design is that the two brackets are NOT flexible in their positioning, they in fact have to be precisely spaced according to the spacing of the hooks that attach to the TV, which varies based on model size. Furthermore, you HAVE TO put screws in the holes between the part where the hook attaches (marked with a '*' on the instructions). The required spacing has no relation to common stud spacing or anything -- on the 65" version, the spacing is 37.25". Therefore, there is NO WAY you will hit a stud with both brackets where the TV is hanging. Because of that and the stupid split bracket, you need to put 8 HOLES in your wall to mount this thing (or at least 6). Four per bracket -- two that hit a stud, and additional drywall anchors or toggle bolts to make sure you hit the '*' holes. Oh, and Samsung does NOT include those extra screws you will need, they only include stud screws. I mounted this thing over a week ago and I'm still annoyed at it.And after all that, mine isn't even hanging flat. Hopefully someone will make a Youtube video showing how to get it to "snap" into the bracket. I'm too hesitant to push on the TV in the wrong place so I've left it hanging slightly forward.Other than the awful mounting design, the TV itself is meeting our expectations.- We primarily bought it for the art mode to fill a large wall with artwork, and for that purpose it works well.- The Intelligent mode works well in our room setting for modulating the art mode brightness and turning off at night. Basically it has been a "set it & forget it" experience so far. I was a little worried I'd be tweaking settings a lot more.- You can transfer your own artwork to the TV wirelessly using the Smart Things app, which makes it pretty easy to load it up.- As an actual TV, it's perfectly fine. The Tizen interface isn't my favorite, but the app store has most of the things I need and it works well enough.On the Con side:- The TV panel itself leaves something to be desired, eg. the off-angle viewing looks a little washed out, not ideal when your black mat looks gray-ish.- The interface is sluggish when changing artwork.- Very little built-in artwork.- Skimpy options for your own artwork, which makes it feel like it's trying to discourage that and drive you to use the subscription service. For example: you have to manually crop the pictures to 16:9 yourself before transferring if you want to have a uniform mat border. There are only two mat options, versus the 5-6 for built-in artwork. There doesn't seem to be a way to remove the mat to have it display fullscreen (though some pictures I've transferred do display fullscreen); overall feels inconsistent and a little buggy.

Upon hanging this TV on the wall and seeing how better it looks than any other “normal” HDTV, I thought, “why the heck isn’t this the standard for all TVs?”What Samsung has done is so simple it is brilliant. They moved all the components associated with inputs/power to a separate standalone “box”. This does 2 awesome things. #1 - the TV can lay much more flush to the wall. #2 - now there is ONE cord running from TV to the box that you route behind the wall that covers all power and inputs. Then any inputs you want to add to the TV just plug into the box - cable cord, Ethernet cable, ps4, whatever. This way in the future - you need to add something…just access the box you have hidden (under furniture or whatever) and no need to take the tv off the wall to plug something in. The last nice feature - the wall mount system is integrated into the back of TV - so it is perfectly clean and slim as possible.This all seems so simple and so obvious to do…sometimes the most brilliant ideas look obvious in hindsight.Lastly…the “picture” idea is great. When the TV is off…instead of having a big black rectangle on your wall, you have a legit picture of your choice (art or whatever). Great idea! Why not. Make use of this space in a beautiful way instead of just having a dumb black screen consuming the wall? Again…so simple it is brilliant.Nicely done Samsung…all innovation doesn’t have to be about higher resolutions…this is such a practical improvement in TVs…love it.

This is a review of a 65” Samsung The Frame TV (Model #QN65LS03AAFXZA), 2021 year model (I would say similar things apply to 55” and 75” because of how bulky/long these sizes are). This review is also specific to the Art Mode of this TV (I am not reviewing the TV mode). If displaying Art is your primary objective, then get this Frame. The fact that it also is a TV is a great plus. But I would not recommend getting this if TV usage is your primary objective. We’ve only had the TV for about 1 week, so I am sure we will find additional settings and circumstances that we have not yet discovered.The decision to get this TV came out of the want to display a large photograph (60”x30”). I specifically was planning to get a Metal Print of that size, the cost of which is around $500-$700. We have many photographs hanging throughout the house, including ones printed on metal. But the cost just for one of this size is significant – and then you are basically stuck with just one art piece. So after some research of currently available Digital Frames, I decided that it actually made sense to spend $1,500 on Samsung’s TV Frame and have the ability to display whatever images we wanted.So far we are loving it! It is really good for displaying Art pieces. I am comparing it to professionally printed art photography on various substrates (art paper, acrylic and metal prints). This Digital Frame will NOT replace a professional print – but it comes darn close. It’s a compromise that gives you the ability to showcase and look at infinite number of art pieces, which obviously you cannot do with printed art. Brings hundreds of my art photographs to life (that otherwise are languishing in the digital closet on my computer).PROS:- Great for displaying Art Images- Excellent image rendition- Minimal glare- Ability to load & view your own images- Auto mat creation/adjustment for loaded images- Not just a Digital Art Frame, but a fully functional TV as well- Lot’s of connection options (hardwire and wireless)CONS:- Horizontal placement only. 55” sizes and over cannot be placed in Vertical configuration- Built-in Matting software is very limited (see below review for details)- There is a minor display issue when using dark color mats (see picture & below review for details)- Built-in TV speakers are not very good- Cannot use music apps available in TV mode while in Art modeINSTALLATION EXPERIENCE • Paper template for the brackets was included in the box • The 65” screen is listed at almost 50 lbs – so it is fairly heavy. Two people are absolutely required to move it around (or you are risking breaking it), as well as for the final hanging on the wall brackets. The pieces of the bracket that are screwed into the back of the screen have an ingenious design that allows you to make a slight adjustment (1-2 degrees) once the TV is on the wall – so there is some play to level it out just in case the brackets are not perfectly level (or the edge of the wall is not perfectly level). • Careful moving the screen around – it should not be held horizontally (parallel to the floor) by two people – it bends/flexes and feels like it can break/crack. So carrying it vertically (perpendicular) to the floor is highly recommended. If you need to carry it and then place it on a flat surface, do so vertically and then gently/slowly rotate it from a vertical position laying it flat. • Our installation did not include hiding the connecting cable (from the One Connect box to TV) in the wall. But I hid most of it behind a speaker stand, so only 5” of the cable is visible and it is so slim and unobtrusive that you basically don’t see it (especially since you are paying attention to the displayed art).ART MODE EXPERIENCEThe screen has minimal glare/reflection (see video) and is able to show “True” , very deep, even, black color. The motion sensor in our environment seems to be pretty weak. Have to keep it on the widest/strongest setting to detect most of the motion of people going through (possibly because of how far away (from the screen) the hallway is where we normally walk). Because of this, I have turned off the Motion Sensor and feel that we like this setting better, as the art on the wall is now “Always On”, which feels much more natural – just like regular art piece is always visible. Night Mode setting does work, but will depend on the ambient light amount in your specific setting (e.g. if it does not turn off, there is probably too much light for the sensor and if it does not turn back on, there is not enough light. Once the slide show is turned on, there is no way to manually (via remote control) advance to the next art piece. Also, if you are using The Frame to display your own art pieces, you have only 2 categories available for slide shows – My Photos and Favorites. So there is no ability to create various categories/curation sets – this actually becomes very frustrating once the numbers of images start exceeding 50 items. If you want to have smaller sets of curated own images, you constantly have to remove and add to Favorites.BUILT-IN AUTO-MATTING EXPERIENCE • If you want your image to be displayed taking up the ENTIRE screen, the ONLY way to do so is to ensure that the ratio of the image is EXACTLY 16:9. If you are off even 1 pixel, it will create a mat for the picture and will NOT give you an option to display without a Mat. It took me a frustrating several hours of playing around to figure this out. • You can upload only JPG, JPEG & PNG format files (can’t upload TIFF files). If you are creating/saving your own image as JPG, it seems Samsung software will have issues uploading JPGs with certain options enabled when you are saving them. For example, I found the hard way that the following settings (that are available with certain image editing software) will cause an upload issue (Save EXIF Data, Save XMP Data) • Overall, I feel that built-in matting software is very limited in function. Color choices are fairly limited and there is no true Black color mat option. It is able to create only Single Mats. Diptych or Triptych matting is not an option. This can be accomplished only through SmartThings phone app (see Smart Things section of this review). The only way to get around and create truly custom mats is for you to create them on your own on your computer (via whatever Photo Editing software you use), incorporating them as part of a single image (with the EXACT 16:9 measurements) and then loading into The Frame. • On Dark Mat colors (black, brown, navy) there is a slight horizontal line (of a lighter color) is visible at the top division of the mat (see picture with red arrows). This is obviously a Software issue (vs an LED pixel issue), because that line does not exist on lighter colored mats or if an image is displayed full screen (without a mat). However, it is almost invisible when you are looking at the image displayed far away (which you are if you are using 55” and above screen size). • Mats are not solid in color rendition – they are spotty. Again, the only way to fix this is to create your own matting via photo editing software.REMOTE CONTROL EXPERIENCE • Remote control is very slick and has minimal amount of buttons compared to the older Samsung remote controls. It does not have batteries that can be replaced – it is either chargeable via a USB-C connector (that does not come with the unit) or via solar panel on the back. • The placement of our TV is a bit strange (see pictures). We actually have another Samsung TV (a 40”) right under this one. The smaller TV is the one we use to watch movies (placed at a much lower, eye level), while The Frame is used only for art display in this large room. I found out immediately that BOTH remote controls (the one for the smaller TV and the one for The Frame) actually work for both TVs. So it was pretty funny when either one turned one TV off and turned the other on at the same time (or both on/off at the same time). Also, I believe the older remote is only Infrared, while the new one is both – infrared and RF. So just in case you will end up with a similar configuration where you have two Samsung TVs more or less near each other, you need to be aware of this. I got around the problem by taking advantage of the fact that one is infrared and the other is RF/infrared by turning on/off one or the other very close to the TV itself (or the One Connect box) and once either one is on, then using the correct remote for each one.SMART THINGS PHONE APP MATTING EXPERIENCE (using iPhone) • Have to have (or create one) a Samsung account in order to use SmartThings app (not my optimal choice). • During setup, have to connect SmartThings app to The Frame TV via Bluetooth • Whatever pictures you want to use to setup for Diptych or Triptych (it is called a Collage option in the app) need to be on your phone in My Photos. • Available Diptych and Triptych mats are NOT adjustable. In other words, the opening of the mats for the pictures is a SET template – it will not automatically adjust to the picture size (unlike on the mat setting on the TV itself for a single mat). So for example, if you have three horizontal pictures/photos that you want to setup for a Triptych mat, the Triptych is ONLY setup for Vertical or Square pictures and will place your horizontal pictures within the vertical/square openings. You do have the ability to move/adjust placement of each of the pictures within each of the Triptych openings, but again – the template is NOT adjustable. So the distance from the edge of the mat to the pictures itself never changes. The same is true for Diptych – the available template is set as Left Vertical, Right Horizontal – you cannot switch this configuration.OTHER MODES/SERVICES EXPERIENCE • AMBIENT MODE - This mode provides for various included moving/interactive images, as well as the ability to set a specific color to the entire screen. If you are tired of looking at Art pictures, you can switch to this mode to change things up a bit. • MY SHELF – I have not found this mode useful at all, so no additional feedback • ART MUSEUM SERVICE - There are about 20 free art images available to pick from. There are several Art subscription services available. I have not used any yet, since I am using my own art pieces for now. • USB KEY (or hard drive) CONNECTION/USAGE - When you connect a USB key (or a compatible hard drive), you can display images when in TV mode (this becomes another Source). You can display the images in a slide show mode. This probably is good to view/show family snaps, but it is not a good display option for art images. The screen displays images at an extremely bright setting. You can probably change the brightness, but the display feel is completely different than Art Mode. You can also play music files if they are loaded on the USB key and music playing option is also available as a background while picture slide show is in progress. There is also an interesting option called 360 Degree View – this option provides the ability to see the original flat image in 360 degrees that you can move around – based on the image, it can provide quite an interesting perspective. • BUILT-IN TV SPEAKERS – are not very good. It is best to connect either a Sound Bar and/or home stereo.NICE TO HAVE • Ability to create/use multiple (more than 2) categories for curation of your own images (see Art Mode Experience section for details). • Being able to play music on TV (natively) while Art is being displayed. For example, you have music options as part of applications in the Smart Hub (Amazon Prime, Spotify, etc.). So it would be nice if you can get that going while Art is being displayed. But with the current setup, that is not possible, because the unit needs to be in the TV mode to use these applications. The only way to accomplish this is to connect your smart phone to the TV via Bluetooth and play music on your smart phone using Frame as Bluetooth speakers (Samsung calls this type of setup Sound Mirroring). • Ability to place The Frame into Vertical mode as well (for 55” and over screens)LONGEVITY/HOT PIXELS/IMAGE BURN-INTime will tell for all of these areas. I am especially concerned about Image Burn-In, since I am planning to have a single image being displayed potentially for weeks at a time. Hopefully Samsung has taken this into account specifically for this Digital Frame. According to FRAMEMYTV, they have not experienced any image burn-in on Samsung Frames that they have on 7/24 with single images.