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Two for the price of one. It’s a familiar phrase that has been used to describe, well, just about anything that allows you to enjoy more for less. Where “art-frame” televisions are concerned, you get two for the price of one in that you have a high-end 4K television with an ultra-slim profile and the latest and greatest specs and features AND it doubles as an art installation piece where you can enjoy an endless loop of world-renown artworks exhibited on the screen when not in use for watching Netflx, ESPN, the nightly news, whatever strikes your fancy.
When Samsung disrupted the industry with The Frame TV in 2017, the marketplace was skeptical at first - a high-quality television capable of 4K resolution output with the added bonus of a slideshow featuring timeless, acclaimed masterworks you would find in The Louvre or the Metropolitan Museum of Art when the TV was turned off. The appeal was intended as an alternative to a boring black hole on the wall.
But wow, did Samsung know what they were doing with The Frame TV. It was highly-rated across the board for its picture quality and versatility for gaming, watching movies, and high-def television programming, and the art mode feature resonated with consumers who loved having the choice of seeing their favorite artwork or family photos on display when the TV was off.
The black bezel around the television was a little bland so consumers had the option of attaching actual frames around the edge of the television to complete the aesthetic of the television as an objet d’art for the home or workspace.
So naturally, as a result of this worldwide popularity for Samsung’s flat-screen art-television functionality, competing TV brands started developing their own products for the marketplace in a bid to get in on the action.
Among the most recent of these challengers is TCL’s NXTFrame. TCL has been vigorous in its aggressive approach to claiming its share of the marketplace and so it would seem a smart strategy to go after one of the top brands in the industry by developing a similar television to compete with Samsung’s bestseller.
But does it fit the bill or is this another imitator that falls short of claiming the number one spot from the innovator in this space? Let’s compare:
QLED is an acronym for Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diode. So what does that mean? A QLED TV incorporates quantum dots as a way to deliver exceptional picture quality and a brighter, more vivid display. Despite the letters in the acronym, a QLED TV is actually an LCD television, it just uses LEDs as a backlight to affect that brighter picture quality.
The Frame and the NXTFrame are both QLED televisions. But they offer two varying setups. Samsung has chosen an edge-lit setup, which means the LEDs light up around the edge or perimeter of the pane. TCL, on the other hand, has chosen to place their LEDs directly behind the pane.
Placing LEDs around the edge allows for a greater range of active backlight to better support a High-Dynamic Range (HDR) picture. This gives the TV more control over brightening and dimming the light for more contrast with deeper, accurate blacks and greater detail in brighter areas of the picture. Edge-lighting can be advantageous for supporting all HDR content in its truest form.
When the pane is back-lit, as is the case for TCL’s television, the LEDs don’t have that same control for accentuating the detail of the picture when it comes to brighter and darker shades of color and blacks on the display. That’sdue to the fact that all of the LEDs are illuminating the pane at the same brightness and the dynamic range can suffer as a result.
Now that you know the difference between edge-lit and back-lit technology for a QLED TV, you can probably guess how each product measures up when it comes to overall picture quality. Since the TCL is back-lit, meaning the LEDs are all located directly behind the pane, the picture is evenly lit and very bright. For some consumers, the NXTFrame may be too bright when playing HDR content and, unfortunately, the brightness can NOT be adjusted for the art mode feature of the TV. In other words, whatever the brightness level you have set for the TV will remain the same in art mode. That can have an adverse effect when using that feature.
Samsung the Frame televisions deliver greater contrast and truer accuracy of color reproduction while still delivering a brighter, vivid picture.
Okay, we’ve been talking a lot about High Dynamic Range, so it comes as no surprise that Samsung The Frame televisions support HDR 10 over Dolby Vision. TCL’s NXTFrame supports both.
What’s the difference? Both formats provide clear, extremely detailed images, though Dolby Vision has a slightly wider output of color. HDR 10 can reproduce over one billion unique colors with its HDR 10-bit color technology. Dolby Vision offers 12-bit technology so there is somewhat more unique color output with a possible 68 billion color reproduction.
But is there enough content in each of these formats? Dolby Vision has the slight edge with a wider library of streaming and physical media options. But analysts and experts say that HDR 10 will increase its availability across streaming and physical media within the next year or two, putting HDR 10 on equal footing with Dolby Vision.
Samsung has the edge when offering more options for your home or workplace. The Frame TV is available in 43”, 50”, 55”, 65”, 75” and 85” models. NXTFrame comes in 55”, 65”, 75”, and 85” screen sizes.
Look, not everybody needs a television that doubles as a home-theater screen. Sometimes a smaller size TV is beneficial for consumers who want the highest-quality picture and sound, but don’t have as much wall space in their home or office.
Samsung has it, TCL does not. That means Samsung’s The Frame TV can actually deliver the clean aesthetic it promises. Think about it, when you look at framed artwork on the wall, you don’t expect to see wires or hooks or anything dangling from the back of it.
Why would you? It’s a work of art in a frame.
When you’re purchasing an art-frame television, you certainly don’t want to see any cables, cords, and wires drooping or hanging from behind the device. The One Connection Box ensures you won’t have that problem because all of the connections - your 4K blu ray player, your gaming system, your cable box, whatever you need to connect to the TV - plug into the separate box instead of directly into ports on the back or sides of the television itself.
The One Connection Box has those ports and when everything is patched in and connected, the Box is hidden away from view and just one cable connects it to the TV, for a much cleaner, neater appearance that supports the framed art aesthetic.
TCL’s NXTFrame has all of the ports located on the television unit itself. So that means you’re going to see all of those unsightly cords, cables, and wires dangling from the back of the bezel on TCL’s TV, essentially ruining the framed art look - and isn’t that why you bought this kind of television in the first place?
Let’s be honest, the reason you are purchasing a Frame TV is to utilize the art mode feature when you’re not watching your favorite films and shows. Since Samsung is the innovator in this space, it’s no surprise the brand offers a much wider selection of art to display on your screen.
The Samsung Art Store offers a carefully curated collection containing thousands of images that have been selected by curators who work with some of the most well-known museums and artists from around the world. These facilities and the artists behind these masterworks are paid a royalty to include their works as part of the Samsung the Frame art library.
Selecting the art you want to see on your Frame TV is simple. That’s because the Samsung Art store utilizes a mature user interface that resembles the same system ITunes and Shopify currently employ for purchasing and downloading music onto your chosen device.
Best of all, you know you’re getting the most accurate and trusted color reproduction on a Frame TV QLED panel because Samsung is the world’s first television manufacturer to earn Pantone Validation. The Pantone Color Institute is the global authority in color and their endorsement means you can expect the best and most authentic color presentation in the television industry today.
The TCL NXTFrame can’t compare. Their televisions fail to give you the same level of control over the art you view on your screen as their products are each preloaded with around 350 works that you can view on your device. Samsung’s subscription service comes with an entire library of masterworks and images that can be viewed on your display at all times.
Samsung The Frame televisions come with a motion sensor to wake up the TV anytime it detects motion in the room and puts the TV back to sleep when motion is no longer detected after a certain amount of time.
This feature is extremely useful for the Art Mode function on a Frame TV, because it displays the artwork loop when it senses that someone has entered the room and goes back to sleep when that someone is no longer detected.
TCL has failed to include a sensor, which means the NXTFrame TV continues running in an entirely empty room. That may impact your electric bill if you keep the TCL on all the time.
Another cause for concern with the TCL product - since this model is so new, it’s undetermined whether or not the screen will start to suffer from image burn when an artwork stays on screen for lengthy periods of time.
Over the past five years, the Deco TV Frames headquarters has featured twenty Samsung the Frame TVs on our walls. Those units have been running in art mode 24/7 with absolutely no image burn or other malfunctions from consistent and continuous use.
A premium television needs high-end sound to match its high-quality picture. Samsung The Frame televisions are equipped with 2.0.2 40 watt speakers while the TCL NXTFrame comes with 2.0 channel, 20 watt speakers. That means you get much better, consistent sound quality at lower and higher volumes with Samsung. But don’t worry, you can pay more for TCL’s NXTFrame Pro model which features a Bang & Olufsen soundbar if you want to match the sound output that Samsung offers on all of their Frame TV models.
Versatility and aesthetics are two of the cornerstones behind the popularity of Samsung The Frame TVs. The TCL NXTFrame offers only two options. Two. The off-white bezel and a light wood frame. That’s it. Take your pick.
But with the Samsung Frame TV, you can customize your television any way you see fit as there are multiple options in different styles, colors, finishes through third party providers like Deco TV Frames!
Pick from a combined total of 44 different frame choices with an additional 25 more styles to choose from in our 22k Deco Gold Collection. You won’t find a wider range of customization and personalization options for your Samsung the Frame TV. There is simply no other art frame television on the market today with the wealth of choices to match or complement the interior decor of your home or workspace.
When you get down to it, the continued popularity of art frame televisions is a combination of aesthetics, quality, and functionality as an eye-catching complement to a carefully considered decor plan. Samsung pioneered this space because they offered a premium format television with a slim profile that could fit in any room. These televisions are ultra-thin and, when adorned with the right frame, blend effortlessly with the design scheme of the room as a true work of art.
Today, with eight generations of high-end television products succeeding in the marketplace, Samsung easily earns its reputation as the #1 television brand in the United States for more than twenty years. TCL’s attempt at competing with the Samsung Frame TV is a strong effort with a few advantages.
But, Samsung continues to maintain its dominance in this space with superior picture and sound quality and a wider array of frame options for a customized aesthetic on your wall.
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