The Golden Age of Television
GREG KAHN
JUN 02, 2023
I may be dating myself, but does anyone remember the excitement of the first flatscreen TV releases in the late 1990s?
Purchasing a new set is about as mundane these days as buying 2% milk. But last weekend, I installed a new set on my wall and it is a work of art.
Literally.
Samsung's The Frame TV represents a new fusion of aesthetics and tech — and it gives viewers something to look at when there’s absolutely no streams to binge on.
The 4K QLED television boasts impressive visual quality, of course. But that’s not what makes it so special. The Samsung TV’s unique feature is right in its name: a swappable picture frame that can be easily attached. Its anti-glare display showcases various forms of art — including works you create with generative artificial intelligence.
As I noted previously, generative AI has made us all potential artists (or at least it has made it easier to bring our imaginations to life). After all, with new creative tools such as Midjourney, Dall-E, Craiyon, MyHeritage’s AI Time Machine, and others, simply displaying these masterpieces on your laptop or smartphone is all too limiting (ahem, cough).
Of course, you can share those works via AirPlay to your mobile device, laptop, or desktop. And by uploading it to the Samsung SmartThings app, you can turn your living room into new exhibition studio any day of the week.
And there’s so much more to Samsung’s Frame TV.
The Frame Is the Art
The product also asks a question tech companies focused on the Connected Home seemed to stop asking years ago. The TV is the centerpiece of our living rooms. So why have we let a bare screen dominate our home’s center space for so long?.
The Frame has quickly become Samsung's most sought-after lifestyle TV. At a moment when TV screens are larger, technology is more affordable, and home theater setups have become increasingly prevalent (especially during the pandemic), many have had to sacrifice their decor for the sake of entertainment.
Samsung recognized something that was often overlooked since the earliest TV sets populated American homes in the 1950s. Why not have a TV that doubles as a captivating piece of art?
The first TVs were furniture. They were intended to match a home’s decor — and enhance it as a source of pride by serving as an expression of a family’s taste. The TV itself was a finely crafted work of art and design that spoke to an aspirational sense of “family bliss.”
But the Big Three Networks were hardly established by the time a TV became a mere utility. The TV programming was all that mattered and the set itself became less of home’s ornament than a bland, commonplace device.
The idea of the TV design as an inconsequential tool that should be as minimalist and unnoticed as possible is taking a break. When I was at CES in January, I was among the attendees dazzled by LG’s introduction of its Signature OLED TV line, which lets its owners actually roll a device onto a wall anywhere they choose.
Time Will Telly
This could all represent a larger shakeup in the television making space at the moment.
Have you heard of the proposition Telly is making?
Telly is the brainchild of Pluto TV co-founder Ilya Pozin, and it comes with an interesting sales proposition: the TV set is free. That’s right No Best Buy salesperson will pester you about a warranty for this product.
But there’s a catch. Telly’s no-TV set sales business model is dependent on constant advertisements shown in a second, smaller display in a thin strip at the bottom of the screen.
Telly’s thin ad strip is called a “Smart Display,” which is separated from the main TV by a soundbar. Aside from running ads, Telly tries to keep any potential banner blindness at bay by presenting a variety of widgets showing sports scores, a news ticker, the weather, and stock prices.
We’re used to ads popping up on practically every website we visit. Maybe Telly’s model has some appeal in this age of inflation? Time will tell…
Something To Watch Over Me
I’m a fan of the Samsung Frame because it knows the essential place a TV occupies on our walls.
Besides, having just wrapped up a bunch of “must see”series finales of Ted Lasso and Succession, isn’t it perfect that viewers get to choose what’s up next on their screens?
Does The Frame live up to all the hype? Yes. But there are two things you might want to mull over before deciding to fill its blank canvas with your own artistic choices:
One, the installation is fairly simple. But if you want to maintain the art gallery aura around it, you might need to hire a professional to keep those inelegant wires hidden.
Another thing I’ve heard a few Frame fans complain about is that Samsung’s on-screen navigation “is a bit clunky.”
I have to agree. That’s why I ignore that entirely and rely instead on the excellent ease of use of my Apple TV. (Hmmm… that mysterious black brick is a pretty cool conceptual art piece in its own right. Gotta give it up to Apple’s design excellence.)
Still not convinced? Everyone’s an art critic. But I get that not everyone is a connoisseur. Samsung has that covered — yes, for a price.
You get to choose the works that appear on your Frame TV via Samsung’s Art Store. Again, you have to navigate through Samsung’s unwieldy interface. And you have to pay a subscription fee of $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year.
It’s a minor frustration, sure. But the offerings are pretty inspiring. The Art Store has an expansive selection of more than 1,400 unique artworks. So unless you really do prefer the blank, black screen you already have, you’re sure to find something that “brings the room together.”
Lastly, it’s art, but it’s practical. As we use our TV screens as a large computer display, the no-glare matte screen is also better than your computer screen in terms of its easiness on your eyes.
If you do purchase one and have some people over to see your new art collection, don’t be surprised if they ask if they can check out your gift shop.
Thank you for reading Beyond the Hype Cycle?.
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Greg Kahn
GK Digital Ventures
Greg Kahn is a catalytic force in the technology, media and entertainment industries, renowned for connecting innovators with investors, growing brands and driving billions of dollars in transactional deals. Learn More >
