SAMSUNG 65-Inch 4K Quantum HDR Smart TV - QN65LS03AAFXZA

This review is of the 32-in model. My partner and I really went through the ringer this year. After moving into our new home and ordering quite a lot of things to set up various rooms, everything had to be suddenly packed away for emergency construction when we learned a portion of the house was literally collapsing. Fun times. Now that we're through most of that, we're finally starting to un-pack and open much of what we bought last year (this TV was bought late November 2021, so not quite 7 months ago). And we've had an awful lot of disappointment in things well past their return windows. If we could still return this TV, we would in a heartbeat. It's the most expensive hunk of junk we've ever purchased. This is beyond disappointing, because I was so excited about this Frame. It was meant to go in my temporary art studio, somewhere to watch other artists paint live, watch tutorials to learn new techniques, etc. It should have been a perfect fit. Instead, it's a nightmare. I've been a loyal Samsung user for years - numerous mobiles, another TV, and their smart monitor in my home office (which will come into play later)... While the problems are many, the two biggest are the wall mount and the remote. And they make this TV pretty much unusable. WALL MOUNT Here's the thing. A proper wall mount for any expensive piece of equipment is going to be designed to accommodate standard stud spacing. Apparently Samsung's engineers missed the memo. Most TVs use a single mount. But Samsung set this up to use two small ones. And they don't align properly with standard studs. This means you have to use drywall anchors on one or both sides depending on where you want to install the TV (installing in the center of our wall would have required anchors on both sides). Thing is... the type of anchors included are NOT appropriate for this. They're the style that can screw too far through the drywall when you put the screws in. A better option? When this happens, you would generally install a separate board to your studs, then secure the TV or whatever you're hanging to that board. Another problem though... When you dig into Samsung's documentation for The Frame, you find that they dismiss all accountability unless you install the TV exactly how they intend you to, using only the provided pieces. So that becomes a riskier option if there are problems. And you won't get the wall-flush framed picture look you paid big bucks for. But wait. It gets better... That same documentation also dismisses all Samsung accountability if you don't install the Frame at least 4 inches from your wall, cabinet sides, etc. You see the problem there, right? The TV was literally *designed* to sit flush against the wall. NOT 4 inches from it. Follow their instructions, and you're in violation. Install the TV in a safer manner, and you're still in violation. Hope there are no problems later, or good luck getting them to honor any warranty. REMOTE & APP PROBLEMS When we realized the issues with the wall mount were significant, we decided to set it up on a table temporarily until we can decide what to do with this TV we can't return. I picked up the remote and turned it on. All good. I get to the setup screen that tells me to install their app. I do. The app finds the TV. But it refuses to connect, saying it's not supporting in my region. I'm in the northeast US. I bought it in the northeast US. Less than a year ago. And the app is already not acknowledging the device. Awesome. So I choose the next option, to set up my connection manually. It gets to the screen where I can choose my wi-fi network. And... it freezes. The remote suddenly stops responding. At all. I hear voices and figure my husband is talking to a neighbor or delivery driver or something. I go out to update him on the nightmare setup of this TV. Only he's not there. I follow the voices to my home office. They're coming from my Samsung smart monitor (an M7, which I love!). It's switched itself from my PC input to Netflix. Must be haunted, right? Nope! When The Frame in my studio space froze, I hit a variety of buttons on the remote hoping to wake it up. Including the Netflix button. And while it didn't do a darn thing to the TV it's supposed to be linked to, it *did* switch the input on my smart monitor in the other room. But, oh, it didn't end there. Given the Frame's remote wouldn't work at all with, you know, *the Frame,* I had to get the smart monitor's remote. Guess what. That worked! So now we're at a point where my monitor remote controls the Frame, and the Frame's remote controls my monitor. No biggie. They're similar enough, I figured. I'd just switch them. The Frame then gets going finally after setup, and I see the list of apps to choose from. Cool. So I pick up the monitor remote that's been controlling the Frame all this while. And I try to choose our TV streaming app. But... Nothing happens. Now that remote isn't working either. So I try the Frame's own remote again. It works! I'm able to choose my app. Then, when I'm in that app, it stops responding again. And it will only accept input from the monitor's remote. Yes. I literally needed a specific remote to choose an app. But that same remote won't control anything else. Even though it's the Frame's default remote. This was the most mind-bogglingly stupid TV setup we've ever seen. And the problems didn't even stop there. - The documentation is atrocious. There are over a half-dozen various bits of paper, all poorly-designed/written, and it's just a general mess. - If you're hoping this will actually look like artwork, think again. If you use it for photos that are normally displayed behind glass, that's great. This might work for you. But paintings hanging on your wall - especially the kinds of classic paintings you'll see advertised with this - generally wouldn't be displayed in a high-gloss, highly-reflected way. If you have real art rather than glass-covered prints or photos around this, it will stick out like a sore thumb. - I mentioned it briefly before, but it's worth repeating -- the app the TV tells you to install, does. not. support. this. TV. This is a particularly big deal if, like me, you bought this planning to upload your own photos or artwork. I'd hoped to use it to store and showcase digital versions of my own paintings for guests. But with the app not supporting this model at all despite what the TV itself claims, I don't see any way to even use the art feature as-intended, and that basically limits us to paying for their subscription (which we won't do) for artwork we didn't even want. For something I wanted so much to love... from a company whose products I usually do... this insane lack of quality control in the entire engineering and documentation process has really soured me on Samsung. I'm just glad we didn't go with them for the 70-in TV we recently purchased, because goodness only knows what the various remotes would be doing in that case. Heck. I was planning to get a second Samsung smart monitor down the line for my office, but now that I know I can't trust them to handle multiple smart TVs/monitors in the same house, that's off the table too. We've dealt with a lot of disappointments since our move, from the emergency reno disaster to a few big problem products we're now finding out about past their return windows. In that latter group, this is by far the worst.

The media could not be loaded. 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 mode INSTALLATION 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 EXPERIENCE The 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-IN Time 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.