You’ve seen the photos on Instagram. A perfectly curated living room with a stunning piece of mid-century modern art hanging above a walnut credenza. No wires. No black plastic rectangle sucking the soul out of the room. Then, someone picks up a remote, and suddenly that "painting" is playing the Sunday night game. That’s the magic trick of the 65 inch Frame TV. It is, quite literally, the only piece of tech that people buy specifically because they don't want to look at a television.
But here’s the thing.
Most tech reviewers treat this like a standard QLED. They get bogged down in nitpicking peak brightness nits or local dimming zones. Honestly? If you’re buying this TV because you want the absolute best HDR10+ performance for a dedicated home theater, you’re making a mistake. You’re buying a lifestyle piece. The 65 inch Frame TV (specifically the LS03D series for the 2024-2025 cycle) exists in a weird, beautiful vacuum where aesthetics matter more than raw specs. It’s a design choice first and a display second.
The Matte Display is the Real Hero
For years, the biggest gripe with Samsung's lifestyle line was the glare. You’d have this beautiful Van Gogh on the screen, but you’d also see the reflection of your kitchen light and your own face staring back at you. It broke the illusion.
Samsung fixed this with the anti-reflective matte finish.
It’s hard to describe how weirdly satisfying this screen is until you touch it. It feels like paper. This matte coating scatterers light so effectively that even in a room with floor-to-ceiling windows, the art looks like canvas. Not glass. Not a screen. Canvas. It’s the single biggest reason to choose the 65 inch Frame TV over a standard Samsung Q70 or even a high-end OLED. OLEDs are glossy. They are mirrors when they're off. The Frame is a chameleon.
I’ve seen people walk right up to it and try to feel the texture of the brushstrokes. That’s the level of deception we’re talking about here.
Why 65 Inches is the "Goldilocks" Size
Why are we talking about the 65-inch model specifically? Because 55 is often too small to anchor a large living room wall, and 75 starts to look like a jumbotron.
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A 65-inch diagonal gives you a footprint of roughly 57 inches wide. That is almost exactly the width of a standard 60-inch sideboard or fireplace mantel. It scales perfectly with human-sized furniture. When you go larger, the "Art Mode" starts to lose its realism because very few people hang 75-inch original oil paintings in their homes. It starts looking like a museum exhibit rather than a cozy home.
The One Connect Box: A Love-Hate Relationship
We have to talk about the box.
The 65 inch Frame TV doesn't have ports on the back. No HDMI, no power cord, nothing. Instead, there is a single, translucent "Invisible Connection" cable that runs from the display to a bulky external hub called the One Connect Box.
This is where your Apple TV, your Xbox, and your cable box plug in.
- The Pro: You can hide the box in a cabinet up to 15 feet away. Your TV hangs truly flush against the wall, just like a picture frame.
- The Con: You have to find a place for that box. If you’re mounting this on a stone fireplace, you better have a plan for where that wire goes.
- The Risk: If that proprietary cable breaks, it’s expensive to replace. Don't pinch it.
The "Art Store" Tax and Ethical Dilemmas
Samsung wants your $4.99 a month.
The TV comes with a handful of free pieces, but the good stuff—the stuff from the Louvre, the MET, and Te Papa—lives behind a subscription. Is it worth it? Maybe. If you like changing your vibe every week, $50 a year is cheaper than buying new prints.
But you can hack it.
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You can literally just load your own high-res JPEGs onto a USB drive or upload them via the SmartThings app. Pro tip: if you want it to look real, use photos with a 16:9 aspect ratio and add a "digital mat" in the Samsung settings. It adds a fake cardboard border that makes the image pop.
Let's Talk About Picture Quality (The Brutal Truth)
Look, this is an Edge-Lit QLED panel.
If you put this next to a Samsung S95C OLED or a Sony A95L, the Frame is going to get absolutely smoked in terms of contrast. Because it’s edge-lit, the blacks aren't "inky." They’re more of a very dark charcoal. In a pitch-black room, you will notice some light bleed at the corners during dark movie scenes.
It supports 120Hz gaming and has HDMI 2.1 features like VRR (Variable Refresh Rate). So, yes, your PS5 will look great on it. But let’s be real: you aren't buying this for competitive Call of Duty. You’re buying it so you don't have to look at a "black hole" on your wall when the TV is off.
The Custom Bezel Trap
The TV ships with a basic black metal frame. It’s fine. But to make it look like "The Frame," you have to buy the magnetic bezels.
Samsung sells them in Teak, White, Sand Gold, and Brown. Then there are third-party companies like Deco TV Frames that make massive, ornate, gilded frames that make the TV look like something stolen from a French chateau. Just be prepared to spend an extra $150 to $500 on the "look." It’s an upsell, but it’s the whole point of the product.
Installation Isn't a DIY Project for Everyone
The "Slim Fit Wall Mount" comes in the box. It’s a clever piece of engineering that lets the TV sit zero-gap against the drywall.
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However.
If your wall isn't perfectly flat, or if your studs aren't centered where you want the TV, you’re going to be sweating. You also need to deal with the One Connect cable. Many people choose to install a "media box" recessed into the wall behind the TV to hide the excess cable and the One Connect Box itself. If you aren't comfortable cutting into your drywall, factor the cost of a professional installer into your budget.
Is the 65 inch Frame TV Still Worth It in 2026?
The competition is finally catching up. Hisense has the CanvasTV, and TCL has the NXTFRAME. They are often $500 to $800 cheaper than Samsung's offering.
But Samsung still has the edge in two areas:
- The Ecosystem: The Art Store is more polished.
- The Thickness: The Frame is remarkably thin. The competitors often feel a bit "chunkier" when viewed from the side.
If you value the interior design of your home more than you value the technical specs of a Dolby Vision highlight, the 65 inch Frame TV is a masterpiece. It solves the biggest problem in modern decor: the ugly TV.
Actionable Steps for Potential Buyers
- Measure your mantel height first. If you mount a 65-inch TV too high (the classic "TV Too High" Reddit sin), the art illusion is ruined. It should be at eye level when standing if you want it to look like art.
- Check your lighting. The matte screen is great, but direct sunlight hitting the sensor can sometimes trick the "Auto-Brightness" into making the art too bright at night.
- Don't pay full price. Samsung 65 inch Frame TVs go on sale during every major holiday—Black Friday, Labor Day, and Super Bowl season. You can usually shave $300-$500 off the MSRP if you're patient.
- Buy the bezel last. Live with the black frame for a week. See how the light hits your room before deciding if you want the Teak or the Walnut wood finish.
- Hardwire your internet. The One Connect Box has an Ethernet port. Use it. Streaming high-res art and 4K video is much smoother than relying on the internal Wi-Fi antenna, which can be finicky depending on where you hide the box.
The 65 inch Frame TV isn't just a gadget; it's a furniture upgrade. Treat it like one and you'll be thrilled. Treat it like a home theater centerpiece, and you might find yourself wishing you bought an OLED.