Samsung’s The Frame has achieved brand-name recognition as the preeminent frame TV. You know, those TVs designed to look like a framed painting that displays digital art. Other brands, it seems, are catching on to the trend, though, and now Amazon has thrown its considerable brand into the mix with the Ember Artline, a frame-style Fire TV. The Ember Artline, which comes in two sizes—a 55-inch set for $900 or a 65-inch set for $1,100. Though its pricing is solid, and usually the reason I look at Amazon’s tech, I was also impressed by the Ember Artline’s entirely free library of art. Before we test and review this TV, let’s go over what may make it worth your while.
| Resolution | 4K |
| Sizes Available | 55, 65 in. |
| Refresh Rate | 60 Hz |
| Display Type | QLED |
The Ember Artline features a 4K QLED panel with a standard 60 Hz refresh rate. Interestingly, it offers support for pretty much every HDR format, including Dolby Vision, HLG, HDR10, and HDR10+. (Most brands choose either Dolby Vision and HDR10+, so that’s a nice perk).
On the audio side, it lacks Dolby Atmos, which puts a ceiling on your home theater ambitions, but I imagine that most frame TV shoppers aren’t looking to set up surround sound. Plus, since the Ember Artline runs the Fire TV operating system, it comes with Amazon Alexa voice assistance built in, and will sync with other Alexa hubs for easy smart home integration.
With any Frame TV, picking out what art to display is almost as important a consideration as the specs of the TV itself. Though you can always add your own art manually, a robust home library is always welcome.
And that may be where the Ember Artline shines: Every TV owner gets access to a free library with more than 2,000 curated images to put up. According to Amazon, that library includes “Impressionist classics by Monet, Degas, and Renoir, alongside contemporary works of street art, murals, mixed media, and photography.” There are also 60 short videos of wildlife and landscapes that presumably play on loop, all shot by documentary filmmaker Sam Nuttmann.
Most Frame TV brands see the art library as a subscription opportunity, pushing you to subscribe to an expanding art library for a monthly fee. Most brands offer a few free images, but only very few, so this is a very welcome change of scenery.
And since Frame TVs are generally coveted for their aesthetics as much as their tech, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Ember Artline comes in a few “colors” with different frames… And, by a few, I mean 10, which range from bold, ornate options like pale gold to a more subtle walnut wood grain. That’s a lot of options.
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Neither I nor any of my colleagues at Popular Mechanics have seen the Ember Artline in person yet, so we aren’t going to tell you whether or not it’s worth buying. That said, between the price, the specs, and specifically the art library, it seems like an appealing proposition for folks looking to bring the aesthetics of the subtle style of a frame TV into their homes for a relatively low price.
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Matt Jancer has been in the industry for 15 years and lives in his favorite urban death maze, New York City. He’s traded words for money on behalf of more than 15 magazines. Some of his longest-running bylines were spent covering cars, motorcycles, outdoors gear, health and fitness for Car and Driver, Outside, Esquire, Smithsonian, Playboy and Wired. When he’s not writing about motorcycles and our place in the wilderness for a living, he’s writing for enjoyment, riding his motorcycle, and mountain climbing out West. He believes everyone needs at least one hobby they have none of their ego invested into, and so guitar noises and cooking smells have been known to emanate from his apartment. Oh yeah, and he thinks pigeons are way underrated.
Mike Epstein is a Senior Commerce Editor at Hearst Enthusiast Group, producing reviews for buying guides Popular Mechanics, Runner’s World, Bicycling, and Best Products. Prior to joining Hearst, he was a video game and technology critic for over 10 years, with bylines at IGN, Gamespot, Variety, Lifehacker, Kotaku, GamesRadar, Flavorwire and Digital Trends, among others. Now, he’s a jack of all trades, helping reviewers share everything they know about all kinds of technical gear, from snowblowers, to running shoes and bicycles, and every kind of gadget imaginable.
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