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Ever since TV’s earliest days there’s been a struggle between form and function. People are fascinated by the marvels of television but have concerns about their home decor and struggle to hide, camouflage or otherwise conceal the TV. Customers built entire homes, rooms, cabinets, and other custom enclosures around a television in order to make it fit into the overall interior design.
I personally remember, as a kid, playing video games on a Mitsubishi projection TV that took up the entire corner of a room!
As technology progressed, along came flat screen TV’s. Their amazingly flat and thin profile quickly made them one of the most successful consumer electronics products ever! Gone were the days of four foot deep custom cabinets to hide your television, here were the days of mounting TVs on walls and over fireplaces!
But the interior design crowd still had a problem..
It was great that giant cabinets and rooms didn’t need to be built around your source of entertainment anymore. The flexibility of mounting options opened all kinds of doors as well. But when these bright, entertaining creations were turned off..
You were left with a big, black rectangle on the wall.
We didn’t need big custom cabinets anymore, but the aesthetics of room decor and design were still in danger. Innovations such as hiding TVs in furniture or the ceiling with motorized lifts were an option, but not a budget friendly one. Once again, people who desired technology but didn’t necessarily want to SEE it had a dilemma.
Clever companies who realized there was still a need for a solution got to work. One of the more popular options developed were mirror TVs. They were mirrors with elaborate or custom frames that had the screen built into it and could mount just like usual. This gave us a television that fit more interior designs and of course, made the wives happier.
Séura, a leader in mirror and vanity televisions made great strides in this industry.
The biggest problem consumers ran into with this solution was the cost. It was not cheap for companies to manufacture a niche product like this and that cost was obvious at the consumer level. You had to REALLY want one to pull out your checkbook. Other problems included the quality of the picture and glare. So while it was a solution, it still wasn’t the best one for every demographic.
As is always the case these days, technology moved ahead with better and less expensive solutions. Customers needed something that didn’t cost as much as all their furniture in the room! So global electronics powerhouse Samsung took it upon themselves to deliver a solid, affordable product. Finally, a décor solution for the masses (and the wives) hit the shelves.
Released in 2017, The Frame TV came ready to dominate the market.
The Frame TV comes packed with the same features as other Samsung smart TVs. You get all your smart apps (Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, etc..) with the guts of their normal Q60T model, but with a flat thin bezel and almost flush mount capability. The added “Art Mode” is where it shines though, along with access to a huge gallery of high res photos to choose from. You can also set a motion sensor so when you walk into the room, the art or custom photos come on automatically.
But what if it’s still not quite what you’re looking for? You can get different colored bezels, but it still has more of a modern/minimalistic look.
The tipping point in this home decor/lifestyle revolution was delivered by Kevin Hancock, founder of Frame My TV. Hancock had a vision for easily interchangeable frames that anyone could simply snap onto The Frame TVs. Then his ingenuity kicked in and he engineered a brilliant construction technique that enables these frames to simply snap together so easily anyone can do it.
Under their Deco brand, Frame My TV produces a line of 16 Deco styles just for The Frame TV’s. They cover a wide range of tastes and looks. Their availability has created a completely new range of opportunities for integrators, architects, designers, decorators and homeowners.
Samsung Frame TV with Frame My TV Artisan Frame
Dennis Mortis is the owner of Stereo and Video Center in Tyler Texas. His business is more than 40 years old and has been a cornerstone for technology and entertainment in East Texas. Here are his thoughts:
“There has always been a struggle, and it’s only going to require more innovation as technology progresses. People love new technology and understand that we have to live with it to an extent. But there’s a difference between living with that understanding, and literally living with it in your home.”
“We have sold hundreds of Frame TVs since their release. I have no doubt that the Frame My TV line of Deco Frames are going to open up even more opportunities for us to solve our customer’s problems. And as technology progresses we are constantly on the lookout and learning how to deliver technology to fit any home, design, or needs.”
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