Samsung The Frame 2019 is a decent LCD TV with good picture quality and a unique design. It's a special model that aims to look like a piece of art when wall-mounted. You can even change the bezel to better suit your ambiance. Performance-wise, The Frame 2019 delivers deep blacks in a dark room and can get very bright to fight the glare of a bright room. It has a wide color gamut and can display vivid colors when in HDR, but not very bright highlights. It has excellent motion handling, a very low input lag, and supports all of the gaming features of the higher-end Samsungs. Unfortunately, you must be sitting straight in front to enjoy an accurate image.
Our Verdict
The Frame 2019 is a decent TV for mixed use. It gets fairly bright and handles reflections well, so watching TV shows or sports in a bright room isn't an issue. Unfortunately, the image degrades when viewed from the side but, on the upside, this TV has excellent gaming features. Finally, it delivers deep blacks in a dark room, despite the lack of a local dimming feature, and the overall motion handling is great.
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Excellent low input lag.
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Excellent native contrast ratio.
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Great response time.
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Good SDR peak brightness.
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Image degrades at an angle.
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Can't get very bright in HDR.
The Frame 2019 is an okay TV for watching movies. It has a high contrast ratio and delivers deep uniform blacks in a dark room, but lacks a local dimming feature to make things even better. It can remove judder from any source and has a motion interpolation feature for fans of the soap opera effect.
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Excellent native contrast ratio.
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No local dimming.
This is a good TV for watching TV shows. It has good reflection handling and a great SDR peak brightness, so you can place it in any room. It has great smart features and can upscale cable content well. Unfortunately, the viewing angles are poor and the image degrades at an angle, so it's not a good choice if you often walk around while watching TV.
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Good SDR peak brightness.
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No risk of permanent burn-in.
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Image degrades at an angle.
The Frame 2019 is a good TV for watching sports. It can handle reflections well and can get sufficiently bright for almost any room. It has decent gray uniformity with minimal dirty screen effect, and a fast response time so fast-action sports look crisp on your screen with minimal blur. Unfortunately, this TV isn't a good choice to watch the big game with a group of friends, as the image deteriorates when viewed from the side.
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Great response time.
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Good SDR peak brightness.
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No risk of permanent burn-in.
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Image degrades at an angle.
The Frame is a great TV for playing video games. It has a very low input lag and delivers a responsive gaming experience. Fast-moving content looks crisp with very little blur thanks to the fast response time, and the TV supports some advanced gaming features like AMD's FreeSync variable refresh rate technology for nearly tear-free gaming.
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Excellent low input lag.
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Excellent native contrast ratio.
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FreeSync support.
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Great response time.
This is an okay TV for watching HDR movies. It displays deep, uniform blacks thanks to its high contrast ratio and good black uniformity, but lacks a local dimming feature to improve performance further. It has a wide color gamut that helps deliver vivid colors, but its HDR peak brightness isn't high enough to always deliver HDR content as it should look.
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Excellent native contrast ratio.
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Can't get very bright in HDR.
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No local dimming.
The Frame is a good TV for playing HDR video games mainly due to its excellent gaming capabilities. The low input lag and fast response time, along with the advanced gaming features offer a great gaming experience. HDR games are displayed with vivid colors, but the HDR peak brightness level of the TV doesn't always allow it to deliver the game according to the creator's intent.
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Excellent low input lag.
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Excellent native contrast ratio.
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FreeSync support.
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Great response time.
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Can't get very bright in HDR.
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No local dimming.
This is a good TV for use as a PC monitor. It feels very responsive thanks to the low input lag, and the fast response time ensures that fast-moving content has minimal blur trail. It displays properly the most common resolutions and delivers proper 4:4:4 in most of them so text looks sharp. Finally, the TV is immune to the burn-in risk as it has a VA panel.
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Excellent low input lag.
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Great response time.
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No risk of permanent burn-in.
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Image degrades at an angle.
- 7.4 Mixed Usage
- 6.8 Movies
- 7.5 TV Shows
- 7.6 Sports
- 8.3 Video Games
- 6.7 HDR Movies
- 7.8 HDR Gaming
- 7.8 PC Monitor
- Updated May 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
- Updated Feb 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Oct 24, 2019: Review published.
- Updated Oct 22, 2019: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Oct 22, 2019: Early access published.
- Updated Oct 20, 2019: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Sep 19, 2019: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55" (QN55LS03RA) version FA01, For the most we expect our review to be valid for the 43" version (QN55LS03RA), the 49" version (QN49LS03RA), and 65" version (QN65LS03RA).
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Samsung Frame doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review. Note that some tests such as the gray uniformity may vary between individual units.
| Size | Model | US | UK | Refresh Rate |
| 43" | QN43LS03RA | QN43LS03RAFXZA | QE43LS03RAUXXU | 60 Hz |
| 49'" | QN49LS03RA | QN49LS03RAFXZA | QE49LS03RAUXXU | 60 Hz |
| 55" | QN55LS03RA | QN55LS03RAFXZA | QE55LS03RAUXXU | 120 Hz |
| 65" | QN65LS03RA | QN65LS03RAFXZA | QE65LS03RAUXXU | 120 Hz |
The 43" and the 49" models have a 60Hz panel and don't support FreeSync.
The Frame 2019 we reviewed was manufactured in August 2019.
Compared To Other TVs
The Frame 2019 is a good QLED TV for a very special purpose. However, performance-wise, there are better TVs for the same price. See our recommendations for the best TVs, the best HDR gaming TVs, and the best smart TVs.
The Samsung The Frame 2019 is marginally better than the Samsung The Frame 2018. The 2019 model has a faster response time and delivers fast-moving content with less blur trail. This is great if you're a sports fan or you play fast-action video games.
The Samsung The Frame 2020 is a very decent upgrade from the Samsung The Frame 2019. Aside from some minor differences in their outer design, the 2020 has a much higher contrast ratio and peak brightness. Input lag is also lower on the 2020; however, it's not as color accurate. There's some improvement in terms of black and gray uniformity, but this could be due to panel variance.
The Samsung Q60/Q60R QLED and the Samsung The Frame 2019 offer very similar performance. Their design, however, is very different. The Frame is designed to be wall-mounted, has the shape of a frame, and comes with the One Connect box that handles the cable connectivity allowing for a clean install. The Q60R can be wall-mounted but not flush to the wall, so it can't deliver the impression of a frame as the Frame 2019 does.
The LG SM9000 and the Samsung The Frame 2019 have different panels, each with advantages and disadvantages. The LG has an IPS panel and delivers a more accurate image when viewed from the side. The Samsung, on the other hand, has a VA panel and can display deeper and more uniform blacks in a dark room. The Frame is packed with advanced gaming features, but the LG can handle the reflections of a bright room better.
These two TVs have different panels, each with its advantages and disadvantages. The LG B9 OLED is an OLED TV that delivers an excellent performance in any use, but has the risk of burn-in with prolonged exposure to static content. The Samsung The Frame 2019 doesn't suffer from burn-in, but has worse picture quality, and its viewing angles are poor. On the upside, it's designed to be flush wall-mounted and stay on for long periods.
Test Results
The Samsung Frame 2019 is a special-purpose Samsung model that targets a niche market. It replaces last year's Samsung The Frame 2018 and performs similarly to this year's lower-end QLEDs. There's no direct competition regarding the style of this TV, but performance-wise its competitors are mid-range LED TVs like the Sony X850G, the TCL 6 Series/R625 2019, or the LG SM9000.
The Samsung Frame 2019 has an excellent design. It's almost identical to last year's Samsung The Frame 2018 and although it has a sturdy stand, this TV is meant to be wall-mounted using the included no-gap wall mount. Most of the TV's electronics are included in the One Connect box and only one cable connects to the TV, so cable management isn't an issue. To better match your ambiance, you can choose from a variety of different frames that are sold separately.
The Frame 2019's legs support the TV well, preventing most wobble. The legs aren't reversible. They have a label denoting which side they go on.
Footprint of the 55" stand: 40.6" x 7.9".
The Frame 2019's back is very plain with the characteristic texture of most Samsung TVs. It's completely flat and will sit flush to the wall when wall-mounted using the included no-gap wall mount. Cable management is serviced through a groove that guides a single cable to the One Connect box.
Just like the 2018 model, the bezel around the Samsung The Frame 2019 can be changed. A black bezel is included, and there are more bezels that are sold separately that also vary in color depending on the size. For the 55":
Due to the frame system, The Frame 2019's borders appear bulkier than the rest of Samsung's lineup.
The TV is very thin and is designed to sit flush on the wall to give the impression of a frame, hence the name.
The Samsung Frame 2019's build quality is excellent. There are no gaps or loose ends. The One Connect box that comes with the TV also well-built, so you shouldn't have issues.
Excellent contrast ratio. The Frame 2019 can display deep blacks in a dark room, enhancing picture quality. If you want an even better contrast ratio, check out its successor, the Samsung The Frame 2020.
Just like last year's model, Samsung The Frame 2019 has no local dimming. The above video is provided for reference only.
The Frame 2019 can reach very good peak brightness levels, so you can place it in a bright room without issue. Most scenes are displayed at the same brightness levels except when the TV is only displaying a small bright area. In cases like this, the TV's CE dimming feature dims the entire screen. The entire behavior resembles the Samsung Q60R.
We measured the peak brightness after calibration, using the 'Movie' picture mode and 'Warm 2' color temperature with Gamma set at '2.2'. With the 'Dynamic' Picture Mode, we measured a peak brightness of 560 cd/m², as measured on the 10% test window.
The Frame 2019's HDR peak brightness is mediocre. Small bright scenes aren't very bright and don't stand out as they should. It's still a little better than last year's Frame 2018 model.
These measurements were taken at 'Max' Backlight in the 'Movie' picture mode, with no calibration settings and no extra image processing options. With the 'Dynamic HDR' Picture Mode we measured a peak brightness of 573 cd/m², as measured on the 10% test window.
The Frame 2019 has decent gray uniformity. Although the image shows some signs of clouding, most of it is located at the edges of the screen. The center of the screen has very little dirty screen effect and this should please sports fans.
The Frame 2019 has disappointing viewing angles, just like the Samsung The Frame 2018 and this year's Samsung Q60/Q60R QLED. Unfortunately, the image loses accuracy when viewed from the side. You have to be straight in front of the TV to admire the displayed artwork with accuracy.
Good black uniformity on The Frame 2019. Some clouding is visible around the screen, but it only becomes noticeable in very dark scenes while watching in a dark room.
The Frame 2019 has decent reflection handling thanks to its semi-gloss filter. You shouldn't have issues in most rooms unless you place it in a very bright room full of windows.
The Frame 2019's pre-calibration accuracy is good. Some people will notice inaccuracies in the grays, but mostly just enthusiasts will be able to spot some blue color inaccuracies. The color temperature is slightly warm and the gamma doesn't follow the curve well. As a result, most scenes are brighter than they should be.
10/31/2019: Unfortunately, it would appear that The Frame 2019 is not compatible with the Auto-Calibration function.
After calibration, the color accuracy is exceptional. Any remaining inaccuracies can only be spotted with the aid of a colorimeter.
You can see our recommended settings here.
480p content from older devices, including DVDs, is displayed without any obvious artifacts or issues.
720p content from cable or older game consoles is upscaled well without any obvious issues.
1080p content, like Blu-rays, is displayed just as well as native 4k content.
Native 4k content is displayed almost perfectly, with no obvious issues. There is some subpixel dimming depending on the mode you're in, just like we discovered on the Samsung Q60/Q60R QLED. It isn't easily noticeable in normal content. Here are two examples of what's happening at the micro level.
The Frame 2019 can display a wide color gamut. It's very similar to this year's Samsung Q60/Q60R QLED and last year's The Frame 2018 model. The electro-optical transfer function, or EOTF, follows the target curve closely until it rolls off near the TV's peak brightness, but some scenes are slightly brighter than they should be. In 'Game' mode the EOTF follows the input stimulus slightly closer until it rolls off near the TV.s peak brightness.
Check out the settings page to see how you can make HDR brighter.
Decent color volume, slightly worse than the Samsung Q60/Q60R QLED. It can't produce bright colors across most of its gamut, and can't produce some dark colors very well.
The Frame 2019 has impressive gradient handling. Some banding is visible in the green and gray, just like with most Samsung TVs, but it's hardly noticeable. If you see banding and want to remove it, setting the Digital Clean View to 'Auto' eliminates most of it but can cause a loss of some fine details in some scenes.
There are no signs of temporary image retention, which is typical of VA panels.
We don't expect VA panels to experience permanent image retention, as the VA panel in our long-term test appears immune.
The Frame 2019 has a great response time. Fast-moving content looks crisp with minimal blur. There is, however, some significant overshoot with the 0-20% slide which causes a much higher response time in dark scenes.
This TV is not flicker-free. It uses PWM to dim the backlight, so there is flicker at all Backlight settings below 50 (max). The flicker frequency is 240Hz in most modes, but it changes depending on the mode. In 'Game' mode, or when Auto Motion Plus is set to either 'Custom' or 'Auto,' the flicker automatically changes to 120Hz.
The Frame 2019 has an optional black frame insertion mode that can reduce the flicker frequency to 60Hz to help make motion appear crisper. Setting LED Clear Motion to 'On' reduces the flicker frequency to 60Hz. When there's 120fps content playing, the only way to get 120hz BFI is by turning on 'Game' mode. Otherwise, 120fps content will still play with the backlight at 240Hz.
This TV has a motion interpolation feature that can interpolate low frame rate content up to 120Hz. In some intense scenes some artifacts are visible. Just enabling Auto Motion Plus which controls motion interpolation, changes the flicker from 240Hz down to 120Hz.
Check out the settings page to see how to control motion interpolation.
This TV has a very fast response time, which causes stutter on movies or other lower fps content. Fortunately, enabling motion interpolation reduces the amount of stutter, but this introduces the soap opera effect (SOE), which might bother some people.
You can remove judder from all sources on The Frame 2019. Check out the settings page to see how to do it.
Note: It's likely that the 43" and 49" models (that are 60Hz) can't remove judder from 24p sources, just like most 60Hz Samsung TVs.
The Frame 2019, just like the Samsung Q60R, supports FreeSync variable refresh rate technology for nearly tear-free gaming. It has an excellent VRR range when gaming at 1080p or 1440p but at 4k, the range is narrower, as the TV only supports up to 4k @ 60Hz.
Unfortunately, the Frame's FreeSync implementation is not currently compatible with NVIDIA's current Adaptive Sync drivers, and we are unable to test this further, as our Frame was damaged shortly after we published our initial review.
Note that the 43" and 49" models don't support FreeSync and are 60Hz panels.
The Frame 2019 has a remarkably low input lag provided that 'Game' mode is activated. When VRR is activated either in 1080p or in 1440p, the TV has an input lag as low as a high-end monitor, which is great for Xbox One owners or those who game on their PC. Just like most high-end 2019 models, The Frame 2019 supports low latency game mode interpolation. When interpolating up to 120Hz, the input latency increases but remains among the lowest we have measured.
In PC Mode, Game Mode is also required for the lowest input lag.
The Frame 2019 supports the most common resolutions and refresh rates. Most high bandwidth signals require Input Signal Plus to be enabled for the port in use. You must set the input label to the 'PC icon' so that the TV can display chroma 4:4:4 or RGB content properly, so text appears clear on your screen. The TV usually detects this automatically. Note that in PC mode, many of the settings are unavailable and there are only two picture modes. Chroma 4:4:4 does not work properly with 1440p @ 120Hz and text isn't displayed properly.
The 43" and 49" models have 60Hz panels and don't support 120Hz inputs.
Dolby Atmos is available over HDMI ARC through Dolby Digital Plus, so Netflix Atmos will work properly.
The Frame 2019 has a decent frequency response. It has a decent LFE (low-frequency extension) and its bass can deliver a fair amount of body and punch but lacks thump and sub-bass. The frequency response above the TV's LFE is okay and the TV produces mostly clear and intelligible dialog. This TV can get very loud, but unfortunately, it produces noticeably pumping and compression artifacts under heavy loads.
The Frame 2019's distortion performance is acceptable. The overall amount of harmonic distortion produced is good, although there's a slight jump in THD at maximum volume.
The Frame 2019 interface is intuitive, easy to use, and has many advanced options. Like the Samsung Q60R and Samsung Q90R, there's an overscan bug in 'PC' mode. To correct the scaling, go to the 'Picture Size' menu and adjust the 'Overscan' setting.
This TV has ads that are present in the smart home bar and the app store. Unfortunately, you can't remove them.
The Samsung App store has one of the largest selections available on a TV.
The Frame 2019, just like its predecessor, has an Art Mode that can be used to display artwork when the TV is in standby mode. Art Mode will automatically start when you press the power button on the remote. Find out more about this feature here.
The remote is similar to the one found with the Samsung Q60R and other QLED TVs, but it's white. It's easy to use and works well for navigating menus and adjusting basic settings like the volume. You have to go through the Smart Hub interface to access most things, and this year they've added three app shortcuts.
There's a dedicated button to access the voice assistant, which can control the TV and do quite a few things but can't search within apps.
Similar to last year's model, The Frame 2019 has a single physical button that can be used to power the TV on or off, change inputs or channels, and control the volume.
- Quick Setup Guide
- VESA spacers
- Batteries
- Remote
- User Manual
- One Connect Box
- One Connect Cable
- Power Cable
The box also contains the 'No-Gap' wall mount and all mounting hardware required.