Samsung The Frame 2021 Calibration Settings

We used the following calibration settings to review the 55 inch Samsung The Frame 2021 (QN55LS03TA), and we expect them to be valid for the 43 inch version (QN43LS03A), the 50 inch version (QN50LS03A), the 65 inch version (QN65LS03A), and the 75 inch version (QN75LS03A). These settings should apply to most content, except for gaming or use as a PC monitor, which require a few additional changes, listed below.

One of the first things we did was disable the Eco Solution options, as we don't want the TV to adjust the image during testing.

For SDR content, there are four preset picture modes. We recommend choosing the 'Movie' picture mode, as it is the most accurate one out of the box and allows for the most customization. From the Expert Settings menu, we recommend leaving the Contrast at '45,' and Sharpness at '0.' We also left Color at the default value of '25,' and Tint (G/R) at '0.' Finally, we chose the 'Warm2' Color Tone, as it was closest to our calibration targets. We set the Gamma to '2.2,' as that is closest to our calibration target.

To make the image brighter in SDR, you should adjust the Brightness setting depending on your specific viewing conditions. Changing this setting does not have any impact on the overall picture quality. Samsung has renamed the Backlight setting found on previous generations and removed the previous Brightness setting.

As we aim for an image that is as close as possible to the content creator's intent, we disable most image processing options, including Contrast Enhancer. You should adjust these to your personal preference, though.

HDR is automatically enabled for the native apps. When you start playing HDR content, a small HDR icon appears next to the picture mode on the quick settings menu. Once you start playing HDR content, some of the settings change automatically, including the Brightness, which increases to 'Max.' We recommend leaving these settings to their default settings in HDR.

For HDR to work from external devices (Sources), Input Signal Plus usually has to be enabled from the External Device Manager menu for the input you are using. Older devices may have compatibility issues if this option is left enabled, so it's only recommended to enable this setting for devices that require it.

If you find HDR content too dim, set Contrast Enhancer to 'High' and ST.2084 to max. These settings result in a noticeably brighter picture in HDR, as you can see in this EOTF plot.

Although we usually leave these settings disabled during most of our testing, you should adjust the settings in the Picture Clarity Settings menu to your liking, as different people prefer different levels of motion interpolation. If you want to enable motion interpolation, set Picture Clarity to 'Custom,' and adjust the Blur Reduction for 60 fps content, and the Judder Reduction slider for lower frame rate content, like Blu-Ray movies. The LED Clear Motion setting controls The Frame 2021's Black Frame Insertion feature. Most of these settings will need to be adjusted depending on the specific content you are watching.

From the base SDR and HDR settings, very few changes are required for a great gaming experience. When you start gaming, it's best to enable Game Mode from the General settings tab to get the lowest input lag and use the recommended settings for SDR or HDR. For HDR gaming, it's important to enable Input Signal Plus for the input you are using. Setting Game Mode to auto will allow the TV to detect when you are playing a game and automatically switch to game mode to offer you the lowest possible lag.

The Dynamic Black Equalizer mode can be enabled from the Game Mode Settings menu. It's similar to the Black Stabilization feature found on many gaming monitors and is designed to make it easier to spot objects or players hiding in shadows by adjusting the gamma. You should adjust this setting to whatever looks best to you, and it may need to be adjusted depending on the specific game and level you are playing.

2021 Samsung TVs now have a 'Game Bar', which shows the status of some settings, like VRR, HDR, and input lag, and the frame rate.

The Frame 2021 allows the use of motion interpolation when gaming, great for improving motion on low frame rate games or 60fps games with an inconsistent frame rate. The options are almost identical to the Motion Interpolation settings. To enable motion interpolation in Game mode, enable Game Motion Plus, and adjust the sliders to your preference. The Judder Reduction slider allows you to interpolate content up to 60 fps, and the Blur Reduction slider allows you to interpolate content up to 120fps. The LED Clear Motion setting enables the Black Frame Insertion feature.

The Frame 2021 supports variable refresh rate technology. There is no setting to enable, as it now turns on automatically when the TV detects a game being launched from a device that has VRR enabled. It supports FreeSync when connected to a PC with a supported AMD graphics card, or with an Xbox One or Xbox Series X. It doesn't officially support G-SYNC, although some users have reported that it works; there was still a lot of tearing when displaying our pendulum demo.

Note: This feature isn't available on the 43" and 50" models.

The Frame 2021 will usually detect when it's connected to a PC, and will automatically enter PC mode, to ensure proper chroma 4:4:4 support. You can also manually enable PC mode by changing the input icon to 'PC.' In PC mode, some settings are disabled, including many picture settings, and there are only two Picture Modes: 'Entertain', and 'Graphic'.

From the Intelligent Mode Settings menu, we enabled the Adaptive Sound and Check TV Space settings for our sound testing, as these functions are part of the TV's room correction feature, which adapts the TV's sound equalization to suit your room. Depending on your room, you may have better sound quality with these enabled.

We disabled Adaptive Volume, as it limits the TV's volume depending on the content, which may not be desirable if you need the TV to be loud. We also disabled Adaptive Picture, as we don't want the brightness to change with different content.

When watching lower resolution content, the upscaling method may need to be adjusted depending on the specific format. The screen position, zoom, and picture size can be adjusted from the Picture Size Settings sub-menu.

The Frame 2021 features an Art Mode that's similar to the Ambient mode found on other 2021 Samsung TVs, which displays artwork when the TV is not in use. The Art Store is available as a monthly subscription, and some artwork is available to purchase individually. Your available artwork collection can be sorted by color, medium, artist, and subject. There are curated collections that can be purchased and displayed, and you can also add your own photos by connecting your smartphone or a USB drive.

There are separate display options for the art mode. The color and brightness of the screen can be changed independently from the picture settings. The Frame can also be set to turn off if there's no motion in the room, or at nighttime using the ambient light sensor. Note that these features work regardless of the Eco settings on the TV. You can set up your own collections and set up slideshows, similar to a picture screensaver on a PC.