Half Smart TV, Half Art Gallery: I Tried the New Amazon Ember Artline, Which Is $200 Off for Prime Day

Fast Facts

• Sizes Available: 55 inches, 65 inches
• Weight: 39.9 pounds for the 55-inch; 57.1 pounds for the 65-inch
• Frame Options: Walnut, Ash, Black Oak, Fig, Graphite, Matte White, Midnight Blue, Pale Gold, Silver, Teak
• Display: 4K QLED with Dolby Vision support and HDR10+
• Refresh Rate: 60Hz

The primary draw of the Ember Artline is the Ambient Experience feature (first introduced on the Fire Stick 4K Max), which grants you access to vibrant, high-definition artwork—ranging from paintings to photographs to nature videos—meant to be displayed when the TV is not in use. You can flip through different collections to cycle through, categorized by style (modern art, impressionism, etc.), region, artist spotlight or season. Using the integrated Alexa+, you can also request AI art based entirely on your mood and/or imagination. And if you wish to display your own photos, you can do that, too, by importing them from the Amazon Photos app.

With the particularly fun Match the Room feature, you can also upload photos of your space to receive a curated collection of artwork to go with it, based on the vibes of your decor, color scheme and what the Artline perceives to be your personal style. (For the record, it described my room as casual, contemporary and eclectic—pretty spot-on.)

The available images (which Amazon says will be continuously updated) are truly stunning, as is their actual display on the screen. But there are a few things that could use some improvement. To start, I would love to be able to search by artist or theme, as well as create a “favorites” gallery that pulls pieces from different collections to display. As of right now, there doesn’t seem to be a way to do either. With future system updates, though, it is possible. Unfortunately, my other main gripe can’t be so easily remedied: There’s no direct way to get to the Ambient Experience menu screen on the Amazon remote. Instead, you have to access it through the on-screen menu or by asking Alexa to pull it up. You can, at least, turn on the art display instantly by short pressing the power button. Lastly, the TV’s Omnisense motion detection, which is supposed to wake up Ambient Experience whenever someone enters the room, hasn’t been working very consistently.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: Does the TV really look like a picture frame? Short answer: sometimes. It doesn’t sit quite as flush against the wall when mounted as the Samsung Frame, and it is a bit thicker, but it is still impressively svelte for such a large television. The matte screen, which helps to reduce glare and give the artwork a more canvas-y effect, does its job pretty well. Although it can’t totally turn off that LED glow that signals the image is electronic, you can turn down the brightness specifically for Ambient Experience mode in order to make it look more like a physical painting or print. Combined with various mat color and texture options, plus the physical frame around the TV, it almost pulls it off. Unlike the Samsung Frame Pro, which comes with a wireless connect box, this is still a wired TV with a standard black cable that’s going to distract from the illusion (unless you happen to have a floating outlet on the wall directly behind it, that is).

In my eyes, the 4K QLED display lives up to the hype. The picture is crisp, clear and bright, and whereas on my old TV I could never make out what was happening during a particularly dark scene, on the Ember Artline, I can see everything clearly without sacrificing the mood of the moment. The TV’s ability to support HDR10+ and Dolby Vision allows for lifelike viewing, whether you’re watching an action flick or a drama (Denzel Washington may very well be standing in my living room via either), but here is where I also ran into an issue. 

When trying different brightness options, my boyfriend noticed rolling horizontal lines appear on screen, something that this Amazon reviewer also captured and seems to be experiencing. They were faintly present on every picture setting except for Vivid. While the lines aren’t really noticeable when a show or movie is playing—and, in the Vivid setting, aren’t coming up at all—I did contact Amazon support about this, and they ended up sending over a new TV.

Alas, the lines are still appearing on the second device. After some investigating, I’m assuming that it has something to do with Dolby Vision straining the processor as it tries to keep up with the 60Hz image refresh rate. Hopefully, this apparent glitch can also be improved with a software update in the future, but it does slash points from my Functionality rating above. Sound-wise, it’s not bad, but you’re not really buying an art TV for its speakers. We hooked it up to a soundbar and I would recommend doing the same, especially if you want your watch to sound as bold as it looks.

While it doesn’t come cheap, the Ember Artline is a slightly more budget-friendly alternative to the Samsung Frame, and it does offer a good value for the price. The art frame aesthetic and Ambient Experience display—its two main attractions—both serve as a visual delight in my living room. Issues like the inconsistency of the Omnisense wake-up and, of course, that Dolby processing glitch are disappointing, but I’m hopeful these can be addressed as Amazon continues the TV’s rollout.

All that said, if you’ve been in the market for an art TV but want to save some dough, this is a solid option, especially if your home is already integrated into the Amazon ecosystem. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Monet paintings to admire from the comfort of my couch.