Art for any TV: how to turn your TV into a picture frame

Updated September 17, 2026

You do not need a Samsung Frame to have art on your TV – to use the TV as an art frame, as a picture frame or as a television photo frame for family pictures. Every modern set can show images on the TV full screen; the trick is getting images for the TV in the right format and stopping the set from switching itself off. Every modern television can show a full-screen image, and most can run a slideshow; the differences are how you get the files in, how dim it will go, and whether it will switch itself off. This guide covers each brand and device, then the settings that make an ordinary TV pass for a picture frame.

All the art on this site is plain 3840 × 2160 JPEG, so it works with every method below – grab the free Frame TV art to test.

The universal method: a USB stick

Works on essentially every TV made in the last decade.

1. Load a USB stick

   FAT32 or exFAT. Copy 16:9 JPEGs – 3840 × 2160 for a 4K TV, 1920 × 1080 is fine for 1080p sets.

2. Open the TV's media player

   Plug in the stick; most TVs pop up a prompt. Otherwise Home → Source/Inputs → USB → Photos.

3. Start a slideshow

   Select the images (or the folder) and choose Slideshow. Set the interval long (10 min, 1 hour, or "off" for a single image) and transitions off.

4. Make it look like art

   Picture mode to Cinema/Movie or Filmmaker, backlight down by half, colour temperature Warm. Disable the auto power-off timer.

By brand

Samsung (non-Frame)

Art for a Samsung TV that is not The Frame:

• 2024 and later: Home → Ambient / Art tile shows Samsung’s patterns and a limited art set; your own photos via USB or SmartThings Ambient photo option on some models.
• 2018–2023: Ambient Mode (dedicated remote button on some) – décor patterns, weather, and My Album photos uploaded through SmartThings on many models.
• Any year: USB slideshow as above. SmartThings Art Mode uploads to My Collection only exist on The Frame.

LG

• Gallery mode / Gallery app (webOS): Home → Gallery for LG’s built-in images; Photo & Video app for USB or network files. LG OLED Gallery models are the most frame-like LG sells.
• Screensaver: Settings → General → Screen saver shows LG’s images after idle; it cannot show your own on most models.
• OLED owners: use a slideshow and reduced OLED light to avoid image retention.

Sony (Bravia / Google TV)

• Google TV’s ambient mode (Settings → System → Ambient mode / Screen saver) can show your Google Photos albums – upload the art to a Google Photos album and select it.
• USB slideshow via the Media Player app.

TCL and Hisense

• TCL NXTFRAME and Hisense CanvasTV have a proper art mode with their own libraries and your own uploads (via their apps or USB) – they are the closest true Frame alternatives; see TCL vs Hisense vs Samsung Frame.
• Ordinary TCL/Hisense (Google TV or Roku TV): Google ambient mode or Roku screensaver (below), plus USB.

Vizio

Vizio SmartCast has no art mode of note. USB slideshow, or Chromecast built-in: cast a Google Photos album from your phone, or set a Google Photos ambient screensaver.

By streaming device (works on any TV)

• Roku: Settings → Theme → Screensaver. Roku’s own screensavers are decorative; for your own art use the Photo View channel or PhotoView / Roku Media Player from USB, or cast from the Roku app’s Play on Roku → Photos. Set screensaver wait time to the minimum.
• Fire TV Stick / Fire TV: Settings → Display & Sounds → Screensaver → choose an Amazon Photos album. Upload the art to Amazon Photos (free with Prime) and select it. Set Slide Style to Pan & Zoom off, Slide Speed slow.
• Apple TV: Settings → Screen Saver → Photos → choose a shared album containing the art. Set the screen saver to start after 2 minutes. Art Mode-like behaviour: the Apple TV sleeps and the TV goes to standby unless you disable it in Settings → General → Sleep After.
• Chromecast with Google TV / Google TV: Settings → System → Ambient mode → Google Photos → pick an album with the art. Personal photo curation off, Show artwork off.

Using a TV as a digital picture frame

The same methods turn a TV into a digital picture frame, a digital photo frame TV or a TV photo frame for your own photographs – a 55” TV as a digital photo frame is the cheapest large digital picture frame there is, and a Samsung TV showing photos from a USB slideshow works the same way – Fire TV and Apple TV album screensavers are the easiest, because you can keep adding photos to the album from your phone. Crop to 16:9 first, and expect a glossy panel to look like a screen in daylight.

Making a normal TV look like a frame

The art will look like “a TV showing a picture” until you deal with the TV itself:

1. Brightness. Halve the backlight in the picture mode you use for art. Warm colour temperature.
2. Reflections. Glossy panels reflect the room; angle lights away, or accept that it works best in the evening.
3. Auto power-off. Most TVs sleep after 4 hours with no input – Settings → General/Eco/Power → turn off Auto Power Off / Sleep timer; some brands hide it under Energy Saving.
4. The bezel. A third-party wooden frame (Deco TV Frames and similar) transforms a plain TV; see bezels and frames.
5. The mount. A slim, flush mount matters more than any setting.
6. The art. Painterly, muted images survive a glossy screen far better than photographs – the best Frame TV art selection was chosen for that.

Can any TV be a Frame TV?

In the sense that matters most – showing art full screen when idle – yes, any TV can be a frame TV with the methods above. Samsung Art Mode on a non-Frame TV is the one thing you cannot replicate: SmartThings only uploads to My Collection on The Frame, and Samsung art mode on a Samsung TV other than The Frame is limited to Ambient Mode’s own content. What a purpose-built art TV adds is the matte panel, the sensors and the bezel.

Is it worth buying a Frame instead?

If you find yourself fighting the sleep timer every evening, or the glossy reflections annoy you, the Frame’s sensors, matte screen and bezel are what you are paying for. What is a Frame TV and TVs that look like art lay out the options. Either way, the art files are the same.