Artwork TVs, epitomized by Samsung’s The Frame series, are the type of big, hyper-specific screen that reminds me how art often feels gatekept by those with a big enough piggy bank. Hisense—one of the more popular affordable TV brands—may have one of the first truly affordable screens to bring semi-realistic artwork to your living space. Better yet, it comes in a size that would actually fit in my two-bedroom Brooklyn apartment.
Hisense’s newly announced S5 DécoTV is far more monitor-sized than most of your typical TVs at 32 inches. However, it’s still meant to sit on your dresser and blast your environments with selected artworks or your favorite photos. The company promises the art TV will have Hi-QLED color that’s supposed to make all the artwork come to life. The screen relies on a flat stand and a “Morandi white” inset frame.
The only downside is that the screen is 1080p resolution. That may not seem good enough compared to the many 4K art TVs out there from Samsung, TCL, and Hisense itself. However, with a smaller screen size any imperfections may not be as noticeable.
Hisense already has its own CanvasTV series that first debuted in 2024. This year, the TV maker brought out new 75-inch and 85-inch models; both 4K screens used typical QLED technology. This is a mini LED screen type, but art TVs come with an extra matte layer as well as auto-dimming sensors to make the picture seem more “real,” though only in the sense that they’re not full of glare and awkward fuzziness. That 55-inch CanvasTV sells for $1,000 (though that TV periodically goes on sale for $700). The smaller, 1080p S5 DécoTV comes in at a much more affordable $300.
And for that price, you’re going to need to accept that this is a Fire TV. That could be a benefit if you’re a household that relies on Amazon’s smart home ecosystem. The TV also supports Apple AirPlay and HomeKit. If you would rather ignore Amazon and any hint of the AI-ified Alexa+, you could just stick your photos up there instead. However, it’s unclear if you can enable Canvas TVs’ Art Mode on the smaller screen. On Hisense’s other art screens, this would let you choose to display a slideshow of “curated artwork” as well as your own photos. Gizmodo asked Hisense if the S5 DécoTV supports its bigger TVs’ other features, and we’ll update this post if we hear back. Even with built-in speakers with DTS Virtual:X audio support, the S5 DécoTV probably won’t be the Echo Show alternative you were looking for.
Whether Hisense’s $300 art display is any good belies why I’m excited for this category. The 55-inch CanvasTVs are far too expensive and big for confined living spaces. I have a deep and lasting love of classic science fiction and fantasy artwork from the likes of John Blanche, Frank Frazetta, and Ted Nasmith. I can’t possibly afford official prints of all my favorite pieces, but I can imagine a monitor-sized screen would fit my room and offer a personalized artistic experience, at least at the right price.
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