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The Depict Frame Adds a Twist to Digital Art Canvas

09.18.17 | By
The Depict Frame Adds a Twist to Digital Art Canvas

The Depict Frame is another in a growing segment of large format 4K resolution displays designed to transform the wall into a customizable digital art gallery. Joining the likes of Samsung’s The Frame, KLIO, and the Memento Smart Frame, the Depict distinguishes itself from the 4K art competition with a literal twist that solves the problem of viewing orientation.

Depict makes its mark with its innovative ability to switch orientations from portrait to landscape with just a turn using its own special swiveling wall mount, a novel solution that solves a common problem while perusing and picking digital artwork for these type of digital frames.

Depict hopes to wrangle owners into a subscription tier priced at $20/month for access to premium content. Even without it, a free level permits users to access a smaller collection updated monthly, while allowing users to upload and display their own images any time via the display’s own app. It’s difficult to say whether the monthly subscription is worth the fee, noting their current catalog samples seem limited to classic artwork, vintage photography, landscapes, and a selection of modern imagery.

Rated at a brightness of ≥250nits at a 1000:1 contrast ratio, the 49″ Depict Frame is considerably smaller in dimensions than the class-leading Samsung 65″ The Frame 4K UHD TV, but it does share the same 3480×2160 resolution as its larger competition. Where the Depict comes up short is its lack of flexibility of everyday use compared to The Frame’s Ultra UHD, HDR Pro, and Dolby Digital/DTS Premium multimedia capabilities. Where The Frame is an UHD television that can display art, Depict is strategically a digital artwork-only display, one priced considerably more affordably ($899 vs $ 2,799.99). Even so, there’s an argument that at either of those prices, it would be advisable to invest in original artwork created by brushstroke rather than pixels.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.