One unique feature is a free “moving artwork” functionality. Imagine a static painting where a portion of the art, such as a river or mist over a mountain, is moving slightly. It’s calming and beautiful. At least dozens are available, but I’m not able to add my own. The TCL NXTVISION also features paintings in a slowly moving video format, but the video art on the Ember Artline looks more realistic. In particular, I was blown away by some of the subtle clips, including one scene that shows the sun passing over a mountain range in extreme hi-def.
Another unique feature is Match the Room. It uses a photo where the TV is situated, then lets you choose from matching artwork that fits within the space’s color scheme. Having my TV display art that fits the aesthetic of my family room’s brown walls and dark blue couch made me feel like an interior designer.
Then there’s the Omnisense feature, which claims to know when you leave the room. At that point, it turns off the art display, then powering it back on when you return. (For the sake of comparison, the TCL doesn’t have a motion sensor; most Ember models and the Frame Pro do have motion sensing.) During my testing, the Omnisense worked about 90 percent of the time, sometimes failing to clock my presence in the room and not turning on the Artline as it should. Amazon reps told me they have not heard this feedback before. Even so, the feature was mostly functional and is a great power-saving capability.
The Alexa+ voice search function proved limited on the Artline, though you can conveniently use it to raise the volume and start apps by voice. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to use it to search for classic masterpieces, like Van Goghs or Rembrandts. However, the virtual assistant could answer questions about the weather, play music, provide sports scores, and even chat with you about politics. I loved using Alexa+ to find movies and shows. I made complex requests like “show me every thriller from the last two years that has an 80 percent score or higher on Rotten Tomatoes,” and that actually worked. You can also show Amazon Photos, animated art, and use Alexa+ to generate AI artwork. The AI artwork is a bit generic. That said, using voice commands to make art is unique and fun.
The main drawback of the Ember Artline compared to the Samsung Frame Pro is that the contrast is a bit washed out. I couldn’t find Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night when I scanned through the Artline’s available artwork, so I loaded it as a photo. When I did this on the Frame Pro, the incredible contrast and color quality provided a vibrant, realistic texture, like you could reach out and feel the grooves of thick brushstrokes. On the Artline, the same painting lacked texture and contrast.
Screen Play
Photograph: John Brandon
I was surprised to discover that the Ember Artline doesn’t use new screen technology—it’s roughly the same QLED tech as previous Amazon Fire and newer Ember televisions. Which is to say, the contrast ratio (which Amazon does not release) is not outstanding, based on my experience viewing multiple movies and shows. There’s a new anti-glare matte finish, though, that makes all of the artwork (and whatever content you are streaming) look more realistic.
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