Feature Requests: Ambient Mode

[SteebMo]

Hello All,

After reading every possible thread about Ambient Mode and all of it's missing capability, I wanted to submit a feature-request list for future software updates to the QLED TVs.  These items are taken from discussions on this community that are very common:

1.) Display user-uploaded photos in FULL SCREEN and/or allow adjustment of the matte size.  - The (huge) photo frames/mattes in "Mono 4k" and "Mono Matte" take up way more screen area than the photo inside of them.  Users want to be able to SEE the photos that they upload to their big, fancy TV's just like the "Artwork" mode that's bundled to the TV.

2.) Use any photo as a "Background" image.  - For many, the automatic Background feature doesn't properly estimate what is really there.  Uploading an actual photo of the wall (without the TV blocking the center) would help more users get the effect that this features is advertised to do.

3.) Access to the Art Store, like The Frame TVs.  - This gets requested a LOT and I think it's a missed opportunity for Samsung.  People are willing to PAY Samsung for access to art pieces (and also to support the creators), but this feature is blocked?  Why not let users decide that they want a more feature-rich TV than The Frame model AND access to similar features for buying/displaying artwork?

4.) Gallery / Slideshow from a USB stick.  - Again, I think that The Frame TV offers this.  Ambient Mode will already do a slideshow of images from a Samsung Cloud account... why not just read the photos from a USB drive plugged into the TV?  For those of us that are photographers, this can be much easier to manage (especially because I think it's basically impossible to upload photos from a laptop directly to a Samsung Cloud account).

5.) Disable sounds in Ambient Mode.  - Users are complaining that certain ambient modes that play sounds will interrupt music being played on a connected BT/Sonos speaker/Sound Bar to play the TV sounds instead.

To be honest, Ambient Mode is one of the reasons that I chose this TV over Sony and LG OLEDs.  However, after experiencing how basic the functionality really is (to the point where we may never even use it), I'm considering returning the TV and switching brands.

Does anyone else have a request to add to the list?  I really hope that Samsung will hear us and consider some of these items.

[Liquidmonkey]

Saw this on a Sammy page.

What is this 'Artworks' thing?

And yeah, looking again at the QLED Sammy page one could be easily led to believe that all the photos they show are in ambient mode or something similar that the user can modify and control.

Maybe someone from Samsung can comment on this???

[BubblesTV]

Anyone have the 2019 version to confirm whether an art mode available as advertised? Mine is from late 2018. Also, it was suggested that use Smart View app to put photos on the TV, however, that doesn't work.  It doesn't see either of our Samsung TVs even if on same network (see Smart View app reviews).

[Liquidmonkey]

Interestingly enough, I've asked a question on a Samsung forum and no one from Samsung replies.

Thanks for making my choices (and others) much easier.
No Samsung TV for me.

[D700]

Yeah, I feel I was mislead by Samsung advertising here. While I can display my pictures in ambient mode I'm forced to use their lousy limited matting templates. I would not have bought it had I known. 

this is simple fix a Samsung....

[D700]

Yeah they show what look like full screen pictures

[Quernemoen]

Agreed.  I just bought the samsung q80 and was hoping to display my photos in full screen like the artwork mode photos.  I couldnt believe this was not possible and spent 2 days trying to figure out what I was missing.  Forcing us to use the border makes the photos cropped and closer to 55" on my 75" display.  Showing what looks like the wall is cool but feels gimmicky when forced to use it instead of displaying my photos full screen.  Hopefully Samsung provides an update and fixes this flaw.  Otherwise, I live the tv.

[Quernemoen]

Thru gallery

Ambient mode with narrow cropping

[Liquidmonkey]

Thank you for sharing.

A shame that Samsung is silent about this. 

[CodyOne]

I just bought a 65q80r. I was really triggered by the ambient mode so that was one of the reasons to buy this tv. I also spent a lot of time trying to display a photo full screen in ambient mode but it's STILL not possible. Only with a very huge border around it. Samsung, how hard can it be to add a full screen template!? A feature to select you own background or background color can't be that hard either. Can you give us an update about these necessary features?

[Quernemoen]

Hey Samsung, could you make it so we can watch TV with the 10" border as well?  I bought a 75" tv but viewing the picture 50% smaller might be cool for 5 minutes like it is for displaying pictures in ambient mode.