Have you ever wanted your TV to do more than sit like a black abyss when you’re not watching it? Then Roku’s Backdrops feature, which lets you display works of art or photos on your TV, could be the answer. Just don’t tell Samsung that someone copied its idea.
Roku Launches Backdrops to Transform Your TV
As announced in a press release, Roku is launching a new feature for Roku TV users. Called Backdrops, it turns your TV into a canvas on which you can display artwork or photos of your choosing.
The idea is to avoid ever having a black screen ruining the aesthetic of your home. Instead, that sizable square box can be filled with something more aesthetically pleasing; from famous paintings to museum collections, from abstract art (which I create on my smartphone) to photos from your own collection.
How Roku’s Backdrops Feature Works
Once enabled, Roku’s Backdrops feature essentially avoids you ever seeing a black screen on your TV. You get to choose what will be displayed, and for how long, and then never have to think about it again.
You can create a gallery of your favorite art and photography, or choose a pre-generated gallery of works from your favorite artist or museum. And surely anything is better than having a boring black screen staring back at you.
Roku will be rolling Backdrops out to Roku-branded TVs and third-party Roku TV models over the next few weeks. Then, later in the fall, the feature will be rolled out to Roku streaming players and streambars too.
Samsung Called, and Wants Its Idea Back
As mentioned in the opening, using your TV to display artwork is not a new or novel idea. Samsung started this trend with its picture frame TVs called The Frame. But they’re quite expensive, and designed with the “This TV is actually a painting” ideal in mind. Whereas all Roku has done is seek to give your TV a job while you’re not using it to actually watch TV.
And to be fair to Roku, it isn’t the first company to copy Samsung, with other manufacturers producing similar sets. Then Amazon launched the Fire TV Ambient Experience, which turns your television set into a smart display. So, in reality, Roku is decidedly late to jump on this particular bandwagon started by Samsung.
