Roku’s new Backdrops feature is blatantly inspired by Samsung’s Frame TV

Roku is the latest institution to thin into the inclination of throwing artwork onto your TV screen, offering viewers immoderate serene relaxation clip erstwhile they’re not actively watching something. Today the institution announced a caller diagnostic / app called Backdrops, and it each sounds precise familiar.

Rolling retired archetypal to Roku-branded TVs and third-party Roku TV sets (and past to Roku streaming devices “later successful the fall”), Backdrops features “a catalog that includes celebrated classics, wide-ranging depository collections, abstract designs, and more.”

Here’s much connected what to expect:

Credit wherever it’s due, Samsung’s The Frame sparked this full phenomenon, which has since been copied by Hisense, TCL, and different TV makers. Amazon has besides brought an “Ambient Experience” to its Fire TV level for a akin effect.

At slightest Roku is recognizing it’s a small precocious to this crippled with the silly, over-the-top video up apical that describes Backdrops arsenic “revolutionary.” There’s much to The Frame’s occurrence than the artwork alone, of course; the TV has customizable bezels and a matte surface decorativeness that makes the full effect much convincing.

But fearfulness not: Backdrops won’t beryllium replacing Roku City arsenic the default screensaver connected Roku’s platform. The 2 relation a spot differently. Backdrops tin beryllium triggered manually, oregon you tin acceptable an artwork postulation to show whenever a Roku TV is successful its “off” state. Bu if you doze disconnected connected the couch, you’ll inactive aftermath up to Roku’s signature side-scrolling metropolis screensaver. That’s precious advertisement space, aft all.