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Roku TV's New Picture Frame Mode Takes on Samsung

The feature named Backdrops is rolling out now to Roku TVs, and will come to streaming sticks in the coming months.

Headshot of Ty Pendlebury
Headshot of Ty Pendlebury
Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about TVs and home entertainment.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
Ty Pendlebury
backdrops-rtv

The Backdrop feature lets users create their own ambient slideshows

 Roku

Roku has unveiled the newest feature for its branded and third-party TVs, a picture frame mode it calls Backdrops.

The feature, which appears to be similar to the Samsung Frame and the Fire TV Ambient Experience, allows users to display art on their TV, including their own photos. 

The feature includes a range of preset artwork, including famous paintings, abstracts and photography, and users can drill down to find out more about each piece if they want.

Backdrops is rolling out over the next few weeks to all Roku TVs, while Roku streaming players and streambars will receive it later in the fall.