Nimbus Mizar — An Art Frame for a Samsung Display or Your Own TV

The honest comparison

“Can't my TV already do this?”

Sort of — and it's a fair question, so here's the straight answer. Every streaming box has an ambient or screensaver mode, and some of them are genuinely nice. They're solving a different problem.

A screensaver

Fills the gap until you use the TV — it's waiting, not displaying
Times out, or drops back to a home screen with rows of apps
Points at a photo album; there's nothing to schedule or arrange
Runs on a glossy panel that reads as a switched-on television
Each screen is its own island

An art frame

On because it's meant to be on — that's the whole job
No home screen, no inputs, no notifications, nothing to dismiss
Real playlists you build, order and schedule
On a matte panel rated to run all day, so it reads as artwork
Every frame in the house on one account, sharing one library

And if you own Meural Canvas frames, they can join the same account through the Nimbus Bridge — one library across the frames you already own and the displays you add.

The idea

Your art shouldn't be stuck to one screen.

Buy an art television and the art lives on that television — it can't move to the next room, and it stops when you replace the set. The Mizar works the other way round: the library is yours, and the display is a choice you can change.

What it is

A small always-on device that sits behind your display
Plugs in over HDMI — one power cord, one video cord
Your own photos and art, in playlists you arrange
Mosaics spanning several displays
One Nimbus account for every frame you own

What it isn't

Not a television — no tuner, no apps, no ads, no home screen
Not a screensaver waiting for you to press a button
Not tied to one panel — change the display in five years, keep everything
Not a project — choose your setup, plug it in, finish in the Nimbus app

Choose your setup

Two ways to set up a Mizar.

Every Mizar comes with its own power supply. You choose how it connects to a screen, and you make the choice as part of your order.

Samsung display kit (recommended)

Pick the size of your Samsung 4K display when you order. Everything you need to run it as art comes with it:

The Samsung display, in the size you choose
The Mizar and its USB-C power supply
The mount
The HDMI cable
The serial control cable, for true backlight control and night-off

The sizes on offer, and the prices, are shown when you order. It arrives in two deliveries: the display and its mount ship separately from our supplier, and your Mizar and its cables come from us in their own box.

TV kit (use the TV you have)

For a TV you already own. The kit is the cable: an HDMI cable to connect the Mizar to your TV.

The Mizar and its USB-C power supply
The TV kit: an HDMI cable (6 ft)
Your TV and your mount, as they are today

The cheapest way to try it. Read the four differences below first.

Illustration

1

The Samsung display

The displays in the kit are Samsung's QMC commercial series — 4K, 500 nit, rated for 24/7 use, with an anti-glare matte finish and a centred VESA mount pattern. It's the series we certify every feature against.

Samsung makes the series in many sizes, and you choose yours when you order. 4K starts at 43″: the 32″ model in the same family is 1080p, not 4K.

Why a commercial panel and not a TV? Three things a living-room TV won't give you: a 24/7 duty rating (art is on all day; most TVs aren't built for it), a matte anti-glare surface — the single thing that makes a screen read as artwork rather than a screen — and no smart-OS home screen, nag prompts or ads between you and your art.

Using the TV you already have? Go ahead — it will work, and it's the cheapest way to try this. Four things will be different, and we'd rather you hear them from us:

Gloss. Almost every consumer TV has a glossy screen. It mirrors the room, and a reflection is the single biggest thing that stops a picture reading as a painting.
The set still looks like a set. Wide glossy bezels, a badge, a standby light and a soundbar underneath all say “television” no matter what's on screen.
It'll interrupt. Smart-TV home screens, update prompts and “are you still watching?” overlays turn up in front of the art at some point.
It'll fight you. Ambient light sensors, eco dimming and motion smoothing are tuned for film and television, and they will quietly adjust artwork you wanted left alone.

2

Power, included

Every Mizar comes with its own USB-C power supply, 5.1V / 3A, which plugs into a wall outlet. That's the second cord behind the panel — power and HDMI, both invisible once it's mounted.

Use the wall, not the display's USB port. Signage panels supply only a few watts there, and the port usually switches off when the panel sleeps — which would take the Mizar down with it.

Wall-mounted display, Mizar tucked behind

3

Mounting

The Samsung display kit includes the mount. The Mizar sits in the back of the display as a small sidecar, and the panel stays sealed and under warranty because nothing goes inside it.

Using your own TV and mount? Leave room behind the panel for the Mizar. Ultra-slim “flush” or “low-profile” mounts often don't — they're designed to pull the screen as close to the wall as possible. A standard fixed or tilting mount gives you the clearance you need.

4

The serial control cable

The Samsung display kit includes a serial (RS-232) control cable, and it's part of the setup. With it the Mizar controls the display itself: real backlight control, so a dark image in a dark room really is dark, and the display switched off at night and back on in the morning. The panel also reports back its own state. It's a USB to 3.5 mm stereo cable, and it needs one setting changed on the display, covered in the setup steps below.

On your own TV there's no serial cable. The Mizar dims the picture itself, which looks right but doesn't turn the backlight down. Some TVs can be controlled over their serial port and some can't; write to us and we'll work out what yours allows.

Samsung display setup

Commercial displays ask a few questions on first boot.

This is the one genuinely fiddly part, and we'd rather tell you now than let it surprise you. It takes about two minutes and you only do it once.

The first-boot setup, step by step

The panel opens an installer-style wizard: language, then network.
Set Installation Type to Manual.
Choose your rotation — portrait or landscape, whichever way you're hanging it.
Set Auto Power Off to Off, so the display doesn't shut itself down.
Set Primary Source to HDMI 1, and connect the Mizar to that input.
Some menus stay greyed out until the source is set to HDMI — that's normal, not a fault.
You can re-run the whole thing later from Menu → System → Start Setup.

Common questions

Before you order.

Samsung display kit or TV kit: which should I choose?

If you want it to read as art, the Samsung display kit: a matte, 24/7-rated panel, the mount, and a serial cable for real backlight control, all chosen at checkout. If you already have a TV and want to try this cheaply, the TV kit is just the cable you need to connect the Mizar to it.

Which Samsung sizes can I choose?

The sizes available, and their prices, are shown when you order and can change. Samsung's 4K commercial displays start at 43″; the 32″ model is 1080p.

Can I use a normal television?

Yes, with the TV kit, and it will work. Two things to know: most consumer TVs are glossy, which reads as a screen rather than as art, and they aren't rated to run all day the way a commercial panel is.

Is the power supply included?

Yes. Every Mizar comes with its USB-C power supply.

Can I run more than one?

Yes — one Mizar per display, all in the same Nimbus account, and they can share a Mosaic across the wall just like our own frames do.

What does it cost to run?

Service is handled through your Nimbus account alongside any other frames you own. See the plans page for current pricing.

See the plans

The Mizar is coming soon.

We're finishing beta testing. When ordering opens you'll choose a Samsung display kit or a TV kit as part of your order.

See the plans Have a Meural Canvas?

An art frame. Not a screensaver.