Digital Photo Frames

[Vyrosama]

Anyone know of a good one that's under $75? Need it pretty soon for xmas gift

[Vyrosama]

Two contenders...but unfortunately they are both sold out at the moment

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6882597020

A little more that I want to spend but it has a good price for the the size and functionality...(upsellng to myself...).


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6882728009

This is as basic as it gets. The only downer is that there's no internal memory and one of the reviews said that the photos don't loop (although if it was that prevalent of a problem...more reviewers would have noted something or another...). The main draw of this is the simplicity to use. You plug in a memory card and it works, no photoshop required to crop/edit for all those wide-screen frames, no software to install, just plug it in and you'll see what you have in the card (ideal gift for the person I think might not want the hassle or isn't that good with computers).

[quantus]

The widescreen frame I got my parents just leaves a little blank space on each side and shows the whole picture rather than stretch or crop automatically. Of course, there's more space when the picture is portrait instead of landscape, but it's still not bad. The frame I got seems similar to the one you first posted resolution- and size-wise. If the frame is for yourself, why not just load your photos into picasa and create a screen saver out of them and then you'll have a really big digital picture frame. You can always buy a frame in a year or two, when the prices start to come down more.

[Jonathan]

Apart from ease-of-use for the nontechnical user, is there any advantage to digital picture frames?

[quantus]

Apart from ease-of-use for the nontechnical user, is there any advantage to digital picture frames?

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "advantage". I've been borrowing my parents present 'til Christmas and it's nice to have a slideshow going on the frame (ie. 1400 wedding pictures, which I could probably reduce to about 500 by removing some I don't like, but that's a different story).

[Vyrosama]

It's a gift idea but at this point I think there just isn't enough time to buy it in time to get it shipped without costing an arm & leg so I'll have to forgo that idea and use it for the future when I find a deal....(I don't understand how digital frames can be as or even more expensive as a LCD monitor that's 2x the size...)

Apart from ease-of-use for the nontechnical user, is there any advantage to digital picture frames?

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "advantage". I've been borrowing my parents present 'til Christmas and it's nice to have a slideshow going on the frame (ie. 1400 wedding pictures, which I could probably reduce to about 500 by removing some I don't like, but that's a different story).

yea people like having a slidshow of images displayed versus a static imagic, or maybe music, it's more of a conversation piece when guests come over I guess. The newer models can play video and have wifi and shows the weather/time/stock prices...blah blah blah...

[Jonathan]

Sorry, my baseline was a computer monitor or HDTV, not a film frame. Basically, do you see advantage to buying a dedicated display for pictures? Or are the panels used really good for photos, or something?

[quantus]

Nah, there's no real need for a dedicated screen/frame. If you could get a photo app running a flat panel tv to do a slide show, that'd be better I think and better resolution too. On a small screen though, you won't see the little imperfections and you'll think the picture is good, or you'll blame the problem on the frame, not the camera.

[quantus]

Nah, there's no real need for a dedicated screen/frame if you have a tv/monitor to display pictures on. If you could get a photo app running on a flat panel tv to do a slide show, that'd be perfect. Other than a tv though, what other screen would most people have in their living room? No one I know has a computer monitor in their living room. Rather, they seem to hide their computers. Heck, how many people even have a computer hooked up to their flat panel screens (not counting gaming consoles)?

On a small screen though, you won't see the little imperfections and you'll think the picture is good, or you'll blame the problem on the frame, not the camera.

[Jonathan]

My $200 P&S from like five years ago has A/V out. Obviously it's not something I can give to an aunt, but post-event it works.

[quantus]

The problem with using your camera to drive the images is that you now can't use it to take pictures while it's doing that. So, if Amber is entertaining at home while you're out photographing some sites, her guest won't get the benefit of the random slide show going on to spark conversation points. Plus, even if you left the camera, you're running down the batteries so it'll be less ready the next time you need it. You don't want to couple the picture taking device and the display device.

Now, you might have noted that using the tv as a gigantic picture frame causes you to only display either tv or pictures at anyone time. I think this is less of an issue since if you're watching tv, you're probably not interested in the pictures and if you're not watching the tv, why not have it do something somewhat useful.

Anyways, throwing a computer into the mix as another input to the tv is probably the best way to actually increase the utilization of the tv which is likely the most expensive piece of furniture most of you have. Now your tv can do cable/satellite, computer display and digital picture frame and even the first two side by side or picture in picture!

This reminds me, I gave my dad a device to display pictures from a memory card on the tv a few years ago. I should ask him if he still has it so I can use that to turn the tv into a big digital picture frame...

[George]

As far as I know, digital picture frames consume significantly less power than a TV or Computer+Monitor, which is important for something you're leaving on 24/7. I wonder if they might also be more durable since they are expected to be on continuously.