Digital Picture Frames

Digital picture frames with wireless features

Ceiva introduced its first Internet-connected digital photo frame in 2000. Equipped with an internal modem, these frames can automatically dial into the Ceiva photo sharing website (over a regular telephone line) every night and download new images. Friends and family can upload photos to the website to be loaded onto the frame each night. The concept captivates reviewers because it theoretically doesn't require much technical know-how on the part of the recipient.

The latest generation of Ceiva digital photo frames, including the 7-inch Ceiva frame (*est. $145) and 8-inch frame (*est. $200) , still can connect to the Internet through a telephone line, but they now accept a variety of memory cards as well. Ceiva also provides optional broadband (*est. $25) and wireless adapters (*est. $35) to connect to the Internet through a home network. The major caveat with Ceiva digital photo frames is that a fee-based PicturePlan subscription (*est. $100 per year, which includes weather and sports updates) is required in order to connect to their photo-sharing site through a phone line. Be aware that Ceiva digital frames don't work with digital and VoIP phones at all, so you'll need to use an analog phone line.

Ceiva photo frames receive middling reviews. The frames have a resolution of 640 x 480, and in David Carnoy's review for CNet.com, some images were a little blurry (though overall image quality was good). There are limitations to the Ceiva PicturePlan service in that it won't accept file sizes larger than 4 MB, so you'll need to manually resize your photos before they are accepted. Plus, the PicturePlan is expensive. You can also use memory cards or a USB drive to load photos; broadband and Wi-Fi adapters (*est. $25 to $35) are available for connecting that way. However, Kodak and other manufacturers also offer these features and many of these digital photo frames get better reviews overall. So Ceiva digital frames only make sense for those who will use the PicturePlan/phone line feature and don't mind paying for an expensive ongoing subscription. If your remote relatives don't have Internet or a networking router, and are not comfortable inserting memory cards into the frame, the Ceiva frames are the most hands-off option.

In a March 2008 review roundup, The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro decried the 8-inch Ceiva digital photo frame's lack of video-playing ability. Ultimately he chose the 8-inch Kodak EX811 (*est. $150) as "the best of a mediocre lot." While reviews are mixed on its Wi-Fi connectivity, the Kodak EasyShare EX811 is by far the consensus choice as the best overall digital picture frame, with several other experts picking the larger 10-inch Kodak EasyShare EX1011 (*est. $195) as top-rated.

The Kodak EX series of Wi-Fi-enabled frames has the same features as the Ceiva frames, except for the phone-line method of loading photos. Kodak's EasyShare Wi-Fi digital picture frames are embedded with 802.11b/g wireless antennas and are set up to download images from the online Kodak EasyShare Gallery as well as a network-connected home PC.

While experts have mixed opinions on the image quality of the Kodak digital picture frames, they all agree that wireless connectivity is Kodak's major selling point. And most say the wireless connection is fairly easy to set up. CNet's David Carnoy reports: "With some wireless photo frames, setup has been arduous, and we've run into trouble trying to connect them to our wireless network. We're happy to report that the setup for the EX811 went smoothly." PC Magazine's Molly K. McLaughlin says setup was "relatively easy," and The New York Times' David Pogue says that once the frame is setup on the network, distant relatives can send photos to the EasyShare Gallery, which then automatically load to the frame, making this frame a good choice for "a technophobe relative." On the other hand, USA Today's reviewer Edward Baig had enough trouble setting up Wi-Fi that he needed to call customer support (it turned out to be a conflict with his firewall).

Unfortunately, many users agree with Baig that Wi-Fi setup isn't as easy as it could be. Problems with wireless setup are a common complaint among owners at Amazon.com, especially among Mac users. The Kodak software is not compatible with Macintosh computers and therefore streaming images from a Mac is not possible without third-party software. It is possible, however, to connect wirelessly to Kodak's online EasyShare photo gallery, regardless of the type of computer you use. The free EasyShare Gallery lets you set up albums which you can then share with owners of Kodak's Wi-Fi digital photo frames.

The Kodak's resolution is 800 x 480 widescreen. But since very few digital cameras take pictures in widescreen mode, the Kodak digital picture frames will crop your image to fit or display with letterboxing – "neither is ideal," says The New York Times' Pogue. Some video formats (MOV) are supported for movie playback, and the frame can play MP3 music files. The frame's internal memory can hold a couple hundred photos, and you can also play photos from most types of memory cards. As with all digital photo frames, the frame won't automatically rotate portraits to fit, so you'll need to spend some time orienting photos before display, or they can be flipped using the frame's remote control. Large photo files won't work -- you'll need to reduce the size of large files to fit the frame.

Image quality by most accounts is good, but many owners say you'll need patience and time to set up the wireless features. If you don't want to bother with setting the frame up on a wireless network, or you're giving this frame to non-technical relatives, consider a digital photo frame that doesn't bother with Wi-Fi (covered below).

The 10.4-inch Digital Spectrum MemoryFrame MF-8104 Premium Wireless digital frame (*est. $280) can also be connected by Wi-Fi to a home network. In addition, it is RSS- and Bluetooth-enabled. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) allows the frame to stream photos posted to photo-sharing websites. Bluetooth lets you beam photos wirelessly from compatible cell phones and PDAs. As with Kodak Wi-Fi frames, however, owners report that it takes some fiddling to set up the wireless and RSS features. The same feature set is also available in an 8-inch display, the Digital Spectrum MF-8115 Premium Wireless digital photo frame (*est. $340). You can also load photos with a memory card or the frame can be connected to a USB thumb drive or camera. Digital Spectrum picture frames work with Windows XP and Vista, but not Macintosh systems.

The eStarling 8-inch frame (*est. $225) has a unique selling feature. Once it's set up on a Wi-Fi network, remote users can e-mail photos to the frame by using a special e-mail address. It can also accept memory cards, and can receive photos from phones, RSS feeds and from a special website. However, in owner-written reviews, we found consistent complaints that the frame on works on an unsecured wireless network, and that documentation is inadequate. This frame is also expensive.

The i-Mate Momento 100 (*est. $170) is a 10-inch digital photo frame that's less expensive than the eStarling, and it also is Wi-Fi-capable for Windows Vista or XP. However, we read many complaints about tech support for this digital photo frame, and there is no phone number for support -- you have to e-mail and wait for a response.

We didn't find professional reviews for PhotoVu digital picture frames, but they sure are large and pricey. They come in only 19-inch (*est. $800) and 22-inch (*est. $2,200) models, and are difficult to find except on the company's website. One advantage is the PhotoVu frame will resize your photos to fit automatically, and the screen resolutions range from 1280 x 1024 to 1680 x 1050, which is far beyond what mainstream products offer. The frames can connect to a USB thumb drive, or with an optional 40 GB removable hard drive. We haven't yet seen these new digital photo frames included in comparison tests. PhotoVu frames are compatible with PC and Mac computers.

Digital picture frames without Wi-Fi

Digital picture frames without Wi-Fi cost less in general, though you obviously lose the option to set up the frame to grab photos from your computer or an online photo-sharing website. But simple frames have an advantage in that they are easier to use. Photos are loaded by inserting your camera's memory card, or by connecting a USB thumb drive or other portable storage. Some frames include some internal memory to store photos, while others require you to leave it connected to the USB drive or memory card. Windows and Mac compatibility is less of an issue unless you want to connect the frame directly to your computer for loading images.

One new gadget is the 8-inch Smartparts SP8PRT (*est. $250) , which can connect to a PC via a USB cable but can operate without a computer by inserting a memory card loaded with photos. This digital picture frame contains a tiny integrated printer that with a button-push delivers 4-inch by 6-inch prints in 30 seconds, something that so far no other digital photo frame offers. The New York Times' David Pogue calls it a "one-trick pony – but, man, what a trick." Each $20 cartridge can produce 36 prints. We saw a video review of this frame/printer on Attack of the Show, where it did spit out a 4x6-inch photo, but we haven't yet seen any user ratings for this expensive digital picture frame.

Kodak frames also have the ability to print photos directly from the frame -- but the printer isn't integrated into the back of the frame; you'll need to hook up a USB cable to a compatible PictBridge printer. Kodak has a line of frames that are nearly identical to its Wi-Fi frames, with most features except wireless capability: a timer for on/off scheduling, a remote control and MP3 and video playback. One thing that sets Kodak frames apart is that sound can be included with video files. (Many frames are only capable of playing silent videos.) Be aware, though, that the sound from the built-in speakers is not stereo quality. In fact, CNet called it "very tinny."

In reviews, image quality is good for the more basic Kodak EasyShare frames, which come in three sizes -- the 7-inch Kodak EasyShare SV710 (*est. $100) , the 8-inch Kodak SV811 (*est. $150) and the 10-inch Kodak SV1011 (*est. $200) . All have 128 MB of internal memory for storing photos. All are widescreen displays – odd, since so few digital photos are wide aspect. This means that the frame will automatically crop your image to fit the widescreen, so you'll lose some of the image at the top and bottom edges. In reviews, experts say Kodak frames are a good balance of attributes, with good (if not the best) image quality, along with compatibility for the most popular memory cards. Users seem more consistently pleased with these non-Wi-Fi frames. One item noted in reviews is that photos are played from memory in order -- there's no "random" setting. So you'll see photos in the same order each time you turn it on. All three models also can play MP3 music. Kodak also offers the more basic 7-inch Kodak EasyShare P720 (*est. $120) , but it's a brand-new product and has not been reviewed. The P720 can't play music.

We didn't see Philips digital photo frames included quite as often in professional reviews, although a since-discontinued model won a competition among five digital photo fames on the respected tech website TomsGuide.com. Philips digital photo frames do fare extremely well in customer reviews on Amazon.com. Customers are generally realistic in their expectations for the price, and there is high satisfaction with the 5.6-inch Philips 5FF2CMI (*est. $75) . This is a basic frame, though. It can't play video or sound and has no Wi-Fi capability. The built-in memory is just 32 MB, but it accepts most types of memory cards for loading photos.

The Philips digital picture frame has a nice clear and white Plexiglas design that owners say looks like it could have come from Apple. We didn't find too many consistent complaints about the Philips frame, but some users had trouble when using large-capacity memory cards, and some say the user controls need to be more intuitive. There's no "random" feature, so pictures play in order.

Philips makes digital photo frames in other sizes as well, in a number of price points. Australia's Sydney Morning Herald recently weighed in on the new 10-inch Philips 10FF2 (*est. $200) , which has a 720 x 480 resolution and comes in several frame colors. It's still a basic photo frame – no video, no music – but it includes 128 MB of memory, expandable with flash cards. The Morning Herald's Adam Turner called the image quality "excellent." This model is brand new in the U.S., and we haven't yet seen it reviewed here.

Neither the Kodak nor the Philips digital photo frames include a "random" feature, so they won't shuffle your photos, but Westinghouse picture frames do. Reviews say the 8-inch Westinghouse DPF-0802 (*est. $130) offers some unusual features for the price, including a high resolution (800 x 600), 128 MB of memory (upgradeable with cards) and the ability to split the screen into quarters and display four equal-size photos at a time. The Westinghouse frame doesn't play audio and has no remote control. We found positive professional reviews for this model. User reviews on Amazon.com are overwhelmingly positive, with most complaints concerning customer service and problems with vendors rather than with the quality and ease of use of the frame. Overall, the Westinghouse frame would be a good alternative if you don't need a Wi-Fi frame but do want a random-play feature.

Westinghouse's newest photo frames, including the 10.2-inch DPF-1021 (*est. $170) , also have the aforementioned "MosaicView" feature exclusive to Westinghouse, although consumers have mixed opinions about its value. Many of them report that the pictures are too small to see them clearly in this mode. Popular Photography, on the other hand, says it's ideal for the "mom of many" because she can display photos of her brood all at once.

We found few professional evaluations for inexpensive Coby digital picture frames, but we did find quite a large number of owner-written reviews ranging from positive to negative. At the very bottom end of the size range, the Coby keychain frame with a 1.5-inch screen (*est. $15) has more than 200 user reviews on Amazon.com, with an almost an equal division between those who love it and others who can't get it to work with Mac or Windows XP. Even the more standard-size Coby digital picture frames tend to elicit a wider range of customer ratings than most products, so it's worth a trip to Amazon.com to see if a particular peeve of yours has been a sticking point for others.

Coby's lineup of digital photo frames generally costs less than similar-size frames from other brands. The largest is the 10-inch Coby DP-102 (*est. $130) with 800x480 pixels. Be aware that SDHC (special high-capacity SD cards) are not supported, though regular SD cards are. In a review at CNet of the Coby DP-102, editors were pleased with image quality and overall value, but they couldn't get video to work. The majority of owners posting reviews to Amazon.com give the Coby DP-102 good scores. Most of the negative reviews focus on picture quality, and some couldn't get the video to work. The 8-inch Coby DP-888 (*est. $110) gets similar comments from owners who couldn't get the video to work. We found better reviews overall for the 8-inch Westinghouse frame, even though it costs about $20 more.

On the other end of the price spectrum are Pandigital photo frames. The 15-inch Pandigital PAN150 (*est. $280) doesn't have a Wi-Fi feature, but it does support a larger number of memory card formats than most, including SD, SDHC, MMC, CompactFlash, xD, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Duo and USB flash drives. The 15-inch frame is much larger than most, and has a correspondingly higher resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. In a test at PC World, Melissa Perenson writes that the Pandigital "did a lovely job rendering my images, delivering saturated colors and pleasing contrast." The Pandigital is top-rated in Edward Baig's review for USA Today, but he says it's not perfect, with some odd placements of memory card slots and the power-cord connector. In a September 2007 roundup, PC Magazine's Molly K. McLaughlin called the 8-inch Pandigital DPF80-2 (*est. $155) "our favorite so far" because of its "excellent photo quality" and ability to play music. But customers on Amazon.com are deeply divided. Although at this writing the DPF80-2 averaged a respectable score of three out of five, more than a third rated it the minimum one – a common complaint being that the Pandigital did not recognize its USB cable.

The Pandigital photo frame can also play some videos and MP3 files. Like most frames, the PAN150's dimensions don't quite match that of most digital photos, but it's closer than widescreen models, so there's not as much cropping. Other features include an alarm clock and calendar, and an on/off scheduler. Included is 256 MB of on-board memory.

Image quality is very good, according to reviews, and the large image size makes a difference, but the Pandigital costs more than most digital cameras and doesn't have any wireless connectivity features.

Important Features: Digital picture frames

Reviewers say the following about shopping for a digital photo frame.

• Consider connectivity. Wi-Fi features are touted in reviews and advertising for digital photo frames, but in practice, a large percentage of users posting reviews had trouble setting up wireless features. If you're considering a frame as a gift, be sure to consider the recipient's level of technical comfort.

• Verify memory-card compatibility. Most digital frames support multiple memory card formats, but because of the variations from one frame to another it is best to confirm that the memory card you use is supported. An adapter can be purchased if your card is not supported by the digital frame of your choice, but that's an extra expense.

• Do you want music and video playback? Many digital picture frames can play MP3 files. Some play video files, but supported formats vary. Kodak frames play MOV files, others play AVI or MPEG4. In reviews, video and MP3 playback in general seems spotty.

• Think about screen size. The least expensive digital photo frames have a display area of about 5.6 inches (measured diagonally). While that size might be easy enough to view if you are sitting right in front of it, you won't see much from a few feet away. So it's helpful to consider where you'll be placing the frame. Digital frames also need a power source -- so you'll have to place it near an outlet.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

# of Picks	Model (With Retailer Links)	Details from Amazon.com
5	Kodak EasyShare EX811 (*est. $150)	details
3	Kodak EasyShare EX1011 (*est. $195)	details
2	Pandigital PAN150 (*est. $280)	details
2	Westinghouse DPF-0802 (*est. $130)	details
2	Smartparts SP8PRT (*est. $250)	details
1 each	AG Neovo V-10 7-inch, Digital Spectrum MF-8104 Premium , Westinghouse DPF-1021 , Pandigital DPF-8.0 , Smartparts SPX8 , Sony DPF-V900 , Toshiba TekBright 7-inch , eStarling 8-inch , Momento 100, Aluratek 15-inch , Sunpak 8-inch .

Kodak EasyShare EX811 and EX1011 Wireless Digital Frames are chosen most often as best in professional reviews, but user reviews paint a different picture when it comes to setting up wireless features. The Pandigital PAN150 doesn't have wireless features, but it does have a large 15-inch display size. Pandigital products tend to fare better in professional reviews than customer reviews, a common complaint being connectivity issues. The Westinghouse DPF-0802 is easy to use; it also has a random mode and the ability to display four photos at a time, but it does not play audio. The Smartparts SP8PRT has a self-contained printer, but the two reviews we saw for this model were not very detailed, and it's expensive.

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