Coby DP-102 10-Inch Widescreen Digital Photo Frame with Built-In MP3 Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I read lots of reviews on products before I purchase them. Don't we all? So as I am looking for a digital photo frame for my mom's gift for Christmas, I begin to get swept away by the MANY reviews regarding these frames. "The ratio is incorrect" "The qualiy is subpar" "I cannot program the [insert technical phrase] wih this product". Now I am thinking that my $60 gift is going to turn into a $200 gift, just so I can insure I am not giving my mom a blurry, difficult to work piece of junk!
Well, I take a breather, step back from the computer and reassess. Neither my mom nor myself do photography as a hobby. I have a nice 7MP camera whose setting is mostly on "General Use". I have NEVER used the Manual Focus feature. I consider the picure a success if I can either A)Print it out as a 3 1/2 x 4 to show to others or B) I can view it on my computer without squinting my eyes in an effort to figure out what I am looking at.
To make a long review endless: This frame is perfect. It supports most memory cards so you can load as many pictures as you would like. There are less than 8 buttons, all of which are clearly labelled, which makes my mom happy. She got it working in less than 5 minutes. The pictures looked just like they did on my computer monitor - my kids' cuteness projected well.:)
If you are a camera geek (a fond term, nothing mean intended here), you may want more than this frame can offer. But for those of us who are casual picture takers and simply want to pass on the memories, this item was just right.

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- Coby digital photo frame- 10.2" widescreen TFT LCD color display- Multimedia playback- Displays JPEG image files- Plays MP3 and WMA audio files- Plays MPEG -4 (AVI/XviD) video files- Photo slideshow mode with music- SD, MMC, MS, xD, and CF card slots- Full-size USB port for use with flash memory drives- Integrated stereo speakers- Wall-mountable design with detachable standCTDP102

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ViewSonic VFM1530-11 15-Inch 256 MB High Resolution Multimedia Digital Photo Frame (Ebony) Review

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(More customer reviews)Would I recommend this frame to a friend? Yes. But one have to be aware of limitations! Good things first, though:
- The frame is BIG. But it still fits nicely on a bookshelf. At 14-15" range there's not much competition.
- 4:3 aspect ratio. 4:3 and 3:2 are standard aspect ratios on digital cameras. 16:9 is a more of a marketing thing, allowing manufacturers to specify larger diagonal, with equivalent 4:3 diagonal would be 22% smaller (thats almost 1/4)! With 16:9 you will always have black bars either on top/bottom or left/right for both portraits and landscapes.
- Adequate 1024x768 resolution. You can't see any grain on the image and menu looks crisp. Less would be awkward, more - nice, but not really needed.
- The frame reads H.264 videos - nice feature but see in cons
OK things:
- standard variety of connectors+USB
- mp3 playback during slideshow
- reasonable menu system, very simplified but adaquate
- gloss finish - better black, but prone to glare - keep away from windows.
- price on amazon is good, but don't expect wifi connectivity at this priceNow the real things:
- Viewing angles are UGLY. Especially vertical ones. Have to be eye-level and 30 degrees of at horizontal to see anything - this is generic for digital frames though...
- Video playback is very limited! Don't count on viewing HD clips on this frame. 720x480 (NTSC SD) plays back too slow, anything larger does not play at all, and I need to add letterboxing to avoid my HD videos being stretched vertically. Quicktime Pro is your friend!
- No shuffle mode - WTF?? And not info whether new firmware will ever be available.
- No combined video/picture slideshow. Have to go to menu and play either-or.
- Technical support treats every customer as an idiot who forgot to reset settings to default, which would apparently resolve all the issues. They still cannot tell me what video formats/sizes are supported!
- Included 2G SD card is cr@p. No-brand piece of plastic, sticker peeling off, don't ever trust your digital memories such a thing!
I was able to get around certain things: transcoding and downscaling video, randomly renaming pictures, putting frame in shady areas. Nothing can be done about the viewing angles though, but this is common among cheap LCD panels, such as used in all frames (AFAIK). C'mon, bring us some MVA/IPS panels at reasonable prices!

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The 15-Inch ViewSonic VFM1530-11 brings consumers the perfect digital image viewing experience. The ultra fine resolution of 1,024x768 and high quality digital LCD panel deliver the most vivid color and sharp detail performance to display your most precious memories. The 4:3 aspect ratio ensures no image distortion or data loss. The multimedia capabilities support full audio and video functions, which make the VFM1530 a versatile device to showcase your life style in the most fun and creative format. The elegantly designed and detailed finish of the wooden frame compliments any décor at home or in the office. A perfect combination of excellent décor and high-tech gadget, the VFM1530 is the gift for any occasion or to just frame your most favorite memories.

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Coby DP-812 8.5-Inch Widescreen Digital Photo Frame with MP3 Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I ordered this frame as a gift for my mom for the Christmas. I planned on buying multiple memory cards and send her an updated card of pictures every month or so.
I opened it and plugged it in...
Immediate Problem 1) The screen is WIDE (16:9) which is the new thing for HDTVs, but not for photos... Unless you have a widescreen camera (who has that) or format each picture to fit the width, you have useless black bars on the side - and it looked awful.
Immediate Problem 2) The speakers were emitting a buzzing noise that did not change based upon the volume setting on the remote or the mechanical dial. It could be because it was left outside by UPS and its cold in Albuquerque, but still unacceptable.
Immediate Problem 3) The plastic frames were cheesy and wouldn't match anything in my moms house.
Immediate Problem 4) The quality of the pictures were awful. Who needs a brand new 8MP camera if you are going ot view them on here.
I bought this on a whim because of the price. But within 10 minutes of opening I printed out a return label and wrote this review. The only reason it got 2 star (instead of one) is you get what you pay for.
Do your research before you buy. Thankfully Amazon has free shipping for returns. I will be buying a different (4:3) digital frame.


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Smartparts SP104C 10.4-Inch Digital Picture Frame (Cherry Wood) Review

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(More customer reviews)Overall: very good picture quality with poor documentation and interface.
Having 1500+ photos to get in the frame, I opted to use the supplied Optipix optimization s/w. This wound up making it difficult to arrange my photos and led to several discoveries about the product.
Experimental Observations:
a. Photos are displayed on the frame from earliest to latest modification date.
b. Photos can be placed in folders on an SD card, folders will be displayed earliest to latest creation date.
c. Optipix S/W handles horiz. pictures well, gets grainy on vert. pix.
d. Internal memory only held about 1000 optimized pix in my case
e. Internal memory access is slow via USB
f. Need to have PC on and USB connected prior to booting frame to be able to delete files on internal memory via USB
In the end, given that I saw 4GB SD cards free after rebate, the internal memory seemed like a waste of time.
I finally settled on the following process for getting photos to display in order using an SD card:
1) Use Optipix for horiz. pix as needed for compression, store on PC.
2) Arrange pix in folders on SD card, being careful create folders in the order I want them displayed (makes it easier to manage groups of photos).
3) Change modification date of photos within folders (e.g. add an "_" to end of file name) to order pix if needed
4) Insert SD card into frame and sit back.
I am pleased enough with the quality of the product to buy a couple more as gifts for the relatives, but I plan to set up the SD cards beforehand so it is plug-n-play for them.

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Coby DP702 7-Inch Widescreen Digital Photo Frame (Woodgrain) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a good little photo frame for this price range. It has lots of features and the menus are easy to maneuver. Once you've set the brightness and contrast settings the pictures look pretty good. We enjoy using the frame. It's a good size for using on a desk.
I know a video review isn't ideal since the resolution gets changed when uploading to this website, and just taking a picture of something that is lighted like this leaves something to be desired, but I wanted to give everyone some idea of the features. The photos actually look better in person for some reason. I think it's like taking a photo of a TV screen, it never looks as good. For example, the menus aren't really readable on the video but they're easy to read in person.
I hope this helps you in making a decision on this frame.

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Kodak EX-1011 Easyshare 10-Inch Digital Picture Frame with Wireless Capability Review

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(More customer reviews)I just bought one of these and was so impressed I bought a second one.
I'd been toying with the idea of getting one of these for a while and the 10" ones are now a reasonable price.
I didn't install any of the software: just copied images to a CF memory card and plugged it in. The frame detects this and starts to play images from the card.
First thing I did before any of this, was to get the latest firmware from Kodak website.
Unfotunately, the documentation is poor. It mentions nothing about optimal resolutions. I finally batch converted all my high res images (using BreezeBrowser) to 800x480 pixels, 300dpi JPG (100% quality). These resulted in files of about 5-6MB each. Quality is great and images are bright and vivid, even in normal indoor daylight conditions. I've been using digital cameras for 6-7 years and I work in the graphic arts industry, so I'm pretty picky about image quality and color. It would be nice if Kodak supplied an ICC profile for the device, so at least you can preview how they'll look in Photoshop, etc. or convert to the device color space.
A lot of reviewers complained about the remote control. It's a bit clunky, but it works. It's a picture frame after all, not a TV. I just use it to setup slide duration, transition, etc.
I'm buying a second frame one for all my protrait orientation pictures, as they are too small when displayed in the frame in landscape format. So, I'll have one frame with landscape pictures and one with portrait. This way, each image will use the maximal area of the screen.
I also use the "fit" option, not the fill. I don't want my pictures cropped.
One of my biggest bug bears is that there is no resume function. I have 200+ images on the frame which change every hour. The timer is set to turn the frame on at 6pm and off at 11pm (so 4 pictures). Problem is, when I turn it on the next day, I see the first 4 again. So I have to forward to ones I've never seen. For this reason, I'll need to leave it on 24/7.
Pros
Great picture quality
Easy to use
Cons
No fade transition (just wipes and bars)
Only one on/off schedule (would like one for morning and one for evening)
Poor documentation
Can't select a default slide show/folder on SV model (but it will play memory cards first - so just put everything you want on the memory card)
No resume - Always starts from slide 1
(I would strongly recommend some kind of batch conversion software where you can set the image size, resolution, quality, etc. Maybe the supplied software will do it, but I never installed it, as I already have something to do this.)

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