Digital photo frames have been around for a while, but they haven't taken off nearly as fast as the digital photo market. The combination of high prices and mediocre image quality has hurt their growth. However, that's changing as prices come down for higher-resolution displays that serve up sharper pictures as well as convenient features more suited to digital camera users. Philips's entry, the Digital Photo Display 7FF1, is a compact, sleek model that's part of this new breed of digital photo frame. And while it's not cheap, it largely delivers on the promise this type of accessory offers.
The frame looks a lot like a mini version of the display on Apple's original iMac flat-panel all-in-one computers, with a clear frame around a white border that surrounds the 137 x 91mm, 133ppi LCD panel. From a viewing perspective, a black border around the display is preferable because it increases the perceived contrast and makes the picture pop a little more. But this is a minor gripe; we really like the look of the frame, which also comes in a wood-tone version for those looking for a less modern, more traditionally styled frame. The adjustable -- and removable -- stand on its back lets you set the frame either vertically or horizontally on a table or other surface.
The 16-bit (65,536 potential colours) display has 12MB of memory built into it, which allows you to store between 50 and 80 photos -- internally. Additionally, around back you'll find slots for CompactFlash, SD, MMC, and Memory Stick memory cards, which give you the ability to display hundreds or even thousands of photos. You can choose to leave the images on the card or transfer however many will fit into the display's remaining internal memory. A USB port, also on the back, lets you upload photos from a USB flash drive or straight from your camera, as long as the latter allows peer-to-peer transfer.
The one small advantage to transferring the photos to the display's internal memory is that as part of the copying process, the unit automatically resizes the images to the size of the display (720x480). For instance, we shot some images with an Olympus E-500 dSLR that started out with resolutions of 3,264x2,448 that were subsequently trimmed down. However, the only real impact of the smaller file sizes is that transition effects in slide-show mode -- you can select between none, fade, slide, scroll, snake, or random -- work more smoothly. In other words, if you have a fairly high-capacity memory card (512MB or more), you're probably better off just loading the card with photos and leaving it in the display.
Aside from the ability to accept memory cards, we liked the Philips Photo Display's built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which allows you to place the frame wherever you like -- or pass it around -- without worrying about it being within reach of a power outlet. Of course, if you want, you can leave it plugged in and not worry about recharging it. Depending on the brightness setting -- yes, it's adjustable -- a fully charged battery offers only as much as 50 minutes of operation, which makes the feature less practical.
One other small gripe: its menus aren't intuitive to navigate right out of the box. Although it didn't take us that long to figure things out -- and a quick read of the manual certainly helped -- the unit's internal GUI (graphical user interface) could be a little more user-friendly, and the button icons might be tweaked to be a tad clearer. In other words, while the Philips Photo Display has the Apple look, it doesn't have the Apple interface.
Fans of Ceiva photo frames, which allow you to automatically "push" photos to them via the Internet -- a convenient option for those who want to send regular photo updates to a grandparent or other family members -- will note that this model doesn't offer that feature. On the other hand, you won't have to pay a monthly fee to actually use your frame.
In the final analysis, the Philips Digital Photo Display gets a lot of things right. Although some may think it's slightly expensive, it does offers expansion slots for most memory cards, a sleek design, rechargeable battery and, most importantly, a high-quality image. We have no problem recommending it.
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Angus
02/01/2008, 05:40 AM
rating
8/10
Anyone know how to replace the battery? Mine only lasts a few minutes!
Pros: Looks really good and high qulaity pictures. Easy to use.
Cons: Battery life
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greenster
17/01/2007, 12:09 PM
rating
4/10
I have seen a demo of the Philips model, but I went with another supplier, based in Australia:
http://www.digivista.com.au/
Their 10.4 inch LCD product has a resolution of 640x480 and a screen aspect ratio of 4:3, not 16:9 as with the Philips product. That should be taken into account, since the vast majority of digital photos are actually taken at a 4:3 ratio.
Having a mains powered product is also more convenient for displaying for more than 1 hour. As well it has a URB port for supporting USB thumb drives and external hard disks.
Pros: user interface
image quality
Cons: Battery Life
16:9 aspect ratio
too small
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Trojanlrey
23/10/2006, 04:13 AM
rating
3/10
Sensational display - when it works...
Fortunately, I happened to have the old Sony memory sticks from my Clie so I was instantly able to enjoy my photos. I wish it had ports to accept other media, especially XD cards. I didn't really get this from the owners manual but the 12 MB of internal memory includes a built in image converter that reduces all photos to aobut 720 x 540. That means if I copy over 12 MB worth of photos, after conversion, I end up with room to add more. My old Sony Clie included an image converter that reduces images to 640 x 480 so I used this to reload even more photos. This item was a corporate gift to our department. I am the only one that has bothered to open the box to date and had been raving to everyone to set theirs up - it really is a cool device. But now that I've got no image and no apparent solution, I'm glad I didn't pay for it. My only investment was the 1 GB SD card I bought to view my photo catalogue. Too bad. Good idea - just not reliable. I am rating it 3. I would have given it an 8.
Pros: Unbelievably clear photos. The image portrays a level of depth that I could not capture on print images. I used a combination of personally shot photos and favorite web-downloads and everything was spectacular. I went out a bought a 1 gigabyte SD card just to be able to enjoy my photo collection using the random display setting.
Cons: I've got a completely blank screen all of a sudden. It's been out of the box for 3 weeks. I only run it when I am in the office. While out for a meeting, I took my eyes off it for a half hour and came back to see black. I tried reset, switched to hard drive instead of memory card, switched memory cards, ran off battery, and nothing. Is this thing prone to burn-out? Before this issue the only complaints I had was limited viewing distance and the 1 hour battery live. I found that when I placed it on my mantle or shelf, the photos looked like small postcards beyond 5 feet. When I keep this on my desk, I can truly appreciate the color and image quaility.
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16/10/2006, 10:32 PM
rating
10/10
Great product
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