 Great frame for the price |
| Review Date: December 29, 2007 |
| Reviewer: J. May, Northern Illinois |
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. |
Probably the best digital photo frame available as of Dec, 2007
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| Review Date: December 28, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Robert C., NY, New York |
I wanted to get a photo frame for my sister. She doesn't have a computer (and she doesn't want one) and I wanted to get her something easy to use and something that looked really great. I didn't think I was going to buy one of these Cobys. I thought I would buy either a Phillips or Kodak. But after doing a little research on the specs of each, the Coby DP887 was the natural choice.
It has higher resolution than most other frames (800x600).
It has higher brightness than most other frames (350 cd/m2).
It has higher contrast ratio than most other frames (500:1).
It uses LED backlight technology (the latest and best at this time)
It accepts SD, MMC, MS (including MS Duo), xD, CF cards & USB flash drives. (note that it does not have SDHC certification to accept the newest SDHC cards)
It has both a full size USB port for USB flash drives and a mini USB port to hook it up to your computer.
It has built in speakers, a headphone jack and volume control.
It plays MP3s & WMA audio files (I have not tested this yet).
It also plays AVI and MP4 video files of the type generated by video cameras (At this time, I have only tried one small camera-generated AVI file and it played it well w/sound)
It has a wireless remote control.
The DP887 has a 4:3 aspect ratio, which matches the vast majority of digital photos.
The one thing you need to know about this frame (and the rest of the Cobys) is that it doesn't have any internal memory. That may seem like a problem to you, but let me explain why it is not. It can play material directly from a memory card inserted into any of it's four different card slots or directly from an inserted USB flash drive. For example, 1 or 2 GB SD cards are cheap. You can stick a 2GB SD card in there and now you have a 2GB frame. Compare that with some of the other frames which cannot play directly from memory cards and require you to copy material to the frame itself, which usually have 512mb or maybe 256mb or less of memory. Besides, who wants to deal with the additional step of copying material directly to the frame? In fact, if you already have USB flash drive or a memory card reader, you won't have to hook this frame up to your computer at all. Just load up an SD, MMC, MS, xD, CF card, or USB flash drive with photos and plug it in to the frame. In this way, for example, you can just send your parents a cheap SD card preloaded with pics in the mail if you wanted to. All they would have to do it plug it in to the frame and go.
The frame also allows you to copy material from any inserted memory card to another, or to/from a USB Flash drive - through the frame itself, with no computer involvement. This works in any direction, meaning you can copy to/from any memory card or usb flash drive inserted into the frame.
For example, you can copy photos/files
from a USB Flash drive to an SD card
from an SD card to a USB Flash drive
from an SD card to a CF card
...etc., using only the frame (no computer).
The frame has a little menu driven "os" which accommodates this functionality, though it is very clumsy. This would be helpful if for example, you were using an SD card as your main storage for the frame and you wanted to add photos from a USB flash drive but you don't have access to a computer, or an SD card reader (ie. say you were visiting your parent's house and you wanted to add more photos to their frame).
The frame also functions as a 5-in-1 memory card reader when connected to a computer. This makes it easy if you don't already own a memory card reader for your computer or a USB flash drive. Plug the frame into your computer, and four new removable mass storage drives will be recognized and appear (one each for the SD/MMC, MS, xD, CF card slots). Since the frame itself acts as a memory card reader, you can attach the frame to your computer and use it to load up a memory card inserted into the frame.
To those people who are complaining because they are trying to attach the frame to their computer and copy photos to it, you must understand that the frame does not have it's own internal memory! You MUST have a memory card inserted into one of the frame's card slots in order to copy material directly to/from a computer. Think of the frame as a host, it is not a storage device in and of itself.
Operation is simple. Just turn it on, insert the preloaded memory card(s) of your choice (or USB flash drive), select that card graphically via the remote control or keys which are located along the sides of the frame (you have to do this because you can have one of four different types of memory cards inserted simultaneously), then select slideshow and viola!
The frame will automatically scale down any large photos, which either have to be in JPG or BMP format. It does not automatically rotate them to fit the orientation of the frame, but you can do that manually with the remote control (though you can't save that preference in the frame). It is best to orient the photos ahead of time on your computer. The slideshow function has about ten different transitions and you can set the frame to use one specific effect of your choice or randomly use all ten effects. You can change the on screen duration of the of the photos from 5 seconds all way to 1 day. You can set the photos to play randomly or in the same order each time. You can also have MP3 or WMA music play though the slideshow, though I have not tired this yet. Using the thumbnails it generates, you could also select a single photo to display with no slideshow.
The frame has adjustable volume (for music and video playback) and an easily adjustable brightness control (via a wheel knob on the frame). I find it very easy to use. It does not have light detection to automatically brighten or darken the frame based on ambient lighting conditions - that would have been nice. The remote control has a very limited range and working angle, which can be annoying. The on/off switch is located on the frame itself and you cannot use the remote control to turn the frame on or off. If you turn the frame off during a slideshow, the next time you turn it back on, it will automatically restart the slideshow unless you tell it otherwise. Because of that, you could plug it into an electrical timer to easily have it turn on and off at set times of your choice.
Overall, I am very pleased with the frame so far and my sister loves it! The LCD looks fantastic, it is very bright, very sharp and it has excellent color and contrast. The photos look natural and clear (assuming they were natural and clear in the first place :) The frame is easy to use, it offers many options for loading photos and it can even serve as a 5-in-1 memory card reader. The brushed-metal outer frames (it comes with both silver and gold) are very sharp looking. I would recommend the DP887 to anyone looking for a digital photo frame.
NOTE: The Amazon description for this product is wrong in that it definitely does not have an "AV Output for use with Home Theater Systems" or a "Composite Video output." Not that I ever thought it did, (its a photo frame!) but just note that it definitely does not have any type of video out, so don't buy it thinking that it does. The rest of the specs are correct.
If you have any questions feel free to leave comments as I will check back occasionally.
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Simple, easy to use and gorgeous 800x600 frame - not widescreen, no stretching!
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| Review Date: December 18, 2007 |
| Reviewer: AreYouKidding?, |
Shopping for a photo frame has proven to be a difficult task. There are so many brands out there and prices vary by a ton. The last thing I wanted to do was get suckered in by a less expensive frame that ended up stretching my photos and making them all look grainy.
I knew I wanted a frame with a high resolution so the photos came out clear and crisp. I wanted the 4:3 aspect-ratio instead of "widescreen" because I did not want my photos to stretch, have black bars on the sides or get cropped. I didn't want clear, black or wood because it was going to be displayed in my parent's home and those styles don't match up well with their decor.
After some long nights of research and took a gamble and bought this frame. Despite this page saying "widescreen" I knew it wasn't right because of the 800x600 resolution. When I opened the box, my hunch was right. 4:3 aspect-ratio. Yeehaw!
The interchangeable frames are beautiful. The silver metal resembles stainless steel or satin nickel and looks stunning. The gold frame (which comes pre-installed) is more of a pale brass color. Each frame is backed with a velvet-like cloth. The quality is better than expected.
Setup couldn't have been easier. I copied a bunch of photos from my computer onto the blank 1GB memory card I purchased. I plugged it into the memory slot on the frame, selected memory card from the menu, and instantly got the first page of thumbnails on the screen. I selected the first photo and pressed the "Slide Show" button on the remote. That was it. Photos began to cycle every few seconds with random transitioning effects. The quality of the photos was awesome. So much better then some of the cheap 7" widescreen frames I've seen in just about every store nowadays. My parents are going to be thrilled on Christmas.
I haven't tinkered with the MP3, video or additional features and capabilities just yet. I'll be sure to once my parents open up their gift, preloaded with 100+ family photos. :)
For those looking for a frame with great resolution, modern looks and top notch construction . . . look no further, this is the frame for you.
***12/31/07 MP3 Update***
We copied a bunch of Christmas MP3s to the memory card. There is a setting in the menu under Audio/Music that allows background music to play during the slideshow. This was a nice touch. Once the slideshow started, the music followed shortly after. Volume control and mute are both easily done from the remote control. You can also view and play the files directly from the Music menu. Sound quality was as expected. |
Great digital frame!
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| Review Date: November 30, 2007 |
| Reviewer: E. Z., New Market, MD |
| This is a great digital photo frame. I purchased it as a gift for my family. The ease of use is fantastic. The picture quality is excellent and the choice of a wood frame or black frame is a nice option. It looks much more like an actual photo frame compared to so many other models on the market. It is PC and Mac compatible which is a plus. I bought it primarily for viewing photos, not playing MP3s or videos. So, I can't critique the music or video output. The only "con" I would give it is it doesn't have its own hard drive to store photos. You must use your memory card at all times. That's not really a problem for me, but someone may prefer built in memory. Based on the picture quality and ease of use, I would definitely recommend this as a great purchase! |
Everything I needed and expected
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| Review Date: April 25, 2007 |
| Reviewer: SMTrekkers, |
Thankfully I was just looking for a digital picture frame (no need for video or music) since the video feature does not work for me.
For pictures, I'm thrilled. Quality is better than I expected since I feared resizing all my images to 480x860 would result in poor quality. It's plenty good enough for the price.
I used ACDSee to batch process several hundred images. First I cropped to widescreen format, then resized to 480x860. I used an SD card for the photos.
I few images suffered from the cropping (lost the top of peoples heads), but for the most part cropping didn't hurt too much. For those that were impacted, I just manually moved the crop to avoid cutting out content. I think I rather have a standard format frame though since that matches my camera.
Overall, if you get a defect free unit, and don't expect to use the video feature, you should be happy with it. |
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