EDGE Tech Digital Picture Frame

Edge Tech Corp. Digital Picture Frame
Size Comparison Ever since I have built my own DIY digital picture frame a while ago, I have kept an eye on the market for commercial frames. I have not bought any, due to the high price of large high-resolution digital picture frames (DPF). During this Christmas shopping season prices have dropped considerably, causing a run on these devices at my local Best Buy store. Therefore, I was looking forward to a new gadget when EDGE Tech Corp asked me to review one of their devices.

Ergonomics

The digital picture frame was packaged very well and came with an ac adapter, a remote control and a user’s manual. The frame has a little flip-out stand that can be rotated to set it up. It also has two notches in the back to hang it either in horizontal or in vertical position.

Portrait Mode

Digital Picture Frame Vertical ModeThe little stand flips into vertical position (portrait mode) as well. Its length can be adjusted, letting you set the angle of the DPF setup.

The notch for vertical hanging is located on the same side as the power connector plug and the memory card ports. This means you will have to run the power wire into the device from the top. I would have preferred to connect to the DPF from the bottom (power outlets are below the DPF in most cases).

Handling

The DPF uses an ultra wide aspect ratio. This seems to be a standard in this class of DPF. Most consumer grade digital cameras have a 4:3 aspect ratio. This means missing areas at the top and the bottom of your picture. If you crop your pictures on the computer before you put them on the frame, you can make creative use of the aspect ratio and display your pictures in wide format, but that defies the easy application of out-of-the-camera pictures. The remote control is a very nice touch for a device in this price category and since the frame also plays video and audio, it is a good feature to have.

The buttons on the top of the device provide an alternative means of operating it. I only wish there was a play button. A headphone jack is also provided.

The DPF does not have any internal memory. It can access an SD/xD/MS picture card or a USB memory stick and display the media files. I recommend using a picture card, as the memory stick will be clearly visible from the front.

Looking at landscape pictures on a tiny picture frame is not much fun, but viewing pictures of people (family) is. DPF's of this category are perfect for your family photos, to give to grandma, for wedding memories, and vacation shots.

Function

Dead PixelsMy parents live across the ocean, so one of the first things I always check is the specification of the power adapter. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it supports 110-240 volts, meaning I could send it to my parents. Make sure you include a plug adapter if you are planning the same. When I turned the device on for the first time, a blob of four dead pixels located in a quad formation (like one big pixel) drew my attention. That is quite normal on LCD. I would usually just return it and ask for a replacement. It is nothing to worry about and their return policy should cover it. I went through the same process when I bought my large LCD display. Having two dead pixels on a 1.7 Mega pixel display and having four dead pixels on a 0.11 Mega pixel DPF may point to a yield issue in their FAB though. The picture frame works very well and the display is bright and crisp. It is very well suited for displaying pictures, but that’s it. The advertised video playback function may need some special attention on the encoding. A video recorded on my Canon S3 was choppy and the aspect ratio was incorrect (compressed). A video recorded on my Cybershot also had the wrong aspect ratio, and the video stream was playing too slow. The audio stream was at the correct speed, so that both got completely unsynchronized. The DPF is virtually unusable for playing video from any of my two cameras directly.

The setup screen is very intuitive. The default picture duration of just 5 seconds and the random transitions are nauseating, but can be changed fast. The Fade transition is choppy, so I chose something else and finally was able to achieve an overall pleasing effect. The DPF can play music and show pictures at the same time, although I hardly consider this important.

Conclusion

If you are considering the DPF as a gift for your parents or grandparents or if you just want to use it to display pictures, it is well worth its low entry price. Do not consider all the advertised gimmicks, since they are not useful. The same way a cell phone does not become a good camera by adding a low cost CMOS sensor and plastic lens, the DPF does not become a media center by adding a video mode on a weak processor. I have no doubt that you can make it work though. Just find a codec that works and re-encode your video files with VirtualDUB or any other tool. If you do not know what that means, you are in good company. You should not have to.

Saving your parents a couple of bucks by sending pictures of their grandchildren over the internet is probably the best application for these types of devices. Just teach them how to download them. I am sure they will have fun with their new toy.