Digital Frames Buying Guide
Digital Picture Frames have been with us for a few years only, and as with many things, can be found in all different shapes sizes and colours, and quality levels. We believe in only buying frames with the best components, and as such all of our frames utilise the well proven, and high quality AMLOGIC chipset. We believe that other chipset solutions will not give the same overall picture/video/sound quality, nor will performance be as stable. A good source TFT/LCD screen manufacturer i.e. Sharp/LG/AU/Innolux is also a must.
We only use new screens and not refurbished screens . Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) compliance is not possible for refurbished/recycled screens.
Criteria :
The frame should have a high brightness and contrast ratio to enable a good picture quality, ie at 250:1 ratio and greater than 250cd/m2 for the brightness. The number of pixels (coloured dots) will have a huge effect on the quality of the picture, ie an 800x600 screen will have 480,000 pixels (coloured dots), whereas a 600x480 will have almost half that number at 28800.
Video/music playing capability is also useful as an extra. Ensure they play all the standard types, i.e Mp3, Mpeg1-4, AVI.
The choice of size and style should be made carefully to suit the location and the environment. A larger frame, suitable for wall-hanging should come all ready with a longer lead to allow for this mode of display.
Internal memory is also useful for storage of your digital photos. An internal memory of 256MB, dependent on your camera settings, will be able to store in excess of 250 photos.
The frame must be able to take SD cards. Other cards (especially CF cards-used in the higher price DSLR cameras) are around but SD cards seem to be taking over. All of our frames take virtually all known mainstream cards.
Some frames can connect via USB leads to PC/Laptops for quick sharing/uploading of files.
Connection to your TV to display your pictures is also possible with some frames on the market. An AV out lead should be provided.
In summary, the technical specifications to look for are :
- Quality components and manufacture especially for screen and Internal Chipset.
- Largest pixel count for a given size of screen.
- High brightness and contrast ratios.
- Video capability.
Also :
- Manual in English
- UK 3 pin plug adapter
- AV out with lead
- USB lead for connection to PC/laptop
