Digital Spectrum USB Digital Photo Frame (5x7) Reviews

• Fun and adequate but not stellar

  
  By A31OBTUY9YID7V on 2003-08-06
  This product is fun and makes a good photo frame, but I was not blown away; it met my expectations but did not exceed them.
  You get a 5" by 7", 320x240, 4:3 aspect ratio LCD frame. The picture quality is decent, but not spectacular. I would say it is fairly faithful to the original pictures, but viewing them side to side with how they are displayed on a regular PC, they look inferior. But it is a 320x240, so it's not unexpected.
  Viewing angle is a little limited, and the picutre colours and luminosity are noticeably different when viewed from different angles.
  Setting up the frame was easy; in all, it took me about half an hour to get everything done (including installing drivers, programs, and even updating the firmware) and have it displaying my photos.
  A couple of complaints; I would have liked the slide show to have a "random" feature, ditto with the transition effects. Also, it would have been nice to have a drag-and-drop from any Windows folder to the slide show composition screen. As it is, you can only place photos by using a clunky dialogue box to select pictures to be included in slide shows.

  I'm conflicted about this product being good value for money, though; on the one hand, the screen is clearly NOT top of the notch and leaves quite a bit of room for improvement.
  On the other hand, I looked around for similar products and found that they are substantially more expensive(Digi-Frame DF-560) or are clunky(Ceiva Picture Frame requires subscription and phone line connection). I guess the technology isn't mature enough for these types of products to be affordable and great quality (they are currently expensive and so-so quality).

  I bought this to place on my office desk, and I'm pretty sure it will do its job. If you want a great looking frame, I would hold out a little more. If you can afford it, the Digi-Frame products look pretty good. ....

  All in all, I find this product fun because it does what it says it does quite well, but the display is its achilles' heel. I have a feeling this category will pick up in popularity and technology soon so wait some more and you'll begin to see truly great products by around 2005. As a relatively early adoptor, I am content with it.
  
  

• A unique product that almost delivers

  
  By ACL2NAGCM51QC on 2004-02-21
  This review is for the 8x10 frame. First it should be noted that the Frame is 8x10 not the screen. The screen is actually 6.5 x 8.5. The product is solid and feels sturdy. It has the ability to be used as either a stand alone frame or hung on a wall. Pictures are entered into the frame via a USB port that connects to either a computer or a card reader. The display is nice but you need to stand back a few feet to appreciate it as it looks washed out up close. The image definitely leans towards the darker side but nothing that would be considered distracting. It also has a nice side angle viewpoint. The product ships with a program called Digital Pixmaster which is where you can create slideshows with text, WAV files and transitions. Pictures can be displayed for various time lengths from 5 seconds to 8 hours. You can also rotate the image orientation picture by pictrue. The real disappointment is in the way the program handles text and .WAV files. First, there is no control over font, size or position of text. It appears as a black bar with white text at the bottom of the picture. Secondly, the WAV files attach to the individual picture and not to the slideshow thus making it impractical to play background music throughout a slideshow. Furthermore, the program only works with available internal memory. This pretty much rules out the ability to load a music track saved in WAV format becasue its just too big to fit in memory. You are relagated to playing sound bytes which do work quite well. Overall the software is easy to use and accomplishes the task of creating slideshows quite nicely. The manual is short, sweet and to the point. You really will be up and running in minutes. Connecting to a PC was easy and painless. So why only three stars? Because it promises things it really can't deliver. The screen is smaller then advertised, the software is very basic and the much hyped stero sound is wasted on small sound byte files because the memory in the frame cannot hold even a 2 minute song. There is promise of the ability to run a slideshow from a USB attached device but no word yet. These are all acceptable items if you do not pay anwhere near the asking price of $499. Overall, if you have the cash to burn and want the best picture frame in this size then this is the unit for you.
  
  

• Possibly My Worst Electronics Purchase Ever

  
  By A3794FQ0AOCXUM on 2005-06-25
  I purchased the 8 X 10 Photo Frame as a way to display photos at my wedding reception and planned to use it in my home thereafter. I was able to get the product running and to load a 'test' set of pictures, but the product then 'froze' at the startup screen. I checked the Pacific Digital support website, which provided steps (basically, a sequence of buttons to hold down) to 'unfreeze' and reinitialize the unit. I tried this sequence several times, to no avail, and then called Pacific Digital customer service. After repeated messages left on a voice mail system ("we're sorry we missed your call - we'll get back to you") at all times of the day and night, I was unable to contact anyone at the company and no calls were ever returned. Long story short - our wedding came and went, the problem was never (and will apparently never be) resolved, and the Digital Photo Frame is now a $390 paperweight. Absolutely useless. My recommendation: DO NOT PURCHASE A PACIFIC DIGITAL PRODUCT. This is clearly a fly-by-night outfit.
  
  

• Poor power supply

  
  By A3KYI7WDY1QAAV on 2006-04-24
  The frame and the pictures it displays are fine. Sometimes it is a little hard to get it to download photos from my PC. My major complaint is the power supply. The original power supply dies after 4 months. It was repalced under warranty (after some grief with customer service). The raplacement died some months later after the warranty had expired. I then had to buy one. That one died after a few months and the company didn't have the replacement in stock. After months of waiting from them to stock the item I gave up and after lots of searching on the web I found a supply made by another compay. I had to change the connector to make it match the connector on the frame. It's been doing fine since then. I should note that my daughter has the same frame and has had almost identical problems. It looks like there are a lot more of these types of frames on the market now. I would do a lot of shopping before buying this one!
  
  

• Picture quality and customer service excellent

  
  By A2WDMUB2IE15UB on 2004-12-23
  I was a little worried about buying the memory frame based on some of the reviews here which said the picture quality was lacking and the company's customer service was poor. When I opened the box and found that it contained two USB cables instead of 1 USB cable and 1 plastic stand to hold the frame upright, I thought I might be in for a bad customer service experience.
  
  I called the toll-free number listed on the web site yesterday and left a message. I receive a return phone call this morning. When I explained the problem to the customer service rep he said they would ship out a replacement stand immediately. So top marks for customer service.
  
  As for the picture quality, on a screen of this size 800x600 is more than sufficient. I loaded a few pictures directly from a USB drive without reading the instructions. It was pretty easy to use the menus. I couldn't get the transition effects to work right, but after loading pictures with the included software everything worked ok. There may be something about that in the instructions, but I haven't read them yet.
  
  The software automatically scales the pictures down to 800x600. They look great on the screen. The viewing angle is acceptable, the image is bright, and the colors accurate.
  
  This memory frame was purchased as a gift and will go to my parents so they can have a rotating slide show of the grandkids. I will be purchasing a second one for myself. Other reviewers have said it is better to print your pictures and frame them. That may be the best answer for some people, but I'm running out of wall space for prints. The memory frame will let me display 90 of my favorite pictures in one spot.
  
  
• fantastic! A winner gadget pick for my husband.
  By API5JLBRT6FIN on 2003-12-25
  This is totally wow! First off, I never bought into the
  first gen of digital photo frames since really I thought
  the displays were too small, and unwieldy to download to.
  I'd seen Sony's and the Ceiva pic frame in action, and this is so much more universal for our use. Honestly, just the size was an instant sell. I guess the Ceiva lets you load up pix remotely once its set up, but I hated the thought of a subscription service etc.
  Pro #1 The 10" active matrix TFT is super bright, has great resolution and the pix just pop out at you. Definitely, the view angle is not as good as my flat panel monitor, but its absolutely as good as any laptop.
  Pro #2 is super easy to use with my 3 yr old ME desktop. got about 40 pix loaded on and the software set up in about 15 min.
  Con#1 is also a pro -- they provide a pretty basic, and not too fantastic frame, but you can snap it into many of your own styles of picture frame, to suit your decor. Can also be wall mounted.( great idea with a toddler around the house)
  
  
• waaaaaay overpriced slideshow
  By on 2004-06-07
  I totally agree with the reviewer from Boston -- that this is really only an expensive slideshow. And I completely agree with his comment that a much better use of money would be to just frame your prints in nice frames.

  I received this digital frame as a gift from my husband. He set it up, so I can't comment on the ease or difficulty of it. When I saw it, I was not impressed. It really did look cheesy. I figured he spent maybe $30 on it -- more than I felt it was worth, but he seemed pleased with the purchase. When I found out he spent nearly THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS on it, I thought I had married a complete lunatic! Nobody in their right mind would spend $300 for this cr*p!!!!!

  We have since returned the frame to Amazon. I seriously question the mental state of anyone who thinks this product is worth the price.
  
  

• disappointingly cheap product
  By A1O6CDGVX8FVM0 on 2005-12-26
  A great idea poorly executed. The construction is cheap. The screen is marginal at best. But worst of all, it refuses to recognize any of the 3 digital cameras I have on hand or a USB card reader.
  
  A piece of junk that I am now returning
  
  
• Product is good, watch the company
  By A14419BLTKQHAY on 2005-04-23
  I have had the picture frame for 5 months and it works great. Quality control and customer service from Digital Pacific, however, leave much to be desired. The product shipped without the wood frame the box said was included and the wrong software. After 3 tries, the software issue was resolved but the frame never was. Also, the company did not honor the rebate that was advertised. Great product as long as you don't have to deal with the manufacturer.
  
  
• Low Price, Low Performance
  By A185QVHE1UZDJM on 2003-07-05
  I guess you get what you pay for. The display is it's weakest point. Very narrow viewing angle. And 320 x 240 resolution for a 5.6" diagonal screen is pretty [poor.]. Also, I could not load pix into the Memory Frame directly from my camera even though it was specified as compatible. I passed on the rebate and returned the frame to Amazon.
  
  
• Horrible Viewing Angle, Too Dark
  By A114AF5JBAWGGT on 2004-08-10
  I strongly discourage anyone from buying this photo frame.
  The screen is too dark, and raising the brightness makes the whole screen whiter, washing out the picture. You will also not be able to see the image unless your are standing to the right of the frame and looking down. The viewing angle is sooo small that you will almost never be able to see the picture as you are walking past it. You have to stop and make sure the viewing angle is right to be able to see the picture as it would look on a computer screen.
  In addition, the screen started flickering horribly after about 5 months, needing warranty repair. It would stop flickering if the photo frame was left turned off for a few hours, but would come back after a few hours of being turned on.
  New photo frames are comming that are cheaper, have better viewing angles and higher resolution. I strongly suggest you wait for those.
  
  
  
• USB Frame Rocks!
  By on 2003-07-18
  What separates Pacific Digital's Memory Frame from the small flock of other frames is the interchangeable frame, and that it uses a USB connection for loading images. The digital picture frames I've checked out in past required specific types of memory cards, a Web-based subscription service or, in some cases, both. With the MemoryFrame, you need only a digital camera, pictures and a little bit of time. Through the USB port on the back of the frame, you can load your images either by plugging your digital camera directly into it, or by connecting the frame to your PC. It will even work with a memory card reader.
  
  
• Pacific Digital Photo Frame
  By A3DRA3ZY4R6BAF on 2006-01-16
  Am a bit disappointed with this product. The clear digital photos that are loaded onto the unit become blurry for viewing. The photo frame is also advertised as a 5 x 7, which is deceiving - the photos only view through a 3 x 4 inch window.
  
  
• Abysmal
  By on 2004-05-04
  Product worked for about 30 minutes out of the box. Tried their Customer Support, was routed through voice mail for days. Returned the product finally, next one was DOA. Don't bother.
  
  
• Not yet ready - poor picture quality
  By on 2004-06-04
  Very easy to use. Easy to load pictures. Unfortunately the screen quality was very grainy and difficult to look at. Returned the item. Sony frames I've seen seemed much better, although at a significantly higher price. Still this frame is not worth the money. Also, be aware that the viewing size is much smaller than 5x7.
  
  
• High price, low performance.
  By A2EDWZFV9JWDDR on 2005-12-25
  The 5x7 digital photo frame from Pacific Digital is very cheaply made, the lcd is very dark and flickers constantly.
  
  
• awesome display
  By A2CB4P5M68D3BD on 2003-11-12
  This is the best unit I've tested of digital photo frames. The picture quality is great (800x600) and it's a TFT LCD sceen- VERY IMPORTANT. I didn't know it had sound also, but that makes it fun and interactive. Real easy to use and I connected a USB card reader to it to read my pictures (instead of connecting to a camera or PC). Good holiday gift for a non-technical person and I was really impressed.
  
  
• great idea but needs better execution....
  By A22RB5LO8EN87H on 2004-09-30
  Ours was returned because the resolution was too low. With 4mp cameras the standard and 6 to 8mp becoming available to the average consumer, this lcd does not provide value for its price.
  
  
  
  
• Best Digital Frame on the Market
  By on 2003-11-07
  I first bought Pacific Digital's 5x7 frame last fall and this year I graduated to the best digital frame on the market. This 8x10 frame rocks! The 10.4" screen makes my photos stand-out in vibrant hi-resolution color, and it is just as easy to use.

  Before I bought, I looked at the other frames on the market and none have screen quality as good as the MF-810S. The others look pale and grainy in comparison.

  And I can play music or voice with each photo with the built in stereo speakers!
  
  

• Great Digital Photo Frame
  By A1NUUUVBKM94E on 2006-11-04
  We dedicated a thumb drive to use with the digital photo frame that we download our digital pictures to from a computer. Then we simply plug the thumb drive into the USB port of the digital photo frame and follow the menu instructions to select the USB port thumb drive by pushing a couple of buttons on the digital photo frame. The slide show of the pictures we view from approximately ten feet away have very good resolution. It's great for family gatherings and have received many positive comments from our guests.
  
  
• Great gift for family and friends
  By A30T92F49J8816 on 2005-09-21
  The Digital Photo Frame was easy to use and the software was excellent. I gave the item as a 50th birthday gift and set it up at a very large party. The frame showed a slide show of about 65 pictures and became a focal point for the guests. Everyone spent time looking at the pictures of the family from throughout the 50 years. Many asked where to get the frame. It was a hit and it worked as described.
  
  
• Not Really 8x10
  By ACBZVP2HWMZ11 on 2007-03-18
  Two problems with this photo frame.
  
  1. It is NOT 8x10 as advertised. The frame is 8x10 matted down to a screen that is 6x8. It's resolution at 600x800 is an odd ratio that will require re-cropping all of your images.
  
  2. The software is NOT VISTA compatible and there are no updates or patches on the manufacturers website.
  
  If you can live with the above, it's nice. I could not get it to import pictures from my flash drive (USB) but I admittedly didn't try very long. I had to transfere the pic's to an older XP machine from my Vista machine, then to the frame.
  
  
• Memory Frame
  By A1CZX5DXWFCISA on 2003-07-17
  I was given this unit as a gift and find it an extremely easy to use and fun device. I can display my digital pictures almost instantaneously in a slide show format directly from my camera, or by downloading from my laptop. The clarity is crisp and the ease of use makes this a joy to have sitting on my desk!
  
  
• Not a pleasant surprise
  By on 2004-03-23
  Received the product, looks nice but doesn't work as advertised. The built in microphone isn't enabled (a future release of software????? Will that cost me more???) and my digital camera, although USB compatible doesn't work as advertised with the unit either. Once I was able to work my way through their voice mail to customer support (took multiple tries), they were sympathetic but could not help.

  Marginal picture quality, low satisfaction with this product especially for the ridiculously high price.
  
  

• Useless Consumer Trash
  By A12VI91GQRYM7Q on 2004-05-21
  My Father in law got this for my birthday... while I was flattered, I have not been too impressed. It basically functions as a screen saver that you can put in your living room. I find it a bit tacky and wish I didn't need to put it out whenever my in-laws visit. A great alternative could be going to the store and getting your digital photos developed and finidng a nice frame for all of the important ones--- there are photo albums for the rest... thanks for nothing Pacific Digital USB Digital Photo Frame.
  
  
• Picture Perfect
  By A8NPVXCGWZU6J on 2004-11-16
  I have had a digital frame for a year now, and I have had nothing but rave reviews about it from my Customers, if you are tight with money, then this is not the product for you, but if you have limited space and want to show off your family and friends then this is for you, yes it does seem like a slide show but that is the point of this product, it is a digital picture frame that allows you to view several pictures without the clutter of 50 frames.
  
  Product is awesome, I wish I invented it.
  
  
• love it!
  By A3J9YCSYNCHCW6 on 2005-04-27
  I have had my 8X10 for about two years now and basically have nothing bad to say about it. Most electronical things take me quite some time to set up and this was no exception, but it did get set up. Very sharp picture but not from all viewing angles as others have mention but when I look at a printed picture I usually look at it straight on so this is really no different to me. I've fooled alittle with it and got the fade in/out going on, added sound, length of picture viewing. Real cool toy and everyone that comes over looks for it to see what I now have on it. I might even add that one night I heard a big crash and when I went out to the room there was glass all over the floor along with my digital photo frame. I wanted to kill my cat which had jump on the counter until I picked it up, nothing was broken on it, only the frame was damaged, plugged it in and it worked like a charm. Now my wife wants to kill the cat, the broken glass was from her glass dolphin!! I would recomend this because of my good experience with it, but again as others have said, it could be a little bit too costly for some.
  
  
  
• Love it!
  By AU2IUU2WBJRTQ on 2005-05-03
  We love this, and have it in our living room. We have gotten very creative with it. When we have certain people over to our house, we will rotate their photo in so that they think that we have them on our minds all the time. I know that sounds bad, but I know that some of my husband's friends shouldn't be showcased all the time.
  
  But we love it. I would love for them to create 11x14 in size. Cant' wait this would be amazing over a fireplace.
  
  
  
• Simple Interface
  By A5PGTLJJ2M3VW on 2005-09-07
  The picture quality is better than I expected. You still can't see the picture from the sides, but straight on it's good. The interface to load my pictures was very simple. I would like to have a few more options available, but for simplicity purposes, it works great.
  
  
• Change your special memory everyday at anytime
  By A240VKU6M3QHOL on 2006-06-10
  This item shows all of your digital photos in bright, vivid colors. Set up a slide show and play directly from a memory card. The frame is light, portable and easy to use. A great companion for your digital camera and is an excellent way to show off your pictures to friends and family. Just pop in the memory card from your digital camera and your ready to show off all of your precious memories.
  
  Features
  
  * Bright 5.6" Active Color Screen
  * Auto Start Slide show function
  * Supports Photos up to 12M pixels
  * Includes AC Adapter and Quick Start Guide
  * No Computer Required, plays directly from memory cards
  * Brilliant Color Display with adjustable contrast and brightness
  * Automatic Slide show, Full-Screen Browse, and Thumbnail Browse Display modes
  * Compatible with major memory cards (CF/SD/MD/MMC and MemoryStick)
  
  

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