Coby DP-102 10-Inch Widescreen Digital Photo Frame with Built-In MP3 Player Reviews

• Works as billed

  
  By A2RQK4ZS4HGPOO on 2007-02-21
  I've had one of these for a day, and it seems to do what the manufacturer says.
  
  When properly formatted (see below), the pictures are bright and accurate -- just what you'd imagine a digital picture frame would look like.
  
  Here are the two main lessons I've learned so far:
  
  1. Formatting: Resize your pictures to fit within the frame's resolution of 480 pixels by 234 pixels. It will display bigger pictures (say, 2000x3000 pixels from a six-megapixel camera) but its algorithm for downsampling must be really stupid, as the results are awful -- the pictures look twinkly, oversharpened, overprocessed, and just plain ugly. Downsize them yourself, and all that goes away. If you have a lot of pix, this process can be somewhat tedious, but there is a very good freeware image manager called XnView that will do it on batches of pictures at once with a minimum of muss and fuss.
  
  2. It won't display grayscale pictures (i.e., black-and-whites where the color count is reported as 256). To make these display, you have to convert them to RGB mode. They're still B&W in appearance, but internally they're full RGB, 16 million colors, and that makes little Coby very happy. Go figure.
  
  When you downsize to 480x234, you get a very small file -- less than 30KB, oftentimes. That means you can store hundreds of pictures on even a small memory card of 256MB. Put it in the slot, set Coby to either go through them in order, or shuffle them, and sit back and watch your life pass before your eyes in dazzling color (or dazzling black and white, if you must).
  
  My Coby was a little over $100, including shipping to Alaska. The image screen is only 7" diagonally, meaning you can't really display it on a wall, but it does make an excellent display for your desk. If they can get a wall-size version (say, 11x14) down under $500, I'll probably give that a try next.
  
  In case it's not clear from the product writeup on Amazon, you have to plug this thing into a power socket to use it. There's no battery. And, even if there was, it wouldn't be too feasible -- you'd have to either take the thing apart every few hours to stick in new batteries, or keep it plugged into a charger part of the time. Mo' bettah just to give up and accept that it's an AC device, not a battery device.
  
  Stan Jones
  Anchorage, Alaska
  
  

• A few probs

  
  By A3Q6CEJ4WKPVVO on 2007-08-24
  This product has served the purpose my wife wanted it to. One thing I wish I knew before I bought this item is it will not play mp3s and show pics at the same time. It does have one glitch that is not a serious problem. When the unit gets warm from use, it will put lines through a picture every now and then. The only other thing I would make sure of is that you have some sort of extra external memory card. This unit does not have internal memory of any sort. Jump drives are cheap and easy to use though!
  
  

• You get what you pay for...

  
  By ALWKIL4SEM7V7 on 2007-05-04
  We received a Philips digital photo frame as a gift, and had issues with it - lots of freezing/locking up. Looking to purchase a gift for 2 other people, we went with the Coby since it was half the price of the Philips. As the title says, you get what you pay for. I'd probably give it 2.5 stars if that was an option, but it's not a 3.
  
  Pros:
  * mp3 - very nice to be able to include music to go along with the photos
  * remote - it's tiny, but does everything you need. Great idea
  * setup/playback is relatively simple, in theory (see cons below)
  
  Cons:
  * picture quality pales in comparison to the Philips. From a distance, it's not bad, but up close the pictures definitely look digitized. We've put the same resolution photos on both, and you can clearly see a difference side by side
  * loading photos is hit or miss. Click and drag interface is great, but it didn't always work. Some photos would copy immediately, others just wouldn't copy unless you tried to move them 8 or 9 times. Bulk copying was therefore impossible. Same issue with several memory cards, so I'm inclined to blame the frame. The current card is only 25% full, but the Coby won't let any more photos be copied over. [Using a card reader, all of the above works fine. But if you don't have one, you may run into issues. At the very least, buy the same type of card as your camera so you can copy via the camera instead of the frame]
  * widescreen is good, and bad. Make sure that it's actually what you want. If all of your photos are from a widescreen still or video camera, you'll be fine. But standard digital photos are 4:3, not 16:9. Mixing and matching photos looks kind of cheesy in a slideshow.
  
  Depending on what you're doing with it, it's not a bad purchase. To the less discerning photo enthusiast, it's fine. Other than the photo quality, all of the cons can be overcome. But if you really want a fine photo quality, I'd look elsewhere.
  
  

• Info noone has but Colby

  
  By A2S1FWVR1FGSZ6 on 2007-11-23
  Checked reviews everywhere but noone seems to mention some VITAL details. Here is the details from Colby Electronics Corporation on this DP-769
  
  * 7" Widescreen TFT LCD @ 480 x 234 <-- Resolution NOONE has
  * File Format Support: Photo - JPG, Audio - MP3/WMA, Video - MPG/AVI/XviD
  * AV Output for use with Home Theater Systems
  * Removable Memory Support: SD, MMC, MS, xD, CF, Full-Size USB (Host)
  * Integrated Stereo Speakers
  * Wall Mountable Design with Detachable Stand
  * Unit Dimensions: 10.25" x 8.75" x 2.24" (WHD)
  
  SPECIFICATIONS:
  * Display Type: 7" Widescreen TFT LCD @ 480 x 234
  * Contrast Ratio: 300:1
  * Brightness: 250 cd/m2
  * AV Output: Composite Video, 3.5mm Headphone / RCA Stereo Audio, Integrated Stereo Speakers
  * Power: 100-240V UL AC Adapter
  
  ACCESSORIES INCLUDED:
  100-240V AC Adapter & Detachable Stand & Remote Control & Two Interchangeable Acrylic Frames
  
  

• Great Picture, Good Value, Poor Plastic, Program Quirks

  
  By A206ZWZCCFAU1L on 2007-04-26
  Easy to get up and running, the unit goes into slideshow mode after power on automatically. Picture quality was excellent. Easy to put pictures on a memory card and have them show up. Recommend re-cropping your pictures to 16x9 aspect ratio so you get a full picture. Unit can accomodate std. 4x6 format as well, but will not fill the screen. Small Quirks are:
  - When in slideshow mode, you can't hit the pause button to ZOOM in.
  - Very poorly designed stand that WILL collapse after a couple of weeks.
  - Documentation is lacking (typical COBY style)
  - No support for QuickTime video popular in some digital cameras
  - Unit has a faint lingering glow on screen after power down which doesn't go away unless you unplug the unit.
  
  
• Probably the best digital photo frame available as of Dec, 2007
  By A2240J73FTPR21 on 2007-12-28
  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.
  
  
  
• Grainy picture quality
  By A33DRSOSWQ4WEA on 2007-12-04
  Diappointing picture quality. The online product overview states 'crisp picture', but I found it very grainy or pixelated (& I used high res digital photos from a new camera). It also had trouble reading 2 different SD cards, but I got it to work with the 3rd one. Manual is vague. Please note there are buttons on the top of frame to deal with the onscreen menu, although it looks like it should be touch screen. The frame is nice looking & has a nice finish. It doesn't look like wood, but it has a nice molded shape. Also has a small power brick. I'm returning the two I bought for gifts (drat).
  
  
• Great frame for the price
  By A1OD6GNJ2UJT24 on 2007-12-29
  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.
  
  
• Simple, easy to use and gorgeous 800x600 frame - not widescreen, no stretching!
  By A282RNKOO2P5RT on 2007-12-18
  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.
  
  
• Close but no cigar
  By A3GTC18F2FA5N1 on 2007-08-28
  Nice product. Doesn't play music and picture at the same time and videos have no sound. ALSO site and box both have a pik of a 4:3 ratio frame. Inside the box its a different story, its 16:9. Amazon promptly corrected their mistake and said it should be fixed on the website. Be forewarned, THIS IS A 16:9 RATIO FRAME!!!
  
  
• Very Disappointing
  By A1F659NPV9OX86 on 2007-12-07
  I guess a middle aged person like myself should know you almost always get what you pay for and that is certainly the case with the Coby DP-758 7-Inch Widescreen photo frame. Sure it's attractive enough with a well finished removable frame, but as soon as the power switch goes on it is apparent this is no bargain. Very grainy display, apparent even in the menu. Pixel quality is VERY poor, regardless of the original photo quality. No amount of photo editing resulted in a better quality image. Incidentally, this is a 3x5 aspect ratio frame, and even though the description touts the 16:9 ratio its a little shocking to see it on a frame this small. The stock photo married to the description is NOT what this looks like, not nearly as tall. I'm not normally a buy and return guy but I bought 2 and returned them both, opting instead for 2 Philips 6.5 inch in the clear and black frame. Received them today and the difference is unbelievable.The Philips have a very sharp display and are easy to use. Amazon handled everything A+ as usaual
  
  
• The ideal frame this is not.
  By A38FBFG21XSUG0 on 2007-04-13
  I've just returned this unit. It doesn't play videos as advertised. I was able to get it to properly play .avi files at 320 x 240 resolution...see other review below. But 320x240 gives a postage stamp size picture. At 640 x 480 the playback was full size but jerky and broken....more later.
  
  I have now had 3 different brands of 8" photo frames in my possession: a Phillips, a Pandigital, and this Coby.
  
  I have developed the following list of features in my "ideal" photo frame. First, video playback: I've been taking a lot of video clips with my digital still camera...they come out well and the convenience of not having to lug my camcorder along, and the ability to quickly transfer clip files within/between chips and my computer is attractive. I would like a frame which will play the format my camera is taking (.mov, more later) I'd also like the frame to play a multi-media show...that is, to play movie clips in show presentations, intermixed with .jpg photo files.
  
  Second feature is to play .wma music files, in addition to MP3. This is because I have a non-Ipod personal music player. All my music is in .wma format because it is roughly half the file size of MP3.
  Third, I would like a timer on my frame...set it to come on in the morning, off at night, for example.
  Fourth, I'd like an audio or speaker out feature. None of these frames has home theater-like sound, and I have an extra pair of computer speakers I'd probably hook up. Video out could come in handy too.
  Fifth, I'd like to be able to rotate stills from within the frame's software, manually or automatically. Yes, you can rotate them in the computer, but the frame may or may not preserve the rotation. (This may depend on which photo edit program you are using.)
  Sixth, I'd like a folder hierarchy file management system in the frame's software. Especially with the huge chips now available, I see an advantage to push a couple of buttons and change the picture set (folder), rather than switching out chips.
  
  Here is where the 3 units I've had stack up, followed by my next (fourth) unit.
  
  I am keeping the Pandigital....which Costco has for $140. It plays .mov video files, but not within a slideshow. It has no speaker out jack and the sound is tinny. It requires MP3 music files. It permits picture rotation. No folder management system. No clock/timer. No ability to play stills/video intermixed. I think the Coby and Phillips picture quality is brighter but the Pandigital is ok.
  
  The phillips didn't play video, and since it also had a software glitch when I returned it I decided to look elsewhere. (no remote and no music with the philips either.)
  
  The Coby won't play my videos, even after I used my converter program to try about 10 different MP4 and AVI variations. The Coby plays .wma music files, won't rotate stills, has no folder system, no clock/timer. It has a speaker out jack. It does not permit intermixing video and stills in one multimedia show. Picture quality is fully equal to Philips, generally the recognized standard. If all you want is photos, and never turn your camera sideways, this unit will be a good value.
  
  Another unit I'd like to get to play with would be the Image Moments model by Digitalfoci. I've exchanged emails with someone there who clearly knows what they are talking about and I believe this unit will intermix my photos and videos.
  
  
  
• Good for the price but the item is misleading...
  By A2AHYUY00XU4U1 on 2007-09-24
  This little digital picture frame does it all, playing back photos, music and video (AVI only coded in Xvid). Good bargin considering other frames cost an arm and leg more; well maybe not a leg but certainly the arm. However be forewarned that this device DOES NOT, I REPEAT DOES NOT play photos and music at the same time and can only do this with video, but that is being redundant since movies are picture and sound anyway. The ad nor the box said this and in fact made it appear to be able to achieve this feat, which it cannot. That is why this product lost a star. That and the picture sometimes shows up fuzzy but that is only after like 20 minutes or so at a time.
  
  
• Great digital frame!
  By A1T9U3VBW3L31P on 2007-11-30
  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!
  
  
• Good Frame for the Money, but Requires Work
  By A2YQUNBP0UCDAP on 2007-07-23
  NOTE: This review is written with the 7" version of the frame in mind; however I feel that most of the review is applicable to all of the sizes (especially the 10", since it is a Widescreen frame as well).
  
  Overall I am very happy with this frame, although it does require a bit of work for you to get the most out of it. I'll start off by highlighting the frame's major issues to keep in mind before you buy:
  
  1.) It is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL to understand that the 7" (and 10") frame is a WIDESCREEN frame. This means that the frame will not display normal sized pictures on the whole screen; it is designed for 16:9 pictures. If you have a camera that takes widescreen pictures, this isn't a problem. However, for the rest of us, this frame is less than ideal. You have three options for your 4:3 (the norm/non-widescreen) pictures if you are using this frame. The first is that you can display them as they are, but they won't take up the full screen, there will be black bars on the sides (or top, depending on if you take your pictures with the camera on its side). This isn't a bad option, but if you're a perfectionist like me, the black bars definitely leave something to be desired. Your second option is to switch the camera over to its 4:3 mode, which stretches the pictures out to fill the screen. As you can probably imagine, this is a poor solution; the pictures just look funny stretched out. The third option (and the one I took) is to crop them yourself to a 16:9 ratio. This takes the most work by far, but the pictures will fill the whole screen and in my opinion look the best.
  
  2.) It is very important to know that in order to have your pictures look their best on the frame, you'll need to resize them down to a much smaller resolution (around 480x270 to 560x315). The frame can display pictures with larger resolution, but they won't look good at all (they look sort of fuzzy). This might seem like a pain, but overall I look at it as more of a positive. The reason for that is that resizing pictures is very easy, just download a program like Xnview and you'll have them all resized in no time. It is also nice because pictures with this smaller resolution are very don't take up much memory (around 30 KB each) and you can fit a lot more of them on your memory card.
  
  3.) The frame is odd because it does not organize its files by their file names. For some weird reason, it displays them in by the order that they were copied to the memory card. Now, if you're planning on displaying your pictures in a random order, this won't be a problem. However, if you want to display them in a particular order, you'll have to make sure and copy them one by one (unless you're putting the card in directly from the camera). This is of course quite meticulous, but it has to be done. I am also a little sad that you can't make any picture playlists; all of your pictures are in one big folder. It would have been nice to choose the folders from the card you wanted to play, but the frame lumps all of its files together, so it isn't possible. The same applies for any music/movies you put on there; the only way to make a playlist is to copy the music files onto the card in the specific order you want them to play in. In my opinion this is the frame's biggest flaw.
  
  If you're able to deal with the above issues, the camera isn't a bad buy, especially considering how cheap it is compared to other models out there.
  
  The picture quality is good, probably not as good as higher-end models, but unless you're paying very close attention you won't have a problem at all. You can zoom in on pictures on the frame, as well as rotate them (if you've taken them with the camera sideways). I take a lot of pictures this way, and I was relieved to know that I could rotate them and use the frame on its side.
  
  The sound quality is very good, much better than I expected. Having music play during your slideshows is a huge bonus, and makes the frame a lot of fun.
  
  The movie playback would be nice touch, but it isn't very practical because it doesn't support QuickTime movies. Many digital cameras shoot their movies in the QuickTime format, so the frame's movie playback isn't too impressive of a feature. However, I wasn't really interested in the frame for its movie playback anyway, so I wasn't too disappointed (the movies would be a little odd on the widescreen frame anyway since it would have the black bars on the sides again).
  
  The frame itself looks nice, and I am happy to have the choice of two faceplates. It is a little thick, but you can't notice at all from the front. The stand does look cheap, and I am slightly afraid I'll end up having to replace it. You can mount it on your wall, but it would look odd with the cord hanging down. The frame needs to remain plugged in, so wall mounting the frame isn't too practical, but it is nice to have the option.
  
  If I had to do it all over again, I would have definitely paid the extra money to get the 8" frame and not have to worry about cropping my pictures. However, this is a very good frame for the price, and if you don't mind having to put in the extra work to get the most out of the frame, I would definitely recommend it.
  
  
• Poor picture quality, even worse customer service!!
  By AZU94UXFRCCDN on 2007-12-10
  I purchased 3 of these frames for Christmas gifts based on the affordable price. The idea was to pre-load the frames with photos to give to our family, since we won't be together for the holidays. When I received the frames, I was really disappointed in the picture quality, but was going to keep them until I had trouble with the interface and horribly vague manual. I am a pretty tech savvy person, and all I wanted to accomplish was have our photos start up when you plug in the thing. Everytime you turn the frame on, you have to select about 5 prompts to get the slideshow started. I called Coby to see if there were other settings, and they emailed me instructions on reinstalling a MP3 player....nothing about the frame. I returned all three and purchased the $99 Westinghouse frame instead, which works like a dream, and has lots of settings to customize viewing the images...
  
  
• Had To Send It Back
  By APPHYSBNRMZYK on 2007-12-07
  I am glad I opened this to get it set up before giving as a gift, as it had problems and I had to return it:
  
  1. Stated resolution is 480x234, so I figured I would get good results if I resized images to 480x234. Nope. In 4:3 mode there are black bars on the top, bottom and sides. In 16:9 mode there are black bars on the top and bottom and the photo is smooshed. Coby phone support could not tell me what resolution I should use.
  
  2. Slideshow would only step through images one time, and then stop on the last image. I tried 2 different USB flash drives, but it made no difference. Coby had no solution.
  
  3. Remote came with a dead battery.
  
  4. Sent Coby and email with these questions, and they never responded, so I finally had to call and they did not resolve anything.
  
  
• Great idea
  By A2LE6A0YOM8KKQ on 2007-03-11
  The Coby DP-772 is 7" digital photoframe is really amazing, very cleverly engineered, and fairly inexpensive. For under $75 with fee shipping, it shows brilliant photos, videos, and plays mpg3 files. The 480x234 resolution sounds low but actually shows very clear pictures, although I have not tried viewing text with it. Supposedly it can play back through a TV, but the cord is not included, so I did not try it. It even has a remote control. It accepts SD-MMC, CF, XD cards, all at once. It has a USB cable and you can load all 3 cards (e.g. F:. G:. H: drive) with photos from your PC without the need of another card writer. The stand can rotate for either landscape or portrait mode, or detach entirely for wall mounting It needs to be powered with a wall plug, but can be left on 24/7 for probably around $5-10 of power per year (5-10 watts?).
  It replaces the film camera photo album. It makes a good gift for parents so they can see all your digital photos. It might be useful for Alzheimer patients to help reinforce memories.
  Crop your photos to 16:9 (i.e. width = 1.778 x height for full fit in the display. If you then resize them to 480x270 (.1MB jpg file) you could store 10,000 photos on a 1GB card (under $10 if purchased together with frame from Amazon), or fewer if you add videos. Even an old 32MB card will hold 300 photos.
  Be sure to order a memory card with it if you do not have one. Order 2 of them if you want to keep your parents updated with your latest photos by swapping an updated card when you see them.
  Coby also makes a 10" (diagonal) version for double the price, but the 7" seems adequate and unobtrusive, and the display is the same size as a 6.1"x 3.4" photo.
  
  
  
• Great for Price
  By A18RCK7EU24EHI on 2007-03-26
  Overall: This digital picture frame is a solid product with a moderate functionality. Very good for the price. Nicer picture frames will cost about twice as much.
  
  Here's what I LIKE about this frame:
  - Although the display is only 480x230, the image quality is very good.
  - Rotary brightness dial.
  - Interchangeable face plates (white or black).
  - Extending support leg so the vertical angle of frame can be adjusted (mine is almost upright).
  - Very nice compact remote remote control.
  - Multiple card slots (CompactFlash, SD, USB FlashDrive, etc.).
  - USB hookup (not sure if it's 1.1 or 2.0 -- haven't checked) (inserted cards show up as removable drives on Windows PC's).
  - Audio/Video Out (but no cables).
  - Will automatically start the photo slide show when powered up.
  - Can be wall-mounted.
  - Plays MP3's (I haven't tried this feature yet).
  
  Here are my DISLIKES for the picture frame:
  - When power is interrupted (either by off/on switch or pull the plug), the slideshow does not remember where it left off -- it will start at photo 1 again (not nice when you have 8,000 photos on it like I do).
  - The built-in speaker constantly emits a slight hiss (white noise), even when the volume is turned completely down. I overcame this by inserting a rolled up piece of paper (kind of like a lollypop stick) into the Audio Out port, which tricks it into thinking there are headphones connected and kills the speaker connection.
  - Does not have any sort of timer (but I don't think any digital photo frames do). It would be nice to have some sort of timer to have it come on only when people are expected home and awake (weeknights, weekends, etc.). It's not practical to turn on/off every time -- especially since it goes back to photo 1 on the slideshow.
  - Odd screen ratio (16:9).
  
  The 16:9 screen ratio is probably because Coby uses the same screen on this digital picture frame that they use on their portable DVD players, which also have the cinema 16:9 screen proportions. It a bit cumbersome to format photos to fit nicely on this screen, but it's not that bad if done as listed below.
  
  Preparing Photos for the 16:9 display:
  1. Download and install the freeware utility FastStone Photo Resizer (it's FREE).
  2. Create a folder called "PhotoFrame" (e.g. "My Documents\My Pictures\PhotoFrame\")
  3. Run FastStone Photo Resizer, select your photo source and add them to the left side by clicking the "Add" or "Add All" button.
  4. Click the "Settings" button for "Output Format" and specify Quality=80, DCT Method=ISLOW, Photometric=(No Change), Smoothing=0, Progressive=. Click OK.
  5. Specify your output folder (the "PhotoFrame" folder from Step 2).
  6. Click the "Advanced Options" button.
  7. Under the "Resize" tab, specify In Pixels=, Width=480, Height=270, Switch Width...=, Preserve Aspect Ratio=, Smart-Cropping=. Click OK.
  8. Set any other options, as desired (e.g. Rename, etc.)
  9. Click Start.
  10. When done, simply copy the files from the "PhotoFrame" folder to the media card on the picture frame.
  
  The process above will create very small files that display nicely on the frame. Photos in the Portait orientation will be tall and skinny, but it's better than having heads completely cut off. Landscape photos will fit perfectly to fill the full picture frame's screen. A small slice is cropped out at the top and bottom of Landscape photos to make them fit the 16:9 format. Photos take up only about 35 KB/photo, so you can fit about 3,700 photos on a 128 MB card -- Nice, huh?!
  
  I hope this was helpful! Enjoy!
  
  UPDATE on 2008-03-31:
  Although you can fit many of the small photos on a small memory card, I found that the photo frame only supports about 2000 file entries. So, if you put more than 2,000 photos on a card, after a while you'll wonder "why haven't I seen any of the photos from ...?" They're there, but the frame won't display them.
  
  Also, I've had my photo frame running continuously for about 1 year and 3 months -- still working great.
  
  
• You get what you pay for
  By A3E18NOB89P206 on 2007-06-04
  I bought this because of its low price and have nothing but regret ever since. First, there's nowhere stated about its resolution on the product information - it turns out to be 480x234 which means everything is going to be pixelated regardless you crop or resize your pictures. Video function is also not working, may be because of the higher resolution of the videos and it can't buffer. I'm still searching for much better digital frame at this point, it looks like I have learnt my lesson for being cheap. But for sure, you need 640x480 resolution and above for 7" digital frame and unless you have a keychain digital frame (in which 240x120 will be more than enough).
  
  
• Display those pictures stuck on your computer on this beautiful digital frame!
  By A2FGWEATG4YH3I on 2007-04-06
  I'm like most people with a digital camera. I take a bazillion pictures, develop 10% onto paper, and then banish the other 90% to computer storage archives. I mean, I'd love to display a lot more of those pictures from my computer, but who has the wall space or time to organize all of those prints? That's why I decided to get a digital picture frame. I had been looking for quite some time, but was always turned off by the small-ish LCD sizes or poor resolutions. Then I came across this Coby 10" widescreen unit, with the 800x480 pixel display! There were no reviews on Amazon (at the time), but spec-wise it had what I wanted; a larger display and higher resolution.
  
  I took the chance and ordered one and am I glad I did! The display is huge, and the pictures look crisp. Colors are pretty accurate when compared to that of my calibrated LCD computer monitor. The interchangeable frames (it comes with a black one as well as the white one) make it easy to match with your décor. The litte remote is easy to use, but easy to lose as well, so make sure you place it somewhere easy to find. The built-in MP3 player is a nice touch. The speakers aren't that great (it is a picture frame after all), but it's nice to have the frame play music while in slideshow mode. There is a variety of transition effects to choose from. I haven't tried playing videos on it, so I can't comment on that feature.
  
  That being said, there are a few things that prevent me from giving this 5 stars.
  
  1. The adjustable stand is made of cheap feeling plastic. I've seen other frames that have much nicer backs. Yes, I know it's the front you are looking at, but the stand should be sturdier, in my opinion.
  
  2. The angle of the stand, while adjustable, is simply held in place by friction. It actually has one setting that it can click into, but then it is angled too much to view at a normal position.
  
  3. There seems to be a software bug that causes the display to act weird in slideshow mode. Well, to be more precise, if you are in slideshow mode and you choose either the Fade, Mask, or Cross Comb transition effects, then the very top horizontal pixel line starts to show black sections. It looks like dead pixels, but once you exit the slideshow (or use other effects other than then ones I listed) everything is fine. I have recreated this problem, but I don't know if it's just my frame or all of these. No biggie. I now use no transition effects it is perfect.
  
  4. This is not really a complaint about the product but more about Coby's specs. On their website they state the LCD is 800x480. Great! So I ordered the frame and then resized a whole bunch of pictures to that resolution. However, when I got the frame and started using it, I noticed that all of my pictures had black (blank) bars on both the left and right sides of the picture. It turns out that the resolution is actually 860x480 (which I found out after some trial-and-error). It would have been nice to know this ahead of time to save me from having to re-resize my pictures. Plus, sizing pictures to 860x480 is a really weird ratio... kinda like getting 4x7 prints.
  
  I ordered this from Total Electronics (one of the Amazon vendors) and it arrived quickly. When I reported the "dead pixel" problem (which turned out to be a software bug, not a defect, so to speak), they responded to my email quickly and offered to take it back no questions asked. Now that's customer service!
  
  Overall, I am very pleased with this product. In reality, it rates 4.5 stars. I'm the type of person that agonizes over something before finally buying it. With this purchase, that was totally unncessary!
  
  
  
• Good Value - Basic Photo Frame
  By A3QKI1VCOY2KYW on 2007-12-10
  I am very satisfied with the COBY DP-768. It is a basic photo frame that provides all that I require. The set-up is not terribly intuitive, but not too bad. I did find that I had to experiment quite a bit in order to get my photos to properly fill the 16:9 frame. I ended up cropping my jpeg photos to 700 x 460 pixels (that is 8.75" x 5.75" at 80 pixels/inch). I set the frame to 16:9 format, and then set the image to "origial" size. This worked for me, but I don't fully understand why these dimensions don't equate to a 16:9 display proportion. I also don't understand why photos cropped to match the instruction manual display resolution of 480 x 234 pixels did not work well for me. At those setting, the image did not come close to filling the screen. I feel that the instruction manual was lacking in describing the process required to properly crop photos to an acceptable format. My camera only takes images in 4:3 format, so some tinkering was required.
  
  
• Coby versus Kodak
  By A3DS1OP2CETO2 on 2008-05-26
  I bought both the Coby DP-888 8" frame and the Kodak EasyShare SV811 8" frame and compared them using the same slide show. One was to keep and the other was destined for Grandmother as a gift. I wasn't interested in email, websites or wireless. I used a USB flash drive on both and exported the photos from iPhoto, including some movies I took with my digital still camera (640x480 resolution, 16 bit). I also tried exporting a slideshow from iPhoto (in the form of a Quicktime .mov file).
  The bottom line is that the Coby has a 4:3 screen and is much better suited to a camera format than the Kodak 16:9 screen (a ridiculous format in either portrait or landscape orientation) but the Coby firmware is extremely primitive compared to the Kodak.
  A few pros and cons for each frame.
  
  Coby pros:
  -screen is good (800x600; one of the few screens for which you can actually find the resolution) with brightness control on the frame. Plenty bright.
  -frame looks nicer than the Kodak
  -sturdier leg for supporting display with rubber "feet" to keep it from slipping
  -4:3 format
  Coby cons:
  -no auto on feature
  -no auto rotation of photos in slideshow (that has to be done before sending to the frame)
  -no setting for frame orientation (not critical - probably want it in landscape to match most photos)
  -transitions not as nice looking as the Kodak
  -can't play movies as part of slideshow; must select photos or video
  -doesn't recognize .mov files (so it wouldn't play my Quicktime slideshow)
  -can't play 640x480 movie from USB drive or a CF card properly; movie stutters and skips and sound is broken up
  
  Kodak pros:
  -has some internal memory (Coby has none)
  -auto on/off feature
  -nicer transitions
  -menus slightly easier to navigate
  -can turn frame on/off with remote (Coby can't)
  -can set frame orientation
  -auto rotation of photos
  -plays .avi files fine (although the firmware must sort by file type because all of the movies were grouped at the end of the slideshow)
  Kodak cons:
  -would not play my Quicktime slideshow properly (slide duration was way too fast and no sound)
  -lousy 16:9 format (there is an option to either display the entire image, which can make for a small picture depending on frame and picture orientation, or autofill, which will crop your carefully framed pictures in undesirable ways)
  
  The verdict is that both of these frames are flawed. If the Coby had the more sophisticated Kodak firmware (or vice versa) I would have been reasonably happy. As it was, I couldn't stand the widescreen format of the Kodak frame and that went to Grandma (hey, at least it is easier to use). I think the digital frame market awaits some savvy manufacturer who will be able to put it all together to produce a five star product but these two frames are not it.
  
  
• Make your mother happy
  By A2Y5P8ISTELDO7 on 2007-04-05
  This thing is incredible for the price. Takes many different kinds of memory cards. DON'T buy a new memory card. Find some old card that is too small to use left over from an earlier digital camera (even 16 or 32 megs will do). Load it up with photos cropped according to the instructions of "Engineer". This shrinks them very small. I used an old 256 meg card. Incredibly 180 photos fit on around 8 megs. Made my mom nuts to see the photos flashing on the screen. No problems whatsoever.
  
  
• A poor value.
  By A12KJX4X0E42DB on 2007-12-12
  I can recommend nothing about this product. The color is poor. The contrast is inadequate. The screen is too small. The resolution is too grainy. Need I go on?
  
  
• cheap plastic cheap
  By A82VW4JHYGL44 on 2007-04-25
  Straight out of the box disappointment with the extremely poor quality. Plug into wall and does not work. After trying numerous different outlets/wiggles of the cord, it finally powered on. After putting in a card, the pics were ok, passable. The mp3 popped and moaned and popped some more, and I was only playing very quiet jazz. This is not worth the money even though it is cheap. Pay a little more and get one that is of better quality.
  
  
• Great value
  By A1Y9D6JL0GQNG1 on 2007-06-11
  This frame combines great features with a low price. With 800x600 resolution, it produces sharper images than most other frames, that are also reasonably bright. It has built-in audio to play a soundtrack to your slideshow, or videos with audio (the speakers aren't great, but this isn't intended to be an audiophile device). Overall, this unit is a great value, and I rate it excellent on that basis.
  
  That's not to say that it's perfect. Here are some criticisms:
  - While you can choose from the included white or black frames, both of them are clearly plastic. I'd prefer real wood, or at least a way that the device could be mounted to a standard wood frame.
  - You can store music to accompany your slideshow, which is great. You can also choose to play a single selection repeatedly, or everything on your card. But you cannot have playlists, nor even tell it to repeat only the songs contained in a given folder. It's all, one, or none.
  - I've put all the content onto one 1GB SD card, and it's the only storage device in the unit. Every time the unit starts up, it asks if it should play from the SD card. Since that's the only installed storage device, a friendly device should choose it automatically. Indeed, I wish that when I turn it on, it would just jump right into slideshow mode.
  
  
• Not what is promised
  By A1767UU4UFMRAR on 2007-05-24
  Received this on 5/18 and trying ever since to make it perform as promised. Plays music OK, and most slides, but thumbnail screen shows INVALID on every other frame. Will not play videos AT ALL. Tried clips from both my Canons and a Sony. A few play jerkily for 3-4 secpnds with garbled sound, then screen freezes and must turn it off and back on again. Finally phoned customer service and they would only say they would email me a tutorial to fix all my problems. Still waiting. Even purchased 2 Ultra Speed SD cards to see if that would correct the video problem. Didn't. Don't waste your money. Customer service just lies to get you off the phone. Will be contacting Amazon to return it. Glad I saved the box.
  
  
• Useless product
  By A16H86314KWBYD on 2007-05-27
  The resolution is really bad. It actually spoils every single photo being displayed. You see digital squares all over on your photo. Wonder who would buy a product with such a low resolution at this price. We returned it the next day. Good luck.
  
  
• Compatible with a SanDisk SD Memory Card
  By A3MQ672FYFNM7B on 2008-05-06
  Can anyone recommend a basic digital frame that has internal memory that does not need any extra accessories or memory cards and is somewhat easy to use? Because I'm just really incredibly frustrated and fed up with this thing. I gave this to my dad a few months ago for his birthday. Ever since he started using his digital camera he has amassed quite a collection of photos but has no where to put them. He still has not figured out how to use this frame. So the other day I offered to load the photos for him. What a nightmare.
  
  The user's manual is a total joke, it was riddled with misprints and none of it helped me. This thing is driving me crazy.
  
  According to the manual the frame supports these types of memory files:
  Compact Flash Cards
  Secure Digital Cards
  Multimedia Cards
  xD Picture Cards
  Memory Sticks
  
  And, I have these types of memory:
  Fujifilm 16MB memory card xD-Picture Card
  Swissbit 64MB usb stick
  
  When I insert each of these pieces of memory the frame says: not supported file.
  
  Why does it say that? Am I putting it in wrong? Or what? Both my xD Card & my Memory Stick cannot be incompatible with this frame, can it?
  
  The "trouble shooting" inside the manual was garbage. It doesn't mention what "not supported file" means or what to do. And it doesn't talk in basic language for everyday customers to understand.
  
  I called their tech support hotline: 800-681-2629 and it was a huge waste of time. The person I spoke to sounded totally stoned it wasn't even a technical support department, it was an order taker that I spoke to. I wasted 2 hours on this plastic piece of garbage.
  
  I finally got it to work with a SanDisk brand SD memory card .
  
  Once the card was inserted, it took about 20 seconds for it to be read then once I entered on the image it took another few seconds to come up (for the first few seconds all I saw was a black screen.) When I set it to the photo gallery mode it was rather slow, I had it on the fastest setting (6 seconds,) but it seemed like it didn't want to move that quick. Anyway, the picture quality is pretty bad and the pictures all look much much darker.
  
  Suffice it to say, I would not recommend this to anyone because it is not user-friendly, the picture quality is abysmal and Coby's tech support is beyond abominable.
  
  
  
  

• Transcend TS8GSDHC6 8GB SDHC card (SD 2.0 SPD Class 6)
• Transcend TS4GSDHC6 4GB SDHC card (SD 2.0 SPD Class 6)
• Kingston 2GB Secure Digital Memory Card (SD/2GB, Retail Package)
• SanDisk SDSDH-2048-901 2 GB Ultra II Secure Digital Memory Card ( US Retail Package )
• Dane-Elec 4GB High Capacity Secure Digital SDHC Memory Card

• Kingston 1 GB Secure Digital Flash Card ( SD/1GB ) (Retail Package)
• Coby 1.5-Inch Digital Photo Keychain (White)
• SanDisk 2GB SD Memory Card (SDSDB-2048, Bulk Package)
• PNY P-SD2GB-FS Optima 2GB Secure Digital Class 4 Flash Memory Card
• SanDisk 1 GB Secure Digital SD Card (SDSDB-1024, Bulk Package)