Matsunichi Photoblitz 7-Inch Digital Picture Frame Reviews

• A decent frame for those with reasonable expectations

  
  By AU7O296O6PXZM on 2007-07-29
  I received my frame today and have been playing with it a couple hours. There seem to be a lot of widely divergent opinions here, so I'll attempt to bridge the gap between the two sides. The frame is made of plastic, but is sufficiently attractive. It does not have that inferior quality, sold-only-on-TV look. It could be confused with wood from a distance, which is good. The frame didn't immediately recognize my SD card, but I popped it out and then back in, and it worked fine. The user interface is pretty clunky, but not so bad as to be infuriating like a cheap digital watch. After a quick look at the user manual and five minutes playing with the frame, I could make it do what I wanted.
  
  The main area I was concerned about is picture quality. The resolution is fairly low - 480 x 234, which is pretty standard at this price point. This is a device clearly aimed at mainstream consumers - proud grandmas and the like. If you are a camera snob you should probably look elsewhere. This should be obvious, but it bears repeating. Your images are *not* going to look as good as they do even on an LCD computer monitor.
  
  That said, most of my decent quality images look decent. Keep in mind this is a 16:9 wide ratio display. I put a couple images on the frame that were shot vertically, forcing the frame to shrink them substantially to make them fit. These shots looked pretty bad, and I ended up deleting them from the memory card. I also had one shot that was slightly out of focus. It looks okay on my computer, but looked pretty bad on the frame. Garbage in, garbage out definitely applies here. If your pics are shot with an inferior camera or they have other flaws, their bad points will most likely be magnified by this frame.
  
  
  With the bad photos deleted, the ones I left on the frame ended up looking pretty good. Just don't be surprised if you can't get all your images to look their best. If you want your "wow" photos to wow others, you might want to spend a bit more money. But if you start with good looking images and just want something to set on your desk at work, this should be adequate. For the minimal price, I consider the frame good if not great; a reasonable choice for those with reasonable expectations.
  
  
  

• OK for this price range -- reasonable performance

  
  By A122W2UUIAN426 on 2007-08-04
  This screen is reasonably-sized for most viewers (7 inches diagonally; horizontal and vertical dimensions are smaller of course), but elderly or sight-limited folks may find it difficult to see clearly. I bought this for my parents (aged high 70s and 80s) and loaded up lots of photos on a 2 GB chip. As stated by other reviewers, vertical shots are shrunk very small to accomodate the limited height of the screen. The wider than normal photograph 16:9 ratio means that horizontal shots will have the left and right sides of each image stretched a bit, causing some distortion on the sides (a person at the left or right side will appear to be much wider than someone in the middle!) Of course, this could be corrected by editing each photo, but who has the time? Screen resolution is not as sharp as a PC LCD screen would be. But, at this price point it seems to be a reasonable performer. My main gripe is the very short lead between the AC wall transformer and plug -- maybe 2-3 feet. Still, for me, it's a keeper until prices come down on larger and sharper screens.
  
  

• Good For the Money

  
  By A10U8DJAPJJI8I on 2007-08-31
  The resolution is nothing to write home about, but unless you want to spend at least 3x as much money, you won't notice much difference between this and any of the other digital picture frames under $200 or so. About my only "complaint" concerning this unit is that there is no provision to run it on batteries, rechargable or otherwise. That is pretty common with these units though, unfortunately. I found a great SD memory card for this on Amazon for less than $20. All things concerned, this is a really good deal, and I am very satisfied with the purchase. Stupidly simple to operate. Would make a great gift.
  
  

• not as bad as people make it out to be

  
  By A1LBGP7BUXNJ20 on 2007-06-17
  I read a lot of reviews on a lot of different digital photo frames before I purchased this one as a fathers day present. I was concerned because of the talk about the poor quality or the low resolution. After some tinkering with file size and resolution of the pictures I loaded I was able to get perfectly crisp and quality pictures displayed (most of the time). You know what the problem was with the pictures that didn't look great on the display? It was because they didn't look great to begin with. As they say "garbage in, garbage out." Its not going to make a bad picture look any better, but it is going to make a good picture look just as good. I also think you need to consider the target audience. I am a graphic designer and work with displays, printers, and color issues all day...so yes I could be a lot more critical of this device. However, I am giving it to my father who is pushing 60. He will never know the difference in quality or contrast, nor will any of his friends that look at it. Just remember things like this when making a purchase like this. Good luck to everyone looking to buy one of these photo frames!
  
  

• Picture Perfect Gift!

  
  By AJKSS1F34YNAZ on 2007-07-05
  I bought this for my husband for Fathers Day. I collected pictures by email from everyone and put it on a 1GB card. To get the full benefit of the 16:9 display you need to be sure your pictures are taken in landscape mode. Otherwise they can be narrow in the middle of the screen. Still, it doesn't seem to bother him. He absolutely loves it! He keeps it on all the time on the table next to his recliner. Beautiful picture quality - much better than I had expected. And whenever the kids send us pictures or I take some he has me add them to his card. It plays a slideshow all the time. Adding pictures is so simple. Then you just plug the card in and it starts right up. Too easy. I am getting ready to buy our son one for his birthday and I am going to give my son-in-law one that is battery operated to take to Iraq when he is deployed in November. Don't hesitate to buy this for a gift. It's a no brainer :)
  
  
• Only 480 x 234 resolution
  By A1VSLFLLEPG3TP on 2007-05-02
  Based on the review stating that the person reduced his pictures to "800x800" and gave 5 stars, I thought for sure this was an 800x600 (or similar) picture frame with a good display. Unfortunately, it's really only a mediocre 480x234 display. I'm returning it. I should have known better based on the price (notice how the higher resolution frames cost more) but I hoped for the best. I also should have done an internet search to get the specs. It would be nice if Amazon listed this very important spec. Oh well, at least Amazon has a very good return policy.
  
  
• Great digital frame
  By A2NFY5S6WY2EFO on 2007-04-17
  This is a really nice frame - looks like an expensive black wooden frame. It has an extensive setup menu, but it is really a no-brainer. Just pop the card in and the slideshow starts.
  
  cons: Does not have a remote
  
  
• Great Price/Quality Pairing
  By A1P9EMLSMXDK9T on 2007-08-29
  Not sure about the complaints listed - for the price you are paying, this is an outstanding buy. I was easily able to load over 700 pics onto a 1GB card and have them all display beautifully. For the most part, I loaded them as fairly high resolution - 1 GB gives you plenty of room - but if you are using a smaller card there are many readily available freeware utilities to change the resolution of a bunch of pics all at once.
  
  I have no idea why some other reviewers have issues with pixelizing - for the most part, it is quality in and quality out - sure, the resolution is lower than your PC or a print, but it is not grossly distorting pictures.
  
  Ultimately, I purchased 4 of these for various gifts - watch for specials when they fall below 60 bucks.
  
  
• Great photo fill technique. Plus a suprize...
  By A2UDNE6Y47HGHX on 2007-11-02
  Great photo fill technique. I used irfanview batch conversion to resize my pics to 800x600. Perfect display and the file size was @50-100kbytes each. I got 150 great looking pics on an old 16mb SD card. When I popped my camera 512 SD card in, I noticed it would even play a video on it taken from my Canon A630 camera too!! If I clicked on one they all would play one time through. You may be able to watch computer edited MP4 / AVI(s) this way.((from frame menu and no speaker sound) not during auto slide show mode though).
  
  
• Pretty good for the price
  By A26MRQEBNKB6Y1 on 2007-05-12
  I've been waiting for the price of the digital photo frames to drop a bit. This was the first one I've seen that I would consider cheap enough for the gamble of buying without seeing it first. I was not disapointed. Just like a TV or computer screen, if you are too close to it, the picture looks grainy. Arms length or further is perfect for viewing. Pictures are clear in a bright office environment or a darker living room in the evening.
  
  In the four hours I watched the unit before boxing it up and shipping to my mom for mothers day it mis-read two pictures. That's acceptable for the price.
  
  
• It Does the Job and More!
  By A3EAS6MRV6YHNZ on 2007-09-18
  Firstly, I would buy another one.
  
  This frame is not the best frame out there, but I am not seeing another 7" frame with these features for this price on the net. So far, the ONLY problem I have with the frame is that it stretches parts of the picture when displaying in cinema mode and truncates (deletes) part of the top and bottom of the picture when in widescreen mode. That is, for cinema, the picture is divided into 3 parts, the middle remains fine but the outer parts are stretched. It doesn't look bad, sometimes even unnoticeable. The good thing is that you can choose not to view using cinema or widescreen. The "Normal" (no stretching) mode gives a dark area to the left and right of the picture, like the dark area above and below a widescreen movie when watched on a regular TV. Personally I prefer the widescreen mode which is perfect for panoramic widescreen shots!
  
  The frame comes with a simple intuitive menu. It allows you to select language, set brightness, colour and contrast. It has about 14 transition modes including normal and random. It can even traverse folders on your memory.
  
  The frame is made of hard plastic. Not the type that seem to crack easily and discolour over time. It has photo rotation, Thumbnail preview, uses only AC power (5V), response time 15 seconds, uses MS, MS Pro, MMC, xD and SD cards. interval times available 3, 5 & 10 Seconds, power switch, 4 feet power cord/adapter.
  
  Note however, the display is not as sharp as a laptop screen. You may have to pay about $200 for that kind of quality. the quality is about that of a decent cell-phone. You will only see each pixel if you go as close as about 12 or near inches. It looks very sharp from about 36 inches, which is about the same distance you sit from your monitor.
  
  I tried a 2gig SD card and it worked, even an old 16meg memory stick.
  
  
• Digital Frame
  By A2P856J2JB5VIZ on 2007-10-15
  I thought the prior reviews on this product were accurate. Since it is less expensive, I didn't expect it to be the best photo quality on screen, but its good enough for just the common household frame. If you're looking to showcase your photography skills around the house, you may want to spend more for higher quality.
  
  One part I found difficult and inconvenient is that your pictures have to be on the memory card to load them onto the frame. There is not a USB connection to load pictures on. So don't remove them from your camera/memory card until after they've been loaded onto the frame. Also, since the frame doesn't have any internal memory, it won't show pictures unless the memory card is in the frame. I would suggest buying a small memory card just for use in the frame so you can have pictures running in your house, while you're stilling using your camera out and about.
  
  
• Great Gift to yourself for the low money
  By A3QBKW3NS4UY0Q on 2007-04-26
  Just got this today. Almost no setup, pop the SD in and slide show plays. I like the all black look of it. Only consume 3w of power. The menu is easy. I ended up convert all pictures in 800x800 frame, landscape ones only, and show them in WIDE mode. Man! It's really a pleasure to watch the show, so much nice memory comes with those pictures. LCD quality is fine. Just don't look too close and you wont notice the grid. It cannot play music or movies, but why would I want them anyway?
  
  By the way, don't use portrait pictures. They are shown ridiculously small on screen.
  
  
• Wow!
  By A3EEEUVNTUL7I5 on 2007-05-04
  I have to admit that I ordered this with some hesitation, but this little frame has SO lived up to its description. I purchased this to load with a mother's day slideshow for my mom and was amazed at how easy it was to use. (Which is great because if it's too complicated, she won't touch it.) I haven't gotten into the more advanced parts of the menu, but was able to just take my camera card and pop it in. For a tiny screen, I was very pleased with the clarity of the photos. Can't wait to give this gift!
  
  
• Fine Product
  By A3R6DRLJKHDPTB on 2007-08-09
  Super easy to download my pictures to my own memory card, then insert the card into the frame and turn it on. This was a gift for my mother, and she loves it. Picture quality is fine.
  
  As of mid-Jan. 2008, I've bought three of these for family members. All working super, no problems.
  
  
• Excellent product
  By A11HG47D1YUFM4 on 2007-10-30
  I bought this particular frame after reading previous raters' comments. Great quality and excellent value for the money.
  
  
• Good Enough
  By AM1DI9YEWPZR9 on 2007-07-02
  I didnt expect this frame to blow me away, per se, but it was better than I expected. Nice crisp images and I love the slideshow option. I havent had it long enough to comment on durabilty or anything, as I just got it a couple hours ago (1 day ahead of schedule). I wanted a digital frame that took my SD cards and had a nice picture quality. This frame delivered at a fantastic price, so it got all 5 stars. I am now going to buy 2 more, 1 for mom and 1 for sister.
  
  
• Matsunichi Photoblitz 7-inch Frame
  By A2E5GTF3ZJDR05 on 2007-10-17
  This frame was fair for the price. I received a Pandigital frame as a gift which was MUCH nicer for only $40 more. The Pandigital plays music, has better options for the slideshow and is more user friendly. But for a cheaper product, the Matsunichi is fine.
  
  
• Digital Picture Frame
  By A1NH7D4G1NACA on 2007-10-18
  Great gift for my mom. She loves it and always has new pictures every time I go over.
  
  
• Good picture quality
  By A2WOLID69IU9VE on 2007-10-22
  The picture quality from this frame is better than those of another frame I purchased for almost twice the price from a major retailer. The controls are not as intuitive and there is no music playback, but for a digital frame does that really matter? I never plan on using these for sound anyway. Overall a very satisfied customer.
  
  
• Bottom cut off pics
  By A33BU0YLW8V1YQ on 2007-11-08
  I bought this frame knowing that I was paying a lower price and would get lower quality. For the most part, my pictures come across fine. There is a little pixelation, especially with photos take on an older 4MP camera, but it's not bad for the price. My biggest complaint is that the bottom of the photos is cut off. Many of my photos now look like I centered the frame then moved the camera up an inch before taking the shot! Like another reviewer, I think this is fine for a constant slideshow on your desk at work (which is where mine sits), but if you want good quality presentation, spend the extra money for a better product.
  
  
• Worth the money
  By A1X69C85UTSPCA on 2007-11-18
  I bought this about a month ago as a gift and have loved it. You need your own card and it plugs into the wall. Upon puting my pictures in, i had to "play" around with it a little to get the desired result. There are buttons on the back which allow you to choose functions and select thumbnails. I had a little trouble selecting exactly what i wanted it to do, but 10 minutes later, i had a slideshow of about 500 pictures going.
  
  THe resolution is fine, but go with a high definition picture frame if you want the highest quality. They cost about 2X more.
  
  
• Photoblitz Picture Frame
  By A2P4QYD1D6OY8P on 2007-11-23
  Difficult to use. Tried to return it, but their customer service department was ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE and UNCOOPERATIVE. I will never, ever, purchase another product from this company.
  
  
• not high quality
  By A1MVPGZHCHO263 on 2007-08-14
  this picture frame didn't have very high resolution, so all the pictures look soooo pixilated. Definitely not worth the price.
  
  
• poor quality
  By A2MBLUOD7EB22E on 2007-09-09
  You get what you pay for. The picture quality is not very good and the menu system is terrible. Just changing the default screen is an ordeal.
  
  
• Disappointed- no memory card
  By A30078U61FSCHC on 2007-12-04
  This product is a disappointment. It does not have any internal memory.. fine, but what I was not told was that I needed to purchase a separate memory disc for it. I would have purchased it at the same time, or at least, I would have known.
  I am debating whether or not to return it.
  Oh, and the mini-disc adapters that pop up as a recommendation.. You do NOT need them; at least, not for this item.
  YOU DO NEED A MEMORY CARD!
  -Disgusted
  
  
• no jump drive??
  By A2WAFDX24T3HUY on 2007-06-11
  I ordered this for my mom for mother's day and assumed (which is my own stupid fault) that this frame like so many others I reviewed allowed to plug in a jump drive. Ie, thinking when my mom comes out to visit, I can download our photos to a jump drive, send her home with it so she can quickly and easily see photos from her most recent visit....but no, she says it does not allow for jump drives. I am considering having her return it. Lame.
  
  
• Great price, great product!!
  By A3UQJI9YCUNON8 on 2007-07-26
  I bought 2 of these for Father's Day gifts. They have great pic quality and are a great price. My husband and father-in-law both have them on their desks at works. Great conversation piece.
  
  
• Turn off
  By AZ97PLXN2OIBM on 2007-08-07
  Will have to request a refund or exchange because it will not even turn on.
  
  
• great price, great frame
  By A2T4027BZHXA6M on 2007-08-09
  i am very happy with my digital picture frame. it was a great price and i get tons of compliments on it.
  
  

• Transcend TS4GSDHC6 4GB SDHC SD 2.0 SPD Class 6 Card
• 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 )
• Transcend 8GB SDHC CARD (SD 2.0 SPD Class 6)
• 3-Year Extended Service Plan - Covers Electronic Items $0-$200 - Repair

• Kingston 1GB microSD with 2 Adapters (SDC/1GB-2ADP)
• SanDisk 1 GB Secure Digital SD Card (SDSDB-1024, Bulk Package)
• Coby 1.5-Inch Digital Photo Keychain (White)
• Kingston 1 GB Secure Digital Flash Card ( SD/1GB ) (Retail Package)
• Coby DP-102 10-Inch Widescreen Digital Photo Frame with Built-In MP3 Player