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"Try a different product" on by janetSvo
Pros: Nice idea, but...
Cons: Bad software and defective hardware
Summary: My goal was to put photos on a USB drive to plug into the frame for Mom/Grandma to enjoy.
I tried two Westinghouse digital photo frames (both model DPF-0801; but probably nearly the same as DPF-0701 and DPF-O561), assuming the first might have had a manufacturing defect.
In the first, the software would not consistently recognize and play the slide show from the USB drive that was plugged in. (Specifically, the "Start Slide Show" function was inactive.) What is curious is that the "Start..." function would work correctly occassionally--maybe once in 25 trys. This products's USB port consistently lighted up and seemed to be solidly seated.
The second duplicate product software started functioning as described above. Then the software started locking up (with a permanent hour-glass). Then after approximately 25 times of plugging in the USB drive, the drive light stopped lighting and the seating seemed a little loose. Then the software did not recognize there was anything in the USB port. I concluded this was a defective port.
There is no help for this issue in the manual or offered on Westinghouse's web site. I refuse to put myself through customer "support" hell.
I am returning it for a refund, and looking for a better quality product. Can you help me find one? -
"Does not Work on a Mac" on by cbadland
Pros: looks good
Cons: Does not work
Summary: What dim bulb at Westinghouse decided to release a product that does not work on a Mac? There are over 45 million Mac users worldwide. You have to look far and wide to find flash memory not recognized by Mac OSX. Ther is not indication on the box that Macs are not supported. Bad move.
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"Not a bad choice - depending on how you'll use it..." on by mtippin
Pros: Sharp display, video playback, tripod-mount
Cons: No audio, no remote, minimal documentation
Summary: I've read the other reviews for this product (and other frames) and can only sympathize with everyone's frustration. No manufacturer has gotten this thing right yet - there is no "iPod" of the digital photo-frame world. Each frame seems to be missing some feature, and this frame is no exception.
That having been said, this is not a bad frame to purchase based on how you'll be using it. I organize, rotate, edit and resize my photos on the PC with Photoshop and then use cheap SD cards and old CF cards. I'm not trying to use USB drives - so I can't speak to those issues.
The slideshows just "run" and there are plenty of options for setting transitions and the speed of the slideshow. You can have the images "stretch" to fit the frame (often annoying) or have them reduced to fit and the frame will add black bars on the top or sides as needed. If you're looking for a straight-forward way to display your pictures this frame does it.
On the downside, it has no speakers, so although it will play the videos from my Canon s80 I get no sound. There's no 1/8" audio jack either, so you'll just have to live with seeing your movies without sound. There's no remote, so you'll have to use the four buttons up top to make changes to the settings. I'll agree with the other reviewer that the menu button is frustrating. You have to press-and-hold it in order to see the menu options, and it doesn't seem to work if you're in the middle of a slideshow.
To win awards with a digital picture frame, manufacturers need to include:
1. Intelligent rotation (my Canon s80 encodes orientation data - as do many new cameras - the frames should read this and rotate and scale images based on that info)
2. Wide support for memory cards and USB storage.
3. Better documentation
4. AVI and MPEG support with audio
5. A Remote
6. Wifi connection (like the estarlet) to support RSS feeds from flickr or other image services and photo sharing to other family member's frames.
If you can wait a year or two, these frames will be cheaper and more capable - by far! We'll all look back at today's models as quaint toys. -
"Decent Frame" on by Discgolfer
Pros: Great picture, lots of Memory card options
Cons: No remote control
Summary: I bought this for myself for christmas because I've wanted one for a while now. I love the fact that it has the same memory card port as my camera so I can just take pictures and them put them directly into the frame.
I plan on buying similar frames for my parents and my wife's parents so that we can just send them memory cards of family photo's every so often, and they just have to swap out the cards.
It took about 3 mins to figure everything out in the frame. I don't know where all these negative posters got there information from (except the Mac guy). It says in the manual how to get to the menu system to delete and nowhere does it say that it's USB 2.0.
Who would want to use just the limited 8mb of internal memory anyway?
So far I'm extremely happy with the frame. I just wish it had a remote, but that is easily overlooked. -
"COMPLETE POS" on by AnonTechConsumer
Pros: there are no pros to a product that does not work
Cons: the USB 2.0 port is not USB 2.0
Summary: port simply does not work. PERIOD
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