Here are some of the top tips and tricks to get more from your digital picture frame USB. We’ll show you how to transfer photos to your digital picture frame by USB, how to start slideshows, and some of the common mistakes to avoid. By the time we’re done, you’ll know the best frame for USB slideshows, where you can get them, and how the whole process works. Let’s dive in!
What is the best digital picture frame with USB support?
Pix-Star’s digital picture frame with USB support is a very versatile and capable digital photo frame – both online and offline. With extensive offline features and functionality, you can still start and manage slideshows, browse through your library, and even view web albums and photo-mail. This is thanks to Pix-Star’s 8GB of internal storage that saves all incoming photos to local storage for offline use.
Pix-Star’s frames support a wide range of USB and SD card types – with no limits on the storage size of the USB. This means you can essentially get a massive boost in storage by connecting a large USB filled with photos. It ensures you always have enough space for your favorite memories – even if you have a very big family.
Pix-Star’s digital picture frames can even start slideshows with photos and videos directly from an inserted USB. Here’s a great read on how to insert and view photos from an SD card on your digital photo frame! You don’t need to copy all the contents across to the frame’s internal storage. It’s a great plug-and-play feature that makes quick-loading photos effortless even for not-so-tech-savvy users like grandparents.
There is a lot more to the Pix-Star frame that goes above and beyond what you’d expect from a USB digital picture frame. You have free-for-life unlimited cloud storage, loads of Wi-Fi and cloud-related features, a mobile app & web interface, weather forecasts, web radio & music, multimedia support, remote control functionality, and much more.
These are extremely versatile and capable digital picture frames with arguably the most user-friendly designed among the top digital frames. There are no recurring subscriptions or additional fees and you get all features unlocked from the get-go. Pix-Star frames are a great choice for big families, elderly users, and have plenty of functionality for the individual user.
Can I send videos to my digital picture frame by USB?
This isn’t a universally offered feature – even among the top digital picture frames with USB support. You first have to make sure your digital picture frame supports video and multimedia playback and receiving photos by USB. Consult the user manual or documentation to double-check.
If all of these requirements are met, load the videos (in a supported format – MP4 or MPEG-4 are usually the most widely supported) onto the USB and insert them into the frame’s relevant ports. In most cases, you’ll need to copy the videos across to your digital picture frame’s internal storage before viewing.
It’s also worth noting that many of the top digital picture frames charge additional subscription fees to unlock or increase video playback support and limitations. These are a few rare frames like the Pix-Star that let you play videos for free and can receive them from both USB/SD cards and through the mobile app.
With Pix-Star’s frames, you can also include videos into slideshows along with photos. There’s an option that lets you set if videos should be played muted or aloud. Videos with sound will play through the inbuilt speakers or connected USB speakers/headphones. Videos received to your Pix-Star digital picture frame by USB are also saved to the cloud.
Are pictures sent to a digital picture frame by USB saved on the cloud?
Cloud storage isn’t a feature that’s offered universally – or even widely for that matter. It’s almost always found only with a handful of the top digital picture frames with USB support. Even then, cloud storage and its extension are often locked behind a subscription paywall. With some frames, this can mean cloud storage is unavailable without additional fees; for others, it can mean you have to pay to expand cloud storage size.
Pix-Star is unique in that it offers free-for-life unlimited cloud storage without requiring any additional subscription payments or costs. This cloud storage automatically backs up and saves all the photos your frame receives to the cloud – keeping it safe and easily manageable through the web interface.
You can connect multiple frames to a single user account (up to 25) and have all of their photos saved to and managed from a single location. It’s great for big families and those that are spread all over the place.
Pix-Star’s digital photo frames saved any photos loaded to the frame by USB to the cloud. The catch is that you have to copy the contents of the USB/SD card to the Pix-Star’s internal storage. Photos and other media played directly off the USB (and not copied to internal storage) won’t be saved to the cloud.
All of these copied and saved photos can be easily managed and edited through the web interface. Here you can make changes and perform bulk actions. You can move photos into new folders and files to customize slideshows.
Can I start a digital picture frame slideshow directly from a USB?
This plug-and-play feature is quite commonly offered – even among many of the cheaper digital photo frames. That being said, most cheap digital picture frames with a plug-and-play function don’t give you any control over the play order and frequency of photos. They’re usually played in the order they are in on the USB.
Pix-Star’s digital photo frames can also play photos directly from the USB in a slideshow. You’ll get a popup menu when you insert the USB that asks if you want to play the photos or copy them to internal storage. You have plenty of control over how photos are displayed in slideshows. From controlling the transition type, style, and speed, to adjusting which photos are displayed more often. You can also play photos from specific folders, have new photos display only (or more frequently), and more.
How to load photos from a digital picture frame to a USB?
Some digital picture frames with USB support like the Pix-Star let you copy photos and other media from its internal storage to a connected USB. While this probably isn’t a feature you’re going to use very often, it’s a handy one to have for sharing photos on the go.
With the Pix-Star frame, it’s done through the media gallery. Here you can browse through all the folders and sources where your photos, videos, and audio messages are saved. You can then select and copy them to a compatible connected USB.
Alternatively, you can export all the photos (or selected folders/files) via the web interface. This is then copied to your computer’s internal storage and can then be copied to an inserted USB drive.