How does the Photo Share Frame work?
The Photo Share Frame uses a 1024×768 display with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Through basic slideshows, 8GB of internal storage, and the Photo Share mobile app, you can send and view pictures on the frame. There is no photo email feature and no way to import photos without using the mobile app.
The Photo Share Frame relies on either the mobile app or USB/SD cards to receive photos. Unlike most other top digital photo frames, there is no cloud storage or online backups. You can’t remotely access the frame or its storage, and there’s no internal file explorer.
In terms of slideshow customizations, the Photo Share Frame is not very versatile. Slideshows can only play in a randomized order or following the order the default order. The lack of a local file explorer is a big red flag. You can’t browse your photos, move them around, create custom folders and albums, or play slideshows from selected sources/folders.
The PhotoShare mobile app is quite limited when compared to competing apps like the Pix-Star Snap. You can only send up to 50 photos at once and cannot send multiple frames at the same time. For comparison, the Pix-Star Snap mobile app lets you send up to 250 photos in several frames at the same time.
The Photo Share Frame is missing other “smart” features like remote configuration support, a web interface, and the ability to wirelessly import photos from external sources like social media. The only way to control the frame is in person using the touchscreen. It’s slow and frequently unresponsive, which can be frustrating – particularly for elderly users.
The 16:9 aspect ratio of the display isn’t great either. Most of the photos we take are on our smartphones; most smartphones capture photos in 4:3. This means that the Photo Share Frame will need to crop, zoom, or box photos in with black bars. This ruins much of the viewing experience and makes the display harder to see from across the room.
Finally, Photo Share Frames don’t support a USB/SD card plug-and-play feature. This means that you cannot play slideshows directly off an inserted USB/SD card. With many competing frames, you don’t need to copy these photos to internal storage before viewing them in slideshows (which in turn gives you virtually unlimited storage space).
How to send pictures to the Photo Share Frame?
There are only two ways to send pictures to the Photo Share Frame; the PhotoShare mobile app, and by USB/SD card. Using the PhotoShare mobile app, you can only send up to 50 photos at the same time. Many users report that the process is quite slow and that you can’t organize photos into files and folders. They’re mixed into one huge folder that can only play randomly or by their default order.
Unfortunately, the PhotoShare mobile app is not well optimized. It only tends to work on the latest devices and is full of bugs and crashes – particularly on older iOS versions. This isn’t great for elderly users to families that have a lot of contributors or share a lot of photos.
The other photo-sharing method is by USB/SD card. This option is better for bulk photo-sharing as you aren’t limited to sending just 50 photos at the same time. It’s worth noting that the Photo Share Frame doesn’t have a USB/SD card plug-and-play feature. This means that you have to copy all photos to the frame’s internal storage before viewing them in slideshows.
For reference, competing frames like the Pix-Star let you play slideshows directly off a connected USB/SD card. Since they don’t limit the maximum size of compatible USB/SD cards, you get access to unlimited storage space.
Another key point worth noting is that Photo Share Frames don’t let you send video or audio files through the mobile app. You can only load them to the frame from a connected USB/SD card. Additionally, these video and audio files cannot play in a slideshow alongside photos. They are stored separately on the frame’s local storage.
Is the Pix-Star better than the Photo Share Frame?
The Pix-Star digital photo frame is one of the most affordable and versatile premium frames on the market. They’re slightly more expensive than Photo Share Frames, but offer a larger 10-inch or 15-inch display with a 4:3 aspect ratio.
Pix-Star’s frames are arguably the most robustly features Wi-Fi digital frames on the market. You get advanced features like free-for-life cloud storage with automatic backups, remote configuration support, and both a mobile app and web dashboard.
With Pix-Star’s frames, you can remotely manage and control up to 25 frames from a single user account. Using the web interface, remotely adjust their settings, start and manage slideshows, manage local and cloud storage, import photo albums from social media and photo-sharing sites, and much more. Almost none of these features are available on the Photo Share Frame.
In terms of slideshow settings and customizations, Pix-Star effortlessly takes the lead again. You can adjust color and brightness settings, change transition times and styles, and easily adjust the play order and frequency of photos.
Since Pix-Star’s frames offer a local file explorer, you can manage where photos save. Choosing specific files and folders to play slideshows from is quick and simple. You can even change slideshow sources via the web interface no matter where you are in the world. It’s the ideal setup for the modern home and family – especially those with elderly users that want to get more involved in photo-sharing but don’t necessarily and the technical know-how.
Can the Photo Share Frame play video and audio?
The Photo Share Frame can only play 15-second video clips. Note that the only way to send these video files to the frame is by USB/SD card. Unlike competing frames like the Pix-Star, you can’t transfer them using the mobile app. Make sure you have enough internal storage space as video clips often take up significantly more space than photos.
To send audio files to the Photo Share Frame, load them to a compatible USB/SD card (preferably smaller than 32GB to avoid compatibility issues), and transfer them to the frame’s 8GB internal storage.
With Photo Share Frames, you cannot play videos in slideshows along with photos. For comparison, Pix-Star’s frames let you play 2-minute video clips and include them in slideshows. Additionally, you can send them using the Pix-Star Snap mobile app or via USB/SD card. You can also connect the Pix-Star frame to external speakers and headphones for enhanced audio immersion.
