What is the best big digital photo frame?
Pix-Star’s 15-inch big digital photo frame is a feature-rich, easy-to-use, and family-friendly frame. It’s one of the best big frames in terms of value for money, out-pricing almost every other large frame on the market, while still offering arguably the most robust feature set. You get features like free-for-life cloud storage, full access to Pix-Star’s mobile app and web interface, photo-sharing via email and directly from social media, remote configuration support, and much more.
Pix-Star’s 15-inch big digital photo frame uses a 4:3 aspect ratio to match most modern smartphones’ camera sensors. Photos don’t need to be cropped, zoomed, distorted, or surrounded by black bars. There is a host of slideshow settings to choose from to adjust the play order, and frequency, which albums to play slideshows from, and much more.
Pix-Star’s 15-inch frames support multi-frame control groups, letting you manage up to 25 Pix-Star frames from anywhere in the world. Using Pix-Star’s web dashboard, you can manage each frame’s settings, start slideshows, update their firmware, manage cloud storage, import photos from social media, and much more.
The Pix-Star Snap mobile app offers a family-friendly way to share photos from anywhere. Users don’t need to create an account to use the app and there are no monthly subscription fees (unlike Nixplay and Skylight frames). Send up to 250 photos to several Pix-Star frames at the same time and have them save automatically to the cloud and locally on the frame.
How big is a digital photo frame?
A digital photo frame’s size can range anywhere from 7-inches up to as big as 32-inches. The most popular digital photo frame size on the market at the moment is the 10-inch digital frame. Almost every reputable digital frame brand offers a 10-inch digital frame with a decent set of Wi-Fi-enabled features and some cloud features.
Some big digital photo frame brands such as Pix-Star offer large 15-inch digital frames. These larger displays are quite a bit bigger than the standard 10-inch display, and a little pricier. In terms of price and value for money, Pix-Star’s 15-inch frame is one of the best on the market.
Bigger digital photo frames are great for families, large rooms, well-lit spaces, and even commercial spaces. Their large displays draw attention easily and aesthetically fill empty spaces like bare walls or mantelpieces. Larger digital frames also tend to have a broader viewing angle, which is often better for larger and higher-traffic rooms (e.g., the living room).
Can I mount a big digital photo frame on the wall?
For a big digital photo frame to mount on the wall, it needs either support for using a standard VESA mount or dedicated hanging holes built into the frame’s back. Both of these wall-mounting methods offer varying levels of robustness, with the standard VESA mount being the preferred choice.
It’s worth noting that many digital frames – even some premium digital frames – don’t support wall mounting. Pix-Star’s big digital photo frames have support for using a standard VESA mount and provide hanging holes on the frame’s rear. You can mount Pix-Star’s frames in either landscape or portrait. In contrast, Aura’s frame – a popular ambient photo display – doesn’t mount on the wall.
Do big digital photo frames run on battery?
Big digital photo frames do not operate on battery power due to their limited battery life, and limited battery lifespan, and often don’t include important features such as Wi-Fi, cloud storage, mobile apps, web interfaces, etc. Battery-run digital frames usually have a very small display, with 7-inch and 8-inch frames being the most common.
Most popular digital frame brands such as Pix-Star require them to be plugged into a standard power outlet. As such, they have advanced features including free-for-life cloud storage, wireless photo-sharing from anywhere in the world, access to a mobile app and web interface, the ability to manage your frames remotely (start slideshows, adjust settings, etc.), and create multi-frame control groups for families.
Should I get a big digital photo frame with a touchscreen?
We don’t recommend getting a big digital photo frame with a touchscreen as they are significantly more expensive. Touch displays get a lot more expensive for digital frames larger than 8-inches, which is why you rarely find 10-inch + frames with a touchscreen.
The main issue with touchscreens is how easily they scratch. They need frequent cleaning and it’s an issue that exists on both glossy and matte-finish touch displays. Their higher price increases the cost of the frame and often results in some features and functionality being sacrificed.
Touchscreens are made unnecessary by modern features such as remote configuration support. With big digital photo frame brands like Pix-Star, you can remotely manage each frame’s settings, start slideshows, update the firmware, manage cloud storage, and import photos from social media and photo-sharing platforms.
Do big digital photo frames use Wi-Fi?
Most big digital photo frames offer Wi-Fi and a host of related features. These can include cloud storage, remote configuration support, wireless photo-sharing (usually through a supported mobile app or web interface), and more. Not every big digital frame offers all of the above features.
For instance, Nixplay and Skylight frames lock many of their Wi-Fi & cloud features behind a subscription paywall. If users elect not to pay for this recurring service, they don’t get access to features such as the mobile app, web interface, multi-frame control groups, custom playlists, etc. We generally don’t recommend buying a non-Wi-Fi digital photo frame due to its limited feature set.
Can I play videos on a big digital photo frame?
Big digital photo frames, much like most other ambient photo displays, aren’t designed for video consumption. That being said, many of the most popular digital photo frames such as Pix-Star, offer support for playing short video and audio recordings.
Pix-Star’s 15-inch large digital photo frame lets you play 2-minute video clips and audio recordings. You can send these video and audio clips using the Pix-Star Snap mobile app and include video clips in slideshows. Note that some competing big digital photo frames like Skylight charge a recurring subscription fee to unlock or expand video playback limits.
