What is the best wall-mountable digital photo frame?
Pix-Star’s 15-inch frame is a strong pick for the best wall-mountable digital photo frame. Its large and bright display uses an ultra-versatile 4:3 aspect ratio that stops your photos from being unnecessarily cropped or surrounded by black bars. It has a broad viewing angle and adjustable brightness and color settings to make sure you can always get the perfect picture.
The Pix-Star frame mounts to the wall in one of two ways. The first is with the sturdy and robust standard VESA mount. You can choose to mount the frame in either landscape or portrait and adjust the frame accordingly through its settings. Alternatively, you can hang the frame on the wall using the dedicated hanging holes on the back of the frame. You can also hang the frame in either orientation without losing access to the USB/SD card slots and ports.
Pix-Star’s digital frame lets you remotely control any connected frame (up to 25 frames) via the web interface. Here you can change settings, start and stop slideshows, create folders, link photo albums from social media and photo-sharing platforms, and much more. You don’t need to be in front of the frame to make changes.
There is a remote controller that offers a tactile and responsive way to control your frame without leaving your seat. You can browse through slideshows easily and it has a big enough range to let you control the frame from across the room.
You can send photos directly to the frame through the mobile app, the web interface, and email. Newer photos can be set to display more frequently (or exclusively) and starting randomized slideshows can be done with one button press from the main menu. You have plenty of control over the play order and select specific folders to display photos from. For example, you can choose to display all the photos you’ve synced from your Instagram account (and a couple of other of your family members’ accounts).
On top of all of this, you get full access, free-for-life, unlimited cloud storage, and related features. It’s all easily managed through the web interface. With features like web radio & music, viewing the weather, brain games, alerts & reminders, etc. it’s easy to see why the Pix-Star frame is one of the best wall mountable digital photo frames at the moment.
There are no recurring fees and the asking price is very fair. The display is sharp and the picture is color accurate and adjustable when not. You’ll get one of the most usable and versatile frames on the market – and excellent value for money!
What to look for in a wall-mountable digital photo frame?
The most important aspect of a wall-mountable digital photo frame is the mounting system. You should look for a standard VESA mount as it offers the most secure and versatile mounting setup. It also ensures that you can easily access the USB/SD card slots and ports. Dedicated hanging holes are a bonus, though not essential if you have a standard VESA mount type.
Another essential aspect is to make sure the frame has a viewing angle of more than 100°. Any less and you might struggle to see the screen from above, below, or to the sides. On the point of displays, adjustable color and brightness settings are also key – as long as you can manually adjust them (they’re not solely controlled by sensors or automatically).
You should be able to remotely control the frame without needing to use a handheld controller. This is usually done through the web interface, though some frames let you take control through a mobile app. Ensure the frame has at least 4GB of internal storage space and can connect to Wi-Fi.
The screen size should be at least 10-inches. Smaller screens will be hard to see from across the room and often have a narrower viewing angle. Make 100% sure the frame uses a 4:3 screen. 16:9 screens lead to photos being unnecessarily cropped and you’ll often get unsightly black bars around the sides of your photos. 4:3 aspect ratios are more compatible with the photos we take on our smartphones. In terms of display resolution, aim for at least 800×600, though 1024×768 is quite a bit better.
While there are tons of other features to consider, these are the most important. You can also consider secondary features like cloud storage and Wi-Fi-enabled features like viewing the weather. Web album support might be very important if you want to display photos from your social media and photo-sharing account directly on the frame.
Should a wall-mountable digital photo frame support multimedia playback?
Multimedia support means you can play videos and audio on your wall mountable digital photo frame. While it’s not an essential feature, it’s a great one to have. Frames like the Pix-Star offer multimedia support and even have inbuilt speakers to play audio notes (and the audio that comes along with any videos you view). If your budget can support it, multimedia support is rarely a feature you regret. It offers a unique and more personal way to connect with your loved ones – in a way that pictures can’t.
Can I use a TV or tablet as a wall-mountable digital photo frame?
It’s often a lot more expensive to use a TV or tablet as a wall-mountable digital photo frame. If you want something that competes with how easy digital frames are to send photos to, you’d need a smart TV. These often cost several times more than what you’d pay for a digital frame.
That being said, TVs and tablets are better for video playback but lack functionality when it comes to creating and displaying photos in slideshows. Digital frames give you much more control over play order, customizations, and more.
The main benefit of using a TV or tablet is screen size, frame rate, and resolution. These might seem like great features, but they’re seldom worth the massive drop in functionality and ease of use. Elderly users will struggle to grasp using a smart TV and they don’t interconnect nearly as well as digital frames – not to mention they can be significantly more expensive.
Do I need a Wi-Fi-capable wall-mountable digital photo frame?
Wi-Fi connectivity is essential in a wall-mountable digital photo frame as it lets you send photos to the frame from anywhere in the world. Without Wi-Fi, the only way to send photos is by connecting a USB/SD card to the frame, or in some cases, via connected the frame to a computer using a USB cable. This isn’t ideal for wall mountable digital photo frames as you need to make sure the card and USB ports are easy to access – and you might need to leave them inserted at all times (ruining the clean aesthetic).
Wi-Fi also enables features like weather, alerts & reminders, linking web albums from social media platforms, and easily updating the frame’s firmware. It also enables features like cloud storage and the ability to control your frame – and other connected frames – remotely from anywhere in the world.
