Is it worth buying a digital video frame?
You’ll struggle to find a dedicated digital video frame. They aren’t popular and are rather superfluous as the video function is often incorporated into what digital photo frames offer. Bear in mind that video playback and support isn’t the main goal of digital photo frames – though it’s a handy feature to have. Unfortunately, video playback and support are limited to mid-high-end digital photo frames.
It’s worth noting that digital photo frames almost always have limits on video playback. It’s usually restricted by total length and you have to make sure the format of the video matches what’s accepted by the digital frame.
A digital video frame is worth it when it’s incorporated into the broader functionality of a digital photo frame. On its own, the feature isn’t much of an alluring one – but fantastic to have around for adding a special and personal way to connect with your loved ones.
Does Pix-Star have a digital video frame?
Pix-Star doesn’t sell a dedicated digital photo frame. That being said, no top digital photo frame brands sell a video-only digital frame. The Pix-Star includes video playback and support as one of the frame’s many features. What’s unique about the Pix-Star is that it offers video support without charging any additional recurring or hidden fees.
Pix-Star lets you play video and audio clips with a maximum length of 2-minutes. This is more than almost all other premium digital photo frames. You can send videos to the Pix-Star digital photo frame via the mobile app and by USB/SD card. The mobile app lets you natively capture a new video or select any video from your phone’s gallery or storage – provided it meets the format and length restrictions.
Other premium digital photo frames like the Skylight require you to subscribe to the Skylight Plus plan to unlock the ability to send and play videos on the frame. In a similar case, Nixplay digital frames require an active Nixplay Plus annual subscription to increase the length of video playback support from 15-seconds up to 1-minute – still lower than what you get for free on the Pix-Star digital photo frame.
Can I use a TV as a digital video frame?
This is a very common question. If you’re looking for a digital photo frame just to play videos, it’s probably not the best choice. In that case, you’d be better getting a TV and using that to watch videos as they don’t have length restrictions like most digital photo frames do. That being said, when comparing the functionality of a TV with the full feature set offered by a top digital photo frame – they struggle to compete.
Digital photo frames offer more ways to send photos to the frame and offer a far smoother user experience. You don’t need to download and install 3rd party apps or navigate tricky interfaces like you’d have to do on a TV. Digital photo frames might have smaller displays and lesser video support – but they make up for by being super-versatile, functional, and easy to use.
Do digital video frames have subscription fees?
Many digital photo frames that offer video support also include some kind of subscription model. This is a contentious topic as there are some extremely capable digital frames like the Pix-Star that offer the same features – and do it better in many cases – without charging any recurring or hidden fees.
Skylight’s “Plus” subscription unlocks the ability to send and play videos on the frame. This is something offered for free (and with fewer restrictions) on the Pix-Star frame. The Skylight Plus subscription also unlocks the ability to send photos by email to the frame, add messages and captions to photo before sending, cloud storage, online access to manage your photos, and access to the mobile app. These are all features that are offered for free on the Pix-Star digital photo frame and don’t have to be bought or unlocked.
Nixplay’s “Plus” subscription unlocks video playback of up to 1-minute (15-seconds without the subscription), lets you register up to 10-connected frames (Pix-Star offers 25), 50GB of cloud storage, and the ability to create albums, folders & playlists. Once again, these are all features that are offered for free on the Pix-Star digital video frame – and offered to a higher level.
How to send videos to a digital video frame?
Most digital photo frames only offer two ways to send videos to the frame. The first and most common is by USB/SD card. This is the only offline method and is the most widely offered sending feature. The second method is usually limited to just a handful of the best digital photo frame, and that’s to send videos to the frame via the mobile app.
For example, the Pix-Star Snap mobile app lets you send videos to your frame that have been natively captured directly inside the app, or selected from your phone’s gallery. You can send selected and captured videos to multiple frames at the same time by adding them to the app (by their unique email address – only needs to be for the first you send).
Can digital video frames play audio too?
Audio playback depends on which digital photo frame you have and its model. Surprisingly, audio playback is quite commonly offered on mid-high-end digital photo frames. That being said, the playback quality isn’t very loud or of the greatest quality as audio support isn’t a major focus for most brands.
Frames like the Pix-Star have inbuilt speakers to let you play the audio that comes along with videos or to play audio-only messages and notes sent from the mobile app. Audio files are saved to the frame’s internal storage and can be viewed offline in slideshows. Pix-Star offers a feature that lets you choose whether or not you want to include the audio of videos when they’re played in slideshows.
Pix-Star frames, along with a couple of other premium digital photo frames can play audio through connected external speakers – though you need to make sure they can connect via USB or a 3.5mm headphone jack. Alternatively, you can listen to the audio notes by connecting earphones or headphones.
