Are Aluratek 14-inch digital photo frames worth the money?
For what they offer, Aluratek 14-inch digital photo frames are quite expensive. They’re not far off what you’d pay for premium digital frames like the Pix-Star. There are essential features like Wi-Fi connectivity and cloud storage missing, making these frames feel very outdated. That being said, they’re not useless. Aluratek still offers a decent range of frames with sizes ranging from 8-inches up to 15-inch displays.
When you consider that top digital frames like the Pix-Star don’t cost much more, it gets hard to justify getting one of these frames. Unless you’re after an offline-only digital frame, there isn’t much on offer here that isn’t found on top frames like the Pix-Star. You have to be directly in front of the frame to load pictures, the viewing experience isn’t too good thanks to the 16:9 display, and the user interface feels outdated and clunky.
For modern homes & families, interconnectedness is essential. You need to be able to share photos, videos, and special audio messages from wherever you are in the world. With these Aluratek frames, you don’t get access to a mobile app, web interface, or photo-mail features. Their feature set is very limited and there isn’t much to cater to the needs of families or even elderly users. We almost always advise you to save up just a little longer to get a premium frame and benefit from the massive leap in features, functionality, and versatility.
How do Pix-Star and Aluratek 14-inch digital photo frames compare?
Aluratek 14-inch digital photo frames are mid-range frames (though priced a little high for what they offer). Pix-Star’s digital photo frames are premium and priced slightly under most other premium frames – while still offering one of the most versatile & robust features set on the market.
The biggest difference between Aluratek’s 14-inch frames and Pix-Star’s 10 or 15-inch frames is Wi-Fi. Pix-Star’s frames offer extensive Wi-Fi and cloud connectivity & functionality. They offer free-for-life cloud storage, automatic backups, and the ability to receive photos, videos, and audio messages from anywhere in the world.
Media can be sent to Pix-Star’s frames via the Pix-Star Snap mobile app, web dashboard, photo-email feature, web albums, and via USB/SD card. The mobile app lets you send up to 250 photos to several Pix-Star frames at the same time (you can also send videos and audio messages). The mobile app is free to use, elderly-friendly, and doesn’t require account creation to start using.
The web interface lets you link web albums (photo albums saved on social media, photo-sharing, and online storage platforms). Pix-Star’s supported platforms include Google Photos, Dropbox, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, and more. These web albums are saved to the frame’s internal storage and the cloud. They’re available offline and can be remotely started as slideshows via Pix-Star’s remote-control feature. It’s an excellent way to automate photo-sharing for families and web albums can be set to automatically sync & download any newly added photos (to any already connected web albums).
When you consider that Pix-Star’s 10 & 15-inch frames aren’t much more expensive than Aluratek’s 14-inch frames, their value becomes obvious. You get so much more functionality, a better display (with a 4:3 aspect ratio), access to a mobile app/web dashboard, remote control functionality, and much more. They’re arguably the best value for money frame among the top digital frames on the market today!
How to send videos to Aluratek 14-inch digital photo frames?
The only way to send videos to Aluratek 14-inch digital photo frames is by USB/SD card. These frames only support videos with AVI video format, common formats like MP4 and MOV are not supported on Aluratek’s frames. Also, make sure that the resolution of the videos is in standard definition. High-definition videos often won’t play. Videos can be scaled down using 3rd party software or online tools. Make sure to only load short video files (less than 2-minutes) as long clips aren’t supported, which is very common in the digital photo frame world.
Once the videos have been loaded onto a supported USB/SD card, insert the USB/SD card into the frame’s relevant port. Give it a moment to register and then copy all of the video files across to your frame’s internal storage. It’s worth noting that all video files need to be saved into the same folder on the frame’s hard drive. Any video files saved to other folders won’t be included in playback.
Can Aluratek 14-inch digital photo frames be remotely controlled?
Since Aluratek’s 14-inch digital photo frames don’t offer any Wi-Fi connectivity or functionality, features like remote control or the ability to send photos to the frame remotely aren’t possible. Remote control functionality refers to the ability to remotely adjust the frame’s settings, start slideshows, manage storage, etc. It’s usually done through a supported web interface or via a mobile app.
If you want a digital photo frame with remote control functionality, Pix-Star’s frames are arguably the best choice in today’s market. You can use the web interface to remotely adjust your frame’s settings, start & manage slideshows, change slideshow sources, manage local & cloud storage, update firmware, and much more.
You can manage & control up to 25 connected Pix-Star frames from a single user account from anywhere in the world. It’s an excellent digital photo frame for families and one of the best value for money premium frames available.
Do Aluratek 14-inch digital photo frames need to be connected to Wi-Fi?
Aluratek has quite a few different digital photo frames on offer. Many of their large digital frames, like the 13.3-inch and 15-inch frames, come in both Wi-Fi and non-Wi-Fi versions. That being said, Aluratek 14-inch digital photo frames only come in a non-Wi-Fi version. There are two types, both of which have wider and shorter 16:9 displays.
Neither of Aluratek’s 14-inch digital frames offers Wi-Fi connectivity. Instead, they work through a combination of 4GB internal storage and USB/SD card support to let you load photos to the frame. You don’t need to be connected to Wi-Fi to view photos, manage storage, or adjust the frame’s settings.
