What is the best digital picture frame of 2021?
Pix-Star’s 10-inch frame is arguably the best digital picture frame on the market at the moment. It offers one of the most balanced user experiences at an excellent price point. Pix-Star’s frames are packed full of useful features like free-for-life cloud storage, multimedia support, web albums, a mobile app & web interface, and much more. Unlike many other top digital picture frames, the Pix-Star frame doesn’t have any recurring monthly or annual subscription fees and no hidden costs.
Pix-Star’s frames make full use of its extensive Wi-Fi capabilities. This enables features like cloud storage and remote access to let you control the frame and its settings from anywhere in the world. On top of this, Wi-Fi lets the Pix-Star frame receive pictures via the Pix-Star Snap mobile app, email, and by linking external web albums through the web interface. You can send pictures to any connected frame from anywhere in the world – all you need is the frame’s unique and dedicated email address.
When it comes to slideshows and immersion, Pix-Star’s frame is one of the best. You have fine control over slideshow settings like speed, transitions, play order & frequency, and more. You can set the frame to play slideshows from specific folders that you can create, or from a particular source (web albums, mail photos, etc.), or all the photos on the frame. Additionally, photos from the past “x” number of days can be set to show more frequently – and even exclusively – ensuring you can always see the photos to want.
A 1024×768 pixel display offers and sharp and color-accurate display. Pix-Star’s frames use a versatile 4:3 display that perfectly matches most of the photos we take on our smartphones and point-and-shoot cameras. There are Smart Fill functions that can make photos fill up the screen without distorting the image. Pix-Star’s frames have adjustable color and brightness settings (can be adjusted remotely via the web interface too) that let you get the perfect image every single time.
One of our favorite Pix-Star features is the web album support. Here you can link your frame directly to selected photos and photo albums on your favorite social media and photo-sharing platforms. Supported platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive, Google Photos, Dropbox, Flickr, and more. This link and sync are done through the web interface in just a couple of minutes. Once an album has been linked, any new photos added can be set to automatically download and save to your frame’s internal storage. Web albums can be viewed in slideshows while the frame is off.
Finally, sending pictures and other media to the Pix-Star frame is effortless. You can add photos as attachments to an email (sent to the frame’s unique address). You can use the Pix-Star Snap mobile app to send up to 250 pictures at once to multiple frames at the same time. Frames are simply added to the app via their email address, and anybody can install the app without needing to create accounts.
Videos and audio notes can also be sent to the Pix-Star frame through the mobile app. As the only offline method, you can load your photos, videos, and audios onto a USB/SD card, insert the card into the frame, and display photos directly from the USB/SD card. Alternatively, you can copy them across to the frame’s internal storage so that the USB/SD card doesn’t need to stay connected.
What is the best digital picture frame for elderly users?
Pix-Star has put a lot of effort into making its frames elderly-friendly. They don’t use confusing interfaces, the handheld remote control is intuitive and responsive, and settings can be changed without leaving your slideshow.
Web albums (as discussed above) offer an excellent way to automate sharing photos with all your loved ones – without them needing to lift a finger. Your grandparents and everybody else in the family with a Pix-Star frame can receive all your new photos just by you uploading them to the linked web album.
All Pix-Star frames can be remotely controlled, letting you start and manage slideshows, create new folders & albums, change almost any of the frame’s settings, update the firmware, and much more. It’s a fantastic feature for families that have not-so-tech-savvy elderly users that they don’t want to exclude.
Finally, Pix-Star’s multi-frame control lets you control up to 25 Pix-Star frames from a single account. This lets you connect with your loved ones no matter where they are in the world – and it can all be done without them needing to be tech-savvy.
What to look for in the best digital picture frame display?
Ensure that the resolution is above 800×600 to avoid any pixelated images. You should avoid 16:9 and 16:10 displays as they don’t match most photos taken on smartphones. The result is that photos displayed on these aspect ratios often need to be altered, cropped, distorted, zoomed, or boxed in by black pillar bars. You should also avoid overly reflective displays and touchscreens as they are hard to view at an angle and keep clean.
What is the best way to send photos to a digital picture frame?
The best way to send photos to a digital picture frame is via a mobile app. Almost everybody carries a phone with them these days. Mobile apps like the Pix-Star Snap by Pix-Star let you send photos and other media from anywhere in the world. You can send up to 250 photos to multiple frames at the same time.
You can capture and record new photos, videos, and audio directly inside the app and send them to any Pix-Star frame via its unique email address. You can also browse through and send photos from your phone’s gallery – and even send entire folders (e.g., all the photos saved in your WhatsApp folder from your phone’s storage).
Is it best to get a digital picture frame with a touchscreen?
It’s best to avoid digital picture frames with touchscreens due to their reduced durability and difficulty with many elderly users. Touchscreens are fingerprint magnets, meaning you’d have to clean your frame after every use if you don’t want ugly fingerprints ruining your viewing experience. They’re also more prone to scratching and being damaged by knocks and falls.
It’s also worth noting that touchscreens are significantly more expensive than other panel types – especially with displays larger than 8-inches. That’s why you usually won’t find digital picture frames with touchscreens that have displays larger than 8-10-inches. This added cost often has to be recovered by sacrificing some features, functions, user experience, and even the build quality.
