Is the MRQ digital photo frame any good?
The MRQ digital photo frame might well be one you’ve never heard of before. Despite their lesser-known name, these frames are quite decent and target mid to upper-range budgets and users. They don’t make full use of Wi-Fi or cloud support, and come with a limited number of features, but have a decent display with a broad viewing angle.
One of the biggest issues you might find with the MRQ digital photo frame is the 16:9 aspect ratio. It’s the weakest aspect of the display and makes viewing photos without cropping or altering quite difficult. 4:3 aspect ratios are generally better for a mix of photo and video playback. You’ll find that most of your pictures are either zoomed in and cut off along the top/bottom, or are boxed in at the sides to fill the space.
Another key issue is the 10-inch model’s touchscreen. Generally speaking, you should avoid touchscreens on the digital frame for several reasons. They aren’t very durable, they show fingerprints easily and need to be frequently cleaned, they’re more prone to scratching and can be very difficult for elderly users to get used to. Combine this touchscreen with a plastic outer frame shell and long-term durability suffers quite a bit.
You can’t mount an MRQ digital photo frame on the wall, and the connectable stand doesn’t feel very sturdy. It would have been nice for the frame to be wall-mountable since the frame has a broad viewing angle and a relatively large display. There are also some issues with the responsiveness of the handheld remote control. This can severely impact the usability of the frame as there is no web interface or ability to control the frames remotely.
A big letdown with the MRQ digital photo frame is the lack of cloud and web album support. With other top frames like the Pix-Star, you get extensive cloud and web album support. With this digital photo frame, you can’t link your frame to your social media and photo-sharing accounts’ albums and display them on your frame. You need to load the photos onto a USB/SD card and copy them across the frame’s internal storage to view them.
All-in-all, the MRQ digital photo frame offers a decent viewing experience despite the annoying 16:9 aspect ratio – but is lacking in terms of features. Without Wi-Fi and cloud support, you’re missing out on a whole lot of functionality and performance. You could get a fully Wi-Fi and cloud-capable frame without spending a whole lot extra – so it might be worth saving your money a little longer.
How does the MRQ digital photo frame compare with the Pix-Star frame?
Pix-Star’s frames are some of the best on the market – both in their usability and through offering a robust and complete feature set. They’re great for large families that are spread out or live in different countries, and for elderly users.
Unlike the MRQ digital photo frame, Pix-Star’s frames offer extensive Wi-Fi and cloud compatibility. With Pix-Star’s frames, you get unlimited and free-for-life cloud storage and all related features come free and fully unlocked. You can control up to 25 frames from a single user account via the web interface, and remotely control connected frames. You’re able to change settings, start slideshows, manage the media gallery, update the firmware, and much more.
Pix-Star’s email-in photo function lets you send photos to your frame (or any frame via its dedicated email address). There’s a mobile app that lets you capture video, audio, and photos then send them directly to multiple frames at the same time. You can also manage your frame and cloud storage through the web interface. This makes it easy to share photos with the whole family.
The web album feature lets you sync photo albums from social media and photo-sharing sites including Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive & Photos, Flickr, Dropbox, and many more. These web albums are automatically synced and saved to the frame’s internal storage and can be used offline. Every time you add new photos to these linked albums, they’ll be automatically downloaded and updated on all connected frames.
Pix-Star’s frames don’t user touchscreen interfaces, and their 4:3 aspect ratio offers a far more intuitive and natural viewing experience than the MRQ digital photo frame. Pix-Star’s frames are also packed full of handy features like web radio & music (thanks to the frame’s inbuilt speakers), viewing the weather, alerts & reminders, brain games, and more. On top of this, you can adjust the frame’s brightness and color settings easily through the settings menu – ensuring that you can always get the perfect picture for the situation. You don’t need to worry about washed-out skin tones and lacking brightness.
In summary, while Pix-Star’s frames are more expensive, they offer more than enough value, functionality, and versatility to make up the price gap. MRQ digital photo frames aren’t bad frames by any measure, but they’re very limited for families and can be tricky for elderly users. It’s probably better to save up for a little longer and get the Pix-Star frame – but this depends on your personal and family needs.
Can I view videos on the MRQ digital photo frame?
MRQ digital photo frames support multimedia playback. You can display videos up to 1080p, but this depends on which MRQ digital photo frame you have. Some of their models have a sub-1080p resolution. You also have to consider limitations on video file size, format, and length. MRQ digital photo frames have been known to have issues playing all the photos/videos loaded onto a connected USB/SD card – so you’d need to try it out first and see.
Does the MRQ digital photo frame have a touchscreen?
The 10-inch MRQ digital photo frame uses a touchscreen interface. They also have another 10-inch model and a larger 15-inch model that doesn’t use touchscreens. They instead use a combination of onboard controls and a remote-control unit. Note that the remote-control unit isn’t the most responsive and has a noticeable delay.
Can I mount the MRQ digital photo frame on the wall?
MRQ digital photo frames cannot be wall-mounted. Unlike frames like the Pix-Star that offer support for standard VESA mounts (and offer dedicated hanging holes), MRQ digital photo frames can only rest on a flat surface like a table or mantelpiece. The frame comes with an attachable resting stand – though it’s worth noting the stand isn’t very sturdy or robust.
