Does the Nixplay digital picture frame need Wi-Fi?
The Nixplay digital picture frame needs a constant Wi-Fi connection as it is a cloud-based digital frame. This means that most photos are stored on the Nixplay cloud and steam to the Nixplay frame as necessary. While the Nixplay frame does have 8GB of internal storage, it’s not designed to hold all of your pictures locally.
If you try to access your saved photos on the Nixplay digital picture frame without Wi-Fi, you’ll often be met by a “No Wi-Fi connection detected” popup that stops you from starting a slideshow.
One of the main features of using a digital picture frame extensively without Wi-Fi is a USB/SD card. Nixplay’s digital picture frames do not support USB/SD cards and there is no way to load photos or other media to Nixplay’s frames without Wi-Fi.
By comparison, Pix-Star’s digital picture frames (one of Nixplay’s biggest competitors) offer extensive functionality without Wi-Fi. Pix-Star’s frames support USB/SD cards, don’t limit their maximum size, and automatically save all incoming photos (via Wi-Fi or cloud) to the frame’s internal storage.
Additionally, Pix-Star supports a USB/SD card plug-and-play feature that lets you play slideshows directly from a connected USB/SD card. You don’t need to copy anything to internal storage before viewing.
Bear in mind that Pix-Star doesn’t restrict the maximum size of USB/SD cards, so you get essentially unlimited storage space for photos, videos, and audio files – without losing accessibility. This is why many people choose the Pix-Star over subscription and cloud-based digital picture frames like Nixplay and Skylight.
Does the Nixplay digital picture frame charge monthly fees?
The Nixplay digital picture frame charges an optional subscription fee that you can pay quarterly or annually. The Nixplay Plus subscription costs around US$50 for the annual subscription and around US$15 for the quarterly subscription. This works out at between US$4 to US$5 monthly depending on the payment plan you choose.
The Nixplay Plus subscription is an optional package and Nixplay’s digital picture frames will still work without it – but you’ll lose access to most of the features that help Nixplay compete with top frames like the Pix-Star.
For instance, Nixplay Plus grants you access to premium features like 50GB of cloud storage, access to the Nixplay mobile app, the ability to create playlists of selected photos, and video support for clips up to 1-minute long, etc.
Pix-Star offers all of these features without charging any extra subscription fees. For example, you get free-for-life cloud storage, access to both the Pix-Star Snap mobile app and the web interface, custom playlists, video and audio support (up to 2-minutes), remote configuration support, web albums, and more.
The fact that you have to pay extra (along with Nixplay’s already pricy upfront cost – which is almost always higher than that of Pix-Star) makes Nixplay struggle to compete with non-subscription-based digital picture frames like Pix-Star and even Dragon Touch. We recommend avoiding digital picture frames with monthly fees as they rarely offer enough value to justify their extra costs.
Can the Nixplay digital picture frame import photos from social media?
The Nixplay digital picture frame can import photos from Google Photos, Dropbox, Facebook, and Instagram. Note that you’ll need to pay for access to the Nixplay Plus subscription to fully access and use this feature.
For reference, Pix-Star digital picture frames can import photos from a dozen external sources. These include social media like Facebook & Instagram, photo-sharing sites like Google Photos & Flickr, and cloud storage platforms including Google Drive & Dropbox.
Unlike with Nixplay, Pix-Star’s imported web albums are available offline. You can remotely start slideshows via the remote configuration feature (using the web interface). This feature will be added to the Pix-Star Snap mobile app too.
Can Nixplay digital picture frames play videos?
Nixplay digital picture frames can only play 15-second video clips without having to pay any extra subscription fees. This is better than some popular digital picture frames like the Skylight frame (which requires a premium subscription for any video support) and Aura digital frame (which don’t support audio or video).
On the other hand, Nixplay digital picture frame’s video support pales in comparison with Pix-Star’s frames. With Pix-Star, you can play 2-minute video clips without paying any extra fees or hidden costs. You can play 2-minute video clips, include them in slideshows, connect to external speakers, play audio over slideshows from a connected USB/SD card, and more.
To play 1-minute video clips on Nixplay digital picture frames, you need to pay for the Nixplay Plus subscription package. Even with Nixplay Plus, you don’t get the versatility you would with Pix-Star – and you have a pay a lot more over the frame’s lifespan (when you include the cost of Nixplay’s recurring subscription).
Can I remotely control a Nixplay digital picture frame?
You cannot remotely control a Nixplay digital picture frame. Remote configuration is a feature that lets you access, manage, and control a digital picture frame from anywhere in the world. It’s usually done via a web interface and/or mobile app.
Remote configuration is an essential feature for families and elderly users. You can access the frame from anywhere, start and manage slideshows, manage storage, and much more. It’s a feature that depends heavily on Wi-Fi and cloud connectivity.
Unlike Nixplay digital picture frames, Pix-Star’s frames offer an extensive remote-control feature. Here you can manage and control up to 25 Pix-Star frames in multi-frame control groups. You can change each frame’s settings, start and manage slideshows, make changes to local and cloud storage, adjust their brightness, import photos from social media, and much more.
For now, you have to use the Pix-Star web dashboard to access, manage, and control your Pix-Star frame remotely. Pix-Star is currently working on adding the remote configuration feature to the Pix-Star Snap mobile app to enhance the convenience and offer robust, on-the-go options for families and elderly users.
