How do Philips digital photo frames work?
Philips digital photo frames are cheap frames designed for a single user. These frames aren’t made for families and have a very limited feature set. The only way to load photos to the frame is by USB/SD card. Internal storage is only 128MB, so you can’t hold too many photos. By contrast, frames like the Pix-Star have 8GB of internal storage.
Philips digital photo frames can play slideshows directly off the inserted USB/SD card. In some cases, you’ll need to copy the files across to internal storage before you can view them in slideshows. Additionally, the SmartCrop feature doesn’t work very well. Unless the photo you load has a perfectly centered subject, the photo will almost always be displayed wrong.
You can start slideshows on the frame that includes all the photos on either the frame or the inserted storage device – but not both at the same time. There aren’t many slideshow controls, so you can’t control the playback or frequency of photo playback. While there is a randomized feature, it seldom works as intended. Some photos tend to repeat too often and others rarely show.
Philips digital frames have very low-resolution 800×600 SVGA displays. This is very low compared to what other frames like the Pix-Star offer – and feels very outdated for 2021. The screen-to-body ratio is very low – meaning the bezels are thick and the screen only takes up a small percentage of the front-facing side of the display.
Are Philips digital photo frames better than the premium Pix-Star frame?
Philips digital frames are budget-end frames with no Wi-Fi or cloud functionality; whereas Pix-Star’s frames are some of the most popular premium frames on the market at the moment. They come with features like a web dashboard, mobile app, free-for-life cloud storage, remote control functionality, and much more. Learn more about Pix-Star’s 10-inch digital photo frame here.
Pix-Star’s frames can receive photos from anywhere in the world via the mobile app, email, or through linking photo albums from social media, photo-sharing, and online storage platforms. Like the Philips digital frames, Pix-Star’s frames can also receive photos, videos, and audio messages by USB/SD card. Slideshows can be started directly from these inserted USB/SD cards, or copied across to the frame’s 8GB internal storage. Philips digital frames only have 128MB of storage space, so it’s quite a drastic drop in space for your photos or videos.
Pix-Star’s web album feature lets you select, link, and sync photo albums from social media, photo-sharing, and online storage platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Google Photos, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. You can access almost a dozen different platforms and can link any of them to any of your Pix-Star frames. Web albums can be set to automatically sync and download any photos that get added to the album in the future.
If you link several frames to the same account, it offers a great way to effortlessly share photos with all the frames in the family. With Philips digital frames, you’d have to manually download the photo from the social media or photo-sharing sites, load them onto a USB/SD card in the right format, and transfer them to the frame.
Pix-Star’s multi-frame control groups offer another unique feature. You can add up to 25 connected Pix-Star frames to a single user account. Here you can manage the connected frames’ settings, start & manage slideshows remotely, make changes to local & cloud storage, update the frame’s firmware, adjust the screen brightness, and much more. This is all done through the frame’s web interface or the multi-frame control account. Setup for remote access is quick and simple. It’s an excellent feature for families and elderly users that struggle to get the hang of new devices. Now you can set their frame to show all their favorite photos without them needing to lift a finger.
How to remotely control Philips digital photo frames?
Philips digital photo frames can’t be remotely controlled. All changes need to be made directly on the frame and in person. This is always the case for cheap and mid-range digital photo frames. Remote control capabilities are something that’s limited to only a handful of premium digital frames like the Pix-Star.
Handheld remote controls are more commonly found on cheap and mid-range frames. These remotes let you control the frame from the same room, just without having to use the on-frame controls. It’s usually quicker and better for elderly users – so long as the control has tactile and responsive buttons. The range needs to be at least 5-8m to be practical for most modern homes.
Do Philips digital photo frames have Wi-Fi & cloud?
Philips digital photo frames don’t come with Wi-Fi or cloud functionality. These frames operate offline and work through a combination of USB/SD card compatibility. USB/SD cards are the only method for loading photos to the frame for viewing. You can save some of these onto the frame’s internal storage – but with only 128MB of space, it’s not enough for several hundred photos.
If you want your photos saved to the cloud, you need to use a third-party cloud service like Google Drive or Dropbox. That being said, frames like the Pix-Star can link entire photo albums from these platforms and save them to the frame’s internal storage. This means you’ll be able to view the photos without needing an active Wi-Fi or cloud connection (once the photos have been saved).
How long do Philips digital photo frames last?
Philips digital photo frames don’t have great reviews when it comes to durability and longevity. Many of the most popular reviews on platforms such as Amazon are complaints that the frame stopped working within the first couple of months. This is naturally past the “return-by” date and as such isn’t eligible for refunds or exchanged. This is why it’s so important to check the return policy for each digital frame – along with the warranty or repair policy.
High-quality digital photo frames are designed to last for a couple of years with good treatment. Unfortunately, many cheap and budget-range digital frames don’t have great quality control – so the risk is passed onto you. That’s why we usually recommend you save up a little longer and get a premium digital photo frame like the Pix-Star.
