What are the best digital wall picture frames for families?
We almost always recommend going for premium digital wall picture frames as features like Wi-Fi & cloud capabilities makes all the difference. Pix-Star’s digital wall picture frames are arguably the most versatile of the premium frames and offer quite a unique experience. They have probably the most robust feature set and one of the easiest interfaces to use.
Pix-Star’s digital frames are one of the few premium frames that specifically focus on families & elderly users. It’s seen through features like the Pix-Star Snap mobile app, free-for-life cloud storage, and the ability to be remotely controlled from anywhere in the world.
Pix-Star’s frames have large displays and come in either a 10-inch version or a larger 15-inch version. Both frames use a 4:3 aspect ratio that naturally & perfectly matches almost all of the photos our smartphones take. Display brightness & color settings are manually adjustable and can be changed without needing to leave the slideshow.
Pix-Star’s remote-control function is probably the best digital frame feature for families. You can use the web dashboard for your frames to remotely change their settings, start & control slideshows, manage both local & cloud storage, update the frame’s firmware, change slideshow source folders, and much more. It’s the perfect feature for big families that live in different places or want to get the grandparents more involved.
Pix-Star’s web album feature is another excellent family-focused feature. It lets you link selected photo albums from social media & photo-sharing platforms directly to your frame. All the photos inside the selected album will be downloaded to the frame’s internal storage for offline use. Web albums can be set to automatically update when new photos are added and can be linked to several frames at the same.
In practice, to share photos with all the frames in the family, simply create one album on social media or photo-sharing sites like Facebook or Google Photos. Put all the photos you want to share with your loved ones into this album and link all your frames to it. Set them to automatically update & sync new photos. All the pictures you add to this album will be automatically synced and saved on all connected frames. You can even remotely start slideshows on their frames with these albums via the web dashboard.
How to set up digital wall picture frames?
When you’re setting up digital wall picture frames, make sure to connect to a good Wi-Fi network. The frame should be too far away from the router for the best connection quality – though you don’t necessarily need to have it in the same room. Note that digital photo frames don’t have inbuilt web browsers, so you can’t connect to Wi-Fi networks that require web authentication or portal login.
Decide whether you want the digital wall picture frame to display in portrait or landscape orientation – and if you’re going to mount it on the wall or a flat surface. If you choose to mount the frame on the wall, make sure it supports either a standard VESA mount or has holes for hanging that support both orientations. Most premium digital frames like the Pix-Star supports a standard VESA mount and comes with built-in hanging holes.
If you’re going to rest your digital frame on a flat surface, make sure the attachable stand is sturdy and won’t be knocked over easily – especially if you have kids or pets. When you rest the frame on a flat surface, make sure the USB/SD card port isn’t blocked and that the power inlet cable isn’t bent at a sharp angle. Also, keep in mind that power cables can be a tripping hazard if run along the floor – so try to keep them out of the way.
Wherever you decide to mount your digital wall picture frames, make sure to keep them out of direct sunlight. Bear in mind that the angle the sun shines through windows will be different throughout the year – so account for this if you’re wall mounting your frames. Avoid mounting or resting the frames in overly hot or humid spots like the bathroom or near the stove in the kitchen.
How to send photos to digital wall picture frames?
The best offline method for sending photos to a digital wall picture frame is by USB/SD card. Simply load the desired photos into the frame and insert them into the frame. With Pix-Star’s frames, you can start a slideshow directly off the USB/SD card without needing to copy the content to the frame’s internal storage first.
Mobile apps and web dashboards let you send pictures to your frame remotely. Not all digital frames offer this feature and it’s usually limited to just a couple of the top digital photo frames like the Pix-Star. Closely linked to these is photo-mail; you can email pictures as attachments directly to your frame (via its unique email address).
Can digital wall picture frames be controlled remotely?
Pix-Star’s digital wall picture frames can be remotely controlled via their web dashboard. Here you can manage & control up to 25 connected frames to change their settings, start slideshows, manage storage, and much more. Remote control functionality is a unique feature that’s seldom found – even among premium digital photo frames.
With frames like the Nixplay & Skylight, the remote-control feature is locked behind a subscription paywall that is paid annually. This plan gives you access to the frame’s mobile app & web dashboard – features that offer more extensively on the Pix-Star – and without having to pay any extra fees.
How long do digital wall picture frames last?
Digital wall picture frames are designed to display a single static image for up to 1,000-hours constantly before being damaged. This is a very long time and is far longer than you’d ever need. If you wanted to display a single image for that long, you should print and frame it – as it lets much of the digital frame’s versatility go to waste. In the real world, you’re never going to come across a situation where you need to display the same image for 1,000-hours without pause.
