Is a square digital picture frame worth buying?
While a square digital picture frame might seem like an aesthetic addition to your room, there are a couple of important points worth noting. Very few cameras and smartphones take square pictures (1:1 aspect ratio) by default. While you can set some cameras to do this, it often requires some level of cropping and zooming.
For example, most smartphones take pictures in 4:3, and most cameras in 3:2. Neither of these aspect ratios will display well on square displays. There will be black bars around the sides of the image or it will need to be distorted, cropped, or zoomed to use the full display.
Another key consideration is the lack of options when buying a square digital picture frame. These digital frames are almost non-existent. It’s far more common to find standard square picture frames (they’re not digital). You need to print and frame each photo – defeating the point of getting a digital frame.
A lack of variety and competition is never a good thing. It leads to poor feature sets, higher prices, and a lower likelihood of finding the right frame for your home. There are no premium square digital photo frames that can compete with the best Wi-Fi digital frames like the Pix-Star – both in quality and features.
In summary, we don’t recommend buying a square digital picture frame. They’ll struggle to display photos taken on smartphones and cameras due to the awkward aspect ratio. The lack of product options is a major limiting factor, along with their higher cost, poor feature sets, and lack of variety. We suggest getting a 4:3 digital picture frame like the Pix-Star – but more on that below!
Does Pix-Star sell a square digital picture frame?
Pix-Star’s digital frames are one of the most immersive frames thanks to their 4:3 aspect ratio. Many competing frames (Skylight and Nixplay frames for example) use 16:9 displays. These are arguably worse than square digital frames as most photos will be surrounded by black pillar bars. It ruins immersion and makes it harder to get photos to fit the screen perfectly. You’ll waste a lot of time editing and resizing photos. This achieves something the Pix-Star’s frames offer natively and wastes a lot more of your time.
Pix-Star’s frames are arguably the most versatile high-end digital frame on the market. They offer extensive Wi-Fi and cloud-enabled features including remote configuration support, a mobile app and web interface, photo-mail, importing albums from social media, and more. Through their Wi-Fi and cloud connectivity, you can control and manage up to 25 Pix-Star frames from anywhere in the world (via the web interface).
Pix-Star’s slideshow controls are versatile and easy to adjust. You can remotely adjust most of these settings through the web interface. Here you can also start slideshows from various sources, change sources, and adjust how they show on the frame. Another great related feature is the ability to set incoming new photos to display in the current slideshow. It ensures none of the Pix-Star frames in the family miss an important moment.
When you consider that Pix-Star’s frames are more affordable than most other top-tier Wi-Fi digital frames, it’s hard to ignore their value for money. Unlike Nixplay and Skylight frames, Pix-Star doesn’t charge any monthly fees. You get all the same features – and many better features – without paying a cent extra. Pix-Star offers great offline features, awesome USB/SD card support (unlimited supported size), and a plug & play feature so that you don’t need to use the frame’s internal when connecting a USB/SD card.
Pix-Star’s frames are one of the few premium Wi-Fi frames that cater to both the family and the elderly user. They’re interconnected, easy to use, and versatile. No matter where you are in the world, Pix-Star helps you connect and share in a meaningful way. You don’t need to worry about being tech-savvy or all the distractions that come with smartphones, TVs, and social media. With Pix-Star, you get excellent value for money and a digital frame that you’ll keep around for a long time to come!
How do square digital picture frames compare with 16:9 digital frames?
Neither square nor 16:9 digital frames are great for displaying photos. Most smartphones capture photos in 4:3 and most DSLRs capture in 3:2. Both of these sources are going to result in your photos being boxed in by black pillar bars. The photos aren’t going to use the full screen. If they do, it’ll require zooming, cropping, and/or distortion – none of which improve the viewing experience.
We recommend buying a 4:3 digital frame. They’re great for smartphone and camera photos. Since we almost always have our phones with us, most of our pictures are likely taken there. That’s why 4:3 digital frames like the Pix-Star offer great mobile apps and remote configuration support. This leads to enhanced immersion and a digital frame that makes sharing and re-living memories effortless!
Do square digital picture frames play videos well?
Square digital photo frames (a 1:1 aspect ratio) are probably the worst for video playback. Most videos are either in 4:3 or 16:9 depending on which device or camera they were captured on. These videos will display with black bars filling the top and bottom parts of the screen. The sides of the videos will often be cut off. Alternatively – depending on the frame – videos may be zoomed, cropped, or distorted. None of these are ideal for immersive video playback in slideshows.
Are square digital picture frames good for photographers and artists?
Square digital picture frames will look great in a home studio or gallery – but they’re not the most functional. Aside from their symmetrical design, these frames aren’t ideal for displaying photos, videos, and artwork. They’re particularly bad for portrait photos and artwork. Photos and art will be boxed in by black pillar bars, cropped, zoomed, etc.
We recommend getting a 4:3 digital picture frame for displaying art and your favorite photos. Frames like the Pix-Star let you share these photos with all of your family’s Pix-Star frames. They’re easy to use, quick to set up, and offer immersive & highly customizable slideshows. They can mount on the wall, switch orientations, and even let you manually adjust the brightness and color settings (hue, saturation, etc.).
