What to look for in a large wall-mounted digital photo frame?
A large wall-mounted digital photo frame can be quite heavy, especially if they’re larger than 20-inches. This means the mounting system is arguably the most important feature to look for. There are two common mounting options. The first is a standard VESA mount. It offers an affordable and very secure wall mount – suitable for all frame sizes and shapes.
The second type is mounting holes that are used to hang the frame from. These aren’t quite as secure but are more common and very easy to install. It makes hanging the frame in a different orientation quite tough though. Some rarer swivel mounts let you switch between orientations easily, but they’re usually only found on very expensive digital art frames.
A digital picture frame’s aspect ratio is one of the most impactful features of the viewing experience. Frames with a 4:3 aspect ratio are the least likely to alter, crop, distort, or box in photos as most of the pictures we take on our smartphones and digital cameras are 4:3. Many digital picture frames use a 16:9 aspect ratio, so it’s something you need to be on the lookout for.
Screen brightness and the display’s effective viewing angle are also important. Make sure you have around 300cd/m2 of brightness on any screen larger than 15-inches. You also want a viewing angle of at least 80-degree. The broader the viewing angle, the better a large wall-mounted digital photo frame is for large rooms and families.
Avoid touchscreens on large wall-mounted digital photo frames as they’re less durable and significantly more expensive. They are fingerprint magnets that need frequent cleaning to keep the screen easy to see. Remote controls are far handier and almost always easier for elderly users to get used to.
In terms of screen size, a large wall-mounted digital frame should be 15-inches or bigger (diagonal screen size with a 4:3 aspect ratio). This is large enough to easily view from across the room and is well suited to large rooms. They’re great for photographers and artists that want to display their work on a large screen. Screen resolution should be from 1024×768 and up for frames with 15-inches. This offers the best balance between price and quality. Just bear in mind that large 1080p and 2K displays can be very expensive – and that cost often needs to be recuperated from other areas of the frame’s performance.
Is the Pix-Star 15-inch frame a good large wall-mounted digital photo frame?
Pix-Star’s 15-inch digital photo frame is one of the most versatile and functional wall-mountable choices on the market today. With 350cd/m2 of brightness, adjustable color & brightness settings, and support for a standard-VESA mount, you’re getting everything you’d need from a wall frame.
They can be remotely controlled with the handheld remote, or via the web interface from anywhere in the world. You can send photos from anywhere with the mobile app and photo mail function – meaning you always have a way to quickly send photos to your frame.
Photos and other media can be displayed in both portrait and landscape orientations. You can play videos and audio (through the inbuilt speakers or by connecting to external speakers), along with having plenty of control over slideshow play order, style, and speed. They are started remotely, and the most important settings can be changed without leaving the slideshow.
There are loads of features like web album support that lets you connect the frame to photo albums on social media and photo-sharing sites like Facebook, Instagram, Google Photos, and more. You can view the weather, set alerts & reminders, play games, listen to web radio & music, and more. It’s an incredibly versatile frame that offers great value for money.
Free-for-life cloud storage, multimedia support, and multi-frame control make it easy to manage and send photos to all the frames in the family. You have extensive offline use and can even load photos and other media to the frame’s internal storage via a USB/SD card. There are no recurring fees, additional costs, subscriptions, or hidden costs.
How to set up a large wall-mounted digital photo frame?
Most large wall-mounted digital photo frames can be set up in either landscape or portrait mode. Make sure your frame can be set up in either before mounting. For general use, the landscape mode is the better choice. You then need to decide where you want to run the power cable. You can choose to run it through a hole in the wall, or along the outside. This depends on whether or not you want to achieve a minimalistic look.
If the frame hasn’t been designed for wall mounting (e.g. if it didn’t come with any mounting options), and you choose to build a frame or mount DIY – make sure the USB/SD card slots and frame controls are still accessible.
Once the frame is set up on the wall, connect it to Wi-Fi following the steps provided by the setup wizard. For non-Wi-Fi frames, you just need to insert a USB/SD card with photos and copy them across to the frame’s internal storage for viewing.
Can I use a TV as a large wall-mounted digital photo frame?
If you have a smart TV, you can use it as a large wall-mounted digital photo frame. You probably won’t find it as easy to use as a digital frame, especially when it comes to sending/receiving photos and starting & controlling slideshows. Digital frames are designed for this purpose, so they’ll always take the lead here.
The benefit of using a smart TV is its versatility. You can use it to watch TV shows & movies, view pictures, play games, and more. They also usually have higher resolution screens with much higher video playback framerates. That being said, they’re significantly more expensive than digital picture frames, so it’s only worth getting a TV instead when you are looking at the 25-inch and above size range. Below that size, a digital photo frame is almost always the better choice.
Does a large wall-mounted digital photo frame need Wi-Fi?
While large wall-mounted digital photo frames don’t strictly need Wi-Fi support and connectivity, it’s a feature that’ll significantly boost the versatility and functionality of the frame. You’ll get access to features like sending photos from anywhere in the world, remote control capabilities, linking to your social media and photo-sharing accounts, web radio & music, and much more. They are a little more expensive, though you’ll get better value for money. Bonus points if they can work offline and receive photos and other media via USB/SD card (and around 8GB of internal storage).
