What to look for in Wi-Fi digital frames for families?
Wi-Fi digital frames for families need to have a clear focus on versatility and ease of use. Extensive Wi-Fi functionality and related features like cloud storage, remote control capability, and the ability to receive photos from anywhere in the world are a must.
Arguably the most important feature for families is cloud storage – and it should be free. There are many premium frames like the Pix-Star that offer free cloud storage, so it’s hard to justify paying a subscription fee to unlock features that other frames offer for free. Examples of these frames that charge extra fees are Skylight and Nixplay, along with a handful of others.
Your photos and other media should be automatically backed up to the cloud when they’re received on your frame. There should also be around 4-8GB of internal storage to ensure you can hold enough photos on the frame without needing to rely on cloud storage. Additionally, you should be able to manage cloud storage remotely (usually via a web dashboard) for all the frames in the family.
On the note of multiple frames, you should be able to link and connect all the family’s frames. These multi-frame control groups make these frames far easier to manage and control – letting you effortlessly share and manage who sees what. This feature can’t be overstated, it’s key for families – especially for families that are spread out over the country or state and don’t see each other too often.
Remote control functionality is another essential. This feature lets you take control of connected frames (usually through the web interface). You can use it to change the frame’s settings, start & control slideshows remotely, adjust the screen brightness, manage local & cloud storage, etc.
Bigger displays are better for families, so aim for a minimum size of 8-inches, though 10-15-inches is probably better. They have broader viewing angles and can be seen from across the room more easily. Make sure the resolution is at least 800×600 to avoid blurry and pixelated photo & video playback. On that note, video playback is great for families and lets you share quick video messages with your loved ones – no matter where you are in the world.
What are the best Wi-Fi digital frames for 2021 and beyond?
Pix-Star’s Wi-Fi digital frames offer exactly what families need; free-for-life cloud storage, a mobile app & web interface, ease of use, extensive features, and brilliant displays. You can manage & control up to 25 connected Pix-Star frames from a single user account. This lets you remotely control the frame’s settings, start & manage slideshows, change screen brightness, switch slideshows, import web albums from social media & photo-sharing platforms, and much more.
Pix-Star’s web dashboard offers unique functionality not found with most premium digital frames. The web album feature lets you link & sync selected photo albums from social media & photo-sharing platforms. These albums are synced and saved to your frame’s internal storage and can be included in slideshows. Web albums can be set to automatically update and sync any newly added photos to all connected frames.
Pix-Star’s web album feature is particularly special for families as you can automate much of the photo-sharing process. All you have to do is create one mass album on any of your favorite social media and photo-sharing accounts. Link all the frames in the family to this album via the intuitive web dashboard. To share photos with all connected frames at the same time, simply upload the pictures to the linked albums. It’s that simple.
Pix-Star’s frames are packed with useful features like web radio & music, viewing weather reports of selected cities, playing video and audio messages, create personalized and customized slideshows, setting alerts & reminders, and much more. You can play songs or radio stations over slideshows and even include videos into slideshows (they can be set to play muted).
Pix-Star’s frames have a 1024×768 4:3 display that perfectly matches most of the photos taken on our smartphones. This might not seem like a big deal – but it is. Many 16:9 displays suffer from photos being boxed in by ugly black pillar bars or having to be cropped or distorted. With 4:3 displays, you don’t need to manually edit photos and videos before sending – something that can be a massive time sink.
Do Wi-Fi digital frames play videos and audio?
Wi-Fi digital frames like the Pix-Star can play both video and audio files in a variety of different file formats. With that said, video & audio support isn’t a universally offered feature – even among premium digital frames. Almost all frames have limits on the size or length of the video files that are supported on the frame. In some cases, video playback and sending are locked behind a subscription paywall and costs extra.
Pix-Star’s frames let you send 2-minute video clips to several frames at the same time via the mobile app, or to one frame at a time via USB/SD card. Several formats are supported and videos are crisp on the display. Audio messages, songs, and radio stations can be played individually or over slideshows. They’re played through the frame’s inbuilt speakers and can even be played by connecting external speakers/headphones/earphones via the frame’s USB port or 3.5mm audio input port.
How to remotely control Wi-Fi digital frames?
Remotely controlling digital frames over Wi-Fi is usually done through the web interface. In Pix-Star’s case, it’s done through the web dashboard for your frame – or your multi-frame control group (up to 25 connected Pix-Star frames). Here you can change the frame’s settings, start slideshows, adjust brightness, manage local & cloud storage, etc.
Many frames can also be remotely controlled by using handheld control. Here you can manage slideshow settings without needing to leave the slideshow (on Pix-Star frames at least), manually page through photos, make changes to local storage, etc. It’s worth noting that these remote controls have a limited range and usually require that you’re in the same room as the frame. Here’s a quick guide on how to remotely control your digital photo frame the right way!
How many pictures can Wi-Fi digital frames hold?
Premium digital photo frames like the Pix-Star have 8GB of internal. This is enough storage space for several years of pictures and videos. In the rare case that you run out of internal storage space; Pix-Star’s frames can also take USB/SD cards (with no size limits). You can play slideshows directly off the USB/SD card – essentially giving you almost limitless storage space.
Pix-Star’s frames also have free-for-life cloud storage that lets you delete the local version of a picture but keep the cloud copy. You can free up space on the frame without losing the photo altogether.
