Understanding Digital Picture Frames

Written on Jul 14, 2008 by K Richard Douglas and filed under Knowledge Base
Understanding the meaning of digital picture frame specifications and features allows you to make an informed choice when comparing different models. Features such as screen resolution, audio options, touch screen controls, memory, contrast and network capability are all important components to recognize.

Resolution-it’s all in the pixels
Screen resolution is a big deal. Above all other features in a digital picture frame, the quality of the displayed image is paramount. Resolution affects the crispness of the image, the fine details that can be observed and the overall quality of the displayed photograph. The number of pixels and the size of the frame are a combination that means everything to the quality of the image.
 

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The number of pixels per inch determines the resolution; the higher the better. Cheap digital picture frames will cut corners, offering a low price and a low resolution at the same time. These low resolution frames will leave your photos blocky and otherwise not nearly as nice looking as they were on your computer. Higher resolution is almost always better, so an 8” frame that offers a 800×600 resolution will generally look much better than an 8” frame with a 480×320 resolution.

Sound and images
For a true multi-media show; how about a little sound to go with those images? Some digital picture frame manufacturers include speakers with their frames. These frames usually support MP3 files. While the playback quality is not the same as your desktop stereo, it does provide a multi-media show that adds an additional dimension to your picture show.

What is Contrast?
How black is the black in your pictures and how white is the white? The difference is called contrast and it is very important to photographers. The difference between these two extremes is the contrast ratio and is another measure of a good digital picture frame. A higher contrast ratio number is better. With higher contrast, if you captured a vibrant photo to begin with, you will have a vibrant photo displayed on your frame.

The Aspect Ratio
When you display a picture, does it matter to you if part of the picture is cropped off? Maybe the top of Uncle Fred’s head is cut off. That is where yet another ‘ratio’ comes into play when you are shopping digital picture frames. The ‘aspect ratio’ determines if your photos are displayed as you shot them or stretched or squished to conform to the frame display dimensions. A standard size photo displayed in a ‘widescreen’ frame will look stretched. Instead of cutting off Uncle Fred’s head, it may make Uncle Fred look like he put on a few pounds. If you know how to use photo editing software, you can crop your photos before displaying them on your digital picture frame. This eliminates the need for the frame to do the cropping. But the bottom line is frames come in two basic aspect ratios, 4:3 is normal, while 16:9 is widescreen. If you buy the latter, you’ll need to stretch or zoon standard aspect pictures to fit the display, or crop them on your own. Some digital cameras have a widescreen mode as well.

Touchscreen control
Some digital picture frames allow you to use controls on the screen to make adjustments. These ‘touchscreen’ models may be preferred by people who like to use similar controls on other home devices. On digital photo frames, these controls are generally placed outside the image area and control a menu. Some makers backlight the menu items. Some brands have controls that reside along the edge of the image area, but you touch the area that is over the matte portion surrounding the image area to activate the controls.

Colors of the rainbow and more
How many colors can a digital picture frame display? That’s a question that get’s asked when a consumer is buying a new monitor for their computer also. The old adage, ‘the more the merrier’ applies here. If the frame you are considering displays over a half million colors, it’s very good. If you find a product with a number over 2 million, you’re likely to get color rendition that would satisfy a pro photographer. Well saturated colors combined with high contrast produce stunning image reproduction.

Will my photo frame display what my digital SLR can shoot?
If you shoot RAW; probably not. If you use any of the most common image file formats, you’re likely to be in luck. Your point and shoot or your DSLR will likely shoot a format that your digital picture frame can handle. Most digital photo frames will display JPEG files. Some others are capable of displaying your TIFF files and your PNG files and even bitmap (BMP) files. Others are capable of displaying GIF files. If you purchase a digital picture frame that plays video also, it may play MPEG-1, 2 and 4 file formats. It might even play your cell phone videos. These features vary by manufacturer.

Memory
Internal memory has become a more common feature of digital photo frames. Some frames include software that will compress your large image files so that they will work with your frame display and won’t take up all of the available internal memory. Internal memory can also display photos when a memory card is not plugged in. Newer picture frames have memory capacity all the way up to one gigabyte. The software that is included with many frames can also allow you to place captions on your pictures, produce transitional effects and rotate images.

Network connection
If you have a home network, you can add some digital picture frames as a component of the network. If your digital picture frame is Ethernet or Wi-Fi equipped, you can download images from a home server or online services like Flickr and Facebook. These features come in especially handy for managing frames remotely, like at a grandparent’s house for instance.
 

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