finally a frame that just works. my previous frame was technically of high quality, but after a few months it just ended up sitting around unused. The motion sensor fixed that on this puppy. So the facts after two weeks using this frame are:
1. The motion sensor works simple enough. It senses movement it turns on, it senses no movement it turns off. You can set how long it waits to turn off when it senses no movement. amazingly you can set it down to the second up to 24hrs. you get the impression the guys who made this have a bit of compulsion with time.
2. The frame plays your photos either in sequence or in random, Yes the frame starts with the same photo when it turns on, but after that it randomly plays your photos. I checked my old frame it seems to do the same. Seems to be the way frames are?
3. menu system is straight forward and modern, also the remote is a nice touch. At first the remote looks like it's way too many buttons, but actually each button simply executes each function. The beauty is that it saves you having to navigate the menu systems. You get the impression that the designers want you to touch as few buttons as possible to get the frame to do what you want. the motion sensor seems to confirm this design theme. i like this cause i have to admit i just want my frame to show me pic's. I really can't be bothered with fiddling.
4. Plays video - fine.
5. Plays mp3 music ok. but to be honest don't count on this frame replacing your Bose stereo. There is an audio out jack so if you do have nice speakers to connect to it sounds fine. same for when watching videos.
6. nice big screen, awesome colour depth. For me the big screen makes a big difference. My old frame has a lovely screen but at 8 inches isn't of much use across the room.
not much more really to talk about a frame. importantly though it gets used. Deluxe NIX 12-Inch Hu-Motion Digital Picture Frame, Turns ON/OFF automatically when it senses you nearby!
This is my first digital photo frame. I just received it today and was playing around with it. Let me talk about the good parts first. The screen measures 12" diagonally so it is nice and big. The lightup side touch buttons are good looking and gets activated with a light touch. The motion sensor is an added bonus feature. Its brightness and contrast are adjustable. Here're what's great about this frame:
- The quality of the photos displayed directly from the SD card / USB drive are fantastic. The color of the photos are quite accurate as well.
- The borders do not take up too much space like other photo frames do. This is one of the reasons I purchased it. It is a full 12" diagonal frame.
- Stylish glossy finish will look great in your room/office.
- There's a clock and a calendar. I don't think they are mentioned in the product description. These are definitely bonuses.
- Motion sensor - great feature so you don't have to leave it running all night.
- The credit card sized remote control will help you navigate the menu faster and give you access to the most common features quickly. You do not want to lose it.
- The frame itself is well-built, definitely not cheap material. (The stand is a different matter, however, read below).
Here're some major annoyances that need to be fixed:
- The frame does not remember the last photo viewed after it's been turned off. So the next time you turn the frame on, it will start all over again with the first photo in the queue. Because I have shuffle OFF, I have to dig through all the folders to find that last photo viewed. I have dozens of folders created and thousands of photos on the SD card. As you can imagine, this is a big hassle. The frame should remember the last file viewed. If it doesn't exist, then the frame should pick up from the last folder viewed. And if that doesn't exist, then we start from the very first folder, alphabetically. To me, this is a major annoyance. I want to view the photos chronologically. It's impossible with this frame. This should be the most basic functionality.
- The folders I so painstakingly sorted and created on the SD card get scrambled when viewed in the unit. For example, I have folders set up like /2001.01.02 - LA, /2003.04.01-12 - Europe Trip, /2007.01.01 - Canada, etc. When I first turn it on, it will start from the folder "2007.0.01 - Canada". It should look at the folders by name in ascending order and start from "/2001.01.02 - LA". This frame seems to have a mind of its own and decides to sort the folders its own way. Not good.
- Images less than 800x600 in resolution gets magnified to fit the whole screen. The image becomes very pixelated. If the image is smaller than the resolution of the screen, the original size should be displayed. This is a bug.
- I tried to delete multiple folders from the unit, but I cannot select multiple folders for deletion using the frame's UI. Also, I can only delete the files within a folder. The folder stays undeleted. You have to hook the frame up to the computer via the mini-USB cable in order to delete the folders.
- If you decide to copy the photos directly to the frame's memory, your 4:3 photos will be resized to 800x600. They will look pixelated, I can see the quality difference when compared with the same photos displayed on the frame using a plugged-in SD card. Maybe it's a good idea to add an option to the frame's firmware that will allow the user to set a resize resolution. This will give the user better control of how the final images will look.
- The resize process takes a very long time, especially if you have JPG files of large sizes (> 2 MB). Also, it should give you a progress bar of the percentage completed for all files chosen, but it does not. It shows the % converted for each photo instead, it's meaningless. It's better to just buy a SD card and plug it into the frame instead of copying the files to the internal memory. I bought a 32 GB SDHC card and avoided this headache.
- The rear stand and the lock seem fragile and loose. It should be tightly attached to the frame itself when it's locked, but it is not. I am afraid these pieces would break if I drop the frame by accident. Perhaps they should build them out of metal parts.
I cannot comment on the video and music features, I won't be using them.
OVERALL: This frame is stylish and the display quality is excellent. It does a good job of displaying the photos. But they absolutely need to fix the firmware/user interface in this frame. It is such a pity because the display quality is superb... I might consider returning this frame. Hopefully the company will address and correct the issues above.
Update: March 2nd, 2011
-----------------------
I received a detailed response from NIX support, there will be no firmware to correct the annoyances mentioned above because it's "more down to re-designing the chip-set" as they put it. Therefore, I have to return it. If you are perfectly okay with the flaws above, get the frame. Otherwise, get something else.
Update: March 23rd, 2011
------------------------
I got a Samsung frame instead which addressed almost all the issues I had above, for a bit more money. Not trying to promote any other products, but you get what you pay for. - Nix - Motion Sensor - Digital Photo Frame - Digital Frame'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
