Customer Reviews

Coby DP-882 8-Inch Digital Photo Frame with Built-In MP3 Player

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

First let me say that I am reviewing the 8" frame model DP882. I notice that Amazon has a number of sizes of this frame lumped together. That is not cool because although I believe all of the Coby frames function in the same way, I know the specs for the various screen sizes are different. You can see the specs for all of the different Coby frames here:

www.cobyusa.com/_en/prod_cat.php?prod_cat=46

On to the review... (Last updated Dec 28th, 2007)

I wanted to get a photo frame for my mom and dad. They don't have a computer (and don't want one) and I wanted to get them something easy to use and something that looked really good. I didn't think I was going to buy one of these Cobys. I thought I would buy either a Phillips or Kodak. But after doing a little research on the specs of each, the Coby DP882 was the natural choice.

It has higher resolution than most other frames (800x600).
It has higher brightness than most other frames (350 cd/m2).
It has higher contrast ratio than most other frames (500:1).
It uses LED backlight technology (the latest and best at this time)
It accepts SD, MMC, MS (including MS Duo), xD, CF cards & USB flash drives. (note that it does not have SDHC certification to accept the newest SDHC cards)
It has both a full size USB port for USB flash drives and a mini USB port to hook it up to your computer.
It has built in speakers, a headphone jack and volume control.
It plays MP3s & WMA audio files (I have not tested this yet).
It also plays AVI and MP4 video files of the type generated by video cameras (At this time, I have only tried one small camera-generated AVI file and it played it well w/sound)
It has a wireless remote control.
The DP882 has a 4:3 aspect ratio, which matches the vast majority of digital photos.

(Note that I also purchased a Coby DP887 for my sister. It and the Coby DP888 share the same exact specs and functionality as the DP882 but are styled differently. IMO, the Coby DP887 has the sharpest look to it with its brushed metal frame).

The one thing you need to know about this frame (and the rest of the Cobys) is that it doesn't have any internal memory. That may seem like a problem to you, but let me explain why it is not. It can play material directly from a memory card inserted into any of it's four different card slots or directly from an inserted USB flash drive. For example, 1 or 2 GB SD cards are cheap. You can stick a 2GB SD card in there and now you have a 2GB frame. Compare that with some of the other frames which cannot play directly from memory cards and require you to copy material to the frame itself, which usually have 512mb or maybe 256mb or less of memory. Besides, who wants to deal with the additional step of copying material directly to the frame? In fact, if you already have USB flash drive or a memory card reader, you won't have to hook this frame up to your computer at all. Just load up an SD, MMC, MS, xD, CF card, or USB flash drive with photos and plug it in to the frame. In this way, for example, you can just send your parents a cheap SD card preloaded with pics in the mail if you wanted to. All they would have to do it plug it in to the frame and go.

The frame also allows you to copy material from any inserted memory card to another, or to/from a USB Flash drive - through the frame itself, with no computer involvement. This works in any direction, meaning you can copy to/from any memory card or usb flash drive inserted into the frame.

For example, you can copy photos/files

from a USB Flash drive to an SD card
from an SD card to a USB Flash drive
from an SD card to a CF card
...etc., using only the frame (no computer).

The frame has a little menu driven "os" which accommodates this functionality, though it is clumsy. This would be helpful if for example, you were using an SD card as your main storage for the frame and you wanted to add photos from a USB flash drive but you don't have access to a computer, or an SD card reader (ie. say you were visiting your parent's house and you wanted to add more photos to their frame).

The frame also functions as a 5-in-1 memory card reader when connected to a computer. This makes it easy if you don't already own a memory card reader for your computer or a USB flash drive. Plug the frame into your computer, and four new removable mass storage drives will be recognized and appear (one each for the SD/MMC, MS, xD, CF card slots). Since the frame itself acts as a memory card reader, you can attach the frame to your computer and use it to load up a memory card inserted into the frame.

To those people who are complaining because they are trying to attach the frame to their computer and copy photos to it, you must understand that the frame does not have it's own internal memory! You MUST have a memory card inserted into one of the frame's card slots in order to copy material directly to/from a computer. Think of the frame as a host, it is not a storage device in and of itself.

Operation is simple. Just turn it on, insert the preloaded memory card(s) of your choice (or USB flash drive), select that card graphically via the remote control or keys which are located along the sides of the frame (you have to do this because you can have one of four different types of memory cards inserted simultaneously), then select slideshow and viola!

The frame will automatically scale down any large photos, which either have to be in JPG or BMP format. It does not automatically rotate them to fit the orientation of the frame, but you can do that manually with the remote control (though you can't save that preference in the frame). Your best course of action is to orient the photos ahead of time on your computer. The slideshow function has about ten different transitions and you can set the frame to use one specific effect of your choice or randomly use all ten effects. You can change the on screen duration of the of the photos from 5 seconds all way to 1 day. You can set the photos to play randomly or in the same order each time. You can also have MP3 or WMA music play though the slideshow, though I have not tired this yet. Using the thumbnails it generates, you could also select a single photo to display with no slideshow.

The frame has adjustable volume (for music and video playback) and an easily adjustable brightness control (via a wheel knob on the frame). I find it very easy to use. It does not have light detection to automatically brighten or darken the frame based on ambient lighting conditions - that would have been nice. The remote control has a very limited range and working angle, which can be annoying. The on/off switch is located on the frame itself and you cannot use the remote control to turn the frame on or off. If you turn the frame off during a slideshow, the next time you turn it back on, it will automatically restart the slideshow unless you tell it otherwise.

Overall, I am very pleased with the frame so far and my mom & dad love it! The LCD looks fantastic, it is very bright, very sharp and it has excellent color and contrast. The photos look natural and clear (assuming they were natural and clear in the first place :) The frame is easy to use, it offers many options for loading photos and it can even serve as a 5-in-1 memory card reader. I would recommend the DP882 to anyone looking for a digital photo frame. However, I would definitely take a look at the Coby DP887 which has the same exact functionality and specs as the DP882, and its brushed-metal outer frames (it comes with both silver and gold) are especially sharp looking.

If you have any questions feel free to leave comments as I will check back occasionally.

This frame combines great features with a low price. With 800x600 resolution, it produces sharper images than most other frames, that are also reasonably bright. It has built-in audio to play a soundtrack to your slideshow, or videos with audio (the speakers aren't great, but this isn't intended to be an audiophile device). Overall, this unit is a great value, and I rate it excellent on that basis.

That's not to say that it's perfect. Here are some criticisms:
- While you can choose from the included white or black frames, both of them are clearly plastic. I'd prefer real wood, or at least a way that the device could be mounted to a standard wood frame.
- You can store music to accompany your slideshow, which is great. You can also choose to play a single selection repeatedly, or everything on your card. But you cannot have playlists, nor even tell it to repeat only the songs contained in a given folder. It's all, one, or none.
- I've put all the content onto one 1GB SD card, and it's the only storage device in the unit. Every time the unit starts up, it asks if it should play from the SD card. Since that's the only installed storage device, a friendly device should choose it automatically. Indeed, I wish that when I turn it on, it would just jump right into slideshow mode.

I've just returned this unit. It doesn't play videos as advertised. I was able to get it to properly play .avi files at 320 x 240 resolution...see other review below. But 320x240 gives a postage stamp size picture. At 640 x 480 the playback was full size but jerky and broken....more later.

I have now had 3 different brands of 8" photo frames in my possession: a Phillips, a Pandigital, and this Coby.

I have developed the following list of features in my "ideal" photo frame. First, video playback: I've been taking a lot of video clips with my digital still camera...they come out well and the convenience of not having to lug my camcorder along, and the ability to quickly transfer clip files within/between chips and my computer is attractive. I would like a frame which will play the format my camera is taking (.mov, more later) I'd also like the frame to play a multi-media show...that is, to play movie clips in show presentations, intermixed with .jpg photo files.

Second feature is to play .wma music files, in addition to MP3. This is because I have a non-Ipod personal music player. All my music is in .wma format because it is roughly half the file size of MP3.
Third, I would like a timer on my frame...set it to come on in the morning, off at night, for example.
Fourth, I'd like an audio or speaker out feature. None of these frames has home theater-like sound, and I have an extra pair of computer speakers I'd probably hook up. Video out could come in handy too.
Fifth, I'd like to be able to rotate stills from within the frame's software, manually or automatically. Yes, you can rotate them in the computer, but the frame may or may not preserve the rotation. (This may depend on which photo edit program you are using.)
Sixth, I'd like a folder hierarchy file management system in the frame's software. Especially with the huge chips now available, I see an advantage to push a couple of buttons and change the picture set (folder), rather than switching out chips.

Here is where the 3 units I've had stack up, followed by my next (fourth) unit.

I am keeping the Pandigital....which Costco has for $140. It plays .mov video files, but not within a slideshow. It has no speaker out jack and the sound is tinny. It requires MP3 music files. It permits picture rotation. No folder management system. No clock/timer. No ability to play stills/video intermixed. I think the Coby and Phillips picture quality is brighter but the Pandigital is ok.

The phillips didn't play video, and since it also had a software glitch when I returned it I decided to look elsewhere. (no remote and no music with the philips either.)

The Coby won't play my videos, even after I used my converter program to try about 10 different MP4 and AVI variations. The Coby plays .wma music files, won't rotate stills, has no folder system, no clock/timer. It has a speaker out jack. It does not permit intermixing video and stills in one multimedia show. Picture quality is fully equal to Philips, generally the recognized standard. If all you want is photos, and never turn your camera sideways, this unit will be a good value.

Another unit I'd like to get to play with would be the Image Moments model by Digitalfoci. I've exchanged emails with someone there who clearly knows what they are talking about and I believe this unit will intermix my photos and videos.

We purchased (2) of the DP 882 (8" 800x600) frames for X-mas gifts. We were very happy with two Phillips 8.5" (9FF2CME) frames we gave as gifts to our parents, but we were looking for something cheaper and with video / audio capability.

----THE BAD----
My first disappointment was that this frame does not have any internal memory and requires your own SD / CF / etc card. Not too big a deal since we had some extra memory lying around. Maybe it says it in the description, but it didn't see anywhere "MEMORY CARD REQUIRED".

The second and bigger issue was I couldn't get our professional wedding photos over to the frame. In the frame menu it kept showing "INVALID" for each picture uploaded. I spent two hours on different machines & software trying to get them over correctly and remembered others talking about issues with hooking this directly up to USB. YOU MUST use a card read to get your photos over. I cropped all my images to a 4:3 ratio and exported them out at 800x600, saved them to the card via the card reader, plugged in the card to the Coby and everything worked.

The third issue we are having is we can't play video on this frame. It says that it does AVI and MP4 (Mpeg4), but no matter what setting I use to export the movie out of iMovie '08, I can't get the video to play.

---THE GOOD---
I saved all my images down to 800x600 and the images actually look pretty good and on par with our Phillips frame.

---CONCLUSION---
As another reviewer said, "You pay for what you get". It does all your basic photo frame stuff for a cheap price. BYOMC (bring your own memory card) and don't count on video working. If you want a cheap photo frame that you'll have to wrangle with to setup, but in the end shows pictures pretty well, this may be for you.

I bought this for my aging immigrant mother. Loaded it with the ethnic mp3 music, and photos of all her kids, grand kids, and great grand kids. Got the USB flash drives for my siblings as well so they could load their content.

Of course mom said she didn't want it. And after I turned it and plugged the headphones in (she's hard of hearing), she sat there glued and transfixed for over an hour humming along with tears welling up in her eyes. Apparently some of the ethnic folk songs I downloaded from the internet were old standards her mother used to sing to her when she was just a child.

I especially liked the big screen with 800x600 resolution, excellent brightness and contrast, and the 3:4 aspect ratio. Works perfectly with my digital pix, and there's no black border around the pictures. It can be displayed in either portrait or landscape mode. I set it up for landscape, and rotated the few portrait pix so there's a border with those.

After my wife saw this digital photo frame, she said she wants to get one for her parents for Christmas. Hope the price doesn't go up because of this review!!! :)

Note: It appears that Amazon has lumped several different Coby models under this thread, so be careful that the review you read is really associated with the correct frame.

Only have few negative comments: 1) you cannot run a slideshow on a specific directory of pictures. If you have three directories of pictures, it will play all of them. 2) No setup option to force pictures to rotate in slideshow. You can manually rotate still pics, but if you plan on displaying a bunch of vertical portraits, you will want to rotate them on your PC before playing them on the frame. 3) Forget playing video on this thing - the decoder is not efficient, so the .avi's are choppy.

Positives: Easy to get started, 800 x 600 resolution is crisp, bright, easy to navigate with remote, fast image transition with choice of effects, music control during slideshow, clear menus and setup options.

The display quality of this frame is incredible, sharp, bright and with vivid color. The viewing angle is also pretty good for this type of high resolution display panels. This is one the few frames with an LCD resolution of 800x600 and this clearly showed up in the details of the display. I was pleasantly surprised by brightness and the vivid color of the display. The color accuracy is also excellent. I guess the LED backlight technology helped. The price of $130 was also very good consider the quality of the display. My complaint with this frame would be that it can only display AVI video in the QCIF (320x240) resolution. I tried an AVI file with a resolution of 640x480 captured with a PC CAM. The frame would not display the file. This is a pity since the frame has a resolution of 800x600. A 640x480 video would look good on the frame. Another problem I had was with displaying some JPEG files. I had several JPEG files with screen patterns for evaluating the display resolution. These were generated from PDF files. I had not problem displaying these images in the Picture and Fax Viewer on a Win XP machine. I had also no problem displaying these on a Mustek picture frame. But the Coby frame would not display these images. Another issue with the frame is that it could not handle file names with Unicode characters.

I chose Coby DP882 8" instead of the cheaper 7" version not just for the slightly larger screen size but mainly for the better resolution, in which regard I'm satisfied. One major disappointment is its memory stick slot, which is too shallow to hold it securely in place (two thirds of it is exposed) and that's why the gadget doesn't always "sense" the insertion of the memory stick. I haven't tried the xD card slot since I don't have one. The SD slot works fine.

Can't be happier with this product. I looked around for awhile before settling on this one. The picture is sharp and bright enough to see from across the room. I like the option of loading pictures to my flash drive. I can go back and look at all the photos I already have on my PC.

You can not download pictures from all computers with this frame. You must have 2.0 usb hubs. Not all computers, including my Dell, have this.