Customer Reviews

HP DreamScreen 100 10.2-Inch Wireless Connected Screen

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

The HP DreamScreen is at its heart, a digital photo frame that's begging to be much more.

As with so many of 2009's consumer electronics, the DreamScreen is yet another example of a company trying to bolt on extended connectivity to popular sites. This time around, we have access to Facebook, Pandora, and Snapfish via built-in wired and wireless networking.

Setting up the DreamScreen is fairly painless. It quickly found and connected to my WPA2 network without any problems, and the built-in applications all ran as I had expected them to, albeit, very slowly. I thought that the slowness may be due to the product being so new, and immediately checked for a firmware update. Sure enough, there was one. However, it didn't seem to improve the response time.

The DreamScreen is quite large. Probably larger than what I'd want on my desk, and a bit too large for a normal end table. And while the back has slots to accept every type of flash media under the sun, it also makes the unit itself quite deep, making wall mounting an unattractive option.

As I had said previously, the included applications all work pretty much as I had expected them to. Facebook is a passive stream of status updates or photos. Snapfish can be pointed to someone's account, and Pandora seems to do the right thing if you already have a Pandora account with stations set up. The weather application updates quickly and often, and is visually appealing. The inherent problem with all of these, is that they aren't integrated or well executed.

So, mixing photos between any of the applications is just not possible without navigating between the different applications. On one hand, I can understand that the DreamScreen doesn't claim to do it, but if you're going to bundle multiple photo options, being able to see them all in a rotation seems like a natural function to me. And while Pandora works, the controls are not well thought out (e.g. making the music stop) and as you'd probably expect from a device like this, the audio quality is not very good.

Ultimately, you end up with a product that you'd normally "set and forget", but that really needs a lot of interaction to make any of the features work. I could see having this mounted somewhere that I could enjoy glancing at the pictures, and notice every once in a while that it's telling me what the weather's like, or that one of my friends has posted new pictures on Facebook. But in execution, I'd need to go find the remote, and navigate to each function. If I'm going to take the time to do that, why wouldn't I just grab my computer? (Or if I didn't have one, why wouldn't I spend about as much money on a netbook?)

The image quality is decent, but not nearly as good as what you'd see on the similarly sized Sony DPF-V900 9-Inch Digital Photo Frame (and a popular choice, now that I see it on another review). Again, it does what HP says it does, but it doesn't do it as well as it could, and seems almost an afterthought.

The DreamScreen really begs the question: "What need does this fulfill?"
If you're looking for a photo frame, you have better options from Sony, Kodak, and others.
If you're looking for an easy link to Facebook, the interface and one-way nature of the device puts a wet towel on that.
If you're looking for a portable media center, the audio quality is a serious barrier.
If you're looking for a "keep Grandma updated with something easy to use" device, you're hitting limitations with the interface (and wireless availability).

I just can't think of a single reason to buy this over another product, other than to say "Hey, check out this frame. Look at everything it can do."

Review of the HP Dreamscreen 100 (10" wide screen)
by Vance Jochim
Nov. 30, 2009

I was in Best Buy looking for a picture frame and encountered the HP Dreamscreen 100 - the plus for me was that it played Pandora, and looked very nice. It was the Saturday after Black Friday and they must have had some left from the Black Friday sale and the price was $149, not the retail $249. I had to get the clerk find one under a counter. (You can also get a more costly Dreamscreen 300, which apparently is no different from the model 100 except the screen is 13" (diagonal), rather than 10". That reminds me of my first TV which had a 13" screen.

I have been using a five year old HP TC1100 tablet for a Pandora player, but it has horrendous delays when turning on, and this Dreamscreen is much, much faster...hardly any bootup time. Amazingly, the TC1100 has become a cult machine and many people are upgrading the internals with ram etc. because they like the 10" and form factor. Since the tablet is touchscreen, and also has a 10" screen, I was used to the form factor. You can get a used TC1100 on ebay for under $500 if you want one, or a netbook to do more expanded computer functions. But, this HP Dreamscreen seems to do much of what I was using the TC1100 for WITHOUT the loading delays of the tablet, and seems to have some of the upper scale industrial design familiar to TC1100 users.

The packaging was upper scale, and very presentable in the provided heavy duty black box for a gift. It reminds me of the "packaging experience" that Apple would do.

Other reviews have talked about the tiny remote, which is limited, and the delay after clicking is frustrating. Here are some comments:

- The limited instructions focus on setting up a wifi connection, but I had a hard cable connection, and had to experiment with the menus, which did provide a method to set it up.

- Video Tutorials: You can reach them through the main "Video" icon, or on the provided CD-Rom. There are seven of them plus a Dreamscreen tutorial.

- Pandora: I am listening to my Pandora channel of Christmas music right now on the Dreamscreen.As others have mentioned, you have to setup Pandora on a full computer, creating music channels, but they you can access it with the Dreamscreen. My only Pandora gripe is that the remote or onscreen soft buttons don't have the normal Pandora PAUSE function, thus you can mute sound, but not halt playing, which Pandora doesn't like because they pay fees to artists to play the music, and only want it running when you are actually listening. Normal Pandora users will pause the playing if they leave so as not to use up minutes for "free" accounts, but there is no such option here. The Pandora feature also shows the album cover, but not details about artists and other info available on the regular computer client. The only way to halt (not mute) Pandora is to go to the main menu and choose another function which shuts off Pandora. It is almost like they have only three window or memory partitions - one for the current application function, one for graphics like pictures (i.e. screensaver or slideshow), and one for the main menu. But if you want to switch applications, it shuts off the current one.

- Reviewers have complained about entering data. The Dreamscreen doesn't have a keyboard (but there is a USB port - I wonder if a USB keyboard would work?), so they use an onscreen keyboard and you click each key by using the remote to move the cursor. That is very similar to the onscreen keyboard on the TC1100 tablet, so it was not new to me. Hp should provide ability to use a USB or wireless keyboard, if it doesn't exist now.

- I too find the lack of multiple windows or operations to be a weakness. You can run your photos as a screensaver or by clicking the photos icon AND Pandora still plays. While listening to Pandora, I held down the back button and got the main menu of feature icons. Once I clicked on Clock, the Pandora stream quit. That is obnoxious, and needs to be fixed. You should be able to keep one audio stream going while working with any of the other non-audio features.

- When I setup the Dreamscreen, I found the software update button, and it replaced the Sept., 2009 software with a downloaded new version, so some problems reported in early reviews might have been fixed.

- Some people complained about the speakers - I find them better than any laptop speaker (and definitely better than the HP tablet), and there is a headphone port to use for headphones or external speakers.

- There is an alarm feature, and it can turn on and off at specific times you mention. I have not used it yet to see if it starts playing Pandora, but I imagine it would.

- Some people complained about the thickness - it is about 1.5" thick, with two holes in the back for hanging on nails, and the thick part is in the center of the unit, now out to the edges, so i think it is not a problem.

- The unit stands up by screwing in a 4" metal rod in the back that acts as a leg to keep the unit upright. Thus it is easy to remove and carry the unit if you wanted - so if you have wifi and electricity in the back yard or boat dock, you could easily move this out there.

- Facebook - as soon as you click the Facebook icon, the audio from Pandora stops. After using the onscreen keyboard and cursor to enter your login info, you get a menu bar for "Status Updates, Photos & Events". The Status update is default and shows updates from friends. For the first time, it only showed the most recent four status updates. Photos - it only showed Photos of friends, but maybe because I have never uploaded any photos. Events: It got a message no events found - probably because I have not created any on the account. I don't use it much. It doesn't provide any ability, even with the graphic keyboard to enter or modify Facebook data, so probably enabling the password isn't bad.

- Radio - The feature of "HP Radio" says you can connect to radio stations around the world. The station picker is very limited. You can only select stations by "location" country, or "genre":. For "location", you can only pick a country (not city or zip) from a drop down list, so I chose USA. Then if you pick to select by station name, you get a horrendous, alpha list of stations and you can't just enter the call letters. You have to scroll through sublists 50 at a time. Another reviewer said you couldn't go to the next group of 50 selections until you clicked DOWN on the last entry of the current group. There is no "end of group" jump button. Additionally, the STUPID sort algorithm sorts based upon the first character, then the second. Thus for numeric stations, you get all the 120 stations mixed in with the 1200 stations. This is NOT an intuitive feature and needs vast improvement. You would have to SLOWLY scroll through many groups of 50 to reach station XYZ. There are a lot of generic internet stations like "181.fm Christmas Swing" and you can click on stations to "add" them to your favorites. So, it isn't too hard to find generic stations, but if I want to hear the Orlando talk radio station WDBO 580am with Neal Boortz, it would be a REAL pain to find it. Nothing tells you what the limit of "favorites" is, nor does it show a count of how many you add to favorites. It contains the AOL stations for jazz, and "ATC" airport tower audio channel, etc. I finally stopped at the end of the numeric stations and "A's" which were the first 400 I scrolled through. There really needs to be a full search function for this, or a way to set favorites via the computer and internet. I look forward to finding a forum where someone figures out how to set the radio stations much faster. Once you have selected some "favorite" radio stations, that is the list you get when you click the main "HP Radio" graphic on the main menu.

- USB keyboard - I moved a USB keyboard from my HP TC1100 tablet to the Dreamscreen and plugged it in while the Dreamscreen was on. No indicator or message came up. I then entered Facebook to setup my account, which normally would pull up the onscreen cursor controlled graphic keyboard. I tried the USB keyboard both in the email login field, and also after clicking that field to see the onscreen keyboard, but the USB keyboard did not work in either instance, and did not generate any types of errors. I turned the unit off, then back on, and repeated the above tests, and the USB keyboard still did not work. So, HP seems to have turned of any keyboard capability, and I think they should provide it to use with USB keyboards and mice like a wireless unit.

- Real estate - one advantage of this unit is it does NOT take up much space on a desk, or you can hang it on a wall. Imagine having a wireless keyboard and mouse option.

- Memory - The model 100 comes with 2gb standard (not upgradeable) memory, but only 1.5gb is accessible to the user. Thus I would get a USB or other memory stick like CompactFlash to provide more storage for pictures or videos. I don't know if the unit can access a USB external hard drive. Additionally, if you connect the unit to a PC with supplied software over a HOME NETWORK, you can play pictures or sound (not video) by streaming them from the PC over the network to the DreamScreen. Thus if you had wifi, you could stream music from your PC to the Dreamscreen anywhere that the wifi would reach.

- Videos: THERE IS NO PAUSE FOR VIDEOS, JUST LIKE NO PAUSE FOR PANDORA. That is stupid. If you press back, it starts the video at the beginning. That is not in the simple documentation. I got a phone call and could not pause the video tutorials - I could only press mute and then restart the video after the call was over. If I press the left button, it jumps back some frames, but there is no smooth back or fast forward. UPDATE: The video tutorial said if you press the "OK" button, it will pause. If you press the OK button again, the video will continue. They need to relabel the "OK" button to "OK / Pause"

- Picture files - only supports JPEG, BMP and PNG.

- Email - there is no internet browser or email function, but I would think that could easily be added in the future. Remember the old WebTV application, which was similar to the 40 character wide early AOL screens, and it worked with a phone modem and TV - this could supply the same thing to seniors who only want the basic stuff and don't want too complex a gadget. (Note: While viewing the video tutorials, the speaker said that for most applications, you cannot enter data (only login info), thus internal circuitry might not exist to use an external keyboard or to enter data for email, etc. (at least in this model).

- Bluetooth - there is no Bluetooth feature.

- The remote unit is pretty flimsy. I would find out how to get a spare, or how to use a generic remote as a backup (although you can click onscreen soft buttons like the remote as a backup). It uses one of those thin batteries about the size of a nickel. I would get a spare battery before you need it. And, provide an optional plastic BRIGHT ORANGE "skin" to hold the remote so you can find it on a desk. The default black finish makes it hard to find!!

- Power on - the button is on the remote, and if you powered off, it returns to the prior screen when powered backup. If you lost the remote, there is a power on lighted button on the back.

- USB - there is both a normal and mini USB port on the back, as well as a standard 10/100 LAN hard cable port.

- Provided CD-Rom - The CD is NOT for software to be loaded to the Dreamscreen, but is loaded to your desktop or other PC to enable streaming files to the Dreamscreen over a provided USB cable. It also contains video tutorials and a UQuick start guide and User guide for the Dreamscreen. When I ran the "Install PC Software" on my Sony laptop, it read the CD, then returned to the menu. I tried launching it again, and it generated a "HP Dreamscreen PC Updater" error message, and sent an error report to Microsoft. There are seven WMV file format video tutorials on the CD. I always copy such configuration CD's to the hard drive and then run them from there.

- Password controls: When entering your login id and password, you have to decide if you allow the system to always enter your login with password each time you enter a service like Facebook, or not. Thus because it is a pain to use the cursor to enter the password, and you leave the login enabled as automatic, anyone could login to your Facebook account using the Dreamscreen. So you need to know what the Dreamscreen can do in your facebook account if you leave it with automatic login. Note: I found you can use the onscreen soft keys to also enter the password, if you don't have the remote.

- Screen resolution is 800 x 600 (not the highest, but ok on this 10" screen), and the format is widescreen or 16 x 9 ratio format. The provided sample pictures have all been croped to the 16 x 9 format so they fill the screen. If your pictures are regular 4x6 or 3x5, or have been cropped to be taller than wide, they will not fill the screen. Thus you either see them as they exist, or maybe create a group of picture files cropped to fit the 16x9 format and use all the screen.

From the HP online FAQ page: When playing a slide show within Facebook's photos, some photo edges are cut off because the photo does not fit on the screen; and there are no options to force photos to fit the screen.

The default setting for photo display on the HP DreamScreen is Fit to screen . If you wish the photo to display without cropping off, set the photo display to Original in the Photo Options Dialog box. In some cases the photo is cropped off when photo display mode is set to "Fit to screen", such as displaying 4:3 photo in horizontal mode.

- Battery backup - some people have pointed out that the Dreamscreen does not have a backup battery, but it did retain my clock settings when I unplugged it overnite. There are no details on how that is done, or how long it would last. Or, maybe the settings are stored on the internet and loaded upon being turned on? I have no idea.

- Additional Uses I would like to see:
1) The main menu is setup with icons you scroll through to launch applications. It would be interesting to know if software upgrades could add more applications such as google mail, YouTube, Hulu, etc. Or, maybe if HP was smart, they would allow developers access to the code to create some tailored applications called up by a new icon.
2) I can see copying videos here for your own portable You Tube or presentation system where you just need to play a video with good sound. Yes, you can use a laptop or netbook, but this unit has such nice design, it would look nice in an office.
3) HULU & Netflix - if they could provide feeds to Hulu and Netflix accounts, that would be superb.
4) Widgets - if you could add Yahoo widgets, that would be interesting.
5) Games - There are no games and no controller. Maybe a WII type of add on to run older legacy games from a memory card?

I think this Dreamscreen is a gadgeteers dream machine if HP started providing add on programs and features like iPod does. Some of the reviews say this product is an early, limited competitor to an expected Apple tablet pc, but it does not have a touchscreen and other features of a tablet like a TC1100, but what if HP used the same internals and then offered a whole range of options to add stuff - kind of like the Ford Mustang in the 1960's (or the new one).

For more info, look at the guides on the CD, and also visit the HP online web page for the Dreamscreen and read the FAQ's and info at http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=3935830&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&cc=us

Enjoy.
vj

It was just 16 months ago that I paid $250 for a Sony Sony DPF-V900 digital frame which included clock and calendar functions. I consider the Sony frame to be an excellent product and it has been on my desk ever since.

The HP DreamScreen 100 raises the bar considerably for digital frames at this price point. It adds 2GB of onboard storage, WiFi, and limited internet capabilities.

After some initial start-up problems (below), I was able to add the HP DreamScreen 100 to my WiFi network (driven by an Apple Time Capsule as router and wireless access point using WPA/WPA2 Personal security) using the basic set-up procedure. Shortly after joining the network, the frame updated its software, a process which took several minutes.

Owing to having the Sony frame, I already had a set of about 50 photos cropped to fit with the 16x9 frame ratio. I plugged the frame into my Mac Mini via USB and was able to quickly copy the set to the frame. The photos on the HP are larger, of course, but are also brighter with a noticeably cooler color temperature. I would rate the photo display as excellent, but keep in mind I was using photos already cropped to a wide screen ratio.

The clock and calendar offer several display options, including dual time zones, clock with calendar, and clock with photo. It does not, however, have a clock/calendar/photo option, which is my usual choice on the older Sony frame.

I was able to copy and play music files from my itunes music folders, including older mp3 files and more recent DRM-Free iTunes Music Store tracks. In an ideal world, you would be able to add the frame as an authorized iTunes device under Home Sharing, but that's not likely to happen, ever. Audio quality is acceptable, but just OK compared to a dedicated desktop music device like an Altec Lansing IM3 or IM6.

I have quite a few videos optimized for the PSP. I used a Memory Stick full-sized adaptor to plug in some of my MS Duo cards. The movies and TV shows on the cards played OK, although having been optimized for the PSP, they did not fill the screen and were fuzzier than they appear to be on the PSP. I expect you would get very good results if you exported video with settings optimal for the HP DreamScreen 100.

I found the interface for HP SmartRadio cumbersome and confusing at first. Here's a hint: it only displays search results 50 stations at a time; if you press the Down button again when you get to the end of the list, it will bring up the next 50. It should tell you this on the screen. The service itself worked with no problems.

I still don't have a Facebook account, but I did set up Pandora and Snapfish accounts to try those services on this device. Both ran smoothly on the HP DreamScreen 100. I do have Windows XP on my Mac Mini, but I was able to do everything I wanted with the HP DreamScreen 100 without switching to Windows and installing the software. If I do install the Windows software later, I will update this review.

All in all, this is a pretty good choice if you're looking for a frame that does more than just show photos. A point off for the following (in addition to the other minor issues mentioned above): the first four times I started it up, it crashed a few seconds into the demo video (holding down the Back button while starting finally got me to the main screen); I would prefer a slightly larger remote control with a better layout; with all this capability, there should be a news feed. If it had a clock/calendar/photo display, it would replace the Sony frame on my desk in my home office. As it is, I will look forward to finding find a place for it in the living room, theater, or bedroom.

If you've considered purchasing a digital frame for someone, perhaps an older relative, less computer-savvy than yourself, this may just be the thing, so long as you're willing to assist with initial setup.

In addition to the beautiful ten-inch photo screen, this DreamScreen has a number of other features which would be of interest to such a user: one-touch weather reports, two different radio feeds, photos via Snapfish, and Facebook status updates. While this last item, without the ability to post one's own statuses or comments, seemed useless to me at first, after due consideration it is obvious that many older adults would create Facebook profiles simply for the opportunity to review the status updates and photos of a few people, if and only if there were an easy way to do it. Once set up (and the lack of a touch-screen does make this a little time-consuming) this screen can be placed on the wall (it has to be plugged in, but I see that as a plus since recharging isn't an issue) and operated via the remote, which it's hard to lose because the top of the frame has a slot for it!

A number of photo memory cards are supported, including xD, the format used by Olympus. It was a pleasant surprise that, without having to add software or "synch" with a computer, I could just take the memory card out of my Olympus camera and view a slide show of all the photos currently in the camera. Of course, by connecting with a computer (using the included cable) one can choose exactly which photos will be displayed.

There are a few limitations. The remote is small and counter-intuitive, requiring going "back" to return to the main menu, and I can't for the life of me figure out why there is no news widget. And, of course, a computer connection, wired or wireless, is required, but given the "packages" sold with phone service and cable TV these days, even an otherwise-computerless household may be wise to contract for this service.

I must note that a computer is necessary to set up Pandora (internet radio) and Facebook accounts, but once they're set up they can be accessed on the DreamScreen without further access to a computer.

The computer-savvy will recognize that this frame isn't much cheaper than a netbook, and a netbook can do so much more. But not everyone needs or wants a computer, and for them, this is perfect.

Wow, I'm really, really upset about this.

Facebook was the primary reason why I purchased this product. I've been spending hours trying to get this to work only to find out that it simply no longer is a feature of this product as advertised. I just blew $200 on a product that I can't return.

This is VERY irresponsible of HP to continue to sell this product and not issue any marketing updates that Facebook no longer works, and hasn't worked for months (as shown on their community boards).

Worse, HP is blaming this on Facebook by claiming that it's changes to Facebook that broke the functionality. It sounds more like HP didn't have a contract with Facebook, but was just using the API. When the API changed, HP simply never updated the firmware to the product to match changes in the API, and now we're left with products that don't work as advertised...and HP continues to sell them.

It's been months now and not only hasn't HP fixed this, but hasn't acknowledged when or even if it will be fixed.

Customers shouldn't have to review the company's message boards and hear from other customers about what advertised features don't work before deciding to purchase the product. I doubt I'll be purchasing any future HP products if this is what I can expect.

Shame on you HP.

PS: Having a broken social networking app is doubly irresponsible since users of such apps are exactly the people who communicate the problem and influence other potential customers.

PPS: Aside from the Facebook app not working, the picture frame isn't all that great either. It could be, but as other reviewers have commented, it doesn't allow you to set it and forget. Instead, you need to interact with it for switching between slideshow and weather or other apps. The apps load really slow, so it's really not much fun.

I have to admit, when this first arrived for me to review, I was like, "What could I ever possibly use this for?" After all, I don't do the whole digital photos things, I don't need a touch screen to check the weather or my Facebook status. I have a laptop for those things and that's actually portable. Yes, at first glance, The HP DreamScreen looked like an overpriced piece of junk.

However, once I started fiddling around with it, I realized it actually can be useful. I will admit there were some problems at first getting the DreamScreen to synch up with my network and laptop (Inspiron 1525 if you're curious), but once I did I found it to do three things that made this worth owning.

1. Pandora radio. The DreamScreen has Pandora built in and it doesn't even need to be synched with my laptop to work. This is great as I don't have to use any of my computer's memory or the like to listen to music when I am working. It also synchs with the DreamScreen's built in alarm which is rather nice.

2. Music. I can stream music from my laptop to the DreamScreen. The built in speakers with Dreamscreen are amazing and much better than anything I have on my laptop, so this has become my preferred way to listen to music outside of my Ipod when I am jogging.

3. Videos. Video footage looks pretty good on here. However, I have a blu-ray play and a high definition screen on my laptop, so I can't really say I would personally use this. For those without that level of video quality on their own computer (or even TV), this might come in handy.

For everything else though, this is a pretty expensive gadget that really doesn't do anything that makes it worth the price tag. Why does someone need a one way Facebook account or a seperate screen to check the weather? Is this for technophobes.

If you just need a digital photo frame, there are better and cheaper options. HP hopes you'll pay more for a bunch of bells and whistles. While these extras are cute, they're also pretty useless when you come right down to it. Maybe for half the MSRP this would be a DECENT purchase, but at the current price, I can't imagine anyone will really get their money's worth out of it.

This is absolutely a gorgeous digital picture frame with plenty of built in memory for your favorite pictures. Plus, it has a clock, calendar, facebook, video and music capabilities. This screen looks and feels beautiful - high quality, first class all the way. It does a great job playing music and videos (I tested it playing PSP video format and plain old mp3 for music) and has a surprisingly good sound for a digital picture frame, which is basically what mine gets used as. And it does that beautifully - handles large picture sizes no problem, scales perfectly, and it is a gorgeous screen. I like the alarm function, definitely a useful add-on, and I like it's music player/radio capabilities - very nice addition that adds even more to it's usefulness. The weather is a great extra too. Setup on wifi was fairly straightforward, assuming you have connected something via wi-fi before, if not, get a geek friend to do it for you. Sometimes the overall controls are not the most intuitive, but if you tinker with it a bit you get used to it. Connecting it via wi-fi to your computer to transfer media was a little trickier - I finally figured out that using the included software, it would only say it recognized it when the dreamscreen was on it's home page - on any other screen it would say it didn't find it. Odd, but workable once I figured that out and once you get that working you can drag and drop files onto the dreamscreen's internal memory. It also plays flawlessly off of SDHC cards - I used internal memory for pictures and an SDHC card for music and video. Streaming capabilities are what most fascinated me with this, and sadly on that score it fell a little short. That may not be entirely the fault of the screen, I did notice that sometimes Windows Media Player would change it's setting from sharing media to not sharing media for no good reason at all. When I did get it to connect and stream I had to be very patient - streaming a large music library over wi-fi would take forever for it to pull up all the content - you may think it's locked up, but it seems most of the time it's just trying to pull up the media. However it has locked up on me several times trying to stream media - I just power cycle it and it's fine. I'm not a patient person, so this was very disappointing. I have a wireless "n" router and I'm sure most of the slowness was due to the screens interal Wireless "G". Or it could be windows media player, I'm just not sure - I have heard in other forums that windows media player is not the best to use for media streaming, but I haven't had the need or inclination to try anything else when all it's other features work so well. When it did stream, music playback was choppy, so I just chalked this up to a feature thats not quite ready for primetime and perhaps it will be much more usable in the future. On another note - HP - why on earth did you put a large sticker around the edge of the screen? Not cool at all! It was so hard to get off I really thought I was ruining the screen just trying to get all the sticky residue off (a self stick vinyl adhesive would have been way better) I guess that's why they include the cleaning cloth, it works great to polish it up nicely after you finally manage to pry the sticker and it's remains off of the beautiful screen. I do like it's ability to download updates and update itself - but mine did not do so automatically, I had to go into settings, then info and tell it to search for updates and then it did update just fine. As long as you accept the media streaming quirks or don't plan on streaming, then I definitely recommend this - it is far and away the most beautiful digital picture frame I have ever seen, and has plenty of neat little extras to play around with. With it's alarm and calendar functions, you could use this as a gorgeous bedside alarm clock and have it display pictures when not in use. What I wish it did have, was more internet content or the ability to add your own internet content and better streaming abilities.

This is not a slam but be warned, the unit is slow... not slow like my grandmother trying to get to the point of her story but slow like waiting for elevator doors to open. Once you in a particular app the thing rocks like a 70's hair band on heroine. The internal speakers are so-so but if you connect to something like a sound bar the sound is much better. The look is sleek and it took me a week to realize it had a quasi touchscreen. The DreamScreen won't cause you to wake up with wood, but its far from being a nightmare.

Do you want a very nice looking digital picture frame? Then why spend $100 plus and get JUST that? Why not get a bunch of other "netpliance" apps along with it. Many people can go into more detail about the limitations of the Dreamscreen, and I did have my moments of cursing on setup (Facebook!) and the limits of some of the apps, and the apparent lack of multitasking and some dumb menu item designs. Audio is ok but not great (we fixed it with small pc speakers you can attach). Video WMV and AVI not supported ?!?! stupid. Got it. BUT, if you want a WiFi-based countertop screen that beautifully shows pictures you've loaded, or pictures OFF OF ANOTHER PC (with the Dreamscreen located anywhere in your house, and with no cable attachments), videos you've loaded, music you've loaded or run OFF OF ANOTHER PC (get the theme?), a silly clock or calendar or the weather outside, or listen to Pandora stations, or selected FM radio stations. And you want it to look nice and bright. And you don't want keyboard laying there. And you want it small enough yet big enough, a countertop picture frame. And you don't demand an instant countertop browser. And you want frame front controls or a long distance remote control. And you don't demand touchscreen. And you want all of that for $200 or less. Then come on, this is COOL. Get it even if you have a netbook or an iPhone or and iPad. Or...watch for it to evolve next year. But we got one and are happy with it. My wife wanted a digital pic frame. Almost the same price - we got all of this. I am listening to Coldplay playing from this PC, but in the kitchen, while it's cycling through pics from Christmas. About to switch to Car Talk. Come on, it's pretty cool.

HP had a neat idea here, but somewhere along the way from concept to completion it lost its way.
It is too pricey for what it offers. I essence it is an expensive clock/calendar, internet radio player and 10" picture viewer, with a few other bells and whistles thrown in for good measure. The interface is time consuming and cumbersome to use and the speaker is not strong or of a very good quality. On the plus side the screen is nice and bright with a good viewing angle, and it displays photos and video nicely. And it does connect wirelessly to the internet.

Let's break it down:

1. It easily connects to my home network, after I changed the security settings.
2. It is a good photo viewer though there are better dedicated ones. It can connect to your Snapfish library...if you have one.
3. Stream music from the internet or from your home PC. However, the interface for this is cumbersome and choosing internet stations is a pain. And then there are those underpowered speakers.
4. It works as an alarm clock and you can wake up to music. Okay I guess.
5. You can monitor your Facebook account and friends' status, but you can't update yours.
6. It has a calendar. Yippee.
7. Weather reports can be accessed from the web. Nice but not essential, just turn on the weather channel.

This product practically begs for touch screen capability. If it had that, then I would say it is worth the price. But know, you are left to use either the remote or the few controls on the bottom and right edge of the screen. The menu interface is still slow to get through and overly complicated.

I am not sure who HP was targeting with the Dreamscreen. Perhaps minimalists who want to ditch their clock, internet radio, calendar and standard photo frame in favor of this. For them it would be good. Perhaps. But for the rest of us, just use your computer or smart phone. It is quicker, easier, and you can do more. Kevin Nicholls hit the nail on the head with his review. My opinion is to wait -- easier to use and more functional devices are on the horizon or are already in your home. But if you want a digital picture frame that can do other things (though not well) and you don't mind the price, then this may just be for you. I've had mine for months and the only feature I still regularly use is the photo slideshow.