Customer Reviews

Pandigital 15-Inch LCD Digital Picture Frame

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This is really an amazing digital picture frame. Size does make a difference!

I have the Kodak 10-inch digital frame, which is a great digital frame to put on a night table. But for displaying your pictures in a large room, such as in your living room, a 15-inch digital frame makes a big difference. No matter where a guest is sitting, your pictures will be clear and crisp and within viewable distance.

A useful feature I liked about this digital frame is the stand in the back of the frame that can be adjusted to either hold the frame vertically or slightly slanted backwards. Viewing at eye level is better when the frame sits vertical, just like a TV monitor or a computer screen. That's one feature that is not on my 10-inch Kodak digital frame.

This digital frame also comes with a brown frame (wood color) that can be used instead of the black frame surrounding the screen. This is useful for homes with wooden or classic furniture. Removing the frame is easy.

This digital frame is very easy to use and I quickly operated it straight out of the box. The menus are easy to navigate and understand, and the remote control makes menu navigation a snap. Menu items are self-explanatory, making referring to the user guide unnecessary.

I like the random picture display option, which I do not have on my Kodak digital frame. With the random display option, your pictures are not displayed in the order they are on your media card but at random.

I love the remote control, which is very easy to use with large push buttons. You can also control the digital frame by buttons placed on the frame itself.

You can also play music and video, as well as display a digital clock and calendar. There is also an Auto power on and off.

Another great feature is the favorite picture option. Marking an image as a favorite allows you to see the image more often during a slide show.

The following file formats can be displayed: JPEG, AVI Motion JPEG, MP3.
Some drawbacks:

To insert the power cable inside the frame, you need to have a screwdriver, remove the cover, insert the power cable, and then close the lid and tighten it with the screwdriver. I thought that was unnecessary as an easier method could have been designed; e.g. with a snap-on cover.

There is no place on the back of the digital frame to store the remote control, unlike the Kodak digital frame.

The digital frame comes with only 256MB of built-in Flash Memory. This is way too little for the serious photographer. I use a 4 Gigabyte media card to display my pictures.

There are no media cards included in the box. You will have to buy your own. The following media cards can be used: Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity, Multi Media Card, Compact Flash, xD-Picture Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Duo, and USB Flash drives.

This digital frame does not have a wireless feature like the Kodak 10-inch digital frame. With the Kodak digital frame, you can connect to your home network and the internet.

I find this digital frame too expensive.

Overall, this is a great digital frame for your living room or any large room in your home.

First the good stuff:

The photos are displayed in 1024x768 resolution on a 15" diagonal screen. The colors are great. The brightness is just fine. (AND both of these are adjustable - I was very happly with the defaults). The quality of my displayed photos are excellent.

Photos can be displayed one at a time or in a slide show format (with a number of different transitions). The slide show can be displayed sequentially or randomly. The screen can be programmed to turn off 2,4, or 8 hours after turning on. The screen can be programmed to turn on at a certain time and off at a certain time. The timer can be programmed to behave differently on weekdays and weekends.

Photos are easy to upload to the frame's memory. Photos can be uploaded one at a time or in a group. In addition, photos can be deleted one at a time or in groups (there are no folders or subdirectories though). The frame can read mutiple memory cards as well as USB. I used a USB flash disk that works well. It appears that different types of memory cards and at least two flash disks can be connected to the frame simultaneously (haven't tested this)

The low voltage power supply fits into a little covered well so only a 110 volt power cord emerges from the screen. (very tidy).

You can also show certain types of video and play music through the frame. Don't know how that works because I have no use for these features.

Now the not so good stuff:

The screen screen darkens to unacceptable when viewed more than about 15 degrees off axis. This darkening will make the screen unacceptable for many uses. Fortunately for me, I was able to place the screen on my livingroom mantle which is at the back of a fairly long room. I did have to mount the screen on a monitor stand to angle it down about 5 degrees so that the screen was viewable when sitting on my couch. I'm surprised that Pandigital used such dated technology for their screen. If I had to purchase another digital picture frame, I'd make certain that the screen I purchased was of the more modern type that I have on my current computer display!

The documentation is horrible and the setup screens are non-intuitive. Some of the set up options are only available in obscure parts of their software. For example, yes you can show photos in calendar mode as one reviewer couldn't figure out how to do. Yes the software can automatically resize images to full screen (if you turn this option on as another reviewer couldn't). I think I have been able to get the programable timer to work the way I want but I'm still testing. There really aren't that many options so it shouldn't be so hard to document and intuitively implement these options.

Finally, I like to show my images in a slide show format. Pandigital gives 3 options: fast, medium, and slow. Slow is about 9 seconds which, for me, is still too fast. I wish Pandigital had given more timer flexibility.

In summary, I've made the screen work for me but I think Pandigital could have made a much better product.

I am a semi-pro photographer (meaning I display and sell photography, but have a "day job" as well), and I bought this as a handy tool to augment my "gallery" displays by showing work I don't have room to show in limited space, or don't have "in stock" framed to show; --and yes, for some "for pleasure" use too. Unfortunately, this frame has not been as handy or easy to use as I'd hoped for!

In summary, in trying to make this thing go, I discovered what I consider to be a fatal flaw, which is that, as best I can tell, the sofrware programmers who designed this screen, (read on if you want the gory details) failed to properly implement the "jpeg" standard, such that this make/model screen cannot be relied upon to show all legitimate jpeg image files. In other words, if you want a trouble-free screen that doesn't require an on-staff-geek to make it show your pictures, then buy something else. For a full explanation and further details, read on...

First of all, after unpacking, I plugged it into my PC via USB. Zip, zilch, nada. Windows XP didn't tumble. I went to the Pandigital website. No driver downloads. No help. Well, there is a handy, "coming soon" promise, but that's it. Okay, I can live without a USB connection, so I put some pictures on a SD card and moved them over the "sneakernet" way. That got them there fine.

The next difficulty was that the frame did strange things to my pictures by trying to "fit them" to the screen automatically (I guess). One WOULD expect this to cut off the edges of one's photos to "best" fit them on the screen, and it did an acceptible job of this with my HORIZONTALly formatted images, but the screen's automatic formatting software didn't know what to do with VERTICAL images, making the "automatic" formatting feature just plain useless. I figured out how to turn off the automatic formatting feature. Another hurdle cleared.

The frame is bright and clear, but it has a pretty limited field of view and your photos only look proper if you are looking pretty much dead on. The screen does have a pretty good adjustable "tilt leg" on the back for the vertical axis, but for something like this intended for general viewing, a wider field of view would be preferable. Also, the power button on the back of the screen acts crazy. As a practical matter, one HAS to turn the screen on with the remote. Don't lose that remote!

If only those were my only disappointments with this screen!

Thinking I'd negotiated a workable truce with the thing,I loaded up a bunch of jpg files to constitute a slide show exemplary of my best work. Of about 87 files, leading to my eventual discover that the screen refused to display 15. I didn't notice this at first, as it (mercifully) skips the files it can't abide in slide-show mode, but in "file" mode (where it displays pages of thumbnails) it gives a "file format not supported" message for these (legitimate jpegs).

Please note I'm not a newbie. These same image files display trouble-free on PC, my Palm, my camera screen, on the web, etc. They can be opened with PhotoImpact, Photoshop, XPs "preview" or "slide show" features, any browser, etc, etc, but the Pandigital frame sticks it's nose up at 'em. The files are from different sources (cameras, scanners). There was no ostensible reason then, why these image files might be objectionable to the digital photo frame, and there are no clues in the documentation.

I tried calling support. I get a "caller avoidance system". The multiple choice test says to press "2" for help with photo frames. If you press "2", it hangs up on you. Consistently. Nice. On my fourth attempt, I tried pressing other numbers. Apparently, if you aren't one of the poor saps who bought one of their digital photo frames, you get the courtesy of a message that says Tech Support closes at 7pm EST. It could be worse, I could live on the West Coast.

I dug in further, and after **several** hours of tedious trial and error, I finally discovered that I can get it to display the images in question if I re-save them using the "baseline standard" or "baseline optimized scan" option for saving jpegs in Photoshop (or other photo editor); --NOT the "Progressive Scan" option. Evidently, there is a FLAW IN THE PANDIGITAL SOFTWARE that prevents it from handling this (progressive scan) aspect of the JPEG standard!

At this point, I now have about six hours of tedious, frustrating, trial and error "geeking" invested in something that I reasonably expected would be "fun", "carefree", or at least, "useful"; and I do not yet have a working slideshow!

Maybe I'll get lucky, and Pandigital will answer the phone, and tell me they've fixed this bug and will send me a firmware upgrade or somesuch.

In the meantime, needing to use this screen as it came out of the box, I had to "geek" for another hour or so to create a macro procedure (an "Action" in PhotoShop) to automatically open and re-save any jpeg files I want top put on this screen as "baseline standard" or "baseline optional" scans. Otherwise, I'd have to laboriously resave each file manually. Either way, this is burdensome and should not be necessary. I mean, have you ever had to figure out what "scan" method was used in saving a jpeg on any other device you ever used?

A cautionary tale. The moral? If you want (or don't mind) paying a darned good buck to buy a gizmo that at best is a finicky, picky, balky TIME SUCK, then buy one of these. If you have enough needless frustration in your life, then think again. I'm speculating that I might have been wiser to wait for the next generation of these photo screens; which will probably cost less and work better.

I love this 15-inch digital picture frame. I waited a long time for one to be available with hi-res. Does a great job on slide shows and AVI.

Pros:
- 2 frames included
- accepts all media type and USB
- great screen
- slightly better than normal brightness
- AVI support with sound
- remote control

Cons:
- no wireless support (not a big loss, but it would have been nice)
- can't permanently rotate picture - need to do this on your PC first
- doesn't support high speed flash cards (for those of you who have
high speed SD or Compact Flash - DO NOT USE THEM). Get yourself some
cheap 1 to 2G low speed cards. When I used my Sandisk Extreme III
Compact Flash card I ended causing problem where the Compact Flash
reader doesn't seem to be working properly any more. I'm too scared
to try using the Extreme III SD cards I have, so I tried an old 1G
and an old 4G low speed SD card and they worked fine without problems.
- picture frame doesn't have a stand that places the frame straight up and
down when on a table. Does have one that has the frame tilted back a
little, which for me doesn't work as I put this on my Mantle and you
loose the picture when it is tilted and you are looking at it from
anything but eye level. I had to jury rig something myself - which
was fine

Do not buy PanDigital. They do not support the product. Mine quit working (flash!) after less than 4 months. "Customer Service" told me "unfortunately...." after the 90 day warranty they would do nothing. Don't believe the manual or their website. They do not repair this product...There are NO parts, you are just SOL. Stay away!!

This frame does not do what the manual and box says it will do. 15" has no calander-slideshow mode. Like the manual says. Also will not pause or go back or forward while in slideshow mode. If I press stop it will go to thumbnails with the first picture selected instead of the picture that I pressed to stop. First time I tried to call tech they did not know how to help. It is tech support for many products not just pandigital. They told me that it sounded like bad software and to exchange it. Went back to place of purchase they had 3 others. We tried to get them to do the things it was supppose to. None worked. Called tech back and he was at a lose. So no help...... Wrote company. Still no response.

Make sure you buy an extended warranty!

Mine failed after 9 months. The warranty is only 90 days long, then you are on your own.

Come to think of it, I was on my own when I tried to get it working right to begin with. I made several calls to the help desk, but couldn't connect with a live person.

Bottom Line -- Nice digital photo frame -- when it works and while it lasts.

I love this 15-inch digital picture frame. I waited a long time for one to be available with hi-res. Does a great job on slide shows. Love the fact that it has a choice of two frames and it accepts all media types and has a USB port. The Remote control is great too. It displays best if hung on the wall rather than using the stand from where we want to view the photos.

I'm not going to go into all the technical details covered in other reviews, but I will try to cover some of the basics.

First of all, what I like best about this frame over some of the others I've tested is that, as soon as you pop in a portable storage device (in my case, a USB flash drive), the frame goes into slideshow mode, displaying the photos and playing the MP3s on the storage medium. That will make it perfect for my non-tech-savvy father, for whom this is a gift. My plan is to send this frame to him with basic instructions, and then to inform the rest of the family that they can send him photos loaded onto flash drives, and all he has to do is pop them in to start viewing them. Once he gets the hang of it, it will be a no-brainer.

The image on the screen is FANTASTIC. The sound is GREAT. (I found the Gear Head frames to have good picture and sound quality as well, but you have to navigate a menu when you change storage medium, and music doesn't play in the automatic slideshow mode; you have to go through the menu to select Combo.)

I had some difficulty with JPG/JPEG files that weren't compatible, but I've discovered that EVERY photo frame brand I've tried has the same problem. I had 101 photos on a flash drive, all of them resized/saved in Photoshop, and only 28 of those photos showed in every frame. I will need to be more careful when cropping and saving photos in the future, to make sure I have the proper JPG format.

Like any LCD screen, viewing angle is an issue. It's not a CRT or plasma, so there's no getting around that. But the sliding stand in the back allows you to set it at different angles for optimal viewing; it's a great feature. True, you can't angle it downwards if you are viewing it from a higher perch, but my father will be able to set it at the perfect angle on an end table to view it from his favorite easy chair.

I'm hoping that the 4-month expiration experienced by another buyer is not the norm. That person complained about support from Pandigital, but I experienced the same support issues with a Gear Head frame (when their tech support responds to an email, they do not follow up, they don't answer all the questions asked, and they don't seem to be very technical). So Pandigital's support weaknesses don't seem to be unusual. Since I'm sending this frame to another state, I will have to hope it lasts longer than this one buyer has suggested.

I didn't like the Shuffle mode much. I had hoped it would show each photo once, but in random order. Instead, within the first twenty photos displayed, one photo was displayed twice and another was displayed three times. That can get very annoying, and with this kind of behavior, some photos might never be viewed.

I don't think the digital photo frame market is in a mature state yet. I would like to see frames give you a choice of sort order, but none of them appear to do that. I renamed all my photos alphanumerically, but each frame displayed them in some other order (I haven't figured it out yet, but it's not by size and it's not by modified or saved date).

In general, despite its flaws, this is an easy-to-use frame and should work beautifully for sharing family photos.

Three months after I bought this frame, two days out of warranty, it died. I convinced their warranty department (apparently a separate company under contract) to exchange it for free anyway. I shipped it back (my expense), but 3 months later, no frame. I called the warranty department that said they have no way of checking on my RMA, but they were told that all replacements had been sent out. Finally, a week later a new frame actually came. Guess what? Dead on arrival. This company obviously has serious quality control problems. At this point I have better things to do than ship this back AGAIN, so I guess I'm out $350.