Living Image "15"" Memory VIEW Photo Frame" Digital Photo Frame

OK so I have been using this frame for a few days now and have made the following observations.

GOOD
****

- Image quality is excellent

- Design of frame is attractive and modern

- Shuffle function is worth buying the frame alone

- This is a VERY big screen for the money (be aware this is the same size as a 15" PC monitor - pretty big!)

- Compact digital camera users may not have to crop the image, it may fit straight out of the camera (the aspect ratio of my compact digital means that when I drop the length to 1024 pixels, the width automatically drops to 766 pixels (only two pixels different from the frame) when proportions are constrained in Photoshop.

BAD
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- The resolution of the frame is 1024x768 equalling an espect ratio of 1.33:1. This is similar to many compact digital cameras BUT be aware that many DSLRs have a wider aspect than this. For example I have a Nikon D80 and the aspect of that is 1.49:1. The result of this is that I have to crop every image in Photoshop before adding to the frame to avoid the image appearing stretched.

- The frame does not support an image outputted from Photoshop when a colour profile is assigned. This means that for every image you put on the frame you have to disable the colour profile (this is fairly easy if you record an action in Photoshop). For my DSLR, removing the colour profile requires a compensation in saturation of about 25 (this is also do-able with a PS action).

- Do not be fooled into thinking this frame has a random function. It is in fact a 'shuffle' function (so called on the frame documentation too!). The shuffle function is not strictly 'random'. Ie, once you have inserted a memory card the frame 'chooses' a random sequence and sticks to the same 'random' sequence until you make a change to the images stored on the card (even adding one more image will change the whole sequence). This means that unless you change the images on the card, the same 'random' sequence will greet you from the start every time you turn the frame on! Of course this means that if you have a thousand images on the frame, and you have it switched on for 3 hours per night, chances are you will only ever see the first 360 photos until you chnage the images stored on the card.

- In line with most other LCD screens, the viewing angle is fine from any horizontal position, but the image becomes distorted if viewing from a vertical angle greater than about 30 degrees. For me, this meant that the frame could not be seen easily from the top of my mantelpiece and had to be put nearer the floor instead. This isn't helped by the fact that the frame tilts back quite far onto its stand (I ended up propping something underneath the stand).

- Some pictures I produced from a really old digital camera would not work on this frame (I just got the message 'invalid file'). I tried all sorts of saving, copying and resaving to fix this but got bored in the end. Unlikely you'll have the same problem, but a downside nonetheless.

- When the screen transition is set to fade (or when the fade transition is in effect from the random selection), there is sometimes a 'ghost' of the previous image remaining on the screen. This is particularly apparent as I take a lot of studio photographs on a white background and a persons outline is clearly visible from the previous shot on the white background. I worked around this by choosing a particular transition other than fade, and by avoiding the random function. A bit annoying though.

NOTE
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My frame arrived with a stuck pixel in the top right corner. This was very clear when viewing a black image (pixel was stuck on red). If you read the small print, most suppliers of LCD screens stipulate that 1-3 dead pixels is considered acceptable. For this reason I chose not to attempt a return, but to fix the problem myself. I did this by gently (but firmly!) massaging the area of the screen with the stuck pixel. You will see the colour of that part of the screen begin to distort (don't worry it will return to normal). After about 10 seconds of this, the pixel 'unstuck' and now the screen is free from any stuck pixels. This fix is well documented but not sure whether it is supported by the manufacturer or not. Guess it depends on the manufacturer.

Hope all this helps - all in all this is an excellent purchase and I am pleased I have bought it. For the money it was the best around (trust me I did LOADS of research before buying).

The image quality of this frame is outstanding. This frame has none of the grainyness that smaller frames seem to have, pictures on this frame look just as good as on my computer monitor. I have used 7" and 10" digital frames in the past and this one is much better.

Another benefit is this frame is NOT widescreen. It is a much closer fit to the aspect of digital photos - no cropping or wide borders needed.

I found the user interface to be easy to use. The frame does have a couple of niggles. After a few days of use it starts making high pitched buzzing noises, but these clear if it is switched off and on again.

I decided that 7 and 8 inch frames were too small for my purpose and researched the various 10 and 12 inch models. I discovered that none had adequate resolution so I turned to the 15 inch models, narrowing my choice to the Digi View and the Living Images frame, both of which have the same excellent resolution and favourable reviews. I decided on the latter because it had a large 512MB internal memory and a random slideshow feature lacking in the Digi View. When it arrived I was soon impressed by my new toy. On the plus side are:

* good value
* excellent picture
* easy to set up
* 512MB internal memory
* can be used with every major type of flash memory including Memory Stick
* can play video and MP3 music
* a 4:3 aspect that exactly matches photos taken by compact cameras and is closer to that of DSLR 3:2 images than is the 15:9 widescreen found on many frames (I prefer widescreen TVs and computer monitors but cannot see the point in widescreen photo frames)
* a choice between random and sequential slideshows
* a remote control with 23 functions, including the ability to zoom, to pause a slideshow, to go back to the previous image, and to override the speed setting to move on to the next image

On the negative side the language of the manual could be improved in places. For example, it mentions a button as being on the "end" of the frame when it clearly meant the "bottom". However, the frame is so easy to set up that this does not really matter. The manual is also a somewhat cursory eight pages with, for example, information that the slideshows can be slow, regular or fast - but with no indication of the actual speed. In fact the options are 5, 15 or 60 seconds. It is perhaps disappointing that there are not also options for, say, 10 minutes and an hour. The pause facility can be used to keep the same image on the screen indefinitely if that is one's preference.

I have the impression that this Living Images frame was initially marketed at offices and retailers such as jewellers and photographers, but it is in fact very suitable for the home, where it will make you the envy of all your friends with smaller frames. My experience with this excellent frame makes me believe that in practice a good big one will always beat a good little one.