This Frameo digital frame replaced an ancient Brookstone model that I have used for 20 years. That one was only 640×480 resolution, but this new one is 1280×800. (I had to figure this out for myself, it's not detailed in the printed user manual that is otherwise very useful). I re-scale me frame images to the precise resolution of the frame, so it would be helpful if the native resolution had been noted in the user manual.
The normal resolution for displays in this category of "HD" is 1280×720, so the frame must be set to not vertically stretch photos to fill the frame. If not set properly, circles will appear as ovals. It would be better to have the default set to maintain the proper aspect ratio of each image. The frame has a setting to determine how the surrounding area of a non-stretched photo will appear. The choices include black as well as a color that suits the overall tone of each photo.
The setup process to send images via phone was simple and fast. I sent a sample photo from my phone and it appeared in the frame in just a few seconds.
I then connected the frame to my computer via USB so I could transfer my screensaver folders. I copied my screensaver folders into a top level older named DCIM as noted in the user manual. I was pleased that the multi-Gb transfer moved very quickly. But then my disappointment began.
Turns out that although the frame has 32G of memory, ALL of the photos to be viewed must be stored in the single top level folder DCIM. I have thousands of photos in my collection, separated into folders based on people, places, events, etc. My ancient Brookstone frame could display all the photos in all subfolders, or from only one subfolder. This new Frameo frame can hold images in subfolders, but they can't be viewed unless moved into the main image folder using a USB connection to a computer. To me, having 32G of photos in one huge folder is a very poor design choice.
Also, although the frame supports an external SD card, the frame cannot display images directly from the card. The image files must be transferred from the SD into internal memory. My old Brookstone supported image display directly from everal types of external memory, including SD and USB sticks. So having a few USB sticks with images for specific occasions was a simple and low cost solution. But with the Frameo, manual transfer of external images is required every time they are used.
I know enough about small computers and programming to appreciate how little effort it would take to design the frame to use subfolders and or external memory. I contacted the company and received a prompt response explaining that subfolders are not available but would be a useful update. I doubt it will happen, but maybe one day a firmware update will provide what I consider to be a basic feature for a 32GB digital photo frame.
Otherwise, it's a nice frame considering the low cost. But with a few tweaks it could be much better.
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