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Pandigital 15-Inch LCD Digital Picture Frame

3.2 3.2 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.
Brand Centrix
Resolution XGA
Screen Size 15 Inches
Connectivity Technology USB
Power Source Corded Electric

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3.2 out of 5 stars
12 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2008
    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.
    28 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2011
    Upsides: Reasonable price, looks great.

    Downsides: Need to buy special software to run videos if they are not aleady in a special jpeg format. They don't tell you how big a memory stick/thumb drive you can use so I guessed that 16Mb would work and it does, There is no one to call for help. It does not run the pictures in the order you took them. The instructions say it runs them in the order they were loaded onto the picture frame. Though I presorted the files on the thumbdrive, it ends up somewhat random.
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2007
    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.
    49 people found this helpful
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