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NYT Reviews Digital Picture Frames

Posted by michael on from the so-you-think-you're-a-photographer dept.

prostoalex writes "New York Times reviews the digital picture frames available commercially: 'Yes, with the ultimate digital camera accessory: the digital picture frame, a flat-panel screen designed exclusively for showing digital photos. A digital frame can do something no ordinary frame can do: change what's in it at the touch of a button, or even treat you to a slide show. Think of it as a screen saver that doesn't tie up your computer.' For those who would rather build the devices themselves - both Linux Toys and Wi-Fi Toys contain the chapters on creating Linux-based digital picture frames out of old laptops. Channel 9 on Microsoft Developer Network also has a step-by-step walk-through of building a Windows-based digital picture frame."

10 of 107 comments (clear)

  1. DYI digital picture frames by igrp · · Score: 3, Informative
    I've been toying with the idea of building a digital picture frame myself for some time now. We had a /. article on that very subject earlier this year (it appears the 'Popular Science' article referenced in the story is now gone, but it was all very similar to this step-by-step guide).

    Basically, you take an old discarded laptop and build a picture frame around it.

    I'm pretty sure I can build one for less than $160. Plus, it sounds like a fun project. OTOH, I really like the idea of having a seperate remote like the AV Tech picture frame and similar models have. And having a WiFi picture frame would be neat, I guess (remind me to adjust the firewall rules ;).

  2. portable DVD = picture frame by rakerman · · Score: 4, Informative

    Another option is to get a cheapo portable DVD, in Canada RadioShack has a Nexxtech for C$149. Burn your photos to disc and away you go.

    I have a table comparing various digital picture frames.

  3. Windows based digital frames by Peter+Cooper · · Score: 4, Informative

    There have been some public trials of these already. Very good, if you like blue. :-)

  4. Mini-ITX Picture Frame by superid · · Score: 3, Informative
    I built one for my wife last year (mothers day). I was lucky enough to get a very very cheap 17" LCD. I used a Mini-ITX board and a used laptop hard drive . It's running a very trimmed down version of fedora with no X. I use fbv to view the pictures, a wireless usb to load them and a simple php program to manage how the photos are displayed (yes, it's running apache)

    Wife factor is very high, especially because I had it professionally framed, which cost more than the motherboard!

    1. Re:Mini-ITX Picture Frame by superid · · Score: 3, Informative
      The bare motherboard has no power supply. I bought a motherboard/power supply "bundle" from min-box that includes the ac/dc converter which provides +12V in a single round plug. The bundle includes a small daughter card that plugs into the white molex (?) power connector on the mobo and provides all the other voltages necessary.

      The LCD also came with it's own ac/dc transformer that also supplied +12V. Having two power cords was a pain and unacceptable, so I cut and spliced them together. That is why you only see one cord.

  5. Tablet PC by MtlDty · · Score: 2, Informative

    Tablet PCs are ideal for this project. Its already compacted to just a screen, plus it has the added bonus of pen enabled screen. You could use it as a digital noteboard if you so desired.

    The pricetag may be a little high, but you end up with a device that is still useable as a laptop/tablet PC. When you want to use it you can just unhang it and go.

  6. Re:More power! by iBod · · Score: 2, Informative

    You're forgetting the power needed to manufacture the LCD screen (and obtain and process all the raw materials that go to make it).

  7. Re:There's no substitute for... by Linknoid · · Score: 2, Informative
    Come to think of it; where are our 4 megapixel monitors?

    Well, the the Apple 30" Cinema display comes in at 4096000 pixels at optimal resolution. Is that good enough for you? A bit pricy at $3200, but if you really need the resolution...

  8. It's already installed on one of the frames... by blorg · · Score: 2, Informative

    FTFA: The Wallflower incorporates a laptop-like screen (1024 by 768 pixels), the Linux operating system and a 40-gigabyte hard drive (which is, unfortunately, not completely silent).

  9. Update: Someone already did it by tempmpi · · Score: 2, Informative

    Someone already figured out how to get linux running on it and made a page about it on sourceforge

    --
    Jan