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A Digital Picture Frame Without the Lock-In?

Posted by Cliff on from the no-other-proprietary-software-necessary dept.

The Cisco Kid asks: "My mom, bless her soul, doesn't quite get the concept of digital photography. She always complains that we never print them out for her, and gets completely flustered at the idea of looking at them on a computer. I'm thinking of getting a digital photo frame for her, only I can't seem to find one that fits the bill. I am aware of the possibility of building one, and may end up going that way (most likely using a laptop), but I'm really hoping I can find a consumer one that meets my needs — and that's where things get tricky." One of the major features that is required is the ability to update the frame over the network, without the need of any third party software. Has anyone seen a digital picture frame that doesn't tie you to a piece of proprietary software or a proprietary network? "I'd like to be able to hang it on the wall, and leave it there, so I want to be able to update/add pictures to it over either a wireless or wired network. I've found very few that have networking capabilities, but I can't seem to find any documentation as to what application-layer protocol they use. For example, I've found one that only connects to the manufacturer's website, to which you must subscribe — there is no option to use the network, directly. Kodak seems to only support using their proprietary Windows-only software for controlling or updating their frames (and I don't use Windows).

Is anyone aware of anyone that makes a reasonably priced digital frame that has networking and uses open protocols? Or should I expect to be taking apart the display hinge of a used laptop in the near future?"

8 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. A few out there by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.photovu.com/ - expensive but nice. There are others out there.

    http://www.boyink.com/splaat/comments/diy-digital- picture-frame/

    Yadda yadda google works wonders for this :P

  2. estarling by grapeape · · Score: 4, Informative

    Its a bit pricy but the eStarling frames have usb/media card and wifi support. You can upload pictures to a flickr, picasa, webshots, etc photosite and click to download them to the frame. They work pretty well, I picked up one for my grandmother and she seems to enjoy it.

    1. Re:estarling by mobby_6kl · · Score: 3, Informative

      I just wanted to post the same suggestion. I don't have one, but I've seen it a while ago on ThinkGeek. Looks very nice and basically what the original poster asked for, although I'm not quite sure about the widescreen LCD. Most of my photos are 4:3, so they'd probably leave some screen space unused with black vertical bars unless it does some kind of ugly stretching or uses the space to show thumbnails or something.

    2. Re:estarling by Wabbit+Wabbit · · Score: 3, Informative
      Gizmodo had a recent review of the second rev eStarling, and had some pretty unkind things to say. FTFA:

      The piss-poor image quality of this LCD panel made all that completely unimportant. The eStarling's screen is absolutely unacceptable. We tried displaying digital pictures of all different resolutions and aspect ratios on it, and all of them looked like we were viewing them on a cheap TV set. Yes, the images were in color, but that's about it. The display was just downright dim, blurry, and you could see scanlines and jaggies all through images that are normally tack-sharp. This display was so bad that it almost hurt our eyes to look at it.
      I have found Gizmodo to be a reliable and unbiased source over the years, so I'd give this one a pass.
      --
      Nothing is inexplicable; only unexplained -Tom Baker, Doctor Who
    3. Re:estarling by Phisbut · · Score: 3, Informative

      I just wanted to post the same suggestion. I don't have one, but I've seen it a while ago on ThinkGeek. Looks very nice and basically what the original poster asked for

      While it's pretty close, it's exactly what the original poster does not want. From the spec list :

      Frame Setup requires you to run the included software on a Windows 2000/ME/XP compatible PC.
      --
      After 3 days without programming, life becomes meaningless
      - The Tao of Programming
  3. Re:Just get prints by acroyear · · Score: 3, Informative

    warning on those kiosks: their card readers suck and may break your card. don't use your "originals" - take it home and burn a cdrom and take that to the shop to print.

    one at the nearby kinkos totally destroyed my SD card of everything i shot from a particular vacation.

    --
    "But remember, most lynch mobs aren't this nice." (H.Simpson)
    -- Joe
  4. Re:Just get prints by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Or just use an on-line service. I upload the pictures to have the printed and have them delivered to my mother's house. Doesn't get easier than that

  5. Costco by lorcha · · Score: 4, Informative

    I usually just upload some pics to Costco and have them ship 'em to my parents. Free shipping, cheap prints. Very easy.

    Mom seems to like them.

    --
    "Avoid employing unlucky people - throw half of the pile of CVs in the bin without reading them." -- David Brent