Recommendations for digital photo frames?

[Almizilero]

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My really old digital photo frame from at least 15 years ago just broke and I'm looking for a replacement. One should think that technology has evolved since then, but that old thing had some sort of analog look that I can't find in the new ones. They all look “digital” and won't pass for a real print even at a quick glance. The closest I found so far is the Pexar by Lexar.

After some searching online I kept coming back to Meural, who make rather large digital frames. In pictures and review videos, they look great, but they are mostly used to display images from an art library that is probably optimised for the frame. I found only a few uses for photography. They seem to be about the only ones that make really large frames, but they use a 16:9 ratio for some reason.

I just ordered one to test it anyways, but the price is quite breathtaking. I could actually get enough (really high quality) prints to cover my flat twice for that kind of money. So it'll have to be amazing.

I'd be interested if someone uses this frame or what other products you would recommend. I've already ruled out the Aura frames because they have no internal storage or SD-support and I don't want to use any cloud based services for something as simple as a slideshow ...

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[BruceRH]

Probably not what you are looking for, but I just recently added The Fame TV by Samsung. I bought a 50" but they go as small as 32". I wanted something to display my images in my small office but I also wanted a TV so this was a perfect solution for me. The Art part of it doesn't always work the way it is supposed to but for the most part I am very happy with it. I bought through Costco so I have 5 year warranty should anything go wrong. Samsung has an art store also but I have not used that. 

[andy3009]

I only have the larger Google Nest/Home display and the TV has Google Photos as a screen saver.  I like the Google display and prefer a cloud based service but it's really just a memory machine as it's too small to view great images.  So I'm considering a better digital frame, but can't recommend as I haven't purchased.  I was edging towards this https://vieunite.com/home/digital-canvas - in similar price league to Meural which does seem a lot compared to other screens or TVs. So far I haven't found a suitable display space to justify the purchase...  Interested in your experience.

[1stLeica]

Was at a similar decision point a few years ago.  The backlighting for the screen on the digital photo frame failed but the rest of the device was still working.  Decided to go a different route and separate the display from the file storage and processing.  Did some searching as to options.

Ended up using a Raspberry Pi computer (~$100, not much bigger than a deck of cards) for file storage and processing and a standard TV as the display so that I can easily replace the display in the future.  The software used is available at www.thedigitalpictureframe.com

Many options are available with the software - I use Smart Matting, Portrait Pairs, Crossfading Transitions and Labeling with the location & year of the photo among others.  List of options is here: www.thedigitalpictureframe.com/pi3d-parameters-directory-config/

Some familiarity with software/hardware would be helpful but not sure it's absolutely needed.

[Almizilero]

Am 10.11.2024 um 18:19 schrieb andy3009:

I only have the larger Google Nest/Home display and the TV has Google Photos as a screen saver.  I like the Google display and prefer a cloud based service but it's really just a memory machine as it's too small to view great images.  So I'm considering a better digital frame, but can't recommend as I haven't purchased.  I was edging towards this https://vieunite.com/home/digital-canvas - in similar price league to Meural which does seem a lot compared to other screens or TVs. So far I haven't found a suitable display space to justify the purchase...  Interested in your experience.

So, I tested the Meural and while the display quality is in fact amazing, the user experience is terrible. It might be better if one gives the frame full internet access and uses the app, but I don't want that. As I said, I see no reason to be dependend on a proprietary cloud service just to diplay some photos, and that is where the trouble started. Even though I looked it up before ordering, I wasn't prepared for how difficult they made using the Meural without giving it internet access and without setting up an account. Basically, without that, one can display photos from an SD card, but it is not possible to set up a slideshow or on/off times or anything. I thought about using a timer on the power socket, but on start the Meural defaults to its art library and has to be manually redirected to the SD card.

Long story short, I returned it. To much hassle for something that used to be very easy. Maybe I get to old for this sh.t, but I'm not willing to set up an account and send my photos to their cloud. And frankly, at 500 Euros I expected a better user experience. For the money, I can get 20 high quality prints and switch them out every day, if I feel like it. Which would still be less effort than setting up the Meural after each restart.

[Steve Ash]

I am interested in the very same topic. Currently, there are several projects for a paper-like art frame on kickstarter.

One of them I am following is

https://www.galari.design

 

Regards,

Steve 

Edited November 19, 2024 by Steve Ash

[Steve Ash]

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Another one is

https://www.linkuadro.com

 

 

[andy3009]

@Almizilero thanks for that review, sorry it didn't work for you.  I want to connect to the internet but am put off by the energy consumption and cables, the products @Steve Ash linked look interesting.

[Antonadasan]

I had an old digital picture frame that finally gave out last year, and I struggled to find something with that same natural, almost print-like vibe. I looked into Meural too, but the price and 16:9 ratio felt like overkill for my needs.

[Antonadasan]

23 hours ago, Antonadasan said:

I had an old digital picture frame that finally gave out last year, and I struggled to find something with that same natural, almost print-like vibe. I looked into Meural too, but the price and 16:9 ratio felt like overkill for my needs.

After a lot of research, I landed on a Nixplay digital picture frame. It doesn’t have that analog feel entirely, but the image quality is sharp, and the colors are rich without being overly digital-looking. Plus, it’s super user-friendly with internal storage options, so no cloud services are required (I wasn’t keen on that either). I’ve been using it for a mix of travel and family photos, and it’s held up really well.

[Stevejack]

I've been running the Meural 24/7 for several years now and am extremely happy with it in almost every way - other than the aspect ratio.

The 16:9 ratio kills the composition of every single photograph so as a result I can only display a small fraction of my photos on the frame, mostly wildlife or sports shots which I crop specifically for the Meural.

If you compose your shots in the viewfinder, your photograph will not be useable in any 16:9 frame without serious compromises. You can have black bars displayed on the sides of your image, or you can crop. Both are unacceptable in my books. Someone really needs to come out with a good 3:2 format frame.

 

 

[andy3009]

Just saw this, looks interesting https://petapixel.com/2025/01/07/the-inkposter-looks-like-a-gorgeous-way-to-display-your-photographs/