Pacific Digital Picture Frame
June 2003
By Collin Keefe
In my humble opinion, the digital camera is the greatest gadget of the information age to date. Snapping, storing and saving pictures has never been easier, and the process no longer requires a visit to the Photomat. Still there's a bit of a gray area when it comes to figuring out ways to show off and share your pictures.
Let's face it, gathering friends and family around the computer to have a peak at your latest snapshots is simply a drag. On the other hand, making prints with an inkjet printer requires a certain amount of commitment. If you're into it, it's great. If not, then it's just a lost cause. Besides, for the less-than-tech-savvy set, cranking out a batch of prints is often easier said than done.
One of the more promising accessories to make an earnest attempt at overcoming thois impediment is the digital picture frame — a small LCD screen dressed up to resemble a traditional picture frame.
Digital picture frames have been around for a couple of years. The concept is great, but I haven't been too impressed with what's been on offer thus far. That is, until I got my hands on Pacific Digital's Memory Frame. What separates the Memory Frame from the small flock of frames that came before it is that this one relies solely on a USB connection for loading images. The digital picture frames I've checked out in past required specific types of memory cards, a Web-based subscription service (read: expensive) or, in some cases, both. With the Memory Frame, you need only a digital camera, pictures and a little bit of time. Through the USB port on the back of the frame, you can load your images either by plugging your digital camera directly into it, or by connecting the frame to your PC. It will even work with a memory card reader.
As a Mac user, the only thing I took issue with was the fact that Pacific Digital doesn't support my platform of choice. I'll be the first to admit it: I'm a snob when it comes to this, and I am distressed by gadgets that don't swing both ways. But once I settled down in front of a Windows machine, loading the driver software was much easier than I had expected. In no time at all, it was all systems go. Using the Digital PixMaster software that comes bundled on the same CD-ROM as the driver, I had 30 of my favorite shots loaded into the frame in a matter of minutes. Later, I tried loading images directly from my camera, which proved to be just as quick and easy.
The Memory Frame sports a 5.6-inch active matrix TFT LCD screen, with 320x240 resolution. It is capable of handling any size image imported with the software, and for images imported directly from camera it can handle images up to 1024x768. As I shoot a disproportionate number of my pictures vertically, I was glad to see that on the Memory Frame's screen, these vertical images were just as bright and crisp as my horizontal shots.
The Memory Frame also boasts features that enable some interesting transition effects — like fades, wipes and dissolves — as the frame switches from image to image. It also gives you the ability to set the duration of an image on the frame, anywhere from 10 seconds to 12 hours. I literally spent hours goofing around with these effects, setting and resetting them. And that was just my first round of photos.
Pacific Digital Memory Frame
$329
USB DirectConnect
5.6-inch active matrix TFT LCD
640x480 resolution
Fits most traditional 5x7 picture frames
www.pacificdigital.com
In my humble opinion, the digital camera is the greatest gadget of the information age to date. Snapping, storing and saving pictures has never been easier, and the process no longer requires a visit to the Photomat. Still there's a bit of a gray area when it comes to figuring out ways to show off and share your pictures.
Let's face it, gathering friends and family around the computer to have a peak at your latest snapshots is simply a drag. On the other hand, making prints with an inkjet printer requires a certain amount of commitment. If you're into it, it's great. If not, then it's just a lost cause. Besides, for the less-than-tech-savvy set, cranking out a batch of prints is often easier said than done.
One of the more promising accessories to make an earnest attempt at overcoming thois impediment is the digital picture frame — a small LCD screen dressed up to resemble a traditional picture frame.
Digital picture frames have been around for a couple of years. The concept is great, but I haven't been too impressed with what's been on offer thus far. That is, until I got my hands on Pacific Digital's Memory Frame. What separates the Memory Frame from the small flock of frames that came before it is that this one relies solely on a USB connection for loading images. The digital picture frames I've checked out in past required specific types of memory cards, a Web-based subscription service (read: expensive) or, in some cases, both. With the Memory Frame, you need only a digital camera, pictures and a little bit of time. Through the USB port on the back of the frame, you can load your images either by plugging your digital camera directly into it, or by connecting the frame to your PC. It will even work with a memory card reader.
As a Mac user, the only thing I took issue with was the fact that Pacific Digital doesn't support my platform of choice. I'll be the first to admit it: I'm a snob when it comes to this, and I am distressed by gadgets that don't swing both ways. But once I settled down in front of a Windows machine, loading the driver software was much easier than I had expected. In no time at all, it was all systems go. Using the Digital PixMaster software that comes bundled on the same CD-ROM as the driver, I had 30 of my favorite shots loaded into the frame in a matter of minutes. Later, I tried loading images directly from my camera, which proved to be just as quick and easy.
The Memory Frame sports a 5.6-inch active matrix TFT LCD screen, with 320x240 resolution. It is capable of handling any size image imported with the software, and for images imported directly from camera it can handle images up to 1024x768. As I shoot a disproportionate number of my pictures vertically, I was glad to see that on the Memory Frame's screen, these vertical images were just as bright and crisp as my horizontal shots.
The Memory Frame also boasts features that enable some interesting transition effects — like fades, wipes and dissolves — as the frame switches from image to image. It also gives you the ability to set the duration of an image on the frame, anywhere from 10 seconds to 12 hours. I literally spent hours goofing around with these effects, setting and resetting them. And that was just my first round of photos.
Pacific Digital Memory Frame
$329
USB DirectConnect
5.6-inch active matrix TFT LCD
640x480 resolution
Fits most traditional 5x7 picture frames
www.pacificdigital.com
