Product Description: 9" LCD screen (measured diagonally) with 15:9 aspect ratio * LCD screen resolution: 800 x 480 * supports most memory card formats; some require optional adapters * 400MB internal memory for photo storage * copies photos from memory card to internal memory and from internal memory to memory card * automatic orientation sensor detects whether the frame is positioned horizontally or vertically, and rotates images to fit * displays JPEG, TIFF, BMP and RAW (SRF, SR2, and ARW extension) digital photo files * RAW photos only display as preview thumbnail images * accepts up to 48-megapixel and 100MB images * HDMI output for viewing photos in high definition on a compatible HDTV (requires optional Sony HD cable) * automatic in-frame photo retouching corrects red-eye and under/overexposed shots * Bluetooth® ready (requires optional Bluetooth® adapter) for wireless transfer of photos from a compatible cell phone or PC * 10 slide show styles * landscape, portrait, and thumbnail index playback *
Best Digital Frame Available It works beautifully and is easy to use. It's strengths are the well thought out software and the wonderful picture. An elegant design--I use a 8 GB card which has hundreds of pictures.
This is the first digital frame that I have liked... ...and I've owned four of them.
My requirements were pretty simple -- a high-quality LCD and the ability to play from a large selection of pictures, either randomly (my preference) or by shoot date (my wife's preference). I went through three frames that choked on large numbers of pictures, had washed-out displays, and/or couldn't play randomly or sequentially. I was surprised by how poorly conceived and tested these frames were. (Here's a prior rant on the Digital Foci IMT-081 Image Moments Digital Photo Frame.)
But the DPF-V900 is a fine frame. It has a clean design; has a sharp, bright LCD; and has no problem with my 4300 pictures (and is good for up to 10,000, according to the manual).
Bottom line is that, while not perfect, the DPF-V900 is a real product from a real company that has done some real quality control. As far as I can tell, that's the state of the art in the digital frame business right now.
Not worth the price I purchased one of the first photo frames to hit the market (by Kodak)...over five years ago, and I was hoping the technology would have improved a bunch since then. It hasn't. Let me also mention that I am a perfectionist who is willing to spend what it takes to get best gadgets, as long as they follow through with my high expectations. In this case the DPF-V900 did not meet my tough standards. This device is a mix of some nice features mixed with too many negatives. Here are my issues: 1. They built a really nice looking frame but then hobbled it with a 15:9 aspect ratio - HUH? Why waste such a beautiful display? Now you get to decide if you want to crop all your pictures...or have black bars on display all the time. 2. I like it's classy looking calendar mode and calendar font selection. So many of the cheap Chinese brands had UGLY Linux-looking calendars (sorry Linux you are ugly), but then they broke (IMHO) the "Clock" view by making the clock show not the current time, but the time the picture was taken. I'd would have prefered the current time. 3. No video playback. Not sure if I'd use it too much, but it would be nice as an option. 4. They added face recognition (cool), but then didn't use it in their "fit to screen" mode for portrait shots. So portrait shots cannot fill the screen. 5. They offered a classy sensor to sense when you re-oriented the screen to portrait mode...but then didn't do the work to make their menu's work in portrait mode. 6. They added a stylish looking Sony logo into the frame that can completely disapear, buy they didn't add a 2nd "Sony" logo along the left hand side, so you could have a logo in portrait mode (but at least they turn off the one logo when the orientation sensor since that you are in portrait mode. 7. HDMI output? Not very useful (IMHO), especially since they don't do video. 8. No way to wall mount it. Not only is their no mounts on the unit itself, but the power cable is black and thick and it has a power brick (you're stuck with). God, I'd love to find a nice looking unit that can be wall mounted (with the power brick built-in)!
I'm going to return this unit and get either one of the Kodak or Philips units.
Finally, a very good Digital Photo Frame A DPF has been on our wishlist for a long time but we have been put off by the reviews, mostly critical. Sony has now come up with a pricey but solid, well built, attractive and intuitively programmed unit with an LCD screen that presents supurb images. It includes lots of image display and data presentation options to tinker with. It would be nice if it had a battery, if for no other reason than to facilitate loading it from the computer, since the corded transformer is clunky and so heavy that it can drag the unit off the table. Clock functions are counter-intuitive and poorly described in the manual. Sony says that the TIFF image file format is compatable but we found that not to be the case. So instead, we Photoshop-converted our Web GIF photos to BMP, which worked fine. In all, DPF's have finally arrived with this Sony product. We're delighted with it.
HDMI Output? I was very impressed with this frame's style, picture quality and features. The selling point, however, was the fact that it comes equipped with an HDMI output that can connect to an HDTV for high definition viewing of digital photos. After making the necessary connections from the frame to the TV, the picture appeared jittery on my Sony Wega HDTV. What's that line again? Sony HDNA? Surely, this must be a manufacturing defect, so I returned the frame in exchange for another, only to experience the same problem with the replacement. Having contacted Sony support, tested the connection with TWO HDMI cables, and hooking up my MacBook Pro to the HDMI input on my Sony Wega, I know the problem is not with the cable or the TV. Be advised, you may not get what you're hoping to get by connecting this frame to your HDTV. If you're only going to use it as a photo frame, it's a wonderful product. Also, it's fairly disconcerting to know that NO site reviews out there made any mention of this defect or having tested the HDMI connection on an HDTV.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tony's Online Tips
Trevor
