Which digital photo frame?

[Parm]

It's getting precariously close to Christmas and I've yet to find my partner a Christmas present!

I do have an idea however! A friend recommended that I get a digital photo frame and put photos of the two of us on it. Good idea I thought!

I know nothing of digital photo frames though, I've never used one, heck, I don't think I've ever seen one in the flesh. What should I be looking for and does anybody have any recommendations?

My requirements are simple: it needs to look nice, show photos and in case she has it in the bedroom, have an option to turn off at night or something along those lines.

[Rishi]

I gave a "Digital Photo Frame" for a present just a month of two back. I actually bought a budget one from Ebuyer, this one I think: Extra Value 7" Digital Photo Frame LCD Screen in Silver - Ebuyer, with a 1GB SD card and reader.

The unit itself is very lightweight, can be hung and comes with a little stand. Its a bit "plasticy". The picture quality is ok, up close its pixelated. But looking from a normal distance, it looks fine

You can turn it off via a switch on the side, you also can alternate the display mode, and also the layout mode. I found landscape to look better then portrait.

It accepts SD, MS and I think XD (not sure) also takes a regular USB flash drive too.

Branded ones are about £15-20 more - This looks pretty sweet: Amazon.co.uk: Agfaphoto AF5075 7" Digital Photoframe: Electronics & Photo

Hope that helps

[Funkstar]

I've seen two screens in person, a Daewoo and a Philps

The Daewoo was nice enough, but i'm glad it was a present from me and not to me, i wouldn't have been happy with it

The screen was a widescreen, so photos didn't fit perfectly. It was also quite slow at flicking between shots. Granted it photos were full resolution, so you would be advised reducing them to something a lot closr to the fames native resolution.

The philips on the other hand was great. Really nice screen, proper aspect ratio. The software that comes with it isn't fantastic, but it does re-size your photos to fit the screen when you upload, so you maximise the number of photos on it and the frame is nice and fast moving between them. the on screen display grapics were clean and clear too.

[Parm]

Thanks for the response Rishi, very helpful!

I'm a little concerned about the pixelated up close bit though. Her parents aren't the most gadget-ready people and I just know they'll go right up close to view it hehehe.

If I were to pay a little extra for a branded frame, would that likely offer better picture quality up close?

A little curious too as to whether the frame should be widescreen or 4:3, not all photos are taken in widescreen...?