Philips 8FF3CDW - Digital photo frame - 8" - 800 x 600

Cheap Philips 8FF3CDW - Digital photo frame - 8" - 800 x 600 Review

I've been looking for a digital photo frame as a gift for my Mother for a long time. She does not use a computer, so a digital photo frame would be a perfect gift for her to look at the digital photos we take nowadays.

I originally had my eyes on the Sony DPF-V900. Then I saw Philips 10FF3CDW (the 10" version of this frame) at a store. Picture quality looked good even right next to the Sony (aesthetic-wise it isn't as sleek as the Sony). It is larger and much cheaper. So I bought the Philips 10" photo frame. Played w it for about a week. Really liked its features and simplicity. Unfortunately it had a dead pixel that always lit up in red right in the middle of the display and the installation CD that came w it was blank (no software or user's manual).

I was also tired of looking at the black borders on both sides of the display due to its 15:9 ratio. I don't know why they even make the 15:9 aspect ratio. My wife's Cannon takes 4:3 photos while my daughter's and my Nikon DSLRs take 3:2 photos. None of them fit the 15:9. You can do the cropping to fill the display but I found it much easier to crop the sides to fit a 4:3 frame than to crop top and bottom to fit a 15:9 frame. Also the 480 horizontal resolution simply does not cut it. Details in the photo were being dropped (most of today's 15:9 frames are 800x480, including the Sony V900. They would all have this problem. Sony has come out w a 10" V1000 w a 1024x600 resolution which should improve the image quality). So I decided to return the 10FF3CDW and to look for a 4:3 800x600 frame.

I looked at the 8" frames from Sony, HP, Samsung, Coby and others. I decided to give Philips another try w their 8" version. It is reasonably priced and picture quality looks good. I am not disappointed. Compared to the 10" 15:9 version, pictures are sharper w more details. Colors are truthful too.

The things I like:
- Image quality is very good
- Price, it is relatively cheap
- USB host function, so you can display photo files from external USB thumb drive (not USB HD)
or camera directly
- Auto on/off w either light or time control. It goes to sleep when you do
- Low power consumption, just 4.6W
- Calendar and clock work well (have not tried alarm yet)
- Auto orientation optimizes picture viewing
- On-frame photo editing. Cropping is especially useful for getting rid of the black borders
from 3:2 aspect ratio photos
- Lots of languages to select. My Mom would love her native one

What I don't like:
- Photo Manager can copy photos only from PC to photo frame's internal memory but not
to plugged in memory cards.
- Should support USB HD as well. This opens up a whole new world.
- The look is so so, not as sleek or good looking as the Sony or HP
- Control buttons are hard to use and not very responsive.

Overall I give it a 4 star for its features, price and very good picture quality.

Philips 8FF3CDW - Digital photo frame - 8" - 800 x 600 Feature

• Philips digital PhotoFrame ensures your photo to be displayed in 4 - 3 ratio for the best viewing experience.
• RadiantColor is an exclusive Philips technology for displaying smaller photos in the optimal 4 - 3 ratio by extending the color on the edges
• imagen Pro for sharper and vibrant colors - The unique Philips imagen enhancement technology automatically analyzes your photos.
• Easily display and manage your digital photos - Create albums, slideshows and manage your photos.
• Remember the fun you had working with your photos in the past - such as cutting them and creating nice collections

Philips 8FF3CDW - Digital photo frame - 8" - 800 x 600 Overview

How many digital pictures are hidden on your PC? See, share, organize and relive your memories with Philips PhotoFrame, the easiest way to display your digital photos in stunning quality - without a PC.Your viewing experience is going to be awesome as Philips PhotoFrame comes with an additional SD card slot enabling you to expand the storage space on your PhotoFrame offering plenty of space for all your memories.Remember the fun you had working with your photos in the past - such as cutting them and creating nice collections! Collage pro is a unique and advanced feature provided by Philips digital PhotoFrame. Just like on other Philips digital PhotoFrames with Collage function, you can run collage slideshows automatically. With Collage Pro, you can also edit and create collages by yourself.



*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Apr 07, 2010 01:11:04