Peripherals

Unlike some recently-released digital photo frames, the DPF-K800A 8-inch Digitalk frame doesn't include Bluetooth or WiFi support and is consequently competitively priced. The 16.3 x 12.3 mm TFT LCD screen sports a shiny black acrylic surround that is approximately 25mm wide at each side, 16mm at the top and 40mm at the bottom to accommodate the control panel.

A clip on stand lets you adjust the frame horizontally and vertically and change its angle of tilt to suit your viewing conditions.

Unpacking the frame and fitting the adjustable stand.

Two card slots are located behind the LCD, a large one for CompactFlash cards and the smaller accepting SD cards and Memory Sticks. They're pretty close to the back of the frame and slotting in SD cards will be tricky for anyone with large fingers or limited dexterity.


Inserting an SD card (the frame is held vertically in this picture).

On the opposite side of the rear panel are USB A and B plugs for connecting to cameras and USB thumb drives and linking the frame to a computer. An earphone jack is located here, along with a 9 Volt, 1.5 Amp DC-in plug for mains power connection since, like many similar products, this frame is not battery-powered. Supplied with the frame is a compact remote control, which is powered by a lithium button battery. It's used to control most of the frame's functions via an infrared sensor at the left end of the lower frame border.


Inserting the power cable.

Beside this sensor are eight touch-screen buttons that duplicate certain key controls. The first lets you initiate playback or confirm selections, the second takes you to the main menu and the third toggles back to the previous screen. The remaining buttons let you move the cursor around displayed pictures or adjust audio volume.
It took our eight-year-old tester less than five minutes to have the review frame up and running a slideshow from an SD card from her camera. Only a brief glance at the instruction manual was required to check the location of the SD card slot, which has a pull-off plastic cover. (For some inexplicable reason, no cover was provided for the larger CF slot.)

Mastering the remote control required her to consult the user manual more thoroughly. Despite its small print, however, the instructions were comprehensive enough to enable her to select the necessary menu items and adjust settings with minimal fuss. The frame has no facilities for auto-rotating vertical shots but it's easy to do during slideshow playback.

The user manual is slim, with small printing - but well laid out and easy to follow.

You can also change the aspect ratio of displayed images to show widescreen shots with black bars above and below them. Without this adjustment 16:9 images are cropped at each end to fill the 4:3 screen.

The touch panel interface is a tad clumsy and the lights and on-screen icons are active for less than three seconds so you have to work quickly. On the whole, we found the remote control an easier way to communicate with the frame. The remote is driven by a button-type lithium battery, which is inserted at the factory. A sheet of plastic that prevents power drain must be removed before it can be used.

A switch on the rear panel must be turned on to power-up the frame after it's been connected to the mains. This switch can be left in the on position and the frame can be turned on and off via the remote if users find it more convenient.

The Setup menu lets you choose the on-screen language from eight European languages (English, French, Italian, Dutch, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Polish) and specify how long you want each picture to be displayed in a slideshow (3, 5 or 15 seconds, 1 or 15 minutes or 1 hour). You can also select one of 15 transitions or use the default Random setting. Transition effects can also be turned off.

Music and movie clips can be set to play repeatedly, with either a single file selected or all files on the memory source. Screen adjustments include brightness, contrast and saturation, each adjustable through +/- three steps. You can also set the frame to turn on and off at pre-set times and schedule alarm times and ring tones.

The frame can also double as a memory card reader. Simply connect the frame to a computer via a USB cable and copy images either individually or in groups. The large screen makes it easy to see which shots are worth saving. The computer will detect the frame as 'New Hardware' and install the driver automatically.

Video clips from most digital cameras and SD camcorders can be played back through the frame. Clips are displayed as thumbnails, with the first frame in each clip serving as an identifier. The frame's refresh rate ensures video playback is smooth and any soundtrack captured with the video is played back simultaneously. Controls on the frame and remote let you adjust the volume of the audio, pause and resume play, skip to the next clip and fast forward or reverse through a clip.

You can also play MP3 and WMA audio files through the frame from both memory cards and USB thumb drives, using either the touch panel controls or the remote controller. Playback volume can be adjusted with either set of controls to suit your requirements.

In File mode you can view all playable files and folders on the memory source and copy files from one memory source to another. Files can also be deleted individually or in groups. 

Limitations
There appeared to be no internal memory in the frame that was supplied for us to review. We don't see this as a problem because most frames with internal memories will resize images before storing them - and this won't suit some photographers. We had no problems in displaying shots on various memory cards and USB thumb drives. The same was true when a camera was connected via a USB cable.

Only JPEG images can be displayed so, if a card contains both raw and JPEG files, the raw files cannot be viewed. JPEG images larger than 4000 x 4000 pixels cannot be displayed and files approaching these dimensions take longer to upload than smaller files. Optimal resolution is 800 pixels wide, to match the screen's resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. 

Performance
Compared with the Kodak EasyShare W1020, the only other frame we've reviewed, the Digitalk DPF-K800A provided superior image quality. This may have been due to its smaller screen size but its higher resolution would inevitably have made an important contribution to playback quality. Images viewed on the DPF-K800A screen were visibly sharper and more punchy and their colours were more natural-looking and slightly less warm than those displayed on the Kodak frame.

Unfortunately, the highly-reflective surface of the screen made it susceptible to interference from reflections, as shown in the illustration below. We obtained the best playback when the frame was placed in relatively low light levels where there were no bright items directing light towards the screen.

 
Reflections can affect viewing quality when the frame is used in a bright environment.

Viewing angles were wider for the horizontal orientation than when the frame is displayed vertically. However, in both cases, quality declines when you approach it from the side - although the screen doesn't switch to black when you stand up or walk around the room. Not unexpectedly, best viewing is from directly in front of the screen.

We had few problems using any of the frame's controls and no issues with images being distorted for playback. Audio quality was much as you'd expect from a small speaker and similar to the quality you get from a small portable radio. Because the speakers are located on the rear of the frame, the sound is directed away from you, which means music with a wide dynamic range, such as orchestral music, loses a lot in playback. Music with a limited dynamic range, such as you'd find in some jazz tracks and popular tunes, would probably fare better.

In summary, we'd recommend the Digitalk DPF-K800A for everyday photographers who want a simple-to-operate digital frame that provides good playback performance for slideshows and video clips. It will also have some value as a substitute for a memory card reader. However, if you're a raw file aficionado, this frame has little to offer.

Image file formats: JPEG
Video formats: MPEG 1 MPEG4, MJPEG
Audio formats: MP3, WMA
Display size: 8-inch diagonal (area: 16.3 x 12.3 mm)
Display resolution: 800 × 600 pixels
Aspect ratio: 4:3 and 16:9
Display type: TFT active matrix with LED backlight
User interfaces: Touch pad and remote control
Internal Memory: None
Memory cards supported: Secure Digital (SD), Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC), Multimedia Card (MMC), Memory Stick (MS), CompactFlash (CF), USB flash drives
Power supply: 100–240V AC, 50–60 Hz, 12 V DC
Dimensions: 216 x 182 x 28.3 mm
Weight: 603.4 grams