Let’s be honest: there was a promise of a digital photo frame that would have a seamless experience for all that wanted  it.

Between Instagram and Facebook, most of your digital images are already available to everyone. But you also have images that maybe more personal or special, that you want to share with much fewer people. Like parents, or  other relatives or friends.

You know they want to see that new baby, or keep up with your lives. Yes, there is a huge segment of the world that actually want to display images, and not just when their device is turned on.

You could send a dropbox folder or a media card to the photo recipient, but that’s too much work.

How about if you could remotely upload new images to a frame, so that the viewer would just have new content to view?

Enter Nixplay, who has been working in this category for awhile now. They sent me one of their Wi-Fi Cloud digital frames to try out and its been running for about 4 weeks now.

Using their website and phone app, it was an easy process to get a ton of images displayed on the frame.

Taking some albums from Facebook which already existed, I was able to get the site to work fairly easily.

Each frame is security protected with serial numbers and activated as you would any other device: Hardware>computer>internet connection.

The frame can integrate your Facebook, Instagram, Picasa, Dropbox, Flickr with the nixplay web management platform to collect and organize your images – and photos on your phone can be immediately sent to the frame with an app.

Up to ten frames can be connected in different locations, and photo playlists can instantly be created, uploaded and shared to any of the chosen frames, regardless of their location.

And it worked like a charm.

The unit I worked with was a wide screen model, with 1920 x1080 resolution, and can only use jpeg images. But how many people send RAW images of their Christmas morning ? none. It does have a USB/SD slot to show movies, the home variety I think, and takes advantage of the superior screen.

I did find that the orientation of the images has to be considered, as whether it was set up on it’s stand in a vertical OR horizontal, some images suffered. On the wide screen, only iPhone vertical photos used all of the screens real estate.

You can adjust how the images are viewed. A full bleed, edge to edge, with your choice of straight cuts, dissolves and timing between images. That choice fills the frame, but does cut off parts of the image to fill the frame. Or full frame of the original, with the same display options. I went for that option and stayed with vertical and short dissolve.

Now, another great feature is that of motion sensing. It won’t be on all the time, but will sense when someone enters the room and and shut off when they leave.

Because of the ability to add images off site to up to 10 frames, you want to know who can do it, and them making sure that the recipient want the images. Sure, you can just do it old school and supply someone an SD card, but this is way better.

The albums I chose actually had me looking at images I had forgotten about as they cycled through.

I know one of you can design an amazing slide show that could be shared with someone. Or just send a copy of the home movies. And all of the other family members can add their photos as well to the mix.

You had a great visit for the holidays between thanksgiving and the big ones. You are probably gearing up for an epic New Years Eve.

Maybe a good idea to share the visit with the family on this frame , and save the ringing in the new year  for a different crowd.

Unless you keep it to a dull roar.

This unit cost about $90 for the Nixplay 8 in

Move up to the top of the line for about $170.Nixplay 15 in

So in the filed of digital frames, this one has jumped ahead of the others, in build quality, tech connections, and over all user friendliness. I would perhaps get a smaller screen to use more of the screens surface or, customize a slide show more.
If you are in the market for one of these, the Nixplay series is a solid player, now with great prices on the Zon.

Go ahead, send your folks some snaps.