Digital photo frames

[Danny]

I bought my mum a Kodak digital photo frame for Xmas and am now trying to set up a simple way for her to transfer photos to it in future.

The instructions say that you have to transfer photos using a USB memory stick or memory card, which I know she is going to find complicated to do.

Would it be possible to just connect the frame directly to her computer with a USB cable so she could copy photos directly onto the photo frame's memory?

Also, does anyone know what determines the order in which photos are displayed? Do they just appear in date order?

 

[sheddy]

I'm guessing that the procedure for USB Cable or Memory stick will be very similar.
If you some distance away try downloading the user manual and writing the steps down for her.

You could send mum 2 Mem sticks. One to load up, plug in and leave in. The frame may accept it, and display photos.
The 2nd one to add new photos. Then swap over occasionally

 

[Gerry Attrick]

I'd doubt the USB cable method as the photoframe is unlikely to have sufficient memory to store the files. Mine has to have a flash drive plugged in to operate.

The piccies are displayed in the order they appear on the flash drive or card.

 

[Danny]

I'd doubt the USB cable method as the photoframe is unlikely to have sufficient memory to store the files. Mine has to have a flash drive plugged in to operate.

The piccies are displayed in the order they appear on the flash drive or card.

The photo frame actually has 500mb of memory and will hold about 500 digital photos.

 

[ianrauk]

Yes, I guess that should work. The USB takes a memory card which is a storage device. The computer is a storage device.
So just link them up. The computer should recognise it as a drive. Choose and drag pics from whatever folder they are in to the device.

 

[Norm]

The photo frame actually has 500mb of memory and will hold about 500 digital photos.

I'd suggest a little bit of tweaking and it will hold a LOT more than 500 photos.

I don't know that specific frame but I'd guess the resolution will be something like 640x480. If you resize the images before loading them, a jpg that size will be 50kb-100kb, so you could squeeze 10,000 images into your 500mb. Allow 10 seconds per image and that's nearly 30 hours worth of pictures before you get a repeat. It also speeds up the transitions as the frame doesn't need to resize the images. Depending on firmware, it might make the images look sharper by resizing with decent software rather than leaving it to the frame OS.

Of course, bearing in mind that this thread is about someone less confident with computers, that would be another possibly awkward step for Danny's Mum but it's certainly something to bear in mind.

 

[HLaB]

I bought my mum a digital photo frame a few years ago and like Danny I had misconceptions about my mums technical abilities; so I transferred a lot of photos for her and set it up; it got used for about a week, it now sits in the corner of her living room never switched on. On her following birthday I got her a normal photo frame she much prefers that.

 

[Alien8]

Would it be possible to just connect the frame directly to her computer with a USB cable so she could copy photos directly onto the photo frame's memory?

If it doesn't mention it in the manual then it won't work.

Although there are some classes of USB products that can work as a USB host or as a USB device - I doubt your photo-frame has this ability.

And you wouldn't be able to use the 'normal' sort of USB cable is it would have the wrong shaped connector on one of the ends (USB cables/connectors are designed so that you can't easily plug bits of USB kit together that shouldn't be connected together).

 

[CopperBrompton]

Yes, most frames allow you to transfer photos via USB cable.

For anyone doing thinking of a similar present for a technologically-challenged relative, you can buy photoframes that allow you to update them remotely via wifi over the Internet. Once you've configured it, you can then change the photos from your own PC.

 

[ian turner]

Er so you plug the photo frame into a PC and it appears as a drive after which you drag and drop pictures to it.
Whereas with a usb stick you plug it in and drag and drop pictures to it.
Can't see the former being any easier for the technically challenged given that the only difference is plugging and unplugging the usb stick into slots of the same size. But then you would be doing the same thing with a cable.
The main problem would be the dragging and dropping of files.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

The photo frame actually has 500mb of memory and will hold about 500 digital photos.

Sir, I stand corrected.

 

[Cardiac]

Although there are some classes of USB products that can work as a USB host or as a USB device - I doubt your photo-frame has this ability.

Quite likely. However, photoframes that have local storage as well as the ability to play from a USB stick would normally have two separate USB connections in order to permit this. Often there is a mini-USB connection for the PC connection (or occasionally a type-B USB socket), and a type-A socket into which a USB memory stick can be plugged.

 

[Danny]

Er so you plug the photo frame into a PC and it appears as a drive after which you drag and drop pictures to it.
Whereas with a usb stick you plug it in and drag and drop pictures to it.
Can't see the former being any easier for the technically challenged given that the only difference is plugging and unplugging the usb stick into slots of the same size. But then you would be doing the same thing with a cable.
The main problem would be the dragging and dropping of files.

It would mean that I could connect to her PC remotely and transfer new photos over. All she would have to do is insert one end of the USB cable into the photo frame.

The process for copying them from a memory stick involves using the not very intuitive menuing system on the photo frame.