Digital Spectrum MemoryFrame MF-575 5.6-Inch Digital Picture Frame

The MF-575 digital picture frame is a photo, MP3, and video player. The MF-575 sports a bright, high-resolution 5.6-inch TFT screen that displays digital photos and video clips in vivid color. Set up as a slide show and play directly from a memory card. The number of images is only limited by the capacity of the memory card being used. The MF-575 accepts MD/SD/MMC cards for maximum compatibility with major digital cameras. The MF-575 comes with a wood picture frame. You can change the look of the MF-575 to fit your d cor with any off-the-shelf wood 5x7 picture frame. The unit is light, portable and easy to use. A great companion to your digital camera and an excellent way of showing off your pictures and video clips to family and friends. Another cool feature is the ability to add MP3 music tracks to your memory card and listen to the tunes over the built-in stereo speakers. A remote control is used to access the easy to use on board menu, giving you full control of the slide show and player functions. The unit also supports MPEG1, 2, 4 movie formats for play back of digital camera movies or movies created on the PC.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent for the $$
LOVE this. I have been playing with it all night and have no problem whatsoever figuring out how to get it going (despite the flimsy manual). The pic quality is great. You do need good pics to begin with. Highly recommend it! I know my parents will love it!
--2006-12-18

Inexpensive and hardly worth it.
bought this for my grandparents and will probably give it to them. overall the picture quality is pretty awful, the instructions are a joke and unit emits alot of heat so i'm not sure how durable it's going to be. i would purchase a different unit next time.

i too have a problem with my MAC photos. i find that if I save them down to an extremely small size (like a thumbnail) then the unit will pick them up. otherwise i just get a black screen with an x.

all this offset by a terrific price. but even so it's not worth it.
--2006-12-17

There's a reason this thing is "cheap."
The resolution on the display for the Digital Spectrum MemoryFrame is terrible. If you get any closer than five feet from the picture, the image looks grainy - you can't even make out faces. I should have known, given the resolultion: this one is only 320x240. There are frames for not much more $$ that have double that resolution. Plus, the unit is gigantic and, despite the faux-wood frame around the outside, will definitely stand out on your desk or mantle. It must be four inches thick - nevermind the power cord sneaking out the back. In addition, the construction of this thing is cheap plastic. The faux-wood frame rattles loosely around the display, and the buttons feel like they're going to snap each time you press them. In addition, the menu is not intuitive and, given the terrible resolution, can even be difficult to read. I'm returning mine, and I think I'll wait for this technology to get better (and cheaper) before I try again.
--2006-12-15

A Great Gift
I bought mine as a gift for my parents. They are going to love it.

Initially the pictures do not seem to be as clear as expected, mostly because I am used to veiwing the pictures on a nice flat panel monitor, but they look just fine.

It is perfect for a gift for Grandparents, as long as you set it up prior to giving.

Very good value for $99!

I would also suggest purchasing a memory card (I got a 512M for $15, holds hundreds of pics)

Another thing that also sold me was the fact that the wooden frame is interchangeable with any 5x7 frame.

Again, great value!
LKH

NOTE:
I had never used a card reader before, and there are no instructions in the package, so here they are if you need them:

1. Take bottom cover off of card reader (it's the small white square that says "SD/MMC/MS/XD" on it).
2. Place your (not included) memory card in the card reader.
3. Plug the "mini" USB cable(black cable) into the card reader, then plug the other end of the "mini" USB cable into your computer's USB port.
4. Transfer photos and pics from computer to the device.
5. Once completed, pull card from reader and plug memory card into frame.
IT IS VERY EASY
--2006-12-14

Good but . . .
I'm pretty technically competent but there are some things about this digital picture frame that have left me scratching my head.

1. Why is there no owner's manual? The flimsy little pamphlet included is nearly worthless, and the website referred to on the registration card has been inaccessible/unavailable since the package arrived.
Related to this . . .

2. Why doesn't it work with jpegs from Apple computers? I used the card reader to load pictures from my iBook (OS 10.4) onto the memory card (why not use the included USB cable? Keep reading), plugged the memory card into the back of the picture frame, and nothing happened. HOWEVER, when I transferred the pictures from the memory card onto my Windows computer and THEN onto the memory card, everything worked wonderfully. If you own "just" an Apple computer then do NOT get this digital picture frame.

3. What the heck is with the USB cable? First it is about 3 inches long, so if you are going to try to load pictures off a desktop computer good luck. Secondly, and even more importantly, one of the USB "plugs" simply will not fit into either the picture frame USB port of a computer's USB port. It is impossible for me to adequately describe this, but the actual metal plug on one end of the cable is shaped strangely. I couldn't figure out how to make it work (maybe others have).

So why did I give this item four stars? Because the pictures display quite nicely, the frame is very attractive, the price is very competitive, and I know my wife is going to love it!
--2006-12-13

- Digital Spectrum