Review: Samsung SPF-87H Digital Photo Frame

As we announced earlier, on March 18, 2010, an event called Samsung FORUM 2010 was held at the World Trade Center. All expected news from the company for 2010 were presented at the forum, which were partially discussed in their review by Boomburum , and about which later we will tell in more detail. Right now, for example, a promised report is being prepared on the new mobile platform bada. As soon as enough material is gathered for its publication in the blog, and this is approximately tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we will publish all the information we have.

In the meantime, I would like to tell you about a small but pleasant souvenir that was presented to all those invited at the end of the event, namely, the Samsung SPF-87H digital photo frame.
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Appearance

Frame dimensions: 23.6 x 15.9 x 2.3 cm
Weight: ~ 500g
Display: 8 "diagonal, 800 x 480 (16: 9)

The frame can be put both vertically and horizontally:





Behind, next to the foot, are the following connectors, from left to right:

• Secure digital
• Nutrition
• USB to support flash drives
• miniUSB

Specifications:



Control buttons, also from left to right:

• On / off
• Menu
• Four-way joystick
• Input
• Cancel
• Slideshow

All the buttons, as can be seen from the photos below, when using the menu are signed on the screen, you get used to using them and no longer look at the tips from the second time:



Pressing surely, the buttons with it emit a characteristic click.

Working with frame

So, the first thing we see on the screen after connecting the frame to a computer via USB, these are three options for working with such a connection: in storage mode (to transfer files to the frame's internal memory), in mini-monitor mode (see below) and in mode directly digital photo frames. To begin, choose the last option:



After we have chosen “Photoframe”, in the leftmost row we will be able to select the source of the photos. At the moment, only two of them are available, this is the built-in frame memory (“Frame Memory”) and a USB flash drive. By the way, the external hard drive for 500 Gb declined :) I’ll remind you that you can also connect a Secure Digital standard memory card to the frame:



Once the source of photos is selected, we can choose one of the following options:



The names speak for themselves.

Settings

In the “Setup” menu there are four items: “Photo”, “Clock”, “General conditions”, “Support”.

A photo

Dimming options:

• No effect
• Blackout
• Curtain
• Cross combo
• Mosaic
• Chess board
• Spread out
• Appearance
• Zoom
• Silk
• Transition from corners
• Wheel
• Ellipse
• Arbitrarily

Slideshow speed:

• Fast
• Fine
• Slow

Slideshow mode:

• All photos
• Photo in folder
• One photograph

Slideshow order:

• Ordinary
• Random

View Mode:

• Just Photo
• Photos and hours
• Photos and calendar
• Multiple species 1
• Multiple species 2

Ratio:

• Original size
• Autotune
• Width

Portrait photo mode :

• On
• Off

In this mode, it is worthwhile to stay in more detail. Since the frame can stand both vertically and horizontally, it is obvious that this function should rotate all photos on its side (relative to the position of the frame by default). But in reality it is not so - only those images that originally had a portrait orientation are turned.

At first glance, this seems unreasonable, but in fact it is quite a logical decision, since when you turn images with landscape orientation, they become too small for easy viewing. In other words, the images need to be selected for one particular frame of only one orientation, if you want to get a good impression of the images.

However, individual photos can still be rotated to any degree by calling the context menu when directly displaying a slide.

Display photo info:

• On
• Off

Clock

Everything is clear, there are no special options:

General terms

Quick install
Quick configuration of all basic functions using the "wizard"

Language: all major languages ​​of the world
Brightness: changes in increments of 1%
Auto On / Off:

• Once
• Saturday Sunday
• Monday-saturday
• Monday Friday
• Daily

In this version of localization, this implies a timer to automatically turn the frame on and off, it is possible to repeat.

Start Mode:

• Last mode
• Home (main menu)
• Slideshow

Screen saver:

• Slideshow
• Clock

Copy frame to memory:

• Original size
• Resized

It is meant whether the photos will be shown in the original size or whether they will be automatically scaled in accordance with the screen frame size.

Activate connection: brings up a menu with a choice of the frame operation mode: “Storage”, “Mini Monitor”, and “Photo Frame”.

Support

Software update
The update is carried out from a USB flash drive (it is possible that with Secure Digital, there was no such standard card on hand, and this is not so important). Currently firmware version 10006.0 is available.

Reset
Manual
A mini-guide on how to select the desired storage media in the menu and set the appropriate display mode.

Product Information

Mode "Mini Monitor"

In this mode, the frame can work as an ordinary second monitor. To do this, you need to install the Frame manager program. Personally, I tried this feature on Windows 7, and noticed only one drawback - when you turn off the device, the application that was displayed on the second desktop does not return to the first. Most likely this problem is related to the operating system than to the software of the device itself, but I don’t claim 100%.

Mode "Storage"

In this mode, the frame is defined on the computer as removable media (in the photo frame mode of the new device is not added), and you can work with it as with a regular USB flash drive. It is possible to split photos into folders; in the menu, as described above, it is possible to play images only from a specific directory.

A special point: as long as the computer does not complete the procedure for safely disconnecting the device, the frame will not respond to button presses. In general, this is an ordinary situation.

Clock

In this mode, the clock and calendar are displayed. Calendar and clock periodically swapped. In this mode, the frame works and when simultaneously displaying the calendar and photos, the time moves up the frame. I didn’t take photos, because they don’t represent practical value - it turns out too small.



In the photo below is a guide to the selected image storage location. There were no problems with Russian file and folder names. Question marks indicate an unsupported file data format:

Equipment

• Frame itself
• USB cable, with optional power connector
• Power Supply
• Warranty card, instructions

Other characteristics

Contrast ratio: 500: 1
Brightness (cd / m2): 200
Built-in memory: 1 GB
Supported formats: JPEG
Power consumption (W): 5.2

Impressions and debriefing

Initially, the frame makes an excellent impression: a stylish case, convenient operation, an excellent screen made using LED technology (described in previous articles. In short, the backlight of the LCD panel is not made by lamps, but by LEDs located around the device’s perimeter) - A great gift to anyone with photos :)

But a closer acquaintance reveals details that cloud the first impression. The first thing that personally caught my eye was a somewhat localized curve, as a result of which individual menu items might be incomprehensible to inexperienced users (it was written about them above). Also, the calendar has not been translated yet.
The second point is unnecessary, in my opinion, playback options. Hours over the image interfere with the frame to perform its main task, and two additional views made with playing around the image of the photo from Polaroid seem to be just a fun option that does not carry meaning. Although it is possible that they will find their user.

After downloading a large number of photos, it turned out that the 16: 9 form factor is not the most common among my photos and images at the moment :) On the other hand, there is nothing to grieve about - the screen diagonally is 8 inches, and therefore this form the factor is more likely to be assessed as an additional opportunity to watch widescreen images than the inability to expand your collection of images "full screen", so to speak.

It is probably not worth describing the quality of the image in detail, since it’s more likely to see it once than hear a hundred times. The photos below also do not convey the joy of viewing your favorite pictures and images.

The timer, seemingly seemingly unnecessary trifle (because the frame does not know how to play sounds, which means it cannot be an alarm clock), in the process of using the device is very helpful - if you put the frame in the bedroom, at night it will shine pretty much, even with set to 50% brightness.

The size of the internal storage personally suits me completely, all the more so since, especially for such use, photographs can be cropped into suitable sizes and thus significantly reduce the consumption of memory photos.

A couple of minor drawbacks - the buttons need to be developed, since right after the purchase of the device they go pretty tight, and the device menu cannot be called the fastest in the world. Apparently affects the size of the photos, as I said above.

As it became clear from the above, the frame does not know how to play video and sound. This dignity or disadvantage is up to you.

In general, the frame made a great impression. All the disadvantages are small, and the main function of the photo frame does not apply. Moreover, they are known to the developers, who soon promise to improve the situation for the better.

As far as I know, at the moment the frame is available in two colors: black and red (as in my photos) and just black.

Minuses

• Not the fastest menu
• Tight on top control buttons
• Minor flaws in the localization menu
• Extra image reproduction options

pros

• Excellent image quality
• Easy to use menu
• Russian language support in file and folder names
• Work both from an electric network and from USB
• Large screen with the ability to play images with an aspect ratio of 16: 9
• Ability to work in monitor mode (at the moment, judging by the reviews, does not work in 64-bit OS)
• Reasonable price

Well, just a few pictures. The quality of photos, of course, leaves much to be desired, in real life, the images look simply amazing, with sufficient resolution. If someone suddenly wants to get their favorite source images - knock on the inbox, skin.





























PS: Already, by tradition, I apologize not for very professional photos and my face, sometimes flashing in the reflection :)