I don’t know too many people who bother with printing their digital pictures these days. It’s just so much easier to flip through a virtual album on a computer or even on a television with a good set top media player or game console. This is partly why digital photo frames can make excellent gifts for mom; they’re a simple and effective way to show off your pictures.
Samsung is already really well known for its terrific LCD panels, but they also target the smaller end of the market with a family of picture frames as well. Easily one of the most powerful of the bunch is the Samsung SPF-85V Wi-Fi Digital Photo Frame. There’s definitely more than meets the eye here.
Features at a Glance
Most of the digital picture frames that you find on the market today are decidedly basic, but that’s not the approach that Samsung took with the SPF-85V. This thing comes loaded. Some of the more notable features include:
- Screen Size: 8″
- Resolution: 800 x 600 Pixels
- Brightness: 200 cd/m2
- Contrast Ratio: 400:1
- Wireless Connectivity: 802.11b/g with Live Spaces and RSS support
- Memory: Built-in 64MB Flash Memory
- Ball Hinge and Wall Mount
- 5-in-1 Memory Card Reader
- Dual USB Ports
- Internal Rechargeable Battery
- Stereo Speakers with 3.5mm Audio Jack
- Mini-Monitor Function
The most notable feature of this frame is the fact that it can double as a mini-monitor, essentially making this product two products in one. We saw how useful the Nanovision MIMO UM-710 USB LCD Monitor was and that just brought up the useful factor of this digital picture frame when it’s not just sitting there displaying photos.
What’s in the Box?
The Samsung SPF-85V Digital Photo Frame comes bundled with just about everything that you’d need to get started with sharing pictures, music, and movies with your loved ones.
Aside from the digital frame itself, you get a USB cable for connecting the frame to your computer, the power brick and cable for connecting to the wall, the ball joint-style stand, installation CD, and supporting documentation.
Not surprisingly, you don’t get a memory card for storing your pictures, since that will presumably come directly from your digital camera. The multi-card reader will accept SD, MMC, and MS formats.
Textured and Patterned for Style
Having a boatload of functions and features isn’t really enough in this market. You also need your products to look good. Whereas Samsung takes the Touch of Color (ToC) approach with its LCD monitors, this photo frame instead has a patterned appearance on both the front and the back. This is largely a matter of personal taste, as you can imagine, but I think the pattern is subtle enough to add a dash of style without being overwhelming. Under dimmer conditions, you don’t even notice that it’s there.
Speakers, Ports, and Jacks
Along the left side of the frame (when looking from the front), we find the pair of USB ports and the multi-card reader. The regular USB port can be used to read flash drives and other USB mass storage devices, displaying this content on the frame. The mini-USB port is used mostly for the Mini Monitor function, which we’ll discuss in just a moment. The multi-card reader is pretty straightforward.
The power button has been cleverly integrated into the back of the SPF-85V, blending in with the textured pattern on the back. And along the right side of the frame (when looking from the front), you’ll find a 3.5mm audio jack in case you want to listen to your own music (and movies) in peace.
More Than Just a Photo Frame
As mentioned earlier, there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to this product. It’ll do the usual digital picture frame stuff, of course, and that will be its primary function in most homes. However, you can also navigate your way through the menu to use it as a movie player, music player, digital clock, RSS reader, and even as a secondary monitor for your PC.
This added versatility adds a great deal of value to the Samsung SPF-85V, since you don’t have to use it just as a picture frame. The limited functionality of other frames may make them seem less useful; the Samsung frame overcomes that concern in spades.
Establishing a Wi-Fi Connection
Many digital photo frames come with an integrated Wi-Fi radio, letting you grab content not only from the other computers in your home, but also through a variety of online sources. For example, I could use the IPEVO Kaleido R7 to grab my Flickr photostream.
The user interface on the Samsung SPF-85V is very aesthetically pleasing and getting through the menus isn’t a problem (although it can lag and be a little slow at times), but entering your network credentials can be a huge pain without a physical keyboard. You need to use the arrow keys to move through the on-screen keyboard. A touchscreen would be very handy in that respect.
But even before I got that far, I found one rather glaring issue with choosing my Wi-Fi access point. The Samsung frame can only “see” the networks with visible SSIDs. My home network is configured as to hide the SSID broadcast, so I could not connect to it. There should have been an option to enter the SSID manually.
The Automatic Photo Slideshow
Regarding the core functionality of showing our most cherished memories, the SPF-85V does a good job as a digital picture frame. The colors are vibrant and the contrast is within the realm of reason. It won’t compete against more expensive LCD monitors, but it’s perfectly adequate as a digital picture frame. The automatic slideshow feature, complete with transitions, is a nice touch as well.
You may also notice the Starlight Touch Controls in the picture above. These illuminated touch-sensitive controls light up when you need them, but they disappear into the black bezel when not in use. This is similar to what we saw on the SyncMaster P2370, among other items in the Samsung family.
It’s a Movie Player Too
As mentioned earlier, the Samsung SPF-85V comes with a couple of small stereo speakers, as well as a 3.5mm audio jack. As a result, you can use this frame to listen to MP3 music or watch movies. The strength of the speakers was seriously lacking, however. Cranked up to 100%, the soundtrack was still very quiet. Headphones are definitely the way to go.
For watching movies, I wouldn’t recommend it for more than a couple of short family clips. Sharing those little videos you take with your point-and-shoot camera is fine, but I wouldn’t watch a feature length movie here. The frame rate drops quite often, resulting in choppy video and audio.
This is far from an ideal situation, of course, but you also have to realize that this is not meant to be your primary movie watching option. It’s nice to see the feature available, but it’s probably not prudent to use it too much.
And a Mini Monitor for PC
If you had the opportunity to read my review of the Nanovision Mimo UM-710, then you’ll know that I was quite pleased with the USB secondary monitor. Everything ran off of a single USB connection, adding a second screen to my laptop simply and easily. The Samsung SPF-85V offers a similar USB Mini Monitor functionality. You need to install the Frame Manager software on your PC first (XP or Vista only), but it’s pretty much plug-and-play after that.
With a resolution of 800×600, the frame is suitable for instant messengers, Twitter, and other secondary applications. You also have the option to run it vertically, but there is a major design flaw. The screen can only rotate in one direction and this is with the USB port facing down. The cable simply does not bend that way, so I’m not entirely sure how you can use it vertically. It may have been better if the USB port was out the back rather than on the side.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Samsung has made a valiant effort to expand well beyond what it means to produce a regular old digital picture frame. While so many other offerings on the market do little more than show pictures, the Samsung SPF-85V can also grab RSS feeds over a Wi-Fi connection, play movies, and act as a very useful USB mini monitor.
On paper, these are all great features to have and they make this frame more valuable than many of its competitors, but the execution isn’t quite there just yet. The Wi-Fi connection wizard, as far as I can tell, won’t support hidden SSIDs. Tossing in support for USB keyboards would be a huge plus in this regard too.
The USB Mini Monitor functionality is the biggest bonus, I feel, and while the refresh rate is nowhere close to where it should be, it’s perfectly fine for IM and Twitter.
The Samsung SPF-85V is a good option for those who want a fashionable digital picture frame with no shortage of additional features. Just don’t watch any videos on it. The dropped frame rate made many videos nearly unwatchable.
Pros
- USB Mini Monitor function is fantastic
- Starlight Touch controls look great
- Internal memory is Mass Storage compliant
- Beautiful on-screen user interface
- Internal battery is rechargeable
Cons
- Frame rate issues with movie player
- No apparent support for hidden SSID for Wi-Fi
- USB cord gets in way of vertical configuration
- Vertical viewing angle could be improved
- Rechargeable battery needs AC wall adapter, does not support USB
Overall Rating: 7.5/10.0
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Samsung SPF-85V Digital Photo Frame – Photo Gallery
