DPF - 101 - 10 " photo frame from Sapphire

Written by Stuyo

Friday, 18 April 2008

 

Page 3 – Tests

Now let's get testing. First thing that we looked at was the remote. After all it's going to be your main way of controlling the frame:

The problems with remote control reception are gone. The range is rather decent, the reactions from the frame are rapid. As whole working with the remote is easy and pleasant. We must also note that the time for powering up and becoming ready to show pictures or play movies/music is much shorter than the one of its 8" brothers. We assume that from hardware point of view tgis frame is much more powerful than the previous two.

After we turned on the frame we were greeted by the Sapphire logo in full screen and few seconds later we were in the main menu. Basically the software of the frame is he same as in the 8" frames, the same menu - very intuitive and easy to use and navigate in to. As for the system settings – they ain't much, but they are enough for such a product, while most attention had been placed on the slideshow settings.

After choosing display options a screen that invites us to choose the type of memory to be used pops up, and after him a file manager. He is nothing special, but a nice touch is that there is a quick preview pane on the right, while you're browsing through the files..

The first function we tested was the audio player. It's rather limited in function, not to mention equalizers or playlists - there just ain't any. It's design isn't pretty either, but at least it has all the basic controls for the job. Its only "bonus" is an graphical equalizer, purely cosmetic in nature though.

The sound from the integrated speakers, though not very good, is sufficiently loud. As a compensation, when you plug in external speakers or headphones the sound is radically changed - becoming strong and clear. Nice touch is the fact that you can set music as a background for your picture slideshow.

Sapphire's DPF frames also include calendar and alarm functions. Not that much of an important ones, but still pretty handy (especially the alarm).

These frames allow reading of text too. While testing we found out that Cyrillic isn't supported, but that doesn't mean that it can't be added. We never wasted much time in finding out since that would be the least used function of the frame anyway, so we focused on the main functions.

Main function of the digital photo frames is to show digital images (mainly pictures). DPF-101 is equipped with card readers supporting most memory cards, allowing in reality to view pictures from any modern digital photo camera. And if that's not enough for you there is a USB connector capable of reading any USB carrier that works as a standard USB drive. On top of that there is 128MB integrated memory. Not much indeed, still a nice touch, knowing full well that the 10" frames are more of high class devices.

Most important thing about a digital frame is the matrix. In the case of these two models from Sapphire it's with exceptional quality. The viewing angles are wide and even from the sides the picture is clear. Resolution is standard for a 10” frame. We were a bit worried that picture quality would be worse than the one of the smaller DFP-081, that operates at the same resolution and picture format, but at smaller screen. Apparently our worries were irrelevant – despite the bigger 10" surface of the screen, 800х480 was more than enough for detailed resolution. Again here is the widescreen issue – keep in mind that normal 4:3 pictures would either be squeezed or will not use the whole screen.

Another main function, in our opinion at least is the digital video. The frame supports the latest AVI and DivX movies. Което от своя страна, и една огромна сфера на приложение – използването им за възпроизвеждане на видеофилми. Which on the other side gives the frame another huge field to be used in – a movie player. The high quality and resolutions have the final word here too, and the movies look splendid. The big 10” display and the 16:9 format sure add a lot for this. As for the sound and functions of the video player - there are the same as with the audio player. Subtitles are supported separately (though we ran on to the Cyrillic problem here too).

We here at Modreactor, as clearly modding focused individuals saw Sapphire's DPF frames from another point of view too – their potential as modding components. Well, no surprises here – connect the frame to a PC and ally you get is the card readers + 128MB disk drive. Attempts to use it as a secondary monitor to were futile. Well, after all that was never an intended use for them , so having the functionality for "free" was a tad much to expect.

Another thought connected with its power unit popped up. This frame can be fed from a car battery (it runs on 12V DC after all), that surely further extends its uses.

Again while testing we found out another, unpleasant thing. Since the frame is made from polished acrylic it's a dust magnet. As well as scratch hazard, especially when dusting it. That's why when cleaned a über-soft tissue and anti static spray must be used.

And lastly, we did find DPF-101 lacking some things. Its competitors in this class are widely using sensor buttons and WiFi connection. This frame had none of this, still considering the price that's understandable.