Is the Nextar digital photo frame worth it?
You’ll often find cheap frames like the Nextar digital photo frame, they promise great value for money with some premium features – but fail to live up to their claims in the real world. Unfortunately, that’s what happens with this frame.
Display resolution is one of the biggest letdowns here. With not even close to the recommended minimum of 800×600, pictures always appear grainy and fuzzy with visible pixels and lines throughout the image. This all but ruins the viewing experience and makes immersion in the photos very difficult.
Another key detractor from the overall viewing experience is the 16:9 aspect ratio. Almost all the photos we take with our phones and with most digital cameras come in a 4:3 aspect ratio. The result is that the vast majority of photos displayed on the frame need to be cropped or will be “black-barred” around the sides.
To avoid this problem, you need to manually edit and crop every photo to match the frame’s 16:9 aspect ratio. It more or less defeats the purpose of having an easy-to-use offline frame that’s designed to be suitable as a gift for elderly users or non-tech-savvy family members. To add to this, Nextar digital photo frames are very sluggish, both when navigating through the menus/settings, and browsing through photos from the attached USB/SD card.
If your budget can stretch a little further, you’ll have access to more premium frames like the Pix-Star and several others. It’s almost always worth saving up a little longer and getting a frame with a proven track record, Wi-Fi connectivity, and a smoother user experience. You’ll be thankful for the boost in build quality, speed, versatility, and functionality.
How to send photos to the Nextar digital photo frame?
The only way to send photos to the Nextar digital photo frame is via USB/SD card. To begin, choose photos that match the frame’s 16:9 aspect ratio. Alternatively, you can use photo editing software to crop and resize your pictures to match the 16:9 aspect ratio.
Once you’ve edited the photos, load them onto a supported USB/SD card (try to keep the card or stick size under 8GB to improve speed and compatibility). Insert the USB/SD card into the Nextar frame’s relevant port. Unfortunately, the USB port is at the bottom of the frame – so unless your USB is less than about half an inch long, you can’t stand the frame up while it’s inserted.
There is no internal storage on the Nextar digital photo frame, so you need to leave the SD/USB connected at all times to view their photos – which is a major concern if the frame can’t stand with a USB stick in the bottom. You have to buy these USB/SD cards separately as they don’t come with the frame.
Can the Nextar digital photo frame play videos and audio?
Nextar digital photo frames have basic video and audio playback. This offers some respite due to the frame’s lack of features and functionality and adds a little versatility to the frame. That being said, the low-resolution display means that videos don’t look good at all. You’ll get a grainy and fuzzy image with almost all videos, and cropping/boxing-in for videos that don’t match the frame’s native 16:9 aspect ratio.
You can load videos and audio the same way you’d upload photos. Load them onto a compatible USB/SD card, insert the card into the frame’s relevant port, and view them via the frame’s slideshows using the provided remote control.
Can the Nextar digital photo frame connect to Wi-Fi?
Nextar digital photo frames are offline. These frames don’t feature any Wi-Fi or cloud capabilities and work solely off of USB/SD cards. You can’t connect to Wi-Fi or mobile networks, and there are no accompanying mobile apps, web interfaces, or any sort of Bluetooth capabilities.
Is a premium frame better than a Nextar digital photo frame?
This is quite a common question for people looking at the disparity between the functionality and versatility of cheap/budget frames and the more expensive premium frames. Thankfully, the price difference is not nearly as drastic as the difference in capability and performance.
Let’s take the Pix-Star digital frame as our premium frame example. You get full Wi-Fi functionality with a mobile app and a web interface. The mobile app lets you send pictures, videos, and audio to your frame – and multiple frames – at the same time, from anywhere in the world.
Pix-Star’s web interface lets you control up to 25 frames and remotely control and manage a connected frame. Here you can change the frame’s settings, start slideshows, create new folders, link photo albums from social media and photo-sharing platforms, and much more.
Pix-Star’s frame has a much higher 1024×768 resolution and an incredibly versatile 4:3 aspect ratio. This aspect ratio directly matches most of the photos we take on our smartphones and digital cameras – and offers a better balance between photo and video playback. Fewer photos are cropped or boxed-in as a result, which in turn improves immersion and the overall viewing experience.
On top of all of this, you get free-for-life cloud storage that’s intuitively manages through the web interface. You can email photos directly to your frame for those rare times you don’t have access to the mobile app. Slideshows offer more customizations overplay order, style, and speed, with the user interface being far more user-friendly and intuitive. The remote-control unit is tactical and responsive, letting you easily navigate the 10-inch (or Pix-Star’s 15-inch frame) with ease.
You also get additional features like web radio & music, web album support, weather, alerts & reminders, and even brain games to pass the time. Pix-Star’s frames offer one of the most robust feature sets on the market without compromising on simplicity and ease of use. You still get extensive offline capabilities through Pix-Star’s USB/SD card support and 8GB of internal storage. Web albums that you link from social media and photo-sharing accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive & Photos, Flickr, and many more) are saved on internal storage for offline use.
When you compare all this enhanced functionality, versatility, and usability to what you get from the Nextar digital photo frame, it’s easy to see why your money won’t go to waste with a premium digital frame. While the upfront cost is higher, there are no recurring fees or subscriptions, and the improved durability and future-proofing will save you more money in the long run. If your budget approves, premium digital frames offer an effortless way to stay connected with your loved ones and a way to keep your grandparents involved.
