Smartparts SPX8 8-Inch Syncpix Digital Picture Frame
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend PRODUCT FEATURES:Large high-definition LCD displayGenuine wood frame - walnutNo computer neededRemote control for easy operationAutomatic variable-speed slide showMP3 capability Product details and pricing info |
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126 Customer Reviews Posted
- Customer service non-existant
- I had similar problems as others, IE. not recognizing one of my camera's USB card, recognizing the other camera's card, but refusing to download even one picture. I went to Smartparts website and downloaded their software to my computer as recommended, and when I plugged in the USB cord from the frame, the frame recognized that the cord was plugged in, but the software kept saying that I had to plug in the cord to download pictures. I tried to close the software and my computer froze, so I finally had to reboot, at which time the program finally said it was ok to disconnect the cord. After that, the frame would only play a few of the pictures from one camera card, then freeze and screech. I made several attempts to contact their tech support via email and got no response for over a week. Tried their phone support, and was put on hold for about 6 minutes, and finally left a voice message. I did not recieve a response until I complained to the New Jersey Better Business Bureau where their sales headquarters is located. In the email I recieved I was told that they basically didn't give a rat's patootie that I had received the frame as a gift, and that I would have to send them a copy of the sales receipt if I wanted to return the frame to them for repair/replacement. Thank God Amazon has a little more ethics than this Shenzhen China owned company, and agreed to let me return the frame to them for credit.
- 2008-07-31, 2 of 3 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- 12" Digital Frame has one big issue.
- The Energy Efficient Light Sensor on the top is faulty on the model #SPX 12E (12" Digital Frame). If you get your finger near it and block the light..or if you move the frame and it senses a light change it will completely shut off the screen. Tech support says go into settings and turn off the sensor.
- 2008-07-21, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Love this frame!
- I've been researching digital frames and after much confusion I made the choice to buy this one. I'm so pleased that I haven't had any problems, and the picture quality is excellent. After I bought this model I found out that it was rated the highest of models recently evaulated by Consumer Reports. I have thousands of photos on CD's, and the frame is supposed to hold 3,000 pics if you set them to be optimized by the frame software. I currently used the USB from frame to computer, to transfer the pictures from my CD's. As I take new photos I'll transfer them directly from the camera memory card.
The frame is made of wood; a beautiful stained walnut. The matting on the frame is a creme color, although it looks like peach on my monitor. Overall it's a well-made frame. - 2008-07-13, 21 of 21 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- SD card reader doesn't work, movie files didn't transfer, but the pics that did load looked awesome
- After MUCH research, I finally opted to purchase this frame (Consumer Reports got this one wrong). I actually got this frame for my husband for Father's Day. I was soooo excited as I knew he would love this frame to display a "digital brag book" of his family on his desk at work, but boy did I have my work cut out for me in getting the pics transferred. Unfortunately, one of the features that this camera markets is being able to load pictures directly from your computer via a USB cable. However, after I loaded the pics directly from my computer (could not download the SyncPix software as it is NOT compatible with my iMac), I noticed that the slideshow wasn't operating correctly. It would hang up on certain pics, then "unhang" and fly through the next couple, hang up again, etc. The performance was very erratic. So, I looked through the manual and in the FAQ of the manual, it specifically states that the "Frame optimizes pictures ONLY when they are transferred with a memory card.... We recommend transferring images using a memory card and the built-in transfer mechanism." Pretty frustrating since the way the product markets itself is a bit misleading. UGH...so since I was working on getting the pics loaded at midnight before Father's Day, I was desperate to get the pics loaded "optimally", so after the long length of time it took me to get the pics written to an SD card, I was excited to load them to the frame. Unfortunately, the SD card reader didn't work. The frame would recognize the frame and begin the copy process, but then it would just freeze and not complete the transfer. I did google to see if this was a common problem, and I did find a couple of other reviews where the SD card reader didn't work. So, again desperate to have the frame loaded with wonderful pics for my hubby for Father's Day, I transferred pics to a CF card, and when I put the card in the frame, the frame didn't recognize that a card was present, so I thought I needed to push it in a little further... BIG mistake. The card got jammed in the reader. After much time and effort (won't bore you with the details), I finally got the card out figuring I must have put it in the wrong way, so I repositioned and inserted the card again. Once again, the frame is not recognizing a card being present, so I pushed a little further (my judgment was probably a bit clouded since it was now in the wee hours of the night before Father's Day), and the CF card jammed AGAIN. I got it out and finally was able to insert it correctly, and the pics transferred. Unfortunately, the videos didn't transfer. In addition, I really would prefer to use the SD card as the only CF card I have is the one I keep in my camera, and I don't want to have to mess with that everytime I want to load new pics to the frame, so I sent the frame back and Amazon quickly sent me a brand new replacement frame. Unfortunately, the SD card reader on the replacement frame didn't work either, and the videos still don't transfer. I am sending back again for a refund. It was super disappointing because the pics that did display are very clear and crisp, and I like the slideshow options available as well (1. # of slide show images... you can choose 1, 2, 3, 4, or sequence...which shows first one, then two, then three, then four 2. Transition effects- lots of options to choose from-random, none, inward, outward, gradual, blocks, down, up, left, right 3. Slideshow Order-ordered or random (love the random feature) I was really bummed out that this frame didn't live up to the expectations or the Consumer Reports recommendation. Consumer Reports got this one wrong.
- 2008-07-04, 1 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Finally success after 3 failures! 2 perfectly working frames!
- I've been trying since Mother's Day (May) to get a working unit. After 3 failures, I now have 2 perfectly working frames. Here's a clue: if it doesn't immediately load your photos and then start a slide show, you have a bad unit. It's really that simple if your unit is good. If it doesn't sync up, add more photos, and automatically resume the slide show, you have a bad unit. Don't waste anymore time on it. Send it back and get a replacement. There's a high out-of-box failure rate, but a good unit is awesome.... The instructions say "plug in the unit, turn on the power, then insert memory card." I found success when plug in the memory card first, then power up the unit. I don't know if it makes a difference, but it did for me. I love this frame. It syncs up automatically every time I add new photos. It has a beautiful look and shows very clear pictures. I also bought 2 SPX12 (the 12 inch version) with perfect success right out of the box. A feature missing from the SPX12 (this frame has it) is the random order feature, so the slide show on the SPX8 is more interesting. The SPX12 also seems to zoom in on pictures that I've carefully formatted in Photoshop, trying to do some sort of "optimization". The SPX8 leaves the photos formatted as I want them.
- 2008-06-28, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
