The very first issue I encountered was the lack of a tutorial on how to use the frame. The next issue was the flawed Photobucket feature.
I was hoping that these two issues would be the only issues I would encounter on the eStarling ImpactV Clip Frame. Sadly, these were not the only issues I came across. There were more.
I would not have bought the ImpactV had I known this prior to my purchase! The ImpactV needs interaction in order for videos to play back on the frame. As the picture slide show goes on, my very first uploaded video clip was up next. To my shock, the video did not play automatically!
I had to actually hit play on the remote, or hit play on the touch-screens sidebar. However if I did not hit play fast enough, the video would simply go skipped without playing. This was a huge setback for this 'world's first video photo frame!' I was pretty livid that they would include such a gnarly feature and have that one gnarly feature totally lacking.
Yep folks, you heard it here. If you do not hit play on the remote, or on the frame’s touch border, the video will not play at all.
As far as the video’s quality, I will indeed vouch that the videos look sharp, but man, what a waste of a feature.
I wanted the video clips to play on their own for when friends and family came over. Having to run up to the frame and interact with it every time a video popped up in the slide show was a total geek’s buzz kill.
That is the next issue I will be covering: the slideshow.
When I make slideshows using freebie online websites, I love having complete control over the photos’ display order. For me, being able to create the order of the pictures is like being able to create a photo story. I thought I would have complete control over the eStarling ImpactV. I thought I would be able to place photos in whatever order I wanted. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Photos will display randomly in the slideshow on the frame. You never know what photo will play where, or when. It is just a scattered mess of photo puke. That's right, photo puke. It's a term I made up when the ImpactV spat out the same photo three times in a row.
Another issue I encountered time and time again was freezing. The frame will sometimes play the photos without any issues. The slideshow will be happily shooting out my photos onto the lovely screen...and then...it will stop.
Hitting the Power Off button on the remote will not always power down the frame, so I am left with no other choice but to unplug the cord from the back of the frame, which I know cannot be good for the frame at all.
-Turn to page 5 to view one of the biggest issues I had with the ImpactV, and view my overall conclusion on the frame.