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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Westinghouse photo frame - don't buy it
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 02/06/2007 03:41:35 PM · #1
I apologize in advance for posting this twice - I didn't know some people (including myself, evidentally) have "rants" hidden and I think this is information DPCers might want to read b/c a lot of us have probably considered buying a digital photo frame. Plus there's a question at the end I'm hoping someone can answer.

I bought my mom a Westinghouse digital photo frame and was going to load it with photos. Problem was, it didn't say anywhere on the box, in the manual, or on the website what the resolution was. In the FAQ it said to maximize the # of photos that can fit in the memory, make them 640x480, so I did (>1200 photos). I then got the frame out and discovered that was not the right aspect ratio. My options are to set the display to "original" and have black bars on either side of each photo, or set it to "optimize" and it crops off the top and bottom. I was irritated, but called Westinghouse to find out the actual resolution so this won't happen in the future. The woman who answered said there is no way to make photos the right size for the frame. I politely disagreed. She said even if I could they'd be all stretched out because they're not wide enough. I tried to explain "cropping." She went to talk to her manager. She came back and reported that he said the frame automatically picks a resolution for each photo and there's no way to know what it is. I explained (calmly, for someone who had now been on the phone for 30 minutes trying to find the answer to a question that should have been on the box), someone at Westinghouse has to know what the maximum resolution of the photo frame you manufactured is. She says they don't, all they have to work with is the same manual I have and it doesn't say. I ask if there's anyone else I can talk to or if she can send a request to some other department that might know. She says no. I'm totally frustrated! Through trial and error I can at least figure the correct aspect ratio out, but how do I know whether I'm at exactly the right resolution?
 02/06/2007 03:49:48 PM · #2
If 640x480 (1.33 aspect ratio) gives too "short" an image, try an aspect ratio of 1.5. Start with 480x720. Another option is 640x960, which is also 1.5; just try a few resolutions using the same image, and see if you can see a difference. Go with the smallest that looks good.

Edit:
You get these idiotic answers from Westinghouse because they don't manufacture or design anything at all, they are just using the Westinghouse name and "brand labeling" whatever they can source from wherever's cheapest. They have no idea how the product functions, literally.

Message edited by author 2007-02-06 15:52:41.
 02/06/2007 03:53:18 PM · #3
Is it one of the widescreen models? Try 1.7:1 and see how that fits.
02/06/2007 04:01:49 PM · #4
Forgive me if this is dumb, but can't you measure the window to determine the aspect ratio? Resolution seems to be less important, since these frames are designed for dummies and they automatically resize loaded images to fit the long dimension. Since they are displaying on an LCD screen, I think you can pretty well assume the resolution is under 100 ppi. So if you have a 4x6 window and size to 400x600, that ought to be fine?

R.
 02/06/2007 04:03:28 PM · #5
Silly question perhaps, but did you consider getting out a ruler and measuring the dimensions to figure out the aspect ratio (divide the long side by the short side)? Once you know that you can resize your images as needed.

edit - Oops! Bear beat me to it while I was fiddling with the calculator to make sure I didn't screw it up. :D

Message edited by author 2007-02-06 16:04:40.
 02/06/2007 04:14:38 PM · #6
Measuring it will get you close, but it's one of only a few somewhat standard ratios. If it's widescreen, it's probably 1.778, and if not then 1.5, 1.33, or 1.25.
1.5 and 1.25 are not that common. The vast majority are 1.33, which is why it's strange that 640x480 leaves the ends blank. it's quick & easy to construct a few test images to figure out what it is, exactly.
 02/06/2007 04:22:45 PM · #7
What model frame is it?
 02/06/2007 04:22:48 PM · #8
I did measure - it's about 3 3/8 by 6, but inches are huge compared to pixels so I'm almost certain to end up not quite the right ratio, which means extra pixels or the picture getting a little cropped. And I can estimate the resolution, of course. I'd like to get it right, mainly because I'm a perfectionist, but also because my family generates thousands of pictures a year so eventually we'll fill up the 1 gig stick and have to migrate all the photos. And once I set this thing up in my mom's house she will be incapable of doing anything other than adding pictures to the memory stick.

In the grand scheme of things I'll be able to get close enough, but it's annoying because it seems like it should be easy for them to tell me the max resolution.

edit to give frame model: Westinghouse DPF-0701

edit to respond to Kirbic: It sounds like it might be 1.778... just curious, where did that # come from? Is that the same as widescreen TVs?

Message edited by author 2007-02-06 16:27:40.
 02/06/2007 04:26:58 PM · #9
3 3/8 divided by 6 is 1.778
 02/06/2007 04:58:13 PM · #10
Originally posted by saiphfire:

edit to respond to Kirbic: It sounds like it might be 1.778... just curious, where did that # come from? Is that the same as widescreen TVs?


Yes. It's the ratio 16:9, which is the standard aspect ratio for wide screen television. It matches the ratio you see on theater screens.
 02/06/2007 05:02:03 PM · #11
I bought one for my wife for Christmas (the 5.6" version), and I loaded it up with about 100 shots. Despite the warning in the instructions that says that you can't use edited shots, I edited every one of them in Photoshop, and sized them at 640 x 468 (72 dpi), and I have had no problem at all.

I can't remember exactly how I came up with the "468" dimension, but it's a winner :)

I see you're using the larger version, so I can't say whether yours will be of the same dimensions, unfortunately.

Message edited by author 2007-02-06 17:11:37.
 02/07/2007 01:08:53 PM · #12
Use your 640x480 image, measure the width of the picture, and the width of the active display area (ie black bars and picture, or set the frame to crop and see how wide it actually is).

Then just take the ratio of the total width to the width of the displayed picture, and multiply by the number of pixels. This gives you the number of pixels to use when cropping.

e.g. if the width including the black bars is 6 inches, and the picture only takes up 5 inches, and its 640 pixels wide, multiply 6/5 * 640.

Edit: a couple of websites say "The DPF-0701 rocks a 7-inch 16:9 widescreen display"

Message edited by author 2007-02-07 13:19:03.
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