PhotoVu Digital Picture Frames

This can be a very complicated subject. First, all of our PhotoVu LCD photo frames will display your digital photos perfectly and crystal clear, without any distortion, no matter what type of digital camera or digital images you have. In the end, as this FAQ will show, it mostly comes down to personal preference, but depending on your type of digital camera, there are some slight differences in the way each digital frame displays your digital photos.

PhotoVu offers two types of digital picture frame LCD display products - standard and widescreen. How your digital photos from your digital camera will look on your new digital picture frame depends not only on the aspect ratio of the LCD display, but also on the type of digital camera you use. Aspect ratio of the photo frame is the ratio of the horizontal size (as measured in pixels) divided by the vertical size (as measured in pixels) of its LCD display. Pixels are the little dots of light on the LCD panel that make up your digital image.

For example, our standard 19″ digital frame features a 1280 wide x1024 tall pixel LCD screen. Doing the math you will find that for every 5 horizontal pixels there will be 4 vertical pixels, which results in a 5:4 or 1.25 aspect ratio display. Whereas our widescreen 22″ digital picture frame has a 1680×1050 pixel resolution, which doing the math, results in a 16:10 or 1.6 aspect ratio digital frame display. Our other widescreen 19″ digital photo frame, also has the same 1.6 aspect ratio between the width and height of the LCD panel. In other words, the standard screen is more “square like” and the widescreen is more “rectangle like.”

Some cameras also take more “square like” pictures in a 4:3 or 1.33 aspect ratio and some higher-end digital SLR’s take digital picture pictures in a 3:2 or 1.5 ratio format. To determine the aspect ratio of your camera, you can do the same as for the LCD displays above — divide the horizontal pixels by vertical pixels as found in your camera’s manual or on its own menu display. As a general rule, typically, but not always, small digital pocket cameras and digital cameras without changeable lenses are classified as consumer digital cameras and take pictures in the 4:3 or 1.33 ratio format. Higher-end, more expensive cameras, known as digital SLR’s which usually also have changeable lenses, take digital images in the 3:2 or 1.5 ratio format. There are also some more expensive cameras, or “prosumer” cameras, that take photos in this 1.5 format as well.

Here are some real world photo examples of all the above technical jargon in action:

If you have a consumer type of digital camera (sometimes considered a point and shoot), which will cover most cameras that do not have a detachable lens as well as all “pocket type” of cameras, then your digital photos would like this on our digital photo frames:

However, if you have a higher-end, digital SLR, or “prosumer” type of digital camera, then your images will be taken in more of a wide screen format (1.5 ratio / 3:2) and your digital photo will be displayed like these photos below on our digital picture frames:

As you can see, none of the digital aspect ratios on the digital camera input side match any of our PhotoVu digital LCD photo frame aspect ratios on the output or display side. This is a very common problem, but fortunately, PhotoVu digital picture frames, unlike other cheaper LCD photo frames on the market, automatically handle these issues dynamically “on-the-fly” with ease. No matter what kind of digital camera you have (1.3 or 1.5 ratio images), all of our PhotoVu LCD photo frames will display your digital photos without any distortion. However, some of the outside edges of each digital picture will be slightly cropped or cutoff as we scale the input picture from the digital camera to fit the output display of the digital photo frame. Usually this is not very noticeable and makes for a picture that completely fills the frame.

However, for the digital photo purists, there is an option to turn our smart resize (TM) feature off. In this case, your digital photos will not be cropped, but you will have small black bars either on the top and bottom or the left and right, depending on your camera and your particular PhotoVu model (widescreen or standard). This effect is similar to playing a DVD on a standard definition TV where black bars will appear on the top and bottom - because the movie was filmed in wider screen format and then played and viewed on your standard definition TV (4:3 or 1.33 aspect ratio).

Lastly, many people, after they buy a PhotoVu and get to enjoy their digital photos every day, also start scanning their old photos so they can enjoy them too. Most older film cameras were 35mm, which is a 3.2 or 1.5 ratio format as covered above. However, scanning slides and negatives, while producing the highest quality results, can be very laborious. Therefore, many people choose to scan their photo prints. This brings up yet another interesting dilemma as traditional prints were sold in a whole range of sizes and formats — 3×5 (1.66 ratio), 4×6 (1.5 ratio), 5×7 (1.4 ratio), 8×10 (1.25 ratio). Regardless, per the examples above, your PhotoVu digital picture frame will display them beautifully and automatically scale and crop them for the ultimate viewing experience.