15in Digital Photo Frame

Having the Kaiser Baas 15in Digital Photo Frame lying around the house is almost like having a spare TV. Not only will it display digital photos, it will also play video files, including MPEG, MPEG-4, AVI and DivX formats.

It doesn't have a large built-in memory capacity -- only 256MB -- but it does have slots that can read CompactFlash, SecureDigital, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Multimedia Card and xD Picture Card formats. Photos, videos and music files can be loaded from the memory cards, while favourite photos and music can be transferred from the cards to the frame's internal memory, so you won't have to keep your cards in the slots all the time. Additionally, the frame has a USB port, which can display photos directly from a connected digital camera.

As with most digital picture frames, the card slots are located on the side, which can make them difficult to access if the frame is hanging on a wall. The slots would've been better off located at the front of the frame. The length of the power adapter's cable is also rather short -- about 1.5m -- which could be an inconvenience for those of you who want to hang it on a wall where a power point isn't in close vicinity.

Aesthetically, it's not the prettiest digital photo frame we've seen. The acrylic frame around the 4:3, 15in screen isn't elegant, and it makes the product bulkier than it should be. Two faceplates ship with the unit, one black and one white.

The 15in panel itself is of good quality; it exhibits vibrant colours, good contrast, and fairly wide viewing angles. However, when viewed from the top, some colour-shift was noticeable; especially when the frame was positioned on a coffee table that was much lower than eye-level. Unfortunately, the frame doesn't come with an adjustable stand, only one fixed, plastic leg.

The frame's functions are relatively easy to use and there are a few cool features that make it more than just a picture display device. It can also play MP3 and video files. The built-in speaker is adequate for listening to music that accompanies slideshows, and is loud enough to also play the sound from a video file. Video (composite) and stereo audio outputs are available on the side of the screen, which can plug in to another screen or an amplifier, respectively, and the cables for these outputs are supplied, but again like the power adapter, they are too short. The video output won't look good when plugged into another TV, so it's best to just use the video frame for all viewing.

Functionally, the picture frame is easy to use, but we were annoyed by its inability to rotate or zoom a photo during a slideshow. Photos could only be rotated or zoomed when viewed singularly. The on-screen display could also be a little better, as the function labels that flash up on the screen are light coloured and not easy to read, especially when the screen is viewed from the top.

A credit card-sized remote control allows slideshows to be navigated easily, backwards and forwards, as well as pause and stop. Control buttons for navigation can also be found at the top-rear of the frame.

Photos up to 16 megapixels can be viewed, and we didn't have any problems viewing 10-megapixel photos off a 2GB SD card. It took about two seconds to scroll from one photo to the next.

The frame's 12V power adapter is rated at 2.5A, so it'll chew 30W of power. This should be taken in to consideration if the frame is to be used continuously to display a static picture or slideshow when hung up on a wall, for example.