Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am a photographer, and was not too happy with our existing digital photo frame. It has a 16:9 aspect ratio (similar to a HD TV), and rather coarse quality display. I thought I would take a chance on the NIX 12-inch display. Many of the reviews are pretty good. I was also drawn to the fact that the aspect ratio is 4:3, which is identical to our Canon G-15. It doesn't match the 3:2 ratio of my DSLR, but it is close enough. I like the fact that NIX includes a nice, compact 4GB flash drive. Saves me the trouble of getting another one. Setup was easy. A few comments, however. The remote would be easier to use if it had the standard symbols for Play/Pause on it. The Time is set for 24 hour format, and can't be changed. This only impacts you if you use the calendar function. The Slideshow button on the remote is nice since it will take you right to the slideshow from whatever menu function you're in. Still, the ergonomics of the remote and menu system are lacking. I also haven't found a way to adjust the picture controls while watching an image. Instead, you need to exit to the menu, set the brightness/contrast/saturation, then return to the image. The factory settings are OK, but I brought down the brightness and contrast a step or two. The transitions are okay, but I noticed the fade (dissolve) transition is very choppy and stutters, making a poor transition. The other transitions for the photos are fine. I use a 27" Mac monitor to process my images, and I am fussy about color balance, contrast, brightness, sharpness, etc. Nix does a decent job of displaying my images in a very pleasing manner. I notice a lack of punch in the reds and a softening toward orange. Skin tones look pretty natural. Sharpness and detail is pretty good, considering you'll be viewing these photos from at least a few feet away. All in all, I'm impressed with the quality. It should be just fine for all but the most critical eye. Processing tip: Rather than 'dump' your images over to the USB flash drive, use some software that lets you export the photos in JPEG format, having 800 x 600 pixels, and 72 dpi. This way, you get just the pixels you need to fill the screen, and you'll fit more photos on the drive. I haven't tested the movie feature of this frame, although I tried to export a .mov file to it. It displayed in the directory, but did not play. It was 45mb in size, and maybe too large for the processor in the frame. This isn't a feature I need in the frame anyway. I found myself smiling as I watched the photos play in the slideshow on the NIX frame. This was all I needed to realize that this was a good purchase, and one that will hopefully last us for years.