 |
Ceiva Digital Photo Receiver Model LF2000 by Ceiva
Digital product summary informationManufacturer: Ceiva Release Date: 2000-03-24 Product features: - An ideal gift for even the most non-technical parents or friends, the Ceiva digital photo receiver downloads your latest digital photos
- Simple plug-and-play connection and 1-button operation--owner or user needs no computer skills or Internet access
- Upload photos to your Ceiva Web account; the Ceiva downloads automatically and displays them in slide-show mode
- Sharp, bright VGA resolution (640 x 480 pixels)--thousands of colors
- Requires subscription to Ceiva Network; low monthly rates available
Accessories:
Digital camera reviews of Ceiva Digital Photo Receiver Model LF2000Digital camera Review: 3 Major Complaints Summary: 4 Stars
This thing is great with good pictures, but I have 3 major problems with it.
1) It brings nice pictures into your living room, but it also brings a big fat advertisement to your living room. It automatically displays a picture of a Ceiva ad, you have no ability to delete it. I wanted pictures of family, not advertisements. It would be ok if it were free, but this thing is very expensive, they should not make you pay money and force you to look at ads.
2) The website is unreliable. More than a few times I have tried to upload pictures and the website locks up at the log in page.
3) Connecting is unreliable. You have the option of pushing a button and manually connecting to download pictures. Last night, 9 out of 10 times it did not connect with error messages such as "no carrier." You are paying the same amount for this per month as a telephone internet provider, yet it is not nearly reliable. They need better infrastructure if they are going to charge these prices.
Otherwise, very nice.
Summary of Ceiva Digital Photo Receiver Model LF2000Ceiva put the future in an unassuming black picture frame with this amazingly simple yet innovative product. This Internet-enabled frame makes it so easy to receive and display digital photos that even the most tech-shy relatives will love it. The traditional frame houses an LCD screen that displays up to 20 pictures in a single-view or slide-show format. Once a day, the frame dials in to Ceiva's Web site and downloads any new photos that have been sent to you (or that you've uploaded). What's truly amazing is that it works flawlessly--it's a cutting-edge technology idea that's well executed. The frame itself is a handsome classic black with a black matte. It's about the size of a standard 8-by-10-inch frame, and the viewing area is about 5 by 7 inches. The display resolution is 640 x 480 VGA, and the images are displayed as JPEGs. We were impressed with the picture quality, especially considering the display is passive matrix--colors were a bit washed out, but otherwise pictures were sharp, bright, and looked good. The viewing angle isn't great--you won't be able to see pictures well from the side--but overall, the screen worked very well, even in relatively bright light. You do the bulk of your setup online at Ceiva's Web site. Here, you can lock, delete, upload, or send photos, and you can adjust the rest of your settings, such as the slide-show interval or the time the Ceiva turns off the display every night. (The standard setting shuts it off from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m.) Within your account, you can choose who can send pictures to you (your "Buddy list"). Your buddies don't need to own Ceiva photo frames, but they have to get Ceiva accounts, which are free. In addition to photos, you and your friends can send and receive any kind of digital image, from hand-drawn cards to scanned art. Subscription channels even let you get comics, weather and traffic reports, and horoscopes on a daily basis. Ceiva's site also provides simple tools to add messages to your photos. The controls on the Ceiva are extremely easy to use--there is one button that adjusts brightness and another button to stop the slide show and dial-up on demand. If you want to download pictures immediately (for instance, right after your mother calls and tells you she just sent a new batch), you press and hold the settings button on the frame until it connects. You don't need an extra telephone line to use the Ceiva--the photo frame uses your existing line for just a few minutes every night. Ceiva provides a Y-connector in the box to make it easy for you to plug the frame into your phone jack without disconnecting your phone. The photo frame also doesn't require you to have an Internet connection to download photos, although a subscription is required to download photos. The subscription costs $79.95 per year to maintain this service via a local connection, and multi-year plans are available starting at less than $5 a month. However, if you want to upload pictures, send them to other people's Ceivas, or modify certain frame settings, you'll need to use an Internet connection. Overall, our experience using the Ceiva was simply wonderful. It's intended to be simple to use, and it does a great job receiving and displaying photos. It strikes us as the perfect gift for your mom and dad, your grandparents, or any long-distance friend who is computer-shy. Not to mention that the Ceiva photo frame is just plain cool! --Michael Lewis Pros: - Extremely easy to use
- Good picture quality
- No existing Internet account necessary
- Others can send you pictures for free
Cons: - You must adjust most of your settings on the Web site
|
 |