Set Up
Onscreen Interface
The Ceiva frame is set up through an onscreen interface controlled by buttons on the front of the frame (the frame does not support USB keyboards, contrary to the documentation). Entering letters or numbers on the screen will bring to mind the slight frustration of text messaging –onscreen buttons are mapped to the upper and lower case of three letters – but you won’t need to do it very often.
Go Slow With the Buttons
The buttons on the front of the frame are a little sensitive and pushing them too quickly can cause the cursor to run ahead of you, overshooting the option you’re aiming for. It’s tempting to click quickly to get through the set up process, but it will be more efficient and accurate if you go slower.
Select Button – Unlocker of Options
In the course of using the onscreen buttons, you may wonder how to get at some of the options mapped to the buttons you’re seeing. The “select” button is the key. The menu button will get you to the configuration screens, the arrow keys will take you in the right directions, but it’s the select key that scrolls through all the options.
Beware the Wireless Password Bug
There’s a bug in Ceiva’s software that causes wireless network passwords with uppercase letters not to be entered properly. It’s likely that Ceiva will fix this bug and automatically update all affected frames, but if you get a frame before this happens, you should be aware of it. If you find that the frame is not connecting to your wireless network and it’s reporting an error related to your wireless password, try re-entering the password with all lowercase letters. This should solve your problem.
Use
Adding Photos
Photos are added to the frame through the web management interface or email. To add photos to the frame, you use a somewhat overloaded web management interface that lets users upload photos and order prints, mugs, or t-shirts bearing photos from their account.
Content Channels
Ceiva offers channels that display content from ESPN, ABC News, the Wall Street Journal, the Weather Channel, and photos from photo libraries. These channels are updated each time your frame updates with new photos. You can use the web management tool to select the channels you want to subscribe to.
No RSS Feeds
Because of the presence of the content channels, the Ceiva frame does not support RSS feeds.
PicturePlan Subscription
Access to the content channels, and updating photos over a network, require a subscription to Ceiva’s $9.99/month PicturePlan service (not required for displaying photos from the memory card).
Don’t Wait for Updates
The frame lets you schedule photos to be downloaded as often as every hour. To update faster, hold down the top button on the back until a message appears. Follow its instructions and the frame will connect to Ceiva’s network. Let the button go and soon enough new photos will be showing on your frame.
With Content Channels, Closer is Better
If you plan to use the content channels, don’t set your frame up too far from where you’ll view it. The resolution of the content channel images is a little low and they get hard to read from six feet away or more. The frame is sized for display on a desk or side table, so keep it there if you want to enjoy the content channels.
Emailing Photos
You can also email photos to the system via mobile phones or PCs. Despite some initial difficulties, Ceiva tech support helped me send photos from my phone, while sending from my desktop email client was a snap. If you have problems with your phone, contact Ceiva for support.
Style
Removable Faceplates
The case that houses the screen has a not-entirely-stylish detachable plastic faceplate that allows users to choose between black or a faux wood-grain. Ceiva has offered more upscale choices for its earlier frames, so hopefully those options will migrate to this new version soon.
Set Up
Get an Extension Cord
The power cord included with the PV1945 is short and probably won’t reach the outlet you want to plug it into. PhotoVu likely envisions you mounting the frame near an outlet, but since most homes don’t have outlets in the middle of the wall (if wireless frames really take off, this could become common), you’ll need an extension cord to power the frame.
Set Via Ethernet
PhotoVu’s quick-start guide suggests that you set up the frame over an Ethernet connection. Follow this suggestion. Though wireless set up is technically possible, it’s much harder. Setting up the frame by connecting it your home network and following the
included instructions is much simpler.
Get Nameserver IPs
To make the frame download RSS feeds, you’ll need to manually add nameserver IP addresses to your frame. To do this, you can either get your nameserver information from your computer’s network control panel or you can call your ISP and explain your situation to them. Ask them for their nameserver IPs and they should be happy to supply them. Once you’ve done this, log in to the PV1945’s management tool, select Network in the left-hand menu, and then edit the first group of settings on the left.
Use
Adding Photos
Adding photos in other ways can be done via a USB drive plugged into your computer, desktop programs like iPhoto, or RSS feeds. There is no web upload tool. To add photos via USB drives, just plug the drive (not included) into your computer and drag photos to it. To use desktop photo programs, consult the online documentation provided by PhotoVu for instructions on how to configure your program.
Adding RSS Feeds
To use RSS feeds, you must have a USB drive plugged into your frame with enough free space for the photos you’re adding. After that, find the feed address you want and copy it into the web management tool. RSS feeds are an advanced feature for the PhotoVu and are provided as is. You may experience some problems with them until PhotoVu finalizes their RSS implementation.
Employ the Highest Resolution Possible Images
The PV1945’s screen is large, bright, and high quality, so you’ll want to take advantage of it by displaying high-quality images on it. You can do this by using your digital camera’s settings to take high-resolution images or by finding them on the web. The larger and higher quality the pictures you display on the PV1945, the more impressive it will be.
Change Your Letterbox Background Colors
For smaller images that don’t fill the screen, the PV1945 adds “letterbox” bars like those seen on some on the DVD presentation of some movies. PhotoVu lets you customize the color of these letterbox bars. To prevent the colors from distracting from or clashing with your pictures, set the color to either white or black. You can change this setting in the “Display” section of the PV1945’s management tool.
Support
Tech Support – Free and Fee
PhotoVu offers various kinds of technical support. Email support is free. Phone support is $49.95 per call, which also includes a free software update. Bugs fixes are provided free. The company also offers a $49.95/year software subscription service that provides feature updates.
Set Up
You Can’t Use a Slot-Loading CD Drive for Installation
The installation software for the eStarling comes on a mini CD-ROM. As a result, it can only be used with traditional CD drives that have trays. If your CD drive is a slot loader, you’ll lose the CD in it and have bigger problems than not being able to set up your frame. If you have a slot-loading CD drive, contact eStarling support for a copy of the software.
Windows Only
The mini CD-ROM contains a Windows-only application (no Mac or Linux support yet). To begin configuring the device, connect the frame via USB to your PC, plug it into a wall socket, and run the included CD.
Your Wireless Network Must Be Case Sensitive
Setting up the eStarling is generally pretty easy, if you remember one important thing: your wireless network name is case sensitive. When you set the frame up, you’ll need to enter the name of your wireless network. As long as you type the name in with the same capitalization used in its name, you’ll be fine.
Use
Adding and Displaying Photos
The eStarling can store and display JPEGs, GIFs, and other common photo file formats in its 128 MB of onboard memory. Photos can be added via a web upload tool, email, RSS, and various removable media cards.
Configuring RSS Feeds
Subscribing to RSS photo feeds is done by copying and pasting feed addresses and adding them through the web interface. EStarling touts RSS subscriptions of all kinds, though the model we tested was only able to accept RSS 2.0 feeds from Flickr. Luckily, Flickr accounts are free. If you plan to get an eStarling, get a Flickr account, too (sign up at http://www.flickr.com).
Inconsistent Feeds
RSS feeds, even from Flickr, sometimes behave erratically. When you subscribe, you may only see a small number of images at first, with more images from the feed starting to show up over an hour or so.
Unsubscribing from RSS Feeds, Deleting Photos
Unsubscribing from feeds does not remove the images from the frame, since images are downloaded to the frame’s memory. To delete photos added via RSS, you must use the buttons on the frame; the deletion cannot be done through the web interface.
Set Up Email Sharing Filters
One of the eStarling’s neat features is the ability to email pictures directly to frame. However, with a little knowledge and guessing, anyone could send any kind of picture to your frame – not an appealing idea. EStarling smartly lets you authorize email accounts to send pictures to frame and block all others. Be sure to use this feature to either block all emails or just allow a few specific addresses. To enable the authorization, log in to the management tool and choose the “Authorization” menu.
No Transition Control
The eStarling’s built-in software lets you control things like photo display, slideshow speeds, and deleting images. It doesn’t let you control the transition animations; you have to use the built-in transitions.
Debug
Unplug the Frame to Restart It
Just like a computer, the eStarling frame freezes up sometimes. When this happens, the frame’s buttons freeze up, too. The best way to restart the frame and begin your photo slideshow again is to unplug the frame’s power adapter, either from its side or the wall. Once you’ve plugged it back in, your photoshow will resume in a few moments.
