Could have been much better

I am a professional photographer, and was looking or something to put on my desk to show a continuous slideshow of my work. After holding off on buying a digital frame for years, I thought the EX1011 would be just what I was looking for.

Unfortunately, it feels like a product that is not quite done. The WiFi transfer doesn't work AT ALL with Mac OS X (though you can configure the unit to go online to retrieve photos off Kodak's EasyShare gallery - more on this later). The image quality is OK, but disappointing for something from Kodak. The only adjustment is "Brightness" control which normally means white point, but in this case using this adjustment distorts the image. I had to put a color test pattern on a CF card and use this to calibrate the image which is WAY too much work, and there aren't enough controls to allow for a real calibration anyway:

http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/respat/color-chart.png

Even after this, the image quality is fair at best. The contrast is far too high, the highlights are constantly blown, picture detail is lacking, and there is an unacceptable amount of noise is the blacks - even those taken at ISO 400 and below, on images which appear perfect on my LCD PC screen.

The web-based EasyShare feature is kinda neat, and actually works pretty well. Again, unfortunately, this is also half-baked. The images lose some resolution, somehow, going from upload to download, plus the photos end up being shrunk in size by about 15%. In other words, you upload a 800x480 image, and it ends up being 680x408 on the screen, and the colors undergo one more level of distortion and decrease in color depth. Huh? This might be acceptable to somebody sharing photos with Grandma and Grandpa, but anyone serious about their images, all I can say is "Suh-wing, and a Miss, Kodak!" Also, when the unit starts up, there is no apparent way to have the unit default to the online gallery. The manual talks about setting an online gallery as My Slide Show, but after an hour I could not get anything other than the default directory to function as My Slide Show (which is what the unit uses as a "Screen Saver"). Plus plus: when you update the online gallery, the frame doesn't know this, even though it's connected to the online site. You need to shut the unit down then return to the online gallery in order to have the display update.

The unit is WAY too dependent on the remote control, and sooner or later the remote WILL be lost since it's really, really tiny. Sure, Kodak provides a little compartment for you to put your remote on the back of the frame, but how many people are going to use this?

Maybe this all can be fixed in a firmware/software upgrade, but I'm tempted to bring this unit back and get a Philips, since the WiFi isn't working as I need it to and the display is a disappointment.

UPDATE: I contacted Kodak regarding the fact that images displayed from the online EasyShare gallery are downsized on the frame, and asked them when if ever they would provide full Mac compatibility. I received the instant response saying somebody would get back to me within 24 hours. after 48 hours I received an out of office message saying a Kodak employee would be out of the office for the next week and would be getting back to me upon his return. So, this mean if I'm lucky I'll hear from somebody over one week from the time I put in my request for help? Incredibly bad customer service.

I called their 800 number to complain, but after being on terminal hold, got tired and hung up. No WONDER Kodak's business is failing. With half-baked products and customer service like this, anyone with half a brain will buy something else from another company.

I downloaded the manual from their Web site to see if it had any clues, and no, it doesn't. I'm just trying to figure out how one changes the order of a slide show; what exact pixel dimension is optimal (the box says 800x480 but sizing images to these dimensions still leaves small black bars on the sides); why I can't get the "My Slide Show" option to appear ( I had to put my images in the Demo Folder to get them to display as the default slide show...clearly this can't be the only way to do this).

Anyway, I am once again left wondering how a company can spend SO much money developing and marketing a product and then once it's in the market, mess it up so royally. Kodak, this is so close to being a very good digital frame, but as I said above, I cannot recommend it due to the myriad issues (horrible customer service being only the most recent).

Update #2: I received an email from a CS person at Kodak today, telling me I should call their technical support number (the same number I've been calling since Wednesday), so I figure, what the heck, I'll try it. Of course, after spending 10 minutes negotiating the VRU maze, I find out they're closed: "Please call back during our normal business hours"...but consistent with the lack of help I've gotten so far from Kodak, they didn't say WHAT those hours were, as though everybody is supposed to KNOW what THEIR hours are.

It just keeps getting better and better...no wonder the only way Kodak can generate PR is to blow up one of their buildings, post a satirical online video, or file a lawsuit against Panasonic - it certainly won't be due to product excellence or winning customer service awards.

This product feels like something Kodak found manufactured in Asia by someone else and they just slapped their name on it to rush it to market.

I'll post another update if I ever hear back from Kodak.

UPDATE 3: Found a firmware update on the Kodak site:

http://tinyurl.com/yoez3a

This is firmware version 2007.7.06, which fixes the following items:

Improved error handling and clearer error messages.
Improved audio and video playback.
Improved music and slideshow start:
a. Music plays automatically when you insert a card.
b. Slideshow starts automatically when you insert a card.
c. Slideshow starts from the Home screen.

Improved file/folder display:
a. File/folder name appears.
b. The quantity of pictures/videos inside the folder appears.
c. Only folders that contain pictures/videos inside the folder appears.
d. In audio mode, only audio files/folders appear.

Improved picture-viewing from KODAK Gallery:
a. Full-sized pictures appear on your picture frame.
b. Slide duration is available in 3 to 60 second playback.

The most important part is the last, which solve a couple of the issues with the Kodak online gallery. However, the quality of the file is still pretty crummy.

In addition, all the other issues above remain. The firmware update process is relatively painless, and well documented at the link above.

UPDATE 4: Finally talked with Kodak. The kid was sincere but clueless. He did tell me the only way to make the thing work with the Mac is to use a program called TwonkyMedia, which costs $39.

So I downloaded Twonky (30 day free demo) and after two hours figured out that you want to open up the following ports on your Mac firewall: TCP 9000 and UDP 1030, 1900, 9080. Once you do that, the EX1011 will FINALLY recognize your Mac and allow you to stream photos, videos and music to the frame.

Many of my videos still don't work, though. Also, I have found that you want to use photos in the highest resolution possible (300 dpi seems to work) and use a 16:9 aspect ratio, not 800x480 (or a multiple of this size) when you crop in order to entirely fill the screen.

I'm feeling a little better about this device, but kinda ticked that I had to spend $39 MORE to get it to work properly with the WIFi.

I've also written an action in PS CS2 that makes the images look much better, that includes a Noise Ninja sharpening at 200%, an auto level, and auto contrast and a final USM at 85/1/4.

It's taken WAY too much work, and spending extra money, but I finally can change my recommendation to "yes", though this is with a ton of qualifications.