Viewsonic 3DPF8 3D picture frame Anyone else usin this thing?
I wanted to start up a thread on this picture frame to share some thoughts, troubleshooting, positives, and negatives. Let me start with how far I've gotten with this thing (just got it in the mail today)... and let everyone know a bit about it. I've read a LOT of bad reviews, and decided to get it anyways. So far... I'm glad I did.

So... I have a fuji 3D W3 digital camera, and I take only 3d pictures. Unfortunately, I'm the only one who can see my pictures. I wanted to get something that my parents could use that's not too complicated (and maybe one for my brother).

This frame has a lot of great features, but you HAVE to know how to format your pictures to use on it. I've read a lot of reviews stating there are issues, but most don't resize their images. The frame also does a scan when it starts up, and it seems to freeze up if it finds files that are too big or incompatible. I have resized all of my pictures and converted them to jpgs, and I haven't had a problem with this frame. I suppose I should knock on wood, but so far, I'm really diggin it.

so... to start off... A side by side jpg at 1600x600 looks the same on the picture frame as a 3200x1200 picture (I compared). Just use stereo photo maker (if you are into 3d photography, you should already have this free application). the process I've taken to get some really good pictures on the frame is to first set the focal point of the picture (someone's face, for instance) at screen depth... even if you have other objects coming out of the screen. popout works really well with this frame, as long as it's not too intense. Then do a custom cropping at 1600x1200 (higher than needed, as the app doesn't do a good job of interpolation). This will force you to crop at a 4x3 ratio, which you need for the frame. Crop it, and then save the pic. Really put some thought into your cropping. Chances are, your pictures are a MUCH higher resolution than what you will be putting on the frame, so get a nice, zoomed in crop. Do this with all your pics, and then do a multi conversion to convert them all to side by side jpgs.

After I do that, I use the good ol' picture resizer (the one that was with XP powertoys, but has been remade for windows vista/7). I resize the pictures to 1600x600... the quality is very nice, and it makes very small files (and it's really quick and easy). There. I just toss the files into the 3d media folder on there, and it looks great!

Now... for some of the things you need to understand... the frame does NOT handle extreme separation well at all. It creates a weak to sometimes very very noticeable ghosting effect. This may seem like a deterrent, but this is the exact reason why I said to center the focal point of the picture to screen depth... because there is no ghosting, and since you're focusing on the object there, you really don't notice any ghosting even if there is any. It almost feels as if you are seeing double out of your peripheral vision when looking at something close to you. If there's not any extreme depth to the picture, you won't notice any ghosting at all. It's up to you to adjust your images so they look the way you want them to on the frame... because once they're there, you can't adjust anything.

The nice thing is... the complexity is in the hands of the photographer... not the viewer of the frame. As long as you make sure the content is taken at the correct distance (the fuji parallax is about 4 feet in front of the camera), you will end up with pictures that will look breathtaking on this frame. Come on now. If you're lookin at getting this/got this, you're most likely already into 3d photography, and you already know that you're gonna have to jump through some hoops to make things work... but the nice thing about this is that the hoops are worth jumping through.

Well... now I just need to figure out how to convert my video from my camera... cause it's not playing. I'm guessing it's user error/poor documentation at this point. I'll keep at it... and maybe if anyone else has this thing, they can save me a bit of time and tell me how they managed to convert their files.

and... GO!
I wanted to start up a thread on this picture frame to share some thoughts, troubleshooting, positives, and negatives. Let me start with how far I've gotten with this thing (just got it in the mail today)... and let everyone know a bit about it. I've read a LOT of bad reviews, and decided to get it anyways. So far... I'm glad I did.



So... I have a fuji 3D W3 digital camera, and I take only 3d pictures. Unfortunately, I'm the only one who can see my pictures. I wanted to get something that my parents could use that's not too complicated (and maybe one for my brother).



This frame has a lot of great features, but you HAVE to know how to format your pictures to use on it. I've read a lot of reviews stating there are issues, but most don't resize their images. The frame also does a scan when it starts up, and it seems to freeze up if it finds files that are too big or incompatible. I have resized all of my pictures and converted them to jpgs, and I haven't had a problem with this frame. I suppose I should knock on wood, but so far, I'm really diggin it.



so... to start off... A side by side jpg at 1600x600 looks the same on the picture frame as a 3200x1200 picture (I compared). Just use stereo photo maker (if you are into 3d photography, you should already have this free application). the process I've taken to get some really good pictures on the frame is to first set the focal point of the picture (someone's face, for instance) at screen depth... even if you have other objects coming out of the screen. popout works really well with this frame, as long as it's not too intense. Then do a custom cropping at 1600x1200 (higher than needed, as the app doesn't do a good job of interpolation). This will force you to crop at a 4x3 ratio, which you need for the frame. Crop it, and then save the pic. Really put some thought into your cropping. Chances are, your pictures are a MUCH higher resolution than what you will be putting on the frame, so get a nice, zoomed in crop. Do this with all your pics, and then do a multi conversion to convert them all to side by side jpgs.



After I do that, I use the good ol' picture resizer (the one that was with XP powertoys, but has been remade for windows vista/7). I resize the pictures to 1600x600... the quality is very nice, and it makes very small files (and it's really quick and easy). There. I just toss the files into the 3d media folder on there, and it looks great!



Now... for some of the things you need to understand... the frame does NOT handle extreme separation well at all. It creates a weak to sometimes very very noticeable ghosting effect. This may seem like a deterrent, but this is the exact reason why I said to center the focal point of the picture to screen depth... because there is no ghosting, and since you're focusing on the object there, you really don't notice any ghosting even if there is any. It almost feels as if you are seeing double out of your peripheral vision when looking at something close to you. If there's not any extreme depth to the picture, you won't notice any ghosting at all. It's up to you to adjust your images so they look the way you want them to on the frame... because once they're there, you can't adjust anything.



The nice thing is... the complexity is in the hands of the photographer... not the viewer of the frame. As long as you make sure the content is taken at the correct distance (the fuji parallax is about 4 feet in front of the camera), you will end up with pictures that will look breathtaking on this frame. Come on now. If you're lookin at getting this/got this, you're most likely already into 3d photography, and you already know that you're gonna have to jump through some hoops to make things work... but the nice thing about this is that the hoops are worth jumping through.



Well... now I just need to figure out how to convert my video from my camera... cause it's not playing. I'm guessing it's user error/poor documentation at this point. I'll keep at it... and maybe if anyone else has this thing, they can save me a bit of time and tell me how they managed to convert their files.



and... GO!

#1
Posted 08/27/2011 10:30 AM   
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