Kodak EasyShare DPFs: SV811 and SV710

Unlike in most other DPFs I’ve reviewed, the screen orientation in these two oddly doesn’t alter the entire menu system, just the images being viewed. That’s quite inconvenient when you’ve propped it up in portrait mode; navigating the menu is a bit difficult.

Other than that I must say the clarity is simply superb, thanks to Kodak’s brilliant Light Management Film. You can adjust the brightness levels, and they both have a contrast ratio of 300:1 which is not bad at all. There’s an option to fit the image to the whole screen to avoid the black bars; but the problem is the images don’t simply get stretched, they get evenly expanded and thus you’ll end up losing a bit around the four edges. These DPFs also have zoom options.

Files can be copied quite easily by dragging and dropping them into the SV811’s internal drive or by using memory cards to do the same in the same DPF. The SV710 will show an external drive in the menu from where you can easily access your files. All features can very easily be accessed via the wireless remote control.

Other features include setting a specific time for the device to switch on and off automatically, choosing slide transitions, and compatibility with PictBridge for printing. The biggest issue I have with these two otherwise brilliant frames is the fact that they don’t have any provision for internal battery packs to provide power. They have to be connected with a power adapter at all times. You can place the frame only in a place that is conveniently close enough to a power socket.

The Bottomline
Aside from the fact that the SV811 and the SV710 both lack internal power sources and have 16:9 viewing options and not 4:3, (but then I haven’t come across any other frames with these yet) their displays are the best I’ve seen so far. You can even hook them up to a set of external speakers via the earphone socket. The SV811 and SV710 cost Rs 7,999 and Rs 5,999 respectively, and I think they are quite worth it. So if you're into DPFs, go ahead and buy one of these!