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    Shomi Digital Player Adding Photos PDF Print E-mail
    Friday, 28 December 2007
    Digg!

    Wow!  I was not prepared for the response I got when I posted the Shomi Specs and a little bit about the unit!  The emails and comments have been very nice to say the least!  But the bottom line here is that the Shomi has terrible documentation and no web site that I can find, thus the many questions that you are having.  Let me stress, I am no Shomi Expert.  And this is my first Digital Picture Frame!  I shopped a couple of stores before buyiing this one and really was buying on price alone.

    Many of the questions you had, were to do with the best/easiest way to get photos from your camera to your Digital Player.  My suggestion would be to dedicate a card to your Shomi Player and if you don't have a card reader to buy a USB card reader.  The video below covers a few options on getting those pictures from the camera to player and the steps you might have to take.  

     

      

    Comments
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    Anonymous (75.141.229.xxx) 2007-12-29 13:33:14

    Thanks, Duke. I can't tell you how helpful your video is. We have an XD card and will quit wasting our time and get a cardreader with an SD card. Thanks!
    Double D (72.207.218.xxx) 2008-01-10 09:06:23

    Thanks for the video and the great comments. I wanted to comment on the USB port on the Shomi frame. I have not tried to connect the frame directly to my computer nor have I tried to access the internal memory of the frame, but my usb flash drive worked in the usb port on the frame. Unfortunately, my memory stick duo caused the frame to automatically turn off when I inserted it. I hope that doesn't mean the memory card port is bad! Thanks again.
    Sherry (71.67.184.xxx) 2007-12-30 21:54:03

    Thank you, I also got a the same digital player from my kids for Chirtmas. And as you said the instructions are so vague. Very nice video.
    Thank you so much. Your infor (70.254.193.xxx) 2008-01-05 08:56:06

    Thank you so much. Your information was exactly what I needed. Great job!
    Sue (70.254.193.xxx) 2008-01-05 08:57:39

    Again, Thank you so very much. A great job instructing the rest of us. javascript:JOSC_emot
    icon(""
    PopsTX (24.32.137.xxx) 2008-01-05 13:54:01

    Howdy!

    The video was far more informative than anything SHOMI included in their package. In their (SHOMI's) defense... The do now have a working web site: Which is only SLIGHTLY better than their "instruction booklet".

    Still, the information: Helpful information, is NON-EXISTANT!

    Now then, being the Grouchy Ol' Grandpa that I am, and also being a graphics professional: I truly expect a simple piece like the SHOMI digital frame to work as advertised: It Does NOT!

    (1) An absolutely USELESS USB port

    (2) Will NOT show photos in a logical sequence. From what I see, the SHOMI probably uses the photo's "exif" information for sequencing as the logical sequencing method a file's NAME has no bearing at all. Editing every photo's info is a genuine P.I.T.A.!

    Could it be that the presence of EXIF information prohibits display??

    (3) "Reset" doesn't seem to actually Reset Anything at all!

    (4) "Filtering" through Photoshop(CS,CS2 or CS3) has little or no effect.

    (5) "Index": What good is placing different photo genres in separate directories when the frame switches from directory to directory to display only a select few photos: None of which, again, can be sequenced.

    (6) "Random Play" Randomly play a very select few.

    (7) "Dedicated SD card" Great Idea!... You're going to wear it out trying to find the right combination of photos the frame will actually display. Also, at this writing, I'm using a 2gig card with about 80 photos (less than 200 M... Of which the fame will display only about 10. Needless to say... I've got Room to Let!

    ( Try to remove the "Back Support" without breaking the cheap plastic! I'm not altogether certain that task can be accomplished!

    My suggestion would be to make absolutely certain the stinkin' thing works properly BEFORE inserting the back-support bar, for I'm almost certain there are a good many that would LOVE to return this piece o' junk back to SHOMI!

    In closing I certainly hope Your SHOMI is better than Mine. However, the only way I could recommend this product to someone else would be the day a flock o' flyin' pigs landed in my front yard.
    Anonymous (67.185.157.xxx) 2008-01-08 17:10:26

    I bought everyone in the family this frame for Christmas and love it. The instructions are less than vague. Instead of trying to figure it out I went and bought a usb flash drive for each one and downloaded from my computer and it works great.
    Ann T.
    help!
    David (205.227.137.xxx) 2008-01-10 07:51:02

    Does anyone have a picture of the back of the frame?
    re: help!
    Anonymous (75.130.75.xxx) 2008-01-10 14:43:34

    David wrote:
    Does anyone have a picture of the back of the frame?

    Hey David, sorry but I am going to be gone for the rest of the night and don't have time to do this right! So I grabbed a shot with my cell phone and sent it to the mobile section of this site. Try the below link, but keep in mind, this is a VGA cell phone picture. If you need something specific, use the contact button and I will see what I can do about getting a better picture.
    http://dukecarico.com/index.php/component/option,com_mmsblog/Itemid,32/
    Help!!!
    Karen (68.114.130.xxx) 2008-02-06 09:19:37

    I was given this shomi photo frame as a baby shower gift and when I load the sd card and push play I get nothing!!! I can set the date and time only no photos though! Please help!!
    re: Help!!!
    dcarico (Super Administrator) 2008-02-06 15:16:00

    Karen wrote:
    I was given this shomi photo frame as a baby shower gift and when I load the sd card and push play I get nothing!!! I can set the date and time only no photos though! Please help!!

    First of all, what a great gift for a baby shower! Great idea! Not if it doesn't work though huh? This might not have anything to do with it, but I would suspect the card before I would the unit. I know with my older Palm Treo 650, there were certain cards that just didn't work very well with it! Sandisk did, so I have pretty much stuck with them ever since. I would try either another Card or try dropping the pictures on a thumbdrive and see if you can get them to display through it. If not through a flash based memory thumb-drive or through another SD card, then I would begin to believe you have an SD card that the player doesn't like. The bottom line here and I can't stress this enough: Mine starts playing photos as soon as I turn it on, and it goes through a brief boot up process. If no go after trying a second SD card, or thumb-drive, then I would assume you have a faulty player. . . . . .
    Vickie (64.181.42.xxx) 2008-03-11 12:09:31

    I absolutely love my shomi frame!!! it hasnt given me any trouble and seems to display all of my pictures....my only fault wa that i couldntnt find anything other than a white frame....so i just took it apart and painted it....
    firma
    firma (78.166.109.xxx) 2008-04-19 14:05:09

    what is this dude?
    i didnT get anything
    re: firma
    dcarico (75.130.75.xxx) 2008-04-19 15:14:48

    firma wrote:
    what is this dude?
    i didnT get anything



    Was I giving you something?
    Anonymous (69.66.249.xxx) 2008-06-25 18:51:15

    I just spoke with GiiNii (makers of Shomi) and was informed that even though the packaging states there is a USB 2.0 port, you cannot directly download photos from your computer. I think this is misleading and filed a complaint with GiiNii and recommend others file complaints with GiiNii and the store you purchased the player at.
    dcarico (Super Administrator) 2008-07-01 04:36:06

    Even though we have established that you can't download pictures to the player from your computer using the USB 2.0 port, you can connect a thumb drive to the unit through the USB port to display pictures from the Thumb drive.

    Look for a review soon of a new GiiNii digital player! I am very impressed with its abilities!
    Luke (70.248.127.xxx) 2008-09-03 16:20:54

    I have used a 2 GB USB flash drive ($12.00 @ wal mart) with no issues. I turn the unit off, ensert the flash drive, then turn it back on. this has worked for me any way. thanks for the help.
    Anonymous (64.218.9.xxx) 2008-09-04 13:28:29

    Hi, I've been able to load pictures to my SHOMI frame, but have been disappointed with the color and quality of them. Any suggestions? Thanks.
    Preston III (75.49.0.xxx) 2008-09-05 02:01:08

    Ok, here's how the picture display order is set: The SHOMI displays the pics in the order that they're PHYSICALLY written to the SD card or USB thumb drive. You first have to empty the memory card/thumb drive, and save the pictures to it in the order that you want them to display: if you're really picky about the order, then you'll probably have to save them to the memory card/thumb drive ONE AT A TIME. When putting pics on the memory card from your PC: changing the order shown on your PC's display of the memory card's files does NOT change the physical order of the files on the card. What this means is: if you do a bulk write to the memory device, then the order written is at the computer's choice, NOT yours.

    As for the USB port on the SHOMI: it is NOT a port to be used to write information into the SHOMI (that's why you didn't get a cable). It IS a place into which you plug a thumb drive so that the SHOMI can read and display the pictures that you have already saved ON that thumb drive.
    Preston III (75.49.0.xxx) 2008-09-05 02:04:12

    NOW, if there was just a way to make the SHOMI rotate every picture 90 degrees. Any ideas?
    Rotate for Preston III, Homepa
    Sean (24.247.245.xxx) 2008-10-30 23:48:08

    Quote:
    Preston III (75.49.0.xxx) 2008-09-05 024:12
    NOW, if there was just a way to make the SHOMI rotate every picture 90 degrees. Any ideas?


    Seems like I recall seeing a rotate option in the players menu, but it would probably be easiest to just rotate all your images before transfer in Paint (if you have nothing better to use) or you could download 'Gimp' which is an amazing free imaging software package.

    They DO have a 'homepage'... There's not really much on it, but it is here: http://www.giinii.com
    I think perhaps 'Shomi' is the software that runs on the Giinii products??

    Lastly, it is only in the past 3 years that the USB 'Flash' drive craze has taken off. It's the new floppy disc, in regards to a transportable media storage.

    As a few people mentioned before, it can be picky about it's cards... I have tested 3; one Mini SD with an SD adapter, and two normal SDs.

    The Mini worked like a charm.
    The one SD won't even read (laughably, it shows a picture of a stick person throwing it away... lol), although it's an old 256mb I have had forever.
    The other was a 2gb SD which worked fine, which I had just purchased from Wal-Mart for $11.98 (a fair deal in my opinion).

    *gasps for breath*

    Long story short, I hope this helped to shed some light on things for someone. Try different Card, sounds like flash drives are pretty fail proof for most people, they cast about as much as a SD. A higher resolution image/photo will help with the quality, but only within the limits of the players display capabilities (also listed on the website).

    All and all the product is not that bad, I just hate having to stick a 2gb SD into the player, I'll never put that much on a card. Heh.

    Best regards,
    -Sean
    Thanks!
    Duke (164.89.253.xxx) 2008-10-31 04:14:33

    Yea, it's been a while since I did this review. Shomi does indeed have a website now, as is documented elsewhere. Shomi and Giinii are the same company basically. They sent me a new player to test out. I started the review but got sidetracked by a family emergency and I have yet to complete the review, but will say here that the new picture players are really nice! Movies, music, transition options, very attractive frame! Remote control that does it all. I love the sleep feature to where I can set it to turn on/off each day!
    Tanya (164.89.253.xxx) 2008-11-20 03:45:05

    Thank you so much for the video!!! I have been fighting with this frame for so long , and unable...until now, to find any information! I will certainly get a card reader!
    Thank you again!

    tanya (72.250.134.xxx) 2008-12-12 19:16:44

    Thanks again Duke!!! I tried your suggestion and it worked great. I can FINALLY enjoy our photos!!
    Your Welcome
    Duke (12.187.206.xxx) 2009-02-16 07:58:56

    Glad that everything worked out for you Tanya!
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    Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.





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