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Page 1
Intro
D-Link has been a consumer electronic provider for quite some time and recently the company has pushed into the home media market to cement their place in the digital home. D-Link has released a number of products for home media including media servers and other back end devices. The DSM-210 is the first picture frame to come from D-Link and it packs a whole host of features into one neat package.
About D-Link
Box
The DSM-210 is packaged in a fairly large box (the unit has a 10" screen). It is a "Wireless Internet Photo Frame."
Parts
D-Link includes some literature and a manual, software for Windows, a remote, an ethernet cable, a stand, and the AC adapter.
Specs
This devices includes wired and wireless support so if you already have a wired connection available, you don't need to use the wireless. Thankfully the frame supports the latest 802.11i security standards.
DSM-210
The photo frame comes complete with a white faceplate to replace the black plate installed on the unit by default. This is a nice touch if you have a room with a white decor. Black fits with most rooms, though, and black is the default color for electronics other than Apple devices.
The faceplate is held onto the unit by magnets glued to the plate. One of the magnets fell off when inspecting the white plate. The glue probably wasn't up to par on this one. The plate still held on fine without that specific magnet but it isn't something that should happen. The black plate comes off with a tug since it is just a magnet holding it on.
The frame itself is pretty large at 10 inches. This is an excellent size for showing off pictures. The screen is 800x480 which is a 16:9 DSLR type of frame instead of the more common 4:3 point and shoot cameras. There are two holes on the bottom sides. One is for the remote sensor and the other is a motion sensor that turns the frame off when nobody is in the room. This is a very nifty feature and works well in practice. It should save a bit of power as well.
The back of the unit shows where the various ports are located. There is a WiFi Protected Setup button at the top near the On/Off switch (an actual switch instead of a soft button). The card inputs for SD/MMC/MS as well as an USB input are found on the right facing the back of the unit. The ethernet port and power inputs are located on the bottom and the reset button is near the power input as well. There is a diagram on the back in case it isn't obvious of where things are located.
Intro
D-Link has been a consumer electronic provider for quite some time and recently the company has pushed into the home media market to cement their place in the digital home. D-Link has released a number of products for home media including media servers and other back end devices. The DSM-210 is the first picture frame to come from D-Link and it packs a whole host of features into one neat package.
About D-Link
Quote
D-Link is an award-winning designer, developer and manufacturer of networking, broadband, digital electronics, voice, data and video communications solutions for the digital home, Small Office/Home Office (SOHO), Small to Medium Business (SMB), and Workgroup to Enterprise environments.
Box
The DSM-210 is packaged in a fairly large box (the unit has a 10" screen). It is a "Wireless Internet Photo Frame."
Parts
D-Link includes some literature and a manual, software for Windows, a remote, an ethernet cable, a stand, and the AC adapter.
Specs
Code
Standards
802.11g
802.3u
TCP/IP
USB 2.0
Screen Specifications
10” TFT LCD
16:9 Format
800 x 480 Resolution
300 cd/m2 Brightness
Device Interface
1 10/100 LAN Port
1 USB 2.0 Port
3-in-1 Flash Card Reader
Built-In Memory
1GB
Supported Memory Formats
SD (Secure Digital)
MMC (Multimedia Card)
Memory Stick
Supported Photo Format
JPEG
Network
Wireless 802.11g
Wired LAN: 10/100Mbps Ethernet
Wireless Security
Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)
WPA and WPA2
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
Temperature
Operating: 32F to 104F (0C to 40C)
Storage: 32F to 149F (0C to 65C)
Dimensions
Item (WxDxH): 8” x 12” x 1.3”
Weight
Item: 1.3lbs
Warranty
1 Year Limited
802.11g
802.3u
TCP/IP
USB 2.0
Screen Specifications
10” TFT LCD
16:9 Format
800 x 480 Resolution
300 cd/m2 Brightness
Device Interface
1 10/100 LAN Port
1 USB 2.0 Port
3-in-1 Flash Card Reader
Built-In Memory
1GB
Supported Memory Formats
SD (Secure Digital)
MMC (Multimedia Card)
Memory Stick
Supported Photo Format
JPEG
Network
Wireless 802.11g
Wired LAN: 10/100Mbps Ethernet
Wireless Security
Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)
WPA and WPA2
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
Temperature
Operating: 32F to 104F (0C to 40C)
Storage: 32F to 149F (0C to 65C)
Dimensions
Item (WxDxH): 8” x 12” x 1.3”
Weight
Item: 1.3lbs
Warranty
1 Year Limited
This devices includes wired and wireless support so if you already have a wired connection available, you don't need to use the wireless. Thankfully the frame supports the latest 802.11i security standards.
DSM-210
The photo frame comes complete with a white faceplate to replace the black plate installed on the unit by default. This is a nice touch if you have a room with a white decor. Black fits with most rooms, though, and black is the default color for electronics other than Apple devices.
The faceplate is held onto the unit by magnets glued to the plate. One of the magnets fell off when inspecting the white plate. The glue probably wasn't up to par on this one. The plate still held on fine without that specific magnet but it isn't something that should happen. The black plate comes off with a tug since it is just a magnet holding it on.
The frame itself is pretty large at 10 inches. This is an excellent size for showing off pictures. The screen is 800x480 which is a 16:9 DSLR type of frame instead of the more common 4:3 point and shoot cameras. There are two holes on the bottom sides. One is for the remote sensor and the other is a motion sensor that turns the frame off when nobody is in the room. This is a very nifty feature and works well in practice. It should save a bit of power as well.
The back of the unit shows where the various ports are located. There is a WiFi Protected Setup button at the top near the On/Off switch (an actual switch instead of a soft button). The card inputs for SD/MMC/MS as well as an USB input are found on the right facing the back of the unit. The ethernet port and power inputs are located on the bottom and the reset button is near the power input as well. There is a diagram on the back in case it isn't obvious of where things are located.
Page 2
Use
When turning on the unit for the first time, you are greeted with the D-Link logo (actually, every time you turn the unit on). There is really no initial setup for the photo frame. An initial screen that shows up when the unit is turned on every time is the default.
From this home screen you can do the various functions of the unit. The unit actually has some preloaded images on its 1GB of internal memory (sort of how normal picture frames come with a sample picture). The internal memory of the unit is called the "Favorites."
When viewing the pictures, they are nice and crisp and have many effects for transitions. The one being shown is the fade in/out. The controls at the bottom of the frame are only for moving back and forth through the pictures or other modes. There are no menu controls on the device which is a bit of a design problem. If you lose the remote, the unit's functionality will be sorely limited. Thankfully, the unit defaults to showing pictures if no mode is selected from the home screen.
When setting up the unit for wireless connectivity, the screen shows all available networks in range and in my area there are a number of them. Getting on the proper network is simple as there is a keyboard that pops up on the screen to type in the available keys and such. You can also join a hidden network. Aside from this wireless screen, you can also set a static IP address and other options as well as use a wired connection which works fine as well.
When connected to the internet, the first thing the frame did was located a firmware update. Drawn to always keeping things updated, the unit was allowed to download and install the recommended firmware update.
It seems that D-Link thought of what happens when power is turned off while an update is happening. Thankfully this will not brick the device. DON'T PANIC as the device elegantly says.
The Home Network portion locates any Zeroconf (UPnP) servers on the network and MythTV happens to be one of those sources. The unit will only show pictures and not videos from the Zeroconf source. It is nice if you have a server full of pictures since you don't need to transfer them to the frame.
Once the unit is setup for internet use and an account is created at FrameChannel, the unit becomes a very handy information source. You can do all sort of things with the unit setup with FrameChannel. The only thing is that if the unit cannot connect to that website then the internet portion is useless. Thankfully, the DSM-210 is still a regular picture frame so this functionality is not lost.
That being said, it is very handy to have a device like this in the kitchen showing off the latest news and weather reports. There are many other different pieces of information that you can add to the frame and it works simply by logging into your account and added the information. The frame does the rest itself.
Back to the photo frame part of the unit. When inserting a card or USB flash drive, a new menu option appears in the Frame Memory section. Selecting the new location will show the pictures contained in the section. Moving pictures to the internal flash memory is a pain in that you need to select each picture individually and set it as a favorite. This process is tedious and most people will probably just leave a SD card in and forget it. Other than that, the unit is very well designed and laid out.
Conclusion
The D-Link DSM-210 is an excellent addition to D-Link's home media line-up. It can easily grab photographic content from any internal network as well as grab information off of the internet to expand its use in the digital home. »Checking the latest prices, the DSM-210 comes in at around $210 from various retailers. This is an expensive product if you are only using it as a photo frame.
The price point becomes more reasonable when using the features of the unit to the fullest. The wireless connection along with the ability to grab information and content off of the internet makes the DSM-210 an excellent addition to any kitchen. Checking the latest news and weather reports is a breeze now in the house thanks to this handy device. The D-Link DSM-210 is a very innovative product and we're happy to give it an award for forward thinking.
ASE Labs would like to thank D-Link for making this review possible.
Use
When turning on the unit for the first time, you are greeted with the D-Link logo (actually, every time you turn the unit on). There is really no initial setup for the photo frame. An initial screen that shows up when the unit is turned on every time is the default.
From this home screen you can do the various functions of the unit. The unit actually has some preloaded images on its 1GB of internal memory (sort of how normal picture frames come with a sample picture). The internal memory of the unit is called the "Favorites."
When viewing the pictures, they are nice and crisp and have many effects for transitions. The one being shown is the fade in/out. The controls at the bottom of the frame are only for moving back and forth through the pictures or other modes. There are no menu controls on the device which is a bit of a design problem. If you lose the remote, the unit's functionality will be sorely limited. Thankfully, the unit defaults to showing pictures if no mode is selected from the home screen.
When setting up the unit for wireless connectivity, the screen shows all available networks in range and in my area there are a number of them. Getting on the proper network is simple as there is a keyboard that pops up on the screen to type in the available keys and such. You can also join a hidden network. Aside from this wireless screen, you can also set a static IP address and other options as well as use a wired connection which works fine as well.
When connected to the internet, the first thing the frame did was located a firmware update. Drawn to always keeping things updated, the unit was allowed to download and install the recommended firmware update.
It seems that D-Link thought of what happens when power is turned off while an update is happening. Thankfully this will not brick the device. DON'T PANIC as the device elegantly says.
The Home Network portion locates any Zeroconf (UPnP) servers on the network and MythTV happens to be one of those sources. The unit will only show pictures and not videos from the Zeroconf source. It is nice if you have a server full of pictures since you don't need to transfer them to the frame.
Once the unit is setup for internet use and an account is created at FrameChannel, the unit becomes a very handy information source. You can do all sort of things with the unit setup with FrameChannel. The only thing is that if the unit cannot connect to that website then the internet portion is useless. Thankfully, the DSM-210 is still a regular picture frame so this functionality is not lost.
That being said, it is very handy to have a device like this in the kitchen showing off the latest news and weather reports. There are many other different pieces of information that you can add to the frame and it works simply by logging into your account and added the information. The frame does the rest itself.
Back to the photo frame part of the unit. When inserting a card or USB flash drive, a new menu option appears in the Frame Memory section. Selecting the new location will show the pictures contained in the section. Moving pictures to the internal flash memory is a pain in that you need to select each picture individually and set it as a favorite. This process is tedious and most people will probably just leave a SD card in and forget it. Other than that, the unit is very well designed and laid out.
Conclusion
The D-Link DSM-210 is an excellent addition to D-Link's home media line-up. It can easily grab photographic content from any internal network as well as grab information off of the internet to expand its use in the digital home. »Checking the latest prices, the DSM-210 comes in at around $210 from various retailers. This is an expensive product if you are only using it as a photo frame.
The price point becomes more reasonable when using the features of the unit to the fullest. The wireless connection along with the ability to grab information and content off of the internet makes the DSM-210 an excellent addition to any kitchen. Checking the latest news and weather reports is a breeze now in the house thanks to this handy device. The D-Link DSM-210 is a very innovative product and we're happy to give it an award for forward thinking.
ASE Labs would like to thank D-Link for making this review possible.
