We've recently installed a small (5") LCD screen inside a vitrine with a set
of dinosaur jaws. It runs a repeating animation showing the mechanics of the
dinosaur's chewing motion.

I've learned that the advertised capabilities of these products can exceed
their actual capacity. While I haven't experimented with the two brands
you'd listed, my first experiments involved a Sony Cyberframe which handled
picture slideshows adequately (although setting them up using a computer
instead of a Sony brand digital camera was needlessly convoluted). However,
even though it clearly advertised an ability to display movie files, it
turned out that it could only handle moving image files compressed by a Sony
brand digital camera, and even they would only fill about 1/3 of the 5"
screen. For a $700 frame, that just wouldn't cut it.

So experience has taught me to be clear on what you want the screen to do,
and find an electronics store that will let you test one out before you
purchase.

The solution we found was to use a relatively inexpensive ($100-$200) small
LCD screen designed to use with a portable VCR or DVD player. You can find
them in the automotive section of most electronics stores. It has standard
video and audio input jacks, and we plugged it into a small unit that
converts image and movie files on Flash cards and Memory sticks into video
signals (another $150). The setup isn't quite as elegant as the all-in-one
picture frame, but in our case it was easy enough to put a
decorative/explanatory frame around the screen and tuck the card-reading
unit into the casework. Its been on the floor and running like a champ for
the past 8 months.


Matt Celeskey
Graphic Designer
New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science
1801 Mountain Road NW
Albuquerque, NM 87104
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