Digital Photo Frame

I'll tell about a way how cheaply you can create a great digital photo frame that can serve not only for showing photos, but also it is possible to visually present video reels and other presentations. In my case a 17 inch digital photo frame cost about 30 euros.

 

Introduction

For an interesting photo exhibition I also had to demonstrate the process of creating a photo slideshow. Neither a TV nor a classic digital frame fit the theme. I remembered that somewhere I had an old 17'' portable computer, whose battery had long died, but which was working fine. Slow, but worked stably. An idea arose to put the portable screen in a photo frame and hide the portable computer inside.
The work was done in a hurry, therefore the internal component assembly isn't the most precise and material choice isn't the best. I used materials that I had on hand. In other circumstances everything can be done more precisely and thoughtfully.
Instead of a portable computer you can also take a tablet, but they mostly have small screens. The bigger the screen, the more impressive the photo frame looks.
If you have an idle portable computer, you can quite cheaply buy one from internet portals, for example, ss.lv. The cheapest portable computer available for even 22 euros. The photo frame I used was purchased at Ikea store and cost about 10 euros.

Portable Computer

Here is an old Fujitsu Siemens portable computer. This was my very first portable computer which I used starting from 2004 :)

 

I needed to get rid of all unnecessary parts. I unscrewed everything.



Got rid of all unnecessary parts. Weight matters.



The task was to disassemble the portable computer far enough to separate the LCD screen from the computer itself or motherboard. To hide the computer behind the photo frame.







Next, the LCD screen needs to be attached to the photo frame base. The middle needs to be precisely measured and holes for wires made.



Ikea Ribba photo frame 50x70cm size. Costs 9.99 euros. In Latvia it is possible to purchase from Ikea intermediaries. I recommend though sometime going to Lithuanian Ikea or waiting for 2018 when the store will also open here.



LCD screen and computer heat up. Therefore, so the frame doesn't overheat over time, I attached foil where it would theoretically be the hottest.





I glued the LCD screen with a glue gun.











But not everything succeeds the first time. During disassembly somehow I incorrectly connected/disconnected the video cable.



After lifting the frame base I realized that the computer's weight is heavy and additional reinforcement construction is needed. I drilled holes and with a couple of boards reinforced the construction.



Other side.



I quickly attached the computer with clamps.









The original cover (decorative white frame around the photo) wasn't the right size and I needed to buy pure white paper from Baltic paper and cut a window the size of the portable screen.



Putting everything together from the front looks very beautiful and presentable.



The other side isn't as beautiful, but no one sees it :)



The digital 17'' inch photo frame in action.





I also had to do some Windows settings so the computer automatically logs into the system, closes everything unnecessary and launches the photo slideshow. I set that when pressing the power button the computer nicely shuts down. And when turning on, the user doesn't need to do anything, everything automatically starts. Some problems arose with video file playback because the computer and processor were so old that they couldn't handle modern Full HD video. I had to quite optimize the slideshow showing method which wouldn't be so demanding on computer resources. When buying a used portable I recommend making sure it will be powerful enough for your requirements.

Conclusion

This is how a very quick 17'' digital photo frame was made, which cost about 30 euros (assuming I bought the cheapest portable from ss.lv). Next, what I'm thinking of converting in a similar style is a 4k monitor or TV with a small Raspberry Pi computer. Just need to wait for 4K screen price drops.

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