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Building an e-ink picture frame that displays an iCloud photo album

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Re: Building an e-ink picture frame that displays an iCloud photo album

#81

Post by sfilmeyer »

wpsimon3 wrote: post #20
darknavi wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Show me one that hooks up directly to iCloud though. We got one for grandparents and its just full of proprietary crap specific to that app.

We kinda got something like this working for a relative. They have an "Aura" frame, and in their app you can set a watch folder/album. So we have a shared iCloud album set as the source and it automatically updates based on the images in that shared album.

Yeah, we use an Aura hooked up to Google Photos rather than iCloud, but I think it's similar from the Aura UX perspective. It's super easy to use, and the photos just show up in the frame rotation whenever we add a photo to the corresponding album in Google Photos (which we already use for backing up and organizing photos).

Re: Building an e-ink picture frame that displays an iCloud photo album

#82

Post by KomoD »

samb1729 wrote: post #61
ratg13 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’d have to constantly power an LCD display. With an e-ink device you could create something that only needs to be recharged 1-2 times a year, or that is passively charged off your WiFi.

> passively charged off your WiFi I had no idea this is possible. Is there a name for power-over-wifi?

> Is there a name for power-over-wifi?

Yes, the name for power over wifi is power over wifi (or PoWiFi).

But doesn't look like it's used at all in anything and uses a special "PoWiFi router"(?)

https://modernmobile.cs.washington.edu/docs/powifi.pdf

Re: Building an e-ink picture frame that displays an iCloud photo album

#83

Post by threeio »

acdha wrote: post #7

I’m mildly surprised that this isn’t an official product. I have half a dozen relatives I’d give “AirFrames” to if Apple made them or let a third party do it, especially if they had decent handling of Live Photos.

10,000 times this. I've bought a handful of Nixplays for my family members, share pictures to them, etc... but an apple ecosystem solution would be great.

Re: Building an e-ink picture frame that displays an iCloud photo album

#84

Post by rahimnathwani »

edent wrote: post #54
rahimnathwani wrote: post #19

The device is running an Android app, rather than an OS and app optimized for an always-on device. I wonder whether the power consumption is much lower than that of a regular tablet?

The device is an eReader. The majority of battery power on tablets goes to keeping the screen on and updating it 60 times per-second. The eInk screen is low power to change, and requires zero power to stay on. The device sleeps between screen refreshes, and the WiFi power use in minimal. My nook art screen lasts over a week with refreshes over the day. I don't know of a tablet which has a screen-on time for that long…

Awesome. I now see that the app's Play store listing explains this:

  When started, Electric Sign will download and display a user-specified web page, then go to sleep for a specified number of (minutes/hours/days). It will then wake up, re-download and refresh the web page, and go back to sleep again.

Re: Building an e-ink picture frame that displays an iCloud photo album

#85

Post by trompetenaccoun »

acdha wrote: post #7

I’m mildly surprised that this isn’t an official product. I have half a dozen relatives I’d give “AirFrames” to if Apple made them or let a third party do it, especially if they had decent handling of Live Photos.

It's a good gift idea but seems like a lot of trouble to build and maintain a consumer friendly version for what would be a relatively cheap product. Because I can't imagine people paying hundreds of dollars for that.

What he build looks cool but he set it up for his parents and if you were to sell it to them directly it would have to work out of the box. They'd have to be able to share the pictures with the frame with airdrop or something like that. Or maybe an SD card slot for Android users. Anything beyond that will be too complicated for the average user.

Re: Building an e-ink picture frame that displays an iCloud photo album

#86

Post by ska »

LASR wrote: post #45

For those who want less tikering: Two 24 inch monitors bought from a design house auction connected to 3rd Gen Chromecasts. They automatically boot up and display a Google Photos album that contains pictures of the family and pets. These monitors are set to power on at 8 AM and off at 10 PM. Initially my wife hated the idea of having two monitors in the living room. But after I put them in place, we both found it is…

This is basically the main value prop behind Samsung's "Frame" series of TVs (but you also use it as at TV). People who love them love them.

Re: Building an e-ink picture frame that displays an iCloud photo album

#87

Post by ska »

boringg wrote: post #75
boringg wrote: post #66

Can someone explain to me what the obsession with e-ink is on hackernews? I understand that it has a lot of great qualities to it but it so far out of price range that it negates the upside. Or am I completely misreading the benefits?

Why did I get downvoted - I am asking a legit question. I don't understand.

I suspect because you came across as judgmental and opinionated more than questioning. I'm not saying you meant to, just that is how it could read.

Re: Building an e-ink picture frame that displays an iCloud photo album

#88

Post by c-hendricks »

jgrahamc wrote: post #18

I've built a few things with eink displays and I strongly recommend NOT using simple picture frames (unless they fit perfectly). One way to get a really good looking result is a custom frame. There are tons of custom framing company that will cheaply make you a frame that fits the display with the appropriate cut out. https://blog.jgc.org/2023/05/a-better-case-for-my-inkplate-1...

The matte could be cut for any sized frame for another alternatively cost effective option.

Re: Building an e-ink picture frame that displays an iCloud photo album

#89

Post by noman-land »

jgrahamc wrote: post #18

I've built a few things with eink displays and I strongly recommend NOT using simple picture frames (unless they fit perfectly). One way to get a really good looking result is a custom frame. There are tons of custom framing company that will cheaply make you a frame that fits the display with the appropriate cut out. https://blog.jgc.org/2023/05/a-better-case-for-my-inkplate-1...

Got any names of good quality and reasonably priced custom framing shops?

Re: Building an e-ink picture frame that displays an iCloud photo album

#90

Post by rockooooo »

gigglesupstairs wrote: post #49
robluxus wrote: post #39

> iCloud photo albums have no API. However, if you share an iCloud photo album to a public link [...] How do folks feel about the security vs. convenience aspect of this? I almost talked myself into doing this for our shared family albums, but I know I really shouldn't do it. Some of our older family members run Windows and iCloud sharing is just horrible there. Basically, the photos keep disappearing from their comp…

Apple should just pull that windows app/feature if they’re being this shitty with their users. That thread was infuriating.

The iCloud file syncing on Windows destroyed my files twice and I never touched it again.
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