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Make a remote control photo slideshow with an Android

Why would anyone buy a digital photo frame, when there are already tons of old tablets being thrown away? 4 things you MUST do when you sell or give away your old computer, phone or tablet 4 things you MUST do when you sell or give away your old computer ? , Phone or Tablet This is a fun thing I like to do:buy an old hard drive on eBay and then run recovery software on it. It's a little data scavenger hunt, and you'll be surprised what you can... Read More

With new generations of iPads coming out all the time, and people upgrading to the latest Android tablet every time a new one comes out, stacks of “old” tablets keep showing up on places like Ebay and Amazon at rock-bottom prices. Maybe you even have one or two kicking around a drawer somewhere in your house.

If you've ever wanted to set up a digital screen in your home for visitors to see your favorite family photos 4 Ways to Share Photos and Videos Privately with Your Family 4 Ways to Share Photos and Videos Privately with Your Family a big deal. Whether you're an Internet junkie or just have a computer, you shouldn't have any problem sharing your digital photos and even your old movies with the world... Read More I'm going to show you how you can put that old tablet to good use, and all you need are a few connector pieces and a monitor for your screen (any size will do).

Make your own digital photo frame

You don't need a lot of hardware to accomplish this feat, especially if you already have an old tablet and a monitor to use. The real secret behind this setup is the app itself, which we'll get to in a moment.

What you'll need:

  • A tablet that you can dedicate to the purpose of your digital photo frame. I am using a first generation Asus Transformer Prime. The only requirement is a micro-HDMI or mini-HDMI port (as shown in the image below).
  • An old monitor 3 things you can do with old computer monitors 3 things you can do with old computer monitors Unused electronics are the bane of modern life. Perfectly functional gadgets sit quietly in a corner of the store, doing nothing. Old LCD monitors are a perfect example of that. Read More
  • A micro-HDMI or mini-HDMI to HDMI converter cable, readily available through Amazon usually for less than $10.
  • A regular HDMI cable to connect your adapter to your monitor.
  • An Android or iOS application capable of playing a photo slideshow. I chose Dayframe for Android because it connects to cloud services like Dropbox or Google Drive, which enables remote control functionality which I'll cover later in this article.

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Put the pieces together

Once you have all the hardware together and have installed the Dayframe app on your mobile device, it's time to get the hardware together.

First, you'll want to connect the mini-HDMI part of your adapter to the mini-HDMI port on your mobile device. If you're using an Android phone instead of a tablet for this project, be sure to follow Christian's explanation on how to connect your Android phone to a big screen How to Connect an Android Phone to a TV:7 Methods That Work (Not Just HDMI) How to Connect Android Phone to TV:7 Methods That Work (Not Just HDMI) Want to connect your Android phone to a TV? Here are several solutions to do so, along with the pros and cons of each. Read more.

Make a remote control photo slideshow with an Android
As you can see, I bought an adapter that allows me to connect it to a mobile device with a micro or mini port.

The next step is to simply plug your HDMI cable into the full HDMI end of your adapter, and of course the other end into your monitor.

Make a remote control photo slideshow with an Android
When you're done, you should have a setup like the one shown here, where the monitor is mirroring the Android screen. Ditch Your Desktop! Turn your smartphone into a desktop replacement Ditch your desktop! Turn your smartphone into a desktop replacement Want to get rid of the desktop and just use your smartphone? You can do that! Read More is displayed on your mobile device.

Make a remote control photo slideshow with an Android
Now that you've got your screen up and running, it's time to set up your slideshow program to display your favorite images.

DayFrame Configuration

After launching DayFrame for the first time, you will have the option to immediately connect to your favorite cloud services. The Cloud Storage Showdown:Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive and more. The Cloud Storage Showdown:Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive and more. It recently heated up, with an expected entry from Google and a revamped SkyDrive from Microsoft. Dropbox hasn't been challenged by the major players for a long time, but that's changed... Read More

Make a remote control photo slideshow with an Android
You can skip the first step, as later in the software you will have the option to add photos from any of those services and more.

In my case, I added my Dropbox account. 5 Ways To Send Files To Your Dropbox Without Using Dropbox 5 Ways To Send Files To Your Dropbox Without Using Dropbox There are many ways to manage files on Dropbox. Maybe I need to get something into my Dropbox and just don't have access to it right now. For these scenarios, some nice people invented services that... Read More As you can see in the screenshot below, all you have to do to add photos to your slideshow is to press the “+” sign next to “Photos” under your chosen cloud account.

Make a remote control photo slideshow with an Android

Of course, before anything is displayed on the monitor, I have to go to my Dropbox account and upload the images I want to include in the slideshow.

Use your cloud account to remotely control your slideshow

In my Dropbox account, I've created a special folder that I'll use to add and remove images to my slideshow.

Make a remote control photo slideshow with an Android
By now, I've uploaded about ten family photos.
Make a remote control photo slideshow with an Android

If you've decided to use your Google Drive account Access, create, and share your Google Drive documents on iPad [iOS] Access, create, and share your Google Drive documents on iPad [iOS] Google Drive is similar to the popular Dropbox, the Used cloud storage service, but Drive includes built-in document creation features that Dropbox lacks. And while Dropbox integrates with dozens of third-party apps, Google Drive... Read More of online photos is? the best? Between free price tags, unlimited storage space, and photo security, which service is best for you? Read More

The great thing about this is that you can change the active display on your “digital photo frame” anytime, anywhere:your office, from your cell phone, or while waiting at the doctor's office.

The DayFrame Connection

Going back to the DayFrame app, now that all the images have been added to Dropbox, you should see all the images automatically listed in the app as well.

Make a remote control photo slideshow with an Android
All you have to do to start your slideshow (and you only have to do it once), is click the menu button on the right side of the main screen. “Manage Photostreams” screen, and choose “Slideshow” from the list.

Make a remote control photo slideshow with an Android
That's all there is to it!

The data path here is basically from your Dropbox (or any cloud service) photo directory, to your web-connected mobile device, to your new “digital display” monitor.

This is what mine looks like now (it's a huge digital photo frame) 10 Free PowerPoint Templates to Present Your Photos in Style 10 Free PowerPoint Templates to Present Your Photos in Style The most common use of PowerPoint with photos is as a photo albums. own ... or use the hundreds of free templates in the Office template gallery. We've picked ten great ones. Read More!)

Make a remote control photo slideshow with an Android
Now whenever you delete or add photos to your Dropbox folder, your slideshow will automatically add them to the loop.

The beauty of this is that it only requires you to set up this system once, and then you can update it from anywhere. Unlike a standard digital photo frame where you need to plug in a USB stick or otherwise “upload” it with a fixed set of images – this particular setup allows you to upload the images from the cloud and you can change the images whenever you want! /P>

Have you ever considered buying one of those digital picture frames for your home? Would you consider setting up a system like this using one of your previous generation tablets? Give it a try and let us know how it went! If you chose a different slideshow app, please share it in the comments section below!