NETGEAR Meural MC327WL Canvas II – the Smart Art Frame with 69 cm HD Digital Canvas, 48x74 cm White Frame (WiFi-Connected)

I was really worried I’d get buyers remorse when the Meural 27” arrived. I had been looking for a digital photo frame online and found this among the listings and got very excited by the promise of having ever changing art on my walls. In the current lock down situation I was unable to see one in real life before I bought it. Excitement may have got the better of me when deciding on the purchase but now I have the Meural in my house I am absolutely in love with the thing. It was really simple to set up with the phone app taking about 10 minutes including uploading some of my own photos to the canvas. The image it displays is fantastic. As you would expect with a 1080 screen you can see pixels when extremely close but at any other distance pictures look sharp and vibrant. The matte finish to the screen is impressive and online photos and video reviews did not do it justice. With some images more than others there are times when I think I would definitely be fooled into think they were prints if I didn’t know better. For my own interest I compared a framed print I own with the same image on the Meural next to one another (Nocturn in Black and Gold). The backlit Matt screen of the Meural kept the image visible in different lighting and at different viewing angles in a way you don’t get with a print behind glass, useful for rooms with lots of sunlight or that get dim lighting. It was appreciable that the Meural lightened the image slightly but I would never have noticed that in isolation. I opted for the art subscription (£70) which I think is worth it although a free trial with the purchase of the screen would seem a reasonable expectation. For the most part the app is easy to use. Setting up playlist of your own images (that are on your phone) is easy. Creating a daily or weekly schedule for the Meural is straightforward including wake up and shutdown times. Controlling the canvas from the app is really easy. There are a few of limitations of the device although non have killed my enthusiasm. The screen is obviously a fixed, standard size meaning any art not in 16:9 will be cropped. You can edit that crop for your own images. It hasn’t bothered me yet paintings you are familiar with may look different as a result. The power switch on the device sits slightly proud on one edge. This is no issue unless resting it in landscape orientation on a surface. Just playing around with it lent against a wall it turned off a few times before positioned just so. This is not an issue when hung. The motion sensors to control the screen with gestures are not the most precise. Doing more than skipping a painting or reading art info would probably get frustrating but you would probably opt to use your phone for anything else and that works great. Finally looking for art through the subscription on the app takes some getting used to. Browsing without knowledge of key search terms is not as straight forward as I would like but after a while I’ve gotten the hang of it. Over all I’m really please with the Meural and would recommend it whole heartedly to any one who likes the idea of getting to see more artwork in their home. A great impulse buy.

I had high expectations of this frame. However on set up I had a number of issues, the frame would not connect to my home WiFi and when I tried to register the product to access the customer support I got a message saying the frame was registered elsewhere. On checking the accompanying documentation it appeared to be in multiple languages, and I thought I had been sold a knock-off. I contacted Meural support and over 24 hours they managed to sort out the product registration. I then contacted customer support live, and they worked through the WiFi set up issue - which took around an hour, but eventually got working. It turned out the documentation was all correct / the frame gets shipped to multiple countries. So. Overall this is definitely a 5-star product. The picture quality is amazing and a step up from the circa £100-£150 frames. I use it to display photographs, and the colours are rich and warm, and come across with a true white balance from the original pictures. The frame is easy to operate. And notionally easy to set up. The customer service I received was first class. I would highly recommend this for those who are serious photographers and want to display their images.

I wasted 3 days of my time trying everything to get this working - with very limited success (including trying all the user community online advice and all the Netgear hints). After 2 days it finally managed to read jpegs from an SD card (BTW it takes SD NOT micro-SD as Netgear incorrectly state). BUT it was never possible to change the display duration or the slideshow. The ONLY control that worked was screen brightness. It was never possible to load an image from my phone (it would claim to send them but they never appeared). It kept reconnecting to wifi (with a big message on the screen), even though my wifi is very good and strong. The app is useless, the website is useless and the device I was sent is useless. The spec is incorrect and the design is flawed (for those of us not wanting to bury the cable in a wall standing it in landscape mode on a shelf would work well - except that the on/off button is at the bottom so you can't (unless you create feet for it). It was posted to me in the manufacturers thin box (with my address label stuck on that - hate that!) so it had very limited protection in transit and maybe it worked okay prior to shipping. This has put me off Netgear for life as they don't seem to support this properly and whoever released the app should be fired (speaking as a software developer). So I sent it back for a refund and bought a Samsung Frame TV which is 10 million times better approximately. Yes a lot more expensive but it's 55 inches, does tv too, and actually works for displaying my photos or artwork and the app works (plus you have an option to feed it from a PC via HDMI if you wish to use your own slideshow system). The photos it did manage to show look okay but the frame does look like a plastic frame and the extra impact of sizing up to a 55 inch Samsung Frame TV screen is massive and game changing - instead of having to view it close up you get to enjoy images from across the room and you get 2 remote controls, and TV too. I don't work for Samsung but I reckon they are the way to go for digital art displays. Personally I don't even plan to use the tv feature, but it's nice to have. Probably I'm not allowed external links here but one of the best websites I found about digital art displays was by a photographer scottsmorraphotography dot com which explains his use of the samsung frame very well. (perhaps better than Samsung manage themselves!)

I owned the first generation Meural canvas before the company was taken over by Netgear. Netgears firmware update on my old Meural canvas stopped it working ‘wonder why?’ So I replaced it with the new Meural 2. It’s an expensive digital artwork/photo frame, looks great and gets many comments. Hopefully this new canvas will more than 5 years. The rotating bracket does not come with it too, you will need to order that direct from Netgear.

Après quelques mois d'utilisation, je trouve que le produit est vraiment top !. Il est devenu un élément majeur de la déco de notre salon. Toute la famille l'adore; Avec le planificateur, on diversifie les affichages tout au long de la journée (peinture, dessin, photos). Ma configuration est un canvas 27" noir , un socle pivotant et l'abonnement annuel à la bibliothèque en ligne. J'avais hésité à prendre la finition noire, car certains commentaires n'étaient pas très favorables, mais dire que je ne regrette pas ce choix et que l'ensemble est classe. La qualité d'affichage est bluffante surtout en mode peinture et on a vraiment l'impression d'avoir un tableau/ Le support pivotant permet d'augmenter les possibilités. En général on change l'orientation du Canvas une ou 2 fois par mois et cela permet de redécouvrir de nouvelles œuvres dans les listes de lecture. Plusieurs fois par semaine, des mails de Meural proposent des nouveautés dans la bibliothèque. Je mets à jour le planificateur régulièrement, en changement le contenu et les heures de diffusion des listes de lecture. Charger ses propres photos est très simple et là également le rendu est très bon. J'avais longtemps hésité avant de faire l'achat car c'est quand même assez cher, mais je ne regrette vraiment pas.

Très bel objet! En noir il rend très bien sûr mur blanc. Le rendu est incroyable une fois allumé! Il faut télécharger l’application qui explique les étapes et tout est alors facile!!!

リビングの壁に設置して絵画を表示したが部屋の雰囲気がとても良くなり気に入りました。ただ想像以上に重いです。あとは末永くクラウドサービスが継続される事を願います。

It is what I expected. High quality.

Durante un giro nel reparto "casa e design" di un noto grande magazzino che inizia con la lettera "R", mi sono imbattuto in un angolo interamente dedicato a queste cornici digitali. Sono un graphic designer/artista e appassionato di tecnologia, ma non ero assolutamente a conoscenza della linea Meural by Netgear. Premetto, ho sempre avuto una repulsione per le cornici digitali, le ho sempre trovate un po' kitsch, ma qui siamo davanti a qualcosa di mai visto che mi ha lasciato a bocca aperta! Grazie alla tecnologia usata per lo schermo (opaco con zero riflessi), all'ampio raggio di visuale e alla cornice di legno con il passepartout, Netgear è riuscita a creare un'illusione di realismo mai vista in prodotti simili. La cosa che più mi colpì quando le vidi la prima volta, è stata la fedeltà, la qualità e il realismo con cui le opere venivano riprodotte, la sensazione è quella di percepire le pennellate in rilievo. Quando scoprii il prezzo, frenai il mio impulso d'acquisto, ma dopo aver visto diverse recensioni on-line, la tentazione è stata forte e alla fine qui su Amazon ho preso il modello da 27" con la cornice nera. Quelle con l'effetto legno danno ancor più la sensazione di un vero quadro, ma a casa ho solo cornici nere e sono andato sul sicuro (comunque sono sostituibili). All'interno della confezione troverete degli stop, che secondo il mio modesto parere, sono pensati per le pareti di carton gesso che hanno negli States, per inserirli dovete bucare il muro con la punta da 18, rischiando di rovinare la parete e non ottenendo un lavoro pulito e preciso, quindi ho optato per dei normali stop della Fischer da 6. Mi raccomando, non fidatevi ciecamente della bolla presente nel supporto di attacco, prima di forare la parete, usate anche un'ulteriore livella. Io ho acquistato anche la placca per consentire la rotazione della cornice, e quando la mettevo in bolla seguendo quella incorporata nel supporto, risultava leggermente inclinata. Purtroppo il filo dell'alimentatore rovina la magia della cornice, per rimediare ho comprato anche la canalina adesiva per nasconderlo (viene prodotta sempre da Netgear e acquistabile qui su Amazon). Una volta appesa al muro, ho avuto seri problemi nel farle riconoscere la rete wi-fi di casa, purtroppo dal forum di supporto di Netgear (USA) ho scoperto che diverse persone hanno avuto il mio stesso problema. Per più di due ore le ho provate tutte, connessione alla rete 2.5Ghz, a quella 5Ghz, reset della cornice... niente! Mi diceva che il nome della rete wi-fi di casa o la password erano errati. Dopo un paio d'ore, non so come, ci sono riuscito. Forse perché ho allontanato lo smartphone dalla cornice, o la Meural aveva bisogno di un paio d'ore per assimilare la wifi... bho, non ne ho davvero davvero idea. Per avere accesso a un archivio di migliaia di opere famose e meno famose, bisogna abbonarsi ad una loro membership al costo di circa 70 euro l'anno. Troverete comunque una ristretta selezione di capolavori artistici e foto d'autore da poter usare senza abbonamento. Sta di fatto che siete liberi di caricare quello che volete attraverso l'app. E' possibile uplodare anche brevissimi video che verranno proiettati in loop. Le opere presenti nel loro catalogo non si possono ritagliare, sono già ottimizzate per adattarsi al formato 9:16 o 16:9 del display. Se avete la cornice appesa in verticale, le opere orizzontali verranno visualizzate solo nella loro porzione centrale e viceversa. Volendo, c'è un opzione che vieta di mostrare opere orizzontali se avete la cornice in verticale e viceversa. Per quanto riguarda le foto che caricate dal vostro smartphone o all'interno della scheda SD, siete liberi di ritagliarle dall'app, sempre mantenendo il ratio 9:16 / 16:9. Io consiglio di caricare immagini 1080x1920 pixel (verticali) o 1920x1080 pixel (orizzontali) in formato jpg, salvate alla massima qualità. Se volete caricare delle img che trovate sul web, cercate sempre immagini da almeno 4 mega pixel di risoluzione, in modo tale che una volta caricate sul display, non avrete perdite di qualità. Dopo aver configurato Meural, vi consiglio di gestire la prima playlist da voi creata, dalla versione web dell'app. Purtroppo, dopo aver scelto come "preferite" un centinaio di opere del loro catalogo, non riuscivo a spostarle all'interno di una mia playlist, e come se nell'app mancasse questa funzione. Ho risolto spostandole attraverso il sito my.meural.netgear.com dove mi sono loggato con le stesse credenziali di registrazione usate per l'app. Meural dà il meglio di sé in condizioni di luce naturale, in quei momenti il display sembra carta stampata... è davvero impressionante credetemi! Quando la luce viene a diminuire, la luminosità del display aumenta e l'effetto carta stampata va a perdersi, ma vi garantisco che anche di sera o in una stanza al buio, Meural fa veramente scena. Netgear ha creato un prodotto che per qualità e resa rende sensata l'esposizione casalinga delle opere digitali con una qualità museale. Consigliatissima sopratutto a fotografi professionisti e digital artist.