Tech on Tuesdays (TOTs)

Facilitator: Roberta (Bobbi) King

Topic

Keeping Family History Visible: Digital Photo Frames
presented by Gary Ratay

Discover how digital photo frames can help genealogists keep ancestors visible every day. This talk covers Aura frames, DIY display ideas, and how the TV devices such as Apple TV can be used to create a simple family-history slideshow for home or office.

Aura is a cloud-based digital frame system designed for easy photo sharing, with no subscription fees and automatic display adjustments, and Apple TV and the like can be used to show slideshows or screensaver-style photo displays on a television.

This presentation explores creative ways genealogists can bring family photos off the computer and into everyday life. We’ll look at digital photo frames, with a focus on Aura, and discuss how these frames make it easy to share ancestral portraits, scanned documents, and family memories with relatives near and far. We’ll also cover practical ideas for building your own display solution, including using a TV (Apple TV) as a family-history slideshow or screen-saver platform.

How digital frames can become a powerful storytelling tool for genealogy, whether the goal is preserving old photographs, sharing discoveries with family, or creating a rotating visual archive of ancestors. The session will include setup tips, content preparation ideas, and ways to keep a display fresh, readable, and meaningful. We’ll also compare the convenience of a ready-made solution like Aura with the flexibility of a DIY approach.