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GayleGR's avatar
GayleGR
Follower
Nov 07, 2019
Status:
New Idea

Meural Canvas UI Upgrades

Eagerly awaiting a response to my original post (below)...

 

I was told by Netgear phone support that posting feature requests to this forum was the only way to communicate my displeasure and bemusement with the Meural Canvas web interface and cloud-based service. In 2019, it is unbelievable that a tech company could still make such a terrible UI for such an expensive product, but here we are. Here is a brief list of the issues I have encountered…

 

  1. 20Gb limit on cloud-based storage - Imagine my surprise when, after spending over $1200 on two Canvases, I started receiving a message on the website that I had run out of storage space on my Meural cloud. The phone support person I spoke with informed me that the storage limit for Meural is 20Gb. For 99 cents per month, Apple will give a customer 50Gb of storage. But for the price tag of a $600 Canvas (and I’ve purchased two), I’m limited to 20Gb? Really?
  2. Deleting playlists does not delete the uploaded photos inside it - I understand this from the perspective of protecting customers from accidental deletion, but it highlights the many issues of the user interface. It is so unclear as to WHERE on the website uploads are all kept and managing them is ridiculously obtuse. For instance…
  3. One-at-a-time upload management - If I want to remove an upload, change its name, add it to a playlist, etc I can only do so one upload at a time. This is incredibly frustrating and, frankly, unacceptable in a world with much better user interfaces.
  4. Errors when uploading too many items at once - In addition to having to manage uploads one at a time, I have also encountered issues when attempting to upload more than, approximately, 10 images at once. The website will hang, crash, throw an error, or not upload the images at all. Please fix this.
  5. No interface for upload management beyond the playlists - Playlists are the only way to manage one’s uploads and what actually shows up on the Canvas. I have no ability to reorder the images; and even if I could, they do not display on my Canvases the same way they are displayed - or ordered - on the website. Not alphabetically. Not chronologically. Not in the order I uploaded them. It seems completely random, with no way to manage it.
  6. General “uploads” interface is…terrible - The three-column display is not only difficult to navigate, but it’s not even flattering to the artwork itself, which the whole point of this device. Images only load if you scroll to the bottom of the page and wait. And then, as previously mentioned, the uploads themselves are completely scrambled and in no apparent or useful order.
  7. The mobile app - …is not an improvement over the website and therefore unhelpful in resolving issues.
  8. Intermittent image “drop-out” on Canvas - This has less to do with the web-based interface and more to do with the overall functionality of the hardware and service, but my Canvases will often display a blank, black screen for several seconds (or even close to a minute in some instances), before the next image appears. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for this issue, I cannot recreate it manually, and I have not been able to find a fix despite resetting the Canvases several times and reloading the playlists on them.

 

I truly hope I am not just shouting into the void here and that your Meural team of engineers will consider making changes to the interface, in addition to Netgear putting more time, money, and other resources into improving this product and service. If this does not fall on deaf ears, please respond soon so that I know it is being worked on. You also have my permission to contact me via my Netgear account.

 

Thank you.

4 Comments

  • I agree with all of this and more.  I was testing out the upload feature to see if I could add descriptions for my images.  The only field that populates from metadata is the Artist/Author field.  Everything else is ignored, so I would have to manually go to each image and copy/paste a description, year, and medium.  Ridiculous. 

  • Thank you GayleGR for such a comprehensive listing of software shortcomings.  I also own 2 Meurals and although I have recommended Meural to many photography friends, I am now hesitant to do so given the many limitations.  With only 2GB of data included with a more than $1000 investment, I am extremely irritated that it requires a subscription to increase my data storage to 20GB.  I have no interest in the artwork supplied by Meural as I only use the screens for my own photography, and therefore have no desire to subsidize Netgear's royalty payments for said artwork.

     

    Netgear has an opportunity here to "delight" their customers with the appropriate upgrades.  If something doesn't happen - soon - I am seriously considering the Samsung Frame - certainly when I am also in the market for a new TV. 

  • SonjaCanada the Samsung Frame TV has its own limitations and drawbacks. I have both and neither has a fantastic interface (though uploading and managent is better on The Frame).

     

    For example, the Samsung Frame only lets you cycle images sequentially, and it starts from the beginning, no way to start from the middle, or a specific image. No random function at all, just 'slideshow') Only about 7 digital Mat colours to choose from (no custom colours), no way to have the Mat not cover the edges of the image (except to have the mat turned off), only two mat styles.  

     

    At least the Meural allows random function. Lol. Pretty sad all around given the cost for all these devices. 

     

    Here's hoping for software updates!

  • Thank you so much for providing your thoughts on the Samsung option.  Hopefully Netgear will choose to solidify their market position by responding to customer feedback with the requested upgrades.