It is no secret that a picture can be worth a thousand words, but now a single digital frame can be worth a thousand pictures.

Digital picture frames are growing rapidly in popularity, and major electronic companies are rolling out an array of products that feature innovative technology and special features.

Today you'll find digital picture frames in more than 12 million North American homes.

Some digital frames store more than just photographs. They also store music and videos.

Unlike traditional photo frames, these electronic frames display slideshows of photos.

Consumer Reports' Rich Fisco tested 10 digital picture frames. Some come with new features, like the Mustek's iPod docking station.

"Most of the frames come with speakers. But it's not exactly what you'd want to listen to on your iPod -- they're small, they're tiny sounding and there's very little base," cautioned Fisco.

To use most of these frames, it is necessary to insert a digital camera's memory card.

But there's an exception.

"The Samsung digital frame's claim to fame is its wireless connectivity. If you have pictures stored on your computer, it'll be able to access them wirelessly and display them on the frame," said Fisco.

How do the photos look? Head-on, pretty good. But if you're looking at an angle, you'll have difficulty seeing the picture. And think twice about wide-screen frames.

According to Fisco, the 16-by-nine widescreen format can either leave black borders around the perimeter of the screen or it cuts off the edges of your photo.

Fisco says the four-by-three ratio looks pretty good, but the 16-by-nine widescreen ratio often cuts off sections of some images and elongates others.

Consumer Reports recommends the HP DF800 for $200. It's compatible with Windows if you want to take pictures off your computer.

The Smartparts Syncpix SPX8 for $200 is compatible with Macs.

If you are on a budget you can find seven-inch frames like the Dynex for around $100. The main difference is lower resolution on the pictures.

There are smaller pocket -sized frames, even ones you can hang on a key chain so you can take memories with you everywhere.

When you are shopping for a digital picture frame, bring in your camera card to make sure it fits and also see how the pictures look. Frames work with a wide range of camera memory cards, but it's best to know for sure.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen