HELIOS HVD2085 alternative to the OPPO

[Pirate]

It's time for this contributor to graduate to the realms of technology reviews. I'll admit my nervousness, my apprehension, my mind numbing fear in the face of such a daunting task, but I'll sally forth. For my first foray into the field I've taken a long hard look at the relatively new NeoDigits Helios HVD2085, a High Definition upscaling DVD player available at a decent price. So what exactly is upscaling? Well, I had to look it up myself. Apparently in this, the age of the emergence of the official HD formatted digital versatile disc, standard DVDs and their players are doing their best to compete. As you probably already know, standard DVDs can look great, but never officially reach the high standards of the high definition format. An upscaling player such as this one actually increases the definition of a standard disc to HD quality, or at least near-HD. This is a pretty large claim for a company to stake, and my job here was to find out if it was true.

It llooks to be a nice player and it's region-free out of the box. Read the rest of the review here: http://www.dvdactive.com/reviews/tec...s-hvd2085.html

-PH

[tomdkat]

Based on that paragraph, that contributor sounds like (s)he needs to take a few more classes before graduating....

Thanks for the link. This looks like it might be a successor to the Neu Neo HVD-108.

EDIT: Here is an old thread discussing the NeuNeo HVD-208.

Peace...

[plissken99]

Neat looking player, and apparently upscales to 1080p! We'll have to wait for better reviews, as that reviewer knows less about scaling and PQ than even I do.

[Pirate]

For those of you who have these upconverting players, would you say that the majority or newer DVDs benefit from the upconversion?

-PH

[plissken99]

All DVDs benifit from it. Using a projector, with a screen my size(120), an unscaled DVD image is unwatchable. If the pj has no scaling, you'll need an upscaling player or a seperate scaler, and a player that scales, cuts down the number of connections and the number of times an image is processed, it's a must for large display owners. Even if the pj does scaling, the Oppo will do it better.

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by plissken99

and a player that scales, cuts down the number of connections and the number of times an image is processed,

If 480i is output from the player to an external scaler, doesn't that accomplish the same thing as an upconverting DVD player?

Peace...

[plissken99]

Originally Posted by tomdkat

If 480i is output from the player to an external scaler, doesn't that accomplish the same thing as an upconverting DVD player?

Peace...

Yes, but not as well if you have a good upscaling player. Some of the best scalers you can get are Farjouda, and the Oppo for example, uses Farjouda technology. Not to mention, a scaler scales what it's given, so the better the player, the better the end result will be. So, you need a good player, and a good scaler(the DVDO Iscan is the cheapest/best option for a scaler, and starts at $1,199), with the Oppo, you have both for $200.

I keep using the Oppo as an example since it's the best upscaling player short of the ultra-expensive Denon players.

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by plissken99

Yes, but not as well if you have a good upscaling player.

I'm not sure I follow you on this.

Some of the best scalers you can get are Farjouda, and the Oppo for example, uses Farjouda technology.

Ok, so the scalers using the same, at the very least, Faroudja technology should yield the same results, right?

Not to mention, a scaler scales what it's given, so the better the player, the better the end result will be.

But we're talking 480i here, not 480p.

So, you need a good player, and a good scaler(the DVDO Iscan is the cheapest/best option for a scaler, and starts at $1,199), with the Oppo, you have both for $200.

I certainly agree an upconverting DVD player is certainly a cheaper solution but I'm not asking about cost.

Peace...

[plissken99]

Originally Posted by tomdkat

I'm not sure I follow you on this.

Ok, so the scalers using the same, at the very least, Faroudja technology should yield the same results, right?

But we're talking 480i here, not 480p.

I certainly agree an upconverting DVD player is certainly a cheaper solution but I'm not asking about cost.

Peace...

480i or 480p, the better the player handles either of those, the better the end result will be. Basically, a scaler using the same Farjouda technology would yeild the same result yes. The dissadvantage to this, cost aside, is running a cable to the scaler, then from the scaler to the display device, too many connections. Not to mention the shelf space the scaler takes up.

Not to make this more confusing, but a way to avoid that pit fall, would be to modify the DVD player to have an SDI output, about $200 to do, depending on the player(SDI being a completly raw digital signal), then run SDI to a scaler with an SDI input, then out to the display device. That would be the equivelent to an upscaling DVD player.

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by plissken99

480i or 480p, the better the player handles either of those, the better the end result will be. Basically, a scaler using the same Farjouda technology would yeild the same result yes. The dissadvantage to this, cost aside, is running a cable to the scaler, then from the scaler to the display device, too many connections. Not to mention the shelf space the scaler takes up.

Good point about the cabling issue.

Not to make this more confusing, but a way to avoid that pit fall, would be to modify the DVD player to have an SDI output, about $200 to do, depending on the player(SDI being a completly raw digital signal), then run SDI to a scaler with an SDI input, then out to the display device.

I've read about people SDI modding their players.

Peace...