NeoDigits' region-free HELIOS HVD2085 does HD-upscaling on the cheap

NeoDigits (don't worry, we hadn't heard of them either) has just launched an upscaling DVD player that they are calling the "Swiss Army Knife" of its category, and at least from the specs, we'd have to agree. Besides doing the HD upscaling thing for only $200, which is pretty impressive in and of itself, the HELIOS HVD2085 also sports component, HDMI, and VGA outputs, and supports 11 different resolutions (several of which we had also not heard of before). The HVD2085 can handle VCDs and MP3/WMA CDs along with the usual DVD/CD support, and also displays international friendliness with its region-free support for either NTSC or PAL content.

[Mack Swift @ Mar 31st 2006 9:57AM]

Will it upconvert over component cables or over HDMI only?

[Jcee @ Mar 31st 2006 10:10AM]

Does it have a DCDi Faroudja chip? Important for picture quality.

[Shaun @ Mar 31st 2006 10:11AM]

Huh? Which resolutions hadn't you heard of?

576 is PAL btw.

[brunoflipper @ Mar 31st 2006 10:14AM]

http://www.projectorcentral.com/neodigit_hvd2085.htm

here is a review...

[matt @ Mar 31st 2006 10:15AM]

i have the neuneo hvd2081 which was the previous model and the upconverted picture is just as good as my hd channels and i have had it over a year.

[matt @ Mar 31st 2006 10:22AM]

http://www.engadget.com/2005/10/19/neuneos-245-hvd2085-1080p-dvd-player/

funny you haven't heard of them since you posted this same player in october of 2005. LOL

[Ross @ Mar 31st 2006 10:33AM]

Whooptie do, engadget. HK Flix has been selling this for a while...

http://www.hkflix.com/hardware/xq/asp/pid.112/qx/details.htm

[Mike Weston @ Mar 31st 2006 11:07AM]

Sounds alot like the Oppo (http://oppodigital.com).

[The Mole @ Mar 31st 2006 11:16AM]

Well all that upscaling and HD whatnot is nice, but will it make me a sandwich? I think not.

[Rajiv @ Mar 31st 2006 11:42AM]

I have the previous model and the upscaling over component is fantastic. The only complaint is the idiotic remote...get a universal remote to do the dirty work.

[Steven @ Mar 31st 2006 11:53AM]

Matt if you notice that is NeuNeu and this is Neodigits. TWo diff company names AND does it support DivX/XviD thou?

[matt @ Mar 31st 2006 12:09PM]

#12, they are the same company. if you need proof, check out the review of the neodigits from the link provided by #4 and scroll down the name on the remote control.

[btfisher @ Mar 31st 2006 1:39PM]

NeoDigits (aka NeuNeo) is a pretty good company. But they seem small. I have purchased two of thier DVD players and loved them both. The upscaling is great quality.

I chose them because they are 1 of very very few companies that still do 1080i over component (rca style) cables. There are alot of upscaling DVD players out there that are cheap in price...but do not support that feature.

My TV and video projector do not have DVI or HDMI currently so I found this for my uses. It is a good product.

[Huck500 @ Mar 31st 2006 1:49PM]

I just got mine yesterday from HKFlix...it does upconvert through the component outs, and it looks great. It also plays the new Chinese HVD format, and HKFlix will send you a free title of their choice...turned out to be an old comedy with a cruddy print quality, so the higher resolution just shows more flaws...oh well.

It also supposedly lets you skip non-user-skippable content, like FBI warnings. It didn't seem to work last night, but I haven't really tried to figure it out yet. Also, it's supposed to remember where you were on the last 20 (?) disks that were in the player. Haven't tested that yet, either.

All I really care about is the upconverting, and that it plays my imported discs... just got the Hong Kong Legends Wheels on Meals disc...sweet.

[Chris @ Mar 31st 2006 11:32PM]

I just bought one of these on Ebay for $152.00 shipped. After the Review I read, this seems like a kick ass player to have. I already have a RCA UPSCALEING PLAYER but i had to downgrade the firmware to get it to upscale over COmponent. This player does it automaticly and it's region free another thing I had to change on my RCA.. SO this seems like a great deal.

Thanks engadget for gettting me to spend more money.

[Sean @ Apr 1st 2006 12:30AM]

#12
Looks like they have another player, the X3620 for $499, that supports DivX, Xvid, WMV(HD), and MPEG4. It doesn't support 1080p or HDMI though :(

[BeenThere2 @ Apr 1st 2006 1:55PM]

This newly named HELIOS HDV2085 model has a few improvements over the previous NeoDigits HDV2085 model:

1. New remote control which has glow in the dark buttons and more user friendly.

2. Internal changes include "true standby" power off (extends the life of
the unit), better power board capacitors (again longer life and more
reliable), and better audio decoding with better capacitors.

3. HDMI cable is included.
____
BTW: I saw the X3620 model in January at CES, and it's much more geared toward the high-end A/V crowd. VERY sturdy, rugged, heavy-duty feel to the unit.
__

I know that the company has some cool stuff in the works.

They just might be.... shall we say, "exploring," some cool new upscaling devices.......

[Steven @ Apr 1st 2006 9:15PM]

How does it do with dvd+r dl dual layer discs?

[Keith Lingenfelter @ Apr 19th 2006 1:37PM]

I've read here that the HELIOS HVD2085 does HD-upscaling to 1080i on the component video outputs. The question is will it do this on copy protected DVD's. I've tried an LG and Samsung unit that the sales rep said would up convert to 1080i on component or analog video, but when I tried this the unit reverted to 480p for copy proteched DVD,s and overrid the user input. Technical Services from both companies verified that this was proper function. Unfortunatly my older Mitsubishi 80 inch HDTV will only accept 1080i at the HD input. It will not sync on other scan rates, so I had to return both units.

[Dahlsim @ Apr 22nd 2006 12:02AM]

#22 I have the 70 inch Mitsubishi with component only and have the similar issue. I just got the 2085 and the video quality on DVD is outstanding.

Perhaps it won't pass for a true videophile but to my eyes this standard dvd playback is very much like watching hbo or showtime hd channels on direct tv.

This'll work fine till I think hd dvd (or blu ray) are ready, and even then it'll still work fine.