Matt Burns has a
thorough review of the NeoDigits'
Helios
HVD2085 upscaling DVD player (also known as the
NeuNeo HVD2085) over at our sister
blog HDBeat, and not only does he train his own experienced eye on the unit's video performance, he actually goes so
far as to set up a single blind test at one of the big box retailers pitting the Helios against the store's top
traditional player. In his private testing, Matt finds that the component and HDMI-equipped Helios delivers a superior
picture quality compared to a standard Sony DVP-NS725P progressive scan unit (although, as he admits, it's not an
apples-to-apples comparison), most notably in how it is able to smooth the picture -- but it doesn't really live up its
advertised claim of improving a movie's resolution. He also digs the Hitachi-inspired remote, clean and intuitive menus,
and plethora of connectivity options, although the construction here sounds a bit flimsy. At least in terms of pure
picture quality, the big box customers were in total agreement with Matt; they overwhelmingly chose the $250 Helios
over the almost-$300 Harmon Kardon DVD 22 in the random sampling, citing both its superior color and sharpness.
