NeuNeo HVD2085 Upscaling DVD player - In-Depth Review

PFC5

My friend just received his NeuNeo 2085 Upscaling DVD player, and we hooked it up to my system to run some tests on it. Here is what we found and how it compared to my 6 year old JVC (higher end $700.00 list) player:

INITIAL IMPRESSION:
First off, what we noticed is that it was kind of strange the way the power button works. When it is not on, it has a red light lit on the button (which says "standby"), but when you turn it on the light goes out and you do not see anything else change for about 3 seconds. After 3 seconds the display lights up to let you know it is on. At first we kept hitting the standby button because we expected instant change, but now know to give it a couple of seconds. :crazy:

BUILD QUALITY:
The build quality is not bad for the price, but they definitely don't make things the way they used to. I can't believe I said that, I have become my father and grandfather. :joker:

They said they have improved the drive mechanism on this and it is a good thing. The loading tray is very thin like all these low profile players but it doesn't seem too flimsy, but I wouldn't want a 3 year old putting a DVD in it, just to be safe.

PACKAGING & REMOTE:
The unit did not come with the 2 AA batteries required for the remote, so we had to hunt up a couple of them. It seems odd that they didn't include batteries, but oh well. Luckily the remote itself is extremely responsive when you push a button on it. This was a very pleasant surprise since most of the DVD players I have tested were at least sluggish when you pushed the button and had to wait a second for the player to respond. Not with this one! It responded instantaneously like the older DVD players do, including my JVC. I could point the remote up toward the ceiling and it still responded immediately. :thumb:

It seems crazy to have to give this much detail about the remote, but the way they are making DVD players these days, you cannot take for granted this kind of responsiveness when you come across it. It just adds so much more to the experience when you don't have to repress a button, or wonder if it will work the first time. It does work as soon as you push the button on the NeuNeo. Now the layout is not that great, but not something you could not get used to.

VIDEO & SOUND SETUP:
When I threw in the Digital Video Essentials calibration disc, the first thing I noticed was that with only the HDMI video connected, and the Toslink optical cable, it had absolutely no hesitation displaying the video over HDMI. There was no delay because of HDCP, which was very nice since some players take more than 3-4 seconds to re-sync when you either connect or change resolutions. It defaulted to a 4:3 display so that needs to be change to 16:9 if you have a widescreen TV.

The second thing I noticed was that I did not have 5.1 sound, and my receiver only recognized the front L/R channels. I went into the setup and tried changing the "Digital Sound" setting to off then back on, but still no luck. You need to get the version 3 firmware that allows 1080p over HDMI first thing.

It is not documented on the description for this firmware, but it also fixes this problem with audio only being stereo (I assume with the HDMI connection). Many other HDMI players have had this problem with this connection being used, so it wasn't a surprise, but they should state this on the website description for the firmware. This firmware adds some extra controls for audio and of course adds more resolutions too.

The setup was rather sparse compared to my JVC which has controls for Gamma, Y/C delay, brightness, contrast, and sharpness. I saw none of this with the NeuNeo. It did have distance & volume settings for each individual speaker, like the JVC, but you could not go into + numbers on the volume controls, like I can on the JVC, which shouldn't be a big deal, but with this limitation you have to basically lower all speakers louder than the lowest sounding one, instead of just raising the output of the lowest ones. Another negative to this is that going with minus decibels would reduce the output level to the receiver, where I think being able to go into + numbers for the lowest sounding speakers would be better. IMO

VIDEO QUALITY - HDMI:
Now for actually playing with the video, I found the picture to be very good, but I did notice that I had to increase the color saturation setting about 10%, and lower the brightness setting about 10% as well to give the picture some POP. I was disappointed that this player does not display Blacker Than Black (BTB) when I when to the Pluge screen on DVE. This confirmed the changes I made to the picture settings of the TV that I set quickly by eye. Another funny thing I noticed, when using the 3 colored filters from DVE was the screens changed quite a bit with even a little change to the contrast setting. This resulted in almost no change when changing the contrast using the JVC player. This made it more time consuming to get the colors right, but this could allow more flexibility when trying to set the colors too!

I had some very slight jittering when I advanced from a couple of the test screens on DVE, but overall the picture was more stable than ANY HDMI/DVI player I have tried before this one. Those include the Samsung HD-841, Pioneer 578A, LG 418, & Toshiba SD5980 (the worst). Overall the picture was very good, and it is EASILY the best upscaling picture I have seen yet. It was sharp, and good color saturation after you turn the color control up and the brightness down.

This leads me to believe the gamma (which there is no setting for) is set too high by the factory. This is not a big deal UNLESS you use a HDMI switcher like the one in a higher end new receiver, if you are lucky enough to have a receiver with that feature. Then having two pieces of equipment with different gammas connected on the same input would mean changing the settings when you switched between them.

VIDEO QUALITY - COMPONENT:
One thing that is nice about this player is that when trying to decide which output from the player to use for best PQ, you can leave the HDMI connected when also using the component connection too! This allows you to just change inputs on the TV to see which looks better. This is what I did to compare the two outputs. I actually liked the component connection a little better than the HDMI connection. What I noticed was that this connection resulted in a rock solid picture with no jittering, versus slight momentary jitters when changing test screens with the HDMI.

Another good thing I noticed about the component output was that the gamma seemed to be much closer to the JVC, and was much closer to the neutral settings for brightness on my TV. It was only slightly brighter and less saturated requiring about a 2% lower brightness setting, and only about 3% higher color saturation setting. This means you would not have the same issue if using the component switching of your receiver to share an input. Component switching is in most HT receivers made in the last 4 years so this was important to me.

VIDEO QUALITY - IN GENERAL:
Both outputs produced about the same PQ with an edge to the component output for a little more video POP, and a slightly more stable image. When running the test video screens from DVE, which I know very well from hours of tweaking, it has very good shadow detail which surprised me since it did not display BTB. This was probably because I calibrated each input with DVE before full comparisons of these scenes. It still was slightly lacking in the blacks portion of the video regardless of which input because of (I assume) the gamma issue I spoke of above. I imagine that they could easily fix this with a firmware update. The picture was sharp and detailed and I noticed some things that I didn't remember seeing with the JVC, but when I went back to the JVC on those scenes it was very comparable.

SOUND QUALITY:
The sound quality was very good, but not spectacular. I did not try the built-in DD & DTS decoders, but the optical out was very good. It has the best sound of any of the above previous upscalers I tried with the exception of the Samsung-HD841 which was a little better, but the PQ of that 841 was only fair at best, so this is an EASY trade off. In fact most people wouldn't even notice anything wrong with the sound at all. Except maybe some of you with high end units already. I also think the sound quality of the JVC was better as well, but to be fair, I did spend virtually NO time playing with the sound settings inside the NeuNeo player. This isn't much to set, but maybe if I tweaked the individual speaker channels it would have improved the sound a little, but these are probably just for using the built-in DD & DTS decoders with the analog 5.1 outputs.

THE NEGATIVES:
You knew there had to be something in this department since no one can make something that works perfectly, especially for $245.00. I already mentioned the Gamma being too high (mostly on the HDMI output), and 2-3 second delay for the player to fire up after hitting the power button. There also seems to be a Y/C delay issue that I noticed when looking at the color chart test screens on DVE. There was a dark line between the Red & Green sections of the RGB patch, and a white line between the Magenta & Blue squares on the full color section that you use the 3 color filters on. They really need to add a Y/C delay with a firmware update to fix this.

There was ONE thing that really bothered about this player and that was the video screen shifted about 2" to the right of the screen and cut off that much of the picture on the right side with the HDMI. It did this with the Component outputs as well but no where near as much and could be completely adjusted with the component output. Luckily my TV has a control to shift the screen both horizontally & vertically. I was able to minimize this right shift, but with the Horizontal adjustment all the way to the left, it still wasn't enough to completely fix this with the HDMI output. It was still about 1/2" too much to the right. This really bothered me, but since I only have a 2.5% overscan and had that horizontal adjustment it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Some HDTVs do not have this H/V adjustment setting, so they would have more reason to be upset, but many wouldn't notice it if they had the average 5% overscan, and never checked this.

SUMMARY: (Rating of 3.5 of 5)
This is a very good player and DEFINITELY the best upscaler out of FIVE I have tried so far. The problems I had with this player could almost definitely be resolved with a firmware update, and they seem to be very responsive about these kinds of issues. Let's hope they fix these issues and then it would have a rating from me higher than the 3.5 of 5 I am giving it. If they fixed these issues I would give it a solid 4 and maybe 4.5 out of 5.

If you are looking for an upscaling player that will do this over component, THIS is the player for you. If you don't have a very good 480p player and want to use that HDMI/DVI input on your TV, put this on your short list to consider. BUT, if you already have a very good 480p player already, then you should just wait until those new TRUE HD players come out.

If I didn't already have the JVC which has proven to be a real gem when I compare it to most other current players so far, I would be buying one, but I just gave it back to my friend to play with, since it was his turn to be the guinea pig and he was the one who bought it. Let's hope the VGA output he plans on using solves his issues with his LG plasma using component and DVI.

I hope everyone finds this review useful, as I know there has not been many reviews on this player!

__________________
Denon AVR-887
Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs)
All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr)
Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35
For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841
Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS
RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+
SA 3250HD
47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom)
Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support)
Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers
The_Cable_Game
Take the high ground and be happier

DugFreez

Great read. I reciently bought this model, but I haven't received my HDMI cable or LCD TV to try it out properly. I was planning on using the HDMI output, but now I will give the component out a look. Thanks.

PFC5

I thought more people would have responded to this review, since there is not much info and many have expressed interest in this player.

__________________
Denon AVR-887
Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs)
All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr)
Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35
For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841
Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS
RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+
SA 3250HD
47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom)
Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support)
Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers
The_Cable_Game
Take the high ground and be happier

talrudeboy

I would buy it. I like the unit.
It is christmas time and money is tight right about now.

Chris Gerhard

The $250 MSRP price is probably too high by today's standards. Unless you need HVD playback, which I can't imagine, equal or better performance is available for much less.

Chris

rscultho

I just purchased one of these, delivery is scheduled for 12-28-2005. Once I receive it I will compare it to your comments.

I got it for the component out upconvert, and the large compatibility of media types including recordable media. I have a Samsung HD841 and it does a decent job, but can't read many of teh recorded discs I make including DVD-R DL discs. It's funny, I have two Panasonic RP-82's and they read EVERY SINGLE DISC I have ever put in them! Including DVD-R DL, +R DL, etc. and I bought them 3 years ago!

I plan on hooking the NeoNeo up to my Pioneer PRO 710HD (63 inch widescreen). I really like DLP, and plasma is coming along, but none of them beat my Pioneer PRO 710. I have had it calibrated by an ISP tech twice in the past 5 years. Each time the tech was very impressed by it. The 710 has an internal line doubler. I will see which looks better - the progressive scan from teh NeoNeo, or my built in line doubler in my 710. The line doubler in the 710 is rated better than the equivalent Faroudja.

I can say that the difference in detail using the HD841 over my trusty and well loved RP82's on many on my DVDs is significant. But one of the biggest benfist for me from the new NeoNeo unit will be the recognition of all my recorded DVD discs and doubling those for better PQ.

rscultho

First, I would rate the unit at 4.5 out of 5.

Second, here's what it is hooked up to:
Pioneer Elite VSX-59TXI receiver
Pioneer Elite PRO-710HDTV, over component input
(Yes, I am a Pioneer person and believe in thier high end products)

The picture quality is outstanding. Setting it up was straight forward and easy. The remote is fairly well laid out and is easy to use just by looking at it.

I played Gladiator as a test and the picture was very good. It was 3D like. Colors were perfect for me, but of course I have an ISF calibrated PRO 710HD. I did not have to adjust brightness or anything - it looked perfect. Blacks were very black, and colors were shrap and bright where they were supposed to be so.

Since my receiver does my audio decoding for me, I did not test the built in decoder. And I have not tried the HDMI connection. The first poster mentioned something about waiting to get a true HD player - one thing that was not mentioned is that this player already reads true HD format discs. Additionally, the firmware is updateable in this unit which makes it fairly versatile for new media formats.

The unit would not read my DVD-R DL discs I have made, which is why I did not give it a 5 out of 5. I plan on contacting NeuNeo to see if I can remedy this through a firmware update.

All in all it is a very good unit - I would recommend it.

markfoto

I posted a review of this player awhile ago, but I can't find that thread now. Here is an update...

This is a great stop gap player. When the powers that be decide what HD format will be used for DVD, this will become moot.
But the picture is fantastic. I have tried it with component and HDMI, and I agree with one poster that component is just a little softer. However, with the HDMI, you can choose a VGA, SVGA, or XGA ouput, whish is fantastic for those older movies pre-wide screen. They fill the 16x9 screen almost perfectly. Casablanca and Treasure of Sierra Madre look amazing! This player is a little finicky, but so far it works fine. It has started to make some funky noises from time to time, but I usually have the sound cranked anyway. For $245 or so, it is a great way to bide time for a few years until the HDDVD wars are concluded....

__________________
In My Motorhome:
Panasonic TH-42PHD7UY Plasma Monitor (w/Component and HDMI blades)
Samsung BDP-UP5000 Duo Format Player
Panasonic XR55K Receiver
Polk Surround Bar
Polk sub
Dish Network ViP 211 receiver
1000.2 dish
Harmony 880 remote
51 HD DVDs
12 Blu Ray discs

jojojojo57

Digial life TV review.




http://digitallifetv.com/blogs/digit...2/20/3447.aspx

PFC5

bump

__________________
Denon AVR-887
Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs)
All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr)
Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35
For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841
Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS
RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+
SA 3250HD
47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom)
Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support)
Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers
The_Cable_Game
Take the high ground and be happier

Chris Gerhard

The Neodigits site indicates the HVD2085 has new firmware to add 480i over HDMI.

Chris

Irv63

I just got this unit and was hoping to take advantage of the XGA output (whether it be from VGA or HDMI as my Plasma has both), however I do not see where I get to choose XGA via HDMI?
The only option I see is in the setup screen under display, I have the choice of (pal,ntsc,480,576,720,1080i,vga,svga,xga,sxga and 1080p).

Can you please tell me how to get XGA over HDMI.

Is there another menu I am missing ?
OR does the type of TV tell the player which format it accepts and therfore doesnt even show this option if your TV wont take XGA over HDMI?

Please let me know the secret....thanks


p.s. I also have been having a few problems with audio dropping out (and need to turn unit off and on again to get audio back), and when I turn unit off, the display sometimes flashes as if it has not turned off completely,,, very strange.
I call Neodigits and they are having me try a few things before they authorize an exchange. ( it is only like a week old), maybe the new Helios version still has bugs in it.

Irv63

Oh 1 more thing - I have cables connected to all 3 outputs (HDMI,COMPONENT AND VGA) in order to see which one is better on my TV, however when I select the display type in setup menu , and pick XGA - I can only see movie on the VGA input of my TV (the HDMI and COMPONENT feeds go away).

I wanted to make sure you knew the whole story before trying to tell me how to select XGA over HDMI.

Thanks

Irv63

I am anxious to find out how to get XGA output using HDMI cable?

Thanks

Irv63

"Originally Posted by markfoto
I posted a review of this player awhile ago, but I can't find that thread now. Here is an update...

This is a great stop gap player. When the powers that be decide what HD format will be used for DVD, this will become moot.
But the picture is fantastic. I have tried it with component and HDMI, and I agree with one poster that component is just a little softer. However, with the HDMI, you can choose a VGA, SVGA, or XGA ouput, whish is fantastic for those older movies pre-wide screen. They fill the 16x9 screen almost perfectly. ...."

Hmmmm no response?

I guess you realized that the unit does not offer XGA over the HDMI output.
I have reread the manual and it also states that you can only do 480,576,720 or 1080 over HDMI and in order to get XGA, you need to use the VGA output.

If you know something I dont , please explain as I would really love to get an XGA output via my HDMI connection.
Thanks