November 27th, 2006
Helios H4000 1080p Upscaling DVD Player For Under $200
By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
Not interested in the HD format wars? We don’t blame you. Luckily in this case technology comes to the rescue with an affordable solution - an upscaling DVD player. Upscaling is not to be confused with progressive scan DVD players. Upscaling is just what the name implies - your tickets to full-on 1080p HD resolution with your existing DVD discs.
Why So Cheap?
At $169, we were skeptical, but the gang at I4U grabbed the included HDMI cable (even Sony is too cheap to include one with the PS3) and decided to put the Helios H4000 through its paces. Some highlights:
The unit is small and region-free supporting both PAL and NTSC. An HDMI cable is included and the unit will play SVCD, VCD, CD, HD-CD, MP3 and JPEG as well as your standard DVD media. I4U hated the remote but loved the easy interface and image quality, although they did not have a TV that could do 1080p.
Features:
* Playback format options: DVD/SVCD/VCD/CD/HDCD/MP3/MP3/WMA
* MPEG4(DivX, Xvid, MPEG1, MPEG2 and MPEG4) video file playback.
* 1080p support via HDMI and Component.
* High-definition output options via Component interface in 720p,1080i and 1080p
* High-definition output options via VGA/RGB-HV interface is 640×480,800×600,1024×768, 1280×1024, 480P,720P and 1080i.
* High-definition output options via DVI(via HDMI to DVI cable) interfaces.
* 576i video output via HDMI for external video scalers.
* NTSC 720P/1080i/1080p support at 60hz
* PAL 720P/1080i/1080p support at 50hz
* Output video via HDMI and component simultaneously.
Source: Neodigits via I4U
We Say: The other upscaling option on the market is way too upscale: Denon has the DVD-5910Ci Reference universal DVD/CD/SACD/DVD-Audio player which prices at a bracing $3,799, but like many devices we are finding these days, sometimes you just find a cheap deal that steals the show. For anyone receiving an HDTV for the holidays, this gift is a no-brainer. Go upscale and don’t look back until HD format smoke clears.
ck says:
The philips 5960 does all of this, upscaling, divx, hdmi port, for $60 on sale at several stores? Why spend nearly $200? It also has a USB port which I dont think this does.
November 28th, 2006 at 7:23 am
fett says:
Phillips 5960 does not upconvert to 1080p.
November 28th, 2006 at 7:42 am
Mark says:
Anyone who believes that upscaling a standard definition DVD to “supposed” HD resolutions will result in a high definition picture on your high-def capable TV is mistaken (at best) and does not understand the technology. Upscaling a standard definition DVD DOES NOT produce a high definition image! The added pixels that upscaling produces (to match the pixel count on your TV or display) are interpolated from the original standard-def source…it CANNOT add any information that was not in the source to begin with. It doesn’t matter what resolution the player says it will output, the source is still standard definition video. While HD DVD and (especially) BLU-RAY leave a lot to be desired, they DO provide a true high-definition source. I own the Denon DVD-5910Ci mentioned above (although I paid over a $1000 less than the “bracing” price listed), and in A/B comparisons with my HD DVD player, it’s not even close…HD DVD wins every time…and that’s going from 1080p to 1080i (within the player) to 720p (converted by my projector)!
November 28th, 2006 at 9:06 am
Charles says:
Mark, I think the question is, will the player produce a ‘higher’ definition picture over standard DVD. Anyone with a little common sense will get that you are not going to get an HD picture out of a $200 off-brand DVD player.
But, for $200 (or less), a significantly improved DVD image might be worth it. Would be nice to see some hands-on reviews of it.
November 28th, 2006 at 9:17 am
g.m. says:
I don’t understand the buzz about upconverting DVD players. Don’t pretty much all High Definition TV’s already upconvert to their native resolution? My 4 year old DVD player looks great on my 720p LCD TV.
November 28th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
harvey says:
BEST GIFT FOR XMASS better try thr x5000 guys!!!. ilove to watch my fave DVD there!!!
December 4th, 2006 at 7:38 pm