NeuNeo HVD2085 - Reader Review

Last month we mentioned a review over at HomeTheaterMag.com of the NeuNeo HVD2085 1080p Upconverting DVD Player. Overall, the review was pretty positive. Well, TVSnob reader Grant Z. has sent us a review that offers a differing opinion of the NeuNeo HVD2085.

HVD2085 Player Skips & Stutters Its Way Into the Garbage Bin!
I've purchased the subject player and have viewed it on the following sets at 720p and 1080i ( 1080p never worked ) over component video:

toshiba 50HX70, rear projection CRT
toshiba 72MX195, DLP

I've set up the subject player using the THX optimizer test patterns for contrast and grey scale. I've observed the following serious problems, or deficiencies:

on source video that is dark like; room interiors, caves, night the video this player produces is an unwatchable mass of black with very little visible detail ( observed in several movies but very noticeable in Raiders of the Lost Arc opening scenes, etc ).

player will not display 1080p on my 1080p capable toshiba 72MX195. No help on this problem ever arrived from the socalled Neodigit technical support. They blamed the toshiba 72MX195, DLP TV and just had no clue as to what to do.

player "skipped" a minute of the arrival in venice in Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade. It did this repeatedly. I was not able to watch that minute of the movie. Then, through out venice, and after, the movie would stutter over seconds of video. It would also lose video and audio sync ( voice and mouth movement would not match ).

Update: Skipping and stuttering is a very serious problem with this machine. The move FARGO was unwatchable. Whole sections of this movie were skipped over by this machine. I call it the players undocumented DVD random scene editing feature.

I am astonished at how badly the HVD2085 player performs on video that is dark. Of the several DVD players I've had ranging from $25 to $600, i.e.: several toshibas, an apex, a koch, and the panasonic RP-91, this NeuNeo player is by far the worst I've ever seen when it comes to reproducing blacks and dark scenes in general. The remote is weak, difficult to use, and generally the worst remote I've ever tried to use.

Conclusion: Avoid this player and this company.

Contacting Neodigits technical support was equally frustrating. I sent them an email, waited for two weeks, and received no reply. I finally received a reply to an email the seller of this player sent on my behalf.

Please note that the views of the reader's review do not necessarily reflect the views of TVSnob.com

We thank Grant for sending us his review. If you have the HVD2085, have you had the same experience with the HVD2085? If so, please leave a comment or better yet, send us your own review.

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February 21, 2006

NeuNeo HVD2085 - Reader Review