Helios X5000 Menu System and Using the Network

There are a number of different menus that you'll have to navigate on the setup screen. For the most part, once you set the unit up, you shouldn't have to fiddle with it too much. The thing to remember most of all is that there is a Save button on the bottom of each of these screens. If you don't hit save (and sometimes restart), your changes will not take place. There is also a "Restore Factory Settings" option under the save button. If you choose this, it will reset the menu you are currently viewing (not all your settings). I'll take you through some of the more salient options under each of the menus:

System

The system menu is where you'll be setting your output and resolution (under Video Setting) . Make sure you choose the right output and don't just choose the first resolution that looks right to you. You'll also want to the look at the Video Zoom. The default is "Fit to Screen" which seems to work pretty well for me overall. You may be tempted to check the "Enable HD Mode Browser" box. The basic idea is that this enables more of the menu to be show on the screen at a time. Personally, I found that much of the text (even on my 42" display) was illegible with this enabled. There is also a screensaver option which defaults at 10 minutes but can be changed to anything between 1 and 60 minutes in one minute intervals. You cannot disable the screensaver.

DVD
Under the DVD menu, there really isn't much to play with. You can enable a parental lockout for movie ratings you deem inappropriate for your kids. Unfortunately, instead of listing the ratings as G, PG, PG-13 and so one, it is listed as 1, 2, 3, 4... 8 (where 1=G). I'd like to say that you can look up in the manual (which is provided as a PDF on a disk) what the different numbers correspond to, but you can't. All they tell you is that 1=G. Kind of annoying. Under TV Type, you can select 4:3 Letter Box, 4:3 Pan Scan, or 16:9. Basically, if you want the unit to stretch 4:3 content, you'll need to select 4:3 Letter Box. If you'd rather have black bars on the sides of your screen for 4:3 content, select 16:9. This is askew of what it typically the case with most DVD player settings. The 16:9 setting typically stretches 4:3 content to fill the screen and properly fills the screen with anamorphic (widescreen) source material.

Wireless
As I mentioned previously, you'll need to select a Wireless Network under the Preferred menu and then restart before the unit will recognize any wireless networks in the area. Once you restart, you should be able to view any/all wireless networks. I use a WPA security key on my router so I had to input the code with the keypad (think text message). Not a huge deal and it worked perfectly.

Firmware
This is where you can update your firmware if you need too. If you are not sure, you can check your current firmware version on the menu, click to update, then hit return to back out of the update. Since there is no message to tell you that your firmware is currently up to date, you may want to do this occasionally to make sure you have the latest update. There is no option for automatic update.

Using the Network Media Player - DVDs

As I mentioned previously, there are two main uses for the Helios X5000 - DVD playback and Media Streaming. The DVD playback and upconversion is fairly seamless. Once you set the unit up, it upconverts every DVD to the specified resolution. DVD playback is pretty standard fare with all the usual buttons and functionalities. Two things I really liked was that you had a wide variety of fast forward and rewind options depending on the number of times you hit the button. 8x, 16x, 32x, and 48x for DVDs but only 8x for CDs. You can also access media you store on your computer. You can fast forward or rewind based on the percent of the total file size with the keypad. So, if you want to start half way through a movie/song, you hit the 5 (meaning 50%). While it may not really be all that useful overall, it is an easy way to shorten down your search rather than having to fast forward all the way to the end. One thing I don't quite understand is why the unit seems to have no memory of where you left off in a movie once you turn the unit off. Even if you leave the disc in, the bookmark (as Helios calls it) is erased. I know that I used to turn off my DVD player all the time and restart at the point I left off. It seems that the Helios should do the same, especially since the Helios HVD2085 functions in this manner.

Using the Network Media Player - Streaming Media

What makes the X5000 unique among upconverting DVD players is that it streams media from the Internet and from other computers on your network. First, I'll deal with Internet streaming and then I'll talk about sharing media with computers and devices on your network.

Helios Media Portal

The Helios Media Portal is the name for an online resource maintained by NeoDigits. It gives access to a number of different areas. For the most part, I found this to be of limited value as many of the links either didn't work or were nearly unusable. You can put in a URL yourself to surf the net but honestly - don't. Aside from having to plug in the URL via the keypad (can you say annoying?), all but the most basic sites will be too much for the remote control interface.

I went ahead and checked out everything on the Helios Media Portal and can say that for the most part, nothing really works. Under the Online TV menu, I got about ¼ of the stations to tune in and only one of them with usable audio (the rest were only video). About half the Podcasts worked, and none of the Online Music. The Tips and Tricks worked fine but that was just text and from what I could tell, was right out of the manual. The Online News took you to web pages that were impossible to navigate for all intents and purposes and I gave up on that section pretty quickly. So, while I think it is a great idea for Helios to provide an easy way for a new user to get used to streaming media, the Helios Media Portal needs a bit of work. In its current state, it is mostly a letdown.

Streaming Media from the Internet or other Computers

The Helios Media Portal is basically a site filled with content from Helios. When streaming from a computer on your network, you get a similar if slightly more refined interface. The first thing you'll want to do is install the NeoLink software on whatever computers you plan on streaming from. This should allow the X5000 to recognize the server. It will now show up on the main list (from the Player Home screen). If the server doesn't show up on the X5000, open the NeoLink software you just installed. Look under System for the computer name and IP address. You can enter those into the Helios under Add and it will immediately recognize the server.

Using the NeoLink software, you can specify which folders contain videos, music, and pictures. The default, of course, are the My folders ( My Pictures, My Music, etc.). If I were you, I'd create a folder in My Favorites (in your web browser of choice) with the websites you'd like to view on your Helios X5000. This will simplify your life considerably. If you put in the specific links so you don't have to enter anything manually, that would be best. If you use more than one web browser (say Internet Explorer and Firefox), you can specify which the Helios should look to for links.

When I first powered up the Helios X5000, I didn't have my Escient Fireball DVDM-300 on at the same time. Later, I noticed the Fireball on the Player Home screen after I had inadvertently left it on. Now, I know this is going to sound strange but I don't actually have any music ripped to the Escient. I had wiped the hard drive after the review. So, once I realized that the Helios could see the Escient, I quickly grabbed a CD and ripped it to the hard drive. Immediately, the Helios recognized the album and I could playback the music. Unfortunately, I ran into a couple of issues that are most likely related to the fact that the Escient doesn't have the NeoLink software installed on it. First, it would only let me play back one song at a time, I couldn't select an album. And second, it only recognized the album for as long as I had both of the units on. Once I shut one down (and restarted it), the Helios would remember the band and the album name but not the songs. I had to re-rip the songs while the Helios was on before the X5000 would play back the songs again. Not exactly the most efficient way of doing things. So I figured the Escient was a bust and I'd focus on my HTPC.

So, as crazy as not having any music ripped to my Escient is, I went about connecting up the Helios and my 2partsfusion DMS-701 HTPC (where all my music lives). The crazy part is that they are less than six inches apart. Both of them are connected to my network wirelessly to simulate the worst possible scenario. In my opinion, the most likely connection method for the Helios is wirelessly and the 2partsfusion HTPC is at least as fast wirelessly as the Helios so it shouldn't be slowing anything down.

While there are videos on the 2partsfusion unit, they are mostly High Def and I didn't think it would be fair to try and test that over a wireless connection (honestly, I'd be surprised if it worked over a wired one). I decided to grab an episode of Jericho that I had recently recorded to so see how it would handle that. Honestly, I didn't have much hope. Those files are pretty big. The Helios got about three seconds into episode before it froze up. Not a rousing start.

Next, I checked out my music collection. I was pleasantly surprised to see all my albums, playlists, and songs well organized and ready for playback. I could even playback a whole album at a time! Unfortunately, I ran into another glitch. It seems that the NeoLink software didn't like that I burned all my music in WMA Lossless. It was very unfortunate because I burned ALL my music in that format. I went ahead and downgraded one song to the highest quality MP3 (320kbs) and it worked just fine. I did notice that it would flash pictures up on the screen as a screen saver during playback that weren't part of the pictures on the computer. I couldn't find any information about these pictures on the PDF'ed Helios X5000 manual but you can change the screensaver to any folder you want.

Next, I checked out some of the Online Media that was available. Unlike the Helios Media Portal, this stuff mostly worked. I had the choice between:

• Newsweek On Air - Essentially a Podcast from Newsweek - Worked fine
• Podcast Alley - The 10 most popular and 10 most recent Podcasts - about ½ worked
• Rhapsody - Didn't work at all - Gave me a "Failed to Connect" error
• SHOUTcast Pop - List of seven online radio stations - most worked
• Web Bookmark - List of my Internet Explorer bookmarks
• Yahoo! News - Worked OK - About as well as the news under the Helios Portal. Just remember that you have to scroll waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy down before you get to the actual story.

The Photo section worked fine except that I thought the slideshow went WAY too fast on the default 5 second setting. The picture had barely gotten put on the screen before it started fading again. This can be adjusted via the NeoLink interface or on the Helios X5000.

Remember how I told you to connect to your server if the Helios didn't recognize it? Well, that will work for your friend's computer as well! In one of the coolest functions of the Helios X5000, you and your friend can share content to your hearts content. All you need is to have the NeoLink software on each computer and you are good to go. Of course, both servers must have static IP address or have the same ISP so that they are on the same domain. If they're not on the same domain (ISP) then you can use dynamic domain name software which in effect lets your computer appear to others as the same IP every time you connect to the internet. The NeoLink software has two different security protocols you can choose from - Either password protection (you specify a password that others will have to know in order for them to stream content from your computer), or MAC address (every computer has one, you get your friend's and enter it into your computer and they get access). While the second is more labor intensive, it does seem to be a bit safer.

Streaming Media off a Flash Drive
>Streaming Media such as pictures and music off a USB drive was quick and painless. All you had to do was insert the card into the side (or back) USB ports and the Helios X5000 immediately recognized the drive. You could browse and play media to your hearts content. If you wanted to play an entire file (instead of one song/picture), you need to hit Play instead of OK. Remember to enter the actual file and hit play. It will start at the first picture/song. I found this to be a rather nice way to access your friend's content if they didn't have NeoLink on their computer. I can see people bringing pictures or a couple of favorite songs over to play. If you have HD content, this is also the best way to play it on your Helios X5000. Instead of using a flash drive, invest in a USB hard drive large enough to store the larger files. If it you have the Helios X5000 networked, you can even update the content over the network from your computer.