Blinds, Shades and Shutters - Best brand of honeycomb blackout shades

Hi. We're looking for honeycomb shades that are fabric-like, energy efficient and come in blackout. They will go in a bedroom on windows that face south. (we're in CA)
A number of years ago the Hunter douglas version had aluminum foil-like material in the center -- don't know if that's still the case, but I don't particularly care for that look.
what brand and style would you suggest.
thanks for sharing your experience.

Comfortex - Matinee

HunterDouglas is still the "best brand" though.

I'm pretty sure they all use a foil mylar.. anything else would be to thick and bulky..

It is a general rule that if anything is better than Hunter Douglas, HD just buys em out..

One of the newest products to market is Hunter Douglas' Architella shades. This product has is a honeycomb inside a honeycomb or a double cell one inside the other. The shades come in a semi-opaque and an opaque version. The opaque version has as its inner honeycomb a mylar cell. Unlike opaque shades of the past, the mylar is invisible from view and the hand of the fabric facing the room is unaffected by the mylar except to provide complete blackout. The shades are soft and pliable and have the highest R-Value in the industry. My clients love them because they are very green (energy efficient) and beautiful from inside and out. Some of my clients opt for the opaque version when choosing a colored shade because backlighting can alter the richness of the color. The mylar keeps the color true.

While the foil mylar is invisible from the "front" view, it is still visible from the side. just like the regular Duette/Applause shades.
While this may not be as noticeable on an inside mount application, it will be very much noticeable if you have to go with an outside mount.

I do agree with your views and experiences on the use and appearance of the semi-opaque vs. opaque shades though.

BTW-Personally, I DO like the HD opaque(blackout) shades and have used/recommended them many, many times.