Are folks getting availability notifications these days ? Or is Oppo "in-between batches", i.e. waiting for new units to arrive before resuming notifications ?

Thanks.

has no one here actually tested the oppo 983 with a denon 2930 or 3930? i think a comparison is in order.

I loved the video improvement of the 983 over the 980, but the sound was clearly not as good; the most obvious things were a relative overall harshness, and less full – and less well-defined - bass. I do not listen to CDs, SACDs, or DVD-As on my video system, so it’s very possible that what I heard does not apply to listening only to audio (i.e., the 983 may be better at that.)

This doesn't sound right to me either, but there are a lot of details missing. Did you use the analog outputs? Or coax or HDMI? Did you make sure there weren't any volume differences? Etc, etc.

On a different note: any news on when the next batch might be available? I *finally* decided to buy, and I'm also waiting now for the email notification of when they have them in stock again. (Btw, I have a 980, so I'll be curious to compare the audio between 'em too. ;) )

Okay, I've had mine for about a week now, and I find that I'm severely lacking content. Nothing in my collection is screaming, "PLAY ME!".

What movies would you guys recommend to look into to get the best out of this player?

Okay, I've had mine for about a week now, and I find that I'm severely lacking content. Nothing in my collection is screaming, "PLAY ME!".

What movies would you guys recommend to look into to get the best out of this player?

The Empire Strikes Back
Raiders of the Lost Ark

I grew up with these movies and I cannot remember them looking better.

Okay, I've had mine for about a week now, and I find that I'm severely lacking content. Nothing in my collection is screaming, "PLAY ME!".

What movies would you guys recommend to look into to get the best out of this player?

AVP, Condemned, Sin City, Hellboy, Cloverfield, X2, Signs, Mr. Brooks, Planet Terror, Wedding Crashers, Equilibrium, Bourne Ultimatum, original Star Wars Trilogy...

Anything looks good on this machine. ;)

:)I just completed setting up my external 320GB hard-drive via the Oppo's USB port, and it works flawlessly. I am again impressed with Oppo's user interface: I expected it to be a nightmare to navigate through the many files on my hard-drive, but Oppo set up their file navigation menu well and it is quite painless to find whatever file I am looking for. I took the time to shorten the file names of all the files on the HD (a very tedious and time consuming procedure), but I was again surprised that this is not necessary with the Oppo, as it not only recognizes long file names, but also they are viewable in the directory. Having a 320 GB detachable HD is amazing, and allows for more flexibility between my computer, camcorder, and all other downloadable media that I have. I have been looking for a solution such as this for a long time.

I just completed setting up my external 320GB hard-drive

How many files do you currently have on the HD? I think the Oppo will only see up to 700 files, so you may hit that limit before you reach 320GB.

I am planning the same, but will only use an 80 GB HD.

How many files do you currently have on the HD? I think the Oppo will only see up to 700 files, so you may hit that limit before you reach 320GB.

I am planning the same, but will only use an 80 GB HD.

From page 44 of the OPPO 983 User Manual PDF:

• The play (sic) can index approximately 600 file and folder names. Disks containing more than
600 files and folders may not play properly. It may take the player longer time to read the
contents of a large disk.

Dana

Got mine yesterday. It's all hooked up and calibrated. My Mits. WS-55813 at 1080i looks awesome!:D

Andy

Okay, I've had mine for about a week now, and I find that I'm severely lacking content. Nothing in my collection is screaming, "PLAY ME!".

What movies would you guys recommend to look into to get the best out of this player?

A lot a recent TV-on-DVD looks very fine. I marvel at the image on LOST. Also ROME, HOUSE season 2. (Season 1 was letterboxed, season 3 went to 5 episodes on a disc).

-Bill

Okay, I've had mine for about a week now, and I find that I'm severely lacking content. Nothing in my collection is screaming, "PLAY ME!".

What movies would you guys recommend to look into to get the best out of this player?

The first thing I rewatched was the Dunkirk scenes from Atonement. The difference between the 983 and my old Panasonic were unbelievable. I thought the Panasonic was the best when I selected it and didn't expect that much improvement. The 983 is a keeper.

No more dropouts, wOOt!!:D

good ;)

From page 44 of the OPPO 983 User Manual PDF:

• The play (sic) can index approximately 600 file and folder names. Disks containing more than
600 files and folders may not play properly. It may take the player longer time to read the
contents of a large disk.


Yes, I've read the manual.... I've also read gonk's 983 review (http://www.prillaman.net/oppo983_review.html) where he indicates 700 files as the limit.
OPPO players have always made use of their Mediatek chip's support for an assortment of audio, video, and image file formats. Supported formats include MP3, WMA, JPG, Divx, Xvid, and VOB. These files can be stored on a CD-R or DVD-R, but they can also be stored on a USB mass storage device such as a memory stick or an external hard drive (as long as the device is formatted as a FAT or FAT32 partition). No matter which media is used to store them, the Mediatek chip's file interface has a limit to the number of files it can read and access. The maximum is 700 files. Anything beyond that will not be accessible. Long file and folder names are supported, and the text of a long name will scroll past if necessary to give you a complete view. Also, ID3 tags for MP3 files are displayed in the right window of the file manager interface. Obviously, the file limit rules out using the player as a media server for your CD library, but it can still be a handy tool.

After living with the 983H for this past week, I've allayed any concerns I might have entertained about "over-spending" for an SD player. Image quality is truly remarkable(stunning, breathtaking...) with my 37" Panny plasma. Surprisingly, I've notched the 983 back to 720p, as opposed to the 1080i I'd been running on my 971H, as the native res on the 37" PX50U is 720x1024(I used to lament the fact that my 37" lacked the 768x1024 native res of the corresponding 42" PX50U). Ironically, this perceived resolution deficiency has proven to be a most superb match. Additionally, the ABT VRS chips represent a marked improvement in scaling/zooming capabilites, as well as offering an improved PAL=>NTSC conversion over the already impressive 971/981 chipset. As such, I'll be retiring my well cared-for(and much beloved) 971H. Please feel free to PM me for a reasonable price, as I'd like to make this legacy player(with all original packaging including OPPO bag, cabling, etc.) available to a member of the Oppo cognoscenti with a need for a bedroom/backup unit prior to offering it to the masses.
As a postscipt, I 'd like to weigh in on the perception that one needs a "larger" display to observe the benefits of the 983's ABT VRS processing, as the PQ improvements(over the already impressive 971!) were, to my eyes, immediately and markedly apparent on my own relatively modest display.

Cheers to all.

How many files do you currently have on the HD? I think the Oppo will only see up to 700 files, so you may hit that limit before you reach 320GB.

I am planning the same, but will only use an 80 GB HD.

I have 318 files on it, taking up 70 GB, so if I had used an 80 GB it would be full. I just happened to have a 320gb already in a portable enclosure, so that's why I went for such a large drive.

good ;)

I think perhaps the initial dropout I had with the first movie I tried must have been a handshake issue when I first fired it up. I've had no issues whatsoever since. Happy camper.:)

I think perhaps the initial dropout I had with the first movie I tried must have been a handshake issue when I first fired it up. I've had no issues whatsoever since. Happy camper.:)

After everything you went through, I'm glad to hear that it's working good for you. Now you can be amazed by what Oppo can do. :D

As a postscipt, I 'd like to weigh in on the perception that one needs a "larger" display to observe the benefits of the 983's ABT VRS processing, as the PQ improvements(over the already impressive 971!) were, to my eyes, immediately and markedly apparent on my own relatively modest display.

Cheers to all.

I will agree.

I use the Panny 42 inch version with the same result.

Okay, I've had mine for about a week now, and I find that I'm severely lacking content. Nothing in my collection is screaming, "PLAY ME!".

What movies would you guys recommend to look into to get the best out of this player?

Raiders and Temple of Doom look really good. Armageddon, The Rock and Con Air and anything else by Michael Bay etc seems to be superb. Once Upon A Time In The West looks great. I Robot likewise. LOTR. The Descent. Apocalypto. All those look great here. Mind you, almost all my SD DVDs look great on the 983H!

Keith

Edit: Con Air is Jerry Bruckheimer I think - the other two are Michael Bay. Oh yeah - Independence Day looks good too.

This doesn't sound right to me either, but there are a lot of details missing. Did you use the analog outputs? Or coax or HDMI? Did you make sure there weren't any volume differences? Etc, etc.

On a different note: any news on when the next batch might be available? I *finally* decided to buy, and I'm also waiting now for the email notification of when they have them in stock again. (Btw, I have a 980, so I'll be curious to compare the audio between 'em too. ;) )

As stated in my initial post, I used the analog outputs. Yes, I made sure there were not volume differences, etc. I'm not sure what other details you are looking for. I used multiple DVDs, if that's of interest. You might want to read my follow-up posts. I'm an audiophile, and was careful to make sure that all listening conditions were identical with the two players.

I don't know when the next batch of 983s might be available. Sorry

I marvel at the image on LOST. I was equally impressed. Stunning image quality.

Gary

As stated in my initial post, I used the analog outputs. Yes, I made sure there were not volume differences, etc. I'm not sure what other details you are looking for. I used multiple DVDs, if that's of interest. You might want to read my follow-up posts. I'm an audiophile, and was careful to make sure that all listening conditions were identical with the two players.

My display is the Pioneer Kuro 110, and my audio (2 channel) is a Cambridge integrated amp, Merlin TSMs, and PSB subwoofer. The Merlins run full-range, with the sub used only to “fill in” below. I was using the analog outputs of the players into my amp, and HDMI out to my display. Settings were the same on both players, and I played extensively with various audio settings after some initial listening.

OK ... I don't see how this would make any difference between the players, but I don't understand why you are running your speakers full range when they are clearly noted by the manufacturer to be mini-monitors. If you try to run bass frequencies to a speaker that aren't capable of handling them, you can certainly add unwanted distortion. Have you tried running the speakers as "small" and then comparing the players? Also, how far from the front and side walls are your speakers? Carpeting or hardwood floor? Since you are using a sub, what do you have its low pass filter set at? Are you sure the sub is in phase with the speakers? (Maybe there is some kind of a different phase relationship between the two players.) Have you looked at the integration of your speakers and sub either with a discrete test tone disc and plotting points, or with any kind of analysis software (my favorite is ETF5)? *These* are the kinds of details I'm interested in. :) Obviously it's possible that the 980 sounds better than the 983, but based on what Oppo has done to the 983 vs the 980, and based on what other users say, there might be something in your system that's accounting for the difference. Plus, DVD is a lossy medium for audio. Some people think it's not a lot better than low bit rate MP3 for sound quality. I would be interested in your comparisons with at least CD if not SACD and DVD-A as well. And if you can't compare with those formats, then at least perhaps with a concert DVD with a good quality stereo PCM soundtrack. I'd be curious ...

Just had another thought. You're running 2.1, right? When you've compared DVD-V audio, have you compared with 2 channel soundtracks, or (folded down) 5.1? (If the latter, maybe the 983 is folding them down differently.)

It's been at least 4 months since release & its STILL sold out! Sort it out Oppo.

Actually I ordered one and a half week ago and my 983 is on it's way and should arrive tomorrow. But this was from www.opposhop.se which have the 983 in stock.

After testing a couple of dvd players for under $100, I'm very happy with the 983H. You can find my results at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1031466. The results for the 983H are on post #7. Please feel free to comment on the results page.

can the usb attahced hdd play back video_ts files (ripped dvd's) or only vob?

can the usb attahced hdd play back video_ts files (ripped dvd's) or only vob?

You mean complete DVD structures on a data disc? No. Only vob containers, and even those are not officially supported, so functionality is limited.

-Bill

OK ... I don't see how this would make any difference between the players, but I don't understand why you are running your speakers full range when they are clearly noted by the manufacturer to be mini-monitors. If you try to run bass frequencies to a speaker that aren't capable of handling them, you can certainly add unwanted distortion. Have you tried running the speakers as "small" and then comparing the players? Also, how far from the front and side walls are your speakers? Carpeting or hardwood floor? Since you are using a sub, what do you have its low pass filter set at? Are you sure the sub is in phase with the speakers? (Maybe there is some kind of a different phase relationship between the two players.) Have you looked at the integration of your speakers and sub either with a discrete test tone disc and plotting points, or with any kind of analysis software (my favorite is ETF5)? *These* are the kinds of details I'm interested in. :) Obviously it's possible that the 980 sounds better than the 983, but based on what Oppo has done to the 983 vs the 980, and based on what other users say, there might be something in your system that's accounting for the difference. Plus, DVD is a lossy medium for audio. Some people think it's not a lot better than low bit rate MP3 for sound quality. I would be interested in your comparisons with at least CD if not SACD and DVD-A as well. And if you can't compare with those formats, then at least perhaps with a concert DVD with a good quality stereo PCM soundtrack. I'd be curious ...

Just had another thought. You're running 2.1, right? When you've compared DVD-V audio, have you compared with 2 channel soundtracks, or (folded down) 5.1? (If the latter, maybe the 983 is folding them down differently.)

Hi Kevin,

I'm sorry...I just don't have the time to go through all the details I covered when doing this comparison. I mean absolutely no disrepect at all; and your questions are very reasonable ones. I've posted in this thread that I've been an audiophile for many years, and I definitely did factor in, consider, and try various things like speaker distance to the wall, running the speakers as "small" vs full-range, I used very highly quality (great sounding) concert DVDs, I've tried both two-channel and folded down 5.1, played with phase, etc. I'm very happy with the sound I'm getting with the 980, and - given that I have a separate, very high-end, and tweaked audio system elsewhere in the house - I have an easy reference. I also should add that I no longer have the 983, so doing further comparisons is not possible.

I'm sorry I can't be of more help. In case it's useful for you to know this, I have quite a bit of experience with using highly modified univeral players in a high quality audio-only system. In most, if not all, cases, the modders have told me that disabling the video circuitry has improved the sound. This is why my guess re the 983 was that maybe the ABT circuitry affects the audio more negatively than the circuitry in the 980 - at least with DVDs. (Re what others say: as stated in another post, I have yet to see or hear anything from anyone who specified he was comparing audio on only DVDs). Also - again - I wrote to Oppo about what I heard and got no comment from them. I'm aware that could mean anything, though.

I hope this is of some use to you.

John

p.s. I am running my speakers full range because I have tried it both ways and it sounds better. This is also the way Merlin recommends that they be used with a subwoofer. I agree with you about potential problems doing this. There are also problems taking the opposite approach. I don't listen that loudly, nor do I watch many (if any) movies that include crashes, explosions, dinosaurs walking, etc. - i.e., the speaker is perfectly capable of handling "regular" bass frequencies and amplitudes without distorting.

You mean complete DVD structures on a data disc? No. Only vob containers, and even those are not officially supported, so functionality is limited.

-Bill

what i mean is that i rip all my sd dvd's on my hard drive as a backup using dvdfab and they are all ripped as video_ts files in vob containers. i would like to put these rips on an external hard drive and plug it into the usb port on the 983. will the oppo play these files similar to a media extender would no problem, even if its not "officially" supported?

edit. sorry i meant to say they are video_ts folders (as original dvd) and ifo files.

what i mean is that i rip all my sd dvd's on my hard drive as a backup using dvdfab and they are all ripped as video_ts files in vob containers. i would like to put these rips on an external hard drive and plug it into the usb port on the 983. will the oppo play these files similar to a media extender would no problem, even if its not "officially" supported?

I'm familiar with video_ts folders in DVD structures, but I don't know what a video_ts file is.

-Bill

Rips will not work efficiently. The player will understand the VOB files, but all of the structure information (IFO) is not supported. For this reason, you will only be able to playback the core VOB contents (no alternative audio or subtitle streams, menu navigation, or chapter/title support). That, and there will be massive breaks between VOB files as the player verifies the integrity of the file.

Welcome back Neuromancer ;):D.

This appears to be a bug and I need to be able to change HUE by perhaps one notch to get it perfected in my case.

HUE can only be adjusted over the analog outputs. This has been true for all of their DVD players (and is why HUE was removed from the DV-971H and the DV-981HD). Likely there is no inherent HUE control on the ABT solution, and OPPO would not want to inject a HUE manipulation with the MTK solution (possible artifacting or detection error).

Very decent quality. I suspect it's supplied by monoprice, a AVS Forum sponsor.

I believe OPPO makes their own cables.

John

p.s. I am running my speakers full range because I have tried it both ways and it sounds better. This is also the way Merlin recommends that they be used with a subwoofer. I agree with you about potential problems doing this. There are also problems taking the opposite approach. I don't listen that loudly, nor do I watch many (if any) movies that include crashes, explosions, dinosaurs walking, etc. - i.e., the speaker is perfectly capable of handling "regular" bass frequencies and amplitudes without distorting.

This statement, I totally agree with you on! :)

Introducing more electronics into the equation most likely will produce unsatisfactory results, especially with a crossover.

Aren´t the DVDTimes review supposed to be added to the Front Page?

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=67760

It can be. I have been gone for 2 weeks and havn't been on the net at all during this time.

... I have been gone for 2 weeks and havn't been on the net at all during this time.

OMG. Do you mean there is life away from the internet! :p

I join with others to welcome you back.

Dana

Crazy enough, I pretty much had to re-learn how to type. I think that last 5 replies I did took me several minutes each, and they were very short replies.

What, were your hands all cramped up from gippin all thes beer bottles?... or was it those flu-flu exotic drinks with the little umbrellas in them? :D

Don't wait for the e-mail. Call them. I did on a lark last week and am enjoying the 983 right now.

I would like to see more aspects than the ones available now. Many Xvids are in various aspects so letterboxed aspects in various ratios would help. I know you can do this by changning under setup and set the output to 4:3 Letterbox.
But it would be so smart achieving this with the zoom-button.

The screensaver function should be selectable between how it works on the 980 (with oppo logo random on screen) and the way it now works on the 983 (turning off the HDMI out).

And while where at it make an option for 24/48/72hz output aswell :)

Hi

Just for information: Got my European DV-983H player yesterday from Opposhop and hooked it up. It basically is the same as the US model, but with a PAL bias (defaults to PAL).

My setup is HDMI to a Panasonic AX100, as well as s-video to an old 28" CRT Grundig 4:3 telly.

The bad news is that the s-video connection didn't work as advertised at all. 4:3 Letterbox shows all widescreen movies drawn out and no zoom setting toggle will set it right.

Also, the NTSC -> PAL conversion doesn't work even though this is a European machine, and defaults to PAL. Setting for TV Type: PAL shows my reg 2 NTSC opera discs in black and white (reg 2 opera disc are mostly NTSC to avoid PAL Speedup). No way to get it to work with the different options.

See, I need the forced PAL for the telly as it won't take NTSC signals. And we don't always want to rev up the AX100.

Did a check with a cheapo Philips as well as a cheapo Pioneer. No problems at all, either with forced PAL or 4:3 Letterbox.

Given the premium for the DV-983H it really is a shame it can't handle basic stuff...

Firmware: Mver: 05.00.01.07 Batch:BES983-02-0521

Guess it's a European firmware.

Opposhop in Europe has been informed...

Granted, you don't buy a DV983 for its analog video, nevertheless the analogue system is a mature system, and basic stuff like 4:3 Letterbox and forced PAL/NTSC over s-video is pretty standard and not a biggie to implement...

Not happy at the moment...

The bad news is that the s-video connection didn't work as advertised at all. 4:3 Letterbox shows all widescreen movies drawn out and no zoom setting toggle will set it right.

Try changing the Aspect Ratio in the middle of the movie. You should see a change in the aspect ratio. What becomes an issue is that the AR will reset itself when the chapter/title changes when using the analog outputs.

Zoom is not available on the analog outputs. Zoom is handled exclusively through the ABT solution.

Also, the NTSC -> PAL conversion doesn't work even though this is a European machine, and defaults to PAL. Setting for TV Type: PAL shows my reg 2 NTSC opera discs in black and white (reg 2 opera disc are mostly NTSC to avoid PAL Speedup). No way to get it to work with the different options.

When using the analog outputs you have to change the Video from Video 2 to Video 1. Video 2 sends the raw decoded video to the ABT solution for processing. Thereby, the analog outputs will be in the original language of the disc (in this case, NTSC). Video 1 changes all decoding and processing to the MTK solution, so you will be able to use its internal NTSC<->PAL decoders.

Given the premium for the DV-983H it really is a shame it can't handle basic stuff...

Like the DV-981HD and the OPDV971H before it, the player was designed explicitly for digital video playback. The analog outputs are not the ideal outputs to be using on this DVD player, as it completely bypasses the ABT solution.

When using the analog outputs you have to change the Video from Video 2 to Video 1. Video 2 sends the raw decoded video to the ABT solution for processing. Thereby, the analog outputs will be in the original language of the disc (in this case, NTSC). Video 1 changes all decoding and processing to the MTK solution, so you will be able to use its internal NTSC<->PAL decoders.

Like the DV-981HD and the OPDV971H before it, the player was designed explicitly for digital video playback. The analog outputs are not the ideal outputs to be using on this DVD player, as it completely bypasses the ABT solution.

Are you suggesting that the ABT (video 2) mode cannot perform NTSC<->PAL conversions ?:( Hence no NTSC<->PAL in video 2 mode over HDMI ?

When using the analog outputs, Video 2 mode does not allow for the conversion of the video signal. His complaint is that he is not getting any NTSC<->PAL conversion over analog (S-Video). HDMI works fine.

Video 2 enables all conversions to take place on the ABT solution, which is HDMI only.

Are you suggesting that the ABT (video 2) mode cannot perform NTSC<->PAL conversions ?:( Hence no NTSC<->PAL in video 2 mode over HDMI ?

He is saying the opposite. Video 2 causes NTSC<->PAL conversion to be done by the ABT chip. But the ABT chip only works with the HDMI port. For the analog ports you have to use Video 1 which uses the Mediatek chip.

-Bill

Hi

Given the premium for the DV-983H it really is a shame it can't handle basic stuff...

...
Granted, you don't buy a DV983 for its analog video, nevertheless the analogue system is a mature system, and basic stuff like 4:3 Letterbox and forced PAL/NTSC over s-video is pretty standard and not a biggie to implement...

Not happy at the moment...


Well, the US version DV-983H manual actually said S-video and composite are intended for trouble-shooting only. You can try setting the "Video Mode" to "Video 1" to get PAL/NTSC conversion for S-Video. "Video 1" mode uses the decoder chip to do some video processing, but there is a cost (see below).

The 983H differs from other OPPO players, which do get the "basic stuff" right. It offloads a lot of video processing to the ABT chip in order to ensure the pristine HDMI output. Stuffs such as 4:3 letterbox and PAL/NTSC conversion, if done at the decoder side (video 1), will cause resolution loss. When these are done at the ABT side (video 2) with HD resolution to work with, there is no such issue.

For example, if the decoder chip does PAL->NTSC conversion, the 576 lines of the original video gets converted to 480 lines. For 720p/1080ip output, these 480 lines get scaled up, but the original resolution is already lost. With the 983H in video 2 mode, the decoder outputs 576 lines to the ABT, and the ABT chip scales from 576 lines to 720p/1080ip, and converts the frame rate from 50hz to 60hz. This way there is no resolution loss at all. The cost is that analog output, or "basic stuff", gets sacrificed.

Another example, 4:3 letterbox. If done at the decoder level, for NTSC the 480 lines will be compressed to 360 lines in order to make room for the letterbox bars. If done by the ABT chip as the DV-983H does, at 720p/1080ip resolution, the original 480 lines gets scaled up to 540 or 810 lines, and bars are then added to the top and bottom to make 720 or 1080 lines. Again there is no loss of resolution.

I would just buy a cheap DVD player for the CRT, and use the DV-983H for its intended purpose.

Try changing the Aspect Ratio in the middle of the movie. You should see a change in the aspect ratio. What becomes an issue is that the AR will reset itself when the chapter/title changes when using the analog outputs.

Zoom is not available on the analog outputs. Zoom is handled exclusively through the ABT solution.



When using the analog outputs you have to change the Video from Video 2 to Video 1. Video 2 sends the raw decoded video to the ABT solution for processing. Thereby, the analog outputs will be in the original language of the disc (in this case, NTSC). Video 1 changes all decoding and processing to the MTK solution, so you will be able to use its internal NTSC<->PAL decoders.



Like the DV-981HD and the OPDV971H before it, the player was designed explicitly for digital video playback. The analog outputs are not the ideal outputs to be using on this DVD player, as it completely bypasses the ABT solution.

Thanks, very clear and so professional.

Hi all

Thanks for all the suggestions. I got a reply from Oppo which said what you've been suggesting:

"The DV-983H uses the ABT solution for all Zoom functionality. For this reason, when using the analog outputs, you will not be able to take advantage of the Zoom capabilities of the DVD player.

There is currently a known bug which is causing the aspect ratio of the analog outputs to be flagged incorrectly, as the current implementation of aspect ratio controls is handled by the ABT solution, which is completely bypassed when using the analog outputs. We hope to fix this in a future firmware release. Currently you can change the aspect ratio to one of the 4:3 modes, but once there is a title or chapter change, or you manually disrupt the playback of the film, the aspect ratio will be reset to the Default "16:9 Wide"."

I haven't managed to do this yet, it reverts to 16:9 Wide really fast.

The NTSC <-> PAL Conversion issue on analog:

"For NTSC<->PAL conversions to work over the analog interfaces, you will need to change the DVD player from the defaulted Video 2 to Video 1 under Video Preference setup of the DVD player. When the player has been set to Video 2, it sends the raw video from the source material to the ABT solution for de-interlacing, scaling, aspect ratio, and synchronization conversions. For this reason, when you use the analog outputs in Video 2 mode, the video is in the original format as found on the source media. If you are playing a NTSC disc, then the output will be NTSC. Video 1 forces all decoding and processing to be handled by the MTK solution. This is the only way to get a NTSC<->PAL conversion over the analog interfaces."

I tried it and it works! Very happy about that.

Yes, I'm aware that this is primarily for digital use, however, as it goes through the MTK solution for the Video1 mode for analog, the 4:3 Letterbox Aspect Ratio issues shouldn't be that hard to implement? After all, it is their Flagship model.

My primary use is for the front PJ (HDMI, Video2 - no problems) and music, but occasionally I'm not inclined to rev the PJ up for listening to some of the DVD opera discs I have, where the bias is on the music experience - which by the way is fantastic on the 983! - but where I need a pic for navigation and occasional glancing.

Anyway,

A bit happier now. :)
Cheers

Thanks, very clear and so professional.

Welcome to the AVS Forum and this informative thread for your first post!

Dana

Welcome to the AVS Forum and this informative thread for your first post!

Dana

Thanks, I will try my best to speak more,:D

I have tried to get the Oppo 983 audio only button to work with the H1 with no luck, tried learn command, raw and still will not work. All other commands work fine. My Harmony 880 worked good when I learned the command with Oppo remote.
Anyone got a fix?

Are you allowing the player enough time to respond to the Audio Only command? I have not programmed any of my receiver remotes with the Audio Only function, so I can't comment on its portability.

Tell me how this works- or not a difference:
I have calibrated(w/avia) the 983 >5.1Mch 6 analog cables for SACD/dvd-a/CD
I have calibrated (w/receiver's test tones)the A/V using coaxial.
When i play a DVD i use the coaxial input, however, the 6cable analog work pretty good too, ( however i have to increase vol a small bit) . So the way DVDs are mastered would i hear a difference between the two- cable set up? I have switch it back and forth a few times but not for a full movie- thoughts.

Are you allowing the player enough time to respond to the Audio Only command? I have not programmed any of my receiver remotes with the Audio Only function, so I can't comment on its portability.
Probably won't help, but I have been able to get the audio only to work with my Pronto TSU7500 remote. I had to capture the code (nothing in the data base for Oppo there).

Hello!

I wondering if the current message in the Oppo web site for the DV.983H is only a temporary stock out, or maybe they are planning to change price or product:

Availability: Temporarily sold out. Please click here to be on the pre-order priority list.


Any rumors? I sent an email to Oppo, with no luck.

Hello!

I wondering if the current message in the Oppo web site for the DV.983H is only a temporary stock out, or maybe they are planning to change price or product:

Availability: Temporarily sold out. Please click here to be on the pre-order priority list.


Any rumors? I sent an email to Oppo, with no luck.

(1) Oppo has never changed prices.

(2) The 983 is only a few months old and Oppo is selling all they make. Other than a possible Blu-Ray player in the future (not this year), I have heard no rumors of a new product.

-Bill

I'll second Bill's comments. The simple fact of the matter is that they can't keep the 983H in stock because of the very high demand for the player. That's why it's out of stock at the moment, and it's why I doubt we'd see either a price change or a product change (if it's not broke, don't fix it).

Hello!

I wondering if the current message in the Oppo web site for the DV.983H is only a temporary stock out, or maybe they are planning to change price or product:

Availability: Temporarily sold out. Please click here to be on the pre-order priority list.


Any rumors? I sent an email to Oppo, with no luck.

I sent them an email Tues. Got a response Wed. Within 2 weeks for more stock.

I'm trying to decide whether to buy the DV-983H. I have a big library of SD DVDs and a lot of older material I rent is only available in SD. I have the following equipment:

Onkyo 805 HDMI compatible amp with 7.1-channel audio system
Panasonic PT-AX200U projector (720p with 100-inch screen)
Panasonic BD-30 Blu-Ray player
Toshiba A3 HD DVD player

Both the Toshiba HD DVD player and Panasonic BD-30 Blu-Ray player do a decent job of upscaling the SD material to 720p, much better image than a regular SD player. I am curious if anyone out there has a BD-30 AND a DV-983H, and is using a projector with a large image. What's the comparison between the BD-30 upscaling and what you get with the DV-983H. Worth the money?

...What's the comparison between the BD-30 upscaling and what you get with the DV-983H. Worth the money?

Kris Deering did a review of the BD30 player back on February 21, 2008. His conclusion http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cd-dvd-player-product-reviews/dvd-players/panasonic-dmp-bd30-blu-ray-player---full-review_2.html

People looking to use this player as their primary DVD playback device may want to consider other options. There are sub-$100 DVD players on the market that would do a far better job.

The OPPO 983 topped all DVD players in all price ranges on the rigorous Benchmark tests conducted by the same reviewer for the same publication.

Worth the money? Oh yeah.

Dana

Both the Toshiba HD DVD player and Panasonic BD-30 Blu-Ray player do a decent job of upscaling the SD material to 720p, much better image than a regular SD player. I am curious if anyone out there has a BD-30 AND a DV-983H, and is using a projector with a large image. What's the comparison between the BD-30 upscaling and what you get with the DV-983H. Worth the money?
I have a Toshiba HD-A2 (almost identical to the HD-A3), a Panasonic BD-30, and a 983H. My screen is much smaller than yours (only 32"), but when it comes to SD material the 983H is undeniably the best player of the lot. For someone who is still watching as many SD-DVD's as it sounds like you are and doing it with a front projector, I'd say that the 983H would be a good fit.

I have a Toshiba HD-A2 (almost identical to the HD-A3), a Panasonic BD-30, and a 983H. My screen is much smaller than yours (only 32"), but when it comes to SD material the 983H is undeniably the best player of the lot. For someone who is still watching as many SD-DVD's as it sounds like you are and doing it with a front projector, I'd say that the 983H would be a good fit.

X2

I also have an A2 and an A35, with a 50" plasma. The 983 was noticeably a better picture than either of them. It was worth the money in my opinion. It should be a large difference on a 100" screen.

Hello!

I wondering if the current message in the Oppo web site for the DV.983H is only a temporary stock out, or maybe they are planning to change price or product:

Availability: Temporarily sold out. Please click here to be on the pre-order priority list.


Any rumors? I sent an email to Oppo, with no luck.

I ordered one from HKFlix on Wednesday, and it shipped yesterday. I hope they are an ethical reseller... The company doesn't provide a tel. number.

HKFlix has been working with OPPO Digital since day one. They are reputable.

Well, received my replacement DV-983H from Oppo today and tried it out with my Z11. Unfortunately it has the same problems that the first unit I tried does. Note that I am using the HDMI connector (I also hooked up the component video, but that drives my LCD TV that I use for monitoring purposes). Video works for the lower resolutions (480p - 1080i) but not for 1080p. Setting the 983 to 1080p kills the video. Also, I get no multi-channel audio through at any resolution setting (this is from a multi-channel SACD). Connecting the HDMI output directly to my projector allows it to work at all resolutions. Of course, this is no help for the audio, which I also want to pass through to the Z11 for sound.

Note that my DV-980H in the system works as expected at all resolutions and passes audio through to the Z11 fine. The engineer at Oppo that I talked to said that they have not tried the 983 with a Z11...well I guess I have saved them the trouble...it doesn't work. So this is a word of warning to anyone out there that owns a Z11 and may be considering the 983...I wouldn't bother. At least not till whatever the problem is gets resolved.

Now I have two 983s to ship back to Oppo. :(

It's been almost a month since I received my Oppo and it still continues to shine. I have had zero issues of any sort and it still amazes me that it can make SD-DVD look so well. Since I have a pretty extensive SD collection, I've been going old-school and digging deep into the bowels of my DVD collection to see just how well some older DVD's look. I have not been disappointed. I started with one of my all-time favorites, Vanishing Point (1971), then moved to Floundering (1994), then Citizen Kane (1941), Patton (1970), Casablanca (1942), then finished it off with an Alien (1979) as well as One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). I've viewed most of these films way too many times, especially Alien, and they have never looked so good. Alien in particular (the 2003 Qaudrilogy release) looks as close to HD as anything I've seen in SD yet. Just another satisfied customer!

Well, received my replacement DV-983H from Oppo today and tried it out with my Z11. Unfortunately it has the same problems that the first unit I tried does. Note that I am using the HDMI connector (I also hooked up the component video, but that drives my LCD TV that I use for monitoring purposes). Video works for the lower resolutions (480p - 1080i) but not for 1080p. Setting the 983 to 1080p kills the video. Also, I get no multi-channel audio through at any resolution setting (this is from a multi-channel SACD). Connecting the HDMI output directly to my projector allows it to work at all resolutions. Of course, this is no help for the audio, which I also want to pass through to the Z11 for sound.

Note that my DV-980H in the system works as expected at all resolutions and passes audio through to the Z11 fine. The engineer at Oppo that I talked to said that they have not tried the 983 with a Z11...well I guess I have saved them the trouble...it doesn't work. So this is a word of warning to anyone out there that owns a Z11 and may be considering the 983...I wouldn't bother. At least not till whatever the problem is gets resolved.

Now I have two 983s to ship back to Oppo. :(

What HDMI cable are you using? Bandwidth could be a problem at higher Resolutions. Is the Z11 having a difficult time "handshaking" with the 983H? Are you using an HDMI Switch? Switches can cause handshaking / switching issues..

I don't know if you tried this...but if not it's worth a shot. Lets start with the Audio first. On the 983H..

Set the HDMI Audio to LPCM.

Set LPCM Rate to 192K.

Set HDMI Output Resolution to 1080i.

Try to play a multi-channel SACD, your Z11 should show 5.1 multichannel at a 88.2Hz sampling frequency. :)

If you have multi-channel Audio, then for Video, make sure the upscaling capabilities of the Z11 is set to Off or Through, let the 983H only take care of the upconversions. And just for kicks try disconnecting the component outputs to the LCD TV. If all is still good, set the 983H to 1080p60. Good Luck!

BTW The Z11 is one heck of an A/V Receiver! :D

I just had my 983 and my problem is this. There is no sound when I play a CD without first turning on the TV. Is there a way to listen to CDs without turning on the TV first? My OPPO 983 is connected to my ONKYO 705 via HDMI, and the ONKYO 705 to my Samsung DLP TV via HDMI also.

I just had my 983 and my problem is this. There is no sound when I play a CD without first turning on the TV. Is there a way to listen to CDs without turning on the TV first? My OPPO 983 is connected to my ONKYO 705 via HDMI, and the ONKYO 705 to my Samsung DLP TV via HDMI also.

This is a HDMI handshake issue apparently between your receiver and TV. Have you tried using the OPPO 983 Audio Only setting? I doubt that it will solve the program but it's worth trying.

Have you had the same problem with other players?

I have no problem with my OPPO 983 playing CDs through my receiver (Panny SA-XR700) w/o having my TV on.

I ran into such a problem with a cable HD STB (SA 3250HD) that would not allow me to listen to cable music channels without having the TV on. Comcast could do nothing about it. Scientific Atlanta acknowledged that it was a firmware bug (improper implementation of the HDMI standards) which it finally fixed. Comcast rolled out the fix on my local system and the problem was resolved.

You might check out the ONKYO 705 thread to see what others say there. Sorry I don't have a link.

Dana

What HDMI cable are you using? Bandwidth could be a problem at higher Resolutions. Is the Z11 having a difficult time "handshaking" with the 983H? Are you using an HDMI Switch? Switches can cause handshaking / switching issues..

No HDMI switch in the path. I don't know if it's a handshaking problem or not. The HDMI indicator in the Z11 display lights so it thinks the connection is up. I have tried several different HDMI cables, all of which work fine with DV-980H that I also have in the system (and had planned to replace with the 983).


I don't know if you tried this...but if not it's worth a shot. Lets start with the Audio first. On the 983H..

Set the HDMI Audio to LPCM.

Set LPCM Rate to 192K.

Set HDMI Output Resolution to 1080i.

Try to play a multi-channel SACD, your Z11 should show 5.1 multichannel at a 88.2Hz sampling frequency. :)

Yep, I tried this (as well as a number of other combinations). The Z11's HDMI indicator lights up but the Input Channel and Speakers indicators *don't* light up (it was a multi-channel SACD so five channels + lfe should light); however in the receiver GUI the audio signal information shows a 3/2/.1 connection at 88.2KHz. There is no sound output, just silence.


If you have multi-channel Audio, then for Video, make sure the upscaling capabilities of the Z11 is set to Off or Through, let the 983H only take care of the upconversions. And just for kicks try disconnecting the component outputs to the LCD TV. If all is still good, set the 983H to 1080p60. Good Luck!
I also tried this. That was the original suggestion made by the Oppo engineer, to disable the upconversion in the Z11 to test the theory that the two ABT1018 chips may not be playing well together. The setting of the video conversion in the Z11 seems to make no difference. I have had the LCD TV (component video connection) disconnected as well and it seemed to make no difference either.


BTW The Z11 is one heck of an A/V Receiver! :D
I agree with that. I also feel that the DV-983H is a great player, only wish it worked with the Z11.:confused:

This is a HDMI handshake issue apparently between your receiver and TV. Have you tried using the OPPO 983 Audio Only setting? I doubt that it will solve the program but it's worth trying.

Have you had the same problem with other players?

Dana

I had no problem with my previous LG DVD player but this is with a component connection and not HDMI.

My only option is to turn on the TV and when the CD audio is playing, I turn off the TV then. But it's kinda irritating when I have to turn on the TV just so I can listen to my CDs.

I found the 705 AVS thread here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=935808 Maybe you'll find an answer there.

Good luck.

Dana

I had no problem with my previous LG DVD player but this is with a component connection and not HDMI.

My only option is to turn on the TV and when the CD audio is playing, I turn off the TV then. But it's kinda irritating when I have to turn on the TV just so I can listen to my CDs.

Following a tip I read on another forum, I found this info on page 66 of the 705 Manual PDF.

• The Dolby Digital and DTS listening modes
can only be selected if your DVD player is
connected to the AV receiver/AV amplifier
with a digital audio connection (coaxial or
optical).
• Listening mode availability depends on the
format of the current input signal.


Dana

I just had my 983 and my problem is this. There is no sound when I play a CD without first turning on the TV. Is there a way to listen to CDs without turning on the TV first? My OPPO 983 is connected to my ONKYO 705 via HDMI, and the ONKYO 705 to my Samsung DLP TV via HDMI also.
Here's one thought: connect coaxial or optical to the 705 and assign it to the CD input (or some other convenient audio input). You can use that input for listening to CD's when the TV's off. It won't work for DVD-Audio or SACD, of course.

No HDMI switch in the path. I don't know if it's a handshaking problem or not. The HDMI indicator in the Z11 display lights so it thinks the connection is up. I have tried several different HDMI cables, all of which work fine with DV-980H that I also have in the system (and had planned to replace with the 983).



Yep, I tried this (as well as a number of other combinations). The Z11's HDMI indicator lights up but the Input Channel and Speakers indicators *don't* light up (it was a multi-channel SACD so five channels + lfe should light); however in the receiver GUI the audio signal information shows a 3/2/.1 connection at 88.2KHz. There is no sound output, just silence.


I also tried this. That was the original suggestion made by the Oppo engineer, to disable the upconversion in the Z11 to test the theory that the two ABT1018 chips may not be playing well together. The setting of the video conversion in the Z11 seems to make no difference. I have had the LCD TV (component video connection) disconnected as well and it seemed to make no difference either.


I agree with that. I also feel that the DV-983H is a great player, only wish it worked with the Z11.:confused:

I'm sure you already did this too.. but have to ask; were you able to search the Z11 threads for other 983H owners? If just one has a success story, there is still hope! :) Just curious, do you have the latest firmware updates for both the 983H ( Version: MVer: 05.00.01.07 Batch: DV983H-06-0430 ) and the Z11?

Here's one thought: connect coaxial or optical to the 705 and assign it to the CD input (or some other convenient audio input). You can use that input for listening to CD's when the TV's off. It won't work for DVD-Audio or SACD, of course.

I was just going to suggest the exact same thing till I saw your post. This is how I have mine setup with my Onkyo 805 and works out pretty well.

Well, received my replacement DV-983H from Oppo today and tried it out with my Z11. Unfortunately it has the same problems that the first unit I tried does. Note that I am using the HDMI connector (I also hooked up the component video, but that drives my LCD TV that I use for monitoring purposes). Video works for the lower resolutions (480p - 1080i) but not for 1080p. Setting the 983 to 1080p kills the video. Also, I get no multi-channel audio through at any resolution setting (this is from a multi-channel SACD). Connecting the HDMI output directly to my projector allows it to work at all resolutions. Of course, this is no help for the audio, which I also want to pass through to the Z11 for sound.

Note that my DV-980H in the system works as expected at all resolutions and passes audio through to the Z11 fine. The engineer at Oppo that I talked to said that they have not tried the 983 with a Z11...well I guess I have saved them the trouble...it doesn't work. So this is a word of warning to anyone out there that owns a Z11 and may be considering the 983...I wouldn't bother. At least not till whatever the problem is gets resolved.

Now I have two 983s to ship back to Oppo. :(

I think you need to talk to Oppo again, we had exactly the same problem as you with the Yamaha RXv3800; 720, 1080i and below all work ok, but on 1080p audio and video dropouts.

All worked fine on 1080p with the 981 and the 980 models but not the 983. Oppo sorted it out for us with a firmware update which is now official.

Im sure you need to work with Oppo closely on this one and they will do everything possible to fix the problem. They are great this way, and I know they will do everything possible to get yours and every other owner of the Z11 (who may buy the DV-983H) to work perfectly on 1080p.

I say hold on to the 983 and work with Oppo and help resolve the issue, it will be well worth it I promise. The 983 would make a perfect match with the Z11, you will never find a better player, good luck:)

Hi,

I recently purchased the Oppo 983 DVD player and have it hooked up directly to my Onkyo 705 Receiver through an HDMI cable.
My problem seems to be this: when I listen to Dolby Digital 5.1 films, the sound is fine and the little Dolby Digital sign lights up on the receiver and reads as Digital 5.1.
When I try select DTS (either 5.1 or 6.1) the sound is extremely weak and the display on the receiver reads as PCM Multichannel.
I've checked both the receiver and DVD player manuals and have no idea what I'm doing wrong.
Does anyone have any answers or suggestions as to how I can fix this problem?

Thanks,
Dave

Dave,
Make sure the volume on the 983, useing the remote, is turned all the way up. Try not to use that volume control as it truncates the sound, not just the volume. Always leave it maxed out and use the volume control on the 705.
Also, in the setup menu of the 983, under "Audio Setup Page", set "HDMI" to Auto and "Digital Output" to Raw.

Does that fix the problem now?

All worked fine on 1080p with the 981 and the 980 models but not the 983. Oppo sorted it out for us with a firmware update which is now official.


This issue seems different on the Yamaha RX-Z11. All DV-983H units had the possibility 1080p video output dropping the signal periodically. Some equipment, such as the Yamaha RX-3800 exaggerated these errors, which helped OPPO isolate the problem through hardware, then software solutions.

The issue is that the user is not receiving multi-channel audio (SACD) and complete lack of video at 1080p is something that has never been reported by any other user. It is likely a compatibility issue with the Yamaha RX-Z11. If it is a compatibility issue, I do not know how easy it will be to resolve, as OPPO would have to purchase a Yamaha RX-Z11 (an expensive prospect) and isolate what is the cause of the problem.

When I try select DTS (either 5.1 or 6.1) the sound is extremely weak and the display on the receiver reads as PCM Multichannel.

If the player is switching to PCM, then either the receiver is telling the DVD player that it does not support DTS (which it does) or the negotiation of the signal is being compromised. Try using another HDMI cable if you have one available.

Try also switching inputs away from, then back to, the input the DVD player is assigned to.

Try another HDMI input completely if possible.

Try disconnecting the television and see if the receiver does not perform a proper handshake.

Setting the 983 to 1080p kills the video. Also, I get no multi-channel audio through at any resolution setting (this is from a multi-channel SACD).

Was this a 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, or 6.0 SACD, or was a 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, or 6.1 SACD?

If the former, than this could be an issue related to both the DV-980H and the DV-983H playing these formats as 2.0 Stereo or 4.0 Multi-channel.

If the later, how many SACDs have you tried? Do you get multi-channel from DVD-Audio or when you set the player to PCM rather than Auto under Audio Setup?

Also ensure that the Volume on the player has been set to +20 by pressing the Volume + button on the remote control. If the volume is set too low, you may not hear any audio.

Some prospective buyers of the OPPO 983 have written about its upfront cost being higher that other standard DVD players and have asked on this thread "Is it worth it?" (Note: I haven't seen any such comments from owners, however. ;))

Not many posts have mentioned how much money one can save with the 983. An example came to my attention the other day with the announcement of the Oscar-winning 1970 film Patton being released on Blu-ray. I saw this film in a theater when it first came out. As the owner of a first gen Blu-ray player, I picked up my ears because this is the type of film I've been waiting for - a classic big screen production of the past being released on Blu-ray. Or so I thought.

Patton on Blu-ray (set of two discs) carries an MSRP of about $40. with a street price about $10. less. A 2006 SD DVD release also a two disc set carries an MSRP of about $20. with a street price about $10 less. (All price info from Amazon.) According to reader reports on Amazon, the second documentary disc in the Blu-ray keep case is the identical documentary DVD as was issued in 2006. Other reader reports indicate that while the Blu-ray disc is pristine HD, it's almost too much of a good thing. You can see the makeup on the actors faces, etc! (That's not uncommon these days with HD TV showing more wrinkles and facial blemishes than some TV personalities want revealed.)

So, do I shell out $30. for Blu-ray or spend $10. for the SD DVD set that I know the OPPO 983 will display remarkably well.

Dana

I am planning to hook up the 983 (when it finally arrives) to my Yamaha DSP-A1 receiver via the 5.1 analog outputs for music listening. For DVDs, it'll be digital coax into the receiver.

For music listening, will this configuration work well will CDs, SACD, and DVD-As?

What I mean "work well" is I pop a disc in and it plays correctly (ie a CD plays in stereo on my L and R mains, a multichannel SACD is recognized as such and plays in 5.1, same with multi-channel DVD-A, etc, etc).

Thanks for any info.

You can save money by not rebuying your collection in blu-ray and keeping your SD-DVDs to be used with a good upconverting SD-DVD player. You can't really compare true blu-ray's quality with upconverted SD-DVDs no matter how expensive or how good your SD-DVD player is.

The best bargains may be HD-DVDs (extinct of course) as you get true HD PQ for as little as $5.99 each (see this section of the forum for details).

You can save money by not rebuying your collection in blu-ray and keeping your SD-DVDs to be used with a good upconverting SD-DVD player. You can't really compare true blu-ray's quality with upconverted SD-DVDs no matter how expensive or how good your SD-DVD player is.

The best bargains may be HD-DVDs (extinct of course) as you get true HD PQ for as little as $5.99 each (see this section of the forum for details).

Huey,

But, of course I can compare Blu-ray quality with the OPPO 983 since I own both. Do you?

HD-DVDs are no bargain at all for me since I don't own such a player.

Dana

Huey,

But, of course I can compare Blu-ray quality with the OPPO 983 since I own both. Do you?

Dana

I am 100% with you on this one!

It is not arguable that scaled SD has the resolution of BD as it simply does not. It is also not arguable that resolution is the only factor to consider when judging the aesthetics of an image.

I want movies to look like the film source they were mastered on. To me...and I am not ascribing this to anyone else...Movies on BD look like HD video and not like film. Film-sourced material properly mastered on SD and scaled on the 983 looks like film. For example, a few nights ago we watched the indie The Savages. Using the 983 at 1080p out to my properly calibrated 52" LCD, I could see the film grain in virtually every scene in the movie. To me that in itself constitutes a resolution threshold that I really do not need to exceed for that film.

Of course no generality covers every case and I am sure there are exceptions to this rule, but in most cases I believe the above to be true. Will I buy and enjoy BD as a format?...Of course I will. Will I rush out to replace all of my SD films with their BD counterparts as they become available...Absolutely not.

-Toonces

What I mean "work well" is I pop a disc in and it plays correctly (ie a CD plays in stereo on my L and R mains, a multichannel SACD is recognized as such and plays in 5.1, same with multi-channel DVD-A, etc, etc).

Yes, this will work correctly. Just makes sure you set the DownMix to 5.1 under Speaker Setup.

Yes, this will work correctly. Just makes sure you set the DownMix to 5.1 under Speaker Setup.

Though unless I missed a firmware fix, the 983 will not correctly keep SACD Priority as "Multi-Channel" after a Stereo-only SACD has played. You will have to go into the Options menu and reset your Priority back to Multi-Channel on your own.

Hopefully a fix is coming soon....?.....??

I've had my 983H since the last week of May. I've already seen several weird things like a video frame freeze in mid movie. I skip back a bit and it will play through fine. Not an all the time thing but often enough. I have a 980H that was used for video for years and it was flawless so this is a new experience for me with Oppo, having problems that is.

I don't use the 983H for music but tried it anyway. I was listening to a Norah Jones SACD and it simply skipped to the next track. Again, I skipped it back to the beginning of the track and it played fine.

The video resolution and sound during video playback is stellar and i have no issues with the unit per se but these little glitches are bothersome. Especially in light of how the 980H performed so well with never a hiccup.

I am troubled by the SACD issues with the 983: mine defaults to 2 channel stereo via the HDMI output: the sound quality is poor compared to my Lexicon RT-10 playing the same SACD via 5.1 analog

I was hoping for a single cable (HDMI) connection but this issue prevents this

Do you guys expect a firmware fix?

Was this a 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, or 6.0 SACD, or was a 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, or 6.1 SACD?

If the former, than this could be an issue related to both the DV-980H and the DV-983H playing these formats as 2.0 Stereo or 4.0 Multi-channel.

If the later, how many SACDs have you tried? Do you get multi-channel from DVD-Audio or when you set the player to PCM rather than Auto under Audio Setup?

Also ensure that the Volume on the player has been set to +20 by pressing the Volume + button on the remote control. If the volume is set too low, you may not hear any audio.
This was a 5.1 SACD (it was Dark Side of the Moon which I think is 5.1, but I don't have it handy to verify). I did try a couple of others that were lying close, but I don't recall which they were now. As for volume, I did try turning it up in an attempt to detect any sound at all...there was none. The fact that the Z11s display didn't light up the channel indicators suggested to me that it really didn't think anything was there...this is the only time I've seen this behavior with the Z11.

I didn't try any DVD-Audios. The fact that my SACDs and 1080p didn't work was a killer for me (esp. the SACDs as I have hundreds of them).

I probably should call Oppo and talk with them again. I have emailed them about returning both units but actually talking to them may be a better idea.

I think you need to talk to Oppo again, we had exactly the same problem as you with the Yamaha RXv3800; 720, 1080i and below all work ok, but on 1080p audio and video dropouts.

All worked fine on 1080p with the 981 and the 980 models but not the 983. Oppo sorted it out for us with a firmware update which is now official.

Im sure you need to work with Oppo closely on this one and they will do everything possible to fix the problem. They are great this way, and I know they will do everything possible to get yours and every other owner of the Z11 (who may buy the DV-983H) to work perfectly on 1080p.

I say hold on to the 983 and work with Oppo and help resolve the issue, it will be well worth it I promise. The 983 would make a perfect match with the Z11, you will never find a better player, good luck:)
Yeah, you are probably right that I should talk with Oppo folks again. The engineer that I talked with said that they were able to get the 983 to work with other Yamaha receivers but had never tested with the Z11. I really would like to get it working.

On the fence here and need some help:

My sister is big into importing films, anime, and stuff like that. She needs a region free player so it's come down to the Oppos. It's either going to be the 980 or possibly splurging for the 983.

She uses a Sony 40XBR4LCD and while not an outright "videophile" she likes things to be nice and she'll notice video when it's not right. (re: She'll notice macroblocking and stuff like that.)

How much of a difference in PQ, especially as it pertains to PAL-NTSC conversion, are we really talking about in the 980 vs. the 983? Pulling hairs? ;)

The 981 is off the table because of the Faroudja chip and the macroblocking that goes with it. Not an option.

Some prospective buyers of the OPPO 983 have written about its upfront cost being higher that other standard DVD players and have asked on this thread "Is it worth it?" (Note: I haven't seen any such comments from owners, however. ;))

Not many posts have mentioned how much money one can save with the 983. An example came to my attention the other day with the announcement of the Oscar-winning 1970 film Patton being released on Blu-ray. I saw this film in a theater when it first came out. As the owner of a first gen Blu-ray player, I picked up my ears because this is the type of film I've been waiting for - a classic big screen production of the past being released on Blu-ray. Or so I thought.

Patton on Blu-ray (set of two discs) carries an MSRP of about $40. with a street price about $10. less. A 2006 SD DVD release also a two disc set carries an MSRP of about $20. with a street price about $10 less. (All price info from Amazon.) According to reader reports on Amazon, the second documentary disc in the Blu-ray keep case is the identical documentary DVD as was issued in 2006. Other reader reports indicate that while the Blu-ray disc is pristine HD, it's almost too much of a good thing. You can see the makeup on the actors faces, etc! (That's not uncommon these days with HD TV showing more wrinkles and facial blemishes than some TV personalities want revealed.)

So, do I shell out $30. for Blu-ray or spend $10. for the SD DVD set that I know the OPPO 983 will display remarkably well.

Dana
You pick the one that represents closest to the director's visual intent.

How much of a difference in PQ, especially as it pertains to PAL-NTSC conversion, are we really talking about in the 980 vs. the 983? Pulling hairs? ;)

It depends on the animation, but I have seen strong combing on the 980 which does not exist on the 981 or 983.

PAL playback on the 980 seemed poor compared to the other players (lots of jaggies), although people here say it is better than the 970.

Does it matter? I would enjoy that material on the 980 without difficulty, but I would also notice its shortcomings. It depends on her preferences, and how much the "could have gotten a 983 for only 2.36x the money" regret gnaws at her.

-Bill

It depends on the animation, but I have seen strong combing on the 980 which does not exist on the 981 or 983.

PAL playback on the 980 seemed poor compared to the other players (lots of jaggies), although people here say it is better than the 970.

Which ones and what kind of pricing are we talking about?



Does it matter? I would enjoy that material on the 980 without difficulty, but I would also notice its shortcomings. It depends on her preferences, and how much the "could have gotten a 983 for only 2.36x the money" regret gnaws at her.

-Bill

^^ Appreciate it. :)

All told, do you think these are the best players to handle this sort of application?

The PS3 is the best for animation support. However, you can't make a PS3 region free, which can be a hassle if you are playing back Japanese animations which have not been released in the United States.

The DV-983H is the second best solution.

Which ones and what kind of pricing are we talking about?

I meant compared to the Oppo 981 and 983.

All told, do you think these are the best players to handle this sort of application?

I can't give comparisons to other brands; I've been using Oppo players for several years and have been very pleased. I wish all companies strove as hard to produce good products and support them.

I have a small PAL collection. I knew someone who put an enormous amount of effort into doing PAL->NTSC conversions in software, which is rather difficult to do well. When I showed him my old 971 he gave up his project as pointless.

-Bill

The PS3 is the best for animation support.

Yup, she owns that as do I. She wouldn't mind getting some anime on Blu down the road but it's just so ghastly expensive that it's not something she's going to pursue aggressively for some time to come.


However, you can't make a PS3 region free, which can be a hassle if you are playing back Japanese animations which have not been released in the United States.

That's the catch. ;)



The DV-983H is the second best solution.

Alright.

Otherwise, she's mentioning cheap Pioneer DV400V's's on Ebay and the like...



I meant compared to the Oppo 981 and 983.



I can't give comparisons to other brands; I've been using Oppo players for several years and have been very pleased. I wish all companies strove as hard to produce good products and support them.

I have a small PAL collection. I knew someone who put an enormous amount of effort into doing PAL->NTSC conversions in software, which is rather difficult to do well. When I showed him my old 971 he gave up his project as pointless.

-Bill

That says a lot right there. :)

The Pioneer DV400V pretty much offers the same performance of the DV-980H for decoding and processing animation contents.

For animations I would either go with the DV-983H or the DV-980H at 480i (let the display do the processing and scaling).

The Pioneer DV400V pretty much offers the same performance of the DV-980H for decoding and processing animation contents.

For animations I would either go with the DV-983H or the DV-980H at 480i (let the display do the processing and scaling).

That's an idea. The 40xbr4's video processing is pretty good. If she sends the signal at 480i over HDMI, the PAL-NTSC conversion still happens per the correct menu settings and all that?

Would the combing and video issues mentioned by wmclain on the PAL-NTSC conversion still be there on the 980 if it's set to 480i?

Would the combing and video issues mentioned by wmclain on the PAL-NTSC conversion still be there on the 980 if it's set to 480i?

No, those are deinterlacing issues. If you send 480i the display has to handle the deinterlacing, which it may or may not do well in specific instances.

-Bill

That is correct. You can use the DVD player for doing any NTSC<->PAL conversions and region free playback. You will then use the display for de-interlacing and scaling. I know for American animations 480i works very well. Have not tried it with Japanese animations, but it should be better than using the MTK solution.

At 480i combing and aliasing errors are completely at fault with the display, as the DVD player is just a transport in this mode.

No, those are deinterlacing issues. If you send 480i the display has to handle the deinterlacing, which it may or may not do well in specific instances.

-Bill

Thanks for the clarification. :)

She's got some time to stew on this since I just called Oppo and they still say that they're looking at another couple of weeks before any 983's come in anyways.

She's open to going for a 983 so that sounds like the best ticket. :)

I was having a problem with 983H not playing DVD-Audio disk correctly, it outputs only 2-channel instead of 6. OPPO confirmed this morning that there is a problem in the MTK1389 decoder and is working on a fix. Here is OPPO's respond to my email:

There is a known error with the MTK1389 decoder that is used in the DV-980H and the DV-983H which causes 2.0 Stereo to playback from 2.0, 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0 SACD and DVD-Audio discs. This is currently on the top priority fix list for our engineers. We hope to have a status update on firmware enhancements for this problem in the coming weeks.

Best Regards,

Customer Service
OPPO Digital, Inc.
2629B Terminal Blvd.
Mountain View, CA 94043
Service@oppodigital.com
Tel: 650-961-1118
Fax: 650-961-1119

Just thought I'd shine a little about this player! One thing I haven't seen much discussion on is it's fantastic zoom capabilities! My television does a decent job, but this 983 is incredible. Bar none, it has the best zoom feature I've seen for non-anamorphic material.

I'm not buying one until they work out the bugs. Sorry, 2.0 audio from a 5.1 disc, that's major. I'll keep my 981 for a little longer, no problems at all with it. Macroblocking, what macroblocking? Never seen it with my InFocus pj ;)

No, you get 5.1 from a 5.1 SACD or DVD-Audio title. What becomes an issue is X.0 DVD-Audio or SACD will be processed as 2.0 Stereo.

EDIT: And if you put in a 2.0 Stereo SACD, then go back to a 5.1 SACD, the system defaults back Stereo. Both are issues which OPPO is currently working on vigorously.

Hi,

A few days ago I posted a message concerning a problem I'm having with getting DTS sound from my Onkyo 705 receiver. I tried a few of the suggestions posted but am still having the same problems.
My Oppo 983 player is hooked directly into the Onkyo 705 receiver through an HDMI cable, which is in turn connected to my Sony 55A3000 TV.
Whenever I try to play any DVD's with any type of DTS soundtrack(5.1, ES,etc.), the sound is weak and the receiver display simply reads "PCM direct" with no DTS logo. Dolby Digital sound works great. Loud, clear, with a nice little Dolby Digital display lighted up on the receiver.
The HDMI audio is set to "AUTO" on the Oppo player. I've tried both DOWN-MIX 5-1, and 7-1 settings(I have 7 speakers)
It is not the HDMI cable. I've tried different cables and still have the same problem.
It is not the Onkyo HDMI3 input. I swapped inputs. Again, same problem.
When I turn the HDMI audio off on the Oppo 983, and play the DVD DTS audio through an Optical Cable, the DTS sounds great, the DTS logo is displayed on the receiver, and everything seems to be working fine.
Now, I can always use this option to watch and listen to my DTS DVD's, but it's going to bother me that something is not working right, and I don't know if the problem is with my receiver or my Oppo 983.
With the additional information I've provided, does anyone have any theories as to what the problem may be, and more importantly, any solutions.

Thanks,
Dave

Just thought I'd shine a little about this player! One thing I haven't seen much discussion on is it's fantastic zoom capabilities! My television does a decent job, but this 983 is incredible. Bar none, it has the best zoom feature I've seen for non-anamorphic material. You are so right. The zooms are phenomenal, especially for non-anamorphic content.

Gary

That's an idea. The 40xbr4's video processing is pretty good. If she sends the signal at 480i over HDMI, the PAL-NTSC conversion still happens per the correct menu settings and all that?

Would the combing and video issues mentioned by wmclain on the PAL-NTSC conversion still be there on the 980 if it's set to 480i? Just FYI... the XBR4 doesn't hold a candle to the 983 when it comes to de-interlacing and/or scaling the trickier stuff. The 983 smokes it. So she may not be very happy with the 480i option.

Gary

But it is a much cheaper solution.

I am troubled by the SACD issues with the 983: mine defaults to 2 channel stereo via the HDMI output:

Do you guys expect a firmware fix? Mark, did you see this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14046589#post14046589)?

Gary

Mark, did you see this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14046589#post14046589)?

Gary

yes...thank you: I will wait for the new firmware

otherwise I am quite pleased with this unit: the video quality is really quite good

well one other issue: rack mount...still waiting for Middle Atlantic to add this model to their custom rack mount RSH database ...any other rack mount solutions?

Mark

I've had my 983H since the last week of May. I've already seen several weird things like a video frame freeze in mid movie. I skip back a bit and it will play through fine. Not an all the time thing but often enough. I have a 980H that was used for video for years and it was flawless so this is a new experience for me with Oppo, having problems that is.

I don't use the 983H for music but tried it anyway. I was listening to a Norah Jones SACD and it simply skipped to the next track. Again, I skipped it back to the beginning of the track and it played fine.

The video resolution and sound during video playback is stellar and i have no issues with the unit per se but these little glitches are bothersome. Especially in light of how the 980H performed so well with never a hiccup. The problem you describe, sounds more like a disk read issue. The 983 uses a different loader/laser pickup assembly, which enhances compatibility with certain media types, but it may not be quite as forgiving of problem disks as the 980 is. If this occurs frequently on good disks, you should call OPPO. I have never had any skips or freezes.

Gary

Originally Posted by HT_n_Me
I've had my 983H since the last week of May. I've already seen several weird things like a video frame freeze in mid movie. I skip back a bit and it will play through fine. Not an all the time thing but often enough. I have a 980H that was used for video for years and it was flawless so this is a new experience for me with Oppo, having problems that is.

I don't use the 983H for music but tried it anyway. I was listening to a Norah Jones SACD and it simply skipped to the next track. Again, I skipped it back to the beginning of the track and it played fine.

The video resolution and sound during video playback is stellar and i have no issues with the unit per se but these little glitches are bothersome. Especially in light of how the 980H performed so well with never a hiccup.

The problem you describe, sounds more like a disk read issue. The 983 uses a different loader/laser pickup assembly, which enhances compatibility with certain media types, but it may not be quite as forgiving of problem disks as the 980 is. If this occurs frequently on good disks, you should call OPPO. I have never had any skips or freezes.

Gary

Interestingly enough, I started experiencing this same issue over the past week or so. Although, it hasn't happened in the past 2 days.

Has anyone here ordered their 983H from solutionsAV.com in Canada in the last 3 weeks and received their player?

Just thought I'd shine a little about this player! One thing I haven't seen much discussion on is it's fantastic zoom capabilities! My television does a decent job, but this 983 is incredible. Bar none, it has the best zoom feature I've seen for non-anamorphic material.Your right the zooming of non-anamorphic material is impressive on the 983H. Did a awesome job with The Dirty Dozen I was watching last night.

Originally Posted by HT_n_Me
I've had my 983H since the last week of May. I've already seen several weird things like a video frame freeze in mid movie. I skip back a bit and it will play through fine. Not an all the time thing but often enough. I have a 980H that was used for video for years and it was flawless so this is a new experience for me with Oppo, having problems that is.


I have had only 1 instant of video frame freeze, it was when playing Transformer at time 05:40, the video will freeze for about 4 seconds. If I replay the same frame, it will still freeze, but for a short time. I have tried this a couple of time and it freezes every time on that frame. I have examined my disk and it is very clean with no scratch at all. Did anyone has the same issue with this movie?

I have had only 1 instant of video frame freeze, it was when playing Transformer at time 05:40, the video will freeze for about 4 seconds. If I replay the same frame, it will still freeze, but for a short time. I have tried this a couple of time and it freezes every time on that frame. I have examined my disk and it is very clean with no scratch at all. Did anyone has the same issue with this movie? I had no problems with "Transformers". Since it always occurs in one particular place, it sounds like an optical defect with that specific disk.

Gary

Got the 983 couple of weeks ago. Connected direct to Panasonic "Industrial" plasma TH-50PH9UK with HDMI. Digital sound with coax to Anthem pre/pro, for CD and SACD use analog outs to Krell audio preamp. First couple days all seemed fine and looked and sounded excellent. After that, sometimes video goes to flickering mode, flickers between black screen and normal screen, somewhat randomly, but maybe with an average frequency of 3 Hz. When in this flickering mode, does not matter what type of disc is put on the tray, i.e., flickers even if audio CD is playing (but the monitor is on). Also does not matter whether screen resolution is set to 480p, 720p, or 1080i. Sometimes turning off and back on both monitor and the 983 fixes the problem - for a while. But sometimes does not. OPPO already sent me a new unit, but same behavior - so wondering is this HDMI compatibility/handshake issue. Why I don't consider the monitor as much a suspect yet is that when I replace the 983 with my older OPPO 970 with exact same HDMI cable and same location and same signal paths, this flickering problem does not appear; all seems stable.
Any thoughts? Obviously, I will follow up with OPPO as well.

Watching and listening,

Change the HDMI cable if you have one available.

Connect direct to your plasma, and if possible, try another HDMI input.

OPPO sent me the cable used for the rear IR port: it has a 3 pin plug on the OPPO end, and a 2 pin plug on the other for an IR block [the tip of the 3 pin plug is +5 volts for an optional IR receiver: you don't want to connect to the pin for an external IR signal]

with this cable, the rear IR port works fine

No, you get 5.1 from a 5.1 SACD or DVD-Audio title. What becomes an issue is X.0 DVD-Audio or SACD will be processed as 2.0 Stereo.

EDIT: And if you put in a 2.0 Stereo SACD, then go back to a 5.1 SACD, the system defaults back Stereo. Both are issues which OPPO is currently working on vigorously.

Whew! Thanks for the heads-up with this issue. I have an extensive collection of SACD & DVD-A titles and thus would have found that unacceptable. Just canceled my order for a 983 after speaking with a customer rep who said the engineers are still working on the problem and didn't have an estimate of when/if they'll come up with a fix. For now, my Oppo 980 suits me just fine.

For now, my Oppo 980 suits me just fine.

The DV-980H has the same error.

The DV-980H has the same error.

True enough. I have a 980H which I use for SACD and DVD-A's. I also have a CD player for 2 channel so its not a problem for me anymore.

Update on the 983H: I heard back from Oppo on the freeze and skip problems. They had me reload the firmware, blow some compressed air in the unit, and try it again. Watched a few movies, played two SACD's and so far nothing odd. Works perfectly so far.

Oppo did say that if the problem persists they would repair or replace my 983H.

I also brought this 2 channel and multi channel thing up with NAD who makes my processor. They brought a 980H in to their lab to test and found that if downmix was left at 7.1, the unit always correctly figured out 2 channel or 5.1 in my case. I never got a chance to test this but I make mention in case someone wants to try.

Update on the 983H: I heard back from Oppo on the freeze and skip problems.

Most skipping errors are associated to either the media being dirty or scratched. However, there are cases where the lens itself can become obstructed (dirt, hair, or other particles) or the power to the laser is inefficient. This is why they recommend disconnecting the power and trying to clean the lens.

Firmware is to ensure there is no software conflict (firmware tells the hardware what to do).

I have decided to keep my 983 afterall. I tried it on a system in another room and all is well there. This system has a Yamaha RX-V2700 receiver (vs. the RX-Z11) and it works as expected. Who knows, maybe Oppo will get ahold of a Z11 at some point and come up with a firmware fix for the compatibility issues with it.

So is the 2.0 from a 3.0/4.0/5.0 source problem related to the SACD Priority not being correctly kept at 5.1 after you play a Stereo SACD?

Is there a timeline for fixing this problem, as it's been a month and a half since it was reported and by far is the largest (and extremely frustrating) issue I have with the 983.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13715729&postcount=1582

So is the 2.0 from a 3.0/4.0/5.0 source problem related to the SACD Priority not being correctly kept at 5.1 after you play a Stereo SACD?
No, these is a completely separate issues.

There is no timeline. OPPO generally does not offer timelines unless they know for a fact they can reach it. They don't want to promise something that they do not have.

I have decided to keep my 983 afterall. I tried it on a system in another room and all is well there. This system has a Yamaha RX-V2700 receiver (vs. the RX-Z11) and it works as expected. Who knows, maybe Oppo will get ahold of a Z11 at some point and come up with a firmware fix for the compatibility issues with it.


Maybe you could offer OPPO to send your Yamaha RX-Z11 in for their testing if they pay the shipping to & from.

Just a thought!

Unless, you can't live without.

I have decided to keep my 983 afterall. I tried it on a system in another room and all is well there. This system has a Yamaha RX-V2700 receiver (vs. the RX-Z11) and it works as expected. Who knows, maybe Oppo will get ahold of a Z11 at some point and come up with a firmware fix for the compatibility issues with it.

How can you be so sure it's the Oppo and not the Z11?

Hi,

A few days ago I posted a message concerning a problem I'm having with getting DTS sound from my Onkyo 705 receiver. I tried a few of the suggestions posted but am still having the same problems.
My Oppo 983 player is hooked directly into the Onkyo 705 receiver through an HDMI cable, which is in turn connected to my Sony 55A3000 TV.
Whenever I try to play any DVD's with any type of DTS soundtrack(5.1, ES,etc.), the sound is weak and the receiver display simply reads "PCM direct" with no DTS logo. Dolby Digital sound works great. Loud, clear, with a nice little Dolby Digital display lighted up on the receiver.
The HDMI audio is set to "AUTO" on the Oppo player. I've tried both DOWN-MIX 5-1, and 7-1 settings(I have 7 speakers)
It is not the HDMI cable. I've tried different cables and still have the same problem.
It is not the Onkyo HDMI3 input. I swapped inputs. Again, same problem.
When I turn the HDMI audio off on the Oppo 983, and play the DVD DTS audio through an Optical Cable, the DTS sounds great, the DTS logo is displayed on the receiver, and everything seems to be working fine.
Now, I can always use this option to watch and listen to my DTS DVD's, but it's going to bother me that something is not working right, and I don't know if the problem is with my receiver or my Oppo 983.
With the additional information I've provided, does anyone have any theories as to what the problem may be, and more importantly, any solutions.

Thanks,
Dave


Well, I've pretty much narrowed the problem down to the player, but the problem seems to be worse than I thought.
I have a Toshiba A35 HD-DVD player, a PS3 player, and the Oppo 983.
The PS3 is the only player that gives you specific Bitstream or PCM HDMI audio out options. The Oppo 983 and the Toshiba A35 only give you Auto or PCM HDMI audio out options.
The Onkyo 705 seems to be automatically converting the audio to PCM whether it's from the Toshiba player or the Oppo 983. To make matters worse, now any True HD tracks from any of my HD DVD's are now coming through as PCM and are sounding extremely weak(in the past, I would get the TRUE HD reading on the receiver's display.)
Did I accidently push a wrong button on the receiver and not realize it?
I'm at my wit's end in regards to this problem and any help would be apprciated.

I've only had my player a few weeks and up until a few days ago it was working fine. Now I've noticed the last few times I've turned the player on that the bottom 20% of the screen is all noise and the rest is OK. Scrolling through the resolutions and back to 720p fixes the problem. Any ideas? I live in Australia and don't wish to ship it back. The player is hooked up to the TV via the HDMI cable that came with the Oppo.

I've only had my player a few weeks and up until a few days ago it was working fine. Now I've noticed the last few times I've turned the player on that the bottom 20% of the screen is all noise and the rest is OK. Scrolling through the resolutions and back to 720p fixes the problem. Any ideas? I live in Australia and don't wish to ship it back. The player is hooked up to the TV via the HDMI cable that came with the Oppo.

Do you have the latest firmware installed?

Well, I've pretty much narrowed the problem down to the player, but the problem seems to be worse than I thought.
I have a Toshiba A35 HD-DVD player, a PS3 player, and the Oppo 983.
The PS3 is the only player that gives you specific Bitstream or PCM HDMI audio out options. The Oppo 983 and the Toshiba A35 only give you Auto or PCM HDMI audio out options.
The Onkyo 705 seems to be automatically converting the audio to PCM whether it's from the Toshiba player or the Oppo 983. To make matters worse, now any True HD tracks from any of my HD DVD's are now coming through as PCM and are sounding extremely weak(in the past, I would get the TRUE HD reading on the receiver's display.)
Did I accidently push a wrong button on the receiver and not realize it?
I'm at my wit's end in regards to this problem and any help would be apprciated.

Do you have the correct settings assigned inside the A35 and the 983?

983
HDMI Audio = AUTO
Digital Output = RAW
Primary Output = HDMI
Down-mix = 5.1

A35
Digital Out SPDIF = Bitstream
Digital Out HDMI = Auto
Digital Direct Audio Mode = On

How can you be so sure it's the Oppo and not the Z11?
Well, everything else that I've plugged into my Z11 has worked. This includes an assortment of Blu-ray players and other DVD players (including Oppo DV-980H & DV-981HD).

I don't know which one is at fault (perhaps neither), but when a $400 DVD player doesn't work with my $5000 a/v receiver, guess which one I remove from the system?

Maybe you could offer OPPO to send your Yamaha RX-Z11 in for their testing if they pay the shipping to & from.

Just a thought!

Unless, you can't live without.
Hmm, not a very pleasant one at that. First of all, I don't fancy shipping my expensive receiver across the country for other people to mess with (I work for IBM and I know how we treat our test systems); and second, reconnecting and testing my system when I got it back would be a two day job (I have lots of devices attached and *way* too many cables).

Nope, I'd like a working 983 in that system but I'm not nearly masochistic enough to do that. :(

Do you have the latest firmware installed?

Yes I have the latest firmware.

Anyone who says "I wouldn't give two cents for HDMI" might be challenged by this offer. ;)http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002L5R78/002-7023343-8599242?ie=UTF8&tag=tvpredictions-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B0002L5R78

Dana

Last night the DV-983H froze again near mid or later half of a movie. Brand new DVD, cleaned and inspected prior to use.

I had to stop the movie, open the tray, close the tray, back it up a bit and it played fine through the rest of the movie.

When the frame froze, I also experienced the sound being distorted in a way I can only described as slower and "stretched". Great picture during the freeze though and through out the movie. I'm impressed with the picture, but not to pleased with the remaining performance of the unit.

I've sent a note to Oppo about it. They followed up with me yesterday so it was timely.

As someone kind of waiting on the fence here, would I be way out of line if my observation of the last several pages of this thread led me to conclude that perhaps the reason the 983 is out of stock for a few weeks is because of these funky glitches and when the 983 comes back, perhaps the units will have been fixed?

As someone kind of waiting on the fence here, would I be way out of line if my observation of the last several pages of this thread led me to conclude that perhaps the reason the 983 is out of stock for a few weeks is because of these funky glitches and when the 983 comes back, perhaps the units will have been fixed?

There is no reason to believe that.

You'd need to come up with a specific list of problems you think are widespread and ask Oppo if they are known problems.

-Bill

The DV-980H has the same error.

That's odd, because I haven't noticed the problem -- perhaps I'm misunderstanding the issue. I just played a DVD-A through the 980H and got wonderful 5.1 surround; also followed up with an SACD (pretty sure it was a 2.0 remaster of an opera on RCA) and when I checked the settings, they were exactly as I'd set them. Perhaps this issue affects SACD 2.0 ---> 5.1 and not DVD-Audios?

There is no reason to believe that.

You'd need to come up with a specific list of problems you think are widespread and ask Oppo if they are known problems.

-Bill

Just some of the bugs I've seen people complaining about in this thread over the last few pages. Nothing real official.

That's why I posed it as a question and theory. ;)

How can you be so sure it's the Oppo and not the Z11?

You can't. The issue becomes is compatibility. There have not been any other users who have had the Yamaha RX-Z11 and the DV-983H; nor has OPPO had any experience with this combination. Without a second opinion (another user), you can't determine which product is causing the compatibility issue.

It would be all the better if it was the OPPO, as the firmware turnaround is much faster and easier to perform.

Just some of the bugs I've seen people complaining about in this thread over the last few pages. Nothing real official.

If it is talked about here, OPPO at least knows about it. They are very diligent readers of the AVS Forums.

That's odd, because I haven't noticed the problem -- perhaps I'm misunderstanding the issue. I just played a DVD-A through the 980H and got wonderful 5.1 surround; also followed up with an SACD (pretty sure it was a 2.0 remaster of an opera on RCA) and when I checked the settings, they were exactly as I'd set them. Perhaps this issue affects SACD 2.0 ---> 5.1 and not DVD-Audios?

The error is related specifically to DVD-Audio and SACD discs which are 4.0, 5.0, or 6.0 mastered. The lack of the LFE track, for some unknown reason to us, causes the player to only playback in 2.0 Stereo from these multi-channel discs.

2.0 Stereo and 5.1 encoded SACD and DVD-Audio discs do not have any problems. They will always playback correctly on the DV-980H and the DV-983H.

Once again, the error is only applied to multi-channel DVD-Audio and SACD media which lack a LFE channel (X.0 discs; where "X" is the number of channels).

I purchased this Maxell- lens cleaner- CD-340. It has some brush attached to it. and suppose to clean the DVD's reading optic. I do get dust weekly around my gear. Do you know if it really works? Because i haven't a freeze or drop out on my 983 from day one.
db

As someone kind of waiting on the fence here, would I be way out of line if my observation of the last several pages of this thread led me to conclude that perhaps the reason the 983 is out of stock for a few weeks is because of these funky glitches and when the 983 comes back, perhaps the units will have been fixed?

Completely baseless speculation. The unit has been out of stock due to the design of the player being much more complex than anything OPPO had previously attempted and the higher than anticipated demand.

It has nothing to do with bugs or other flaws.

Completely baseless speculation. The unit has been out of stock due to the design of the player being much more complex than anything OPPO had previously attempted and the higher than anticipated demand.

It has nothing to do with bugs or other flaws.

Excellent.

983H update:

Oppo rocks. I sent them the note about my freeze frame issue this morning and when I got back to my office this afternoon they asked for my contact info, where and when I bought the player and after furnishing them the info, ten minutes later I got an email that they were shipping me a new unit and a shipping label for the "old" unit. Pretty darned good customer service in my mind.

983H update:

Oppo rocks. I sent them the note about my freeze frame issue this morning and when I got back to my office this afternoon they asked for my contact info, where and when I bought the player and after furnishing them the info, ten minutes later I got an email that they were shipping me a new unit and a shipping label for the "old" unit. Pretty darned good customer service in my mind.You bet. A model to be emulated. I teach hundreds of students each year about how a firm can adopt an implement a customer orientation and I always use the anecdotes posted here to support the exemplar, Oppo.

if anyone's tried it, how does the 983s vertical stretch function look when used with horizontal expansion lens in a c.i.h. setup?

also, this may have been mentioned, how does 983 fare with -r discs made on stand-alone dvd recorders?

thanks!

for those who want to rack mount the OPPO:

Middle Atlantic now lists this unit in its database for the RSH4A custom rackmount:

they list both a DV-983 and a DV-983H: I am not sure what the difference is but I ordered the rackmount for DV-983H

Thanks for the info, Mark.

Gary

if anyone's tried it, how does the 983s vertical stretch function look when used with horizontal expansion lens in a c.i.h. setup? Two or three posters commented that they had tried an anamorphic lens, and it worked fine.

Gary

Two or three posters commented that they had tried an anamorphic lens, and it worked fine.

Gary

thank you. i thought i'd read every post in this thread but i must have missed some.

Well, everything else that I've plugged into my Z11 has worked. This includes an assortment of Blu-ray players and other DVD players (including Oppo DV-980H & DV-981HD).

I don't know which one is at fault (perhaps neither), but when a $400 DVD player doesn't work with my $5000 a/v receiver, guess which one I remove from the system?



This is just a guess, but maybe this has something to do with the Oppo/ZX11 problems:

Quote from ZX11 review from UAV mag,

As I started testing the Z11's video processing, I discovered something disturbing—even though the receiver offers a "through" mode, the video signal did not pass unmolested. Below-black information was clipped as illustrated by the PLUGE pattern on the Digital Video Essentials HD DVD. I also confirmed that the processor clips above-white using DVE's grayscale ramps. I obtained similar results with the output set to 1080p, so it seems clear that the Yamaha only supports a dynamic range of 16-235 instead of 0-255 as it should.

Perhaps this is interfering with the Oppo somehow in some way?

If that is true about the Z11, then it should be bypassed for video. With HDMI, if the "receiver" extracts audio, there is no true passthrough. It has to capture the data, extract audio, and then send the video out. It should pass the video as it received it to look like true passthrough (from a video standpoint).

larry

This is just a guess, but maybe this has something to do with the Oppo/ZX11 problems:

Quote from ZX11 review from UAV mag,

As I started testing the Z11's video processing, I discovered something disturbing—even though the receiver offers a "through" mode, the video signal did not pass unmolested. Below-black information was clipped as illustrated by the PLUGE pattern on the Digital Video Essentials HD DVD. I also confirmed that the processor clips above-white using DVE's grayscale ramps. I obtained similar results with the output set to 1080p, so it seems clear that the Yamaha only supports a dynamic range of 16-235 instead of 0-255 as it should.

Perhaps this is interfering with the Oppo somehow in some way?
I don't know, but this "feature" does seem to upset some people, while others have claimed that below 16 or above 235 isn't needed for video, just PCs. So far it hasn't bothered me, unless of course it is causing the incompatibility with the 983. :rolleyes:

Then again, it certainly could be an important factor. When I discussed my problem with the Oppo engineer he was concerned that having both ABT1018 chips in the circuit could be causing timing issues (he mentioned something about the ABT1018s being very critical in this area, and this had caused them earlier problems) and wanted me to disable the processing in the Z11. It sounds like even when you turn off HDMI conversion the ABT1018 may still be in the circuit.

BTW, I'm not too keen on turning off the HDMI conversion anyway as I have some older equipment that isn't HDMI capable and I like the fact that the Z11 converts and upscales their output to HDMI for my projector.

If that is true about the Z11, then it should be bypassed for video. With HDMI, if the "receiver" extracts audio, there is no true passthrough. It has to capture the data, extract audio, and then send the video out. It should pass the video as it received it to look like true passthrough (from a video standpoint).

larry
This sounds logical, but for some reason Yamaha decided to clip the video even when it is only passing it through. Maybe at some point they will fix it with a firmware update, but I'm not holding my breath (Yamaha doesn't update the firmware in their products very often, which I view as both good and bad).

I got my 983H and I have it hooked to my new Samsung 52" A650 and, in my opinion, the results are simply beyond spectacular. I posted a few images in the LN52A650 calibration thread if anyone is interested.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14076042#post14076042

Yikes!...I am one very happy camper right now...:D

-Toonces

BTW - A brief plug for the A650...This thing really does have blacks on a par with high-end plasmas when it's set up properly.

I've got the UK equivalent - a 52" A656 - and I've been debating about whether to replace my 971H with the 983; it's getting harder to argue against it...

Re:Z11's "16-235" video processing.
It seems this "clipping" is common to many if not all Yamaha's offerings and has been WIDELY discussed in the 663 forum. I have one and my Oppo 983 works flawlessly with the Yamaha.

I've got the UK equivalent - a 52" A656 - and I've been debating about whether to replace my 971H with the 983; it's getting harder to argue against it...

I didn't think the 1080p capability would be that big of a deal. I have definitely changed my mind now.

By the way, I didn't get rid of my 971H. I just moved the older setup to another room...;)

-Toonces

I didn't think the 1080p capability would be that big of a deal. I have definitely changed my mind now.

By the way, I didn't get rid of my 971H. I just moved the older setup to another room...;)

-Toonces

Toonces; what specific areas have you seen improvement on with the 983 over the 971?

I'm with you BTW, the Samsung is absolutely fantastic, but with the jump from a 42" display to the 52" I'm seeing defects in my DVDs I didn't see before.

Toonces; what specific areas have you seen improvement on with the 983 over the 971?

I'm with you BTW, the Samsung is absolutely fantastic, but with the jump from a 42" display to the 52" I'm seeing defects in my DVDs I didn't see before.

John,

Mostly it's the 1080p image. I have watched all of these films at 720p. At my viewing distance, about eleven feet, the difference is noticeable to me. Even my wife, who is not a videophile, says that she sees the improvement in detail. When it first arrived I hooked it up to my old 50" GWII instead of the 971...not a big difference, if any, at 720p with both units.

On the A650 at 1080p, however, the improvement is amazing. To be fair, I did connect the 971 to the A650 as well and, although the difference was smaller, it was still inferior to the 720p image produced by the 983. And with the 983 at 1080p it was no contest at all.

On the latter, it's just a fact of video life that the better the resolution, the more obvious the source defects become.

-Toonces

Many thanks for that; very useful indeed.

As much as I like the 983, here is what I think:

1. As reported previously, the HUE control does not work on my 983 as well as confirmed by a few others on this thread. I received a response from Oppo that this cannot be corrected due to the ABT implementation using HDMI. It is odd that all other controls are working fine but I will accept that as an answer since I'm not technically sophisticated enough to investigate further. Besides, this can be worked around by dedicating an INPUT for Oppo on my display device instead of passing through the receiver (an inconvenience nonetheless).

2. When viewing DVDs with subtitles, it appears that the 983 has the same problem as my 970 and that is at random parts, the subtitle would have streaks of corrupted lines going across the entire width of the subtitle. While the text is still readable, it is annoying. I lived with the 970 with the flaw without reporting it (seems like it was reported by a few others, but not sure any more) but now that the 983 is purported to be the BEST SD DVD Player, I jumped in and got one and yes it delivers on the video front, but I find it hard to accept that this "miniscule" subtitle corruption issue has not been fixed. It is particularly difficult to tell others what I paid for an SD DVD player that supposedly is the best in the world and yet cannot have this small visual deformity fixed (the comment will surface when they watch DVD with me on the OPPO). Not that I like to brag, but I am the family "techie" and everyone looks to me for recommendations in my circle and when they see I have a new SD DVD player, the question becomes natural for them.

I watch cross-cultural (foreign) films 80% of the time and the 20% English DVDs I watch about 10% of those I watch with subtitles on just because I prefer not to have to rewind a scene to figure out what the exact words are. This means this nasty video bug rears its head just about every discs I put in there if you watch from beginning to end.

The funny thing is the corruption is not easy to duplicate. If you rewind back to the part of the corrupted subtitle text and replay, it is gone.... This may be why Oppo has not been able to address it? On the other hand, I have owned over 2 dozen SD upscaling/progressive DVD players and none have this kind of subtitle corruption...other than OPPO.... Perhaps there is some kind of subtitle memory cache corruption that needs to be fixed.

At this point I am ready to return this unit since I cannot justify the price differential with the issues mentioned. Perhaps one day this issue will be fixed and I will be more than happy to repurchase it.

My 2 cents.

1. The ABT may not have inherent HUE controls built into it. For this reason, the MTK would have to use its own HUE adjustments, which could potentially increase visual errors down the pipeline. This is the same story with the OPDV971H and DV-981HD and the Faroudja FLI2310 chipset.

2. Will likely never get resolved. This is a standard MTK error that has been there since the OPDV971H. The error does not rely on a specific cull, making it impossible for OPPO to diagnose. They could pressure their hardware vendor (MTK) to help them, but OPPO does not have that kind of sway.

Additionally, the error only occurs on "yellow" subtitles. It does not occur on any other subtitles, which is why Dana (below) likely has never seen it.

Yahoo,

I watch PAL Region 2 UK DVDs frequently on my 983 and occasionally with subtitles on. I have never seen the deformity you report.

Have you reported it to OPPO Digital and have they said it can't be fixed? (Oops. Neuro answered that question.)

Dana

2. Will likely never get resolved. This is a standard MTK error that has been there since the OPDV971H that is not initiated due to a specific cull. It is random, and usually happens once per hour.

Hmmm; never seen it on my 971H.

Dana and John Hodson,

Are you playing back contents which use yellow subtitles? For most live actions you will not see this error, as they generally use white.

This really is only an issue for anime fans, particularly those who watch Bandai/Honneamise DVDs.

Mostly white, but occasionally yellow (and never anime...)

Re:Z11's "16-235" video processing.
It seems this "clipping" is common to many if not all Yamaha's offerings and has been WIDELY discussed in the 663 forum. I have one and my Oppo 983 works flawlessly with the Yamaha.
The 983 works fine with my RX-V2700 as well (which I suspect also does the "clipping"). The thought (in my mind at least) wasn't that the clipping might be causing the problem, but that because even in HDMI "Conversion Off" mode the Z11 may still be passing the video through its ABT1018 chip to implement the clipping (the Z11 is the only Yamaha receiver with this chip as far as I know) and that the back to back ABT1018s may be the problem (that was originally suggested to me by an engineer at Oppo that I talked to).

Dana and John Hodson,

Are you playing back contents which use yellow subtitles? For most live actions you will not see this error, as they generally use white.

This really is only an issue for anime fans, particularly those who watch Bandai/Honneamise DVDs.

Hi Mr Neuromancer.

I noticed it on "I'm A Cyborg" recently. I'm not positive, but I think the subs' were white.

Still, a minor negative IMO, when compared to all the other things this machine does so well.

You might get a total corruption of the subtitle (rare), but the error I am describing is relates pretty much to yellow subtitles. The error is either total corruption, a horizontal shift in the subtitles, or parts of the subtitle appearing at the bottom of the screen.

Got mine today (about 10 days after I signed up on Oppo's website).

Word of caution - the unit was NOT double-packed (I thought the early units were (?)), and there was a rip in the Oppo cardboard box going all the way to the unit's back panel.

The rip happened to be between the styrofoam pieces, so I could feel the back panel when I stuck my finger into the hole in the box.

Not good.

I opened the box and removed the black cloth, but there was no visible damage to the back panel, which means that whatever caused the rip did not penetrate all the way to the unit.

Perhaps Oppo is not double-packing because they are rushing the units out the door to meet the demand (which is OK), but I would not call the unit well-packed.

More later, including how it works with Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK.

The only units OPPO ever double boxed were OPDV971H and the HM-31, since their boxes were display boxes. All other DVD players were designed with the product box acting as the shipping box.

If you buy from third parties they may or may not double box it.

Perhaps Oppo is not double-packing because they are rushing the units out the door to meet the demand (which is OK)
Baseless speculation. I would refrain from "perhaps" statements without any proof otherwise.
... but I would not call the unit well-packed.
And yet we do not hear about shipping damages often in relation to OPPO products on these forums.

Mostly white, but occasionally yellow (and never anime...)

Same here.

Dana

You might get a total corruption of the subtitle (rare), but the error I am describing is relates pretty much to yellow subtitles. The error is either total corruption, a horizontal shift in the subtitles, or parts of the subtitle appearing at the bottom of the screen.


Huh? "Yellow" like the color yellow? Or is this a technical term for the way subtitles are displayed?

If you mean yellow as in the color, then, no -- the error happens with "white" subtitles. I've been watching mostly Criterion and Masters of Cinema DVDs with my 983 for the past month, and I can verify that the subtitle corruption happens with normal "white" subtitles. In fact, it happens a *lot*.

I assumed it was just me -- my television, my set-up -- but reading this, I'm realizing that it's a significant hardware issue. Last night I watched "Bed and Board" from the Criterion Truffaut set, and I noticed it frequently throughout.

I also mentioned this several pages back, but I saw the error pre-firmware update with 'Death of a Cyclist.'

Unless I'm misreading the color on these subtitles (they look white to me), I'm assuming that this error happens with all subtitles.

But like many errors, this one doesn't happen all the time. For me, the error pops up in every DVD I've watched in the past month. (And that's a lot.) It's repeatable in the sense that I can rewind, see the corruption, rewind and see the corruption in the same place -- but, yes, it doesn't happen with every subtitle.

I'm bummed to hear it's not fixable. I was assuming that this would be a future firmware fix.

The only units OPPO ever double boxed were OPDV971H and the HM-31, since their boxes were display boxes. All other DVD players were designed with the product box acting as the shipping box.



In that case, a styrofoam lining going around the whole unit would be a significant improvement.

Just a suggestion to Oppo in case they see damage by the shipping companies.

My box arrived pretty beat up with a big hole in it, going all the way to the player. You can find many horror stories at AVS about Fedex and UPS poor handling of packages containing av gear.

Agree with you that my comment on Oppo rushing units out the door was pure speculation.

I did not mean to knock Oppo, only trying to help.

PS.

The manual has three big, black fingerprints on the back side.

I haven't plugged in the player yet, but the impression of the box and manual is not good.

If you mean yellow as in the color, then, no -- the error happens with "white" subtitles.

Yellow as in the color. Subtitles with solid yellow, or yellow with black outlines are more prone to these subtitle errors than any other subtitles in my experience with OPPO products these past 3 years.

For me, the error pops up in every DVD I've watched in the past month. (And that's a lot.)

I have not experience errors on every DVD title. I watch a lot of foreign films, and I primarily see the error occur on yellow subtitles. Occasional full corruption occurs, but that is a very rare occurrence in my case.

It's repeatable in the sense that I can rewind, see the corruption, rewind and see the corruption in the same place

You are having a completely different issue if it is repeatable. The errors I am describing are not repeatable.

Send OPPO a list of DVDs and timestamps where these errors occur, as your problems are completely different.

I've mentioned the packaging in several of my player reviews - over the course of receiving at least 8 players from OPPO in the single-box packaging (shipped from California to Tennessee) I've had zero instances of damage. I've also not seen reports prior to this one of significant packaging damage. Double-boxing might reduce the chances off damage, but even that wouldn't assure damage-free shipping and there have been so few instances of needing the extra layer that it seems like they've found a pretty reasonable packaging solution already.

Both my Oppo units came single boxed. No problems and no holes.

My 840C, when it was delivered was doubled boxed and the outside box was ripped on one side and where the inner box was exposed, it too was shredded. Player worked fine.

The foam packaging used to support the player internally works very well, fully encasing it would not provide any more protection than what is already there.

My OPPO players - a 971, a 980 (returned for a 981), and now the 983 - all came across country without any harm. However, I upgraded my speaker system a few months ago. I use Aperion speakers which come superbly packaged. One of cartons had a big dent/hole in it and the FEDEX Home driver called it to my attention when he delivered them. We opened the box and whew - the speakers were untouched. The hole came where there was a big void inside the box. Maybe because the box wasn't reinforced by molded Styrofoam at that point?

The driver said that it looked like a corner of another box bashed its way through my speaker carton, a likely cause of damage that occurs in transit.

Dana

If Oppo has received no packaging complaints, then they should keep it as it is. Fingerprints on the manual is just a bad form, but no biggie.

Now - to the video performance.

In a word - it is stellar (at least on PAL 576i - 720p/50Hz upconvert which I had a chance to check out so far).

983 is connected via HDMI to a Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK plasma; HDMI being set at 720p, the PAL vs NTSC on the player being set to auto, player set to multi-region.

My torture test is an anamorphic PAL DVD of a Polish movie "Pan Tadeusz" by lifetime Academy Award Winner Andrzej Wajda (take that, videophiles...:D:D:D - just kidding).

In the opening credits the camera pans against a brick wall of a castle - a major jaggie territory.

Oppo handles that beautifully and solidly - the best I've ever seen. Also, no dropouts of any sort so far.

On the audio side - I like it (5.1 analog connection for SACDs, DVD-As and redbook CDs; coax for DVDs), but I am no audiophile, so take it for what it's worth.

The SACD multi-channel vs stereo preference bug must be fixed in future firmware versions, but for now I am OK with pushing the Audio button on the remote and re-setting it manually if I want to play a 5.1 SACD after a stereo one.

All in all - I love the player.

I was also taken by Oppo stating in the manual that the analog multi-channel connection is a "wondrous thing". What other manuals have told you that???To me that means they genuinely love what they do and they strive to be the best in what they do.

PS - I am a little perplexed by the attached VRS optimization DVD. It seems like a bunch of test patterns with no instructions on how to adjust the player or the display. I must be missing something.

Hi guys,

after having read so many positive reviews of the Oppo 983 I got very curious and ordered the 983 DVD-player to replace my Arcam DV-79 DVD-player.
It was not like I was unstatisfied with the DV-79 because I still believe the DV-79 is a very fine DVD-player. The reason however why I switched is that the DV-79 could not upscale (the best output resolution I could choose was 576p) and because the remote control somehow did not seem to work as fast as I would (sometimes I needed to push on a button two or three times before the player acted on my command). The RC of the Oppo is not as fancy looking as the one from Arcam but so far the Oppo has fortunately reacted on all my commands after one push on the button.

Like many before me I was also impressed by the way the player was packed. The bag around the player is a nice touch and it gives the player a touch of luxury.
Furthermore the player seems to be well built even though it is much lighter than the DV-79. I have placed the player on three wooden cones in order to decouple the player from its surroundings and I have connected it to my Samsung 50Q91 plasmascreen with a HDMI cable from Kimber Kable. Since my screen does not accept 1080p signals I have opted for the next best thing which is 1080i for the output resolution of the player.
The player has its own mains filter and instead of using the standard powercord I have used a Tornado powercord from W&M Audio.

The picture the player produces on my schreen is astonishing. I never had any complaints about the picture quality with my DV-79 but the OPPO seems to go one step further.
The pictore of the DV-79 was IMO just as sharp as the picture of the OPPO but the OPPO's picture has one big extra and that is that is looks so 'film-like' is you know what I mean?
The DV-79 produced a razor-sharp image. The Oppo does that as well but at the same time manages to depict the movie image in a more natural and smooth way.
It may sound vague but this is the best way I can describe it: the DV-79 is an excellent DVD-player; the OPPO is an excellent movie-player.

As soon as I have used the player a little bit longer I will post my extended experiences.

Best regards,

Rainer

Oppo 983 UK owner here, upgraded from a 981. If you have macro block problem upgrade, as 983 has none. Into a 1080p Samsung LCD.

I put in a request for "display de-interlace mode" so if it shows up later you know who to thank :)

How big a deal is this 'subtitle error', really? What is that error or what causes it? Is this a common problem across a lot of players doing PAL-NTSC or specific to Oppo or this Oppo player?

How big a deal is this 'subtitle error', really? What is that error or what causes it? Is this a common problem across a lot of players doing PAL-NTSC or specific to Oppo or this Oppo player?

I see slightly broken subtitles one or twice an hour. This has been the same on all the Oppo players, so I suspect it is an issue with the Mediatek decoder.

Big deal rating: very small.

-Bill

I see slightly broken subtitles one or twice an hour. This has been the same on all the Oppo players, so I suspect it is an issue with the Mediatek decoder.

Big deal rating: very small.

-Bill

Seems like, especially when the rest of the picture is so good by all accounts. :)

Force of Nature,

Welcome to the AVS Forum and this thread for your first post. Good to have your comparison of the Arcam DV-79 DVD-player (which has an MSRP of $1,800) with the OPPO 983.

The Arcam DV-79 DVD-player scored a 72 using its HDMI connection on the same Benchmark test http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/external/dvd-player-benchmark.html that the 983 aced at a never-before-seen score of 100.

Dana

I posted a few pages ago about my 983 making an odd noise when I loaded certain discs (usually audio cds) in it-sent it back to Oppo-4 days later it came back-no abnormal noise at all-excellent customer service.

Hi guys,

Since my screen does not accept 1080p signals I have opted for the next best thing which is 1080i for the output resolution of the player.

Rainer

You should try the 720p output from the DV-983H player. The de-interlacing in the DV-983H is handled by ABT 102 chipset which is one of the best de-interlacer.

Anyone know how the 983 handles 1080i? Doesn't it have to go to 480i-480p before 1080i or does it go right from 480i to 1080i? 1080i looks sharper than 720p on my display (1366x768). Looks just as clean too.

Anyone know how the 983 handles 1080i? Doesn't it have to go to 480i-480p before 1080i or does it go right from 480i to 1080i? 1080i looks sharper than 720p on my display (1366x768). Looks just as clean too.

My understanding (and this is not just for Oppo) is that scaling always takes place in the progressive domain. So the path is 480i->480p->1080p->1080i.

I've seen it claimed that some devices do 480i->480p->540p and then get to 1080i by some sort of line doubling, but I don't recall the details.

-Bill

My understanding (and this is not just for Oppo) is that scaling always takes place in the progressive domain. So the path is 480i->480p->1080p->1080i.

That is what I was thinking too. Thanks.

You should try the 720p output from the DV-983H player. The de-interlacing in the DV-983H is handled by ABT 102 chipset which is one of the best de-interlacer. DENON 5910 (costs $3,000) uses this de-interlacing chipset as well.

Denon 5910 uses the Realta HQV chipset for deinterlacing - and a DVDO scaling solution. ABT102 was not out yet in 2005.

Seriously, I waited 4 months to order this only to find out, NO DSD out :-( What a shame.

Just got my OPPO 983. I'm still testing it out. I have been hearing this comment. What's the difference between outputing tru Multi-channel PCM and DSD? What's the normal/highest kHz for SACD?

From my receiver (Multi-channel PCM) it indicates my SACD is only 88.2 kHz. Not sure if this correct as I thought it supposed to be at least 96 kHz. Thanks.

SACD DSD->PCM is 24-bit/88.2KHz. This is the optimal sampling, though some devices, such as the PS3, use 24-bit/176.4KHz.

SACD DSD->PCM is 24-bit/88.2KHz. This is the optimal sampling, though some devices, such as the PS3, use 24-bit/176.4KHz.

Thanks Neuromancer for the clarification, this mean my OPPO > AVR is displaying the right info. :)

Hmm...I see, didn't know the PS3 can display up to 176.4KHz. I also own the PS3. Does this mean the PS3 performance is better since it can upsample it from 88.2KHz to 176.4KHz?

As much as I like the 983, here is what I think:

2. When viewing DVDs with subtitles, it appears that the 983 has the same problem as my 970 and that is at random parts, the subtitle would have streaks of corrupted lines going across the entire width of the subtitle. While the text is still readable, it is annoying. I lived with the 970 with the flaw without reporting it (seems like it was reported by a few others, but not sure any more) but now that the 983 is purported to be the BEST SD DVD Player, I jumped in and got one and yes it delivers on the video front, but I find it hard to accept that this "miniscule" subtitle corruption issue has not been fixed. It is particularly difficult to tell others what I paid for an SD DVD player that supposedly is the best in the world and yet cannot have this small visual deformity fixed (the comment will surface when they watch DVD with me on the OPPO). Not that I like to brag, but I am the family "techie" and everyone looks to me for recommendations in my circle and when they see I have a new SD DVD player, the question becomes natural for them.



Personally, I would like to thank you for this report, Yahoo. I have also seen this corruption in a sampling of subtitled DVD releases. So far, it does seem to affect only yellow subtitles, as Neuromancer notes. I would say that the problem seems to be particular to certain DVDs. For example, the first volume of Lucky Star has two instances. I'll have to play through it again to get the exact times, but when viewing the same scenes on my PC, the subtitles were fine. My computer is using the nVidia purevideo decoder for DVD playback.

So, now I'm facing an interesting conundrum: I have a DVD library that is 60 percent (give or take five percent) subtitled releases. I could go through each of those to see which releases have yellow subtitles and which disks exhibit the problem. At the end of this marathon experiment, I should know how many series and movies produce poor subtitles on the Oppo. However, from what I gather, I probably will never see a fix since the error lies in the MTK chip. And that seems to be this player's weakest link.

Oh well, live and learn...

But like many errors, this one doesn't happen all the time. For me, the error pops up in every DVD I've watched in the past month. (And that's a lot.) It's repeatable in the sense that I can rewind, see the corruption, rewind and see the corruption in the same place -- but, yes, it doesn't happen with every subtitle.

I'm bummed to hear it's not fixable. I was assuming that this would be a future firmware fix.

This is what I'm seeing on my subtitled DVDs, carbonado. However, unlike some of the other forum members, I do have anime in the mix, and some of those titles are Bandai-Entertainment releases. Still, I can fast-forward or rewind -- play at an exact location on the DVDs with issues -- and see the same corruption on specific subtitles. It isn't random in my case. I actually haven't witnessed random corruption on an Oppo player before and this is the first I've read about it.

Besides the best upscaled video from DVD, I'm into sound (all kinds: CD, SACD, multichannel from DVD-Video), and suspect the 983 will provide some minor improvement over my current OPPO 981 and that the 5.1 analog-out sound will likely be slightly better with the 983. My current AVR is a Denon 3808, with 5 decent cone speakers and 2 identical subs.

I suppose this is the placebo effect with gear: pay more money and it must sound better. :)

If anyone cares to comment on how their 983 sounds, I'll be interested.

As of 6/14/2008, I see that oppodigital is backordered on the new 983 player, and that no one else seems to have them for sale (yet).

How long is the wait time?

Am I correct in thinking that those who've bought a *new* 983 player, have bought it from oppodigital?

Does anyone have a clue as to when the 983 units may become available at other on-line stores?

Does anyone have a clue as to what extent older OPPO player units (981/980/971, etc.) have seen minor *hardware* refinement(s) during their 1st 9 months on the market?

I mean, I don't have to get this thing right away, and saving $30 or $40 on shipping would be another small attraction.

Thanks In Advance

Besides the best upscaled video from DVD, I'm into sound (all kinds: CD, SACD, multichannel from DVD-Video), and suspect the 983 will provide some minor improvement over my current OPPO 981 and that the 5.1 analog-out sound will likely be slightly better with the 983. My current AVR is a Denon 3808, with 5 decent cone speakers and 2 identical subs.

I suppose this is the placebo effect with gear: pay more money and it must sound better. :)

If anyone cares to comment on how their 983 sounds, I'll be interested.

As of 6/14/2008, I see that oppodigital is backordered on the new 983 player, and that no one else seems to have them for sale (yet).

How long is the wait time?

Am I correct in thinking that those who've bought a *new* 983 player, have bought it from oppodigital?

Does anyone have a clue as to when the 983 units may become available at other on-line stores?

Does anyone have a clue as to what extent older OPPO player units (981/980/971, etc.) have seen minor *hardware* refinement(s) during their 1st 9 months on the market?

I mean, I don't have to get this thing right away, and saving $30 or $40 on shipping would be another small attraction.

Thanks In Advance

I called Oppo last Monday and the rep I spoke to said "about two weeks" on restocking of new 983's.


It's probably buried way earlier in this thread, but how's the layer change on this player?

Layer change is near perfect. I've watched tons of scenes and parts of movies, but in order to watch the layer change, usually means I have to watch the whole movie. I'd say I've done that maybe 20-25 times. So out of 20+ movies, I have noticed the layer change only once. Can't remember what movie it was, but it was like a millisecond.

It's probably buried way earlier in this thread, but how's the layer change on this player?

It's perceptible on some discs, although very quick. Oddly enough, discs that I know had a monster layer change on other non-Oppo players do not show it on the 983, which I cannot explain.

-Bill

Hmm...I see, didn't know the PS3 can display up to 176.4KHz. I also own the PS3. Does this mean the PS3 performance is better since it can upsample it from 88.2KHz to 176.4KHz?

Depends on who is more accurate. Yes, the PS3 has more samples per second, but that does not mean that it will sound more accurate than the DV-980H. It completely comes down to how well sampling done.

I personally can't tell a difference between the two, so I am a bad person to expand further.

However, from what I gather, I probably will never see a fix since the error lies in the MTK chip. And that seems to be this player's weakest link.

The corruption is once every 30 minutes to an hour. In most cases I see the corruption once every anime DVD. Some discs exhibited more errors than others (Bandai's Arjuna and Geneon's Higurashi) but for the most part, you should notice it once or twice per anime DVD session.

Still, I can fast-forward or rewind -- play at an exact location on the DVDs with issues -- and see the same corruption on specific subtitles.

As I said previously, if the errors are repeatable, report the disc and time stamps to OPPO. The random corruption will likely not be corrected, but corruption at specific times possibly can, as it is easily repeatable, thereby diagnosable.

I seriously ponder if the 983 cost $3000.00 as did some of the earlier top end DVD players, which maybe played disks as well as the 983, would so many people complain and nitpick over the most trite issues with a $400.00 product?

Believe me I'm not singling out anyone in particular but the longer this thread gets the more amazed I am about people's expectation from a moderately priced DVD player:eek:

I would think people would be thrilled at such performance from such an inexpensive player considering prices from the past.

Am I missing something or should this player really do the dishes and shovel the snow:confused:

RIGHT ON i30krab. You hit the nail on the head man. Plus, how many companies have a good man like Neuromancer here to help with answers and support to all our inquiries. I believe there was a guy on the boards here from Pioneer last year. He was devoting his own free time to answer questions, but it must have gotten too hot for him and he got out of the kitchen. :D
AND, how many companies have such TOP NOTCH customer service as OppoDigital? There are a few that come close and they are not CE based companies either. Oppo is just top notch in everything they do.

I've had my 983 a couple of weeks now and it's one impressive player.

Coming from a series of Oppo players - 971 - 970 - 980 and finally 983. It's clear the picture quality is truly outstanding. And for me it's a steal!

Nitpicks are irrelevant to the value, but we all know if it's one company that can fix such things it's Oppo for sure :)

I'll just say ditto to the last three posts.

And tomorrow I get to play also :)

Joe

I seriously ponder if the 983 cost $3000.00 as did some of the earlier top end DVD players, which maybe played disks as well as the 983, would so many people complain and nitpick over the most trite issues with a $400.00 product?

...

Just one factual error here. In the history of the DVD Player Benchmark Tests aka Secrets on hometheaterhifi.com http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/primers/the-dvd-benchmark/introduction-to-the-benchmark-tests.html from 2000 to date and covering DVD players priced from under $200. to over $14,000., no player ever scored 100 out of 100 points until the OPPO 983 did so earlier this year. Not one at any price.

Of course that just strengthens your point. ;)

Dana

Layer change is near perfect. I've watched tons of scenes and parts of movies, but in order to watch the layer change, usually means I have to watch the whole movie. I'd say I've done that maybe 20-25 times. So out of 20+ movies, I have noticed the layer change only once. Can't remember what movie it was, but it was like a millisecond.

I'll second that! The layer transition is the best I've seen ( or not seen ). I have yet to notice the layer change! :)

Okay, I'll be the turd in the swimming pool. I do see a layer change on the 983 that was not perceptible on the 971. I think it may be that we are talking about two completely different loaders here...at least the trays are very, very different. Now, having said that, it is not by any means an annoying problem. It is a few milliseconds and is still better than any layer change I've seen on anything else except the 971.

On my burned dual layer +R discs where the layer break is set by ImageBurn, it is not detectable at all on either player.

-Toonces

I'm not sure if the latest slew of commentary is directed at the subtitle discussion in particular, but for my part, it's nice to know that a) I am not alone creating issues out of thin air, and b) that the company is listening to me working toward solutions. Now, from what has already been discussed I know that there is at least one scenario where this subtitle corruption pops up randomly and is difficult to diagnose. From what I'm seeing at home, I haven't encountered that -- thank goodness. What I have is repeatable and I felt it was worth sharing since other people are seeing the same thing. I will now send the time stamps and titles from my disks to Oppo so that they can look at the DVDs and try to duplicate my errors. I don't see why this is a negative. If anything, this is the community working together to make this a better player.

If other customers prefer not to use subtitles, that's fine. It becomes an unused feature and you will never run into the bug. For those of us who do, however, it is something worth tracking. Yes, even at $400. I guess I have a different perspective on value.

I do see a layer change on the 983 that was not perceptible on the 971.

As I've said, so do I. It's brief but visible on some discs, where it was imperceptible on previous Oppos. The Secrets review confirms this.

-Bill

If they'd only finally get these back in stock somewhere...

Besides the best upscaled video from DVD, I'm into sound (all kinds: CD, SACD, multichannel from DVD-Video), and suspect the 983 will provide some minor improvement over my current OPPO 981 and that the 5.1 analog-out sound will likely be slightly better with the 983. My current AVR is a Denon 3808, with 5 decent cone speakers and 2 identical subs.

I suppose this is the placebo effect with gear: pay more money and it must sound better. :)

If anyone cares to comment on how their 983 sounds, I'll be interested.

As of 6/14/2008, I see that oppodigital is backordered on the new 983 player, and that no one else seems to have them for sale (yet).

How long is the wait time?

Am I correct in thinking that those who've bought a *new* 983 player, have bought it from oppodigital?

Does anyone have a clue as to when the 983 units may become available at other on-line stores?

Does anyone have a clue as to what extent older OPPO player units (981/980/971, etc.) have seen minor *hardware* refinement(s) during their 1st 9 months on the market?

I mean, I don't have to get this thing right away, and saving $30 or $40 on shipping would be another small attraction.

Thanks In Advance

habnab - I am impressed with how the 983 sounds, having upgraded from a Sony DVP-NS755V DVD/SACD player which did a poor job with Redbook CDs, so take it for what it's worth. I believe there were some comments on 983 audio in this thread, but good luck digging for them. Maybe some audiophiles can chime in again.

I am using the Oppo 5.1 analog outs into a Yamaha DSP-A1 processor/receiver set at "external decoder in", meaning the Yamaha is not applying any processing to the Oppo signal. The speakers are NHT 2.9, with NHT center and surrounds, the sub is Depth.

I set the Oppo at 192 kHz LPCM. I don't know if that is the difference compared to my old Sony DVD player, but I am hearing more detail in all my redbook CDs. I don't think it's a placebo effect either.

The difference when playing SACDs and DVD-As is much subtler, if any, compared to the Sony.

Well seeing as how whatever technical issues the 983 has seem to be "small potatoes," how about the big issue of availability? I ordered one from one of their authorized USA resellers (Projector People) over 5 weeks ago, and have yet to see it. They claim they're not getting any information from Oppo as to when they will be available. Has anyone out there gotten their 983 lately that didn't order it directly from Oppo? Are the resellers getting any stock? I would love to test all the issues you guys are finding, but I need to get my hands on one first!

Well seeing as how whatever technical issues the 983 has seem to be "small potatoes," how about the big issue of availability? I ordered one from one of their authorized USA resellers (Projector People) over 5 weeks ago, and have yet to see it. They claim they're not getting any information from Oppo as to when they will be available. Has anyone out there gotten their 983 lately that didn't order it directly from Oppo? Are the resellers getting any stock? I would love to test all the issues you guys are finding, but I need to get my hands on one first!

Like I wrote before: Last week I called Oppo directly with intent to order, which I made clear, and the sales rep told me that it might take another couple of weeks for them to get more in stock.

Going by that, I would suspect it would take a little more time after Oppo restocks themselves on their own players before the resellers and such get their cut of the units.

Ratts! It seems like every time I get the availability notification it's days before I get paid or have the time to actually place my order and when I find the time the units are once again out of stock. Anyone know when the next ordering window will be?


Thanks.

Ratts! It seems like every time I get the availability notification it's days before I get paid or have the time to actually place my order and when I find the time the units are once again out of stock. Anyone know when the next ordering window will be?


Thanks.

For laughs, I'm going to call them again when it's a little past 9am Pacific Time, when they open, and see what they tell me.

Good idea.

For laughs, I'm going to call them again when it's a little past 9am Pacific Time, when they open, and see what they tell me.

Still "within a couple of weeks."

Last batch was sold out. Expect the same to occur for the next batch.

Sign up for the e-mail notification. Run, do not walk, to OPPO's website immediately when you receive the ability to purchase, as supplies are limited.

So I notice the 983 is picky playing back some of my odd DVD-A's on DVD-R. For example I have PF DSOTM 4.0 quad mix (widely circulated) and it does not play on the 983. I have several other upconvert/Faux mixed DVD-A (BT: Area51) and it's hit or miss on the 983. All of these played fine on my 981 and cheapo Ssung DVDp. this is unfortunate as I now have to keep my SS player in the rack just to playback these handful of DVD-As.

Oh, and when is the June batch of 983 shipping? I still have a player (from 5/23) w/o analog audio output that needs to be replaced.

Last batch was sold out. Expect the same to occur for the next batch.

Sign up for the e-mail notification. Run, do not walk, to OPPO's website immediately when you receive the ability to purchase, as supplies are limited.

^^ That's basically what this rep said. He said the emails go out with a direct URL to make the purchase and that if I really want one to "not hesitate when you see that email."

So I notice the 983 is picky playing back some of my odd DVD-A's on DVD-R.

Send some of these discs to OPPO for testing. The loader in the DV-983H is completely different from the DV-981HD and DV-980H. This new loader can cause media compatibility issues, and can potentially be firmware addressed.

Oh, and when is the June batch of 983 shipping? I still have a player (from 5/23) w/o analog audio output that needs to be replaced.

They shipped last week. All sold out.

Last batch was sold out. Expect the same to occur for the next batch.

Sign up for the e-mail notification. Run, do not walk, to OPPO's website immediately when you receive the ability to purchase, as supplies are limited.

+1.

I signed up about 2 weeks ago, got the e-mail 5 days ago, immediately responded, and am now a happy owner.

I might have picked up the last unit last week, because when I checked back on the website, they were sold out again...

They shipped last week. All sold out.

Great so Oppo completely blew me off.... I reported this problem on May 30 and have been waiting for a replacement 983......reaching for the phone.

update: Crap, looks like the Oppo employee that took my exchange request was on vacation and the past week and things just feel thru the cracks. Gawd Damn it - it's called customer service. Assign your work queue to someone else instead of just walking out the door and letting things fall on the floor.

Piss poor CS IMO, considering I paid full retail + ship for a 983. I expect a bit more here.

OPPO always has reserved stock for Advance Replacements. Re-ping OPPO.

The 983 works fine with my RX-V2700 as well (which I suspect also does the "clipping"). The thought (in my mind at least) wasn't that the clipping might be causing the problem, but that because even in HDMI "Conversion Off" mode the Z11 may still be passing the video through its ABT1018 chip to implement the clipping (the Z11 is the only Yamaha receiver with this chip as far as I know) and that the back to back ABT1018s may be the problem (that was originally suggested to me by an engineer at Oppo that I talked to).

It seems as thought the ABT 1018 renders colours between 16-235, however wouldn't this also affect jpeg images saved from computers/cameras which were converted from raw files ? the full digital 8 bit gamut is from 0-255, so this couldn't just be a simple issue..

OPPO always has reserved stock for Advance Replacements. Re-ping OPPO.

Yeah, I just got off the phone with them. AR is on the way, but not untill I emailed them to inquire, followed by a phone call. I guess they seem to think it was OK to deal with it next week when the missing employee got back to his work queue. :mad:

Yeah, it's not the end of the world, but just too much darn follow thur on MY part to get this matter resolved IMO.

If the employee was responsible for the unit, and was out for the week, and the employee did not inform anyone else about the conditions of the replacement (such as waiting for new sock to arrive last week), then it is impossible for any traction in your Advance Replacement to occur.

The employee should have made arrangements for the unit to be sent in their absence, but mistakes can happen.

The employee should have made arrangements for the unit to be sent in their absence

Exactly - so glad to see you understand my POV.

IMO ID companies need to try harder..... this is an example of them NOT trying at all. I am just getting completely tired of all the follow thru I have to do with ID products/orders. I had really hoped for better CS from Oppo.

habnab - I am impressed with how the 983 sounds, having upgraded from a Sony DVP-NS755V DVD/SACD player which did a poor job with Redbook CDs, so take it for what it's worth.

FWIW, my HT open air stack of standalone STB disc player/recorders has 4 that play redbook CDs: A3 and A35 HD-DVD players are very poor for that, my OPPO 981 does a much better job, and a 2 year old Panasonic DVD recorder is surprisingly close to my OPPO 981!

I believe there were some comments on 983 audio in this thread, but good luck digging for them. Maybe some audiophiles can chime in again.

I'll be surprised if they do. You're one of the few.

Anyway, I went thru quite a lot of this prior thread posting(!), and found the ref to Kal's recent comments on the 983, and that cemented it for me. (Hey, I subscribe to StereoPhile, so I get the hardcopy mags, but I hadn't read his May column) i.e. in May '08 StereoPhile; see h t tp: / / stereophile . com/ musicintheround /508mitr/

Sorry for the spaces but this is only my 3rd post as a new AVS member, and I'm not permitted to give web refs.

I am using the Oppo 5.1 analog outs into a Yamaha DSP-A1 processor/receiver set at "external decoder in", meaning the Yamaha is not applying any processing to the Oppo signal. The speakers are NHT 2.9, with NHT center and surrounds, the sub is Depth.

I set the Oppo at 192 kHz LPCM. I don't know if that is the difference compared to my old Sony DVD player, but I am hearing more detail in all my redbook CDs. I don't think it's a placebo effect either.

The difference when playing SACDs and DVD-As is much subtler, if any, compared to the Sony.

FWIW my best SACD surround disc is the Telarc Carmina Buriana. I also rather like the non-multichannel SACD Zenph re-performance of Gould's '55 performance.

I've also recently gotten 4/5 DVD_audio discs(all pop), and I'm thinking about what I've heard.

My initial thought is that SACD sound is "better" than that of DVD-A, but now that remains an open question to me.

Cheers

IMO ID companies need to try harder..... this is an example of them NOT trying at all.

It's a simple **** up. If they were not trying at all, they would have not offered to hold a unit for you, the CSR you spoke to would not have admitted that the responsibility of the unit was being held by someone who was on vacation last week, and they would have not sent you a replacement unit.

It was a simple drop of the ball. It sucks; it happens.

Neuromancer, you are always such a 'defender' of Oppo. It may serve you better to maybe try to be a bit more objective. Are you on the payroll? It appears that way some/most times.

Like I said it's not the end of the world, it's just a DVDp. But it sure does not make me want to sing the praises of Oppo to others with this kind of CS.

Exactly - so glad to see you understand my POV.

IMO ID companies need to try harder..... this is an example of them NOT trying at all. I am just getting completely tired of all the follow thru I have to do with ID products/orders. I had really hoped for better CS from Oppo.

Sounds like ur saying one strike and your out. Sorry to hear that after all the glowing reviews on their CS. Guess not everyone is perfect after all :)

Oppo's customer service is stellar. I had a 983H go bad, it was delivered on May 24th. It started freezing frames, locking up, etc. I never spoke to anyone; simply emailed tech support and within 10 minutes of giving them my contact info, I got a ship notice of a new unit and they are providing me a shipping label to send the defective unit back.

Nothing at all wrong with their customer service. Somehow, your issue did fall in the "crack" and it does happen. But they did their best to rectify it. Honestly, if it were me I would have been bugging them a bit more instead of waiting. I don't see anything wrong with someone touting good service and "defending" a company that does go above and beyond.

New 983H is due here tomorrow.