I'm inclined to agree with you. I think people are getting false hopes if they expect any SD-DVD player to put them into a new realm of video quality.

To me, "night and day" means something like going from VHS to DVD, or from smallish 4:3 CRTs to large wide displays. The differences between better quality dvd players is more subtle than that, although the differences between them do loom larger in your mind once you become aware of them.

-Bill

Well, I will add that even my wife was sufficiently impressed by the jump in quality from the 971 to the 983 to comment on it (and still does). And in 30 years of buying first esoteric hi-fi then A/V equipment, that's the first time she has been moved to do so. I rest my case :D

Well, I will add that even my wife was sufficiently impressed by the jump in quality from the 971 to the 983 to comment on it (and still does). And in 30 years of buying first esoteric hi-fi then A/V equipment, that's the first time she has been moved to do so. I rest my case :D

I admit, that's a strong case.

I forget what type of display you are using. [EDIT: oops, on the previous page I see you have a 52" LCD. I was wondering if you had something like a DLP which is prone to macroblocking with Faroudja-chip players like the 971, but that's not common on LCD].

-Bill

Well, I will add that even my wife was sufficiently impressed by the jump in quality from the 971 to the 983 to comment on it (and still does). And in 30 years of buying first esoteric hi-fi then A/V equipment, that's the first time she has been moved to do so. I rest my case :D

No "Wow" when you migrated from VHS to DVD?

I also switched from a 971 to the 983. Definite improvement. Night and day, dunno too subjective. The 983 sure does make the relative lack of titles currently available on BD that interest me less frustrating.

IMHO the audio capabilities of the 983 don't garner enough credit. CD, DVDA and SACD sound great.

So my noisy, power hungry, by comparison PS3 is strictly used for BD's.

Joe

No "Wow" when you migrated from VHS to DVD?

Ah. Fair point - second time...the point is, that I can cover myself in wode, and hop up and down naked in front of the screen screaming 'Can't you see how much better that is?' and she won't usually look up from a magazine.

By comparison her unsolicited 'That's gorgeous', or 'This really is better' is the equivalent of a gushing five star review from a leading A/V expert. Maybe the combination of player and monitor is responsible for the gulf, I don't klnow. All I do know, is that it's the best value for money upgrade I have ever bought (and that does include my Linn Sondek and my rather glitchy first DVD player).

Ah. Fair point - second time...the point is, that I can cover myself in wode, and hop up and down naked in front of the screen screaming 'Can't you see how much better that is?' and she won't usually look up from a magazine.

By comparison her unsolicited 'That's gorgeous', or 'This really is better' is the equivalent of a gushing five star review from a leading A/V expert. Maybe the combination of player and monitor is responsible for the gulf, I don't klnow. All I do know, is that it's the best value for money upgrade I have ever bought (and that does include my Linn Sondek and my rather glitchy first DVD player).

+1...and we all know "When Mama's happy......etc"

Ah. Fair point - second time...the point is, that I can cover myself in wode, and hop up and down naked in front of the screen screaming 'Can't you see how much better that is?' and she won't usually look up from a magazine.

By comparison her unsolicited 'That's gorgeous', or 'This really is better' is the equivalent of a gushing five star review from a leading A/V expert. Maybe the combination of player and monitor is responsible for the gulf, I don't klnow. All I do know, is that it's the best value for money upgrade I have ever bought (and that does include my Linn Sondek and my rather glitchy first DVD player).

A Linn, indicates a man with refined taste. We should do a poll on how many 983 owners are still spinning vinyl. I would conjecture that it is a rather high % for this time in the new century.

The image of an audio/video phile jumping up and down in, well.....

Point is that we are in a small club enjoying the best that DVD can offer.

Your blog is hilarious, thanks for sharing.

The "Searches", perhaps a good title to compare on the 983 against the BD version. The SD version looks fantastic.

Happy viewing, and listening all,

Joe

excuse me guys, just asking, was it safe to fax an offline order form to oppodigital with a credit card number on it? cannot order online because our country not included on their billing and shipping address, their option is to order offline, was it safe to fax it to them? thanks!

excuse me guys, just asking, was it safe to fax an offline order form to oppodigital with a credit card number on it? cannot order online because our country not included on their billing and shipping address, their option is to order offline, was it safe to fax it to them? thanks!

Faxing a credit card number to a trustworthy merchant is generally considered safe.

I already own Toshiba A35 HD DVD, Panasonic BD30 Blu Ray and a Samsung 960 (for SACD) players so I saw no reason to go to this player.

Then I came upon Amazon.co.uk and found that their prices on many of the great dvd box sets I've been holding off buying (due to far higher US prices) are very reasonable over there, even allowing for shipping. I'm talking about Inspector Morse, Sherlock Holmes, Upstairs-Downstairs, Brideshead Revisited, etc. None of my current players will do PAL or region two but, dang, I just discovered the 983 will!

So.....now I've found justification for buying the top non-hd player available! The money I save buying a couple box sets of PAL disks will more than offset the higher price of this fine player! And, as a bonus, I can play SACDs through hdmi, eliminating the marginal Samsung playeer from my system!

And, if the 983 were to beat out the A35 with SD disks I'd be ecstatic but I doubt that it can. Doesn't matter. Still, I'm getting excited about this purchase!

arkiedan

The 983 will beat the A35 for sd. May not be very noticable if your display is smaller, but it is better. The general scaling quality will be similar, but the scaling/deinterlacing combination will be much better. A35 for HD, BD30 for Blu, and the 983 for all SD and music. You'll have a pretty nice setup there. :)

The 983 will beat the A35 for sd. May not be very noticable if your display is smaller, but it is better. The general scaling quality will be similar, but the scaling/deinterlacing combination will be much better. A35 for HD, BD30 for Blu, and the 983 for all SD and music. You'll have a pretty nice setup there. :)

Thanks, Smarty-pants,

I'm viewing on a Sony 60" A3000 so an improvement in IQ should be noticeable. Any small click up in IQ will make me very happy since that's not my primary reason for the purchase.

arkiedan

After spending a few days with my 983H, it continues to impress.

Today, I watched a few 4x3 concert DVDs. Many have enough "head room" to use the Oppo's "Full Screen" mode which crops the top and bottom. I only owned one other player that could do this previously, the Panasonic RP-91K, and that was probably 8 years ago!

The detail and lack of artifacts when zooming 4x3 material is simply extraordinary. I made sure to use Dot-by-Dot mode on my plasma, so I was seeing exactly what the ABT scaling and deinterlacing chip in the 983H was doing. Man, was it impressive! Some of these DVDs I've had for 10 years, and they've never looked better. Pillar boxing looks great as well.

One question on SACD playback.. is there anyway to stop the constant scroll of the SACD-text for the song title? It gets annoying.

Unfortunately, there is no way to change the SACD text scroll.

After spending a few days with my 983H, it continues to impress.

Today, I watched a few 4x3 concert DVDs. Many have enough "head room" to use the Oppo's "Full Screen" mode which crops the top and bottom. I only owned one other player that could do this previously, the Panasonic RP-91K, and that was probably 8 years ago!

The detail and lack of artifacts when zooming 4x3 material is simply extraordinary. I made sure to use Dot-by-Dot mode on my plasma, so I was seeing exactly what the ABT scaling and deinterlacing chip in the 983H was doing. Man, was it impressive! Some of these DVDs I've had for 10 years, and they've never looked better. Pillar boxing looks great as well.

One question on SACD playback.. is there anyway to stop the constant scroll of the SACD-text for the song title? It gets annoying.

I am with you Sam! I have some 4x3's that just are not available in 16:9. The full screen option, upscaled to 1080P, into my Kuro set to dot by dot, looks unbelievable. You just don't expect the "zoom" to come out that clean and look like no zoom at all, and it fills the screen, on most DVDs without cropping too much head room.

John

Faxing a credit card number to a trustworthy merchant is generally considered safe.

can i trust oppodigital to fax my order form with credit card details to them?

If you do not trust the FAX, then send them a Money Order, personal check, or PayPal payment.

You are asking a question that no one can really answer, as I doubt anyone here has had to use the Offline Order form.

Generally speaking, a fax is very secure.

I received my 983 yesterday. I am afraid I've got a defective one. I am getting video "blinks" from time to time.

I've tried 2 HDMI cables and different resolutions... 720p, 1080i with no avail

The "blink" last only a second but it's getting annoying.

Anyone else has experienced this problem?

Unfortunately, there is no way to change the SACD text scroll.

I figured as much. Oh well, just a minor annoyance.

I am with you Sam! I have some 4x3's that just are not available in 16:9. The full screen option, upscaled to 1080P, into my Kuro set to dot by dot, looks unbelievable. You just don't expect the "zoom" to come out that clean and look like no zoom at all, and it fills the screen, on most DVDs without cropping too much head room.

John

It is amazing what the 983H can do with less than 400 lines of horizontal pixel information, and scale it up to 1920x1080. 1080p Kuro + 983H is a match made in heaven.

I received my 983 yesterday. I am afraid I've got a defective one. I am getting video "blinks" from time to time.

I've tried 2 HDMI cables and different resolutions... 720p, 1080i with no avail

The "blink" last only a second but it's getting annoying.

Anyone else has experienced this problem?

What firmware do you have? Check the Oppo website, make sure you have the latest one installed.

It has the latest firmware.

Are you going through a switch or receiver or are you direct connected to your television?

How long were the HDMI cables that you used?

It has the latest firmware.

May be worth double checking the firmware batch number, some users have reported that updating to the latest batch number "08-0709" fixes drop-out issues. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14449687#post14449687

To check your batch number open the tray and press the "OSD" button the current batch number should be shown on the screen.

The latest firmware is available from the OPPO site, http://www.oppodigital.com/dv983h/dv983h-firmware-07-0619.html
Even though it says the three batch numbers(07-0619, 07-0709, 08-0709)are the same, when you download the update file it is 08-0709 batch number.

I am connecting direct connecting to my TV. 6 foot HDMI that came with the 983

It has 07-0709. I am going to update it and i'll let you know

Thanks a lot for your help

WOW !! It worked. No more drop-outs after firmware update

Thanks again !!!

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

I had my first instance tonite of a freeze up with the 983. I was watching "To Catch A Thief" and at about the 1 hour 20 minute mark the disc froze. I tried stopping and restarting several times and it froze at exactly the same spot. I then took the disc out, examined it and put it in my XA2 and it played right through it with no problems. The only thing I could see on the disc was like a tiny pit on the surface. Having been a 3 year owner of the 971 as well, I did find with that player that it would on occasion choke on mildly scratched or marred disks and yet the same exact disc would play fine in another machine. The "freeze up" occurances were far and few between, but when it did raise its ugly head it made those discs unwatchable. I could be wrong, but I think the Oppo machines just might be slightly sensative to certain types of disc defects.

I had my first instance tonite of a freeze up with the 983. I was watching "To Catch A Thief" and at about the 1 hour 20 minute mark the disc froze. I tried stopping and restarting several times and it froze at exactly the same spot. I then took the disc out, examined it and put it in my XA2 and it played right through it with no problems. The only thing I could see on the disc was like a tiny pit on the surface. Having been a 3 year owner of the 971 as well, I did find with that player that it would on occasion choke on mildly scratched or marred disks and yet the same exact disc would play fine in another machine. The "freeze up" occurances were far and few between, but when it did raise its ugly head it made those discs unwatchable. I could be wrong, but I think the Oppo machines just might be slightly sensative to certain types of disc defects.

From all the posts over a long time on the oppo threads the opposite would seem to be true. My 971 never choked on a single disc. So far with my 983 the trend seems to continue. The oppo units are very capable reading discs that are not pristine.

Joe

what video settings are people using with their 983h. i should be getting mine soon ( coming from OS ). Does anyone use the 1:1 pixel ratio ?? what settings have people found to be the most common, for best results.. i am aware that settings will differ greatly as diff screens,projectors,ect are used to view the content but i was curious. Thanks. i will be viewing mine on a 1080p 50 inch plasma. Sound will all be sent via optical out to my a/v receiver so i can DD/DTS 5.1

regards MArty.

what video settings are people using with their 983h. i should be getting mine soon ( coming from OS ). Does anyone use the 1:1 pixel ratio ?? what settings have people found to be the most common, for best results.. i am aware that settings will differ greatly as diff screens,projectors,ect are used to view the content but i was curious. Thanks. i will be viewing mine on a 1080p 50 inch plasma. Sound will all be sent via optical out to my a/v receiver so i can DD/DTS 5.1

regards MArty.

I'm viewing at 1080p, 1:1 pixel mapping, on a 52" 6 Series Samsung LCD, which clearly gives the best results.

Thanks, Smarty-pants,

I'm viewing on a Sony 60" A3000 so an improvement in IQ should be noticeable. Any small click up in IQ will make me very happy since that's not my primary reason for the purchase.

arkiedan

I have a Sony 60A3000 with the 983 and am thrilled with the picture quality. Audio is outstanding as well, especially DVD-Audio. SACD and Redbook not too shabby either. Money well spent. Think you will be pleased. The picture from a well mastered DVD is so close to the 1080i on cable that it's hard to believe its not HD.

From all the posts over a long time on the oppo threads the opposite would seem to be true. My 971 never choked on a single disc. So far with my 983 the trend seems to continue. The oppo units are very capable reading discs that are not pristine.

Joe

Like I said in my post it's not a prevelant problem, however there have been some discs over the years that have given me problems on my 971H. The second half of the War and Remembrance mini-series is another one that comes to mind. I can get about 40 minutes into the first disc and it starts to freeze up. I'll put the same disc in my Toshiba XA2 and it plays with no problems.

Does anyone know where I can get a copy of the ABT VRS Test DVD?

thx

OPPO was providing a copy with 983H's at one time (although in a few cases the disc was mailed out separately rather than included in the box). I don't know if they are still doing that, or if it was a "while supplies last" sort of thing. Aside from that, I've no idea.

Does anyone know where I can get a copy of the ABT VRS Test DVD?

thx

I've never seen it available separately. Just buy the player and you'll get your own ;)

A $400 test DVD.. a good deal :)

A $400 test DVD.. a good deal :)

Yeah, but you get the best SD DVD player on the planet thrown in for free :D

I'll be happy to save someone $350 by selling them my personal VRS test disc for $50. I'll even throw in free shipping and priority mail. :)

OPPO was providing a copy with 983H's at one time (although in a few cases the disc was mailed out separately rather than included in the box). I don't know if they are still doing that, or if it was a "while supplies last" sort of thing. Aside from that, I've no idea.

I just got my 983 and it came with a evaluation and optimization DVD.

I haven't been on this forum for the last 3 or 4 months but I want to offer my experience with the above player. I probably watched 100 DVD movies during this time and the player only gets better as time passes.

- the unit has never refused to play any DVD or malfunctioned.
- the surround sound is fantastic and reproduces dialog and any music or
special effects with utmost clarity.
- The picture is as close to Bluray as one can get. When I have friends over
to watch a movie their jaws drop when they see and hear this player.

I have never heard an unmodified player but to any naysayers out there, listen to one in a good system before passing judgment on upgrades.

I'm waiting to see what Oppo offers before I consider going BluRay.

I have a 971 which has served me well.

I'm curious about a couple of things vis a vis the new(ish) DV-983H:


What filesystem formats can a USB stick take that are compatible with the 983's USB 2.0 port? FAT32 only? Or NTFS? Linux EXT2? :D

This is probably a question for Neuromancer, but I'm curious - why is Oppo using a relatively ancient MPEG decoder chipset (the MediaTek 1389/S) rather than, say, something like the Sigma SMP8635 (the one that powers some of the more recent Network Media Players/Tanks)? I would think they could just take the raw output of the Sigma and feed it through their existing deinterlacer/scaler Anchor Bay chips and still have tremendous quality - or is it common knowledge that the 1389/S is far superior to the SMP8635? :confused:

What filesystem formats can a USB stick take that are compatible with the 983's USB 2.0 port? FAT32 only? Or NTFS? Linux EXT2? :D
FAT32 only, and only the first 700 or so files on the partition.

This is probably a question for Neuromancer, but I'm curious - why is Oppo using a relatively ancient MPEG decoder chipset (the MediaTek 1389/S) rather than, say, something like the Sigma SMP8635 (the one that powers some of the more recent Network Media Players/Tanks)? I would think they could just take the raw output of the Sigma and feed it through their existing deinterlacer/scaler Anchor Bay chips and still have tremendous quality - or is it common knowledge that the 1389/S is far superior to the SMP8635? :confused:
[/LIST]
Neuromancer could answer better than I, but I'll offer a couple observations that may be useful.

First, they aren't using the stock MediaTek chipset. Both the 980H and 983H use a version of it that has been customized for OPPO. That in turn leads into the second observation: it is a platform with which they have developed a great deal of familiarity and proficiency. Getting the initial decoding right before moving on to deinterlacing and scaling is important, as it is the foundation on which everything else is built, and they've gotten very good at making the MediaTek do what they want.

If the future of OPPO was going to be more generations of standard DVD players, I would expect to see (or have already seen) them migrate to a newer MPEG decoder as the basis for their players. The reality, though, is that the 983H could very well be the last DVD player they release. Moving to Blu-ray will mean moving to an entirely new hardware platform, so changing decoders for the last DVD player they build would only make sense if they needed a different decoder. Judging by what the 983H can do with a DVD, they found that the MediaTek could do the job for them just fine. ;)

This is probably a question for Neuromancer, but I'm curious - why is Oppo using a relatively ancient MPEG decoder chipset (the MediaTek 1389/S) rather than, say, something like the Sigma SMP8635 (the one that powers some of the more recent Network Media Players/Tanks)? I would think they could just take the raw output of the Sigma and feed it through their existing deinterlacer/scaler Anchor Bay chips and still have tremendous quality - or is it common knowledge that the 1389/S is far superior to the SMP8635? :confused:


Simple: They know how to use the MTK solution. The problem with using the Sigma, Zoran, or other decoding solution is that you need to ensure that this solution is doing no, or little processing, when exporting a 480i/576i signal to the outboard scaler. OPPO knows how to perform this nearly flawlessly with the MTK solution, whereas the other solutions would require more work, or may interfere with the picture quality.

Another issue is how much support OPPO can receive from MTK directly. One of the reasons why any manufacturer chooses a chipset partner is due to the ease of communication and support their can receive. Likely MTK can offer much quicker, more accurate, or just plain better support than other chipset vendors.

So what are you guys using for the Sharpness setting?

I did some test with the Avia "Sharpness" pattern, and found -2 to result in the least amount of noise and ringing.

However, on the same Avia disc, I looked at the Video Resolution Test 100TVL. On this test, there is a 6.75Mhz circle in the lower right corner with vertical, alternating white black lines. Only with Sharpness at 0 did this pattern look correct. At -1 and -2 the pattern "darkened" in a strange way. I am sticking with 0 for now, but would like to hear other thoughts on how this control affects the image.

So what are you guys using for the Sharpness setting?

I did some test with the Avia "Sharpness" pattern, and found -2 to result in the least amount of noise and ringing.

However, on the same Avia disc, I looked at the Video Resolution Test 100TVL. On this test, there is a 6.75Mhz circle in the lower right corner with vertical, alternating white black lines. Only with Sharpness at 0 did this pattern look correct. At -1 and -2 the pattern "darkened" in a strange way. I am sticking with 0 for now, but would like to hear other thoughts on how this control affects the image.

I use -1. I experimented with test patterns on the GetGray disc once, and it seemed to me -2 actually gave the best results on the frequency burst patterns. I'll have to revisit this, as I'm not sure vertical and horizontal line patterns behave the same way when sharpening is applied.

-Bill

MIne also calibrated at -1 with AVIA.

MIne also calibrated at -1 with AVIA.

If you don't mind, check that Video Resolution Test 100TVL and alternate between 0 and 1 while looking at the 6.75Mhz circle and tell me what you see.

If you don't mind, check that Video Resolution Test 100TVL and alternate between 0 and 1 while looking at the 6.75Mhz circle and tell me what you see.
It has been a while, but I do remember some darkening effect as you describe. The vast majority of users who have calibrated for sharpness have arrived at -1, so that really does seem like a good starting point for others.

I can't remember which specific test patterns I looked at, but using Avia and Digital Video Essentials, I also arrived at -1 as the best sharpness setting.

The "best" sharpness setting is completely dependent on the monitor. I find -1 to be too soft on my Sammy 61A750, 0 gives the best results with the monitor sharpness completely off. The differences are slight at most and there's always some amount of trade-off either way. Also good to note that the sharpness settings cannot really be separate from any other settings, they all effect each other.

If you don't mind, check that Video Resolution Test 100TVL and alternate between 0 and 1 while looking at the 6.75Mhz circle and tell me what you see. Yes, I see the effect you are referring to.

Note that the Avia "Sharpness" pattern has black/white bars with gradually increasing frequency. Theoretically, when viewed from far enough away that the eye "averages" the black and white bars into gray, the whole frequency ramp should look an even, medium gray, quite close to the background gray. Unfortunately, the ABT scaler used in the 983 and the VP30, adds a fairly wide edge enhancement halo, which appears to affect the lower frequencies as well as the high frequencies. When Sharpness is set to 0, it is true that the EE seems the most even across the spectrum of frequencies, but the "averaged" gray looks considerably brighter than it should. When Sharpness is set to -1, the EE is reduced at the higher frequencies, so the "averaged" gray looks as it should at those high frequencies, but at the lower frequencies, the "averaged" gray still looks too bright.

I used Nero Showtime to capture the raw, 480x720 pixel "Sharpness" pattern directly from the Avia DVD (see attached file). It shows no EE whatsoever. If you have a decent monitor, which is relatively well calibrated, you can see how the "averaged" gray of the frequency ramp should look.

Nevertheless, not many players do much better than the 983 when it comes to EE.

So, when looking at the black lines in the center of the Avia "Sharpness" pattern, and seeing what happens to the smooth curve of the circle on that pattern, I still prefer the -1 setting. But as rdgrimes mentioned, your display's sharpness can have an effect as well.

Gary

Gary,

I still see noise in that pattern, both on my computer monitor and on my display (Pioneer 151FD plasma). The noise is around the word "Sharpness" and occasionally around the big circle.

On some patterns, -2 seemed the most appropriate setting, and have the least amount of ringing. But -2 looks the worst with the 6.75Mhz circle. I am totally confused.

On some patterns, -2 seemed the most appropriate setting, and have the least amount of ringing. But -2 looks the worst with the 6.75Mhz circle. I am totally confused.

We're dealing with sharpness filtering applied to mpeg2 compressed video, and the possible interactions are beyond my knowledge. I'm not sure it's possible for all patterns to look their best with a single setting. Or that a setting that makes the patterns look good provides the most pleasing video image.

You might try raising this in the calibration forum. They have expertise with the test patterns and video processing.

-Bill

You might try raising this in the calibration forum. They have expertise with the test patterns and video processing.

-Bill

Also, for more on using the Avia sharpness patterns, see this entry in the Calibration FAQ and scroll down to "AVIA Calibration Tip #3 - Sharpness Pattern": http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6368677#post6368677

As a caveat, I don't know that all sharpness controls work the same way, or how much of the standard advice is inherited from CRT technology and is less applicable to fixed-pixel devices.

-Bill

Bill,

Thanks for that link, and your thoughts. That is a lot of detailed info to absorb ;)

I will do additional testing over the next few days. Interesting to read that Guy Kuro says some portions of the Sharpness pattern are even too severe for a consumer device to show absolutely no ringing.

Gary,

I still see noise in that pattern, both on my computer monitor and on my display (Pioneer 151FD plasma). The noise is around the word "Sharpness" and occasionally around the big circle.

On some patterns, -2 seemed the most appropriate setting, and have the least amount of ringing. But -2 looks the worst with the 6.75Mhz circle. I am totally confused. The "noise" in that pattern, is an MPEG compression artifact in the source image, called "mosquito noise", that is completely unrelated to the Sharpness setting. What we are trying to avoid is the Edge Enhancement (the white halo/outline around the black lines). EE is not present in the screen capture, but most players and/or displays add it for sharpening effect.

We all seem to agree that Sharpness should be set at -1 or 0 on the 983; to establish the best compromise of minimal EE, and evenness across the frequency sweep. Your equipment and preferences may vary.

Gary

This is probably a stupid question, but I couldn't find the answer after searching. If I play an SACD through this and use the analog outputs, is it still converted from DSD to PCM? I know that its converted for HDMI, but didnt see anything about the analog outputs. Thanks

Yes, it is converted from DSD to PCM digitally. It is the same process as the HDMI interface.

Is there some easier way to switch between the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio programs on a disc, besides ejecting and changing the setup priority?

Big thank yous to both gonk and Neuromancer for their answers to my Why-does-Oppo-still-use-Mediatek question. The familarity-breeds-content argument works for me :)

I really wish I didn't have to buy a 2nd device - i.e. Networked Media Player - to get all the content that the Oppo's MediaTek can't play back. (I just bought the new eGreat EG-M31B model)

It's like the Oppo is chocolate and these NMPs/Network Media Tanks are peanut butter - and I want an Oppo Reese's :D

Is there some easier way to switch between the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio programs on a disc, besides ejecting and changing the setup priority?

Unfortunately no. You will have to Eject then enter Setup to change the option to DVD-Video or DVD-Audio.

Unfortunately no. You will have to Eject then enter Setup to change the option to DVD-Video or DVD-Audio. Is there any benefit to hitting EJECT, rather than pressing STOP twice?

Gary

No, other than it ensures that you have properly initiated the sequence required to change grayed out Setup options.

Paring down my system to a Samsung BD-UP5000(reon HQV) and a OPPO DV-980.

I've put my 983 and 970 in the classifieds for sale......

Here is something else I have found out while experimenting with the Sharpness control on the 983H:

Using the AVIA Sharpness pattern, I detect no darkening or banding of the top horizontal pattern of vertical lines. On the center pattern of black crossing lines, there is moderate ringing/EE on the 0 setting, which is reduced minimally with the -2 setting.

More interesting, is the 100TVL Video Resolution Pattern. This has the previously-discussed 6.75Mhz circle with closely spaced vertical lines, in the lower left corner. When reducing the sharpness to -1 or -2, the overall light output of the circle dims, to an output less than the other resolution circles in the remaining three corners. This leads me to believe there is some sort of frequency filtering that is engaged with the Sharpness set to -1 or -2.

More interesting, is the 100TVL Video Resolution Pattern. This has the previously-discussed 6.75Mhz circle with closely spaced vertical lines, in the lower left corner. When reducing the sharpness to -1 or -2, the overall light output of the circle dims, to an output less than the other resolution circles in the remaining three corners. This leads me to believe there is some sort of frequency filtering that is engaged with the Sharpness set to -1 or -2.

I see that effect also. My thought was that the brightness at higher sharpness settings is caused by the ringing. Several of the patterns get brighter at higher sharpness, although the animation effects occur at different values for each.

-Bill

Using the AVIA Sharpness pattern, I detect no darkening or banding of the top horizontal pattern of vertical lines. On the center pattern of black crossing lines, there is moderate ringing/EE on the 0 setting, which is reduced minimally with the -2 setting.

More interesting, is the 100TVL Video Resolution Pattern. This has the previously-discussed 6.75Mhz circle with closely spaced vertical lines, in the lower left corner. When reducing the sharpness to -1 or -2, the overall light output of the circle dims, to an output less than the other resolution circles in the remaining three corners. This leads me to believe there is some sort of frequency filtering that is engaged with the Sharpness set to -1 or -2. You may be right that frequency filtering is engaged when Sharpness is set to -2, but I think it is unlikely at -1. DVE has patterns with higher resolution, and the 983 resolves ALL of their detail with no frequency loss.

Additionally, if you display the Avia 100TVL Video Resolution Pattern on your TV using a DVI PC, you will notice that ALL of the circles look a little darker, like the 6.75Mhz circle when the 983 is set to -1.

In other words, with Sharpness set to 0, the 983 makes all of the circles look brighter than they should, because it applies Edge Enhancement to a wide range of frequencies. When Sharpness is set to -1, EE is reduced only at the highest frequencies, so that the 6.75Mhz circle is the correct shade of gray, but the other circles remain too bright.

While observing the vertical lines at the top of the Avia Sharpness pattern, switch Sharpness back and forth between 0 and -1, and notice that the biggest difference is at the high end of the frequency spectrum... there is little difference at the low-to-middle end. Thankfully, the transition is applied very gradually and smoothly.

Gary

Gary & Bill,

I don't recall any difference between -1 and 0 while looking at the top ramp on the Sharpness pattern.

How do we know that the 6.75Mhz pattern at -1 is "correct" and the others are too bright? I know you said it's because there is EE being applied, but I can't find any additional evidence of this.

Not trying to be argumentative here, just learning.

Gary & Bill,

I don't recall any difference between -1 and 0 while looking at the top ramp on the Sharpness pattern.

How do we know that the 6.75Mhz pattern at -1 is "correct" and the others are too bright? I know you said it's because there is EE being applied, but I can't find any additional evidence of this.

Not trying to be argumentative here, just learning.

I'm just speculating, but this is how it seems to me.

Increased sharpness = more EE = bigger white halos ("ringing") around dark lines. In fine patterns the halos will cover some of the dark lines making the pattern appear "brighter", in that there is now more white than previously. You can see this happening at the fine ends of the resolution wedges as you move sharpness up and down.

As to "correct": to me, -2 seems to preserve the most fine detail in the test patterns, but -1 looks more pleasing on real movies.

Some of this may be display-dependent; we could be seeing different things. I'm using a 37" 1080p LCD.

-Bill

Hi All,

I have had the Oppo for several months and have watched about 6 dvd's thus far (not a heavy watcher). Lastnight, while watching 21, I got a lot of annoying white screen flashes/flickering. Sometimes part of the screen and other times, the whole screen went black. I thought I remember mentions of this early on and I thought I'd try to change from 1080p to 10810i and that did the trick. So it appears to be resolution related. I guess I am wondering why this only started with the movie 21 and not the others. I think I am running firmware 0604. I suppose it couldn't hurt to goto the latest, but I am curious if anyone has some insight or suggestions. I have all new cables and this is the first it has happened, so no need to go into the 'switch cable' conversation and I don't feed video though my AV receiver. I have done nothing since hooking it up, to cause anything to work different. Thanks.

Just because a cable is new, doesn't mean it might not be defective ;).
One rule that should be followed with Oppo products... ALWAYS UPDATE TO THE LATEST FW :)
I would try that and see if it fixes the problem.

I'm just speculating, but this is how it seems to me.

Increased sharpness = more EE = bigger white halos ("ringing") around dark lines. In fine patterns the halos will cover some of the dark lines making the pattern appear "brighter", in that there is now more white than previously. You can see this happening at the fine ends of the resolution wedges as you move sharpness up and down.

As to "correct": to me, -2 seems to preserve the most fine detail in the test patterns, but -1 looks more pleasing on real movies.

Some of this may be display-dependent; we could be seeing different things. I'm using a 37" 1080p LCD.

-Bill

From my viewing distance of 11.5" from a 60" Pioneer Elite 1080p plasma, I cannot tell the difference between the EE/halos that occur on the Sharpness pattern between -1 and 0. I can from my normal seating distance, however, easily tell the differences in brightness in the resolution wedges between -2, -1 and 0. Only at 0 do the wedges and circles all have the same apparent brightness. There is some sort of filtering that occurs at a negative sharpness setting.

I'm sticking with 0 for the time being.

How do we know that the 6.75Mhz pattern at -1 is "correct" and the others are too bright? As I said, if you display the pattern on a device that does not add EE, like a DVI PC, ALL of the circles look a little darker, like the 6.75Mhz circle when the 983 is set to -1.

I know you said it's because there is EE being applied, but I can't find any additional evidence of this. Attached, is a pixel-level photo of EE on the Sharpness pattern. From a distance, the white etching makes the gray part of the pattern look a little lighter than if there were no EE. But notice how the white etchings get even brighter when they cross each other.

Now, on a high-resolution pattern of closely-spaced bars, the EE from one bar superimposes on the EE from another, making the white areas considerably brighter than they should be. To make things worse, the EE makes the black lines narrow slightly, so overall, you see much more white than there really is, and the whole pattern looks brighter.

All of this discussion is relavant to test patterns, but seldom affects the real-world viewing experience. EE is common to all players, and the 983 applies it better than many.

Gary

That is a good example Gary, thanks. Makes more sense now.

I have a Pioneer 6070 (non-KURO, 768p plasma); will the 983 look better than my Toshiba A1 on dvds?

Toshiba HD-A1 was not a good SD DVD player. You should see a difference in performance.

I would agree - the 983H is definitely better than my A2 .

Toshiba HD-A1 was not a good SD DVD player.


:eek: I'm sorry, but that is a canard.

Compared to the best upconverting players out there, like the 983 and the several Reon based players, the A1 isn't very good. Much better that a $30 blue-light-special... yes. :cool:

Now, I cannot decide what to do:
either
- buy the 983 right now and select a good BR reader (with 7.1 audio output), or
- wait the future Oppo BR, if this BR includes the DVD upscalling quality of the 983

Can we expect global specifications of this future Oppo BR in the next future, in order to made a decision?

Now, I cannot decide what to do:
either
- buy the 983 right now and select a good BR reader (with 7.1 audio output), or
- wait the future Oppo BR, if this BR includes the DVD upscalling quality of the 983

Can we expect global specifications of this future Oppo BR in the next future, in order to made a decision?

I would expect the specs to be secret until the product is announced. I've heard no rumours of when that will be.

-Bill

OPPO has used two different approaches to player development. In several cases, they've released information "into the wild" in advance to help consumers make purchasing decisions (the 981HD as a replacement for the 971H with the SACD support found in the 970HD, for example, or the 983H's fairly detailed feature set list that was common knowledge for some months prior to release). In other cases, they've kept a player under wraps until shipping started (980H, which was in many ways just a refinement of the 970HD). It's certainly possible that details for their Blu-ray player will surface in advance to help give folks shopping for Blu-ray hardware an idea of what to expect (there was even talk at one point back on March or February of word about the feature set appearing as early as this summer some time), but I wouldn't want to get anybody's hopes up for that.

Compared to the best upconverting players out there, like the 983 and the several Reon based players, the A1 isn't very good. Much better that a $30 blue-light-special... yes. :cool:


Just curious; have you ever owned an HD-A1?

You needn't get high brow as to blue-light-specials, as I do own a 983 and an XA2, so I do know a little about what to expect from an upscaling player ;)

As to Active Speaker's question: although the A1 does a very nice job at upscaling, the 983 does have better PQ. But don't expect HD quality.

Just curious; have you ever owned an HD-A1?

You needn't get high brow as to blue-light-specials, as I do own a 983 and an XA2, so I do know a little about what to expect from an upscaling player ;)

As to Active Speaker's question: although the A1 does a very nice job at upscaling, the 983 does have better PQ. But don't expect HD quality.

Yes I have owned an A1. ...and if you'd actully taken my post for what it is, then you wouldn't have tried to interpret something that isn't there. "Blue-light-special" is just another way of saying $20-$30 dvd player. So the BLS player=ok, the A1=good, and the 983=awesome which is several steps above the A1. For playback of SD dvd content, there is ONLY one that is the best, and it is the 983.:cool:

Yes I have owned an A1. ...and if you'd actully taken my post for what it is, then you wouldn't have tried to interpret something that isn't there. "Blue-light-special" is just another way of saying $20-$30 dvd player. So the BLS player=ok, the A1=good, and the 983=awesome which is several steps above the A1. For playback of SD dvd content, there is ONLY one that is the best, and it is the 983.:cool:

Well, if you did own an A1 you must have been using the composite outputs. A little research will show that many forum members, including myself, traded in machines such as the Denon 3910 ($1500.00) after experiencing the upscaling quality of the A1. The only reason I'm taking you to task on this is because forums are meant to convey accurate information. All one needs to do is go back to some of the older HD-A1 threads to see that what I'm saying is correct. The last thing this forum needs is disinformation spewed by fanboys bent on pushing a certain product. :cool:

I'm going to have to side with smarty-pants on this one, based solely on my personal experience. I've used most of OPPO's players (all but the 970HD), but I've also used the HD-A2 and the Panasonic BD30 (leaving our all the non-upscaling players along the way). Based on that, I was not especially impressed with the A2. Sure, the A1 isn't necessarily going to offer identical DVD playback, but it still isn't a peer for the 983H. The XA2 may be a different story, but that's a very different animal.

Well, I will say this much. Once you start using Oppo products, and experience their impecable customer service and support, it is impossible not to love their products. If that denotes being a "fanboy", then so be it.

You will never find me spreading "disinformation" anywhere. When it is fact, or a submission of the results based on my experience, then I will state it as such.
If it is specualtion or opinion, I will also state it as such.
Sure I have got some facts mixed up before, and when I do, I invite anyone to correct me... no one is perfect.

No composite connections for me smartypants;). HDMI for almost everything but my stb.

When the A1 came out, the 983 wasn't even a glimmer on the hoizon. So those conversations of old are for those old products, and can not be applied to today's new hardware. The only way to do that comparison NOW, is to set the A1 and 983 side by side and see for yourself. Like I said before, the A1 is good, but the 983 is way better. There's no room for interpretation here, this is just the way it is. :cool:

Kind of a moot point.

Never saw an A1 while it was still in production. The 3910 is very nice.

Now what player(s) scored 100% on the secrets benchmarks?

Joe

Thanks everyone for the input on the A1 vs. the 983; however, I am still using a 60" plasma at 768p. What kind of improvement will I likely see?

Oh you'll see a difference... between the A1 and the 983?... on the 768p plasma?... yes. Sometimes, it will be hard to tell the difference, but the differences will be there. Most of the time, not night and day, but lots of suttle differences. Especially on older movies that were not shot with hi res camaras, and those dvds that do not have good film transfers, and there are planty of those out there. The biggest differences will be in the deinterlacing.

Hello,

Have bought the Oppo 983 [my first oppo], and am really pleased with the output;
However, i find that i am not able to use a USB Key if i use an extension cord;
I even bough a new one for this purpose;

Any one else have this issue?

The next Question is ....uh.....intelligent.

I have a standby button on the remote; What is the use of the on/off button;
other than the same purpose as the standby?

Hello,

Have bought the Oppo 983 [my first oppo], and am really pleased with the output;
However, i find that i am not able to use a USB Key if i use an extension cord;
I even bough a new one for this purpose;

Any one else have this issue?

The next Question is ....uh.....intelligent.

I have a standby button on the remote; What is the use of the on/off button;
other than the same purpose as the standby?

How long is the cable and is it buffered?

I have a standby button on the remote; What is the use of the on/off button;
other than the same purpose as the standby?

The remote has Discrete On/Off commands for teaching universal remote controls. This is good if you want to be able to send an "All On" or "All Off" command to several pieces of equipment.

Standby will perform On/Off commands as a toggle.

Hello,

Have bought the Oppo 983 [my first oppo], and am really pleased with the output;
However, i find that i am not able to use a USB Key if i use an extension cord;
I even bough a new one for this purpose;

Any one else have this issue?

The next Question is ....uh.....intelligent.

I have a standby button on the remote; What is the use of the on/off button;
other than the same purpose as the standby?

Hi

Make sure your USB key is FAT32 formatted (you can use CompuApps Swissknife for formatting). Otherwise it won't work. Also, check that your files aren't too big (I think 2GB is max - someone correct me if I'm wrong).

If you USB key works in the Oppo without the cable, then you know it's a cable issue, try another one.

Cheers

I still can't believe that people are arguing that the price is too high! When you think about your spending $400 for a player that you will not have to upgrade for a while.

Also you are spending $400 on a player that you will have to reinvest your whole video library!

The way it's looking there's going to be or already is so many different ways to get media of any kind whether it be HD or not there's no point and buying blu-ray!

Ok I just got my first real subwoofer (svs sb12-plus) and have the oppo speakers set to large, downmix 5.1 (have 5.1 system with the little psb alpha clr1 and lr1s) and subwoofer on. Crossover in my receiver is set to 80Hz. Is this what I should be using, or should I set the speakers to small? Oppo runs to reciever via hdmi. Thanks.

Set Speakers to LARGE and Subwoofer to On.

Thanks.

Ok I just got my first real subwoofer (svs sb12-plus) and have the oppo speakers set to large, downmix 5.1 (have 5.1 system with the little psb alpha clr1 and lr1s) and subwoofer on. Crossover in my receiver is set to 80Hz. Is this what I should be using, or should I set the speakers to small? Oppo runs to reciever via hdmi. Thanks.

With small surround speakers like you have the receiver speakers should be set to Small to direct bass to the subwoofer; if you have that option. If not then set the oppo speakers to Small. Otherwise you'll be missing a lot of the upper mid-bass. A crossover of 90-100hz might work better with these PSBs if you can set the receiver speakers to Small. The oppo has a fixed crossover of 80hz so keep it set to Large if at all possible.

Well I am a audio/subwoofer noob but they are set to large now, and reciever is set to 80Hz crossover. I have measured with my spl meter and av123 sub cd and found no dip in the crossover region, so I assume I am good to go.

I usually check in several days a week to see posting updates, but they all seem to have stopped on 9/2. Am I missing something, or has everyone lost interest?

Just wondering...

I usually check in several days a week to see posting updates, but they all seem to have stopped on 9/2. Am I missing something, or has everyone lost interest?

Just wondering...

I'm sure you're seeing the same AVSForum as the rest of us.

-Bill

Everyone's too busy watching movies or listening to some good music to post.

I usually check in several days a week to see posting updates, but they all seem to have stopped on 9/2. Am I missing something, or has everyone lost interest? Lost interest? Are you kidding?

I guess there's just very little to complain about... Its all roses on the DV-983H side of the fence... This is one fantastic player!

My movies are being watched over and over, and Netflix is being kept busier than ever. Sorry, gotta go, there's another movie waiting for me!

Gary

Where can I get a longer 3 prong power cord for the 983H?

Where can I get a longer 3 prong power cord for the 983H?Ah! That'll keep this thread cooking for a while longer! In the mean time, we'll be over HERE (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1063625), drooling on the OPPO Blu-Ray prototype at CEDIA!

Gary

Ah! That'll keep this thread cooking for a while longer! In the mean time, we'll be over HERE (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1063625), drooling on the OPPO Blu-Ray prototype at CEDIA!

Gary

Hmmm; looks likely that it will have the SD DVD capability of the 983, but will take full advantage of the ABT2010 chip (if that's what's inside).

Where can I get a longer 3 prong power cord for the 983H?

I really like the Tributaries Silver that are available from accessories4less.com
They have a 9ft. and a 12ft. at closeout prices. I'm in the better cables are better camp, but I won't pay a fortune for them.

Where can I get a longer 3 prong power cord for the 983H?

Monoprice! They carry up to a 15 ft. one. Also power extension cords. Monoprice is a forum sponsor. Link http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?spcDB=10228&spcWord=Power+Cable+%2F+Cord+%2F+Strip+%2F+Center&keyword=power%20cord

BTW. I hope OPPO Digital drops the heavy duty aka stiff power cord for its new Blu-ray player and for that matter, it could make a running change on the 983, too. My laser printer has a longer, thinner, more flexible, removable power cord of the same design as on the 983, yet is entirely adequate to handle 670 Watts when printing! The present stiff 983 power cord - mine anyway - is an affectation.

Dana

Ah! That'll keep this thread cooking for a while longer! In the mean time, we'll be over HERE (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1063625), drooling on the OPPO Blu-Ray prototype at CEDIA!

Gary

And I thought OPPO Digital didn't go to trade shows. Ha. ;)

Dana

And I thought OPPO Digital didn't go to trade shows. Ha. ;)

Dana

i read that the oppo bd player is in with the abt booth. as there is no oppo booth.

BTW. I hope OPPO Digital drops the heavy duty aka stiff power cord for its new Blu-ray player and for that matter, it could make a running change on the 983, too. My laser printer has a longer, thinner, more flexible, removable power cord of the same design as on the 983, yet is entirely adequate to handle 670 Watts when printing! The present stiff 983 power cord - mine anyway - is an affectation.

Dana


Can't you just buy a cheap flimsy power cable for a couple dollars if that is what you want? The power cable that comes with the 983 is a heavy gauge high quality cable, designed to help deliver quality power to the player with no interference. A lesser gauge cable may work just as well, but I appreciate Oppo hooking us up with the better cable. Why exactly do you hate it?

Can't you just buy a cheap flimsy power cable for a couple dollars if that is what you want? The power cable that comes with the 983 is a heavy gauge high quality cable, designed to help deliver quality power to the player with no interference. A lesser gauge cable may work just as well, but I appreciate Oppo hooking us up with the better cable. Why exactly do you hate it?

Ah, this thread needed a little energy so I thought I'd drop a little chum in the water and see who might take the bait! ;)

No sense in going into detail since I can see you have your mind made up. My reference example of elegant, supple, soft, medium gauge high end power cables for electronics are the ones Apple has supplied with its computers for years. I rest my case.

Dana

Ok, ok... you have a high quality skinny flexable power cable, then you have a high quality thick/stiff power cable, then lastly you have a skinny piece if crap power cable. I'm glad Oppo supplied us with the second one and not the third. Plus like I said, if you don't like it, a replacement one is not expensive. Not trying to be combative, I'm just sayin' ;):).

BTW. I hope OPPO Digital drops the heavy duty aka stiff power cord for its new Blu-ray player and for that matter, it could make a running change on the 983, too. My laser printer has a longer, thinner, more flexible, removable power cord of the same design as on the 983, yet is entirely adequate to handle 670 Watts when printing! The present stiff 983 power cord - mine anyway - is an affectation.

Dana

Another vote for Oppo keeping the nice power cord that it supplied with my 983. Consider this: which is cheaper to replace, a flimsy (and probably poorer-sounding) power cable, or a quality cable? Particularly when it would seem that most buyers of a 983 are highly interested in having better sound quality to which a heavier-duty power cable with shielding doo-dads can contribute.

Of course, there are two reasons I don't have my PS Audio power cable "snake" supplying my 983: I don't use it for its analog connections anyway, and the 983 would suffer from a permanent wheelie anyway!

If you want a different power cord cheap/free, go to any independent computer shop (not a big box store's computer repair dept). I bet you anything they'd either give you one free, or cheap.

Another option is the IT dept of any company large enough to have an "IT guy". He'd probably give you one for free since he's not in the retail/resell business. My place has only about 80 employees and I have boxes of spare power cords coming out my ears. If you were to stop by I'd give you 50 of them free just to make them go away. :)

On another note, here's a topic for discussion: is there anything you'd like to see in a future firmware update? Or is the 983 "perfect"?

Far from perfect. There are issues still unresolved, such as incorrect Aspect Ratio controls and no AR controls at all over the analog outputs.

Far from perfect. There are issues still unresolved, such as incorrect Aspect Ratio controls and no AR controls at all over the analog outputs.

What is the incorrect aspect ratio controls issue?

Far from perfect. There are issues still unresolved, such as incorrect Aspect Ratio controls and no AR controls at all over the analog outputs.

The MOST annoying is the 1 second truncation at the start of any and all titles, plus the AR issues. These 2 things make the player seem less than "high-quality".

What is the incorrect aspect ratio controls issue?

Sometimes discs are detected with the wrong aspect ratio (4:3 or 16:9), resulting in a squeezed or stretched picture. This matters only if you are using Wide/Auto and is fixed by toggling the Info button.

-Bill

The MOST annoying is the 1 second truncation at the start of any and all titles ...

Don't hold your breath on this one, especially if you are using the digital audio outputs.

I own an Integra DTC-9.8 and suffer 2 second dropouts every time the signal source has changed. Ex. Going from PCM of a Menu to Dolby Digital of the main film.

My older receiver had not truncation errors due to acquiring the new audio signal.

I have had my 983 now for 2 months and have no complaints. I had the 981 and had a problem with the picture being jerky after being on pause for awhile which i dont have with the 983. I also had a problem with it not wanting to play some new dvds. 983 no problem so far. I also had a problem with image retention on dark scenes such as the opening of Ghost Rider. no problem again with the 983. I sent my 981 back to Oppo and they sent me another one but same problem. Disk seemed to play better. I was just wondering if anyone else had these problems and are now a non issue with the 983. I wonder if the image problem could have been the chipset in the 981 vs the 983? I have a Sony 50 inch sxrd rp tv.

Image retention and other visual errors wtih the DV-981HD are related to the Faroudja DCDi processing. If you had enabled any kind of Sharpness, Digital Noise Reduction, or other video settings on the DV-981HD, you will likely see image retention errors.

For disc compatibility, the two units should be the same. The DV-983H only has an advantage in reading DVD-R/RW media, but commercial discs should have performed exactly the same on the two units.

The Faroudja DCDi chipset is slower to respond to Cadences. This is why you saw a jerky movement when you paused the player then resumed playback. The DV-983H is much quicker in its Cadence detection and locking algorithms.

I really never understood the disks playing problem. I took several of the disks to my friends and my brothers who both have the 981 and had no problem playing them. I guess i was just unlucky with the two that i had. The 983 has been flawless and i am extremely happy with my purchase ofthis model.

Just ordered one and I am stoked!

I just got a question about playback of DIVX .AVI .WMV etc via HDMI with the resolution set to 1080P.
Does the 983 upscale DIVX etc.?
I ask because I read on another forum where one person said that it doesn't upscale DIVX and only plays them at normal resolution, but posts I have read on other forums suggest that the ABT chips do upscale DIVX etc.

If anyone could confirm which is correct it would be greatly appreciated.

Black

I just got a question about playback of DIVX .AVI .WMV etc via HDMI with the resolution set to 1080P.
Does the 983 upscale DIVX etc.?
I ask because I read on another forum where one person said that it doesn't upscale DIVX and only plays them at normal resolution, but posts I have read on other forums suggest that the ABT chips do upscale DIVX etc.

If anyone could confirm which is correct it would be greatly appreciated.

Black Yes, the 983 does upscale Divx and other formats. Someone may be confusing the fact that the player cannot play such files if they are authored in HD resolutions.

Gary

Just ordered one and I am stoked! And so you should be!

Gary

Thanks Gary I was pretty sure that was the case from what I had read.

Black

Far from perfect. There are issues still unresolved, such as incorrect Aspect Ratio controls and no AR controls at all over the analog outputs.

Ahh, still waiting for those to be resolved...

Here's hoping...

I just purchased one today , I was going to buy a high end bluray player like the denon 3800 or pioneer 09 and use that so SD DVD playback , but this oppo recieved a perfect score on the benchmark review!!!!!


Is this truely our last DVD player? what do u guys think?


Ive purchased 4 dvd players in my life. And one was a denon 3930ci which was very good. But this oppo is better

...

Is this truely our last DVD player? what do u guys think?

...

Well, James Bond once said, "Never say never." But, Neuromancer said back along that the 983 is OPPO Digital's DVD player Swan Song http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_Song. The company's final best effort in this category.

I have learned on these many OPPO threads to trust what Neuromancer says. :)

Dana

Is this truely our last DVD player? what do u guys think?

I'm pretty sure it's my last player. But never say never. I predict SD-DVD will be thriving for many years to come.

-Bill

It doesnt have noise reduction? I read on the audioholics forum that they scored it a 105 out of 130 on the HQV because of failing of three things , noise reduction , motion adaptness noise and something else.

Has anyone found this to be a problem? or has any recent firmware fixed any of these issues ,

Thanx Chris

Don't hold your breath on this one, especially if you are using the digital audio outputs.

I own an Integra DTC-9.8 and suffer 2 second dropouts every time the signal source has changed. Ex. Going from PCM of a Menu to Dolby Digital of the main film.

My older receiver had not truncation errors due to acquiring the new audio signal.

This would seem to be a major issue if it effected everyone. Exactly what are the conditions where this occurs? Is it certain cables/outputs or receivers?

It doesnt have noise reduction? [...] Has anyone found this to be a problem?

Not a problem for me. The NR filters I have seen in the past have always degraded video quality, although there may be better solutions I haven't seen.

-Bill

Ive been looking for reviews on the Toshiba XDE , has anyone compared it to the oppo 983 yet?

thanx Chris



" I hope this is my last DVD player "

I have to believe that the 983 will be my last player......I just don't see how the PQ can get any better using dot-to-dot mode in conjunction with my Elite...
It's as close to Hi-def,IMO, as an upscaling SD DVD player can get..

It doesnt have noise reduction? I read on the audioholics forum that they scored it a 105 out of 130 on the HQV because of failing of three things , noise reduction , motion adaptness noise and something else.

Has anyone found this to be a problem? or has any recent firmware fixed any of these issues ,

Thanx Chris

I've been looking at the fact that the current run of 983s use a different VRS chip instead of 2 earlier versions and according to Anchor Bay's website the 2010 has the noise reduction features of AB's highline chips-wonder if this would make a difference? I have the older 983 with 2 AB chips.

It doesnt have noise reduction?



Well, it does have a noise reduction feature but it isn't like a mosquito noise filter and also doesn't affect film grain noise (good), however it reduces what is called "block noise", which looks like mosaic patterns on highly compressed video. So although it's not so relevant for most SD-DVD's it's actually quite useful for DivX files. I normally have it off when playing DVD's but when I use the 983 for DivX (I've recently started to use it more and more instead of my PS3 as the result is so good) I set the noise reduction feature to On.

Cheers

From what we've heard in recent discussions on about the hardware change, the 983H will continue forward with a single firmware set - as a result, no features will be introduced that aren't supported by the 102/1018 combination.

This would seem to be a major issue if it effected everyone. Exactly what are the conditions where this occurs? Is it certain cables/outputs or receivers?

It depends greatly on how the receiving equipment is designed. Some receivers take longer to handshake a new signal than others.

Using HDMI will pretty much always cause issues, as the DVD player and receiver will spend some time "conversing" with each other, determining what the highest bit-rate, frequency, channels, and other capabilities the receiver has.

From what we've heard in recent discussions on about the hardware change, the 983H will continue forward with a single firmware set - as a result, no features will be introduced that aren't supported by the 102/1018 combination.

If the ABT102/1018 does not support it; nor will the ABT2010 versions of the hardware. OPPO is keeping everyone on the same playing field.

It depends greatly on how the receiving equipment is designed. Some receivers take longer to handshake a new signal than others.

Using HDMI will pretty much always cause issues, as the DVD player and receiver will spend some time "conversing" with each other, determining what the highest bit-rate, frequency, channels, and other capabilities the receiver has.

Thanks, that is good to know. My receiver (Denon 5803) does not support HDMI so I would go optical or analog out. My receiver seems to have a pretty good audio section and apparently so does the 983. Do you see any real advantage to using the 983 audio decoding and analog outs vs. optical out and letting my receiver perform all the decoding? Obviously a one cable solution is simplier if there is no audible difference. Thanks, for answering my questions.

Ive been looking for reviews on the Toshiba XDE , has anyone compared it to the oppo 983 yet? See this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14503241#post14503241).

Gary

Do you see any real advantage to using the 983 audio decoding and analog outs vs. optical out and letting my receiver perform all the decoding?

The only reason why you should be using the multi-channel analog outputs is if you want to take advantage of SACD or DVD-Audio media.

It doesnt have noise reduction? I read on the audioholics forum that they scored it a 105 out of 130 on the HQV because of failing of three things , noise reduction , motion adaptness noise and something else.

Has anyone found this to be a problem? Remember that the HQV disk is designed to show off the Realta HQV chipset. Their noise reduction features seem to make the image look slightly "plastic" - just a little unnatural at times. As Bill mentioned, NR often causes other image-degrading artifacts.

The ABT solution is superbly faithful to the original source.

Gary

The only reason why you should be using the multi-channel analog outputs is if you want to take advantage of SACD or DVD-Audio media.

Right. I forgot about those since my Denon 2900 is doing that duty right now, so having those in the 983 only adds value if I want to consolidate all the capabilities into one component.

Right. I forgot about those since my Denon 2900 is doing that duty right now, so having those in the 983 only adds value if I want to consolidate all the capabilities into one component.

Following very sound advice from this forum, I'm using the analogue outputs for general DVD use and letting the Oppo do the digital decoding rather than my Yamaha DSP-A1. A fellow A1 owner told me the Oppo was more capable in that regard than my amp - and in my case he was right.

Remember that the HQV disk is designed to show off the Realta HQV chipset. Their noise reduction features seem to make the image look slightly "plastic" - just a little unnatural at times. As Bill mentioned, NR often causes other image-degrading artifacts.

The ABT solution is superbly faithful to the original source.

Gary

Awsome, thanx for clearing it up for me....


This will truely be my last dvd player!!!!!!!

If the ABT102/1018 does not support it; nor will the ABT2010 versions of the hardware. OPPO is keeping everyone on the same playing field.

So basically what you're saying is that even though the ABT2010 supports much stronger noise reduction than the combination of the other 2 chips we won't get it on the newer 983's that have the 2010-right? That seems a little stupid to me considering Oppo's policy of continually upgrading firmware.

Then how do you recompense the people who bought the "older" solution? As I have stated several times before, OPPO is not here to slight older customers. The switch to the newer chipset is due to a manufacturing pressure (ie. ABT102/1018 no longer being produced). So for all intents and purposes, OPPO was never thinking about the features of the ABT2010.

The ABT2010 is implemented to behave exactly like the original design implementation of the ABT102/1018.

What I would reply to you would be to simply remind ya'll of Oppo's firmware upgrades for other models-they implemented noise reduction features and other items on the older Farjouda DCDI equipped models. Why should the 983 be any different?

Then how do you recompense the people who bought the "older" solution?

They are (myself included) early adopters. Why would Oppo not provide this enhancement to customers who have later players? Where is that Russian guy who hacked the 971's firmware when you really need him?

The change in hardware was a matter of necessity, not a matter of choice.

Source: DV-983H More Info (http://www.oppodigital.com/dv983h/dv983h_info.asp)
The ABT2010 video processor chip used in later productions batches has been configured to the exact performance and specifications of the ABT102 and ABT1018 chipsets
There is no point in arguing this fact. You will not see an added benefit from having the newer ABT2010 chipset. We have covered this subject ad nauseum.

I certainly respect OPPO for how they are handling this transition. These guys have class. Customer satisfaction is almost turning into a foreign concept in the CE world. Take in a deep breath of fresh air.

What I would reply to you would be to simply remind ya'll of Oppo's firmware upgrades for other models-they implemented noise reduction features and other items on the older Farjouda DCDI equipped models. Why should the 983 be any different? Simple answer: OPPO could apply the DCDi upgrades to ALL of those players, because they all had the same DCDi chipset.

As for the 983, they CANNOT apply the ABT2010 upgrades to ALL of the players, because many do not have the ABT2010 chipset.

Gary

I've researched this a little but haven't been able to come up with anything definitive.

Is the only thing that the 980 (or any other oppo player for that matter) has OVER the 983, is the ability to send the dsd bitstream over HDMI?

I've researched this a little but haven't been able to come up with anything definitive.

Is the only thing that the 980 (or any other oppo player for that matter) has OVER the 983, is the ability to send the dsd bitstream over HDMI?

The 980 also supports 480i over HDMI, which none of the other current models do.

-Bill

Simple answer: OPPO could apply the DCDi upgrades to ALL of those players, because they all had the same DCDi chipset.

As for the 983, they CANNOT apply the ABT2010 upgrades to ALL of the players, because many do not have the ABT2010 chipset.

Gary

Maybe they could offer 2 sets of firmware updates-it would be a pain and maybe cause some confusion among the less well informed owners-but still.........

Maybe they could offer 2 sets of firmware updates-it would be a pain and maybe cause some confusion among the less well informed owners-but still.........Well, there's precedent. I deal with firmware updates all the times, for all sorts of equipment. For years I've been accustomed to needing to match the proper firmware with the proper "version" of hardware. You might have a Widget AB-321, but there was a "v1" release and a "v1.5" release. You go to the manufacturer's website, and list different firmwares for different versions, and how to locate what version you have. And sometimes, only the newer versions receive and update and end up with some features not supported by older versions.

Here's an example that came to mind that demonstrates my point:

http://kbserver.netgear.com/products/WGR614.asp

Looks like that poor dead horse is still taking a beating.......

Looks like that poor dead horse is still taking a beating.......I know, OPPO isn't going to do it. They've already made their stance clear. I'm just saying that it DOES happen and people are used to dealing with it.

I know, OPPO isn't going to do it. They've already made their stance clear. I'm just saying that it DOES happen and people are used to dealing with it.

Of course, should all the new BD player's ABT2010 enhancements be enabled for SD playback, it would be a further inducement for 983 owners to 'upgrade' to the BDP-83. I'm not suggesting it's a deliberate marketing strategy, but it could work out that way.

I'm confused about the audio settings of the 983. I want the 983 to handle the whole image processing but to natively forward the unchanged audio channels to my AV-receiver. But instead of an intuitive "audio-foward-option" I have to set-up the large/small box configuration considering a subwoofer etc.

Actually I use three subwoofers with different cross-over frequencies and a complex multi-channel/room configuration. Thus the 983 must not apply any processing to the audio channels since I want my AV-receiver to get the original streams as stored on the DVD. Particulary the subwoofer channel must not be altered or re-mixed by the DVD player according to the player settings.

How can I achieve the best results for my configuration?

How can I achieve the best results for my configuration?

If you set all speakers to large and subwoofer to on in the Speaker set-up page and then in the Audio set-up page set digital output to raw and HDMI to auto if your using HDMI, I believe it should then pass the audio signal unaltered to your receiver.

Black

I'm confused about the audio settings of the 983. I want the 983 to handle the whole image processing but to natively forward the unchanged audio channels to my AV-receiver. But instead of an intuitive "audio-foward-option" I have to set-up the large/small box configuration considering a subwoofer etc.
Not necessarily - how are you delivering the audio to your receiver? If it is via coaxial or optical, the speaker settings are irrelevent and you simply need to leave the "digital audio output" setting on its default of "Raw" to allow the original bitstream to pass unaltered.
Actually I use three subwoofers with different cross-over frequencies and a complex multi-channel/room configuration. Thus the 983 must not apply any processing to the audio channels since I want my AV-receiver to get the original streams as stored on the DVD. Particulary the subwoofer channel must not be altered or re-mixed by the DVD player according to the player settings.

How can I achieve the best results for my configuration?
Since I don't know how you are using your player, I'll list a couple different scenarios.


Digital connection via coaxial or optical: The "Digital Output" on the "Audio Setup" screen should be left set to "Raw" (as mentioned above). In this case, the bitstream is output and the speaker settings in the player are ignored. DVD-Audio and SACD will be a problem in that case, of course, since they require either analog output or HDMI digital out...
Digital connection via HDMI: Same as above, but also set "HDMI Audio" to "Auto". If you listen to any DVD-Audio or SACD titles (which are the only ones that will get decoded internally in this scenario), also make sure to set all speakers to "Large" on the "Speaker Setup" screen and set the sub to "On".
Multichannel analog output: If you do what I described for the HDMI scenario, you will avoid any bass management in the player, but you'll need for the receiver to provide bass management for all channels - which is very rare. I'm guessing this doesn't fit your situation.

Does that help at all?

Maybe they could offer 2 sets of firmware updates-it would be a pain and maybe cause some confusion among the less well informed owners-but still.........If Oppo implemented the exact same functionality using the newer chip, to what operational advantage does Oppo need to create two separate firmware updates? Seems to me, they were successful implementing an seamless transition from ABT102 and ABT1018 chips to the newer ABT2010 intergrated chip.

If Oppo implemented the exact same functionality using the newer chip, to what operational advantage does Oppo need to create two separate firmware updates? Seems to me, they were successful implementing an seamless transition from ABT102 and ABT1018 chips to the newer ABT2010 intergrated chip.

Yep.

so what if we paid full price to support them in the past?

You bought the player to perform like the ABT102/1018 solution, NOT the ABT2010 solution.

The change to the ABT2010 irrelevant.

EDITED: This seems to be an Onkyo issue as another source will only play via PCM.

Original post: I am not getting sound when I set the 983h to RAW output in the Audio Setup Page under the option "Digital Output". I am connected to an Onkyo 885, via HDMI, that supports all of the current decoding schemes (as far as I know).

Any ideas? I am posting this in the Onkyo 885 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14658328#post14658328) thread too. I am not sure which component I have set wrong.

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide.

I am not getting sound when I set the 983h to RAW output in the Audio Setup Page under the option "Digital Output". I am connected to an Onkyo 885, via HDMI, that supports all of the current decoding schemes (as far as I know).

Any ideas? I am posting this in the Onkyo 885 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14658328#post14658328) thread too. I am not sure which component I have set wrong.

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide.

What do you have 'HDMI AUDIO' set to? Should be 'AUTO'

What do you have 'HDMI AUDIO' set to? Should be 'AUTO'

Yes. It is set to AUTO. I do get sound when I choose LPCM.

Not necessarily - how are you delivering the audio to your receiver? If it is via coaxial or optical, the speaker settings are irrelevent and you simply need to leave the "digital audio output" setting on its default of "Raw" to allow the original bitstream to pass unaltered.

Thank you very much for your explanations. I connected the 983 via HDMI to my AV-receiver, thus the small/large settings are ignored for DVD-Videos and just matter for DVD-Audio and SACD because the player has to apply the decoding itself. Right?

Thank you very much for your explanations. I connected the 983 via HDMI to my AV-receiver, thus the small/large settings are ignored for DVD-Videos and just matter for DVD-Audio and SACD because the player has to apply the decoding itself. Right?
Right. And if your receiver can provide bass management for multichannel PCM delivered via HDMI (which most can, although I think some have lacked the ability) you can simply set all speakers to "large" and the sub to "on" and the 983H will limit itself to the minimum necessary decoding without any subsequent bass management.

Okay. The situation is this: I get no sound when I bitstream from 983h to my Onkyo 885. LPCM works fine. I am going to contact Oppop support on Monday.

Is anyone successfully bitstreaming to an Onkyo/Onkyo Pro/Integra product? If yes, what model do you have? Is there anythong special you had to do to get it to work?

Ensure that you have not set the Onkyo 885 to HDMI Audio Out to On.

Do you have any other HDMI based devices which work fine when sending a Dolby Digital or DTS signal?

If you disconnect the HDMI cable which goes from the receiver to your display, do you get audio from the DV-983H when HDMI is set to Auto?

Ensure that you have not set the Onkyo 885 to HDMI Audio Out to On.

If I set the "HDMI Audio Out" to ON, the TV plays sound. If I set it to OFF, which is where it should normally be to decode in the AVR, I get no sound.

Do you have any other HDMI based devices which work fine when sending a Dolby Digital or DTS signal?

Yes. A Pioneer BDP-51FD. Both DTS and DD work fine when bitstreaming as does my TiVo S3.

If you disconnect the HDMI cable which goes from the receiver to your display, do you get audio from the DV-983H when HDMI is set to Auto?

I get no sound with the HDMI cable to the TV disconnected.

When the DV-983H HDMI is set to Auto, I get no sound. If I change this to LPCM, I get sound.

It should be noted that the indicator on the Onkyo for DD is lighting up when it receives the signal from the 983h. I am truly stumped.

Thanks for responding, and any other suggestions/thoughts are most welcome.

Edit: Added S3.

When you press the Volume + button on the remote control, does the volume on the lower left hand corner of your display show +20?

If you connect digital coaxial or optical, do you get proper DD and DTS?

If I set the "HDMI Audio Out" to ON, the TV plays sound. If I set it to OFF, which is where it should normally be to decode in the AVR, I get no sound.



Yes. A Pioneer BDP-51FD. Both DTS and DD work fine when bitstreaming as does my TiVo S3.



I get no sound with the HDMI cable to the TV disconnected.

When the DV-983H HDMI is set to Auto, I get no sound. If I change this to LPCM, I get sound.

It should be noted that the indicator on the Onkyo for DD is lighting up when it receives the signal from the 983h. I am truly stumped.

Thanks for responding, and any other suggestions/thoughts are most welcome.

Edit: Added S3.

Perhaps try switching inputs between the 983 and the S3? i.e. switch cables plug points on Onkyo.

Perhaps try switching inputs between the 983 and the S3? i.e. switch cables plug points on Onkyo.

Tried that with no success. BTW, I have been powering down each component when I make all these cable changes (a lot of them), and I was wondering if HDMI was designed/capable of being hot plugged. Is it safe to connect/disconnect HDMI while the components are powered on?

When you press the Volume + button on the remote control, does the volume on the lower left hand corner of your display show +20?

If you connect digital coaxial or optical, do you get proper DD and DTS?

Do yo mean the Onkyo remote? If so, I have turned volume to max (just for a second) to see if I could hear anything. Is the +20 a significant number :confused:

Tried that with no success. BTW, I have been powering down each component when I make all these cable changes (a lot of them), and I was wondering if HDMI was designed/capable of being hot plugged. Is it safe to connect/disconnect HDMI while the components are powered on?

I've done that many times without incident. Not sure if it is part of the HDMI spec though.

Do yo mean the Onkyo remote? If so, I have turned volume to max (just for a second) to see if I could hear anything. Is the +20 a significant number :confused:

No, on the OPPO remote. There is a dedicated Volume + button on the remote control (Upper Middle of remote). Ensure that the volume is set to +20.

Also ensure that your DownMix is set to 5.1 and not 7.1 under Speaker Setup.

Additional:

Ensure that you are using the 08-0709 and not the 07-0709 firmware on your player.

If you lower the output resolution of the player, does the receiver properly acquire and produce sound when using the HDMI interface.

No, on the OPPO remote. There is a dedicated Volume + button on the remote control (Upper Middle of remote). Ensure that the volume is set to +20.

Also ensure that your DownMix is set to 5.1 and not 7.1 under Speaker Setup.

Additional:

Ensure that you are using the 08-0709 and not the 07-0709 firmware on your player.

If you lower the output resolution of the player, does the receiver properly acquire and produce sound when using the HDMI interface.

I just tried all of your suggestions, but noting worked.

Before I tried your latest suggestions, I called Oppo support. Let me first say that this is definitely one company I would buy from again :) I forgot what good customer support was until my phone call with them. With that said...

There was no resolution to the problem at this point in time. They are going to send me a replacement player, and hopefully that will fix the issue.

If anyone is using the 983h with an Onkyo 885, please post here, and let me know if you are able to get sound when bitstreaming.

I'll keep you all posted, and thanks for all of the support.

I just tried all of your suggestions, but noting worked.

Before I tried your latest suggestions, I called Oppo support. Let me first say that this is definitely one company I would buy from again :) I forgot what good customer support was until my phone call with them. With that said...

There was no resolution to the problem at this point in time. They are going to send me a replacement player, and hopefully that will fix the issue.

If anyone is using the 983h with an Onkyo 885, please post here, and let me know if you are able to get sound when bitstreaming.

I'll keep you all posted, and thanks for all of the support.



You are just used to the kind of support you get from Onkyo....:(
:)

Okay. The situation is this: I get no sound when I bitstream from 983h to my Onkyo 885. LPCM works fine. I am going to contact Oppop support on Monday.

Is anyone successfully bitstreaming to an Onkyo/Onkyo Pro/Integra product? If yes, what model do you have? Is there anythong special you had to do to get it to work?

Hi DCI
I have a 983 connected to an Onkyo 674 via HDMI
No problems at all with my 5:1 setup.
Let me know if you are interested in my settings.

Hi, I've following this player for quite some time now, and have only one more question;
since I'll be playing both R1 and R2 DVDs, does anybody know about any regionhack on this player?

Thanx Frankly

Hi, I've following this player for quite some time now, and have only one more question;
since I'll be playing both R1 and R2 DVDs, does anybody know about any regionhack on this player?

Thanx Frankly

Press Setup.
Press "9210" in quick succession. A new window will appear.
Press "0". Your region is now multi-region.
Press Setup to Exit.

Press Setup.
Press "9210" in quick succession. A new window will appear.
Press "0". Your region is now multi-region.
Press Setup to Exit.


Wow thats fast, Thanx David
Frankly

Version: DV983H-11-0910 (http://www.oppodigital.com/dv983h/dv983h-firmware-11-0910.html)
Category: Beta Test Version
Release Date: September 16, 2008
Release Notes:

1. PAL 4:3 DVD Aspect Ratio Detection
This version enhances the detection of PAL DVD aspect ratio. When played on a DV-983H with previous firmware versions, some PAL 4:3 DVD discs could be displayed with an incorrect aspect ratio. For example, a 4:3 movie could be displayed as 16:9 even when the "TV Display" setup menu option "16:9 Wide/Auto". With this firmware version, the DV-983H automatically detects the aspect ratio of the DVD video program. If the program is 4:3 aspect ratio, the player adds borders in order to display the video correctly on a 16:9 screen.

2. Proper Aspect Ratio for Analog Video Output
Previous firmware versions always output full screen video through the player's analog output (Component, S-Video and Video), simply because the DV-983H is designed to be used with an HDMI-equipped display device. Users can override the full screen output by setting the "TV Display" setup menu option, but any interruption of playback will restore the video to full screen. With this firmware version, when the "Primary Output" setup menu option is set to "Component" and no HDMI cable is plugged in, the aspect ratio chosen by setting the "TV Display" setup menu option will be applied. Interruption of playback, such as pausing, fast forwarding or reversing will not change the selected aspect ratio. The user still needs to select the aspect ratio at the beginning of the playback by changing the "TV Display" setup menu option. OPPO is working on applying automatic aspect ratio detection to the analog output.

WOW! Fantastic news!! Thanks Neuromancer.

Gary

I wonder if this update will also help the generalized AR issues with some discs. Guess there's a good way to find out. :)

It may, but right now the firmware has only been designed explicitly for PAL discs.

all during the 2 weeks I had my 983 for sale on AVS classifieds, OPPO had the 983 in stock now that my ad has expired the 983 is backordered.... my luck
guess I'll put more money on my paypal and run the ad again, I certainly hope for better luck now that availability is limited....( rant over):(

Hi there,

I am really hoping someone can help me out. I have been buying Oppo players since the DV971 came out. About 1 month ago I upgraded to the 981-HD and as of today I made the switch to the 983H. So here is my problem. I have always used the 1080i 60hz setting for all players. But now with the 983H the picture has a green hue. When I switch to 480p the color is perfect...but any other setting I get the green color. I never had this problem.

I have messed around with Color Space and Video Mode and I get the same results.

I am using a Pioneer VSX-1018AH-K receiver and a Toshiba 34HFX84. It's a tube HDTV.

I also upgraded to the latest Firmware MVer: 05.00.01.07 Batch: DV983H-11-0910 and still no luck.

Any ideas? Like I mentioned the picture is fine in 480P mode only.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks

Version: DV983H-11-0910 (http://www.oppodigital.com/dv983h/dv983h-firmware-11-0910.html)
Category: Beta Test Version
Release Date: September 16, 2008
Release Notes:

1. PAL 4:3 DVD Aspect Ratio Detection


2. Proper Aspect Ratio for Analog Video Output


Thanks Neuromancer will apply the update and try it out on the analogue outputs:)

Black

Hi there,

I am really hoping someone can help me out. I have been buying Oppo players since the DV971 came out. About 1 month ago I upgraded to the 981-HD and as of today I made the switch to the 983H. So here is my problem. I have always used the 1080i 60hz setting for all players. But now with the 983H the picture has a green hue. When I switch to 480p the color is perfect...but any other setting I get the green color. I never had this problem.

I have messed around with Color Space and Video Mode and I get the same results.

That does sound like a color space problem. You get the same results with both RGB and YCrCb? You are not using an HDMI->DVI cable by any chance?

-Bill

That does sound like a color space problem. You get the same results with both RGB and YCrCb? You are not using an HDMI->DVI cable by any chance?

-Bill

Also, does the behavior change if you connect the player directly to the display?

-Bill

Version: DV983H-11-0910 (http://www.oppodigital.com/dv983h/dv983h-firmware-11-0910.html)
Category: Beta Test Version
Release Date: September 16, 2008
Release Notes:

2. Proper Aspect Ratio for Analog Video Output


So far it works great even works on discs that the old solution did not work for including homemade DVD's.

Using S-Video output.

Great work OPPO :)

That does sound like a color space problem. You get the same results with both RGB and YCrCb? You are not using an HDMI->DVI cable by any chance?

-Bill

Yes. Same results with both. I am using the HDMI cable it came with. HDMI from the Oppo into the HDMI on the tv.

Also, does the behavior change if you connect the player directly to the display?

-Bill

I was wondering that myself. Will try tomorrow. Thanks

Yes. Same results with both. I am using the HDMI cable it came with. HDMI from the Oppo into the HDMI on the tv. This sounds really strange. How green? Subtle, or severe?

Have you tried plugging the 981 and the 983 DIRECTLY into the SAME HDMI port on the TV, using the SAME cable, and the SAME output resolution for both players? If the green continues, only on the 983, you need to call OPPO (it may be a defective chip).

Gary

This sounds really strange. How green? Subtle, or severe?

Have you tried plugging the 981 and the 983 DIRECTLY into the SAME HDMI port on the TV, using the SAME cable, and the SAME output resolution for both players? If the green continues, only on the 983, you need to call OPPO (it may be a defective chip).

Gary

Tried plugging in directly this morning and getting the same results. I also tried another HDMI cable and same thing. I no longer own the 981 as I sent it back to Amazon yesterday.

See attachment for green color.

I sent an email to Oppo last night. Waiting for a reply. Thanks for all of your suggestions. Never had a problem with their products before but hear great things about their customer service so not worried...unless I need to go back to the 981.

Tried plugging in directly this morning and getting the same results. I also tried another HDMI cable and same thing. I no longer own the 981 as I sent it back to Amazon yesterday.

See attachment for green color.

That's pretty severe!

To summarize:


The color is correct at 480p, but not at other resolutions.
You get the same results with YCrCb and RGB.
You are directly connected to the display with HDMI.


Is there any color space control on the display?

It may not be important, but you have the display type set to NTSC or AUTO?

Other than that, I'm stumped. Let us know what Oppo says.

-Bill

That's pretty severe!

To summarize:


The color is correct at 480p, but not at other resolutions.
You get the same results with YCrCb and RGB.
You are directly connected to the display with HDMI.


Is there any color space control on the display?

It may not be important, but you have the display type set to NTSC or AUTO?

Other than that, I'm stumped. Let us know what Oppo says.

-Bill

*Yes
*Yes
*Yes - Tried both ways, directly and through the Pioneer
NTSC as display type

I think it is defective now. I thought I heard something last night and now this morning there is a high pitch sound (Sounds like that sound when a TV is left on) coming from the player once it is on. The pitch changes a bit when a disc starts to load.
I am sure they will sort it all out. Thanks again and I'll be sure to let you know what they say.

*Yes
*Yes
*Yes - Tried both ways, directly and through the Pioneer
NTSC as display type

I think it is defective now. I thought I heard something last night and now this morning there is a high pitch sound (Sounds like that sound when a TV is left on) coming from the player once it is on. The pitch changes a bit when a disc starts to load.
I am sure they will sort it all out. Thanks again and I'll be sure to let you know what they say.

And I should add for the record:


You've reinstalled firmware.


In your screenshot it looks like blue has been replaced by green. You could check that with a calibration disc.

I'm guessing a bad board in the player.

-Bill

And I should add for the record:


You've reinstalled firmware.


In your screenshot it looks like blue has been replaced by green. You could check that with a calibration disc.

I'm guessing a bad board in the player.

-Bill

*I sure did. I don't know what was installed when I received it...but I upgraded to the Beta release and now back to the latest official release. It's like a "Negative" effect on the picture but with different colors.

I hope to hear from Oppo later today.

Tried plugging in directly this morning and getting the same results. I also tried another HDMI cable and same thing. I no longer own the 981 as I sent it back to Amazon yesterday.

See attachment for green color.

I sent an email to Oppo last night. Waiting for a reply. Thanks for all of your suggestions. Never had a problem with their products before but hear great things about their customer service so not worried...unless I need to go back to the 981. That kind of green is certainly not a colorspace or other minor issue, that's a bad board. OPPO will replace it.

Gary

[for non-PAL] Just to clarify. If we are currently using video HDMI direct(983H>display). This firmware really is not needed. correct?
db


Version: DV983H-11-0910 (http://www.oppodigital.com/dv983h/dv983h-firmware-11-0910.html)
Category: Beta Test Version
Release Date: September 16, 2008
Release Notes:

1. PAL 4:3 DVD Aspect Ratio Detection
This version enhances the detection of PAL DVD aspect ratio. When played on a DV-983H with previous firmware versions, some PAL 4:3 DVD discs could be displayed with an incorrect aspect ratio. For example, a 4:3 movie could be displayed as 16:9 even when the "TV Display" setup menu option "16:9 Wide/Auto". With this firmware version, the DV-983H automatically detects the aspect ratio of the DVD video program. If the program is 4:3 aspect ratio, the player adds borders in order to display the video correctly on a 16:9 screen.

2. Proper Aspect Ratio for Analog Video Output
Previous firmware versions always output full screen video through the player's analog output (Component, S-Video and Video), simply because the DV-983H is designed to be used with an HDMI-equipped display device. Users can override the full screen output by setting the "TV Display" setup menu option, but any interruption of playback will restore the video to full screen. With this firmware version, when the "Primary Output" setup menu option is set to "Component" and no HDMI cable is plugged in, the aspect ratio chosen by setting the "TV Display" setup menu option will be applied. Interruption of playback, such as pausing, fast forwarding or reversing will not change the selected aspect ratio. The user still needs to select the aspect ratio at the beginning of the playback by changing the "TV Display" setup menu option. OPPO is working on applying automatic aspect ratio detection to the analog output.

There are some NTSC discs which have issues with incorrect automatic aspect ratio correction. I do not have any of these discs in possession, so I am not able to confirm that this firmware will fix these discs.

But for the most part, HDMI NTSC users do not need to bother with this firmware release.

Well it looks like mine is defective. Direct from Oppo:

Without the ability to test the player on another display, we will have to assume that the player has gone defective in a manner which we have not seen in the DV-983H product line.

The bad news is that they are out of stock...and so is amazon (where I made the purchase) for another 3-5 weeks.

There are some NTSC discs which have issues with incorrect automatic aspect ratio correction. I do not have any of these discs in possession, so I am not able to confirm that this firmware will fix these discs.

But for the most part, HDMI NTSC users do not need to bother with this firmware release.

Some Criterion NTSC 4:3 discs are a problem aren't they? Anyhoo, already played a variety of PAL 4:3 DVDs and it's looking good.

Hi, I've following this player for quite some time now, and have only one more question;
since I'll be playing both R1 and R2 DVDs, does anybody know about any regionhack on this player?

Thanx Frankly

Gotta say, you can't have been following too closely! Try searching for "region" in this thread and it's the very first result.

Yeah just run a search on google for Oppo Region hack. I bet you find the code in less time than it took you to post the message :)

A good rule of thumb with threads like this one (particularly for OPPO threads) is to check the first post - among the tons of good stuff Neuromancer put in that post was the "REGION UNLOCKING" procedure.

Or you could read the first post of this thread, under the heading "REGION UNLOCKING".

But I am nice:
REGION UNLOCKING

Press Setup.
Press "9210" in quick succession. A new window will appear.
Press "0". Your region is now multi-region.
Press Setup to Exit.

The bad news is that they are out of stock...and so is amazon (where I made the purchase) for another 3-5 weeks. Good grief! This player must be selling like hot cakes! OPPO Digital thought they had built enough to last until its end-of-life.

In any case, never fear... OPPO usually keeps a few aside to cover warantee replacements.

Gary

Good grief! This player must be selling like hot cakes! OPPO Digital thought they had built enough to last until its end-of-life.

In any case, never fear... OPPO usually keeps a few aside to cover warantee replacements.

Gary

I know right! I waited almost a month for Amazon to get them in stock. Now when I finally get it..they are out again.

The picture I was getting with the HDMI output set to 480p is still impressive. Plus the audio only feature is pretty nice for SACD.
I think all this waiting is getting me prepared for the BDP-83.

a 983 just sold on ebay for $255.........................:D

a 983 just sold on ebay for $255.........................:D

Thats nuts....

a 983 just sold on ebay for $255.........................:D

That was badly mis-priced, I feel really bad for the seller :(

But for the most part, HDMI NTSC users do not need to bother with this firmware release.

I noted the qualifier "for the most part." Of course, HDMI NTSC users who frequently play Region 2 PAL DVD's, for instance, will benefit from this firmware as it corrects the aspect ratio. I tested it last night after doing the firmware upgrade. The machine previously stretched 4:3 PAL material when set to "auto." Now it displays properly.

The release notes talk about specifically PAL media. My post specifically mentions NTSC media. NTSC media, for the most part, does not have the issue related to improper aspect ratio controls. There are some exceptions, but they are few and far between.

The release notes talk about specifically PAL media. My post specifically mentions NTSC media. NTSC media, for the most part, does not have the issue related to improper aspect ratio controls. There are some exceptions, but they are few and far between.

I have had the issue sometimes with PAL discs, but it's really no big deal to hit the "Info" button twice and resize it.

Do I assume correctly that a "release version" will follow at some point? I am fairly paranoid about firmware and I would prefer to wait for an official release.

Thanks!

-Toonces

Because it only fixes these two issues, a release (Official) candidate will likely not be any time soon.

OPPO generally releases Official firmware when there are several bug fixes available or the changes are drastically important for all users.

The release notes talk about specifically PAL media. My post specifically mentions NTSC media.

I took your "HDMI NTSC users" comment as applicable to equipment as opposed to media. Hence, my comment. If you intend that to mean those connected via HDMI using NTSC media, of course that's correct. Sorry for any confusion.

Do I assume correctly that a "release version" will follow at some point? I am fairly paranoid about firmware and I would prefer to wait for an official release. I know the feeling... But with OPPO, there's no need to worry. Their beta releases are usually very stable, and their FW is so simple to load - its just as easy to go back to a previous version if you don't like it for some reason. I have flashed FW versions back and forth dozens of times on each of OPPO's players, and never had any issues.

Gary

I just got back from a mini-vacation and my new 983 was sitting in the foyer waiting for me! I must have grabbed one of the last at Amazon.

I've been playing with this thing all day, man, am I impressed. This player does so many things and it does them well. SACD over hdmi sounds at least as good as my old analog SACD player, maybe better, and CDs also sound terrific. I think what's impressed me most so far is how it flawlessly plays some old tv show dvds that I burned badly several years ago. I've tried these disks on four other players and they all quickly began pixelating and locked up. Not on the 983! I also have a total of one PAL region two disk and it too played perfectly so I'll be getting some more from Amazon UK (many shows far cheaper over there.)

I've had the XD-E500 Toshiba (yeah, a rather controversial player) for a couple weeks and really like it but this Oppo beats it (no surprise to you 983 owners) so the XDE is going back.

Heh! The 983 replaces two players, my XDE and the SACD player, leaving me with the Oppo, and one each HD DVD and Blu Ray players. Kind of ridiculous, ain't it?

arkiedan

a 983 just sold on ebay for $255.........................:D
I missed that one because I'm always checking.:o Last week-end a 983 sold on Ebay for $335.00.:rolleyes:

I have my 983 back on AVS classifieds since they are currently BACK ORDERED someone can get one now and SAVE some money....:)

I have my 983 back on AVS classifieds since they are currently BACK ORDERED someone can get one now and SAVE some money....:)

how does the warranty carry over to a buyer of a used 983?

how does the warranty carry over to a buyer of a used 983?

It has not been registered, I would guess that the warranty is linked to the registered owner

Yeah, something looks fishy with these ebay 983 sales.

how does the warranty carry over to a buyer of a used 983?

It doesn't. The OPPO Digital standard warranty is here http://www.oppodigital.com/OPPO-Product-Warranty.html

This limited warranty shall not extend to anyone other than the original purchaser of the product. It is nontransferable and states your exclusive remedy.


Dana

It doesn't. The OPPO Digital standard warranty is here http://www.oppodigital.com/OPPO-Product-Warranty.html

Dana
so if the seller supplied the receipt along with the item, should be no prob?

i'm not thinking of getting it, just trying to see what the deal is.

'course, if he knocks off another hundred bucks or so i might....

so if the seller supplied the receipt along with the item, should be no prob?...

That's not what the warranty says.

This warranty applies only to OPPO brand products imported or manufactured by OPPO Digital, Inc. and sold to the original consumer purchaser in the U.S.A. or Canada by either OPPO Digital, Inc. or an OPPO authorized reseller. This warranty does not apply to OPPO brand products imported and sold by unauthorized dealers, distributors, or other sellers.

My emphasis.

Dana

That's not what the warranty says.
My emphasis.
Dana
got it. thank you.

so if the seller supplied the receipt along with the item, should be no prob?

i'm not thinking of getting it, just trying to see what the deal is.

'course, if he knocks off another hundred bucks or so i might....

the receipt goes with, but $100 dollars stays....

I've been gone for quite a while.

I've been gone for quite a while and still plan on getting the 983 at some point, any word on when OPPO will produce a Blu-Ray player?

There is a whole thread here regarding the Oppo Blu Ray player.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1063625

I've been gone for quite a while.

Yes you have. Welcome back.

I just bought the 983, and am enjoying it. Oppo includes an Anchor Bay
"Evaluation & Optimization DVD" but there are no instructions as to how to use all these video tests.

Or did I miss something somewhere ? Does anyone know if there are instructions somewhere for this DVD ?

There is a useful descrption of some of the patterns in the Oppo 983 thread under players forum post 218 i think.

I just bought the 983, and am enjoying it. Oppo includes an Anchor Bay
"Evaluation & Optimization DVD" but there are no instructions as to how to use all these video tests.

Or did I miss something somewhere ? Does anyone know if there are instructions somewhere for this DVD ?

See: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13363146#post13363146

It's mostly an evaluation and stress test disc. For calibration, use one of the others commonly available.

-Bill

Yeah, something looks fishy with these ebay 983 sales.

After your comment, I went to Ebay expecting to see a ton of 983s for sale. There were a couple for sale, and a few in the completed listings. Don't know what could be "fishy" about that.

Thanks Neuromancer, good to be back! I think I'll most likely keep my 981 until the Blu-Ray OPPO is here. I sure hope it's everything the 983 is and more, especially for DVD playback. I love my SACD's. Wish there were more releases in the format.

Okay. The situation is this: I get no sound when I bitstream from 983h to my Onkyo 885. LPCM works fine. I am going to contact Oppop support on Monday.

Is anyone successfully bitstreaming to an Onkyo/Onkyo Pro/Integra product? If yes, what model do you have? Is there anythong special you had to do to get it to work?


I received my replacement player today, and I now get sound when bitstreaming. I wonder what is wrong with the first player :confused: Weird problem...

should i use for this player for use on the sanyo z5 projector

I tried the new beta firmware. It seemed to load correctly, so after the upgrade was complete I reset the region to 0, and made sure the HDMI was set to 1080P60. After this I turned off the player. Later, I turned on the player to watch a movie, but I had no picture over HDMI. I tried checking the cables, and turning the player off, and on again, but no luck. I had to re-install 07-0619 to get things working correctly. I sent an email to customer support to let them know about the issue.

In case anyone has a different experience with this firmware, I have one of two-chip models, not the newer single chip model.