I have a Samsung HP-S5053 plasma. (1366x768, I prefer a 1080i signal) I own an A2 and an A35. I originally bought the A35 as a backup for later use, however it is so much better than the A2, it has replaced it. I love the A35's upconversion, but Oppo has me curious. I've read about the 981 and its macroblocking issues with plasma TV's. On top of that, I've read in the Official thread for my display to stay away from Faroudja processors for this very reason, with these displays.

I've done about 2 days worth of reading, trying to find out if the 980 will be an upgrade for SD over the A35. So far I haven't found anything conclusive. Opinions are all over the place. :(

Can anybody compare a 980 to a A35 on 1080i output? PQ only.

I had a 980 and I sold it because I prefer my sdi modded dvd player and scaler.
I also have an hd a2 and a3 and they both look better than the oppo to me.

Now that is really interesting considering these (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12924993#post12924993) pics. In those, it seems the 980 has slightly more detail. Notice the shadows from the eye lashes in the whites of the eye. Colors seems slightly more vibrant. Details in the eye seem more defined.

I am not happy the way my A2 upconverts.

I'm very curious about this as well as I'm considering nearly an identical move. I've got an A1 that's seeing 90% of my regular DVD playback but it's TERRIBLY slow and it won't play CDs without my TV on since it's got HDMI handshake issues. I really just want something that will play everything seamlessly (and quickly), but I don't know that I could step down in quality. $180 or so seems like a lot of money if I'm actually going to lose image quality.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Nobody can compare an A30/A35 to a Oppo 980?

Nobody can compare an A30/A35 to a Oppo 980?

You might try asking in the 980 thread.

It depends on what you are expecting. Differences between better quality SD-DVD players can be relatively minor. If you are doing compulsive calibration and A/B testing, a new player might be worthwhile; otherwise not.

-Bill

Since you have a 768p display, for DVD you should output 480p to the television. If you output 1080i, you are scaling twice (480i->1080i->768p) which can result in artifacts. Just do 480p into the tv, and it will scale it once to 768p.

It is very annoying to change the HD-DVD player from 1080p or 1080i to 480p every time you switch between an HD-DVD and a DVD. That's one of the reasons I have an Oppo 980h in addition to my HD-DVD and Bluray players for my 768p plasma.

I will soon have DVE calibration disc' for Blu, HD, and SD. So yes, I will calibrate for each unit. Any improvement is worth the price of the Oppo to me, if it will be better. I will try the 980 thread too.

Thanks.

Jadalias. I have tried all resolutions when I was using my A2. 480p was a very clean picture, but on a 50" 3 year old TV, the picture was quite dull. But, I really didn't like the way my A2 upconverted either. I basically tried to avoid SD DVD's at all cost, until my A35 came in.


Well, I just got a bonus today, and with Oppo's 30 day return policy, I'm gonna give the 980 a shot.

Thanks for all your input guys! I'll def. post my comparison in the 980 thread in a few weeks when I get it and calibrate everything.

Thanks for all your input guys! I'll def. post my comparison in the 980 thread in a few weeks when I get it and calibrate everything.

Looking forward to your findings!