Recently got an Oppo 980...mainly for the audio SQ when playing redbook CDs in 2-channel stereo, and in that department I have not been disappointed, especially not at this pricepoint.

However what HAS been a shock is how much *NOT* better the video quality of SD DVDs are when upconverted to 720p, which is the maximum resolution of my Pioneer plasma. At 720p, I find there is much more graininess than at 480p, which is what I've reverted to. Just for the heck of it, have also experimented with 1080i and 1080p resolutions, which were not much better than 720p.

Am also a little ambivalent about the merits of using HDMI vs. Component video input...yes the HDMI does provide for blacker blacks and a more textured, more 3D kind of picture, but the Component input has a much softer and smoother look. Not sure which I really prefer...is HDMI therefore an acquired taste? Do I simply need to "break in" my eyes and visual tastes?

Just wondering if others have had a similar experience...right now I am leaning towards the opinion that HDMI upconversion is the video equivalent of the Windows Vista OS: an overhyped marketing gimmick that actually produces worse results than the alleged "previous" generation.

Or is there some setting on the Oppo that I have overlooked or screwed up? I remember the NY Times article which claimed the Oppo's upconversion provides the best PQ you can get without going to HD-DVD or BlueRay...sounds very hard to believe right now!

Recently got an Oppo 980...mainly for the audio SQ when playing redbook CDs in 2-channel stereo, and in that department I have not been disappointed, especially not at this pricepoint.

However what HAS been a shock is how much *NOT* better the video quality of SD DVDs are when upconverted to 720p, which is the maximum resolution of my Pioneer plasma. At 720p, I find there is much more graininess than at 480p, which is what I've reverted to. Just for the heck of it, have also experimented with 1080i and 1080p resolutions, which were not much better than 720p.

Am also a little ambivalent about the merits of using HDMI vs. Component video input...yes the HDMI does provide for blacker blacks and a more textured, more 3D kind of picture, but the Component input has a much softer and smoother look. Not sure which I really prefer...is HDMI therefore an acquired taste? Do I simply need to "break in" my eyes and visual tastes?

Just wondering if others have had a similar experience...right now I am leaning towards the opinion that HDMI upconversion is the video equivalent of the Windows Vista OS: an overhyped marketing gimmick that actually produces worse results than the alleged "previous" generation.

Or is there some setting on the Oppo that I have overlooked or screwed up? I remember the NY Times article which claimed the Oppo's upconversion provides the best PQ you can get without going to HD-DVD or BlueRay...sounds very hard to believe right now!
If you have a Pioneer plasma you will most likely get the best picture with the 980 set to 480i over HDMI. This is an excellent combination in my opinion and will serve up a DVD image that is hard to beat -- unless you want to move to the 983. I'm not familiar with the NY Times are that you mention, but if they were referring to the OPPO 983 they are right on. I also have a Pioneer plasma and the scaling is quite good. In fact, even with the 983 the differences between 480p and 1080p are negligible. In other words, the Pioneer plasmas don't need external DVD scalers. But, just to be clear there is a huge difference between the 980 and the 983 -- even more at 1080p than at 480p.

The NYT article on the 980H is here, from the Oppo website: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/technology/circuits/16dvd.html?_r=1&ref=circuits&oref=slogin

I'll give 480i a try, thanks.

So you seem to be saying that the only time an upconverting DVD player makes sense is if your TV's upscaler totally sucks?

Just for future reference when I get another TV in a few years: which TV makers have sucky upscalers?

Put lipstick on a pig...and it is still a pig. Even if the lipstick is made by Oppo.

480i is pure pork.

Recently got an Oppo 980...mainly for the audio SQ when playing redbook CDs in 2-channel stereo, and in that department I have not been disappointed, especially not at this pricepoint.

However what HAS been a shock is how much *NOT* better the video quality of SD DVDs are when upconverted to 720p, which is the maximum resolution of my Pioneer plasma. At 720p, I find there is much more graininess than at 480p, which is what I've reverted to. Just for the heck of it, have also experimented with 1080i and 1080p resolutions, which were not much better than 720p.

Am also a little ambivalent about the merits of using HDMI vs. Component video input...yes the HDMI does provide for blacker blacks and a more textured, more 3D kind of picture, but the Component input has a much softer and smoother look. Not sure which I really prefer...is HDMI therefore an acquired taste? Do I simply need to "break in" my eyes and visual tastes?

Just wondering if others have had a similar experience...right now I am leaning towards the opinion that HDMI upconversion is the video equivalent of the Windows Vista OS: an overhyped marketing gimmick that actually produces worse results than the alleged "previous" generation.

Or is there some setting on the Oppo that I have overlooked or screwed up? I remember the NY Times article which claimed the Oppo's upconversion provides the best PQ you can get without going to HD-DVD or BlueRay...sounds very hard to believe right now!If you using HDMI input then I suspect the problem is which picture mode you are using for watching movies. You want to use a film or movie mode that disables some of the video processing so that you don't end up with a lot more artifacts. Upconversion only to 720P usually doesn't introduce video noise or artifacts.

No question that MS Vista OS is overly hyped poorly tested OS. Pick XP, Linux, or MacOS X over Vista anytime! Most enterprise IT organizatons won't touch MS Vista with a ten foot pole!

Bill, at a higher rez like 720p or 1080i or p, you're actually seeing more detail. The grain is part of the picture. At lower resolutions, the "smoothness" that you're used to is actually giving you less detail. I remember the first time I saw an SD DVD at 1080p, I thought something was wrong, too. Give it time. Your brain will adjust.

However, your TV might upconvert better than the DVD player, or the TV might do a better job w/ a certain resolution than other resolutions. Use what looks best to you with your equipment.

Doug

The NYT article on the 980H is here, from the Oppo website: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/technology/circuits/16dvd.html?_r=1&ref=circuits&oref=slogin

I'll give 480i a try, thanks.

So you seem to be saying that the only time an upconverting DVD player makes sense is if your TV's upscaler totally sucks?

Just for future reference when I get another TV in a few years: which TV makers have sucky upscalers?
Not exactly. Recent "upscalers" scale, but they are also tend to be very good at de-interlacing before the scaling. On top of that, they are also very good at MPEG de-coding before the de-interlacing. Add to that the fact that they have HDMI to give you a pure signal. So, almost any TV will benefit in some way from a good DVD player in one way or the other.

Bill,

Which Pioneer Plasma do you have?

I own the 50" (non-elite) 5080 and was about to buy the 980 as well and was wondering about the comparison of the internal 5080 scaler/deinter vs the Oppo.

John

I have the 6010 (non-Elite 60" 1080p) and was using it with the 980 at 480i over HDMI. The image was very good. The 6010 de-interlaces and scales better than the 980. The image quality was very similar to the HD-XA2 at 1080p. Now I have the 983 which blows away either of those other configurations with my TV.

I have the 6010 (non-Elite 60" 1080p) and was using it with the 980 at 480i over HDMI. The image was very good. The 6010 de-interlaces and scales better than the 980. The image quality was very similar to the HD-XA2 at 1080p. Now I have the 983 which blows away either of those other configurations with my TV.

Really? The deinterlacer/scaler in the 983 is significantly better than the Kuro's? I'm impressed!

Really? The deinterlacer/scaler in the 983 is significantly better than the Kuro's? I'm impressed!
Actually, the 983 de-interlaces better. I found the scaling to be almost identical. The image from the 983 looks identical whether outputting 480p or 1080p. So, both the Kuro and the 983 seem to be close to perfect when it comes to scaling.

whelp, problem solved: I went back over the awful Pioneer manual, and disabled all of the TV's video processing that I could find, set the video mode to "User" instead of the "Dynamic" preset it had been on previously...and now have a BEAUTIFUL 720p picture from the Oppo. No more graininess or jagged edges, colors are vibrant and buttery-smooth!

Have always had pretty good experiences with Pioneer products, just wished their user interface and instruction manuals were not written in Greek. :)

Bill,

Which Pioneer Plasma do you have?

I own the 50" (non-elite) 5080 and was about to buy the 980 as well and was wondering about the comparison of the internal 5080 scaler/deinter vs the Oppo.

John

It's the PDP-4280HD.

whelp, problem solved: I went back over the awful Pioneer manual, and disabled all of the TV's video processing that I could find, set the video mode to "User" instead of the "Dynamic" preset it had been on previously...and now have a BEAUTIFUL 720p picture from the Oppo. No more graininess or jagged edges, colors are vibrant and buttery-smooth!

Have always had pretty good experiences with Pioneer products, just wished their user interface and instruction manuals were not written in Greek. :)Glad you discovered the source of the problem, have fun enjoying the Oppo 980H.