I have a philips dvp5960 upconverting player, however it does not output true 5.1 sound, it is stereo out of the coax port on the back even though it is set to 5.1, nowhere near what a theatre sounds like etc.

I have read somewhere it is not capable of 5.1 sound out of the opical port, when used with the HDMI connection. the HDMI also does audio but I dont use it for that, just video.

I have an ONKYO 505 receiver.

what is a good upconverting dvd player? should i get a toshiba HD-DVD player instead?

Well, HD-DVD is dead, but Oppo is alive and well. I have the 980 with an optical connection for sound, and HDMI running to the TV due to having an older non-HDMI compliant receiver. Great picture quality and sound. Should you upgrade your receiver, it has 7.1 outputs. I also like the analog outs for SACD and DVD-Audio discs that I am collecting. The player will also send that format via HDMI should you later upgrade...no brainer, and not a strain on the budget!

ok, seems like this forum really loves Oppo, I've never heard of them but am happy to try a non-best buy brand.


so will the 980 do true 5.1 out of the optical port while upconverting video via HDMI? I guess thats the question. Looks like its around $180 or so shipped...

Are there any $100 options out there that will do what I need?

All i really need:

1. Upconverting via HDMI
2. 5.1 sound out of the optical/coax port so i can actually get "true" surround sound....

I have a philips dvp5960 upconverting player, however it does not output true 5.1 sound, it is stereo out of the coax port on the back even though it is set to 5.1, nowhere near what a theatre sounds like etc.

I have read somewhere it is not capable of 5.1 sound out of the opical port, when used with the HDMI connection. the HDMI also does audio but I dont use it for that, just video.

I have an ONKYO 505 receiver.

what is a good upconverting dvd player? should i get a toshiba HD-DVD player instead?

the xa2 is a good upconverter but hard no find and expensive--oppo is great with the benefit of sacd etc. you could also get a blu ray, most of which do ok upconversion--if you want a dedicated non-hd model oppo, pioneer, and denon maKE good ones-you can get great one used at a steep discount on audiogon.com depending on your price range and needs. almost any of them will do 5.1 dd/dts from the coax or toslink.

i installed the latest firmware and boom...no more PCM, the dobly light finally lights up on the receiver!

I was about to say, I find it strange that a player has digital outs but is only outputting stereo.