there's a feature with the Theta Casablanca that will let you do a global sound delay to take care of the lip synching issue. A lot of processors have them these days. I used it last night while watching the Incredibles through the Oppo. Would you believe 70 ms off? That's almost a 10th of a second. When I plug in my XP-30 or DV-50s, I don't have this issue. BTW, when using the Oppo, I go DVI direct.

If I'm going to keep this player, I'd like to get some lipsynch adjustment software to make sure I'm on target. If I know myself, now that it's become an issue, I'll focus on it.....probably more than I should. I looked through my Avia disc last night but didn't find anything......so I did all the adjustment by eye and ear. Any ideas?
Javry

Since I use mulitple video sources (HTV and DVD), if there's serious cropping on one side, as the Zenith 318 does with the AE700, the Oppo won't be suitable for me in my HT setup.

Can anyone confirm cropping or no cropping with an AE700? If there is any, how much?

Thanks.

how old is that memorex you re talking about theroys88???

Hello bythe way
i guess i ll look it up!
Martin

Steviec,
I do not own a oppo yet. I have been following this thread because I am interested in this player. As soon as they have nailed down a fix for the shimmering and lip sync issue I will buy one. Tell me what scene you see the shimmering in the incredibles and I will look for it on my Memorex. My memorex buil date is 2004. I just think it might be more then the genesis chip. I have been following other threads on other 2310 players and I have not seen any complaints on shimmering. I have seen complaints on lip sync issues. I owned a sammy 931 and had lip sync problems but none of the shimmering. It used the 2301 chip. I just thought since my player was built for Memorex by Winbase electronics it probably has some common components which might be the cause of the shimmering. I am not a computer person. Just thought since shimmering has not been a complaint from people that own different players with the same chip that it is not a genesis chip issue but something else. Just my .02-thanks joseph

Originally posted by Penman
Hi Paul,

When you say: "Oppo made a choice, that choice can be revised. The Vertical Edge Enhancement can be manipulated"

...do you mean in the next model or in a firmware upgrade to the current 971?

Thanks for all the expertise,

Tom

With the Faroudja FLI-23xx series, Vertical Edge Enhancement can be configured in the firmware.

Paul

Originally posted by mcbuckeye
Paul,

Thanks for all your insight. You seem to be very knowledgeable on this player and the Panasonic S97. At this point (with most recent firmware releases), which one do you prefer? With the firmware improvements you expect soon, which do you think you'd prefer?

How about the S77?

I've never seen an S97, but I'm thinking of ordering one to either replace or augment the Oppo I just got.

My display is a JVC DLA-HX1 projector in a dedicated room. The only reason I ordered the Oppo instead of the S97 in the first place was the DVI out on the Oppo, instead of HDMI. I figured it would be better to eliminate one more potential problem, the HDMI to DVI converter.

I watch a lot of animated movies (4 kids) as well as lots of "normal" movies.

Thanks for your help.

You're welcome!

Both the Oppo and S97 are running neck and neck to me. Both have capabilities unique to each player which could make either an essential purchase. At this point with the Oppo's edge enhancement, the Panasonic probably gets my slight nod for PQ, but that's only part of the picture -- if the slightest delay in layer change drives one nuts then the Oppo would be choice. Therefore, I try not to get caught up in the "best" quagmire. There are so many variables (even at this level of player quality) that could make a player "best" for an individual it may be "best" for the individual to make that final determination.

There should be no issue with the HDMI/DVI conversion with the S97. The black crush was reported with the first batch of HDMI transmitters (never utilized on the S97). The Panasonic has no issue with the black crush.

Have yet to see the S77. Went on another S77 hunting mission today and came up empty -- apparently the stores like stocking the Toshibas, the Samsungs, and Cyberhomes instead.

The only animation I've watched is the "classic" animation -- early Disney, Warner, MGM, Fleischer, some Hanna-Barbara. I don't have a single one of the newer digital animation features.

Paul

hi from pal-land :)

my region 2 superbit looked bad on my oppo (its build by bbk), just like the faroudja did not use the correct mode. my older pioneer player had no deinterlacing problems...

any rumours about a fix for the 2-2 cadence issue in a future firmware ?

regards.

My sanyo plv-z3 and oppo settings calibrated using DVE:

HDMI L1 (standard?):
oppo - brightness +5
sanyo - brightness +0,contrast +14

HDMI L2 (enhanced?):
oppo - all settings at 0
sanyo - brightness -1,contrast +11

I wonder what HDMI mode i should use..:)

jello

Word I'm hearing is that Oppo has said that with their current player there will not be a fix for the 2-2 cadence issue, it would be too difficult to implement. Oppo is going to be releasing a new player at some point (release date unknown) that will fix this problem, but for now we're out of luck.

hi from pal-land :)

any rumours about a fix for the 2-2 cadence issue in a future firmware ?

regards.

Per the engineer working on it, the next major firmware revision (scheduled for June) will, among other things, "include the 2-2 Cadence film flag support by adding a separate de-interlacing mode in the Menu".

I got my Oppo recently, I tested out the Pulp Fiction scene someone had with lip sync issues and I didn't notice any at all over DVI. Haven't had a chance to watch a movie all the way through yet.

Is the lip sync issues that people are having happeningonly over DVI? I'm also running a second set of outputs over 480i to my tv input in my computer. I'm gonna view both displays if I should ever see a lip sync issue.

As someone suggested, I backed the Sharpness control on my projector to its lowest setting, and set the Oppo to Low Sharpness. This may have helped a little bit with the shimmering, but I can still see it.

I also get the periodic lip-sync issues. The Stop/Play fix always works, however.

Overall, I think I can live with this player until the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray thing shakes out. Especially if new firmware fixes the two propblems I'm having.

For $200, this is a pretty good deal.

I just happened to notice that Surf Audio Video is selling this player now. So you're not limited to just ExtremePhono. When I was looking to buy a Harmony remote (which I just verified already has the Oppo codes in the online database :) ) SurfAV was highly recommended. They treated me right with that purchase, and now they're getting my repeat business with the Oppo. They're offering a 30-day return w/no restock fee, in case the shimmer does end up driving you nuts. And as usual they have the cheapest shipping around. Now let's hope when it gets here 1080i (over DVI obviously) will look great on my Mits WS-65315. When I saw someone say "it blew the doors off my old Pioneer player" I knew it was finally time to pull the trigger. I've always wondered how much better 480p or 1080i upconverting can be over the CRT's handling of 480i. Sounds like people have had great results so now I shall see for myself. And I too am in the "this should hopefully tide me over till the whole HD-DVD / BluRay thing settles out" camp.

Is the vertical edge enhancement caused by the Farjouda or the MediaTek chipset? Has anyone checked the edge enhancement via component?

what would be a better dvd player picture quality wise and dd and dts sound wise out of the opp OR Sony 975?

I like the oppo, but doubt the sound would match the sony? Think again! The Oppo's sound is SUPERB for this price range. If you're using the digital outputs, though, then there will be no difference between them at all.

As for the picture, the Oppo blows away the Sony 975 for de-interlacing and scaling performance. However, make sure that your display is not susceptible to the occasional macroblocking bug - an issue with most Faroudja players.

Gary

This is the first player/device I've owned with the Faroudja, but given these problems, I'm amazed at how good of a reputation Faroudja has. I agree with you. Though it seems that the Faroudja's macroblocking and lip-sync quirks can be worked around to some degree. Panasonic has done this quite well with the S97. So, what bothers me most, is why Faroudja does not forewarn and train the engineers who design the chip into a new product (like Oppo). Faroudja's good name has slowly been sullied by their seemingly persistent lack of interest in fixing these issues. Perhaps because the player usually gets the blame, Faroudja has no incentive to fix it.

Gary

Paul,
You can get one at Vanns website out of Montana. I thing for around 229 dollars. Let me know how it works out. I have been watching both players. Was considering an Oppo but have seen so many complaints about lip sync and shimmering. thanks joseph

Thought I would weigh in with my experience. Got my Oppo in early March. Have loaded the latest firmware and have it connected to a Sony KP-46WT500 using supplied DVI cable. Run 1080I, since this sony model doesn't support native 720P. Previously had a Panny RP62. Needless to say, it blows away the Panny. I do see some shimmer. Have never had a lip sync problem and am using the 6 channel analog output.
I like to hit the sweet spot getting as good value as possible without getting to the point I pay twice as much for a 5% improvement. For me, the Oppo is a fantastic value. It is a little rough around the edges, but I am content with Oppo's obvious determination to make the best $200 DVD player one could imagine.

Thought I would weigh in with my experience. Got my Oppo in early March. Have loaded the latest firmware and have it connected to a Sony KP-46WT500 using supplied DVI cable. Run 1080I, since this sony model doesn't support native 720P. Previously had a Panny RP62. Needless to say, it blows away the Panny. I do see some shimmer. Have never had a lip sync problem and am using the 6 channel analog output.
I like to hit the sweet spot getting as good value as possible without getting to the point I pay twice as much for a 5% improvement. For me, the Oppo is a fantastic value. It is a little rough around the edges, but I am content with Oppo's obvious determination to make the best $200 DVD player one could imagine. It is refreshing to see positive reports coming in too. We pretty much know all about the problems now, they've been posted so many times!

Hang in there, this player will eventually be as good as it gets for the money!

Gary

It is refreshing to see positive reports coming in too. We pretty much know all about the problems now, they've been posted so many times!

Hang in there, this player will eventually be as good as it gets for the money!

Gary

Hi Gary,

Just wondered if you have a direct contact or affiliated with Oppo? I have seen a few posts from you and you seem to have more inside information or what seems to be official, than most. Is this the case or do you just email support often to find out about fixes and what not?

It has has nothing to do with PQ or audio, but from a pure styling standpoint I like the slim line and the simple aluminum cover on the front panel. To me, the Oppo is a very attractive player.

Paul

I been reading this threads for weeks ,wich seduced me to check one myself,well ordered thursday got it today,installed it in a fes seconds ,and broght back life to my Mitsu 725,5th element beautifull colors I could even see veins flowing,the Patriot Superbit,vibrant and sharp colors,honestly better than the HD internal receiver of the unit(my opinion) made an influence on keeping thisTV.

It has has nothing to do with PQ or audio, but from a pure styling standpoint I like the slim line and the simple aluminum cover on the front panel. To me, the Oppo is a very attractive player.

Paul

Plus, the built quality is great for a player of this price. It doesn't feel "plasticky." :)

This player seems great so far with my Infocus 4805. No macroblocking or lip sync issues as of yet.

The only have a few issues so far.
-Xvid playback, some files work and some don't. The files that don't work start playing for 20s before it kicks me back into the menu.
-Underscanning (I guess thats the term to use). Switching between HDTV over component to DVI on the Oppo, it seems the Oppo leaves a small border on the sides and not completely filling my screen.
-One of my Korean DVDs (Hana & Alice) that I've tested doesn't show the menu correctly. Playing it on my computer with WinDVD shows the menu correctly as do playing it on a few standalone players. I think it may be a problem with the way the menu works. I've lent the movie out to a few people and I would say 2 out of 6 different players used also had problems with the menu. The problem players (including the Oppo) would give a black screen with just the highlighted outline over where the menu buttons should be. There is no sound playing or animation on the menu. I know its a problem with the DVD but it would be great if somehow the oppo can play it as other players can also play it.

-One of my Korean DVDs (Hana & Alice) that I've tested doesn't show the menu correctly. Playing it on my computer with WinDVD shows the menu correctly as do playing it on a few standalone players.

I don't have that DVD (how is it BTW?), but I haven't had any problems with a bunch of Chinese, Japanese and Korean DVDs that I own. It's been nice to be able to move my region-free modded RP-82 to another room now. :)

I've only tried one XVid so far, and it worked fine, but that's something I almost expect to have problems with on occasion.

I don't have that DVD (how is it BTW?), but I haven't had any problems with a bunch of Chinese, Japanese and Korean DVDs that I own. It's been nice to be able to move my region-free modded RP-82 to another room now. :)

I've only tried one XVid so far, and it worked fine, but that's something I almost expect to have problems with on occasion.

I haven't had much chance to test out many of my asian dvds yet, other than the R3 Kung Fu Hustle (which plays fine). H&A is a great movie, very sweet IMO.

Hi Gary,

Just wondered if you have a direct contact or affiliated with Oppo? I have seen a few posts from you and you seem to have more inside information or what seems to be official, than most. Is this the case or do you just email support often to find out about fixes and what not? Hi yarrumc

I'm not affiliated with Oppo Digital in any way. I'm an electronics design engineer, working for another company. I saw the player's potential when I began reading this thread. I was very impressed with Oppo's choice of hardware, and their commitment to improving the firmware. After trying a few other players, and being sadly disappointed, I tried the Oppo and was very pleasantly surprised... both by the machine and the customer service. After getting involved in this thread, I volunteered to represent us to Oppo.

Thanks to the constructive input we have received on this thread, I have been able to compile and maintain the defect/wish list. I keep in regular contact with Oppo to keep them updated, and they occaisionally contact me for more information and for beta testing. Oppo Digital has been very grateful for the help and insight they've received from us, and their dedication has been exemplary. I don't know of many other companies who would do that.

Gary

How Many People are using the Oppo with a BenQ 8700?

Do any of you have this problem Listed in the 8700 Forum?

"I've been using the Oppo player now since early February. The only problem I've run into that appears to be Benq 8700+ related is that when attempting to set the Oppo for the native 720p resolution, the image shrinks in all dimensions and a slightly bright white border is displayed on all sides. When using 1080i or lower progressive option the image size is just right. There are other things that need fixing in the Oppo but all in all, it's a very fine upconverting player when running DVI-DVI to the Benq. And if you read the very lengthy posts in the DVD section of the forum, you'll find far more on this exceptional player."

I want this player for my 8700, but I want to make sure this is not a problem.

Do any of you have this problem Listed in the 8700 Forum?

"I've been using the Oppo player now since early February. The only problem I've run into that appears to be Benq 8700+ related is that when attempting to set the Oppo for the native 720p resolution, the image shrinks in all dimensions and a slightly bright white border is displayed on all sides. When using 1080i or lower progressive option the image size is just right. There are other things that need fixing in the Oppo but all in all, it's a very fine upconverting player when running DVI-DVI to the Benq. And if you read the very lengthy posts in the DVD section of the forum, you'll find far more on this exceptional player."

I want this player for my 8700, but I want to make sure this is not a problem. The Oppo's 720p output seems to be really good. That post says the problem "appears to be Benq 8700+ related".

Gary

Hi yarrumc

I'm not affiliated with Oppo Digital in any way. I'm an electronics design engineer, working for another company. I saw the player's potential when I began reading this thread. I was very impressed with Oppo's choice of hardware, and their commitment to improving the firmware. After trying a few other players, and being sadly disappointed, I tried the Oppo and was very pleasantly surprised... both by the machine and the customer service. After getting involved in this thread, I volunteered to represent us to Oppo.

Thanks to the constructive input we have received on this thread, I have been able to compile and maintain the defect/wish list. I keep in regular contact with Oppo to keep them updated, and they occaisionally contact me for more information and for beta testing. Oppo Digital has been very grateful for the help and insight they've received from us, and their dedication has been exemplary. I don't know of many other companies who would do that.

Gary

Thanks for the insight , glad that we have contact with Oppo and this forum is giving the input that is helping to make this an excellent player.

Gary,

Is there a way to get on an email-notification list from Oppo for when new firmware comes out?

I haven't registered on their site yet for warranty (not sure if you can or not). Would this do it?

Thanks,

Steve

Gary,

Could you ask them if they could fix the following issues too:

- software:
When clicking through dvd menus the oppo seems to cut the digital output for a moment, this is annoying with receivers/processors that have relays that click when locking on/off the signal. My other dvd players don't do this (it only happens when the sound format changes).

- hardware:
I'd recommend that they label the player 110-240V 50/60Hz instead of just 110/60. I was kind of unsure if the player was mutli-voltage capable.

It would have been nice if the power coard was plugable both sides! I had to cut off the US-type plug because adapters like the one needed in this case can't be bought here.

@GSB/Oppo: When using DVD-Audio hybrid, it only plays the video part and I can not select it to just read the DVD-Audio part and play that.

Is that different from you whishlist item that dvd-audio does not allow playback of the video part?

And again, I will be testing 576P performance, there is currently no way to get good scaling results, the momitsu blows it away with 1:1 scaling of avia or dve testing patterns. I will post pictures after testing. You are correct in that there is no pixel cropping, but then what is going on? 5, 6 and 6,75Mhz resolution patterns are bad looking, scaled like a 5Mhz frequency roll off component player, the black/white line patterns become gray, and I test with respectable projectors like H78. In my opinion it compresses the picture a bit and upscales later to 720x576. Can you test yourself with a DVE pal disc or something?

Gary,
It would have been nice if the power coard was plugable both sides! I had to cut off the US-type plug because adapters like the one needed in this case can't be bought here.

Yeah pluggable but i dont get that adapter part. Its standard us plug->whatever country you are in adapter. Atleast here in Finland those are easy to find.

Gary,

Is there a way to get on an email-notification list from Oppo for when new firmware comes out? Not that I'm aware of. The best heads-up for impending new firmware, is right here in this thread.

Gary

When clicking through dvd menus the oppo seems to cut the digital output for a moment, this is annoying with receivers/processors that have relays that click when locking on/off the signal. My other dvd players don't do this (it only happens when the sound format changes).By "digital output", I assume you mean AUDIO? My receiver has relays on the digital audio input, and I've never heard them clicking while changing menus. I've never heard this issue from anyone else before. How common is it to have relays locking on and off the signal as you described? Anyone?
I'd recommend that they label the player 110-240V 50/60Hz instead of just 110/60. I was kind of unsure if the player was mutli-voltage capable. I'll ask about the labeling.
It would have been nice if the power coard was plugable both sides! I had to cut off the US-type plug because adapters like the one needed in this case can't be bought here. For a product of this caliber, at this price level, asking for extra hardware only serves to bump the price. While living in Southern Africa, we ALWAYS had to replace the plugs on foreign equipment, so plugs were easily available, and inexpensive.

Gary

@GSB/Oppo: When using DVD-Audio hybrid, it only plays the video part and I can not select it to just read the DVD-Audio part and play that.
Is that different from you whishlist item that dvd-audio does not allow playback of the video part? I don't have any hybrids to test this, but this appears to be the OPPOSITE of what others have experienced?!

ted_b can you shed some light here?

And again, I will be testing 576P performance, there is currently no way to get good scaling results, the momitsu blows it away with 1:1 scaling of avia or dve testing patterns. I will post pictures after testing. You are correct in that there is no pixel cropping, but then what is going on? 5, 6 and 6,75Mhz resolution patterns are bad looking, scaled like a 5Mhz frequency roll off component player, the black/white line patterns become gray, and I test with respectable projectors like H78. In my opinion it compresses the picture a bit and upscales later to 720x576. Can you test yourself with a DVE pal disc or something? I think what you are describing is the 4:3 resolution issue: DVI Wide/SQZ mode is losing horizontal resolution on 4:3 material with 1x zoom.

This may be because the Mediatek chip squeezes the image for the analog outputs BEFORE the Faroudja chip scales the image for the DVI output. The Panasonic player does the same thing. Look again at the photos on Liteup's Oppo/Panny comparison webpage. This is NOT a problem with 16:9 material. You can see the issue on the 4:3 Avia resolution patterns (only the horizontal resolution suffers).

Full resolution is restored as soon as you zoom in, or if you change to WIDE mode. Please verify... I cannot test PAL/576P.

Gary

Gary,

Could you ask them if they could fix the following issues too:

- software:
When clicking through dvd menus the oppo seems to cut the digital output for a moment, this is annoying with receivers/processors that have relays that click when locking on/off the signal. My other dvd players don't do this (it only happens when the sound format changes).

- hardware:
I'd recommend that they label the player 110-240V 50/60Hz instead of just 110/60. I was kind of unsure if the player was mutli-voltage capable.

It would have been nice if the power coard was plugable both sides! I had to cut off the US-type plug because adapters like the one needed in this case can't be bought here.

I'm not sure if this is a similar issue with the menu and audio, but I seem to lose the first second of the audio when going to a new menu.

When clicking through dvd menus the oppo seems to cut the digital output for a moment, this is annoying with receivers/processors that have relays that click when locking on/off the signal. My other dvd players don't do this (it only happens when the sound format changes).
I get no clicking from my receiver, but it does mute the output when jumping menus and scenes. I sometimes lose the first second or so...

Here's a new issue I don't recall seeing mentioned (unless I missed it):

After hitting the STOP button, the only way to get the disc active again is to hit PLAY. That is fine for most DVDs, however discs with forced, unskippable ads or trailers can often be gotten around by hitting STOP and then MENU on other DVD players. This doesn't work on the Oppo.

I posted this in the 4805 thread and thought I'd give it a shot here as well.

I have the "M1 to DVI cable" and according to FedX my Oppo is on the truck for delivery to day.

I've already fished the cable from PJ to equipment room.

Others who are using this set up please give me a 101 on what I should do /and not do when setting up the Oppo with the IF-4805.

DVI-MI will be direct to PJ with sound going direct to Pre-Pro.

Basacilly tell me what seems to work best (Settings)...

Any tips will be helpful and appreciated by not only yours truly but others who will or already have this combo.

Thank-U

HH

From the Oppo FAQ thread, these are my settings for a Panasonic direct view LCD along with a Region Setting tip:

SETTINGS:
Oppo settings :
TV Display -> Wide/SQZ (Will "pillarbox" 4:3 material)
Sharpness -> Low
Otherwise, default.

With the latest firmware the center position of Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation is an excellent starting point.

TO MAKE REGION FREE:

The latest shipment of units are not region free. To change to region free mode do this:

• Press Setup on remote control to access the setup page
• Enter 9210 on the remote
• A secret menu will pop up
• Select 0 to 6 in region code (0 is region free)
• Press Setup on remote again to exit

Paul

HuskerHarley,
Not much you need to do. Just plug it into the 4805, and calibrate the picture controls in the Oppo (leave the 4805 at default 50/50 for brightness/contrast) with AVIA/DVE/THX and you should be all set. Be sure to leave the sharpness at low.

HuskerHarley,
Not much you need to do. Just plug it into the 4805, and calibrate the picture controls in the Oppo (leave the 4805 at default 50/50 for brightness/contrast) with AVIA/DVE/THX and you should be all set. Be sure to leave the sharpness at low.

I have all three AVIA/DVE/THX and I should make all adjustments with only the oppo and leave everything at factory specs on the 4805 except sharpness to low??

HH

That is correct, you don't need to touch anything on the infocus. The sharpness setting is for the Oppo.

Once Oppo releases the firmware, we should have the option to turn sharpness off, which is what most of us want from the new firmware (along with shimmering, lip sync, and other fixes).

Thanks....Ja Phule

HH

HuskerHarley,
Not much you need to do. Just plug it into the 4805, and calibrate the picture controls in the Oppo (leave the 4805 at default 50/50 for brightness/contrast) with AVIA/DVE/THX and you should be all set. Be sure to leave the sharpness at low.

JaPhule,

Why would you use the OPPO and not the 4805 to do the calibration? He seems to only have the one source connected to his M1, so it seems to me from the monster thread that the general consensus was always to leave the source centered and calibrate with the 4805. I realize that we may have some sharpness settings, etc., on the OPPO, but we would be zeroing those out if possible, and centering everything else.

My opinion is to center the OPPO and use the 4805 brightness/contrast for calibration, or for more bits to work with use the gains/offsets instead and leave brightness/contrast at 50/50.

I don't know why it would really matter, but the guys that know the most (Kras, etc.,) have seemed to recommend doing it this way. . .

Wes

Wes,
From what I understand, it is good to leave the source centered and calibrated with the 4805 when you are using the analog connections via 480i. Since we are using DVI (digital), I believe the consensus was to not use the 4805's brightness/contrast control but the controls on the source. If anything, we would use the gains and offsets settings on the 4805. Since the Oppo uses video dvi levels, we do not need to touch the gains/offsets.

Wes,
From what I understand, it is good to leave the source centered and calibrated with the 4805 when you are using the analog connections via 480i. Since we are using DVI (digital), I believe the consensus was to not use the 4805's brightness/contrast control but the controls on the source. If anything, we would use the gains and offsets settings on the 4805. Since the Oppo uses video dvi levels, we do not need to touch the gains/offsets.

OK, I guess we came away with different ideas from the monster thread. I suppose you could try it both ways and see if there is any difference.

The gains/offsets do the same thing as brightness/contrast, though, right? I mean if you set all the gains to the same value, and all the offsets to the same value. Clearly the HTPC guys have been messing with both sides of the equation and some have used the gains/offsets over DVI, right?

Wes

Yeah, something like that. I'm pretty much confused about the DVI settings myself. It may be that we need to correct the gains and offsets if we are using Video DVI instead of PC DVI.

I think we should move this discussion to the 4805 thread. :)

I am somewhat confused by the settings required for the Oppo Speaker and Audio setup options.

I am using the digital audio out, and the analog mixed audio outs, into a Pioneer receiver.

I believe for this setup the speaker downmix mode should be set to "Stereo", and the audio SPDIF mode to "Raw". This will send mixed l/r stereo to the analog mixed audio outs, and full surround to the digital audio out (unless I'm playing a DVD-A, in which case I'll only get stereo out of the digital out too).

With the speaker downmix mode set to "Stereo", the other speaker settings, and the PRO Logic II settings, are all N/A.

The setting of the speaker downmix mode is only applicable to the analog mixed and analog surround outs.

Have I got this all right so far?

Some more questions:

What do I get out of the analog mixed audio outs if I set the speaker downmix mode to "5.1CH"?

Does the audio Channel Trim setting affect the digital output?

Is the only way to get full surround from a DVD-A to use the analog surround outputs?

On what outputs does the audio Pro Logic II settings have an effect? and if my receiver has Pro Logic II processing, why would I ever set this to anything but "off" on the Oppo?

That's enough for now!

Tia,
-Keith

I'm using componet from TWHD to PJ and DVI to M1.

Now should I do DVI at the player?

HH

Husker,
The great advantage of the Oppo is in the dvi output, where it will do 480p, 720p, 1080i. The oppo will only output 480i over component.

I am somewhat confused by the settings required for the Oppo Speaker and Audio setup options.

I am using the digital audio out, and the analog mixed audio outs, into a Pioneer receiver.

I believe for this setup the speaker downmix mode should be set to "Stereo", and the audio SPDIF mode to "Raw". This will send mixed l/r stereo to the analog mixed audio outs, and full surround to the digital audio out (unless I'm playing a DVD-A, in which case I'll only get stereo out of the digital out too).

With the speaker downmix mode set to "Stereo", the other speaker settings, and the PRO Logic II settings, are all N/A.

The setting of the speaker downmix mode is only applicable to the analog mixed and analog surround outs.

Have I got this all right so far?

Some more questions:

What do I get out of the analog mixed audio outs if I set the speaker downmix mode to "5.1CH"?

Does the audio Channel Trim setting affect the digital output?

Is the only way to get full surround from a DVD-A to use the analog surround outputs?

On what outputs does the audio Pro Logic II settings have an effect? and if my receiver has Pro Logic II processing, why would I ever set this to anything but "off" on the Oppo?

That's enough for now!

Tia,
-Keith

My take is that most of those settings are only applicable if you're going to go analog from the player straight to the analog input of the reciever. If you're going to a reciever with a digital signal, the digital out from the player is all you need. With analog the reciever in essence becomes a pre amp, bypassing any digital processing. I'm guessing that the DVDA signal works through through this mechanism.
Javry

I don't have any hybrids to test this, but this appears to be the OPPOSITE of what others have experienced?!

ted_b can you shed some light here?

I think what you are describing is the 4:3 resolution issue: DVI Wide/SQZ mode is losing horizontal resolution on 4:3 material with 1x zoom.

This may be because the Mediatek chip squeezes the image for the analog outputs BEFORE the Faroudja chip scales the image for the DVI output. The Panasonic player does the same thing. Look again at the photos on Liteup's Oppo/Panny comparison webpage. This is NOT a problem with 16:9 material. You can see the issue on the 4:3 Avia resolution patterns (only the horizontal resolution suffers).

Full resolution is restored as soon as you zoom in, or if you change to WIDE mode. Please verify... I cannot test PAL/576P.

Gary
My 971H was definately at WIDE mode, default everything.

Your display does no PAL? Or you don't have any media to test?

Really all signs point towards underscan instead of overscan. I'd like to get a PAL test pattern to you so you can judge first hand.

My 971H was definately at WIDE mode, default everything.

Your display does no PAL? Or you don't have any media to test?

Really all signs point towards underscan instead of overscan. I'd like to get a PAL test pattern to you so you can judge first hand. As far as I know, my display is NTSC only. I don't have any PAL DVD's to test either.

Gary

I am somewhat confused by the settings required for the Oppo Speaker and Audio setup options.

I am using the digital audio out, and the analog mixed audio outs, into a Pioneer receiver.

I believe for this setup the speaker downmix mode should be set to "Stereo", and the audio SPDIF mode to "Raw". This will send mixed l/r stereo to the analog mixed audio outs, and full surround to the digital audio out (unless I'm playing a DVD-A, in which case I'll only get stereo out of the digital out too).

With the speaker downmix mode set to "Stereo", the other speaker settings, and the PRO Logic II settings, are all N/A.

The setting of the speaker downmix mode is only applicable to the analog mixed and analog surround outs.

Have I got this all right so far? Yes, that sounds correct, except for the last one. I believe that if you set the speaker downmix mode to "5.1CH" you get sound out of ALL the analog outs. You would use the front L/R outputs, not the front mixed audio outs. This is the configuration to use if you want full DVD-A out, or full analog 5.1 out.

What do I get out of the analog mixed audio outs if I set the speaker downmix mode to "5.1CH"? I'm not sure. Try it.

Does the audio Channel Trim setting affect the digital output? No.

Is the only way to get full surround from a DVD-A to use the analog surround outputs? Yes.

On what outputs does the audio Pro Logic II settings have an effect? and if my receiver has Pro Logic II processing, why would I ever set this to anything but "off" on the Oppo? Analog outputs only. The player's Pro Logic II settings have no effect if you are using the digital connection to the receiver, so you could set it to "OFF".

Gary

Hello,

There's a very informed presentation by Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Telarc International Corporation entitled "Recommended DVD-A System Set-Up" (copyright 2001) here http://www.telarc.com/surround/dvda.asp?mscssid=QR85XENMT8D19HAXTV9PKNFLPDLLDU98#alignment
All this is a bit over my head but nonetheless I am increasingly more appreciative of the Oppo's audio capabilities. With 192 KHz Sampling Frequency, 24-Bit High Quality Audio with six channel descrete analog playback capability, it really qualifies as a legitimate DVD-Audio player in addition to being a superb DVD-Video player.

Dana

If downmix is set to "5.1" the mixed analog outs get the same as the other l/r's do, that is, the front portion of a 5.1 mix, or stereo if the 2 channel layer is chosen. I use these separate analog outs; they go to my dedicated stereo tubed preamp. The mixed outputs get pure unadulterated stereo when listening to the stereo layer of a DVD-A. The 6 "5.1" outputs go to my 5.1 pre/pro setup.

Ted

If downmix is set to "5.1" the mixed analog outs get the same as the other l/r's do, that is, the front portion of a 5.1 mix, or stereo if the 2 channel layer is chosen. I use these separate analog outs; they go to my dedicated stereo tubed preamp. The mixed outputs get pure unadulterated stereo when listening to the stereo layer of a DVD-A. The 6 "5.1" outputs go to my 5.1 pre/pro setup. Perfect! Thanks for the clarification.

Gary

Here's another review of the Oppo
https://www.wesman.net/~wesley/mt/archives/2005/05/opdv971h_dvd_pl.html

May 14, 2005
OPDV971H DVD Player

I bought a new DVD player yesterday, the OPPO Digital OPDV971H. This player scored 94 on the DVD Benchmark, second only to the Denon DVD-5910. But the 5910 is over fifteen times the price. After hooking up the OPDV971H to my Hitachi PJTX100 via a DVI-D cable, I calibrated the picture and watched the Avia reference videos. The picture was a step-up, much like going from S-Video to component. I also tested the player's audio side with a DVD-Audio copy of In Blue from The Corrs. The audio was just as excellent as the video.

The OPDV971H allowed me to get an excellent level of sharpness. I was unable to reduce the sharpness enough on my previous player, the JVC XV-SA602SL. The edging on diagonals is much smoother. And the de-interlacing and upscaling to 720p features allow me to send a native image to my PJTX100.

The unit was packaged extremely well, and enclosed in a fabric bag. The front is slim, stylish, and minimalist. The LCD display is very clear and displays feedback for any button pressed on the remote. The back is well laid-out, all connections are clearly labeled, and there was absolutely no flexing as I pushed cables into it. The remote is just as slim as the player and has a brushed metal face. There is a remote button for just about every function the player provides. And the player provides an excellent number of features. More features than I would expect from any player at any price.

I actually picked up the player by driving to OPPO's office in Mountain View. This let me save on shipping, not have to wait for a delivery at home, and also to get the player right away. I spoke there with Sally, about the player, their products, and why I decided to purchase their DVD player. She was very friendly and helpful, and that was also a nice side-benefit of picking up the player in-person. OPPO is very responsive to feedback, and my interaction with Sally only made that even more clear to me.

I also asked them about the lack of support for 2-2 cadence, as tested by Kris for the benchmark. The other guy there informed me that the 2-2 cadence flag only applies to certain older PAL sources that have been converted to DVD. So I don't have to worry about it for watching NTSC 30fps video sources.

My own experience with this player parallels this persons experience. Oppo has been exceptionally responsive to the demands of the customers, while continously seeking to improve the player.

While the player isn't perfect, you'd be hard pressed to find a player with this level of excellence for under $200

Thanks to all for the clarifications.

-Keith

Is there a setting which allows you to get a stereo downmix from the analog L/R outputs while also getting the full DD soundtrack sent via digital output?

Is there a setting which allows you to get a stereo downmix from the analog L/R outputs while also getting the full DD soundtrack sent via digital output? Yes. You always get full 5.1 audio from the digital connection, as long as you leave the SPDIF setting at the default (Raw). Then, to get a stereo downmix from the analog outputs, set the speaker downmix mode to "Stereo", and use the front mixed analog outputs.

Gary

Here's another review of the Oppo Nice review, thanks for sharing Stimby.

Gary

There's a very informed presentation by Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Telarc International Corporation entitled "Recommended DVD-A System Set-Up" (copyright 2001) here http://www.telarc.com/surround/dvda.asp?mscssid=QR85XENMT8D19HAXTV9PKNFLPDLLDU98#alignment
All this is a bit over my head but nonetheless I am increasingly more appreciative of the Oppo's audio capabilities. With 192 KHz Sampling Frequency, 24-Bit High Quality Audio with six channel descrete analog playback capability, it really qualifies as a legitimate DVD-Audio player in addition to being a superb DVD-Video player. Dana, very interesting. Thanks.

Gary

Thanks GSB. Yeah, after I posted my question I simply checked the cables on the back and saw the other set of "mixed" L/R outputs. I changed my cables from the 5.1 analog L/R outputs to the mixed L/R outputs and all was swell. :)

My own experience with this player parallels this persons experience. Oppo has been exceptionally responsive to the demands of the customers, while continously seeking to improve the player.

While the player isn't perfect, you'd be hard pressed to find a player with this level of excellence for under $200[/QUOTE]



You couldn`t of said better....I just bought one myself and I luv it!
I took back a Sony and samung that I tried with hdmi connections and they sucked.I have a 60" Sony LCD and with proper tweaking of settings the 720p output on this player rocks!

Fellows,

I know about different versions of firmware. Is there also different versions of hardware? A friend recently received a Oppo with the label "VER 2.20" (back panel). Is there other versions? This player came with the OP971-4-0430 firmware version.

[]´s

Filipe Rangel.

Interesting. Mine has a sticker with V2.00. Not sure if that is meant to relect levels of firmware or not. There has been one slight hardware change I'm aware of and that's already been discussed.

Paul

Interesting. Mine has a sticker with V2.00. Not sure if that is meant to relect levels of firmware or not. There has been one slight hardware change I'm aware of and that's already been discussed.

Paul

Along that line, is the mfg. date also on the Oppo unit?

I know this was a concern with Sony 975's failing and not know the latest production units to hit the floor, we never were able to pin down serial numbers.

Not that I can tell. Barcode/serial number is on the player & box but no date. The serial number doesn't appear to have an obvious clue about date of manufacture.

Paul

There has been one slight hardware change I'm aware of and that's already been discussed.Paul,

Sorry. I think I´ve lost this discussion. Can you tell me what is this change about?

[]´s

Filipe Rangel.

It was an alteration to the board to improve some compatibility issues with certain displays. Discussion can be found starting here: Oppo change (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=5365676#post5365676)

Paul

Paul,

Thank you.

[]´s

Filipe Rangel.

Hello,
..................With 192 KHz Sampling Frequency, 24-Bit High Quality Audio with six channel descrete analog playback capability, it really qualifies as a legitimate DVD-Audio player in addition to being a superb DVD-Video player.

Dana

I hate to add to the Oppo-mania but I tried this player out the other night just listening to plain ole 2 channel audio using one of my test CDs...and guys, I have to tell you. It was pretty good. The setup was: The Putamayo Samba Bossa Nova CD [PUT 195-2, 2002]. Oppo [Optical out]> Casablanca II[Xtreme dac out] stereo mode> Krell TAS Amp 250wpc> Hyperion 938s. I only tried one CD but I plan on pulling out some of my big band stuff tonight. If it passes THAT test then I'll know we have a winner here.

I'd like to hook this baby up using the 192 Khz DAC from the player and let it go analog from that point forward and see what that sounds like. I'm assuming the DAC is active at 192 Khz in redbook as well as DVDA. Does anyone know for sure?
Javry

On my HDTV, dark scenes have a greenish tint. On my other inputs, I can adjust my HDTV to correct for this tint, but I can't adjust it (without service menu corrections) on the input that the Oppo is using.

Is there a menu setting which would alter the output from the Oppo in order to make it less greenish in dark scenes?

Thanks!

On my HDTV, dark scenes have a greenish tint. On my other inputs, I can adjust my HDTV to correct for this tint, but I can't adjust it (without service menu corrections) on the input that the Oppo is using.

Is there a menu setting which would alter the output from the Oppo in order to make it less greenish in dark scenes? No, the Oppo has no adjustment for individual colors. The Oppo's color decoding over DVI is spot-on, so it is definitely your display. You will have to access your display's service menu.

Gary

The Oppo's color decoding over DVI is spot-on, so it is definitely your display. Gary,
How do you know my Oppo is "spot on"? Did you sneak in and check it while I was gone today? ;)

Actually, I've been using that input with a Samsung HDTV tuner for a couple of years and it has never looked greenish before. My bet is that the Dtrovision DVI to RGB converter is somehow not converting the signal correctly.

I can't remember if you can choose the type of video signal (Computer RGB vs Component type RGB) which gets sent out via the DVI output?

If anyone remembers, I was having trouble connecting my Oppo to my Sony 34XBR960 TV through its digital input. Well the repair guy came and found out that the problem was simply the fact that a connector going from the input on the back of the TV to one of the TV's circuit boards was disconnected. He just plugged it in and it worked fine. The performance of the player has been very good with the TV. However there is one issue I have noticed. When I am running the Oppo in the TV's native format, 1080i, I notice quite a bit more flicker or "shimmer" or whatever you want to call it than when I run it in 720P mode. It is most noticeable on things like menus or text, but it is present to some extent at all times during a film. I have noticed that when I have my tv connected to my computer the screen also flickers much more when it is outputting 1080i than with 720P. Is this just an inherent issue with my display, or would a slight adjustment of the timings coming from the source be able to correct it. Is anyone else with a CRT HD display having this sort of issue? It isnt a horrible flashing or anything in 1080i mode, its just that 720P is rock solid and 1080 always has a bit of flicker, and it is pronounced enough that I always run the player at 720.

I have the latest firmware btw

Is anyone else with a CRT HD display having this sort of issue? It isnt a horrible flashing or anything in 1080i mode, its just that 720P is rock solid and 1080 always has a bit of flicker, and it is pronounced enough that I always run the player at 720.[/QUOTE]

Hello,

No problem here with a Sony XBR 910 34" HD CRT direct 1080i capable display connected via DVI. PQ is great! :)

Dana

............... Is anyone else with a CRT HD display having this sort of issue? It isnt a horrible flashing or anything in 1080i mode, its just that 720P is rock solid and 1080 always has a bit of flicker, and it is pronounced enough that I always run the player at 720.

Mike
I'm using a PJ for display. Sold the TV a few months ago. Sounds like things worked out for you with the last problem. I'll assume it didn't cost you anything.....except a little time and a few headaches. Okay....a lot of time and a lot of headaches! :p

Between the 3 processing options, I chose 720p. First because it's native to my display but second because it presented a more stable picture than 1080i. Can't say for sure if it was flickering or not. It's been a few weeks. I'll go back and check tonight.

I've had the player for a little under a month....and I've got to make a decision. Right now I'm leaning in the direction of a refund....but could be swayed otherwise. I'm a big ole softy for American products and I'd like to see this one succeed.

Problems I'm having with this unit are:
1. that white line going to down the far left side of the picture [not a big deal]

2. the lipsynch issue. I'm at 110 ms delay now [over a 10th of a second] and I'm still not there. I'd go further but I'm at the limit of what the Casablanca II will allow. Big Big deal.

3. Every once in awhile, the Oppo won't respond to a remote command. I can be standing right in front of it.....bangin away on the remote and it just simply won't respond. I have to reboot to get it to engage properly. Big deal

4. I have several DVDAs that it won't play. I tried Niel Young's "Greendale" last night with absolutely zero results. Big deal.

5. And the weird one of all. The audio test in TXH Optimizer via the Incredibles is one speaker off. In other words, when the display shows the center speaker, the sound comes from the right front speaker. it continues that way through out the whole audio test. When I hook up my Pani XP-30 or Esoteric DV-50s, the test is spot on. Weird huh? Big Big deal.

6. It would be nice to incrmentally adjust the sharpness. I continue to dance between low and medium, depending on the movie. But I can never get it adjusted to a "set it n' forget it" level.

Don't cha just love that big blue logo display?
Javry

I'm a big ole softy for American products and I'd like to see this one succeed.


I have seen this referred to as a US player on the forum but have seen things such as this on the internet (this one from link on the oppodigital.com site):


"One trend that I found very interesting is the number of larger Chinese companies getting ready to break into the US market with their own brands. One such company is OPPO Digital, Inc. Their first product to hit the US market is the DV971H DVD player."

and

"Oppo's three state-of-the-art factories in China are all ISO 9001 certified and TQM is implemented in every aspect of operations. "

So is this really just another Chinese player but the difference being that the manufacturer has taken a corporate presence in the US by setting up a HQ?

.............."One trend that I found very interesting is the number of larger Chinese companies getting ready to break into the US market with their own brands. One such company is OPPO Digital, Inc. Their first product to hit the US market is the DV971H DVD player."

and

"Oppo's three state-of-the-art factories in China are all ISO 9001 certified and TQM is implemented in every aspect of operations. "

So is this really just another Chinese player but the difference being that the manufacturer has taken a corporate presence in the US by setting up a HQ?

Wow....that hurts...a little. I was hoping against all hope that this was an American product. Oh well, it's a good player but I'd be less than honest if I didn't admit to at least some reduction in my attachment to it. So What's the deal? Is it a Chinese company with an American factory.....or do they make it in China and just sell it in the US?
Javry

Wow....that hurts...a little. I was hoping against all hope that this was an American product. Oh well, it's a good player but I'd be less than honest if I didn't admit to at least some reduction in my attachment to it. So What's the deal? Is it a Chinese company with an American factory.....or do they make it in China and just sell it in the US?
Javry

Not sure....... its just that I had seen many people refer to it as American so was quite suprised to see the above on their site.

I think the confusion probably came from this quote in the Secret's review of the player:

"The 971H is the premier DVD player from a brand new company here in the US: Oppo Digital. The company is a spring off from the electronics giant, BBK Electronics"

Which I think means Oppo Digital is a company new TO the US and not a new US company. BBK Electronics is definitely Chinese and their manufacturing facilities are in China.

So it looks like they build in China and sell in the US. They do seem to be much more responsive to consumers than the typical Chinese company though.

Unless anyone else knows different?

Some props to Extremephono as well as Oppo. 5 business day total turn around for me to ship a defective unit back and receive my new one.

BB

.................. I think the confusion probably came from this quote in the Secret's review of the player:............................ they build in China and sell in the US. They do seem to be much more responsive to consumers than the typical Chinese company though..................

hmmmmmm....that just makes me wanna go out somewhere and fart! Oh well, at least it's a good unit......and I have to admit that they do have great customer service. I sure was hoping to score one for the home team though.
Javry

Not sure....... its just that I had seen many people refer to it as American so was quite suprised to see the above on their site.

I think the confusion probably came from this quote in the Secret's review of the player:

"The 971H is the premier DVD player from a brand new company here in the US: Oppo Digital. The company is a spring off from the electronics giant, BBK Electronics"

Which I think means Oppo Digital is a company new TO the US and not a new US company. BBK Electronics is definitely Chinese and their manufacturing facilities are in China.

So it looks like they build in China and sell in the US. They do seem to be much more responsive to consumers than the typical Chinese company though.

Unless anyone else knows different?


As I said before, like it or not, where a product is built has no bearing on the quality. You can build quality in China, you can build junk in the US.

I have had scores of colleagues in the electronics industry for decades making regular trips to China, Bulgaria, Taiwan, the Philippines, etc. as part of their job in interfacing with manufacturing facilities. Mostly for commercial electronics, not consumer electronics. I can't understand the surprise everytime someone sees made in China on their equipment. At least not from an engineering perspective.

As far as hurting american labor, and causing a trade inbalance, I share your concern completely, and wish we had more alternatives.

The majority of the employees in Oppo Digital are american citizens, and tech support is completely provided by american citizens.

Their factory is set in China in order to lower labour costs, but alot of the engineering/QA aspects are in the United States.

American tech support is a plus, as they tend to be far more dedicated and better then overseas tech support.

Oppo pays taxes to the U.S. government like any other corporation in here.

The VP and President are U.S. citizens, and pay their taxes like everyone else here.

They are far more responsive and have a far superior commitment to quality then the average overseas company. This is due to the fact that the tech support is not outsourced.

Javry, consider it this way, your money is going to quite a few QA people/ Engineers in the states, and the tech support people.

javry: The USD has to fall a lot more against the Asian currencies before you start seeing made in US top-shelf DVD players which can compete against the Chinese. But at that point, the $50 sneaker will also cost $100. Our buying power for consumer goods will definitely go down. But hopefully we will have a lot more jobs to work with.

In the next two decades, a lot of our jobs will go overseas; we need to be ready for that. The good thing is that this job migration will overlap the retirement of the baby boomers so it should not put any significant downward pressure on US wages.

Stimby, good post.

Most players (and many other electronics) are made in China now. The brand name doesn't matter, my Toshiba player is made in China as well. A few years ago chinese electronics had some quality issues, but now that's not the case. Lots of plasma and LCD screens are coming out of China too. Some very high quality stuff.

Gary,
How do you know my Oppo is "spot on"? Did you sneak in and check it while I was gone today? ;)

Actually, I've been using that input with a Samsung HDTV tuner for a couple of years and it has never looked greenish before. My bet is that the Dtrovision DVI to RGB converter is somehow not converting the signal correctly.

I can't remember if you can choose the type of video signal (Computer RGB vs Component type RGB) which gets sent out via the DVI output? Hey merc

Yeah, I did sneak in... I noticed that your Oppo is just like my Oppo.

I made the assumption that you were using a DVI connection to your display. So, you're using something else? Like an HDMI input, with Dtrovision switching? That throws a few extra variables in the mix.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "DVI to RGB converter". DVI is already in RGB format. Also, what is "Component type RGB"? Component signals are analog YPrPb, not RGB.

Gary

I made the assumption that you were using a DVI connection to your display. So, you're using something else? Like an HDMI input, with Dtrovision switching? That throws a few extra variables in the mix. No, I am using the DVI output from the Oppo at 1080i into a Dtrovision DC-DA1 DVI to RGBHV/VGA Converter (http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/DCDA1.ASP)

I'm not sure what you mean by a "DVI to RGB converter". DVI is already in RGB format. Also, what is "Component type RGB"? Component signals are analog YPrPb, not RGB.Check out the link above for more info on the converter. As for HDMI/DVI signal type, apparently, according to Kris Deering, there are two different types of RGB formats... one being 8 bit and the other one 10 bit. There are differences between the two with regard to where IRE is set as well as to what happens to the black and white setting when it is converted from digital DVI to analog RGBHV... or something like that?

Ive been away what is newest firmware now???

The latest firmware is available here (http://www.oppodigital.com/opdv971h_support.html). However, there will be a new one coming shortly that hopefully will address the shimmering issue by allowing the user to turn off CCS and TrueLife enhancement. Stay tuned.

No, I am using the DVI output from the Oppo at 1080i into a Dtrovision DC-DA1 DVI to RGBHV/VGA Converter (http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/DCDA1.ASP)

Check out the link above for more info on the converter. As for HDMI/DVI signal type, apparently, according to Kris Deering, there are two different types of RGB formats... one being 8 bit and the other one 10 bit. There are differences between the two with regard to where IRE is set as well as to what happens to the black and white setting when it is converted from digital DVI to analog RGBHV... or something like that?

Nope. There is one type of RGB output, 8 bit. The black and white levels have to do with what is going on in the 256 values within that RBG output. Studio RGB allows for head and toe room in the signal and tries to emulate the analog displays used in the mastering process. PC RGB takes away that head and toe room.

HDMI offers 10 and 12 bit YCbCr output for video. But this requires processing at that level. Right now Faroudja and HQV offer this in DVD players. I am not aware of any others at this point. Even if it has HDMI it doesn't mean that the video processing inside is truly 10 bit. I am not sure about the upcoming Gennum chip but I am pretty sure that DVDO's new video processor will be 10 bit end to end. I imagine that the Gennum chip will be as well though. Lumagen is also working on full end to end 10 bit processing.

................ I can't understand the surprise everytime someone sees made in China on their equipment. At least not from an engineering perspective.

As far as hurting american labor, and causing a trade inbalance, I share your concern completely, and wish we had more alternatives.

Well....from one engineer to another, there's no surprise to me that the Chinese can build good equipment. Heck, if they can build the 3 Gorges Dam, probably the greatest heavy civil project of the mellinium, they CERTAINLY can build a good DVD player. No argument there. It's just that there was a lot of buzz early on about this being an American company. I wrongly assumed that meant that the product was actually built here....and I was wrongly pleased to see that an American product could compete on an international level.....only to find that it's NOT American, it's Chinese....but marketed and sold here. I guess I just feel somewhat deflected by the whole thing.

When I was a little kid, anything that said "Made in Japan" was something to stay away from....and Taiwan and China were in that same boat. Now, all that has turned around [Edward Demmings, no doubt] to where "Made in America" seems to be the thing no one wants to see. I was wrongly hoping that perhaps some sun was starting to shine on us for a change. No hits to Chinese ingenuity intended. If they can build it, they deserve the praise.
Javry

I remember those days well too. Those days are gone. Today, many countries in the world are kicking our butts in terms of profitability and quality. Too many North American companies are short-term profit driven. I will buy the best product for the money spent and I don't want to spend much more than $200 on a DVD player given the upcoming changes in DVD technology. The more I read about the Oppo, the more I think that this will be my next DVD player.

MikeSRC,
How soon will it be available? I'm ready to pull the trigger!

MikeSRC,
How soon will it be available? I'm ready to pull the trigger!

I think it depends on whether it fixes the shimmering or not. That's their main focus right now, along with the audio sync. I doubt CCS has anything to do with it, but Truelife might.

Me thinks it's Vertical Edge Enahncement.

Paul

Hello,

The interest in the "Made in China" aspect of the Oppo really just underscores the world economy in which we live. I have a BUSlink external hard drive, made in China and represented by a subsidiary in this country. A recent story in BusinessWeek here http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_20/b3933011.htm while focusing on Taiwan mentions the interconnection with mainland China and US firms.

"... some of the most important but anonymous tech outfits in the world: Asustek Computer, whose China factories spit out iPods and Mini Macs for Apple (AAPL); ... Quanta Computer, the No. 1 global maker of notebook PCs and a key supplier to Dell (DELL ) and Hewlett-Packard... Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM ), the biggest chip foundry on the planet, an essential partner to U.S. companies such as Qualcomm and Nvidia (NVDA ). Dozens more companies dot the Neihu-Hsinchu corridor. There's AU Optronics (AUTO ), a big supplier of liquid-crystal display panels, and Hon Hai Precision Industry, which makes everything from PC components to Sony's (SNE ) PlayStation 2, and which is a fast-rising rival to Flextronics International (FLEX ), the world's biggest contract manufacturer. Taken together, the revenues of Taiwan's 25 key tech companies should hit $122 billion this year.

"Taiwan's success is also China's. No one knows for sure how much of China's exports in information and communications hardware are made in Taiwanese-owned factories, but the estimates run from 40% to 80%. As many as 1 million Taiwanese live and work on the mainland. 'All the manufacturing capacity in China is overlaid with the management and marketing expertise of the Taiwanese, along with all their contacts in the world,' observes Russell Craig, of tech consultants Vericors Inc."

Dana

Does the Oppo output 480i?

My Philips player just died on me and I'm thinking of getting a new player. I want something that's somewhat future-proof but I haven't purchased an HD set yet - i'll be upgrading the TV fairly soon.

Thanks.

There is no pure American, Japan, or Chinese company any more. Labeling the company that way is impossible nowadays. The world economy is interdepedent and the CE business is borderless. What matters is the Amercian people - what happens from here, to us and to our kids in this increasingly borderless world. We have to get ready we have to gain international perspective. Embrace the changes. Get ready. Learn from our competition. After we are still the most democrative country on earch. Our system nurture and support changes.

Perhaps it doe not matter whether it is an American company or not. For it to be a good CE maker, what matters is the products, how it treats its US employees, and employees in general, and how it treats customers and how socially responsible this company is here and on a global scale.

My 0.02.

Does the Oppo output 480i?

My Philips player just died on me and I'm thinking of getting a new player. I want something that's somewhat future-proof but I haven't purchased an HD set yet - i'll be upgrading the TV fairly soon.

Thanks.

480i via component / S-video / composite

Paul

My Oppo review:

I recently purchased the Oppo because it satisfied 3 desires: HD upconversion, region free capability, and sub $200 price point. The Secrets review was a big selling point, as well. The free DVI cable sweetened the pot also, it's at least a $15 value.

I use my new Oppo with my 42" GWIII, connected via DVI cable.

I have to say, OOTB, the Oppo's settings are not the best, at least with my display. The gamma needed to be jacked up to +3 to display a good grayscale with DVE, and the sharpness had to be turned down (I am awaiting the OFF firmware upgrade). Contrast also had to go +1.

The performance has been excellent, with a few niggling details. The vertical enhancement is obviously atop the list, and I anxiously await firmware for this as well. It is not noticable on all scenes, just high contrast diagonal and vertical lines. I would estimate I notice it about 5% of the time.

I wish the player remembered your position in a disc during power off. This was a nice convenience that my Sony 5-disc proscan deck offered - on up to 7 discs. Since it does consume power in standby, I assume this would not be impossible to engineer in firmware.

Also, I have noticed that audio decoding, or perhaps the signal sent via coaxial digital and optical out has a tiny lag - not during play, but as the receiver is picking it up. (I have noticed no lag during play at all).

The sharpness and depth of color is superior to my old deck, as is BTB. This is what I was hoping for. Detection of 3:2 and different framerate material is flawless, as is PAL-NTSC conversion.

I am already happy with this purchase. If Oppo can address my three concerns (and I have high hopes on two of them), it will be just about the perfect player.

I highly recommend this player based both on the OOTB performance and the potential with upcoming firmware. It is a tremendous value given other decks on the market. I think this is an ideal purchase for someone upgrading an old interlaced player for their new HDTV display. If you already have a progressive player with your HDTV, them it's a tougher call - clarity and color are slightly better with the Oppo, but it takes a trained eye and some striaght-up comparisons to really see the difference. If you need a region-free player, however, the choice is an easy one.

I have sanyo HT32744 tv, bought from walmart

i tried samsung HD841, had to return it beacuse of black crush.

Any of you guys tried oppo with this TV.

TIA

Me thinks it's Vertical Edge Enahncement.

Paul

Yes, I agree Paul. It could be a function of TrueLife being set too high, but you would likely see it elsewhere as well and it does seem to be restricted to vertical edges. :(

I've been beta testing the next Oppo firmware, which allows the ability to turn off the Faroudja Cross Color Suppression and True Life. Unfortunately, even with both of these turned off the player still has a shimmer problem. My test case for this is the vertical fabric weave of Bruce Willis' orange shirt at the 41:00 mark of "The Fifth Element - Ultimate Edition". It still shimmers like crazy on the Oppo, but it's perfectly solid on my Denon 1600, which also uses Faroudja.

So, it appears that neither of those was the culprit. I've reported my results to Oppo. Hopefully, they can continue to narrow down other possibilities.

Turning off True Life really demonstrates that this player's MPEG decoder has a naturally soft picture that must be "sharpened up" by additional processing. The picture has a lot less 'pop' and detail without True Life engaged.

It's been reported to Oppo Digital. After much viewing and comparison, I suspect the source of the problem is in the MediaTek chip.

Paul

It's been reported to Oppo Digital. After much viewing and comparison, I suspect the source of the problem is in the MediaTek chip.

Paul

Can the MediaTek chip be modified via firmware/software changes, or are updates limited to the Faroudja chipset?

Yesterday evening, I have switched the sharpness control in the setup of Oppo to "low" with "medium". The "shimmering" is not more visible and the details of the image are incredible ! I listened Star Wars IV and never I had not seen as many details and texture in this film!
If Oppo can succeed in removing the shimmering while preserving this level of detail, I would be with the angels!

Does the shimmering occur when you use the Oppo at 480p? If not, maybe it is a function of upconversion... which of course, does not happen in the Denon 1600.

It's been reported to Oppo Digital. After much viewing and comparison, I suspect the source of the problem is in the MediaTek chip.

Paul

Paul, do you have any idea of what could be causing this in the MPEG decoding process?

Josh, from what I've seen with adjustable TrueLife, the Oppo was probably on its lowest setting. I've seen much greater differences between TrueLife on and off than what I experienced with the Oppo's. Another good test for the shimmering is the panning across the skyscapers in DVE's "Montage of Images". In addition to the vertical edge crawl, there is moire in the building windows.

Turning off CCS removes the classic flickering in highly saturated colors, like the toy box lid in "Toy Story".

I've been beta testing the next Oppo firmware, which allows the ability to turn off the Faroudja Cross Color Suppression and True Life. Unfortunately, even with both of these turned off the player still has a shimmer problem.

What about reported flickering problem?

Does the shimmering occur when you use the Oppo at 480p? If not, maybe it is a function of upconversion... which of course, does not happen in the Denon 1600.

Shimmering occurs equally at every resolution via DVI (I have not bothered to hook up the component outputs). It isn't the upconversion causing the problem either.

What about reported flickering problem?

If you're talking about color flicker, I didn't have time to test for that last night. I'm not sure if I even have any good examples (don't own the Toy Story DVD). In theory, turning off the CSS should clear that right up, as that was known to be the cause of similar flickering in the Panasonic RP-56.

Josh, from what I've seen with adjustable TrueLife, the Oppo was probably on its lowest setting. I've seen much greater differences between TrueLife on and off than what I experienced with the Oppo's.

It was dramatic enough that I will have to be leaving TrueLife on with this player. The picture is too lacking in detail without it.

It was dramatic enough that I will have to be leaving TrueLife on with this player. The picture is too lacking in detail without it.

I didn't really notice it much when I turned it off, that's why I mentioned the low setting. My projector has adjustable TrueLife and when you turn on the lowest setting, it make a greater difference than what I saw with the Oppo. It certainly didn't have the negative effect on a resolution pattern that the projector's TrueLife had.

Can the MediaTek chip be modified via firmware/software changes, or are updates limited to the Faroudja chipset?

Mediatek firmware information page and links:
http://personal.inet.fi/koti/mabreaker/mabreaker/mediatek/

I suspect the shimmering problem is pre-Genesis. I see the same amount of shimmering with component. It may even be something introduced into the image prior to the Mediatek chip. I don't know. I do know I've never seen anything like this with other Mediatek players I own. That's not to say something isn't amiss with the implementation of the MT chip in this case.

Good discussion here. This is very valuable input, because the suggestions are based on thorough diagnosis, not just guesses. Comparing the DVI output with the component, or comparing other players with similar chipsets, is the right way to do this. Keep it up. Oppo is very grateful for the combined insight we can provide.

Gary

So does this beta firmware you are testing include 2-2 Cadence deinterlace mode? Just wondering because i have many PAL dvds.

So does this beta firmware you are testing include 2-2 Cadence deinterlace mode? Just wondering because i have many PAL dvds.

No, the only changes to the firmware currently being beta tested are:

- Ability to turn CSS off
- Ability to turn TrueLife off
- Scaling to 540p allowed

I didn't really notice it much when I turned it off, that's why I mentioned the low setting. My projector has adjustable TrueLife and when you turn on the lowest setting, it make a greater difference than what I saw with the Oppo. It certainly didn't have the negative effect on a resolution pattern that the projector's TrueLife had.

Maybe so, and it's true that the resolution pattern didn't seem much affected, but when I put in Monsters Inc and looked at Sully's fur, there's a much weaker sense of high frequency detail with TrueLife off, not just in comparison to turning TrueLife back on but also in comparison to other DVD players. Also good to look at in that movie is the "skin" texture of Mike (the little green guy voiced by Billy Crystal), which loses clarity without TrueLife. Looking at facial close-ups in live action movies for clarity of skin pores is another good test.

Took a closer look at some DVDs with TrueLife on and off and you're right, Josh. The picture is softer with TrueLife off, more so at 480p IMO. Feeding 720p to my 720p projector, the difference was less noticeable. Also, it's easier to see with CGI movies like Monsters, Inc., Toy Story etc. In general, there's no real problem with Oppo's implementation of TrueLife, which can't be said for some other manufacturers. ;)

Turning off CCS does remove any flicker in saturated colors (like Toy Story), so that's a plus. If you don't have Toy Story, any other highly saturated color scene in Finding Nemo or the like will do. The MC's red jacket in Moulin Rouge is another one.

BTW, all of this was also compared to Bravo D2, which doesn't have any shimmering or flickering (but has other deinterlacing problems that the Oppo doesn't).

Josh: Scaling to 540p is supported? Does that mean it will scale 480i NTSC material to 540p? That would be great for me, since the Infocus 5700's native resolution is 540.

On the other hand, I wonder if returning the Oppo and getting a refund makes sense until we find out if all these issues get worked out.

I do love much about this player and the company, but having serious picture artifacts while we 'wait and pray' doesn't exactly inspire confidence... especially if turning off the Faroudja doesn't fix the shimmering.

Wow, what a flurry of activity!

Just to make sure we're all on the same page and to introduce newcommers to the discussion, the "shimmering" that is being reported is the moire-like pattern that is generated by closely spaced veritical edges -- buildings, fences, grilles, wires, ropes, stripes, etc. These are typically seen with camera panning or zooming in/out at an angle to the vertical edges.

Paul

I would add that the shimmering issue is not that objectionable most of the time (although different people have different sensibilities). To me, it's more like a minor nuisance that shows up once and awhile. YMMV

I wasn't able to check the 540p output, since my projector will not recognize it. BTW, Oppo got feedback on this Wednesday night, so they're already working on the next possibility for a fix.

Josh: Scaling to 540p is supported? Does that mean it will scale 480i NTSC material to 540p? That would be great for me, since the Infocus 5700's native resolution is 540.

On the other hand, I wonder if returning the Oppo and getting a refund makes sense until we find out if all these issues get worked out.

I do love much about this player and the company, but having serious picture artifacts while we 'wait and pray' doesn't exactly inspire confidence... especially if turning off the Faroudja doesn't fix the shimmering.

Your projector is 576p. 540p scaling is what many scalers do (or something to that effect) for 1080i output.

My take is similar to Mike's -- I don't see the shimmering often, either. If I watched the DVE's building pan 100%, I'd probably see the shimmering 100% of the time. Thankfully, that's not the case (I'd be going nuts!). In my situation the overwheling majority of material viewed has no problem.

Paul

There is no pure American, Japan, or Chinese company any more. Labeling the company that way is impossible nowadays. The world economy is interdepedent and the CE business is borderless. What matters is the Amercian people - what happens from here, to us and to our kids in this increasingly borderless world. We have to get ready we have to gain international perspective. Embrace the changes. Get ready. Learn from our competition. After we are still the most democrative country on earch. Our system nurture and support changes.

Perhaps it doe not matter whether it is an American company or not. For it to be a good CE maker, what matters is the products, how it treats its US employees, and employees in general, and how it treats customers and how socially responsible this company is here and on a global scale.

My 0.02.

Yeah....I agree. All of your points are well taken. And believe it or not, on a grander scale, the world is probably better off this way. But still.....all I see in the states these days is shopping malls and restaurants going up........in an elite economy that is rapidly shifting from manufacturing and agriculture to almost pure service. If the fact that we now live in a world economy was the only reason foreign companies are able to dominate all our markets, I'd be okay with it. But I think there are other reasons. We just don't do a very good job of making things anymore. In other words....how far down the shootout list of DVD players in Secrets do you have to go to find a player made in the US.....or even one with an American company logo that, as suggested earlier, was really made somewhere overseas? Yes it's a world economy..........but aren't we part of the world? If people in other countries can do it, why can't we? Do our products rate as highly in their shootouts as theirs do in ours?

Guys please don't get me wrong. This is a great player and they appear to be a great company. And given the email I just received from them today, you can bet I'm going to remain their customer. The whole ordeal just really brings it home to me how far removed we are as a country in our ability to manufacture and sell products [other than war weapons] abroad at the same quality level that they are able to do here. nuff said
Javry

Brand new Oppo, second movie (Hotel Rwanda)...first audio sync problem 3/4 through the movie. Stop/Start corrected the problem. Using DVI connected to an H31 and digital coax to a Denon 5600. Bummer. I hope they fix this within my 30 day guarantee period or I'll be presented with a tough choice to make.

There is no pure American, Japan, or Chinese company any more.Well, I understand your point, but, you CAN identify the Chinese companies. They are the ones who give the consumer what we need and want, at a fair price, instead of bending over to Hollywood's demands. Some companies like Momitsu used to be like this before they were assimilated by the Hollywood borg. ;)

For many of us early adopting enthusiasts, the Chinese (ObiWan) companies are our only hope. :D

Brand new Oppo, second movie (Hotel Rwanda)...first audio sync problem 3/4 through the movie.If the sync problem isn't repeatable on the same disc at the same place, then your problem may be with the Hollywood HDCP handshake and not with the player. I'll bet you don't get the sync problem if you use the non-HDCP component outputs?

Seems like almost every upconverting player will skip if you are using the DVI-HDCP or HDMI-HDCP output and one of the HDCP handshakes coincide with a video bit heavy part of whatever movie you are watching.

If the sync problem isn't repeatable on the same disc at the same place, then your problem may be with the Hollywood HDCP handshake and not with the player. I'll bet you don't get the sync problem if you use the non-HDCP component outputs?

Seems like almost every upconverting player will skip if you are using the DVI-HDCP or HDMI-HDCP output and one of the HDCP handshakes coincide with a video bit heavy part of whatever movie you are watching.

I'll try to repeat the problem later today. I've also got a component cable, so I'll try that as well if it is repeatable.

Josh: Scaling to 540p is supported? Does that mean it will scale 480i NTSC material to 540p? That would be great for me, since the Infocus 5700's native resolution is 540.

I have not tested the 540p scaling yet. Also, since this is just a beta there is no guarantee that feature will be present in the next official update. I only mentioned the beta at all to confirm that neither CSS nor TrueLife are the cause of the 'shimmer' problem, in the hopes that we can come up with alternate possibilities for a solution.

Wow, what a flurry of activity!

Just to make sure we're all on the same page and to introduce newcommers to the discussion, the "shimmering" that is being reported is the moire-like pattern that is generated by closely spaced veritical edges -- buildings, fences, grilles, wires, ropes, stripes, etc. These are typically seen with camera panning or zooming in/out at an angle to the vertical edges.

Paul

I personally would just call it "jaggies" or stair stepping. It is visible on high contrast vertical and some diagonal lines.

For instance - Darth Vader's entrance in SWE4. He steps into the white hallway of the rebel ship, and you can see jaggies on his helmet against the white backdrop.

In SWE2, you can see shimmering in the library - but I assume it is just lots of concentrated jaggies.

I t is more noticable on pans and zooms - because the verticla or diagonal lines are slowly moving in the frame - just as jaggies are most noticable in 3D computer graphics when things are in motion.

I use the Oppo with my Sony GWIII via DVI in 720p. Sharpness is turned to Low, Saturation is normal, and my display is in PRO mode, calibrated with DVE.

I've also got a component cable, so I'll try that as well if it is repeatable. JavaJaws,

If possible, first try to see if you can repeat the problem via the same settings and connection... and if you try it via component, make sure you disable DVI output and disconnect the cable from the Oppo before you try it via component cable.
Good Luck!

If the sync problem isn't repeatable on the same disc at the same place, then your problem may be with the Hollywood HDCP handshake and not with the player. I'll bet you don't get the sync problem if you use the non-HDCP component outputs?

Seems like almost every upconverting player will skip if you are using the DVI-HDCP or HDMI-HDCP output and one of the HDCP handshakes coincide with a video bit heavy part of whatever movie you are watching.

This player does not have HDCP, so I doubt it is the culprit. However, there may be other differences in the signal path of DVI vs. component.

For example, the Faroujda chip is probably not in the signal path when using the component output. All the signal processing that chip does adds delay to the video. If it is not compensated for correctly, A and V could get out of sync.

Sooke

This player does not have HDCPMy goodness, I knew that.... how dumb am I. :o

I'm sorry if these questions have been answered but I've been debating this player ever since my (very BAD) experience with a momitsu.

1) how do these players handle dual-layer DVD+R's?

2) any idea when the new player will be out? next model?

My apologies if this feature has already been requested (or if the Oppo already has it -- I don't own one yet)...

How about making the player always respond to its owner's requests without being overridden by the DVD.

So for example, while watching an unwanted trailer, the owner could press the Menu button and be taken to the menu where the owner could start the movie.

Most DVDs these days are not a problem, but every now and then... I have a disc from India (can't remember the name) that forces me to sit through, honestly, about 10 minutes of trailers before letting me get to the menu. My two little girls love to watch all the dancing in the movie so I'm too often wading through the trailers. And no, fast forward is refused, stop/play doesn't do it, nothing I've tried.

Since Oppo seems to have no problem with a region-free hack and omitting HDCP over DVI, it seems like they would have no problem with this.

Sooke

My apologies if this feature has already been requested (or if the Oppo already has it -- I don't own one yet)...

How about making the player always respond to its owner's requests without being overridden by the DVD.

So for example, while watching an unwanted trailer, the owner could press the Menu button and be taken to the menu where the owner could start the movie...........
Sooke

As far as I can tell, you shouldn't have any problem doing this. I do it all the time. It seems though, that this issue is more dependent on the DVD than on the player. For instance, on some movies you can hit the main menu button and skip the trailers. On others, you have to hit the chapter forward button to make it work. I've even found a few movies where you had to hit the play button during the boot of the movie to skip the trailers.
Javry

This player does not have HDCP, so I doubt it is the culprit. However, there may be other differences in the signal path of DVI vs. component.

For example, the Faroujda chip is probably not in the signal path when using the component output. All the signal processing that chip does adds delay to the video. If it is not compensated for correctly, A and V could get out of sync.

Sooke

An email from Oppo service indicates they will try to address this problem by adding a configurable "delay" for the audio (added in a future firmware release).

I however have serious doubts this will fix the problem I saw since the audio seemed to be in sync most of the movie and then it abruptly got out of sync by a significant amount.

Brand new Oppo, second movie (Hotel Rwanda)...first audio sync problem 3/4 through the movie. Stop/Start corrected the problem. Using DVI connected to an H31 and digital coax to a Denon 5600. Bummer. I hope they fix this within my 30 day guarantee period or I'll be presented with a tough choice to make.

Javajaws,
I also have the H31 and am thinking of getting the Oppo. How is the picture? Is Edge Enhancement still a problem when viewed with the H31?

An email from Oppo service indicates they will try to address this problem by adding a configurable "delay" for the audio (added in a future firmware release).

I however have serious doubts this will fix the problem I saw since the audio seemed to be in sync most of the movie and then it abruptly got out of sync by a significant amount.

Yeah, a constant video lag would not be a problem. Actually many receivers have an adjstable delay for this reason (like my Yamaha), although it would be nice to have the feature in the Oppo for those who need it.

But if the lag is intermittent, doesn't seem like this feature will be a solution. Admittedly, I don't have an Oppo yet, so I don't know the real nature of the issue. I do have a Samsung 931HD DVD player though. It also uses the same Faroujda FL2310. People on this forum have reported A/V sync problems with that player just as they do for this Oppo.

Now, my own experience with the Samsung 931 is I've had a lip sync problem only a handful of times. Very rare. When it has happened I pressed Stop and Play and it went away. Hopefully it will be the same with the Oppo.

Sooke

My apologies if this feature has already been requested (or if the Oppo already has it -- I don't own one yet)...

How about making the player always respond to its owner's requests without being overridden by the DVD.

So for example, while watching an unwanted trailer, the owner could press the Menu button and be taken to the menu where the owner could start the movie.

Most DVDs these days are not a problem, but every now and then... I have a disc from India (can't remember the name) that forces me to sit through, honestly, about 10 minutes of trailers before letting me get to the menu. My two little girls love to watch all the dancing in the movie so I'm too often wading through the trailers. And no, fast forward is refused, stop/play doesn't do it, nothing I've tried.

Since Oppo seems to have no problem with a region-free hack and omitting HDCP over DVI, it seems like they would have no problem with this.

Sooke



This would be a nice feature but I'm not sure if it's possible. Many DVD's have in their structure, P-UOPs or Prohibited User Options. If the disc contains them, your player has pretty much been commandeered. This is how they force you to see the FBI warnings and similar features. Forcing trailers and the like is just assinine.

That's one of the reasons I like backing up my dvd's.

First, I don't have to use the original, keeping it safe and sound.
Second, I strip the DVD of the movie only. When I insert the DVD to the player, it starts playing the movie immediately. :)

I must also point out, when you rip dvds, you can also remove the P-UOPs.

First, I don't have to use the original, keeping it safe and sound.
Second, I strip the DVD of the movie only. When I insert the DVD to the player, it starts playing the movie immediately.I do this with every single DVD I buy. :) It is nice to be able to let my two kids watch some DVDs on their own, or take them with them on sleep-overs, without all the worry that they will destroy them. It is also nice to take the copies with us on our trips out of town. If the maid steals them(happened once in New Mexico), you still have the originals to go back home to. Finally, since the movies start immediately when you put them into the player, without the need to go through a menu or watch silly warnings and coming attractions, they are spouse and kid friendly.

As for lip sync problems, they seem to happen in almost every upconverting player which I have tried... some more than others. My Onkyo SP1000 did it on a couple of discs, and that unit does not use the Faroudja chipset... ?

This would be a nice feature but I'm not sure if it's possible. Many DVD's have in their structure, P-UOPs or Prohibited User Options. If the disc contains them, your player has pretty much been commandeered. This is how they force you to see the FBI warnings and similar features. Forcing trailers and the like is just assinine.

So I guess my feature request would be that the Oppo ignore PUOPs. Provided, ofcourse, that this does not break any laws.

Although I'm fairly ignorant on the structure of DVDs, they are passive. Meaning the player could be made to ignore a "PUOP".

Sooke

That's one of the reasons I like backing up my dvd's.

First, I don't have to use the original, keeping it safe and sound.
Second, I strip the DVD of the movie only. When I insert the DVD to the player, it starts playing the movie immediately. :)

Thanks for the idea iqwerty, I may do that (at least on that one troublesome DVD I mentioned). :)

Sooke

So let's see... aliasing problems, lip sync issues and incorrect handling of 2:2...

And we love the Oppo WHY?

It seems like the aliasing and sync is not going to be fixed with a firmware update. Blah.

Seriously, I love everything about this player - except the picture and sound! I know that sounds sarcastic, but it's true - the features are unbeatable, it plays everything, Divx looks great, it has DVI, the remote is good and has great range... but with picture and sound issues, how on earth does this thing get such high ratings?

Personally, I'd rather pay $100 more for a player that doesn't have DVI or upscales as long as it played everything and had great picture and sound.

So let's see... aliasing problems, lip sync issues and incorrect handling of 2:2...Well, first because I have a Denon 3910 and had an Onkyo SP1000 and both those players, which cost more than 5 times the cost of my Oppo, had problems too. Frankly, other than the Denon 5910, there doesn't seem to be a perfect DVD player?

And second, because many of us have not had those problems(unless watching DVE) in our systems with the Oppo.... so, for many folks, the $200 Oppo is perfect. :)

I hear you. It can be frustrating. Oppo Digital is busy working on these issues.

Paul

Okay... make me see the shimmering... what scenes from what discs should I watch(I don't have DVE)?

It seems like the aliasing and sync is not going to be fixed with a firmware update. Why do you say that? Oppo is planning to fix all these issues.

The 2:2 cadence feature is simply not supported in the Oppo, it isn't a defect. After all, it evidently only affects older European PAL programs on DVD.

Seriously, I love everything about this player - except the picture and sound! I know that sounds sarcastic, but it's true - the features are unbeatable, it plays everything, Divx looks great, it has DVI, the remote is good and has great range... but with picture and sound issues, how on earth does this thing get such high ratings? There's nothing wrong with the Oppo's sound. The video is responsible for the sync problem, and it will be fixed in due time.

Personally, I'd rather pay $100 more for a player that doesn't have DVI or upscales as long as it played everything and had great picture and sound. How can this "ideal" player of yours have a great picture if it doesn't have DVI or upscaling capabilities? It would suffer with jaggies, interlacing, and other artifacts - the very reason we buy de-interlacing and upscaling players.

Some people are even prepared to spend $3500 on the Denon flagship, and they still end up with a few picture problems that they're unhappy about.

Gary

Okay... make me see the shimmering... what scenes from what discs should I watch(I don't have DVE)?

I have found the most plentyful and obvious example to be from the Attack of the Clones DVD, Chapter 12 - Jedi Archives. All of the lit light blue archive blocks go a bit nuts as the camera pulls down slowly.

I also agree that Vader's hemet as he first walks into the bright white hallway at the beginning of Ep.4 also shows the problem pretty clearly.

Cliff

This would be a nice feature but I'm not sure if it's possible. Many DVD's have in their structure, P-UOPs or Prohibited User Options. If the disc contains them, your player has pretty much been commandeered. This is how they force you to see the FBI warnings and similar features.

When playing a DVD on a computer, there are software programs you can download that will instruct the PC's DVD player to ignore all P-UOPs and go straight to the disc menu. If that can work, it seems to me that it should be possible to install the same feature in a regular DVD player via firmware upgrade. However, whether the manufacturer is allowed to offer this option is another story.

Okay... make me see the shimmering... what scenes from what discs should I watch(I don't have DVE)? See this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5516020&highlight=elektra#post5516020).

I also saw a good example in the movie "Taxi", Chapter 4, Time: 00:18:20. A very brief helicopter view of the city, was beautifully detailed and quite stunning, but my eyes were drawn to a building on the left of the picture that shimmered as the edge enhancement moved on the building's vertical lines. None of the other buildings were affected, except for one corner of a nearby building. See attachment.

Gary

two more shimmering culprits - watched Napoleon Dynamite, and the Fox Searchlight logo shimmers like a swarm of bees. The rest of the film was fine.

In the new 2-disc Apollo 13, the lines on the side of the rocket caused shimmer mid-movie. Granted, we're not all watching DVE all day, but it's at instances mid-film where it pops up that it's most annoying.

In a funny note, I had the chance to see EP III again at a 2k projection in Waterloo, just outside Toronto. I had seen the same "print" at the Ziegfeld in NYC, way, WAY better than either film (of course) or the older gen Christies that run at 720p. The punchline is that I noticed briefly a small amount of said "shimmer" on one shot, as Obi Wan's silver buckle was set at such an angle as it quivered like our good ol Oppos.

Now, if I could get the 80+ foot screen in my house, that'd be cool... :)

I own an Oppo and their are some shimmer in certain scenes on the Incredibles (animation) that are caused by the machine but I would like to comment as a long time still photographer how much NATURAL shimmer occurs in a City Scrapes that are not machine related. The building lines, glass and metal window frames cause most of the shimmer and it easy to see it if you look for it. I have over the years have even caught this on still photographic film, even on fine grain film it takes on a jagged effect.

A lot of natural shimmer is caught on the original film. The animators however should be able to control it a little better.

Just a thought

The trailer for Cars on the front of the Incredibles DVD has a ton of shimmering.

There is a shot of cactus that slowy pans and the cactus looks like it's alive with movement. Very strange.

I haven't seen this scene on another DVD player, so maybe it's source-related, but on the Oppo it looks really bad.

Can anyone else check it out and compare to a different player?

So let's see... aliasing problems, lip sync issues and incorrect handling of 2:2...

And we love the Oppo WHY?

Because if you pick any other player on the market it will have dozens of more problems that will probably never be fixed. The Oppo has very few issues, almost none, and Oppo most definitely is getting rid of those.

Name one other player in the world that does everything the Oppo does and does it flawlessly, because if it's there, I'd love to own one.

Because if you pick any other player on the market it will have dozens of more problems that will probably never be fixed. The Oppo has very few issues, almost none, and Oppo most definitely is getting rid of those.

Name one other player in the world that does everything the Oppo does and does it flawlessly, because if it's there, I'd love to own one.

I wrote the guys at Oppo a couple of days ago with all my comments about the player and also told them that I was at the end of my 30 trial period and was considering returning the unit. Know what they did? First of all, I got a detailed email back from them the very next day with at least some discussion on each issue I touched on. Secondly, they issued me a hassle free return authorization number for the return of the unit.....but also extended my trial period for an extra 2 weeks.....to give me time to make up my mind. Third they aksed for my business and basically said "we value you as a customer and would like to work this out with you".

In another setting, I emailed all the top 10 execs at Vutec about 2 months ago about their Silverstar screen and all the probelms people seemed to be having with it. To this day, I have not gotten a reply from a single one of them.

For me, in spite of everything, the customer service is what's keeping me hangin on. And to be honest, I don't think it's quite the player that Secrets promotes it to be. But given the price of the unit....and the customer service, I think they've got a potential winner on their hands if they can continue listening to their customers and being timely with firmware upgrades
Javry

For me, in spite of everything, the customer service is what's keeping me hangin on.Very well said. I could never get a decent answer as to what upgrade HAD to be done at the Denon repair site in order to make my brand new $1200 player display a correct image. AND, they demanded that I PAY to send the unit back without ever getting any type of specific explanation why I had to do so....
And in the past my Denon 2900 and 3800 also needed to be sent back... AT MY EXPENSE... for repair of a manufacturing defect on my brand new player. :(

IMO... China sure seems a hell of a lot closer to Texas than NJ or IL will ever be when it comes to customer service for my DVD player.... :(

whole ordeal just really brings it home to me how far removed we are as a country in our ability to manufacture and sell products [other than war weapons] abroad at the same quality level that they are able to do here. nuff said
Javry

I agree. We are just more integreted into the world economy than before. There is the possitive side. America-based companies are leading on tech front. The core technologies used in DVD players are held by US-based companies and the entry barriers are high. For instance OPPO uses the Faroudja chip as the de-interlacer-A complex, beautiful technology born in the US…This is good news…Cheer up.

I said I have doubts about Oppo fixing these problems because:

Shimmering - a forum member who is beta testing the new firmware says that turning off the Faroudja processing (i.e. sharpness) does NOT fix the shimmering. We were all assuming this would do the trick, and it reportedly doesn't. What more can they do??

Audio sync. Oppo's response to this has been to discuss the possibility of having a user-selectable audio delay in the unit. I'm sorry, but this is NOT anywhere close to being a fix!

And yes, 2:2 pulldown problems only affects PAL, but PAL output is a major reason I bought this player.

Of course there is no such thing as a perfect DVD player, but don't ask me what player I've ever had that did what it was supposed to do because the answer is ALL OF THEM.

My Sony plays DVDs and has great picture and sound. All the features work.

My cheap Sampo worked great from day one, and every feature IT had (PAL, VCD, SVCD, MP3, CF slot, etc) worked perfectly for 3 years.

Call me crazy, but when I bought the Oppo I actually expected it to work properly and have a picture and sound comperable to your average DVD player. Unfortunately, the picture is inferior and out of sync audio is not typical.

Yes, the Oppo has a lot of features and is very cheap, but come on guys, how can anyone say with a straight face that it's worth the tradeoff of an inferior picture and sound!? That's like saying you can forgive a car that doesn't drive well because it has tons of options!

As I have said from day one, I WANT to love the Oppo. Their customer service IS great and I salute them for having a such a close relationship with their users. It's great that they pledge to fix these issues, but it's been what, 6 months since the player was released and their latest attempt to address the major issues still isn't working?

Are they so sure they will fix these problems that they'll offer to refund everyone's money if they can't be fixed by a certain date?

Shimmering - a forum member who is beta testing the new firmware says that turning off the Faroudja processing (i.e. sharpness) does NOT fix the shimmering. We were all assuming this would do the trick, and it reportedly doesn't. What more can they do??


That detail enhancement off does not turn off all faroudja processing. Just some that might have been cause of shimmering. Cross Color Suppression option supposedly fixed flickering problem.

Audio sync. Oppo's response to this has been to discuss the possibility of having a user-selectable audio delay in the unit. I'm sorry, but this is NOT anywhere close to being a fix!

I dont have any audio sync problems myself yet but i also hope they fix those soon.

And yes, 2:2 pulldown problems only affects PAL, but PAL output is a major reason I bought this player.

Reply i got is there will be second deinterlacing mode selectable for this.

Yes, the Oppo has a lot of features and is very cheap, but come on guys, how can anyone say with a straight face that it's worth the tradeoff of an inferior picture and sound!? That's like saying you can forgive a car that doesn't drive well because it has tons of options!

I understand where you are coming from and can appreciate your point of view. I myself wonder why it is that we can't get a DVD player that has no chroma issues, has deinterlacing comparable to Faroudja or Sil, has no lip sync problems, has invisilbe layer changes, and can upscale to the native resolution of my display, AND not cost $3500.00, but at this point it looks as if the Denon 5910 is the only player that meets all of the performance criteria. It seems to me that every player that uses Faroudja has some problem or other, be it MB or something similar lurking, waiting to pop up. The only upscaling player I know of that uses Sil is the Onkyo, but there have been enough reports of lip sync problems that I'd be reluctant to spend that kind of money and cross my fingers. hoping that I got one that worked perfectly. I see threads about players with issues and new firmwares, etc., so it doens't appear that any player is immune. For me it came down to this: "What are the alternatives?" And I don't know the answer.

So I gave Oppo a shot, and there are lots of things I liked about it. When right, the picture looks great to me. The shimmering and MB I've seen have been minor, seen mostly with test material, not movies, and I find them less objectionable than the picture produced by the Pioneer DV-45A I was using before the Oppo arrived, After watching a couple different movies, I've not experieced a true lip sync problem (knock on wood). But if any of these things become a problem for me, I don't know what alternative I have. Get rid of the Oppo for another player with its own batch of problems? Which one? Where do you roll the dice? At this point I'm just happy that Oppo appears to be listening and dedicated to getting things right.

Shimmering - a forum member who is beta testing the new firmware says that turning off the Faroudja processing (i.e. sharpness) does NOT fix the shimmering. We were all assuming this would do the trick, and it reportedly doesn't. What more can they do??

You misunderstand. You can now turn off the TrueLife processing, which is one form of image enhancement, but the Sharpness control still only goes down to "Low". Hopefully a future upgrade will allow that control to be completely disabled as well, and perhaps this will have an effect on the shimmer problem.

This needs to be nipped in the bud....

The following applies to any "beta", regardless of product, whether it be software, hardware, or whatever:

*Any* discussion of *any* possible beta has to be viewed with the understanding that betas:

1. May be incomplete
2. Can be problematic
3. May or may not fix problems
4. Should never be used in a production environment
5. Are never meant to be discussed publically because of the misundersandings, frustrations, and damages that can arise from specualation as a result of discussing them.

A "beta" is part of a journey with all the pitfalls that might occur along the way to the intended goal. This happens with every product, BAR NONE.

Anything read into a beta and its intended use is pure speculation on part of the reader.

In my line of work public discussion of "betas" and other unannounced products and enhancements is a career limiting move with possibility of legal action.

Paul

Mojo,
Just return the damn player. If they fix the problems, great, you can get it again later or get something else.

Audio sync problems, I have yet to see in a movie. 2:2 not important for me (and it seems isn't important for most of us). Shimmering, only pops up occasionally and is just blown out of proportion. This player still looks better than most players out there.

Agreed!

Audio sync problems, I have yet to see in a movie. 2:2 not important for me (and it seems isn't important for most of us). Shimmering, only pops up occasionally and is just blown out of proportion. This player still looks better than most players out there.I can second everything said by Ja Phule.

Paul,

Heck, what you said about beta's can be said about almost every single post on this forum and on the entire internet. Everything posted is speculation or opinion except in very rare instances where someone actually measures scientifically what they purport to see or hear. Even then, unless they do the same tests on enough supposedly identical units to reach a statistically significant "P" value, their results are only valid for the specific unit, in the specific system, in the specific room in which they tested. ;)

If you remember this when reading about beta's, they are then neither more or less valid than any other post on any other AV related topic. As for folks who discuss betas they are testing, I'd guess that if the manufacturer didn't want it discussed, they'd have required an NDA from the testers.

For those of you that have been talking about the "made in China" thing in this thread, here is some perspective:

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8AG28H80.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down

The post doesn't concern uninformed speculation and opinions. Speculate away. ;)

The post concerns betas and the resultant damages that can arise from their public discussion.

There is a difference.

Paul

Paul is 100% correct about betas. I beta test for a few companies and usually the results are not discussed in a public forum. I regret my discussing the current beta earlier, but when I saw others discussing it, I foolishly jumped in. Oppo is one of the few companies I've ever dealt with that is responsive to consumer complaints, no matter how small. That is rare for any manufacturer, even more so at this product price level.

Back to our regularly scheduled discussion. :)

Of course there is no such thing as a perfect DVD player, but don't ask me what player I've ever had that did what it was supposed to do because the answer is ALL OF THEM.

My Sony plays DVDs and has great picture and sound. All the features work.

My cheap Sampo worked great from day one, and every feature IT had (PAL, VCD, SVCD, MP3, CF slot, etc) worked perfectly for 3 years.

Call me crazy, but when I bought the Oppo I actually expected it to work properly and have a picture and sound comperable to your average DVD player. Unfortunately, the picture is inferior and out of sync audio is not typical.

Yes, the Oppo has a lot of features and is very cheap, but come on guys, how can anyone say with a straight face that it's worth the tradeoff of an inferior picture and sound!?

Are they so sure they will fix these problems that they'll offer to refund everyone's money if they can't be fixed by a certain date?

My Oppo has a great pic. I bought and tried every DVI equippped upscaling player under $400 and ended up returning them all, except the Oppo. The Oppo had clearly superior PQ. How many of the players you mentioned upscale via DVI? I'd be willing to try them out.

Audio sync has been made out to be a bigger issue than it really is. It's random and it doesn't last long. It's nothing I can't live with. The actual audio itself is excellent

To call either PQ or AQ "inferior" is going overboard. Inferior to what? Certainly none of the players I tried out.

And yes, it sounds like they are offering to return the player for refund by a certain date. What Javry wrote about sounds exactly like that to me.

I would sum it all up in 3 points:

1. In my system, what I look for is that a component at some point becomes virtually transparent. Of course this is after I've done all the tweaking and calibrating......and granted, in some cases, that can take some time. But at some point the component should just melt into the system and adequately perform it's role in the system chain. I'm not sure the Oppo, as good as it is, is at that point yet. Granted, most players have their own idiosyncracies but when players get this kind of attention, they hopefully are at some level of stability that you can count on. At that level....and certainly before the unit hits the market, I would expect most of the issues we've all encountered thus far to be resolved......even if it DOES cost only 200 bucks. The Pani XP-30 and RP-82 also cost around 200 bucks but in addition to PQ, they are also very stable and consistent....at least in my system. It's for that reason that I would say the Oppo is still a little glitchy.....and there's lot's of firmware upgrades and design revisions to go before I would give this player the top honors commensurate with the Secrets Shootout.

2. Most of us.......me included..........heard or read about this player through the forum and also the Secrets Shootout. And of course, Kris and the guys at Secrets are well within their rights to develop a shootout based on whatever moves them. But at the same time, it's only reasonable to expect that when a player reaches the level of notoriety in Secrets that this one has, it should come with the understanding that some level of stability has been achieved in the supporting mechanisms of the player. To this end, I submit that PQ alone should not be the only criteria used to judge the merit of a player. We don't do that with other products. Why would we do it with DVD players? In fact, we don't do it with other DVD players. Why would we do it with this one? When you go out to buy a car, hopefully you don't base your purchase decision soley on how the car looks or how it glistens in the sunlight. It it's glitchy, and has a bad service record, or doesn't start all the time, or chews up too much gas, it can be the most beautiful car in the world.....but it's still a lemon. Now, again, the Secrets Shootouts are an unequaled source for gathering information about what's hot and what's not in A/V.....so I don't want to pour too much water on their efforts. But perhaps it's time to include some additional criteria before giving a player the kind of applause given to this one.

3. I'll be the first to applaud Oppo for their customer service. And as I've mentioned earlier, it's what is keeping me tuned into their player. But let me offer something positive here. I wonder if either Alan or Jason could put together an owners survey or poll of the player that would include all the issues discussed so far? We could rate the player based on the results of the survey and then send it to Oppo. We have to be one of the best sources of feedback and information on how an A/V unit performs in real time. Perhaps we can elevate above the "bitching stage" and actually use our numbers to give the folks at Oppo some constructive feedback. They could then use the data to prioritize future designs and firmware upgrades. Thoughts?
Javry

Anyone know how I can display DivX subtitles using Oppo ?

Renaldow,

I must say I agree with you. My Oppo has performed flawlessly, and fully exceeds my expectations as far as playback performance is concerned. That is far more than I can say for the 2 Denon models I got rid of (and they cost hundreds of dollars more), or the Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic models I personally tested before I decided to keep the Oppo. None of these other players outperformed the DV971H with my display, a Toshiba DLP.

The Oppo is obviously not the "perfect DVD player" for everyone, and some of the posters on this thread just need to accept that and move on to find something that better suits their needs, instead of continually dwelling on what they perceive as serious flaws in the player's design and unacceptable performance. While it is expected that people will post their opinions on the player, I personally have a major problem with those who try to make their opinion the gospel for the rest of the Forum or who belittle the individuals who are enjoying their player.

Anyone know how I can display DivX subtitles using Oppo ?

The oppo does play divx subtitles. My srt files have the same filename as the avi file. Pressing the subtitle button after starting the movie will select and turn on the subtitles. I believe the Oppo supports other subtitle formats also.

In response to Javry's comments, I don't consider the Oppo "glitchy." It performs better upconverting via DVI to 1080i than did my Bravo D2 which was considered tops when I bought it. I now use the Oppo also as my CD music player. I bought it so I could play Region 2 DVDs and still upconvert, etc. It does so flawlessly, based on viewing four of the latest (Third Season) Foyle's War Region 2 DVDs. That's about 370 viewing minutes. It is stable. Every time I turn it on, I smile. Am I glad I bought it? You bet. But, if someone asks could it be a little better, of course. Nothing is perfect. So, I suggest that the lip sync issue might be addressed. It occurs occasionally and it is easily remedied by my stopping the disk, reversing for a few frames, and restarting. It's no bother because about that time - usually in the middle of a film - my bladder needs relief anyway. It's not an issue that's unique to Oppo. And, by the way, thanks for asking.

With just about every other piece of consumer video-audio electronics I've owned, there is no option for improvement other than wait for next year's model - and hope. With the Bravo D2, there were a couple of firmware upgrades to remedy defects. In one instance the new firmware introduced a new problem.

But there was no pursuit of excellence. And, certainly no solicitation of feedback from users. In that regard, I find Oppo is unique. Knowing what I know now, would I buy my Oppo again? Absolutely.

Dana

drbonbi-

I too replaced a Bravo D2 with the Oppo and am relatively happy.

The D2 probably had a better picture in my opinion when it worked. But that's the key--"when it worked." The thing was so poorly built and flaky that it would not load many discs, would stop working for a while unless you physically pulled the power cord (which would cause you to have to reset all the player settings, including DVI, picture controls, etc.).

Quite a pain. Twice, I even had to yank the thing for a couple days off of power and then it started working again.

Anyway, the Oppo so far "just works!" I have seen some shimmering, and some audio sync, but not enough to ruin the movie watching experience for me at all. And nobody else in my theater even notices it.

When my wife puts in a DVD with 8 kids wanting a movie, it just plays. With the D2, it was a major ordeal and source of frustration for her (and contributed to more than one fight with me).

Could I go ahead and drop $3500 for the 5910? Probably. Would it be so much better that it would be worth the $3300 difference to me? NO!

So, until HD-DVD/Blu-ray are here, this thing is a godsend. And with the Oppo efforts to fix the few (minor) problems, I think it will get even better.

If you don't like the player, simply take them up on their generous offer to return it and go try something else. I tried a Samsung and returned it after 20 minutes due to a terrible picture and inability to adjust black levels.

The post doesn't concern uninformed speculation and opinions. Speculate away. The post concerns betas and the resultant damages that can arise from their public discussion. There is a difference.A difference to whom? We don't know someone is a beta tester who is talking from actual experience, any moreso than when anyone talks about anything here on the internet. I can say I am a beta tester for the new Denon 5920 and go on and on about its' problems and performance... but, just as I said, whether or not someone is a beta tester talking about a beta, or J6P giving his opinion on his VHS image into his 20" 4:3 Sony, whatever anyone says is only just that to the rest of us... heresay. We each need to take what we read with a grain of salt when it comes to opinions and related subjective experiences.

I do agree with Paul on at least one thing.
In one of the past beta's in which I was involved, the manufacturer released us midway through the beta from our NDA, so that we could go online and answer questions and talk about the new unit we were testing. It was one of the worse online experiences of my life. :(

Hi-

Anyone know how I can display DivX subtitles using Oppo ?

In addition to the SRT subs that Ja Phule mentioned, it also plays SSA subs. And as he also said, just hit the SUBTITLE button on the remote. This assumes you have good subs, and they're not corrupt in any way. I don't know which, if any, other text sub formats it plays, but those two are perhaps the most common, and it's an easy matter to convert from one text format to another.

If your subs are in idx/sub format, then I'm not positive, as I haven't tried, but I don't believe they'll play (someone that's tried please correct me if I'm wrong). You may have to convert them to one of the text sub formats by OCRing them using SubtitleWorkshop or SubResynch or some such.

I didn't know the sharpness was still set to 'low' in the new beta firmware... I'm surprised, you'd think it would be easy to flag that to OFF.

My guess is that will help shimmering and ringing a lot.

there's lot's of firmware upgrades and design revisions to go before I would give this player the top honors commensurate with the Secrets Shootout.

it's only reasonable to expect that when a player reaches the level of notoriety in Secrets that this one has, it should come with the understanding that some level of stability has been achieved in the supporting mechanisms of the player.

the Secrets Shootouts are an unequaled source for gathering information about what's hot and what's not in A/V.....so I don't want to pour too much water on their efforts. But perhaps it's time to include some additional criteria before giving a player the kind of applause given to this one.

The Secrets guys are pretty explicit about what they are attempting to do with the Shootout. They are measuring very specific criteria of video performance. If people place undue emphasis on the results, I don't see that as Secrets' fault.

As for the Oppo, it achieved the score it did for one reason, and one reason only. It passed the various core performance and deinterlacing tests that Kris threw at it. Whether there should be an additional category for subjective things like, "People on the forums have noticed X,Y and Z problems" can be debated, but with respect to the tests performed by Secrets, the Oppo deserves exactly the score it received. Whether that score will translate into a picture or performance that meets an individual's needs is a question the individual will have to answer.

If your subs are in idx/sub format, then I'm not positive, as I haven't tried, but I don't believe they'll play (someone that's tried please correct me if I'm wrong).

I have tested .idx/.sub format and it works just fine.

I didn't know the sharpness was still set to 'low' in the new beta firmware... I'm surprised, you'd think it would be easy to flag that to OFF.

My guess is that will help shimmering and ringing a lot. I believe Oppo already HAS turned the Faroudja's sharpness off (for the "low" setting).

A few of us now agree that the majority of the remaining edge enhancement is coming from the Mediatek chip, not Faroudja.

Gary

Stacy, well put. Keep a copy of that and use it often.

I said I have doubts about Oppo fixing these problems because:

Shimmering - a forum member who is beta testing the new firmware says that turning off the Faroudja processing (i.e. sharpness) does NOT fix the shimmering. We were all assuming this would do the trick, and it reportedly doesn't. What more can they do??

Audio sync. Oppo's response to this has been to discuss the possibility of having a user-selectable audio delay in the unit. I'm sorry, but this is NOT anywhere close to being a fix!

And yes, 2:2 pulldown problems only affects PAL, but PAL output is a major reason I bought this player.

Of course there is no such thing as a perfect DVD player, but don't ask me what player I've ever had that did what it was supposed to do because the answer is ALL OF THEM.

My Sony plays DVDs and has great picture and sound. All the features work.

My cheap Sampo worked great from day one, and every feature IT had (PAL, VCD, SVCD, MP3, CF slot, etc) worked perfectly for 3 years.

Call me crazy, but when I bought the Oppo I actually expected it to work properly and have a picture and sound comparable to your average DVD player. Unfortunately, the picture is inferior and out of sync audio is not typical.

Yes, the Oppo has a lot of features and is very cheap, but come on guys, how can anyone say with a straight face that it's worth the tradeoff of an inferior picture and sound!? That's like saying you can forgive a car that doesn't drive well because it has tons of options!

As I have said from day one, I WANT to love the Oppo. Their customer service IS great and I salute them for having a such a close relationship with their users. It's great that they pledge to fix these issues, but it's been what, 6 months since the player was released and their latest attempt to address the major issues still isn't working?

Are they so sure they will fix these problems that they'll offer to refund everyone's money if they can't be fixed by a certain date?

Your posts seem to be slowly degenerating from constructive criticism to bashing.

The Oppo is an excellent player, and as more then one AVSer has pointed out, your display's resolution does not correspond to any of the Oppo's settings. Your display also has a inbuilt Farjouda processor, the same type as the one on the Oppo, so it will rescale an image sent by the Oppo. This is the reason you experience no improvement, infact, the doublescaling by both the Oppo and your display can cause problems or anomalies with the image.

Remember that the new beta the player was testing was a beta, the entire point of a beta is to test the new solutions and to see whether they improved the player, in this case, shimmering was not improved.

The audio sync is barely noticeable, and in your case exaggerated because of the fact your display has a inbuilt Farjouda processor, thereby doubling the audio sync and bringing it into the range of audibility.

Please recall that all players equipped with the Farjouda chipset have this issue, from the humble Oppo to the expensive Denon 3910. The majority of upscaling DVD players such as the Oppo and some displays such as your projector use the Farjouda chipset, and are prone to this problem.

Oppo's solution is a simple one, while a selectable delay will not nullify the audio sync completely, it will average the delay between audio and video, and therefore make the sync issue below 60ms, the standard for A/V sync. Human ears cannot detect a sync issue below 50-60ms.

2:2 pulldown only affects old European PAL dvds, and is not a issue most users consider a problem. Even with this, Oppo is adding another mode which supports 2:2 pulldown.

Your personal experience with the Oppo is the product of the fact that the Oppo does not support your projectors resolution coupled with the fact that your display already had a inbuilt Farjouda processor.

During the past 6 months Oppo has released numerous updates and has actively involved users in finding solutions to the multitude of problems this player has had when it was first released. Remember that, with the latest beta firmware, the only outstanding issue that needs to be fixed is the shimmering, and Oppo is closing in on it slowly.

Rather than coming to this Forum to air your "opinions" (most of which are completely irrelevant to the general discussion at this point in time), I would suggest you go find another player. NOBODY is holding a gun to your head forcing you to use the DV971H; if you are past the return period, you can sell the player. If your software playback needs are such that only a particular player will suffice, then buy that player; owners of exotic projectors should contact their projector's manufacturer to obtain recommendations on compatible players. No manufacturer is under any obligation whatsoever to produce a player that will play every variation of software on the market, at every possible resolution, with guaranteed compatibility with all types of displays. To seriously expect that is actually ridiculous!

Oppo Digital has done a commendable job of addressing the concerns and issues raised by the posters here, yet there are some of us who are determined to make the point that the player is no good. I am particularly rankled by those who have suggested that the Secrets score achieved by the Oppo DV971H is somehow undeserved because THEY happen to own a player that, in their opinion, outperforms the Oppo. And at this player's pricepoint I think it is disgusting that some here have posted the statements they have----it's not like we're talking about the Denon DVD5910 here. But the worst of the lot are those who talk about their "old cheap so-and-so player" that does a much better job than the Oppo, when most of those units don't even scale or have DVI or HDMI outputs. Aren't we comparing apples to oranges when we do that???

This will be my last visit to this thread, as I'm happy with my Oppo and the way it performs now. So if any of you have a problem with anything in my post, please feel free to PM me so I can respond accordingly.

Any word on the Dual-Layer blanks? Anyone able to play them with this player?

I don't know if it was in this thread or the other long Oppo thread, but I posted that I had tried two DL Verbatim DVD+R discs that I burned with Nero and the Oppo didn't recognize either, although my Pioneer did. A few other people reported that they had been successful with DL on the Oppo, one using Roxio for burning, I think, and one maybe Nero but on a Mac. I think the blanks used were Verbatim.

It seems like DL is hit-or-miss, and not just with the Oppo.

As with regular dvdr media, it really depends on many factors including what media/brand, burn speed, burner, burner software, and dvd player. It is best to find a working combination and stick with it.

It would also help to set the booktype on the dvdr dl to dvd-rom for better compatibility.

Hey Guys,

Based on what I have read, and I only found this thread yesterday, compatibility between components seems a key. Can anyone evaluate the performance of the Oppo with a KDF-70XBR950. On a side note, I have notice the DVI on the Wega has a slightly different configuration than that on the Oppo. are they compatible? Have contacted Oppo via email with same questions. I'm assuming I don't want to use the component connection.

Thanks for the help. I'll update when I receive a response from Oppo.
Criss

Criss,

There's a DVI Tutorial here http://www.pacificcable.com/DVI_Tutorial.htm that includes pictures of various connectors that may be helpful.

Dana

Thanks Dana, great source. DVI problem solved.

Criss

Hello Criss,

Welcome to the forum!

This is about the closest report in this thread that I could find to fit your situation:

Sony projection report (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5634658&&#post5634658)

Otherwise, I don't have a projection TV of any kind and have no opinion as to the suitablity of the Oppo to the display. If the Sony has a really good scaler (I think, reportedly, it does) an upscaling player may not be necessary. A good 480i or 480p may do just fine.

Paul

Thanks Paul for the link, though now I'm a little discouraged. I currently have a Sony SLV-D500P DVD/VHS Combination Unit, which is rated as a Progressive Output (480p). Compared to the Cox HD broadcast I receive, the DVD player has a lot of room for improvement. Any thoughts anyone?


Criss

Any word on the Dual-Layer blanks? Anyone able to play them with this player?

I'm having success with DL blanks (Vertabrim) Benq burner. Using Nero to burn.

Thanks Paul for the link, though now I'm a little discouraged. I currently have a Sony SLV-D500P DVD/VHS Combination Unit, which is rated as a Progressive Output (480p). Compared to the Cox HD broadcast I receive, the DVD player has a lot of room for improvement. Any thoughts anyone?


Criss

Don't expect DVD to ever look as good as HD. DVD is only 720x480. An upconverting dvd player will scale it to HDTV resolutions, but it cannot add resolution and information to make it look like HDTV.

Hello

I watched In Good Company and didn't notice any lipsync issues. It worked perfectly. I noticed lip sync in other DVD's though. like Pirates of the Carribean, I notice a little Lip sync. I don't notice it in A Series of Unfortunate Events, and I did notice quite a bit in Bedazzaled.

Thanks Paul for the link, though now I'm a little discouraged. I currently have a Sony SLV-D500P DVD/VHS Combination Unit, which is rated as a Progressive Output (480p). Compared to the Cox HD broadcast I receive, the DVD player has a lot of room for improvement. Any thoughts anyone? Ja Phule is right about true HD being better than DVD. But seriously, another thing to consider - Progressive 480p can be done well, or done very badly. The Oppo's Faroudja chip has its quirks, but its de-interlacing and scaling is spectacular when compared with some 480p players. You would use the 720p output for your LCD set. One thing to know: HDTV's come with their own deinterlacing and scaling, so the image may already look great with a 480i signal. But an upscaling player like the Oppo does a little better, and will give you another advantage - a fully digital connection, eliminating all the noise and other artifacts that are introduced by analog connections.

Gary

I regret my discussing the current beta earlier, but when I saw others discussing it, I foolishly jumped in.

I regret it as well. I'm sorry I brought it up. I did not mean to open up this can of worms. I would just like us to move on to a more useful topic of discussion, such as thinking of other possible causes for the shimmer artifact.

yes, my projector also has Faroudja processing... but someone previously had explained that when I use the DVI connection, it bypasses the projector's processing. I don't know for a fact if this is true, but definitely when I use DVI, the Faroudja controls in the projector are not available.

GSB: Are you saying Oppo has already turned sharpness off and named it "low?" talk about confusing, why not just add a setting called "off?" Oppo also responded to an email saying that they are working on turning off the sharpness, so between these two I suspect that it's still in there.

I see this shimmer effect everywhere. I see it in photos, HDTV broadcasts from Discover and TNT, and DVDs that I watch on the Oppo.

I know that this is a hot topic, but could it be that there is no answer?

Personally, when I notice things like shimmer I realize that I'm not watching the movies, I'm watching the player. I stop ASAP and just enjoy the movie. This player is incredilbe, especially considering the price point.

Really folks, why is this player getting hammered by some here?

I've regularly seen shimmer using every DVD player I've owned (which is many) with the exception of my Panasonic RP-91 using SDI; with component out, the RP-91 has some shimmer, but it's still less than with the Oppo using DVI. The Oppo has less shimmer in general though than the new Panasonic DVD recorder I just bought last week (the DMR-ES10), which still has a lot of shimmer whether using the Soft picture mode or the sharper Fine mode.

Having said that, I agree, the Oppo is an incredible player and may yet be a great one with a couple more firmware upgrades.

Thanks guys for all the input. I have enjoyed a day of surfing equipment and threads, but.... Turns out my current sony DVD player isn't so bad. I have always wondered if the progressive scan mode was engaged as default. Nothing in setup, no reference on screen, the button on the face plate has no distinctive on/off position. Never have been able to see a difference in picture quality as I press the button. I'm moments away from buying the Sony DVP-NS975V, finished cable research, but can't resist playing with the old sony one more time. It occurs to me that maybe I need to stop the CD playing and then press the progressive scan button, but nothing. And then, all of a sudden, the black button illuminates bight blue. Wow, this must mean something. CD back to play, wow, looks better. Good enough to hang in there until someone get the shimmer bugs and white or black crush out of these early attempts at high definition.

So Paul is every bit as smart as you all have known (see previous thread no. 2206). And I've just done my best impression of my wife, since jan 04. The only question is, what is the first movie, that I have previously watched over the last 18 month, that I should watch again. Matrix revolution I think.

I'll keep watching this thread, looking forwards to the next real step in HD DVD players. That Oppo really is a teaser.

Thanks again, Criss

Man, I can hardly wait until it gets dark and I can really make a comparison. Anybody know when Episode III comes out?

Criss,

Just to be sure that you have done due dilligence in your research, have you read the review here http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all&type=DVD+Player&manufacturer=5&maxprice=0&deInt=0&mpeg=0#SonyDVP-NS975V%20(Component)
about the Sony DVP-NS975V?

Dana

I think Criss *isn't* buying a DVD player just yet. He was about to when he discovered the progressive scan function of his current Sony DVD player.

As I understand his post he's sticking with his original DVD player for the time being and enjoying some newfound, improved picture quality.

Paul

I'm sure sensibilities and sensitivities play a key part in what people are perceiving here, especially the shimmering jaggies.

But to quote Richard Dreyfuss in CE3K: Hey, I did not want to see this!

I try NOT to notice the shimmers*, but they distract me into noticing them.

I was watching the opening of ROTK--certainly as engrossing as any movie scene, and 3 times in the first few minutes I was distracted by shimmers: in the bark of the trees (parallel diagonal lines), in the dark wet hair against fair hobbit skin, and one other time.

I do not try to see them. I do not want to see them. They distract me into seeing them.

I too appreciate Oppo's customer responsiveness, quick firmware upgrades, etc. It's part of what gave me the confidence to buy.

But the analogy above to a car that doesn't drive well but is loaded with options is apt. If the artifacts rise to the level of regular distraction (and if the video/audio synch problem continues), then both sound and picture are--fatally, for me--flawed.

Just my perception.

- Tom

*And to answer your question, yes, it's a dessert topping AND a floor wax.

We just watched Brother Bear tonight, and the MB (if that was what it was) was pretty bad. Giventhe use of Faroudja I knew it was a possibility when I bought the Oppo but hoped that I might get lucky with the interaction between the player and my JVC HD-ILA. For those keeping score at home, it looks like MB wins this round.

Throughout the movie there were odd color patterns in things that were supposed to be a solid color. Like faces, clothes. At times it was almost like a rippling effect. At others, it looked like when you play with those special effects like solarization or neon glow in Paintshop Pro.

Just to convince myself that it was the Oppo causing this and not the TV I tried the DVD with my Pioneer DV-45 and saw no evidence of this particular problem. I suppose the only good news is that I haven't seen this particular problem, at least to this degree, on anything else.

Stacy, if you have a specific scene in Brother Bear where you saw the MB, let me know, and I can check it on my Oppo/JVC SX21 combo.

- Tom

I'm not exaggerating when I say I saw it throughout. The scene I've been going to while comparing the Pioneer and Oppo starts with the scene where they have the funeral for Sitka. Watch the sky behind the characters. Then, when it shows the closeups of the faces of Kenai and his brother, the outer outline of the face is one color, the inner portion of the face, including the eyes, nose and mouth, has the electric quality and is a different shade.

You can also check the scene where all the bears are at the salmon run. What I'm seeing is strange patterns in the coats of each bear, while the moose (what's the plural of moose? Meese?) have their own strange horizontal pattern, like the fur is striped. These same patterns also appear in the background in solid colors, whether rocks, trees, or sky.

Try it out and let me know what you see and the type of display. If you have trouble finding scenes that show anything, I'll check the DVD again and give you chapter numbers and times. If nothing else maybe we can narrow down displays that show the problem and those that don't.

We just watched Brother Bear tonight, and the MB (if that was what it was) was pretty bad. Giventhe use of Faroudja I knew it was a possibility when I bought the Oppo but hoped that I might get lucky with the interaction between the player and my JVC HD-ILA. For those keeping score at home, it looks like MB wins this round.

Throughout the movie there were odd color patterns in things that were supposed to be a solid color. Like faces, clothes. At times it was almost like a rippling effect. At others, it looked like when you play with those special effects like solarization or neon glow in Paintshop Pro.

Just to convince myself that it was the Oppo causing this and not the TV I tried the DVD with my Pioneer DV-45 and saw no evidence of this particular problem. I suppose the only good news is that I haven't seen this particular problem, at least to this degree, on anything else.


Just so you know, the problems you describe with Brother Bear have more to do with the disc than with the player. Brother Bear is somewhat notorious for its poor, overly compressed image. You're most likely seeing a lot of the color banding visible in the transfer. Although your Pioneer isn't revealing the problem, it is easily spotted on many other players. Chances are that the Oppo is just making the problem that much more obvious with the player's increased clarity.

Cliff

Stacy, I did compare the Brother Bear scenes with the Oppo and the Bravo D1, using the JVC SX21 projected on a 122" Firewalk.

With both players I saw some of the stripes; perhaps more clearly saw them with the Oppo. This might corroborate what Cliff was saying about the poor quality of the image on the Brother Bear DVD.

If there's another check anyone wants me to run, comparing the Bravo to the Oppo, let me know and I'll do what I can.

- Tom

Only place i have been able to really notice shimmer is DVE demo part (that last chapter). There are those tall buildings and picture moves slowly right to left. I see shimmering in one building for maybe 1-1,5 seconds then it goes away.

After monitoring this thread for a few weeks now, I think I'll hold off on buying the Oppo until these bugs are worked out. I have a Samsung HD-841 that won't pass BTB through the DVI output but, with the help of the Avia DVD, I've got an acceptable picture through component cables. The picture actually looks very stunning. The worst thing about the 841 is the slow menu navigation / slow response. But I can put up with that until some of these bugs are fixed in the Oppo. One thing I can't stand is lip sync issues. I see shimmer occassionally too, but not often enough for it to be a distraction.

Just so you know, the problems you describe with Brother Bear have more to do with the disc than with the player.

Stacy, I did compare the Brother Bear scenes with the Oppo and the Bravo D1, using the JVC SX21 projected on a 122" Firewalk.
With both players I saw some of the stripes; perhaps more clearly saw them with the Oppo.

Thanks for checking on that guys. Disney should really be ashamed if Brother Bear looks like that on a number of DVD players.

One thing I can't stand is lip sync issues.Not very many of us have had lip sync issues with the Oppo... so far, I've had one instance, which was repeatable on my Denon 3910, and therefore, probably attributable to the DVD itself. My Onkyo SP1000($2K MSRP) had more lip sync issues than my Oppo.

I see this shimmer effect everywhere. I see it in photos, HDTV broadcasts from Discover and TNT, and DVDs that I watch on the Oppo.

I know that this is a hot topic, but could it be that there is no answer?

Personally, when I notice things like shimmer I realize that I'm not watching the movies, I'm watching the player. I stop ASAP and just enjoy the movie. This player is incredilbe, especially considering the price point.

Really folks, why is this player getting hammered by some here?


That's the way it always is in a forum. Some people get a little frustrated and become impatient and this gets reflected in their comments. But understand, the Oppo does have some problems that are well documented and are being examined with the hope they can be lessened if not eliminated. The lip sync problem is a known symptom of the Faroudja and Oppo will try to correct that. It's important to understand also that the shimmer is an enhancement of an artifact already present on the disc but masked by many players, allowing it go largely unnoticed. Oppo is looking for the cause of this ADDED enhancement. I'm sure many will agree with me when I say, no one should have to just ignore the problems and try to enjoy the movie. If they can get it better, I want better, no matter what I paid. IF they don't succeed, then I'll have another choice to make.

The car analogy is not apt. If it were, it would be like saying:

"Car A costs $80,000 and has these 50 options included."

"Car B Costs $10,000 and also has the same options, but its windshield wipers squeak."

"Therefore, Car B sucks."


For the price point, the vertical alaising (I'm not going to call it "shimmer" because that's not what I perceive - I see alaising...) is almost a non-issue. I watched Kill Bill 1 and 2 the other day, and noticed it for possibly 20 seconds total through both movies. For $200, this thing is a Mercedes with a squeaky wiper - which the mfg. is attempting to offer a fix for no less.

"At that price" is what gets me. This is not an Oppo bash and I know why things are priced the way they are, but it still annoys me. Any DVD player, from the simplest to the most complex is capable of displaying the same awesome picture. If you read the capabilities of the chips these manufactureres use, you begin to see the added goodies are available to all players using them. Most of the additional cost is attributed to cabinet build, higher priced power supplies, sturdier transports and bracing and the list can grow on from there. Much of that stuff doesn't even have a direct relation to the amount of enjoyment one can get from the movie. It's nothing more than an endorphin for the brain. Some people want that, and I say, absolutely it should be available to those who want it. The reasons why a player fails to please (perform properly) are due to the manufacturer denying it by design or by neglect. Thanks for lettin' me rant a little. Actually I should add, Oppo isn't to blame because this player is made for them.

[QUOTE=crissg]
And then, all of a sudden, the black button illuminates bight blue. Wow, this must mean something. CD back to play, wow, looks better.

Man, I can hardly wait until it gets dark and I can really make a comparison. QUOTE]

so, sun goes down, fire up the unit with sideways, realize blue light indicates progressive scan is OFF, not on. OOPS again.

Therefore; Dana, thanks for the link. Research continues.

Criss

If the blue light means progressive "off" and the picture is better, that means the display is doing a better job at deinterlacing than the player. This is not an unusual situation -- many viewers actively seek good performing 480i players because of these results.

Paul

yes, my projector also has Faroudja processing... but someone previously had explained that when I use the DVI connection, it bypasses the projector's processing. I don't know for a fact if this is true, but definitely when I use DVI, the Faroudja controls in the projector are not available.

Mojo_LA,

Since your projector is not a standard resolution that the Oppo supports, then there has to be processing being done in the projector. It's the only way you can fill up the screen with 576 lines of horizontal resolution. The reviews of this projector have all stated that the best resolution to send is 480i. Let the Faroudja processing do it's thing and you should be happy. The Oppo is only replacing your projector's processing with the same Faroudja chipset set to output 720p or 1080i. The projector will then have to rescale this to 576p. I don't see how double the processing would allow for a better image. Do yourself a favor and find a great 480i DVD player or purchase a DVD player that can output your projector's native resolution (there are a few). All these upscaling DVD players do the same thing that your projector is doing and I think your projector does it the best.

John

If the blue light means progressive "off" and the picture is better, that means the display is doing a better job at deinterlacing than the player.What is the process structure for upconverting a DVD? If you set your Oppo for upconverted 1080i output, and turn off progressive output, does that mean that the Oppo simply upconverts the 480i to 1080i since 1080i is an interlaced(non-progressive) signal?

If the 1080i output does not undergo progressive conversion during the upconversion process, then possibly everyone who uses 1080i output should disable progressive scan on the Oppo?

merc,
I don't believe they are talking about the Oppo, they are talking about crissg's sony dvd player.

With the Oppo, you don't turn progressive on/off. Progressive and upconverted resolutions only come out of the dvi (480p, 576p, 720p, 1080i) while component will output 480i.

While not talking about the Oppo directly, I've read posts concerning scaling to 1080i which which indicate that 480i is deinterlaced to 480p then scaled to 1080p, and finally re-interlaced for output. So if you are scaling, I don't think that you can avoid the deinterlacing.

While not talking about the Oppo directly, I've read posts concerning scaling to 1080i which which indicate that 480i is deinterlaced to 480p then scaled to 1080p, and finally re-interlaced for output. So if you are scaling, I don't think that you can avoid the deinterlacing.

This is true. The scaling process works on whole film frames, not individual fields. From 480i to 1080i, the video is deinterlaced, scaled, and then reinterlaced.

Thanks for checking on that guys. Disney should really be ashamed if Brother Bear looks like that on a number of DVD players.

Wow, I'm glad this was not just me! I watched this movie months ago and just sat there thinking how bad this DVD looked! Stripes and overall blurry to me. I put it through 3 different players and it looked bad every time. Not your typical Disney picture quality at all. :(

Brother Bear was blasted at the time. Defintely *not* a *good* reference disc.

Paul

GSB: Are you saying Oppo has already turned sharpness off and named it "low?" talk about confusing, why not just add a setting called "off?" Oppo also responded to an email saying that they are working on turning off the sharpness, so between these two I suspect that it's still in there. In one of the earliest beta versions, Oppo checked the Faroudja sharpness setting and changed the "low" label to "off", but they decided to revert to "low" simply because there was still EE coming from the Mediatek chip.

Can you imagine the outcry if they had called it "off" while EE was still present?

Gary

Brother Bear was blasted at the time. Defintely *not* a *good* reference disc.

Paul
yeah....that's too bad. I think I watched this movie on my XP-30 about a year ago. It looked fine.....though I have to admit.......I was too busy enjoying the story to focus on PQ. I'll try it out on the Oppo and see how it goes. Has anyone tried the "Bionicle" series using the Oppo yet? Another good one would be Titan A&E?
Javry

I'm feeding the Infocus 4805 'DVI' from the Oppo and OPTICAL to Pre for sound.

Accessing the menu (Oppo) I need some suggestions/correct settings.

SPEAKER SET UP:
Since I'm using OPTICAL feed for sound I'm assuming I don't need to mess with anything here.

TV DISPLAY:
NORMAL/PS, NORMAL/LB, WIDE/SQZ, WIDE ?

AUDIO SET UP:
RAW, PCM?

LPCM OUT:
48K, 96K, 192K (this one is (192K) not in the manual??)

On the remote (Oppo) when I push the DVI button I get the following results, which signal format should I set the Oppo to output to the PJ?

OPPO DISPLAYS-------IF 4805 DISPLAYS

720p----------------------720p
480p----------------------480p
1080I---------------------1920x540-59Hz

Anything else I left out (settings etc.) would be appreciated.

Husker

I'm feeding the Infocus 4805 'DVI' from the Oppo and OPTICAL to Pre for sound.

Accessing the menu (Oppo) I need some suggestions/correct settings.

SPEAKER SET UP:
Since I'm using OPTICAL feed for sound I'm assuming I don't need to mess with anything here. SOUNDS RIGHT TO ME

TV DISPLAY:
NORMAL/PS, NORMAL/LB, WIDE/SQZ, WIDE ? WIDE
AUDIO SET UP:
RAW, PCM? RAW
LPCM OUT:
48K, 96K, 192K (this one is (192K) not in the manual??) 192K BY ALL MEANS

On the remote (Oppo) when I push the DVI button I get the following results, which signal format should I set the Oppo to output to the PJ?

OPPO DISPLAYS-------IF 4805 DISPLAYS

720p----------------------720p 720P If your display will support it
480p----------------------480p
1080I---------------------1920x540-59Hz

Anything else I left out (settings etc.) would be appreciated.

Husker

looks good. should work fine.
Javry

"NORMAL/PS, NORMAL/LB, WIDE/SQZ, WIDE ? "

I'd use WIDE/SQZ if one wishes to preserve, unstretched, 4:3 ratio material. There is a slight loss of 4:3 material vertical resolution if configured as such.

Paul

Hi all,

Thought i'll give this player a go but i do have some issues with it.

I currently have the player connected to a NEC 42 inch ED or Standard Definition plasma, model no: NEC 42VR5 through the DVI-D input. The resolutions it supports through the DVI connection are listed below:
- 640 x 480p @60hz
- 1280 x 720p @60hz
- 1920 x 1080i @ 60hz
- 720 x 480p @ 60hz
- 1440(720) x 480i @ 60hz
- 1920 x 1080i @ 50hz
- 720 x 576p @50hz
- 1440(720) x 576p @50hz

These resolutions are capable on the DVI-D input, which is HDCP compatible. I understand that this is not a requirement and will not cause issues with the OPPO dvd player. My issues lies with the upscaling capability on PAL and NTSC formats.

With NTSC setting: Pic quality is quite 'noisy' and quality is very poor.
On the 'Preferences' menu option, I've set the 'TV Type' to 'NTSC' and the colour system to NTSC on my plasma, the upscaling ie: 480p, 720p and 1080i works but the picture quality is quite poor.

With PAL setting: 576p functions well, but 720p and 1080i images are not centered correctly and 1/3 of left portion of the 720 & 1080i upscaled image 'fuzzess' vertically.

Within the OPPO dvd setup menu, i've set the player for 'PAL' instead of the 'AUTO' option and on the plasma setup menu, i have the tv colour option set to 'PAL'. When i press the "DVI' button on the bottom left of the OPPO remote to enable 1080i or 720p, the screen setup on 1080i shifts dramatically to the far left and is out of sync and not centered. When i manually adjust the pic to centre it, the left portion of the centred image is fuzzy and fuzzess upwards.

Anyone have these issues? Is this due to HDCP incompatibilities with the NEC DVI-D and the OPPO's DVI-D?

From your description, HDCP has nothing to do with your problems. I'm guessing that you should leave the Oppo in the "AUTO" mode, PAL or NTSC will be automatically selected according to the DVD in the player.

You need to re-read the NEC manual to see what it should be set at -- I'm guessing (again) that the Oppo should be set to either 720p or 1080i. The "quality" of the picture will depend on how good the scaling is on the NEC, since the signal will have to be scaled no matter what the Oppo output is set to.

Hi all,

Thought i'll give this player a go but i do have some issues with it.

I currently have the player connected to a NEC 42 inch ED or Standard Definition plasma, model no: NEC 42VR5 through the DVI-D input. The resolutions it supports through the DVI connection are listed below:
- 640 x 480p @60hz
- 1280 x 720p @60hz
- 1920 x 1080i @ 60hz
- 720 x 480p @ 60hz
- 1440(720) x 480i @ 60hz
- 1920 x 1080i @ 50hz
- 720 x 576p @50hz
- 1440(720) x 576p @50hz

These resolutions are capable on the DVI-D input, which is HDCP compatible. I understand that this is not a requirement and will not cause issues with the OPPO dvd player. My issues lies with the upscaling capability on PAL and NTSC formats.

With NTSC setting: Pic quality is quite 'noisy' and quality is very poor.
On the 'Preferences' menu option, I've set the 'TV Type' to 'NTSC' and the colour system to NTSC on my plasma, the upscaling ie: 480p, 720p and 1080i works but the picture quality is quite poor.

With PAL setting: 576p functions well, but 720p and 1080i images are not centered correctly and 1/3 of left portion of the 720 & 1080i upscaled image 'fuzzess' vertically.

Within the OPPO dvd setup menu, i've set the player for 'PAL' instead of the 'AUTO' option and on the plasma setup menu, i have the tv colour option set to 'PAL'. When i press the "DVI' button on the bottom left of the OPPO remote to enable 1080i or 720p, the screen setup on 1080i shifts dramatically to the far left and is out of sync and not centered. When i manually adjust the pic to centre it, the left portion of the centred image is fuzzy and fuzzess upwards.

Anyone have these issues? Is this due to HDCP incompatibilities with the NEC DVI-D and the OPPO's DVI-D?


As your display is not a true HDTV, it will have to scale the image no matter what, this will result in a loss of quality and the off centerness you describe.

A true HDTV is one which is natively 720p or larger.

Claus,
Thanks for your input on this matter. I will give this a go. I will set the Oppo TV setup to 'Auto' and do the same on the NEC Plasma..i'll post the outcome from that tomorrow..

As someone who i looking into buying this unit this week, can I get a quick rundown of the problems it has?

Shimmering, AV sync and macroblocking.

With a well mastered disc, you will hardly see shimmering for more then 20 seconds, if you have a not so well mastered disc, such as one with vertical edge enhancement already on the master, shimmering will be a bit worse and may become annoying.

AV sync is something that is caused by the Farjouda chipset, and pausing and restarting the player normally fixes the problem. The problem occurs randomly, and can occur in any portion of the disc, but is always fixed by pausing and playing. It manifests itself on average of once every 3-4 movies.

Macroblocking is an MPEG artifact that is the result of a highly compressed DVD, the Farjouda chip is known to enhance this problem. This problem is also enhanced by displays with false contouring. With a well mastered disc, this problem is not visible, but with a disc which contains highly compressed material such as "Brother Bear" and "The Princess Diaries", you are likely to notice it. You will also notice it on older players, althought the noise and analog connection will result in a less clear signal which will mask the problem to some degree.

While from the posts in these forums it may seem that the Oppo is laden with problems, it is in fact, one of the best players in it's price range. All players from the cheap Cyberhome to the 5910 suffer their share of problems.

The Oppo has very few problems for a DVD player, problems which the manafacture is dedicated to staming out.

Within the OPPO dvd setup menu, i've set the player for 'PAL' instead of the 'AUTO' option and on the plasma setup menu, i have the tv colour option set to 'PAL'. When i press the "DVI' button on the bottom left of the OPPO remote to enable 1080i or 720p, the screen setup on 1080i shifts dramatically to the far left and is out of sync and not centered. When i manually adjust the pic to centre it, the left portion of the centred image is fuzzy and fuzzess upwards.

Anyone have these issues? Is this due to HDCP incompatibilities with the NEC DVI-D and the OPPO's DVI-D?

I'm running my Oppo on 42" Zenith plasma EDTV that handles both PAL and NTSC. I've got mine set at 1080i for the best pic (I believe the TV may downconvert it to 540p, just a theory I'm working with but it is noticably better than 480p or 720p. But I digress.) When I first set it up at 1080i I had to re-adjust my screen, it was off to the right a bit. Once I made the adjustment, no problem. I used the Avia Overscan pattern to adjust the screen to be framed properly. 720p did the same thing, just not as much. Neither would be considered 'dramatic.' I also didn't/haven't experienced the fuzziness you mention.

I messed around with PAL and found that it looked best at 480p (576p, I guess?) compared to the 720p or 1080i. I'd suggest setting it to Auto or PAL (I'm assuming you're in a PAL country) and leave it at 576p.

Renaldow,

Thanks for confirming this and i do concur with what you have said about the player...and yes i do live in Australia...which conforms to the PAL standards.

with the PAL setup, it does look at its best at 576p.., i guess i'll just leave it to 576p and learn to live with it.

But it would be nice, its not a life/death situation if i cant get this to work..but to get it to upconvert to 1080i properly ..

cheers