I just purchased the Oppo 971 for my Infocus 4805, hopefully it'll look great!

This is a known issue with the Oppo. It seems people using dvd recorders are having issues with playback on the Oppo.

This is really disappointing. I did a search on this thread and found other posts about people having problems playing back DVDs burned on DVD recorders. If I had known this before I would never have bought it.

I tried calling the Oppo number but get a message that there is "no one available" to answer my call. I have emailed them to get an RMA number so that I can return it. I hope that they respond.

Rontop,

What is the Sony display model number? I did a quick look in the thread and didn't see a model number.

Paul

Anyone using the OPPO with a Pioneer plasma. I have the 5060 and would like some ideas on video settings ?? I am using DVI-HDMI and tried 480p-720p-1080i and noticed sligth improvements at 720p-1080i with some movie titles. ie Last Samurai looks better at 720p than 480p imo

Movies are all widescreen format and I use the zoom function to get rid of the bars since I am in the break-in period for my Plasma

I have followed Paul video settings for the OPPO with noise reduction and edge enhancements, sharpness and trueLife at OFF. Now I am looking for some ideas on the Pioneer display for video settings.

Thanks

Pete

I just purchased the Oppo 971 for my Infocus 4805, hopefully it'll look great!

Please don't take this the wrong way, but why pair an Oppo with an IF 4805? I think it's safe to say that the main reason people here buy the Oppo is for its upscaling and deinterlacing for HD monitors, or for ED monitors (480p/576p) that lack a decent deinterlacer. The 4805 is neither. It has the basically the same high-quality deinterlacing circuitry as the Oppo (DCDi), and is only 480p, so there's no scaling of the DVD source required. That's not to say the Oppo doesn't have some other nice capabilities, but you could probably get many of those same features in a non-upconverting player for about 1/2 the price of the Oppo. I guess maybe the fact that it has a digital (DVI) output would be one reason to pick the Oppo (to avoid an unnecessary digital-analog-digital signal path), but I would assume that there are cheaper players with DVI/HDMI out there(?).

Again, not trying to be a jerk, just figured you might want to save a few bucks and let the 4805 do the work. I doubt you'll be able to see a difference between a basic $80 dvd player and an Oppo on a 4805.

-Sean

I guess maybe the fact that it has a digital (DVI) output would be one reason to pick the Oppo (to avoid an unnecessary digital-analog-digital signal path), but I would assume that there are cheaper players with DVI/HDMI out there(?).

Again, not trying to be a jerk, just figured you might want to save a few bucks and let the 4805 do the work. I doubt you'll be able to see a difference between a basic $80 dvd player and an Oppo on a 4805. You are mostly correct, since the projector already has a Faroudja processor. As you mentioned, though, an all-digital connection is highly desirable.

The only trouble is, there are currently no inexpensive DVD players that will do 480i on a DVI/HDMI connection (except the DV970H that should be released later this year). So the next best thing is a 480p DVI/HDMI player. But the deinterlacing on cheap 480p players is terrible. So currently, the cheapest option would be a good Faroudja player. Enter OPPO.

I do agree that the 4805 has an odd resolution that the OPPO cannot match, so the projector will have to scale the signal. A custom resolution to support the 4805 is on the firmware wishlist, though, so maybe one day...

Personally, I am dying to get my hands on a DV970H for 480i HDMI.

Gary

That's not to say the Oppo doesn't have some other nice capabilities, but you could probably get many of those same features in a non-upconverting player for about 1/2 the price of the Oppo. I guess maybe the fact that it has a digital (DVI) output would be one reason to pick the Oppo (to avoid an unnecessary digital-analog-digital signal path), but I would assume that there are cheaper players with DVI/HDMI out there(?).
Again, not trying to be a jerk, just figured you might want to save a few bucks and let the 4805 do the work. I doubt you'll be able to see a difference between a basic $80 dvd player and an Oppo on a 4805.

-Sean

I dont agree...I am currently running my OPPO at 480p over dvi to my hitachi 57s500 and it looks fantastic!!!

I also dont believe that there are any players out there for $80 that would outperform this player......in fact, i would say that even if you didnt upscale with this player it is well worth $200, and would those other players be region free as well as have dvd audio or hdcp free and have dvi???

As far as im concerned, OPPO should raise the price it is too cheap....lol

Yesterday was this thread's one-year anniversary. I would like to thank all contributors to this thread. Everyone has had a part in making the Oppo DV-971H one of the best values in DVD players and one of the best DVD players ever, period!

Paul

Thanks Paul......you have done a great job providing us with information and tips to get the best out of this awesome player......To anyone with a Hitachi 57s500 rptv try running 480p over dvi...tell me, do you think it looks better than 1080i over dvi??to me it does and i dont know why......

Just ordered a Sony XD30XS955, my first HDTV!

I searched the thread for info on the OPPO and this TV, but didn't really get much...

Would it be a good fit with this set? Does the macroblocking problem affect it?

How does it handle backup copies?

Thanks a lot for any help.

I just purchased the Oppo 971 for my Infocus 4805, hopefully it'll look great!

I was about to do the same. My old progressive DVD player is on its last legs. Half of my DVD library is non-region 1 and I NEED a region free player to go with my new 4805 (just upgrading from the X1). It also seems like a good investment for the future when I might want upconversion on my non-r1 discs (for R1s I will likely use a blu-ray player when the time comes). But some of the talk I've seen about a new player from oppo have given me pause. I'm probably not going to go for the 970h, but a 972h or some other replacement may have new features worth waiting for (such as a setting to match the 4805's resolution perhaps?). But will it have a region free option? Anyone have any advice on this? Buy the 971h and enjoy it now or wait a few months and hope my old player doesn't die in the meantime?

[QUOTE=Paul Bigelow]Yesterday was this thread's one-year anniversary. I would like to thank all contributors to this thread. Everyone has had a part in making the Oppo DV-971H one of the best values in DVD players and one of the best DVD players ever, period!

Paul,
Happy Anniversary,
The Oppo, along with this thread and AVS in general, has become a mainstay in my ongoing home theater obsession/hobby.
I'm actually waiting on Oppo to introduce their DVR because I won't buy one from another company. I'm sure there will then be another piece of equipment and a new thread to obsess about. Thanks again for all your help and support.
b.

Why are you switching back and forth from 720p to 480p? Why not just leave the player at one and be done with it?

Josh,

On my Sony RPLCD I have to switch between 720p and 480p to maintain the correct aspect ratio when the OPPO is in the "Wide" mode. I do not use the "Wide/Sqz" as the loss of resolution with 4:3 material is significant with my set-up.

-Toonces

Yesterday was this thread's one-year anniversary. I would like to thank all contributors to this thread. Everyone has had a part in making the Oppo DV-971H one of the best values in DVD players and one of the best DVD players ever, period!

Paul

Paul,

The two OPPO threads are the email equivalent of crack...uncontrollably addictive... :D

-Toonces

I've had my oppo for over a month now and I am very satisfied with my purchase.
To me 1080i looks very grainy on my tv =\, i bought this dvd player cause i was told it was the best for the price and for my hdtv, i had upconversion in mind, my tv only supports 480p and 1080i, upconversion is not an option for me since tv looks better on 480p, with that being said i am still pleased with my purchase

I have a request though that maybe can get to OPPO and put in their next firmware update.

I don't like the fact that if the tray is open and u turn the player off the tray doesn't automatically close. All my previous dvd players automatically close the tray if it is opened and you turn it off. I know this isnt a big issue, but it would be convenient.

if any of you guys think this would be a good idea support me =P, maybe we can get oppo to add this to the players

This is really disappointing. I did a search on this thread and found other posts about people having problems playing back DVDs burned on DVD recorders. If I had known this before I would never have bought it.

I just got my Oppo on Friday [ordered direct, has latest firmware & remote]. Connected to Maxent MX-42X3 plasma HD monitor via DVI to HDMI input. Commercial DVDs seem fine. Disks recorded on my GoVideo VR3930 have stutter. On scenes with motion, stutter / hesitation is noticeable every 20 - 30 seconds. Seems worse on scenes with a lot of motion. I looked at disks recorded on Memorex 4X DVD-R media, Princo 4X DVD-R and some generic CompUSA 1X DVD-R and seeing the same issue.

Overall, I'm pleased with performance of the unit, with the exception of this one issue. I need to spend more time testing before making additional comments. Any suggestions are welcome. No, I have not calibrated the display yet & need to find Avia or other software before I go too far. But I don't think calibration will effect the stutter.

I have a request though that maybe can get to OPPO and put in their next firmware update.

I don't like the fact that if the tray is open and u turn the player off the tray doesn't automatically close. All my previous dvd players automatically close the tray if it is opened and you turn it off. I know this isnt a big issue, but it would be convenient. OPPO made this feature available in a previous firmware release, but hardware limitations caused unpredictable results in climates with high static, so, due to the complaints, OPPO was forced to disable this feature.

Use the OFF button on your remote instead - that closes the tray automatically.

Gary

Disks recorded on my GoVideo VR3930 have stutter. On scenes with motion, stutter / hesitation is noticeable every 20 - 30 seconds. Seems worse on scenes with a lot of motion. I looked at disks recorded on Memorex 4X DVD-R media, Princo 4X DVD-R and some generic CompUSA 1X DVD-R and seeing the same issue.



Could be the way you are burning it, the cheap media or your burner. Playback on a DVD Player is affected alot by all 3 factors. Hopefully it is the media and not your burner. I use Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden. My Oppo plays everything I burn like a champ! I use Nero and an external Sony DVD Burner. I always burn at 4x and I do not do other things while burning.

Just ordered a Sony XD30XS955, my first HDTV!

I searched the thread for info on the OPPO and this TV, but didn't really get much...

Would it be a good fit with this set? Does the macroblocking problem affect it?

How does it handle backup copies?

Thanks a lot for any help.

check out this thread in the Direct view displays.......Anybody have a 30XS955 hooked to an OPPO hears a link if it works http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=619779


:confused: I have a question in the audio setup do you think I should set all the speakers to large and the subwoofer to off and let the AVR do all that or is that just for the multi channel output? :confused:

Jerm357,

Those settings are for the RCA analog audio outputs. If you're using the coax/optical digital out then those settings have no effect.

I have a guide to the Oppo settings in the first post of this thread.

Paul

I finally got some time to play around with a problem I am having with green and red spots using the HP 65" TV and Oppo DVD player. What I found is that component from the DVD player works fine (480i) whereas HDMI (480p on up to 1080i) is screwed up. So basically I'm stuck using component outputs from the DVD player :(

There was a suggestion about turning saturation down and sure enough that fixed the problem but only because there wasn't any color left... I used Avia to setup the player at 1080i/TV and even some of the Avia frames had green spots in them. All the actual test patterns where fine however and as expected after adjusting the settings I ended up back to normal saturation levels so that the problem is back.

Another suggestion was to reset the Oppo player. I didn't see how to do that ... I did try various modes on the TV and all modes had the problem. Hopefully someone can take a look at the picture I put in the photo area listed below (assuming I do this correctly...) and give some other suggestions. A friend of mine mentioned that perhaps the HDMI/DVI cable from Oppo was junk and should be replaced but I thought cable quality shouldn't be an issue with HDMI/DVI plus I would expect them to send me a decent cable.

http://gallery.avsforum.com/showphoto.php/photo/18708/size/big

This is really disappointing. I did a search on this thread and found other posts about people having problems playing back DVDs burned on DVD recorders. If I had known this before I would never have bought it.

I tried calling the Oppo number but get a message that there is "no one available" to answer my call. I have emailed them to get an RMA number so that I can return it. I hope that they respond.

One of the posts you might have seen was from me. I have that problem with DVD's recorded on an Emrson recorder, and have exchanged emails with others who have other brands of dvd recorders. I have also exchanged email with oppo and they even requested some dvds a couple of months ago. But no resolution yet. Even with this problem, the recording look much better with my oppo than on my previous dvd player.

Also, I recently bought a Pioneer 531 dvd recorder. It does not have the same problem. DVD's made from the Pioneer unit (copied onto DVD from the Pioneer hard drive) play fine (although someone with a Pioneer 220 reported a stuttering problem as well). Also, DVD's burned on my PC play fine, the problem seems to be associated with only some set top standalone recorders.

Oppo support as acknowledged the problem and has been able to reproduce it, but hasnt resolved it yet. I'm still satisfied with the customer support, response.

Rick

Could be the way you are burning it, the cheap media or your burner. Playback on a DVD Player is affected alot by all 3 factors. Hopefully it is the media and not your burner. I use Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden. My Oppo plays everything I burn like a champ! I use Nero and an external Sony DVD Burner. I always burn at 4x and I do not do other things while burning.

As I posted earlier the stutter happens on DVD-Rs made using 4 different DVD recorders (i.e., two Sony GX300s, a Sony GX7, and a Panasonic ES10 - all set top boxes not PC based DVD burners) that I have when using Taiyo Yuden DVD-R media. The stutter problem does not happen on DVD-Rs that are burned on my PC DVD burners as long as the content was not originaly burned on a DVD recorder. This problem has been reported previously but apparently was never published in any of the reviews that I have seen. I am returning my Oppo because I have hundreds of DVDs that I recorded off my DirecTV HR10-250 Tivo HD DVR. The quality of these 16X9 anamorphic widescreen DVDs is outstanding and virtually undistinguishable from commercial DVDs but they stutter on the Oppo and not on any other DVD player that I have.

kenih,

On the "face" of it, that picture looks like a display issue (although I guess it could be a "worst case" macroblock enhance problem). I have not seen this problem with the DV-971H. Do other HDMI/DVI products display OK? Service menu (if available) calibration might help. I've seen this problem on displays that have issues with low-level color transistions. I think consumer adjustments are only going to shuffle around the occurance of the problem -- too much color will hide the "splotch" problems for facial tones (everyone will look like a beet) and too little color will produce an almost black and white picture (though brightly colored objects may then start to show the problem).

To reset the DV-971H. Eject the disc and with no disc inserted, go to the setup and select the icon on the far right then select to restore factory defaults. I have a DV-971H settings guide linked to in the first post of the thread.

If other HDMI/DVI products show the problem, I'd contact HP.

Paul

I have a question. I'm not very sure how macroblocking looks on a television. Would JVC sets be prone to displaying macroblocking?

What OPPO Support means is that the player correctly and consistently compresses 4:3 content in "Wide/SQZ" mode for both 480p AND 720p... but the Sony display does something inconsistent for 480p and 720p (stretching 720p and not 480p, or put another way, compressing 480p and not 720p).

What you describe does NOT occur on other displays (aside from a few Sony models).

Gary

Gary,

The only "problem" that my Sony has is that it is not expecting that someone is going to make SD material even worse by compressing it and expecting that the display will stretch it back out to where it started. Maybe another comment from Oppo Support will help clear this up:

"The Wide/SQZ was designed around the normal behavior of
modern HDTV displays, in the senes that it is rather universal that they
stretch all non-flagged video information to fit their native aspect
ratio. Sony, for some reason or another, implimented a digital
connection system that is very diverse, and differs greatly from the
competition. Should it have been something we took into consideration:
yes. Is it something that can be fixed: most likely."

Rontop,

What is the Sony display model number? I did a quick look in the thread and didn't see a model number.

Paul

Paul,

I have a 30XS955 HD CRT.

Ron

The only "problem" that my Sony has is that it is not expecting that someone is going to make SD material even worse by compressing it and expecting that the display will stretch it back out to where it started. Understood. But you told the OPPO to compress SD material, by selecting "Wide/SQZ" mode. As you know, the default mode, "Wide", does not compress.

What you were originally complaining about, though, is the inconsistency... having to select "Wide" for 480p and "Wide/SQZ" for 720p. Not so? Yet that inconsistency is a Sony display issue, not an OPPO issue.

OPPO, out of the goodness of their hearts, may indeed find some way to accommodate the Sony's inconsistency, but that does not mean that OPPO is at fault for this issue.

Gary

Another suggestion was to reset the Oppo player. I didn't see how to do that ... I did try various modes on the TV and all modes had the problem. Hopefully someone can take a look at the picture I put in the photo area listed below (assuming I do this correctly...) and give some other suggestions. A friend of mine mentioned that perhaps the HDMI/DVI cable from Oppo was junk and should be replaced but I thought cable quality shouldn't be an issue with HDMI/DVI plus I would expect them to send me a decent cable.

http://gallery.avsforum.com/showphoto.php/photo/18708/size/bigThat is really ugly! Unless you have a defective player, that mess would not be caused by the OPPO or the cable. Paul is right... the best thing to do, is try another HDMI source. If it occurs again, it's the TV. If not, try 2 things before sending the player back to OPPO: 1. Reset the player by pulling the power plug for 5 mins. 2. Reflash the firmware by following OPPO's instructions.

Gary

I have a question. I'm not very sure how macroblocking looks on a television. Would JVC sets be prone to displaying macroblocking?Some JVC models may be prone to macroblocking, and anothers may not. It depends on the display technology, and the design.

Macroblocking appears on some DVD’s as an artifact of heavy MPEG compression. It looks like patches of moving/pulsating off-color blocks, and is most often seen on background walls and floors, in mist, and in fade-in/fade-out scenes. It is normally very subtle, but for some reason, the Faroudja chip exaggerates it. This bug appears to be very display dependant.

Here is a photo from a scene in "Hotel Rwanda" before I calibrated my Samsung DLP. Believe it or not, that is a beige wall behind the actor! After proper calibration, the macroblocking is completely gone... the pink and green stuff is now all beige.

Gary

Gary,

That's a good picture of macroblock enhance.

Paul

rontop,

Just to be certain. On page 82 of the KD-30XS955 manual there is a descritpion for "Screen Mode" and "4:3 Default".

What are those settings on your display? Full, Normal, or something else?

Paul

When setting the speaker distances in the setup menu, why is there no setting for the main L&R? Also, why does the center channel distance max out at 68 inches?! That's nowhere near far enough for my listening position. For that matter, why is this even measured in inches? Isn't usually in ft. or 1/2 ft?

is it true the Faroudja chip does not play nicely with Panasonic plasmas?

Thinking about pulling the trigger on the Oppo. How much do they charge for shipping and do they ship out fairly quick? Also, are there any retailers that carry the Oppo at this time?

When setting the speaker distances in the setup menu, why is there no setting for the main L&R? Also, why does the center channel distance max out at 68 inches?! That's nowhere near far enough for my listening position. For that matter, why is this even measured in inches? Isn't usually in ft. or 1/2 ft?The distances are all relative to the main L/R speakers. That's why no setting for mains, and distances in inches.

Gary

Understood. But you told the OPPO to compress SD material, by selecting "Wide/SQZ" mode. As you know, the default mode, "Wide", does not compress.

What you were originally complaining about, though, is the inconsistency... having to select "Wide" for 480p and "Wide/SQZ" for 720p. Not so? Yet that inconsistency is a Sony display issue, not an OPPO issue.

OPPO, out of the goodness of their hearts, may indeed find some way to accommodate the Sony's inconsistency, but that does not mean that OPPO is at fault for this issue.

Gary

Anything I say now will just be repeating myself. For the last time (really) -- The Sony appears to be leaving the picture alone. It does not compress it and it does not expand it, unless I tell it to. A 720 signal is already widescreen HD, so nobody has to stretch it to make it widescreen (yes, it will be converted to 1080 in my display, but not stretched).

The inconsistency is that if I set the Oppo to Wide, it (the Oppo) stretches 4:3 to fill a widescreen display. I don't want the player to do any stretching, so I have to set the Oppo to Wide/SQZ. However, in Wide/SQZ the Oppo (not the display) squeezes the picture and expects the display to stretch it again. There doesn't seem to be a mode that tells the Oppo "I have a widescreen display that can handle square, anamorphic, and widescreen HD, so just give it an image and let it handle it." The Sony is not inconsistent; it is displaying what it is being sent without stretching or squeezing it (contrary to reports that the Sony is "squeezing it a second time" using the mythical "Sony 16:9 Enhancer" or something.) It is because of this behavior that I noticed what the Oppo was doing. It is the Oppo that is stretching in one mode and squeezing in another mode, not the Sony. As Oppo Support has stated the Sony may be different in this respect to some other displays, but it is the other displays that stretch the image -- not that the Sony squeezes it. Other displays apparently mask the squeeze by stretching the image without telling you.

I just hope that if/when Oppo changes it, they don't do it by just flagging the image as anamorphic widescreen which will tell the Sony to stretch the image. This will only serve to mask the fact that the player is squeezing the image.

Really, now, I started this topic as a way of describing something that I noticed and how I was working around it. I think we have gotten to the bottom of this behavior (as far as I am concerned), so I am signing off for other exciting discussions. Thanks to everyone who participated.

Paul,

I use the mode (I think it is Normal, I'm not in front of the manual or my TV) that leaves 4:3 material alone and does not stretch or zoom it in any way to fill the screen.

Ron

Here is a photo from a scene in "Hotel Rwanda" before I calibrated my Samsung DLP. Believe it or not, that is a beige wall behind the actor! After proper calibration, the macroblocking is completely gone... the pink and green stuff is now all beige.

Gary

Gary,

The image you showed is EXACTLY the same issue I have with my Samsung DLP. I've just been waffling back and forth on whether this was "dithering" or "macroblocking". Now I know my answer, so Thanks !! Anyhow, I've read most of the posts on how best to calibrate my Samsung HLR-5067W to remove the macroblocking - but I've unfortunately had no luck when playing around with the settings using Avia to calibrate. I'm using the latest Oppo firmware and have the usual settings on the Oppo turned off/set to zero. On my 5067W, I have Contract cranked up, brightness @ 40, color @ 50 and sharpness down really low @ 20. I've also got the display set at "Movie" to assist with the Gamma situation. If you've had success removing macroblocking on your Sammy DLP with the Oppo, could you please let me know the method you were able to use successfully ? I haven't tried mucking around with the saturation setting on the Oppo, so I'm not sure if that would even assist. Any advice would be greatly appreciated - thanks in advance.

Thinking about pulling the trigger on the Oppo. How much do they charge for shipping and do they ship out fairly quick? Also, are there any retailers that carry the Oppo at this time?

I bought mine from www.extremephono.com

They advertise for $199 and $14.95 shipping with DVI and DVI/HDMI cables thrown in. I also bought a Momitsu from them and would highly recommend them. I had a problem with the Momitsu and put out a plea here and also in an e-mail on a Saturday to extreme and the only right answer came from Casey Ng at extreme on Sat afternoon. (It was a bad cable and not theirs).

I use the mode (I think it is Normal, I'm not in front of the manual or my TV) that leaves 4:3 material alone and does not stretch or zoom it in any way to fill the screen.

My Sony doesn't allow "Normal" for 720p or 1080i. It's three choices are Full, Zoom and Wide Zoom. With 480i/p material, Full mode stretches the image horizontally to fill the screen. In 720p/1080i Full appears not to stretch at all, it's the normal for HD. When HBOHD, or any other HD channel on my cablebox, shows SD material it's just a 4:3 image unstretched in the Full mode. So if you're using the OPPO at 720p/1080i what the Sony receives will be what the Sony displays at Full mode. If you want a un-pillared (and un compressed) image to feed, then just tell the OPPO that you have a 4:3 TV and I presume it will output a 4:3 image (no pillars) at HD and the Sony will read that and display 4:3 unstretched. I prefer Wide/SQ because I don't want to have to re-setup everytime I change formats on the disc.

The inconsistency is that if I set the Oppo to Wide, it (the Oppo) stretches 4:3 to fill a widescreen display.
Ron

I'm willing to get shot down here, Ron (I can sense you're a man on the edge), but I thought that both 4:3 images and 16:9 images occupy the same space on a DVD and are encoded at 480(NTSC)/576(PAL)x720. So 4:3 will always be streched unless flagged otherwise, because to the player they are the same. The problem is that most HDMI/DVI digital display devices don't allow for a 4:3 flag on upconverted images becuase then are expecting HD, which is sent at 16:9, so the image is displayed full at 16:9 and your display can do nothing about it. The wd/squeeze mode was offered by oppo as a compromise setting so that upscaled 4:3 images would display at 4:3 becuse they reencode some of the 16:9 picture as black lines, hence the resolution loss.

I can hear someone loading, and I'm taking cover.

Dave

The distances are all relative to the main L/R speakers. That's why no setting for mains, and distances in inches.

Gary

Where did you hear that, if you don't mind? I've never seen a component set speaker distances relative to anything but the listening postition. If we were setting it based on distance from the main speakers, which is the appropriate speaker to measure from for the distance of the subwoofer and rear channels? Obviously the center should be equidistant from the L/R, but the other 3 will be very different depending on your choice of reference. If they were going to do it that way, the point of reference would/should have to be the center speaker. Also, for the record, p.23 of the manual, #6B says ". . . set the distance between the speaker and the listener."

Where did you hear that, if you don't mind? I've never seen a component set speaker distances relative to anything but the listening postition. If we were setting it based on distance from the main speakers, which is the appropriate speaker to measure from for the distance of the subwoofer and rear channels? Obviously the center should be equidistant from the L/R, but the other 3 will be very different depending on your choice of reference. If they were going to do it that way, the point of reference would/should have to be the center speaker. Also, for the record, p.23 of the manual, #6B says ". . . set the distance between the speaker and the listener."

I believe that's what he meant. For example if you sit 168" from your mains, then think of that distance from you as being '0'. Now measure the distance between you and all the other speakers in your system and subtract 168" from those measurements.

I'm willing to get shot down here, Ron (I can sense you're a man on the edge), but I thought that both 4:3 images and 16:9 images occupy the same space on a DVD and are encoded at 480(NTSC)/576(PAL)x720. So 4:3 will always be streched unless flagged otherwise, because to the player they are the same. The problem is that most HDMI/DVI digital display devices don't allow for a 4:3 flag on upconverted images becuase then are expecting HD, which is sent at 16:9, so the image is displayed full at 16:9 and your display can do nothing about it. The wd/squeeze mode was offered by oppo as a compromise setting so that upscaled 4:3 images would display at 4:3 becuse they reencode some of the 16:9 picture as black lines, hence the resolution loss.

You are 100% correct. Rontop is mistaken in his understanding of how aspect ratio control works.

The Oppo does not "stretch" 4:3 content when set to Wide. It does exactly what any DVD player is supposed to. It outputs 4:3 content using the full 720x480 pixels. Ideally, it is the display's responsibility to pillarbox this inside a 16:9 screen, however most HDTVs lock into 16:9 content on all 720p and 1080i signals, assuming they are HD and not realizing that they could be upscaled 4:3 DVD, and so Oppo has implemented the Wide/SQZ setting to pillarbox at the DVD player.

is it true the Faroudja chip does not play nicely with Panasonic plasmas?

The Oppo (at least) plays very nicely with my Panasonic plasma.

I believe that's what he meant. For example if you sit 168" from your mains, then think of that distance from you as being '0'. Now measure the distance between you and all the other speakers in your system and subtract 168" from those measurements.

That description makes sense, but it doesn't work either. It would put my sub and surrounds at a negative value. Ugh, who wants to do all that subtraction anyway :eek: ;) ? Why do we have to reinvent the wheel here, Oppo?

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the great thread, I am just setting up my Oppo and have a question that I couldn't seem to find an answer for here.

I am connected to a Panasonic 700 projector via the DVI-HDMI cable. I notice that for all signals other than 480i the image is shifted well away from (i.e. inside) the left edge of the projected area. Not just a few pixels but maybe 5% (by eye) of the image width.

Anybody else out there see this with the Panny 700? Is this the left shift "feature" I see mentioned in the FAQ? Is this issue known to Oppo?

I certainly see a better picture from the Oppo at 720p compared to 480i so this is bit frustrating.

I guess I have the latest firmware seeing as I ordered the player last month.

Thanks,
Steve

The Oppo (at least) plays very nicely with my Panasonic plasma.Same here. :)

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the great thread, I am just setting up my Oppo and have a question that I couldn't seem to find an answer for here.

I am connected to a Panasonic 700 projector via the DVI-HDMI cable. I notice that for all signals other than 480i the image is shifted well away from (i.e. inside) the left edge of the projected area. Not just a few pixels but maybe 5% (by eye) of the image width.

Anybody else out there see this with the Panny 700? Is this the left shift "feature" I see mentioned in the FAQ? Is this issue known to Oppo?

I certainly see a better picture from the Oppo at 720p compared to 480i so this is bit frustrating.

I guess I have the latest firmware seeing as I ordered the player last month.

Thanks,
Steve

Downgrade to the 1022 firmware (http://www.oppodigital.com/opdv971h_firmware_1022_download.html). You will still have minor underscanning at 720p, but it is much better than the 1111B firmware.

Please ensure that you follow the Black remote instructions, and that you reduce the brightness on the OPDV971H by "-3".

That description makes sense, but it doesn't work either. It would put my sub and surrounds at a negative value. Ugh, who wants to do all that subtraction anyway :eek: ;) ? Why do we have to reinvent the wheel here, Oppo? Brett, I agree.

I believe this is the common way to deal with speaker distances electronically, but it is not common to display it that way to the user.

Gary

You are 100% correct. Rontop is mistaken in his understanding of how aspect ratio control works.

The Oppo does not "stretch" 4:3 content when set to Wide. It does exactly what any DVD player is supposed to. It outputs 4:3 content using the full 720x480 pixels. Ideally, it is the display's responsibility to pillarbox this inside a 16:9 screen, however most HDTVs lock into 16:9 content on all 720p and 1080i signals, assuming they are HD and not realizing that they could be upscaled 4:3 DVD, and so Oppo has implemented the Wide/SQZ setting to pillarbox at the DVD player.

Somebody please get me out of this....

From the Oppo FAQ:

Q: My 4:3 content is being stetched. Why is that and how to fix it?
A: The OPDV971H automatically stretches 4:3 content to fit a widescreen display if the TV Display in the General Setup menu is set to Wide. For the best possible playback of 4:3 content, set the TV Display to Wide/SQZ.


http://www.oppodigital.com/opdv971h_FAQ.htm#A10

From the Oppo FAQ:

Q: My 4:3 content is being stetched. Why is that and how to fix it?
A: The OPDV971H automatically stretches 4:3 content to fit a widescreen display if the TV Display in the General Setup menu is set to Wide. For the best possible playback of 4:3 content, set the TV Display to Wide/SQZ.

If that's what it says, the Oppo FAQ is incorrect. In DVD terms, a 4:3 image and an anamorphic 16:9 image are exactly the same except for a flag that distinguishes between them. They both occupy the same 720x480 pixels, but are transferred differently so that a 4:3 picture is in proportion when displayed at 4:3 and an anamorphic picture is in proportion when displayed at 16:9. It is the TV's responsibility to stretch the anamorphic widescreen image to fill a 16:9 screen, or pillarbox 4:3 content.

The DVD player doesn't stretch anything. But for those TV's that lock into 16:9 mode, the Oppo will scale a 4:3 picture down to 540x480 pixels and fill the remaining 180 pixels with black pillarbox bars. You lose resolution, but restore the correct aspect ratio.

I just got an Oppo and a Sony SXRD set, and now that I've played with them both a couple weeks, there is still something bothering me about the Oppo.

I have it connected through the DVI to HDMI cable supplied by Oppo, however, in the 1080i mode there is a two inch bar that runs down the right side of the screen. In 720p mode the bar is about 3/4" wide on the right. In 480 it seems to be non-existent.

For now I've just been setting the overscan on the SXRD to +2 which zooms in the picture enough to get rid of the bar, but I'm also losing a couple of inches of video on the other three sides since it's off the screen. This isn't really a solution I'm happy with.

This is the case on all DVDs I've watched so far. Has anyone else had this problem, and have you found a better way to correct this?

The DVD player doesn't stretch anything. But for those TV's that lock into 16:9 mode, the Oppo will scale a 4:3 picture down to 540x480 pixels and fill the remaining 180 pixels with black pillarbox bars. You lose resolution, but restore the correct aspect ratio.

Not exactly. If you're using the 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080(i) output resolution, then the "pillarboxed" 4x3 image actually has *more* horizontal resolution than the original 720 x 480 4x3 encoded DVD...so you're not losing any resolution if you have a native 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080 display (which would have mapped the 4x3 image itself in exactly the same way using its own pillarboxing option).

-dave

Most 16:9 hdtv displays (that don't give you aspect ratio control) will assume 480p, 720p, and 1080i are 16:9 signals and will make it fit on the full 16:9 display. Unfortunately, some displays will not do this for 480p and will constrain it within a 4:3 box in the 16:9 window, which is where the original issue of this problem with the Oppo sprung up with a sony display.

Pillarboxing 4:3 content is a feature found in some dvd players like the Oppo where they will add black bars to the side of 4:3 content. Most players don't even have this feature, and in those cases, 4:3 dvds will be stretched on a 16:9 display when they output 480p.

If that's what it says, the Oppo FAQ is incorrect. In DVD terms, a 4:3 image and an anamorphic 16:9 image are exactly the same except for a flag that distinguishes between them. They both occupy the same 720x480 pixels, but are transferred differently so that a 4:3 picture is in proportion when displayed at 4:3 and an anamorphic picture is in proportion when displayed at 16:9. It is the TV's responsibility to stretch the anamorphic widescreen image to fill a 16:9 screen, or pillarbox 4:3 content.

The DVD player doesn't stretch anything. But for those TV's that lock into 16:9 mode, the Oppo will scale a 4:3 picture down to 540x480 pixels and fill the remaining 180 pixels with black pillarbox bars. You lose resolution, but restore the correct aspect ratio.

You are not talking about what I am talking about. Do you have an Oppo? Do you have a 16:9 display? Do you have a DVD with 4:3 (that is, non-anamorphic) content? Hook it up, put it in, set the settings, and look at the outcome. The Oppo s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s the picture so that what should be "square"content now fills up the entire screen. No pillarbox. You have obviously not tried this or you would know that the FAQ is correct and you are not.

That's just the default behavior of the OPPO. You can select the option of "pillarboxing" if you want to.

ARE YOU AWARE THAT THE OPPO HAS A SETTING TO PILLARBOX 4x3 CONTENT? That's what the other poster was tellilng you. Yes...you're seeing the image of "wide" setting. Pick the setting below that (I think) and it will pillarbox instead.

I just got an Oppo and a Sony SXRD set, and now that I've played with them both a couple weeks, there is still something bothering me about the Oppo.

I have it connected through the DVI to HDMI cable supplied by Oppo, however, in the 1080i mode there is a two inch bar that runs down the right side of the screen. In 720p mode the bar is about 3/4" wide on the right. In 480 it seems to be non-existent.

For now I've just been setting the overscan on the SXRD to +2 which zooms in the picture enough to get rid of the bar, but I'm also losing a couple of inches of video on the other three sides since it's off the screen. This isn't really a solution I'm happy with.

This is the case on all DVDs I've watched so far. Has anyone else had this problem, and have you found a better way to correct this?

Sounds like a possible image shift. Have you tried going into the SM and calibrating the image from the OPPO to your display? The Sony's typically have that ability to shift the image left/right up/down in the SM to match the input source. Worth a try. You may also try the 1022 firmware as that seems to correct an image shift introduced by the 1111 firmware seen on some displays.

Good luck.

You are not talking about what I am talking about. Do you have an Oppo? Do you have a 16:9 display? Do you have a DVD with 4:3 (that is, non-anamorphic) content? Hook it up, put it in, set the settings, and look at the outcome. The Oppo s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s the picture so that what should be "square"content now fills up the entire screen. No pillarbox. You have obviously not tried this or you would know that the FAQ is correct and you are not.

I'm not sure which 16:9 display you have, but works fine with 37" Westy LCD display. Upon setting sqz/wide on opppo, you also need to set your display to do aspect, which in my case is standard setting instead or zoom or fill. You also need to have oppo set to upconvert to 720p or 1080i via DVI port to get the pillarbox mode on the 4:3 dvd contents. This settings won't work on the 480p/i. However, if you're using 480p/i, then try setting oppo to stretch or fill and set the display to aspect ratio/standard. This works for my HD DTV when setting the H20 box to do native and watching 480p contents.

Somebody please get me out of this....

Ok, here's your "out".

Agree to disagree.

I don't think you're going to convince any who are arguing the opposite points of yours, and vice versa. If you feel you're absolutely correct in your assessment of the Oppo's performance, then rest comfortably in that knowledge and let the others go on with their particular positions.

I'm not trying to interject myself into the argument, on the contrary, just trying to end it. I'm just weary of wading through multiple posts about the correct/incorrect aspect ratios put out by dvd players (Oppo or otherwise) in a thread I'd hope would stay on point of how to enjoy the Oppo more with your respective display.

And yes, I understand this thread should also help those who may be having issues in getting the Oppo to perform with their system. But I think it's been established that how the Oppo handles the 4:3 content with the dvi output is as intended by Oppo at this point, it is problematic for you (and your display), and Oppo has "admitted" it is something they will take into consideration. That's no small accomplishment, getting an electronics company to respond to your concerns about their product, instead of usually getting the standard blowoff or no response at all.

My 1 1/2 cents and no perceived zings intended. :)

Does this sound right? I've got an HP 5880n widescreen, and the Oppo is set to wide tv type.

When DVI output is 480i the HP 'Normal' mode will show my old 4:3 cartoon with sidebars.
This is how I want it.

Now when I set the Oppo's DVI output to 720p, the HP in 'Normal' mode shows it stretched. There is no setting on the tv that will give my a proper 4:3 image.

What gives? Is this correct?

I decided to email Oppo support on my speaker distance issue, while I was waiting for opinions here, to get the answer from the horse's mouth. They were quick to respond, as advertised. The explanation given was basically the same as GSB and dusterscott, so you guys were right. I'm still waiting for clarification on what to do when this method necessitates a negative value, which is not possible to input. I'll probably end up resetting everything to 0. Hopefully the delays in my receiver still work for the 5.1 input. I haven't tried that yet.

On a separate note, I opened up my TV today to check the focus and clean the dust off the lenses. After spending a bunch of time with the convergence, I was reminded that the grid jitters a bit at 1080i. Therefore, I think that I can no longer blame the Oppo for this problem. Maybe it's just a symptom of the interlacing that's only visible on a still image? I wondered what others who reported this problem thought about this.

Does this sound right? I've got an HP 5880n widescreen, and the Oppo is set to wide tv type.

When DVI output is 480i the HP 'Normal' mode will show my old 4:3 cartoon with sidebars.
This is how I want it.

Now when I set the Oppo's DVI output to 720p, the HP in 'Normal' mode shows it stretched. There is no setting on the tv that will give my a proper 4:3 image.

What gives? Is this correct?


Yep, correct. If you want it to display correctly change the aspect ratio within the player to Wide/Sqz. Slight loss of resolution in 4:3 with this setting is the trade-off (as has been noted many times in this thread).

Your HP sounds like my Sony, when it detects a 720/1080 input it assumes 16:9 and doesn't offer the option to display the image in "Normal" 4:3.

Funny thing is the HP recognizes 720p as a 1280x720 computer input, and has the added selection of "PC" (which adjusts to no overscan and VGA 0-255 grey scale).

I'll try the WIDE/SQUEEZE setting tonight and re-read these posts about how the Sonys respond to it.

Thanks Thor and Pedro. I got a very fast and candid reply from Oppo:
"The Faroudja chipset and the Panasonic can increase instances of
macroblocking. Depending on the viewing environment (which dictates how
you calibrate your display) macroblocking will either be non-existent,
may show up occasionally, or can be very consistent."
If my Panny plasma ever arrives, I may be looking for a DVD without the Faroudja.

OTOH, "100% Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back. OPPO offers a 30-day money back guarantee. We will provide you with full refund if you are not satisfied with the OPPO product(s) you purchased. To return the product for refund, please contact us at service@oppodigital.com to obtain a RMA# and return instructions within 30 days of your product purchase. Please note that shipping costs are non-refundable. " So there's not much to lose. The Oppo's looking better.

I just got an Oppo and a Sony SXRD set, and now that I've played with them both a couple weeks, there is still something bothering me about the Oppo.

I have it connected through the DVI to HDMI cable supplied by Oppo, however, in the 1080i mode there is a two inch bar that runs down the right side of the screen. In 720p mode the bar is about 3/4" wide on the right. In 480 it seems to be non-existent.

For now I've just been setting the overscan on the SXRD to +2 which zooms in the picture enough to get rid of the bar, but I'm also losing a couple of inches of video on the other three sides since it's off the screen. This isn't really a solution I'm happy with.

This is the case on all DVDs I've watched so far. Has anyone else had this problem, and have you found a better way to correct this?
kaw,I have an oppo and sony on order..let me know how you resolved this problem for future reference,thanks

For image shift on displays, revert to 1022 firmware. This information is contained in the first post of the thread.

Paul

I want to add my 2 bits to this Oppo vs. Sony discussion.

I have the Oppo feeding my Sony KV-34XBR910 CRT HDTV set via DVI. If I leave it set at 1080i, 4:3 DVDs such as "The Best Of Triumph The Insult Comic Dog" (one of my all-time favorites :D ) gets stretched all the way out to full width. On the DVI input and 1080i (and the Oppo set to "Wide" mode), my Sony switches into "Full" screen mode, and does *not* allow the aspect ratio to be changed (to "Normal", "Zoom" or "Wide Zoom"). It only allows that to be changed if I set the Oppo to 480p instead.

Now here's where it gets interesting. If instead I set the Oppo to "Wide/SQZ" mode and 1080i, I then see an ersatz 4:3 image on the screen, with full resolution/width displayed. My test is in the menus, which show a "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" backdrop with drawn buildings and yellow stars above. If I switch the Oppo to 480p instead, the output is also "4:3", but it's even narrower than the Wide/SQZ mode on 1080i - and things are cut off on each end! One of the stars and buildings on the far right of one of the sub-menus almost completely disappears in 480p mode. This makes no sense to me ... shouldn't 480p mode show the "true"/full 4:3 image?!?

I guess I'll leave it on "Wide/SQZ" for now with "known" 4:3 DVD sources, and use "Wide" for regular movies that I know are 16:9/anamorphic ... but needless to say, my Denon DVD-2800 Mk. II doesn't do this kind of thing. 4:3 DVDs show up as 4:3 (in "Normal" mode) on the Sony, and 16:9 DVDs show up as 16:9 (in "Full" mode).

Unfortunately, that's not the way the Oppo does it. The Oppo uses the MediaTek chip to squeeze the image first, down to 540 x 480 (which is the point where the resolution is lost), then adds the pillarbox bars, and finally upscales the result.

People here have expressed hope that a future firmware update will change this behavior, so that it directly upscales the original 4:3 720 x 480 image to 960 x 720 (which would then be pillarboxed within the 1280 x 720 of 720p) or 1400 x 1080 (pillarboxed within the 1920 x 1080 of 1080i). The Faroudja chip supposedly has this capability, which would result in a much higher quality upscaled 4:3 image.


Jason is quite correct. Thanks for correcting me (though other players like my old Pann RP91 did it right...and hopefully OPPO will soon too.)

I'm not trying to interject myself into the argument, on the contrary, just trying to end it. I'm just weary of wading through multiple posts about the correct/incorrect aspect ratios put out by dvd players (Oppo or otherwise) in a thread I'd hope would stay on point of how to enjoy the Oppo more with your respective display.

And yes, I understand this thread should also help those who may be having issues in getting the Oppo to perform with their system. But I think it's been established that how the Oppo handles the 4:3 content with the dvi output is as intended by Oppo at this point, it is problematic for you (and your display), and Oppo has "admitted" it is something they will take into consideration. That's no small accomplishment, getting an electronics company to respond to your concerns about their product, instead of usually getting the standard blowoff or no response at all. I understand that you would like to end this debate, or "argument", as you put it, but really, as long as the parties involved, stay respectful and mature, a great deal can be learned by all who wish to follow, and if a defect is found, we could all benefit by having it clearly identified, and by having it fixed by OPPO.

I have learned a lot through debates like this, and if I am involved in the debate, it encourages me to thoroughly research the subject, and if possible, find the truth of the matter. Sometimes hi-tech or engineering discussions can head into unchartered waters and open up new ideas and even innovation. I am an engineer... this is how we think!

If anyone is weary of wading through such posts, they could just skip them and move along. This is the first time this particular issue has been raised in our lengthy OPPO threads... I think it deserves attention because it affects a number of Sony TV owners.

Gary

I have the KD-34XBR960. What you're seeing is the effects of overscan. Our TVs hide about 5% of the edges of whatever they display. When showing a 480i/p signal in "Normal" (4:3) mode, it is this 5% overscan that is cutting off the sides of the image.

When your Oppo is set to 1080i and Wide/SQZ, it pillarboxes the 4:3 image within the 16:9 HD frame and your TV locks into "Full" mode. In Full mode, the overscan only affects the outsides of the 16:9 frame. The sides of the pillarboxed 4:3 image are now well away from the edge of the screen where overscan occurs, and are therefore not affected by it. The result is that you can see the full width of the original 4:3 image, including the 5% that would be hidden if viewing the same image in 480i/p and Normal.

Yep, as Jason says, the 480p/576p output on the oppo can cause overscan on some displays (certainly on 4:3 material). It does on my panny ae700. 720p/ wide-squuez mode is spot on--though with the resolution loss. I'll take that over overscan--for now.

Dave

I have the KD-34XBR960. What you're seeing is the effects of overscan. Our TVs hide about 5% of the edges of whatever they display. When showing a 480i/p signal in "Normal" (4:3) mode, it is this 5% overscan that is cutting off the sides of the image.

When your Oppo is set to 1080i and Wide/SQZ, it pillarboxes the 4:3 image within the 16:9 HD frame and your TV locks into "Full" mode. In Full mode, the overscan only affects the outsides of the 16:9 frame. The sides of the pillarboxed 4:3 image are now well away from the edge of the screen where overscan occurs, and are therefore not affected by it. The result is that you can see the full width of the original 4:3 image, including the 5% that would be hidden if viewing the same image in 480i/p and Normal.Guys, don't confuse overscan and pixel-cropping. Overscan is information that is hidden behind the bezel of the TV. The information is still there... just obscured from view. Pixel-cropping is information that is snipped off the edges of the image by hardware or firmware, either in the player or the display.

The OPPO does not crop pixels. Nor does it cause overscan. (In fact, it "underscans" by a few pixels). Any pixel-cropping or overscan is entirely a display issue. If the edges of the image are cut off when you put your display in 4:3 (pillar-box) mode, the display is cropping those pixels.

Gary

If I switch the Oppo to 480p instead, the output is also "4:3", but it's even narrower than the Wide/SQZ mode on 1080i - and things are cut off on each end! One of the stars and buildings on the far right of one of the sub-menus almost completely disappears in 480p mode. This makes no sense to me ... shouldn't 480p mode show the "true"/full 4:3 image?!?

I guess I'll leave it on "Wide/SQZ" for now with "known" 4:3 DVD sources, and use "Wide" for regular movies that I know are 16:9/anamorphic ... but needless to say, my Denon DVD-2800 Mk. II doesn't do this kind of thing. 4:3 DVDs show up as 4:3 (in "Normal" mode) on the Sony, and 16:9 DVDs show up as 16:9 (in "Full" mode).Interesting issue. I tried the same things on my own TV this evening. My 16:9 Samsung DLP TV displayed 4:3 content correctly for 480p, 540p, 720p, and 1080i... in OPPO's "Wide" and "Wide/SQZ" modes.

The Samsung TV allows me to manually select "WIDE" or "4:3" display mode. The default is "WIDE", but if I select "4:3", the TV squishes the image and crops a bunch of pixels off both sides, just as you described. Obviously the Sony TV selects its mode automatically, and for some reason, a digital 480p signal triggers its "4:3" mode.

As you mentioned, your Denon DVD-2800 Mk2 does NOT trigger the Sony's "4:3" mode, because the Denon's 480p output is analog, and is therefore handled differently.

Gary

I want to add my 2 bits to this Oppo vs. Sony discussion.

INow here's where it gets interesting. If instead I set the Oppo to "Wide/SQZ" mode and 1080i, I then see an ersatz 4:3 image on the screen, with full resolution/width displayed. My test is in the menus, which show a "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" backdrop with drawn buildings and yellow stars above. If I switch the Oppo to 480p instead, the output is also "4:3", but it's even narrower than the Wide/SQZ mode on 1080i - and things are cut off on each end! One of the stars and buildings on the far right of one of the sub-menus almost completely disappears in 480p mode. This makes no sense to me ... shouldn't 480p mode show the "true"/full 4:3 image?!?



I have a Tosh 65HX93. I watch a lot of DVD's that I have recorded from OTA, the way I used to use a VCR. I have the OPPO set to wide/sqz. commercial anamorphic dvds display properly filling the entire width of the screen and a varying amount of height (depending on OAR). Recorded 4:3 material, as well as commercial 4:3 material display in a pillar boxed (set by OPPO).

I also noted that the presentation of the 4:3 material by the oppo is significantly "wider" than 4:3 material I get from other sources. (letting the Tosh put in the pillar boxes. This gave me some concerne that the OPPO was somehow distorting the 4:3 material (although the pic looked very good to me), so I checked with AVIA and found that the test frame with the circles were dispplayed just fine, in fact in wide squeez mode, both the 4:3 and the 16:9 circles stayed true.

I like the way OPPO is handling the 4:3 sizing at least in the wide sqz mode.

Thanks,
Rick

Hi....

I just received my Oppo dvd player, and I must say that the picture quality is superb! But I seem to have some problems with the audio when I play divx/xvid movies burned to a dvd! The sound doesn't match the movement of the lips!? I have tried to set an audiodelay in the 'setup' but that doesn't seem to correct it! Has anyone had similar experiences - and maybe a solution!? I hope! :o)

Cheers............

...On a separate note, I opened up my TV today to check the focus and clean the dust off the lenses. After spending a bunch of time with the convergence, I was reminded that the grid jitters a bit at 1080i. Therefore, I think that I can no longer blame the Oppo for this problem. Maybe it's just a symptom of the interlacing that's only visible on a still image? I wondered what others who reported this problem thought about this.

Interlacing does cause a "jitter" in static displays, which is why all computer monitors use progressive scan.

Guys, don't confuse overscan and pixel-cropping. Overscan is information that is hidden behind the bezel of the TV. The information is still there... just obscured from view. Pixel-cropping is information that is snipped off the edges of the image by hardware or firmware, either in the player or the display.

The OPPO does not crop pixels. Nor does it cause overscan. (In fact, it "underscans" by a few pixels). Any pixel-cropping or overscan is entirely a display issue. If the edges of the image are cut off when you put your display in 4:3 (pillar-box) mode, the display is cropping those pixels.

Gary

Quite right--I've been using the term overscan in a lazy way. In that case the oppo/ae700 combination causes pixel cropping at 480p when the ae700 is setting the AR: about 3-5% on all sides. I repeat, 720p in wide/squeeze mode causes no such pixel cropping, other issues of course stand.

Dave

You are not talking about what I am talking about. Do you have an Oppo? Do you have a 16:9 display? Do you have a DVD with 4:3 (that is, non-anamorphic) content? Hook it up, put it in, set the settings, and look at the outcome. The Oppo s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s the picture so that what should be "square"content now fills up the entire screen. No pillarbox. You have obviously not tried this or you would know that the FAQ is correct and you are not.

You are a very frustrating individual sometimes.

I will say again, the Oppo does not stretch anything. IT'S YOUR TV DOING THE STRETCHING. That's what the Oppo's Wide/SQZ mode is for, to counteract the stretch that your TV does.

This is a very simple concept, and I just don't know how I or anyone else here who has tried to explain the same thing to you could possibly make it any clearer.

You are a very frustrating individual sometimes.

I will say again, the Oppo does not stretch anything. IT'S YOUR TV DOING THE STRETCHING. That's what the Oppo's Wide/SQZ mode is for, to counteract the stretch that your TV does.

This is a very simple concept, and I just don't know how I or anyone else here who has tried to explain the same thing to you could possibly make it any clearer.

I've got a Sony GWIII RP LCD here. The Sony always stretches upconverted 720p and 1080i 4:3 material (locks into Full mode). This is where the Wide Squeeze mode comes in handy. You squeeze the picture that's being sent to the Sony so that when the Sony does it's stretch, you end up with a picture displayed in the correct aspect ratio.

Hi....

I just received my Oppo dvd player, and I must say that the picture quality is superb! But I seem to have some problems with the audio when I play divx/xvid movies burned to a dvd! The sound doesn't match the movement of the lips!? I have tried to set an audiodelay in the 'setup' but that doesn't seem to correct it! Has anyone had similar experiences - and maybe a solution!? I hope! :o)

Cheers............
Assuming you are using DVI output exclusively,
one thing to try is "Video mode" = Video2.
Also, if your set supports it, "TV Type" = "Auto"


Some divx/xvids you encounter are 25fps, which require frame rate conversion for ntsc displays. My experience is that audio sync problems can occur in this situation.

Video mode = Video2 disables this conversion on the analog (component, svideo, composite) outputs, which seems to be the biggest factor.

And if your display supports 50Hz timings, TV Type = Auto (or PAL) will give smoother output, since it won't be repeating every fifth frame.

Note that there are other possible audio sync issues, but the above has pretty much eliminated them for me.

The Samsung TV allows me to manually select "WIDE" or "4:3" display mode. The default is "WIDE", but if I select "4:3", the TV squishes the image and crops a bunch of pixels off both sides, just as you described. Obviously the Sony TV selects its mode automatically, and for some reason, a digital 480p signal triggers its "4:3" mode.
Not sure if this is exactly correct in my case; but the only way I could test it otherwise is to hook my Sony SAT-HD300 DirecTV STB back up to the TV via DVI (as it used to be) and see whether I can switch to the TV's controls on the remote and change it from "Full" to "Normal" (to "Zoom" to ... ) or not.

As you mentioned, your Denon DVD-2800 Mk. II does NOT trigger the Sony's "4:3" mode, because the Denon's 480p output is analog, and is therefore handled differently.
Right - it seems like Component is handled differently. I can always freely switch between "Normal", "Full", "Zoom" etc. on the TV's controls when using the Component input on the TV that the old Denon is connected to.

I gotta admit that I'm fascinated by the fact that having the Oppo send 480p causes the pixel cropping (call it what you will, overscan or whatever) on the Sony TV end - the amount of lost pixels on the left and right ends (compared to what I see when using 1080i and Wide/SQZ mode on 4:3 DVDs) is quite significant. Almost seems like 5% on *both* ends!

Ok, I realize that I am about to invoke cries of heresy here...

This player doesn't do progressive scan via component output. Here's what I want to know:

How much will this negatively affect the picture on a plain old regular cheap 27" CRT TV?

I have component input on the TV and it is somewhat sharper than composite and a tad sharper than S-Video. Does proressive scan do that much of a job to component video that I'll notice anything? :confused:

(I don't have a better TV because the kids' daycare is sucking us dry, and will continue to do so until at least fall 2007)

I'm looking at this player mainly for the DivX capability, and the Phillips DVP642 seems to be a resounding pile of crap. I haven't found any other players that can do DivX and Xvid (altho I haven't even been looking for them until I heard about the Phillips a few days ago).

Thanks in advance,

Bill (HT/AV novice)

Ok, I realize that I am about to invoke cries of heresy here...

This player doesn't do progressive scan via component output.

For that matter, the OPPO doesn't do 480i component either. Well, it does but you don't want to use it.

The OPPO 971H is a player best used with the DVI output at 480p, 720p or 1080i.

That's it. Period. End of story.

;-)

Seriously though, I have not tried to use the OPPO contrast/brightness controls to dial in a better image using a waveform monitor. Maybe there is some hope for the OPPO 480i component signal after some tweaks. As is, it's a non-starter.

I just looked on OPPO's site and it's listing the "upcoming" recorder as :

OPDW9916 / Divx DVI DVD Recorder

DVI? Is this thing going to have a DVI input/output or is this just a typo? Only thing better would be able to process the firewire out of my DVR.

I understand that you would like to end this debate, or "argument", as you put it, but really, as long as the parties involved, stay respectful and mature, a great deal can be learned by all who wish to follow, and if a defect is found, we could all benefit by having it clearly identified, and by having it fixed by OPPO.

I have learned a lot through debates like this, and if I am involved in the debate, it encourages me to thoroughly research the subject, and if possible, find the truth of the matter. Sometimes hi-tech or engineering discussions can head into unchartered waters and open up new ideas and even innovation. I am an engineer... this is how we think!

If anyone is weary of wading through such posts, they could just skip them and move along. This is the first time this particular issue has been raised in our lengthy OPPO threads... I think it deserves attention because it affects a number of Sony TV owners.

Gary

Thanks for the comments Gary. It's not the debate or argument that has become weary, it is the circular nature of the debate with rontop that has become pointless. My comments were specifically in response to Ron's request for "someone get me out of this..." I offered a legitimate way for him to walk away from the debate clean, as well as end the circular debate it had become in his regard.

I'm one of the owners of a Sony RPTV and an Oppo, and as so, am aware of how the Oppo behaves with one. So if the Oppo can do better with that display, great. But when the debate is no longer constructive and has deterioted into an argument about who knows more or is more "right" on this, that's when it becomes weary and off point. If you take an objective look at the bulk of the recent posts in the debate in regards to rontop's position, I think you'll find that it has ended up with "you're not using your tv right" with response "I know how to use my TV, the Oppo is wrong" and so on and so forth. As an example:

You are a very frustrating individual sometimes.

I will say again, the Oppo does not stretch anything. IT'S YOUR TV DOING THE STRETCHING. That's what the Oppo's Wide/SQZ mode is for, to counteract the stretch that your TV does.

This is a very simple concept, and I just don't know how I or anyone else here who has tried to explain the same thing to you could possibly make it any clearer.


Anyway, that's all I was attempting. And now I'll begin skipping again. :)

This player doesn't do progressive scan via component output. Here's what I want to know:

How much will this negatively affect the picture on a plain old regular cheap 27" CRT TV?

I have component input on the TV and it is somewhat sharper than composite and a tad sharper than S-Video. Does proressive scan do that much of a job to component video that I'll notice anything? Bill,

Bytehoven is right, but only if you are looking for reference grade picture quality from the OPPO's component output.

To put things in perspective, though, the OPPO will work fine with your 27" CRT TV until you upgrade it. The OPPO's component output has 3 main issues: No progressive scan (which isn't an issue with your 480i TV anyway).
Uneven color saturation (red and green are about 15% high).
Does not pass blacker-than-black (which is also not a big deal unless you are serious about calibrating the TV for ultimate PQ). When you do upgrade your TV, you will not be sorry that you bought the OPPO, and in the mean time you can enjoy Divx too.

Gary

But when the debate is no longer constructive and has deterioted into an argument about who knows more or is more "right" on this, that's when it becomes weary and off point.

I agree that this is wearying. However, on the subject being discussed there are facts that are objective truth, not just subjective opinion. Gary, I, and others have tried to explain those facts with as much helpfulness and patience as we can muster.

Saying to rontop, "Well it's all just a matter of opinion so let's leave it at that" may be very polite and kind, but it is also factually false and is misleading to everyone else reading who may not understand the issue. It is not a matter of opinion. We have given rontop the correction information that he requires, and at this point he just needs to accept that and figure out what to do with it.

I mean no offense to rontop or anyone else, but this circular argument is very frustrating, and it's time to move on.

Bill,

Bytehoven is right, but only if you are looking for reference grade picture quality from the OPPO's component output.

To put things in perspective, though, the OPPO will work fine with your 27" CRT TV until you upgrade it. The OPPO's component output has 3 main issues: No progressive scan (which isn't an issue with your 480i TV anyway).
Uneven color saturation (red and green are about 15% high).
Does not pass blacker-than-black (which is also not a big deal unless you are serious about calibrating the TV for ultimate PQ). When you do upgrade your TV, you will not be sorry that you bought the OPPO, and in the mean time you can enjoy Divx too.

Gary

Gary,

Thanks for the input. With a $300 27" TV I won't be looking to do ANYTHING reference quality or ultimate picture quality. :D If things are too out of whack with colors, I'll just do the best I can with the TV's simple color controls. This gives me a lot more confidence in this particular piece.

Thanks again.

-Bill

I gotta admit that I'm fascinated by the fact that having the Oppo send 480p causes the pixel cropping (call it what you will, overscan or whatever) on the Sony TV end - the amount of lost pixels on the left and right ends (compared to what I see when using 1080i and Wide/SQZ mode on 4:3 DVDs) is quite significant. Almost seems like 5% on *both* ends! Yes, when I set my DLP TV to "4:3" mode, the TV crops close to 5% on all 4 sides. That may be by design, to avoid the nasty ragged edges that are visible with broadcast SD signals, perhaps coming from a STB. Normally, CRT overscan intentionally hides that stuff behind the bezel, but digital TVs may have to crop those edges to hide them.

I am convinced that any digital 480p EDTV source will cause the Sony to switch to its "4:3" mode, unless the source supports "custom" resolutions, like 640x480. Check this on the Sony threads.

Gary

I agree that this is wearying. However, on the subject being discussed there are facts that are objective truth, not just subjective opinion. Gary, I, and others have tried to explain those facts with as much helpfulness and patience as we can muster.

Saying to rontop, "Well it's all just a matter of opinion so let's leave it at that" may be very polite and kind, but it is also factually false and is misleading to everyone else reading who may not understand the issue. It is not a matter of opinion. We have given rontop the correction information that he requires, and at this point he just needs to accept that and figure out what to do with it.

I mean no offense to rontop or anyone else, but this circular argument is very frustrating, and it's time to move on.

Couldn't agree more. One point I want to clarify however, I did not state that the facts in this were in question, only that rontop was personally convinced otherwise, and that no matter how much debate he engaged in it wasn't going to change your's, Gary, and others' position on the matter. From my original post:

But I think it's been established that how the Oppo handles the 4:3 content with the dvi output is as intended by Oppo at this point, it is problematic for you (and your display), and Oppo has "admitted" it is something they will take into consideration.


Absolutely agree that conversations like this can be enlightening and productive. But rontop asked for a "way out", so I offered a legitimate way to leave the debate cleanly. No more, no less. And as stated previously, I only offered it because I was weary of the circular nature the debate had descended to.

Peace, out. :cool:

I just looked on OPPO's site and it's listing the "upcoming" recorder as :

OPDW9916 / Divx DVI DVD Recorder

DVI? Is this thing going to have a DVI input/output or is this just a typo? Only thing better would be able to process the firewire out of my DVR.

Last I heard, it will only have a DVI output and the general analog inputs. There have been some mumurs about possible HDMI in and outputs, but nothing official.

I agree that this is wearying. However, on the subject being discussed there are facts that are objective truth, not just subjective opinion. Gary, I, and others have tried to explain those facts with as much helpfulness and patience as we can muster.

Saying to rontop, "Well it's all just a matter of opinion so let's leave it at that" may be very polite and kind, but it is also factually false and is misleading to everyone else reading who may not understand the issue. It is not a matter of opinion. Josh is right on this. The majority of the people who read these boards are not experts, and many of them never participate... they are coming here to find the facts and make decisions. It doesn't help anyone if the "facts" presented here are inaccurate or misleading.

The OPPO is not the cause of the issue being discussed here.

Gary

...the edge of the image is not hidden behind the bezel of the TV, but is instead being hidden behind the pillarbox bars generated by the TV.

This is still properly called overscan, not pixel cropping. First time I've heard that one, but you may be right. Do you have a source for this definition?

Ok, all this talk of Sonys that I don't particularly understand has me wondering if I should order this player or not? I have a Sony 30XS955, I'd use the DVI-HDMI cable and composite audio cables for now. Am I going to be fine?

Ok, all this talk of Sonys that I don't particularly understand has me wondering if I should order this player or not? I have a Sony 30XS955, I'd use the DVI-HDMI cable and composite audio cables for now. Am I going to be fine?

You will be fine. Just stay away from 480p.

Ok, all this talk of Sonys that I don't particularly understand has me wondering if I should order this player or not? I have a Sony 30XS955, I'd use the DVI-HDMI cable and composite audio cables for now. Am I going to be fine?

Don't let the all the Sony conversation concern you, the Oppo should work just fine. You'll just need to set the player to wide/sqz in setup instead of wide to display 4:3 material correctly in your display. Some have expressed dismay/frustration with having to use this setting as they feel it negatively impacts the image. Some displays will do the pillarboxing for you so you can leave the setting on the Oppo at wide, many Sony's (and other displays) don't offer you this ability so you have to use the wide/sqz setting instead. There is a loss of resolution with 4:3 material using the wide/sqz setting--some say intolerable others are fine with it. If that bothers you (loss of resolution), switch the setting to normal/lb in the player for 4:3 material instead (this option only works if you're sending a 480p signal. As soon as you send 720/1080 the Sony assumes HD/16:9 and eliminates the option for its "Normal" display setting. So for 720/1080 wide/sqz is your option as the Sony itself will not pillarbox 4:3 material for you at those settings).

The PQ, accurate color, audio handling, and Oppo's customer service make the player worth every $ and then some.

Don't let the all the Sony conversation concern you, the Oppo should work just fine. You'll just need to set the player to wide/sqz in setup instead of wide to display 4:3 material correctly in your display. Some have expressed dismay/frustration with having to use this setting as they feel it negatively impacts the image. Some displays will do the pillarboxing for you so you can leave the setting on the Oppo at wide, many Sony's (and other displays) don't offer you this ability so you have to use the wide/sqz setting instead. There is a loss of resolution with 4:3 material using the wide/sqz setting--some say intolerable others are fine with it. If that bothers you (loss of resolution), switch the setting to normal/lb in the player for 4:3 material instead.

The PQ, accurate color, audio handling, and Oppo's customer service make the player worth every $ and then some.

I second, third and fourth these remarks. I have a Sony 34XBR910 direct view 1080i HDTV. With the Oppo connected with DVI and set to Wide/Sqz, the Sony set to Full, the PQ is sensational. I had a Bravo D2. The Oppo is better. Period.

Dana

Ok, all this talk of Sonys that I don't particularly understand has me wondering if I should order this player or not? I have a Sony 30XS955, I'd use the DVI-HDMI cable and composite audio cables for now. Am I going to be fine?

I have an Oppo hooked to a 30XS955 and all is fine no problems what so ever. The PQ is outstanding. I watched StarWars last night and was floored Ive never seen it look that good. It was proof alone that I made the right choice on this DVD player.

Gary,

The image you showed is EXACTLY the same issue I have with my Samsung DLP. I've just been waffling back and forth on whether this was "dithering" or "macroblocking". Now I know my answer, so Thanks !! Anyhow, I've read most of the posts on how best to calibrate my Samsung HLR-5067W to remove the macroblocking - but I've unfortunately had no luck when playing around with the settings using Avia to calibrate. I'm using the latest Oppo firmware and have the usual settings on the Oppo turned off/set to zero. On my 5067W, I have Contract cranked up, brightness @ 40, color @ 50 and sharpness down really low @ 20. I've also got the display set at "Movie" to assist with the Gamma situation. If you've had success removing macroblocking on your Sammy DLP with the Oppo, could you please let me know the method you were able to use successfully ? I haven't tried mucking around with the saturation setting on the Oppo, so I'm not sure if that would even assist. Any advice would be greatly appreciated - thanks in advance. stumacdo, this post should prove useful: Suppressing the "Macroblock-Enhance" Bug with OPPO's New Firmware (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6811617&&#post6811617)

One of the links in that post, directs you to a crash-course on calibrating the Samsung DLP. It is specific to the HLN model, but the principles still apply. I am working on a version for the HLP models, and I'll let you know when it is done.

Gary

I was about to order an OPPO then I saw this post from December.

"The Oppos great if you use digital connection only- DVI or HDMi and your displays native resolution is 720p....and other situation and I think there are better choices available out there...."


I have a Sony RPTV 65" wide screen HDTV its native mode is 1080i it can do 720p it has one DVI connector in the back

Since my Native mode is 1080i would I be better off with the Sony Up Converter?

What issues are there for native mode 1080i hdtvs.

ScottChez,

See my post above. My Sony is 1080i with DVI. The Oppo produces excellent PQ. Besides, a 30 day return policy. Great customer service, firmware updates, etc.

Dana

What issues are there for native mode 1080i hdtvs.

In general, 1080i suffers from jittering/shaking (this is barely noticeable during disc playback, but apparent at the OPPO screen). Some displays will also showcase classic interlacing errors, such as tearing, ghosting, and aliasing.

"Faroudja's intermittent VIDEO delay (lip-sync) problem. Only occurs on the DVI output. Video begins to lag the audio (badly) at an arbitrary point during DVD playback. Sync will be temporarily restored if you rewind or stop the DVD and resume play. Some DVD’s seem more likely to cause it than others, but the problem is entirely random, and usually cannot be repeated by rewinding the scene that triggered it. Entering the setup menu while the DVD is playing, will definitely trigger the problem."

I have noticed this tonight when I setup my new Oppo. I was watching The Cable Guy on dvd and the audio was off by about 1 second. I am using the DVI->HDMI cable and running it into my Vizio 50" plasma.

Now I have 2 questions:

1) Does Oppo plan on addressing the issue with the audio delay in a future firmware?

2) Can I use component on the Oppo and will it still upconvert and maintain the same quality?

Some displays will do the pillarboxing for you so you can leave the setting on the Oppo at wide, many Sony's (and other displays) don't offer you this ability so you have to use the wide/sqz setting instead. There is a loss of resolution with 4:3 material using the wide/sqz setting--some say intolerable others are fine with it. If that bothers you (loss of resolution), switch the setting to normal/lb in the player for 4:3 material instead.
Just to let you know, I tried setting the Oppo to "Normal/LB" (instead of "Wide/SQZ") with my 4:3 "Best Of Triumph The Insult Comic Dog" DVD, and it appeared stretched on my Sony KV-34XBR910 set, much like it does in "Wide" mode. The only way I can correctly get an unsqueezed display of this material with this combo (Oppo/Sony TV) is to use the "Wide/SQZ" setting instead.

Just to let you know, I tried setting the Oppo to "Normal/LB" (instead of "Wide/SQZ") with my 4:3 "Best Of Triumph The Insult Comic Dog" DVD, and it appeared stretched on my Sony KV-34XBR910 set, much like it does in "Wide" mode. The only way I can correctly get an unsqueezed display of this material with this combo (Oppo/Sony TV) is to use the "Wide/SQZ" setting instead.

My bad. Should have added the caveat of while sending a 480p signal you can use Normal/LB. As soon as you send anything above 480p with the Sony, it assumes HD/16:9 and eliminates its "Normal" setting from the viewing options.

"Faroudja's intermittent VIDEO delay (lip-sync) problem. Only occurs on the DVI output. Video begins to lag the audio (badly) at an arbitrary point during DVD playback. Sync will be temporarily restored if you rewind or stop the DVD and resume play. Some DVD’s seem more likely to cause it than others, but the problem is entirely random, and usually cannot be repeated by rewinding the scene that triggered it. Entering the setup menu while the DVD is playing, will definitely trigger the problem."

I have noticed this tonight when I setup my new Oppo. I was watching The Cable Guy on dvd and the audio was off by about 1 second. I am using the DVI->HDMI cable and running it into my Vizio 50" plasma.

Now I have 2 questions:

1) Does Oppo plan on addressing the issue with the audio delay in a future firmware?

2) Can I use component on the Oppo and will it still upconvert and maintain the same quality?1. Yes, OPPO is addressing the sync issue. You didn't enter the setup menu while the DVD was playing did you? That is a sure-fire way to introduce audio delays. Simply press "Stop" to resync... its a rare occurrence.

2. No upconversion over component.

Gary

Anyone using this player with a Sony CRT RPTV?

Anyone using this player with a Sony CRT RPTV? Ditto here!

Specifically, how bad is the MB with a Sony CRT RPTV?

I just got my new oppo and like it a lot. I am experiencing the problem with my picture in 720 and 1080 where the picture is off center (too far to the left) as other people have described. My display is a Toshiba 36HF73 CRT and for what it's worth, my Samsung HD850 displays centered content just fine at all resolutions. I have read this is a problem with the current firmware?

Does anyone know if oppo is planning to fix this in the next firmware release? I noticed the last release that introduced this problem was a few months ago.

jonathan

I just got my new oppo and like it a lot. I am experiencing the problem with my picture in 720 and 1080 where the picture is off center (too far to the left) as other people have described. My display is a Toshiba 36HF73 CRT and for what it's worth, my Samsung HD850 displays centered content just fine at all resolutions. I have read this is a problem with the current firmware?

Does anyone know if oppo is planning to fix this in the next firmware release? I noticed the last release that introduced this problem was a few months ago.

jonathan

Yes, their next firmware release will fix this issue.

I just got my new oppo and like it a lot. I am experiencing the problem with my picture in 720 and 1080 where the picture is off center (too far to the left) as other people have described. My display is a Toshiba 36HF73 CRT and for what it's worth, my Samsung HD850 displays centered content just fine at all resolutions. I have read this is a problem with the current firmware?

Does anyone know if oppo is planning to fix this in the next firmware release? I noticed the last release that introduced this problem was a few months ago.

jonathan
I just rolled back to the old firmware. 720 and 1080 now are almost completely centered but still just barely a tad off. 480 is fine.

Question is when will we see the next firmware :)

hopefully this month!

Ditto here!

Specifically, how bad is the MB with a Sony CRT RPTV?

Isn't CRT and RPTV redundant? I have a RPTV and macroblocking was always a non-issue. I saw a little when a firmware upped the brightness, but I recalibrated and have no problems. Sony's (RPTV) appear not to be prone to MB enhance.

Isn't CRT and RPTV redundant? I have a RPTV and macroblocking was always a non-issue. I saw a little when a firmware upped the brightness, but I recalibrated and have no problems. Sony's (RPTV) appear not to be prone to MB enhance.
The terms CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and RPTV (Rear Projection Television) aren't redundant. From your signature, you have an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) RPTV. Those other guys have CRT RPTVs. Two very different things. It's good to be specific.

I have a Sony LCD RPTV and have some macroblocking issues on certain discs. However, I have no idea about MB issues on Sony's CRT RPTVs. I have a feeling there might be less of an MB issue on CRTs, but that is just my wild guess. (Just seems to be less reports of MB with CRT displays vs. LCD/DLP displays.)

-Terry

The terms CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and RPTV (Rear Projection Television) aren't redundant. From your signature, you have an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) RPTV. Those other guys have CRT RPTVs. Two very different things. It's good to be specific.

I have a Sony LCD RPTV and have some macroblocking issues on certain discs. However, I have no idea about MB issues on Sony's CRT RPTVs. I have a feeling there might be less of an MB issue on CRTs, but that is just my wild guess. (Just seems to be less reports of MB with CRT displays vs. LCD/DLP displays.)

-Terry
I've got a 34" direct view crt set and have seen no MB at all. But I do have a vague memory of another crt owner reporting MB to some degree. For the most part I do believe crts exhibit MB less than some other display technologies.

Has anyone noticed an appreciable difference with the latest firmware? rev. D1111B...?

I see more selections at the menu, and have read the descriptions online. I set mine the same as I had it before as a baseline. Curious if you have made some changes with notable improvements.

Has anyone noticed an appreciable difference with the latest firmware? rev. D1111B...?

I see more selections at the menu, and have read the descriptions online. I set mine the same as I had it before as a baseline. Curious if you have made some changes with notable improvements.

The only noted difference is that the 1111B firmware has the correct brightness for DVI Studio Level at 0. Previously, in the 1022 firmware, you needed to adjust the brightness "-3".

The only noted difference is that the 1111B firmware has the correct brightness for DVI Studio Level at 0. Previously, in the 1022 firmware, you needed to adjust the brightness "-3".

Thanks!

I installed the unpublicized 1128 firmware, but still got a ~5% left shift (according to DVE) on my Hitachi 42HDT50 plasma, so I went back to the 1022 firmware.

Jim

I just got my Oppo today, hooked it up to my Pioneer plasma at 720p and am loving it! The picture is so detailed and so much better than my last upconverting player. I think the fact that I can watch 4x3 programs unstretched again may be my favorite thing about it.

Jay,

What other DVD player were you using previously?

I have a Sony LCD RPTV and have some macroblocking issues on certain discs. However, I have no idea about MB issues on Sony's CRT RPTVs. I have a feeling there might be less of an MB issue on CRTs, but that is just my wild guess. (Just seems to be less reports of MB with CRT displays vs. LCD/DLP displays.)

I have a Sony CRT RPTV (KP-57WS520) and have experienced macroblocking with the Toshiba 592. Does the Oppo and the Toshiba share the same processor?

I have a Sony CRT RPTV (KP-57WS520) and have experienced macroblocking with the Toshiba 592. Does the Oppo and the Toshiba share the same processor?Yes, they both use the Faroudja 2310 processor. The OPPO is a bit better than the 592 in that regard, but did you properly calibrate your RPTV for gamma and grayscale? If macroblocking still shows up after a full calibration, you would have no hope of using any Faroudja player.

Gary

I installed the unpublicized 1128 firmware, but still got a ~5% left shift (according to DVE) on my Hitachi 42HDT50 plasma, so I went back to the 1022 firmware.

Jim

Have you reported this to oppo? It's probably whey it's 'unpublicized,' though.

Dave

I have the new HP 65" DLP 1080p set and I got this OPPO player. PQ is outstanding on this dvd player while watching ROTS in 1080i. I did however watch a few episodes of season 1 of BUFFY and the PQ was horrid. I tried messing with a few setting but it didn't help. Any Buffy fans on here who can assure me that it's just the crappy quality the buffy dvd's are? I'm prettty sure this is the classic garbage in-garbage out deal. Oh yeah, could someone explain to me what macroblocking is and what it will look like?

When I got the OPPO a couple weeks back, the first DVD I played was "Kronk's New Groove" from Disney for my son. It looked horrid, all sorts of horizontal mpeg blocks and such. I thought I would have to send it back.

But, after using it for Ice Age and other animated films, Kronk's was the only one with trouble. Any one else try this DVD with the player?

Any Buffy fans on here who can assure me that it's just the crappy quality the buffy dvd's are? I'm prettty sure this is the classic garbage in-garbage out deal.

Seasons 1 and 2 of Buffy were shot on 16mm and the picture quality leaves a lot to be desired.

Have you reported this to oppo? It's probably whey it's 'unpublicized,' though.

Dave
I think the 1128 firmware was nothing but a "universal" (i.e., not limited to newer remotes) version of the 1111B firmware. So I wouldn't expect it to have fixed the shift.

Seasons 1 and 2 of Buffy were shot on 16mm and the picture quality leaves a lot to be desired.

If the R2 is anything to go by then it they are just very, very poorly mastered: blurry, combing artifacts, ghosting, etc. The oppo can do little with it.

Dave

I finally got some time to play around with a problem I am having with green and red spots using the HP 65" TV and Oppo DVD player. What I found is that component from the DVD player works fine (480i) whereas HDMI (480p on up to 1080i) is screwed up. So basically I'm stuck using component outputs from the DVD player :(

There was a suggestion about turning saturation down and sure enough that fixed the problem but only because there wasn't any color left... I used Avia to setup the player at 1080i/TV and even some of the Avia frames had green spots in them. All the actual test patterns where fine however and as expected after adjusting the settings I ended up back to normal saturation levels so that the problem is back.

Another suggestion was to reset the Oppo player. I didn't see how to do that ... I did try various modes on the TV and all modes had the problem. Hopefully someone can take a look at the picture I put in the photo area listed below (assuming I do this correctly...) and give some other suggestions. A friend of mine mentioned that perhaps the HDMI/DVI cable from Oppo was junk and should be replaced but I thought cable quality shouldn't be an issue with HDMI/DVI plus I would expect them to send me a decent cable.

http://gallery.avsforum.com/showphoto.php/photo/18708/size/big

Just an update, the "ugly" red spotches on the picture above is being generated by the Oppo player with the latest firmware (brand new player). Looks like I have a bad Oppo player and/or the firmware is bad. I ended up verifying the problem is in the player by connecting it to a friends Sony SXRD and seeing the identical red/green problems that I have on my HP TV. Resetting the player didn't have any affect. Next is re-burning the firmware but I will contact Oppo again first to make sure it doesn't void the warrenty. I suspect I just got a bad player since no one else is reporting this problem.

Just an update, the "ugly" red spotches on the picture above is being generated by the Oppo player with the latest firmware (brand new player). Looks like I have a bad Oppo player and/or the firmware is bad. I ended up verifying the problem is in the player by connecting it to a friends Sony SXRD and seeing the identical red/green problems that I have on my HP TV. Resetting the player didn't have any affect. Next is re-burning the firmware but I will contact Oppo again first to make sure it doesn't void the warrenty. I suspect I just got a bad player since no one else is reporting this problem.

Reflashing the firmware won't void your warranty.

Have you reported this to oppo? It's probably whey it's 'unpublicized,' though.

Dave

Yes. They thanked me for the feedback. :)

Jim

Just an update, the "ugly" red spotches on the picture above is being generated by the Oppo player with the latest firmware (brand new player). Looks like I have a bad Oppo player and/or the firmware is bad. I ended up verifying the problem is in the player by connecting it to a friends Sony SXRD and seeing the identical red/green problems that I have on my HP TV. Resetting the player didn't have any affect. Next is re-burning the firmware but I will contact Oppo again first to make sure it doesn't void the warrenty. I suspect I just got a bad player since no one else is reporting this problem.

This is definately a DVI board gone bad. A firmware will not fix this problem. Have OPPO replace the unit.

When I got the OPPO a couple weeks back, the first DVD I played was "Kronk's New Groove" from Disney for my son. It looked horrid, all sorts of horizontal mpeg blocks and such. I thought I would have to send it back.

But, after using it for Ice Age and other animated films, Kronk's was the only one with trouble. Any one else try this DVD with the player?

The kids actually just finished watching this DVD. No issues. The only strange thing is that all signs have a French subtitle.

Weird.

-Lou

I had a weird thing with subtitles last night with starwars. When Jabba the hut was talking there were no subtitles. So I hit stop went into the setup and under the preference page subtitles were turnd off I switched them to auto and all was fine jabba now has subtitles but wile I was there I saw many languages to pick from mabe yours is set to french. Just a thought

Kronk's new groove looked like crap on my htpc also. Looked like compression artifacts to me.

I'm prettty sure this is the classic garbage in-garbage out deal. Oh yeah, could someone explain to me what macroblocking is and what it will look like?You have that right. Here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6811617&&#post6811617) is a post on suppressing macroblocking. Use the first link at the bottom to find a description and examples.

Gary

This is definately a DVI board gone bad. A firmware will not fix this problem. Have OPPO replace the unit.

A couple minutes after reading your post I received an email response from Oppo (I emailed them a couple hours ago with the picture of the problem):

"This is most definately the DVI mainboard behaving badly. This kind of
image artifacting can only be caused by a defective DVI output. ..."

Looks like they cloned your response! Instead of calling Oppo and trying to describe the problem I should have just sent them the image first go round. I would have had a new player already had I done that first...They have already shipped me a new player. Great customer service! Its wonderful that I don't have to ship them my player back first which would prolong the wait. I have my new HP HDTV and the only thing its good for is watching OTA signals received by my $6 antenna :(

The kids actually just finished watching this DVD. No issues. The only strange thing is that all signs have a French subtitle.

Weird.

-Lou


I've seen exactly this on another kid's movie (I forget which). They wouldn't let me play around with it at the time and I'd forgotten all about it until I saw your post. Now which one was it...

Steve.

When loading The Incredibles and just hitting play, the Oppo is doing subtitles, I believe it's french, but only for the words of the charachters in the intro, not for everything they're saying. The kids actually just finished watching this DVD. No issues. The only strange thing is that all signs have a French subtitle. I had a weird thing with subtitles last night with starwars. When Jabba the hut was talking there were no subtitles. So I hit stop went into the setup and under the preference page subtitles were turnd off I switched them to auto and all was fine jabba now has subtitles but wile I was there I saw many languages to pick from mabe yours is set to french. Just a thought I've seen exactly this on another kid's movie (I forget which). This is a known issue (see the defect list in the first post in this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=4924650&&#post4924650)). OPPO will eventually fix this with firmware. As a workaround for now, enter the DVD menu (not the player menu) for each disk you insert, and select "NONE" for subtitles.

Also see Dixie Flatline's post just below.

Gary

JAWA, the Buffy Season 1 dvds are very poor quality to begin with. The later seasons are less compressed and look better, although I haven't tried any yet on my new Oppo.

This is a known issue (see the defect list in the first post in this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=4924650&&#post4924650)). OPPO will eventually fix this with firmware. As a workaround for now, enter the DVD menu (not the player menu) for each disk you insert, and select "NONE" for subtitles.

Gary
Gary, I've actually found this does not work 100% -- trying to watch SW Ep. II the other night, I found that selecting "None" in the disc menu still left me with full English subtitles. (My Oppo's default subtitle setting is OFF.)

However, one tip for those trying to watch the Star Wars discs: for those movies which have subtitled alien speech, toggle through the subtitles with the Subtitle button on the remote. Subtitle 1 and 2 will both show as "English"; number 1 is full English subtitles, and number 2 is the one you want, with subtitles only for Huttese and other alien languages. There'll usually be at least one other English subtitle set at the end of the list, but that seems to be for the commentary track.

Good addendum, Dixie! I've referenced your post in mine.

Dixie, that reminds me, the first DVD I watched with my Oppo was the original Star Wars, and when Jabba is speaking to Han I turned on subtitles so I could understand what he was saying. The subtitles said it was in Huttese! What a kick! I wonder if ET speaks in ETese.

Gary, I've actually found this does not work 100% -- trying to watch SW Ep. II the other night, I found that selecting "None" in the disc menu still left me with full English subtitles. (My Oppo's default subtitle setting is OFF.)

However, one tip for those trying to watch the Star Wars discs: for those movies which have subtitled alien speech, toggle through the subtitles with the Subtitle button on the remote. Subtitle 1 and 2 will both show as "English"; number 1 is full English subtitles, and number 2 is the one you want, with subtitles only for Huttese and other alien languages. There'll usually be at least one other English subtitle set at the end of the list, but that seems to be for the commentary track.

What about setting the oppo to auto subtitles instead of off, that worked perfect for me.

What about setting the oppo to auto subtitles instead of off, that worked perfect for me.
Really? Which firmware are you on? With 1026, at least for me, the AUTO setting on the Oppo always turns on English subtitles, even on discs that default to having subtitles off. This has been a widely-known problem for a while, I believe (Oppo confirmed it when I emailed them about it), and I'm not aware that the newer firmware contains any fixes for it.

Gary, thanks for the pointer -- I had some headaches figuring this out, so I hope it will save others some time and effort.

73ChargerFan, I think Huttese is the lingua franca of Tattooine, since there are a number of conversations in Episode I that are also identified as Huttese by the full English subtitles...

Im using 1111B firmware. I swear last night wile watching return of the jedi Jabba was talking and there were no subtitles. I knew there should be,so than all I did was change subtitles from off to auto on the oppo and it worked jabba now had subtitles and no one else just like it is suspost to. Ill try it agan to see if it was a fluke.

Any word from Oppo on fixing the A/V sync bug in the next firmware release? That is currently the only issue standing between me and the 971H right now, as I'm sure is the case with a lot of other people.

Any word from Oppo on fixing the A/V sync bug in the next firmware release? That is currently the only issue standing between me and the 971H right now, as I'm sure is the case with a lot of other people.

No fix, but a larger delay has been added. It is likely that OPPO will never come to a good solution for the OPDV971H unless they find a way to make the buffer less plastic.

Any word from Oppo on fixing the A/V sync bug in the next firmware release? That is currently the only issue standing between me and the 971H right now, as I'm sure is the case with a lot of other people.

FWIW, I've watched probably 10 DVD movies so far on my Oppo, and have not run into the sync issue. I wouldn't let it stop you from buying one.

-Sean

Mine will not play Verbatim DVD+R Dual Layer (DL). They play fine in both my Sonys, but OPPO won't even recognize them! grrrrrrrrrr

Really? Which firmware are you on? With 1026, at least for me, the AUTO setting on the Oppo always turns on English subtitles, even on discs that default to having subtitles off. This has been a widely-known problem for a while, I believe (Oppo confirmed it when I emailed them about it), and I'm not aware that the newer firmware contains any fixes for it.

Gary, thanks for the pointer -- I had some headaches figuring this out, so I hope it will save others some time and effort.

73ChargerFan, I think Huttese is the lingua franca of Tattooine, since there are a number of conversations in Episode I that are also identified as Huttese by the full English subtitles...

I tryed the auto thing last night and you were right I must have hit the subtitle button to get to the subtitle 2 to get it right

FWIW, I've watched probably 10 DVD movies so far on my Oppo, and have not run into the sync issue. I wouldn't let it stop you from buying one.

-Sean

We got our OPPO a couple of weeks ago and the first few discs that we played had the sync issue. I set the delay to 10ms and forgot about it as nothing else has had a problem. Our display is 2 years old and the receiver is "ancient" in technology terms.

The PQ is wonderful. No pixelation noticed anywhere so far, even in fog/smoke/fade-out effects.

Only thing that I miss is that our Sony DVP-NS725P player would remember where you stopped playing a disc, even after a couple of other discs had been played. That was weird, but cool. I could watch movies in sections late, and the wife could watch hers earlier and I never had to search to see where I had left off. But did I say that the OPPO PQ is amazing!?

We are very glad that we bought this player!

Sony CRT KDP-57WS550
Yamaha RX-V795

Got an Oppo last week and very pleased with it. Especially pleased with the DivX capabilities which was one of the two key reasons why I bought one.

Just one slight oddity with DivX playback I've noticed, if you reverse review it seems to be at 32x speed regardless of the setting (e.g. 2x on screen is still 32x backwards). This makes skipping back a few seconds a tricky maneouvre. Forward review is fine at all speeds. Any particular reason why this might be, or a bug?

A couple minutes after reading your post I received an email response from Oppo (I emailed them a couple hours ago with the picture of the problem):

"This is most definately the DVI mainboard behaving badly. This kind of
image artifacting can only be caused by a defective DVI output. ..."

Looks like they cloned your response! Instead of calling Oppo and trying to describe the problem I should have just sent them the image first go round. I would have had a new player already had I done that first...They have already shipped me a new player. Great customer service! Its wonderful that I don't have to ship them my player back first which would prolong the wait. I have my new HP HDTV and the only thing its good for is watching OTA signals received by my $6 antenna :(

Somtimes pictures speak much louder than words. If OPPO had scene those images right away, they would have some to the same exact conclusion. Most likely the memory is defective in some manner, which is causing the color loss.

Mine will not play Verbatim DVD+R Dual Layer (DL). They play fine in both my Sonys, but OPPO won't even recognize them! grrrrrrrrrr

Make sure you have either the OP971-D-1022 or 1111B firmware installed. All previous firmwares lacked DVD+R DL support.

Woo Hoo! Got an email from OPPO with a link to another firmware upgrade. It now plays DVD+R DL! You'll need to send OPPO and email, they'll send you the link. This board won't let me post the link.

DS

Only thing that I miss is that our Sony DVP-NS725P player would remember where you stopped playing a disc, even after a couple of other discs had been played.

That is the only feature my wife and I miss from my Sony CD changer, as well. It was also a lot easier to get it to start from the previous stop as well. The Oppo is finicky in my opinion with this feature.

-Lou

Woo Hoo! Got an email from OPPO with a link to another firmware upgrade. It now plays DVD+R DL! You'll need to send OPPO and email, they'll send you the link. This board won't let me post the link.

DS

What date is this firmware they sent you?

Got an Oppo last week and very pleased with it. Especially pleased with the DivX capabilities which was one of the two key reasons why I bought one.

Just one slight oddity with DivX playback I've noticed, if you reverse review it seems to be at 32x speed regardless of the setting (e.g. 2x on screen is still 32x backwards). This makes skipping back a few seconds a tricky maneouvre. Forward review is fine at all speeds. Any particular reason why this might be, or a bug?

This is definitely not Oppo's fault. I have seen quite a few MTK based players and ALL of them go nuts on AVI rewind. It might be a bug, but it doesn't look it is going to be fixed soon or at all. I'd rather think of it as a codec limitation. Hope I am wrong.

Woo Hoo! Got an email from OPPO with a link to another firmware upgrade. It now plays DVD+R DL! You'll need to send OPPO and email, they'll send you the link. This board won't let me post the link.

DS

Can you please tell what new features or improvements have you discovered in this new f/w?

More important, does it support long file names or I need to stick with the hacked software?

Woo Hoo! Got an email from OPPO with a link to another firmware upgrade. It now plays DVD+R DL!

The OPPO has been able to play DVD+R DL discs for awhile now.

The OPPO has been able to play DVD+R DL discs for awhile now.If DS ordered through Amazon, he may have received a unit with old firmware.

What date is this firmware they sent you? According to the "Rate your OPPO" thread, DS now has the latest 1111B firmware. The trouble is, he rated the OPPO a "1" before checking his firmware version!

This is definitely not Oppo's fault. I have seen quite a few MTK based players and ALL of them go nuts on AVI rewind. It might be a bug, but it doesn't look it is going to be fixed soon or at all. I'd rather think of it as a codec limitation. Hope I am wrong.Thank you for clarifying this, Trance. Good to know!

Gary

Hello all.
Sincere thanks for the wealth of information made available relative to this player.
(esp. Paul, Gary, Necromancer, et al....)

I've something of an enigma to present to the thread:

I'm running my Oppo(v1111B) with a Panny 37PX50U at 720p, generally with great success.
NTSC discs look really good(no significant MB issues, no "shift", only minor apparent underscan). Though I am, in fact, experiencing the audio-synch issue that has been mentioned on this thread, a 50ms delay seems to help and I remain confident that OPPO will remedy this issue sometime soon, as they have proven themselves to be an industry leader in customer responsiveness.

However, whenever I task my gear to make the PAL=>NTSC conversion (I've a handful of PAL discs that I cherish), all anamorphic 16:9 material appears to shift downward approx. 3/4" leaving a "letterbox" bar only at the top of my display. (On one of my PAL discs, Herzog's "Where the Green Ants Dream", a portion of the bottom line in one frame of the the title credits is cut off, though all subtitles display just fine).

Oddly enough, the disc distributor's logo screen, as well as the disc menu screens, are not subject to the downward shift, they fill the display entirely as would be expected. It is only once the "feature" begins that this shift occurs.

Additionally, this same phenomena seems to occur in NTSC discs that have been mastered from PAL sources!
(Leading me to wonder if there may be an aspect ratio discrepancy in european film equipment? Hence, the frequently encountered "approximately 1.85:1" specification listing on DVD disc packaging? And, if so, wouldn't the anamorphic coding scale the image accordingly, or, at the very least, "center" the image with thinner "letterbox" bars at both the top and bottom of the display?)

I am employing the DVI=>HDMI cable provided by OPPO.
My settings are:
TV Type: Auto
Display Type: Wide/Sqz
Video Mode: Video 2

OPPO has been made aware of my experience, though they had no anamorphic PAL discs with which to test their own 42PX50U for this anomaly.

Would anyone be willing to offer conjecture as to the cause of this issue?
I would be grateful, as I'm at a loss.

Thank you in advance.
Peter

Everybody, could someone please recommend me a DVD disk or disks on which you have experienced:

1) Worst macroblocking
2) Worst lip-synch

The reason is I am trying to determine whether it is a player's fault or the audio/video equipment is to blame.

I have yet to see any kind of those problems on my Oppo and, therefore, am willing to try with the movies that have been causing troubles for many of you.

Thanks.

TD

Hello all.
Sincere thanks for the wealth of information made available relative to this player.
(esp. Paul, Gary, Necromancer, et al....)

I've something of an enigma to present to the thread:

I'm running my Oppo(v1111B) with a Panny 37PX50U at 720p, generally with great success.
NTSC discs look really good (no significant MB issues, no "shift", only minor apparent underscan), though I am, in fact, experiencing the audio-synch issue that has been mentioned on this thread, I remain confident that OPPO will remedy this sometime soon, as they have proven themselves to be an industry leader in customer responsiveness.

However, whenever I task my gear to make the PAL=>NTSC conversion (I've a handful of PAL discs that I cherish), all anamorphic 16:9 material appears to shift downward approx. 3/4" leaving a "letterbox" bar at the top only of my display. (On one of my PAL discs, Herzog's "Where the Green Ants Dream", a portion of the bottom line in one frame of the the title credits is cut off, though all subtitles display just fine).

Oddly enough, the disc distributor's logo screen, as well as the disc menu screens, are not subject to the downward shift, they fill the display entirely as would be expected. It is only once the "feature" begins that this shift occurs.

Additionally, this same phenomena seems to occur in NTSC discs that have been mastered from PAL sources!
(Leading me to wonder if there may be an aspect ratio discrepancy in european film equipment? Hence, the frequently encountered "approximately 1.85:1" specification listing on DVD disc packaging? And, if so, wouldn't the anamorphic coding scale the image accordingly, or, at the very least, "center" the image with thinner "letterbox" bars at both the top and bottom of the display?)

I am employing the DVI=>HDMI cable provided by OPPO.
My settings are:
TV Type: Auto
Display Type: Wide/Sqz
Video Mode: Video 2

OPPO has been made aware of my experience, though they had no anamorphic PAL discs with which to test their own 42PX50U for this anomaly.

Would anyone be willing to offer conjecture as to the cause of this issue?
I would be grateful, as I'm at a loss.

Thank you in advance.
Peter

Peter, you are not doing a PAL to NTSC conversion with your settings. You are outputting PAL since your TV Type is set to Auto. The Oppo is outputting PAL when you play a PAL dvd (720p @50hz) and your display is not correctly displaying the PAL resolution. If you set the Oppo to TV Type NTSC, it will do the PAL to NTSC conversion at 720p @60hz and it should display correctly.

Ja Phule,
Thank you for the timely reply. It is kind of you to offer assistance.

Regrettably, I had, in fact, tried to "force" the conversion by setting the OPPO to "NTSC" (and to "PAL", as well) as opposed to "AUTO" prior to posting, but to no avail. The issue persists.

Again, you have my thanks for the very valid recommendation, and I would certainly welcome any other recommendations and/or potential solutions.

Peter

Peter,

Did you have this problem using the 1022 firmware? Also, are using Video 1 or Video 2 as your DVI mode output?

I have not used any PAL Anamorphic DVDs on my Panasonic TH-42PX50U, so I can't help you diagnose the problem futher.

I wonder if anyone has some info about their upcoming portable model.
It seems that the specifications get constantly changed on the web-site, mainly it had been upgraded from initial 7'' to 10.2''. Any idea if it will be an MTK based?

I hope that excellent customer service and technical support Oppo is famous for will be the same for this player. I am quite tired of the players, especially portables, that never see any single firmware update!

That's why I am going to rely on Oppo on this one :-)

Peter,

Did you have this problem using the 1022 firmware? Also, are using Video 1 or Video 2 as your DVI mode output?

I have not used any PAL Anamorphic DVDs on my Panasonic TH-42PX50U, so I can't help you diagnose the problem futher.

Necromancer,
Thank you for your reply.

I am using the "Video 2" mode.
I experienced the same issue using the 1022 firmware, though I'd not yet
thought of trying to force the conversion by setting the TV Type to "NTSC" when 1022 was resident.
Perhaps I'll try a reflash back to 1022.

Again, much appreciated...

Peter

I posted several pages back that I received my Oppo on Jan 6 and was having stuttering problems (momentary pause of the video then jumping to catch-up type effect) when playing back various media types recorded on a GoVideo VR3930 DVD-R/RW. I called Oppo customer support on Thursday. Was told that they are aware of the problem with DVD recorders, but had not yet identified the cause. The fix could be just a software patch, a hardware modification, or require both. Unfortunately, if it's a hardware update, I would be stuck once the 30-day money-back return period expires.

Oppo did say that they needed to have it resolved by the time their DVD recorder is launched. That doesn't help! Is anyone on the forum close to the folks at Oppo to know what is going on with this issue? Should I wait another 2 weeks and hope for a S/W patch, before requesting a return authorization? I like the unit - playback of commercial disks is excellent - and would rather see that this stutter issue gets fixed by Oppo.

John

I posted several pages back that I received my Oppo on Jan 6 and was having stuttering problems (momentary pause of the video then jumping to catch-up type effect) when playing back various media types recorded on a GoVideo VR3930 DVD-R/RW. I called Oppo customer support on Thursday. Was told that they are aware of the problem with DVD recorders, but had not yet identified the cause. The fix could be just a software patch, a hardware modification, or require both. Unfortunately, if it's a hardware update, I would be stuck once the 30-day money-back return period expires.

Oppo did say that they needed to have it resolved by the time their DVD recorder is launched. That doesn't help! Is anyone on the forum close to the folks at Oppo to know what is going on with this issue? Should I wait another 2 weeks and hope for a S/W patch, before requesting a return authorization? I like the unit - playback of commercial disks is excellent - and would rather see that this stutter issue gets fixed by Oppo.

John

They have not found the smoking gun which is causing this problem. Many discs have been sent to them over the summer (from forum members) but there has been no headway into the issue. Likely we will not see anything fruitful until the time of the DVD Recorders release, as OPPO would want to make the two units as compatable as possible.

I have a few questions that may be too basic, and if so please excuse them!

I bought an Oppo in August, and have not updated the firmware. I recently purchased a JVC 1080p pro, and began running DVE. In order to set brightness of the JVC set, I increased brightness on the Oppo to +8, while leaving the setting on the JVC at zero.

Questions:
1 - Should I upgrade the firmware on my Oppo? I understand there have been some problems with some people with some sets (including the LCOS based SXRDs) but I haven't heard of any reports with the new Oppo firmware and the new JVC 1080p sets.
2 - Would I be better off just raising the Oppo brightness to +3 or so, and then setting brightness higher on the JVC set?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

They have not found the smoking gun which is causing this problem. Many discs have been sent to them over the summer (from forum members) but there has been no headway into the issue. Likely we will not see anything fruitful until the time of the DVD Recorders release, as OPPO would want to make the two units as compatable as possible.

Thanks for the reply. Sorry to hear that Oppo appears to be stuck finding root-cause of the problem. Makes me concerned that it could be going the way of a hardware problem. Unfortunately, I have around 150 DVDs that have been burned using the VR3930. I'm going to wait another week before making the final call. In the interim, I just purchased a Samsung HD-850 at CC to try out. Doing some A-B tests this afternoon, the Oppo does show an advantage with detail of people's faces in dark scenes (less posterization, less clay-face). However, I ran my test disks through the HD-850 and everything plays fine (no stuttering).

John

I posted several pages back that I received my Oppo on Jan 6 and was having stuttering problems (momentary pause of the video then jumping to catch-up type effect) when playing back various media types recorded on a GoVideo VR3930 DVD-R/RW. I called Oppo customer support on Thursday. Was told that they are aware of the problem with DVD recorders, but had not yet identified the cause. The fix could be just a software patch, a hardware modification, or require both. Unfortunately, if it's a hardware update, I would be stuck once the 30-day money-back return period expires.

Oppo did say that they needed to have it resolved by the time their DVD recorder is launched. That doesn't help! Is anyone on the forum close to the folks at Oppo to know what is going on with this issue? Should I wait another 2 weeks and hope for a S/W patch, before requesting a return authorization? I like the unit - playback of commercial disks is excellent - and would rather see that this stutter issue gets fixed by Oppo.

John

Return it. I had the same problem and was not comfortable with the possibility that they would ever solve it so I returned mine.

Everybody, could someone please recommend me a DVD disk or disks on which you have experienced:

1) Worst macroblocking
2) Worst lip-synch

The reason is I am trying to determine whether it is a player's fault or the audio/video equipment is to blame.

I have yet to see any kind of those problems on my Oppo and, therefore, am willing to try with the movies that have been causing troubles for many of you.

Thanks.

TD

My worst DVD for audio/video synchronization problems is Genesis - Live at Wembley Stadium.

My worst DVD for audio/video synchronization problems is Genesis - Live at Wembley Stadium.

The Eagles DVD is horrible! Thank God I got a Felston!

We got our OPPO a couple of weeks ago and the first few discs that we played had the sync issue. I set the delay to 10ms and forgot about it as nothing else has had a problem. Our display is 2 years old and the receiver is "ancient" in technology terms.

The PQ is wonderful. No pixelation noticed anywhere so far, even in fog/smoke/fade-out effects.

Only thing that I miss is that our Sony DVP-NS725P player would remember where you stopped playing a disc, even after a couple of other discs had been played. That was weird, but cool. I could watch movies in sections late, and the wife could watch hers earlier and I never had to search to see where I had left off. But did I say that the OPPO PQ is amazing!?

We are very glad that we bought this player!

Sony CRT KDP-57WS550
Yamaha RX-V795

Okie.

I have a similar set: Sony KP-57WS520. Have you used Avia or DVE to look and see if the colors were even? With the three upconverting players I have tried with HDMI, there is extreme red push or green depression.
I'm currently using the Panasonic XP-30 over component. I'm curious if Oppo would produce a better picture.

If you set the Oppo to TV Type NTSC, it will do the PAL to NTSC conversion at 720p @60hz and it should display correctly.
A question about PAL to NTSC conversion on the Oppo... Is the conversion really being done in 720p space, or is the board converting to 480p first and then scaling up to 720p?
Also, is there a way to set the 720p output to 720p@50Hz?

A question about PAL to NTSC conversion on the Oppo... Is the conversion really being done in 720p space, or is the board converting to 480p first and then scaling up to 720p?
Also, is there a way to set the 720p output to 720p@50Hz?

It will do a 576i to 480i conversion, then upconver that to 720p.

The output is 720p/50Hz on most displays when outputting a PAL signal. However, some display devices will sync it as 60Hz instead, which will cause a lot of playback problems including tearing, ghosting, and interlacing.

It will do a 576i to 480i conversion, then upconver that to 720p.
That's very unfortunate. It'd be nice to have the 20% extra vertical resolution when playing PAL discs.
Do you (or anyone else) know of any upconverting DVD players that play PAL discs by scaling them directly to 720p or 1080i?

Everybody, could someone please recommend me a DVD disk or disks on which you have experienced:
1) Worst macroblocking This post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6811617&&#post6811617) has a link at the end, with some good examples.

Gary

That's very unfortunate. It'd be nice to have the 20% extra vertical resolution when playing PAL discs.
Do you (or anyone else) know of any upconverting DVD players that play PAL discs by scaling them directly to 720p or 1080i?

I've mentioned this before, but there is little to no advantage in the extra PAL resolution: on my set up, oppo to AE700, NTSC discs look identical, or often better than the PAL versions of the same films. Someone did mention that this maybe because of the resolution of the video master, that is 468? or something like that.

Dave

The Eagles DVD is horrible! Thank God I got a Felston!

I'm assuming you mean audio/video sync on the Farewell I Tour DVD. That is my second worst disc :) I only notice it during the first few songs and it clears up for me after that. It seams 20 or 30 more ms of delay would fix it for me on that dvd.

Ja Phule,
Thank you for the timely reply. It is kind of you to offer assistance.

Regrettably, I had, in fact, tried to "force" the conversion by setting the OPPO to "NTSC" (and to "PAL", as well) as opposed to "AUTO" prior to posting, but to no avail. The issue persists.

Again, you have my thanks for the very valid recommendation, and I would certainly welcome any other recommendations and/or potential solutions.

Peter

If you haven't tried it yet, try setting the Oppo to Video1 mode, and tv type to NTSC.

It will do a 576i to 480i conversion, then upconver that to 720p.

The output is 720p/50Hz on most displays when outputting a PAL signal. However, some display devices will sync it as 60Hz instead, which will cause a lot of playback problems including tearing, ghosting, and interlacing.

That's very unfortunate. It'd be nice to have the 20% extra vertical resolution when playing PAL discs.
Do you (or anyone else) know of any upconverting DVD players that play PAL discs by scaling them directly to 720p or 1080i?

I was under the impression that the Oppo will upconvert 576i to 720p50hz if you set the TV Type to PAL or Auto? However, if you set the Oppo to TV Type NTSC, it will do 576i to 480i and then upconvert to 720p60hz.

Couple ?s - does anyone know how this stacks up to the dvb318 in terms of SOUND quality? Also how is the new remote for it? Are there any options for autoplay on this (skips menus and all the crappy previews and wooshes you straight to the movie).

I will be using this on a 70 inch Qualia 006 over dvi (it automatically upscales to 1080P but a better external scaler is a good thing) using a zenith dvb318 for the sound quality.

Everybody, could someone please recommend me a DVD disk or disks on which you have experienced:

1) Worst macroblocking
2) Worst lip-synch

The reason is I am trying to determine whether it is a player's fault or the audio/video equipment is to blame.

I have yet to see any kind of those problems on my Oppo and, therefore, am willing to try with the movies that have been causing troubles for many of you.

Thanks.

TD

For me the worst audio lag is in the THX optimizer section of the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy DVD. In the part where it highlights each speaker as it plays sound to that channel, the wrong speaker is highlighted for each one, and in the section where it plays a sound to check phase of your speakers, it lags exactly enough so that it displays "out of phase" while playing an in phase sound, and "in phase" while it is playing an out of phase sound. This could easily cause someone to mess up their sound system.

Thanks for the reply. Sorry to hear that Oppo appears to be stuck finding root-cause of the problem. Makes me concerned that it could be going the way of a hardware problem. Unfortunately, I have around 150 DVDs that have been burned using the VR3930. I'm going to wait another week before making the final call. In the interim, I just purchased a Samsung HD-850 at CC to try out. Doing some A-B tests this afternoon, the Oppo does show an advantage with detail of people's faces in dark scenes (less posterization, less clay-face). However, I ran my test disks through the HD-850 and everything plays fine (no stuttering).

John
John,

FYI - I also tried this Samsung player and had to return it due to heavy black crush (loss of detail in dark scenes). Hopefully you'll have more success. I found the Oppo to be much more forgiving in such scenes.

Don't use the THX audio optomizer with the Oppo. This is a known problem.

I've mentioned this before, but there is little to no advantage in the extra PAL resolution: on my set up, oppo to AE700, NTSC discs look identical, or often better than the PAL versions of the same films. Someone did mention that this maybe because of the resolution of the video master, that is 468? or something like that.
I'm assuming you're outputting NTSC as NTSC and PAL as PAL and letting the AE700 do the upconversion to 720p? Otherwise it's not a valid comparison. Also, keep in mind that many deinterlacers don't handle 2-2 pulldown correctly so the PAL image might come out blurrier than it should.

If you want to compare the DVD releases, the best way to do that is on a computer, frame by frame.

If you haven't tried it yet, try setting the Oppo to Video1 mode, and tv type to NTSC.

Once again, thank you for the advice.
However, the Video 1 mode yields the same result.
(Mind you, my PAL discs are certainly watchable, it's just that the shift is just noticeable enough to detract modestly from my full enjoyment of the film, and for that matter, the player itself).

On a positive note, as a result of your recommendation (thank you, sir) to change my TV Type setting from "AUTO" to "NTSC", the nasty "horizontal shearing" I'd been experiencing on some PAL discs has been virtually eliminated.
So, in fact, some good has come of all this.

I've heard that OPPO is putting a lot of effort into resolving some of these PAL issues in a future firmare release, so I'll continue to hold out hope.

My gratitude to all who offered insight and advice.

Peter

I was under the impression that the Oppo will upconvert 576i to 720p50hz if you set the TV Type to PAL or Auto?

He was asking about the PAL to NTSC process. You are correct about PAL to PAL.

"Don't use the THX audio optmizer "

Is it OK to use the THX Video optimizer like the one that comes with Star Wars?

Okie.

I have a similar set: Sony KP-57WS520. Have you used Avia or DVE to look and see if the colors were even? With the three upconverting players I have tried with HDMI, there is extreme red push or green depression.
I'm currently using the Panasonic XP-30 over component. I'm curious if Oppo would produce a better picture.

Uh, no. I just went through the OPPO menu and played with the image adjustments to see what happens at the different output resolutions, and then wound up setting most of them back to the defaults. The OPPO must output to the Sony's DVI input in order to take advantage of the image scaling.

The PQ of this player is wonderful. I just keep it set on 1080i, although the 720p setting also looks great.

My wife sits right at 6 feet away from the screen and whereas with the Sony Progressive scan DVD player the image looked textured at that viewing range, with the OPPO it is just clean and clear, if the movie wasn't shot with too much film grain, that is, then the film grain is super clear.

Guess what I'm saying is that the OPPO works great with this KDP-57WS550 display. Ours has the 1111B firmware and I can't see any sideways shift, although we have only played commercial DVDs so far.

_____________

Sony CRT KDP-57WS550
Yamaha RX-V795

Just noticed this last night as well (new Oppo, 1111B firmware)

At 1080i into my crt, on the Oppo logo screen, the horizontal-ish portions of the logo flicker. Rock solid at 480p and 720p.


On a seperate topic, was given a Philips universal learning remote for x-mas, which of course does not know the Oppo. Any chance a downgrade to 1022 firmware and silver remote codes would be 'helpful'?

As far as I know all Sony CRT'd do this at 1080i the image "shakes" with the oppo and my panny s97.

I think it has to do with how the sony handles the upconverted information its being sent.

Since it's in the panny as well, it could also be a Faroudja 23xx chipsets.

Since it's in the panny as well, it could also be a Faroudja 23xx chipsets.

It is the Faroudja chipset mainly. It does not do interlaced video well.

guess that would explain it!

Couple ?s - does anyone know how this stacks up to the dvb318 in terms of SOUND quality? Also how is the new remote for it? Are there any options for autoplay on this (skips menus and all the crappy previews and wooshes you straight to the movie). The OPPO's sound quality is excellent, the new remote is much better, and yes, one option skips the trailers and goes straight to the movie, and the other option takes you directly to the main menu.

I'm assuming you're outputting NTSC as NTSC and PAL as PAL and letting the AE700 do the upconversion to 720p? Otherwise it's not a valid comparison. Also, keep in mind that many deinterlacers don't handle 2-2 pulldown correctly so the PAL image might come out blurrier than it should.

If you want to compare the DVD releases, the best way to do that is on a computer, frame by frame.

Not sure I follow you. I'm outputting NTSC as NTSC and PAL as PAL, the oppo is set to auto, it upscales but doesn't convert as the AE700 plays PAL and NTSC natively (with the known PAL problems). Maybe my point wasn't specific to the initial question. All I was saying is that though you would think the 20% extra resolution on PAL discs would make for better transfers every time, like for like comparisons show very little difference. Indeed, if you look at the comparison site DVDBeaver.com you'll see that more often than not, if there is a difference, the NTSC is the sharper image where there is comparable data (this is done on a PC). It is something my own experience agrees with. This has always struck me as odd--and as someone who lives in PAL land, as disappointing.

Dave

I've seen a lot of talk on this thread about problems playing DVDs that were recorded on set top DVD recorders. Is this a universal problem with discs recorded on ANY DVD recorders? I was considering getting one, but with the Oppo as my primary DVD player there would be little point in recording DVDs that I couldn't watch conveniently.
Does anyone have success stories of Brands and Models of DVD recorders that ARE compatible with the Oppo?
Specifically I'd love to be able to record anamorphic, but I understand that requires both the Recorder and the Source device to corrctly set a 16:9 flag, which apparently the HD Tivo doesn't send out correctly.

All I was saying is that though you would think the 20% extra resolution on PAL discs would make for better transfers every time, like for like comparisons show very little difference. Indeed, if you look at the comparison site DVDBeaver.com you'll see that more often than not, if there is a difference, the NTSC is the sharper image where there is comparable data (this is done on a PC). It is something my own experience agrees with. This has always struck me as odd--and as someone who lives in PAL land, as disappointing.

The extra PAL resolution takes up more disc space and requires more compression. That sometimes may negatively affect picture quality.

The extra PAL resolution takes up more disc space and requires more compression. That sometimes may negatively affect picture quality.


Yeah, I'd wondered about that. If the average DL PAL disc came in at 8GB plus then I'd agree, but like NTSC discs even good transfers of, say, 2 hour films are rarely more than 6.5GB; often less. It might be to do with something else, like economies of scale (the US must be by far the biggest DVD market), or NTSC friendly technology (for a similar reason)?

Who knows?

Dave

Couple ?s - does anyone know how this stacks up to the dvb318 in terms of SOUND quality? Also how is the new remote for it? Are there any options for autoplay on this (skips menus and all the crappy previews and wooshes you straight to the movie).

I will be using this on a 70 inch Qualia 006 over dvi (it automatically upscales to 1080P but a better external scaler is a good thing) using a zenith dvb318 for the sound quality.

I have both these players- Oppo to Samsung 50" 5063W DLP via DVI and Zenith to same tv via component. As far as audio goes I find it hard to tell the difference as I live in an apartment and can't play my reciever (Pioneer Elite VSX45tx) at high enough volumes to make a good judgement. I have them both connected to my amp using a Coaxial digital cable which is superior to Fiber Optic or Toslink.
Why do u need these 2 players? The Oppo is unwatchable with any DVD's that are not 'anamorphic', 'enhanced' or whatever u like to call it...its zooming ability is terrible- thats why u need the Zenith which does a beautiful job of strecthing any of those movies in your collection which are not Anamorphic.
The Oppo is superior to the Zenith for PQuality going to my tv using DVI running at 720p (this is the ideal setting for the Oppo- outputting at 720p to a tv via DVI which has a native resolution of 720)....the Zenith is best upconverting to 1080i via its component cables- thats what its famous for but the picture is noticably grainier looking than the Oppo- but its necessary like I said to play all your non-anamorphic discs on.
Finally, yes the Oppo has a feature called Direct Play- which lets u bypass all the FBI /upfronts ads etc......I forget how to access that featue but its on this thread somewhere.

The Oppo is superior to the Zenith for PQuality going to my tv using DVI running at 720p (this is the ideal setting for the Oppo- outputting at 720p to a tv via DVI which has a native resolution of 720)....the Zenith is best upconverting to 1080i via its component cables- thats what its famous for but the picture is noticably grainier looking than the Oppo- but its necessary like I said to play all your non-anamorphic discs on. hsinnott - Since you have both going into the same TV, can you tell me how macroblocking compares between the two? I.e., is the Oppo a significant improvement over the Zenith? Thanks!

I've seen a lot of talk on this thread about problems playing DVDs that were recorded on set top DVD recorders. Is this a universal problem with discs recorded on ANY DVD recorders? I was considering getting one, but with the Oppo as my primary DVD player there would be little point in recording DVDs that I couldn't watch conveniently.
Does anyone have success stories of Brands and Models of DVD recorders that ARE compatible with the Oppo?
Specifically I'd love to be able to record anamorphic, but I understand that requires both the Recorder and the Source device to corrctly set a 16:9 flag, which apparently the HD Tivo doesn't send out correctly.


I have two DVD recorders, an Emerson EWR10D4 and a Pioneer 531. I record mostly in SP mode, and DVD-Video format. Both offer excellent pic quality on the OPPO. DVD's from the Emerson stutter, ones from the Pioneer do not. However, I've had emails from folks with a other Pioneers (231, 431) that also had stutters on recorded DVD's . I also have a PC recorder, and it does not have stutters.

I've been in touch with OPPO about it and last summer, sent them some DVD's.

Rick

I just received my Oppo in the mail today (Yea!) :D and had a couple of initial set-up questions. I have gone through and done a few searches on this thread and found a few things to look for (THANKS GARY), but really did not find the answer to my questions.

First, I currently have a SDTV JVC that I will use the component input for a month or so until I get my HDTV. I want to run my THX video set-up from Finding Nemo. What original settings should I have on the Oppo Video setup before I start adjusting this? Should I set everything to 0 or take default? I do not want to tweak my current TV settings if it just makes things worse. :eek:

Second, once I get my new HDTV, what is the process? I assume I will be tweaking the TV settings not the DVD player settings.

Thanks for any input that you can give.

I just received my Oppo in the mail today (Yea!) :D and had a couple of initial set-up questions. I have gone through and done a few searches on this thread and found a few things to look for (THANKS GARY), but really did not find the answer to my questions.

First, I currently have a SDTV JVC that I will use the component input for a month or so until I get my HDTV. I want to run my THX video set-up from Finding Nemo. What original settings should I have on the Oppo Video setup before I start adjusting this? Should I set everything to 0 or take default? I do not want to tweak my current TV settings if it just makes things worse. :eek:

Second, once I get my new HDTV, what is the process? I assume I will be tweaking the TV settings not the DVD player settings.

Thanks for any input that you can give.

Since the Oppo only outputs component 480i, I believe the Oppo video settings only apply to the DVI output. Though, I'm not 100% sure about this.

Since the Oppo only outputs component 480i, I believe the Oppo video settings only apply to the DVI output. Though, I'm not 100% sure about this.

Thanks Ja Phule. That is what I was thinking about for the component, then my TV settings should drive what I see.

Any insight from anyone on my second question?

Second, once I get my new HDTV, what is the process? I assume I will be tweaking the TV settings not the DVD player settings.

Thanks for any input that you can give.JD, it is best to leave all OPPO settings at the default, or as found in this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6722751&&#post6722751). Then calibrate the TV. This applies to the component and the DVI outputs.

Gary

JD, it is best to leave all OPPO settings at the default, or as found in this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6722751&&#post6722751). Then calibrate the TV. This applies to the component and the DVI outputs.

Gary

Thanks Gary. That was the post that I was looking at. I will leave my current set alone and then with I get my HDTV, adjust that one as recommended.

Thanks for everyone's input....and so quickly! :D :D

FYI

http://www.techbargains.com/

Is reporting a $10 price drop on the Oppo at some retailers with Free shipping.

Ok heres a kicker, I just got my oppo yesterday and I have a 34xs955 and the Oppo is hooked up DVI-HDMI running Video 2 with latest firmware.

When I use 480p the Image "shakes", it does not happen at 720p.

The image has a slight movement at random intervals only at 480p.

Anyone have this same issue?

I emailed oppo to see if they can help as well.

Ok heres a kicker, I just got my oppo yesterday and I have a 34xs955 and the Oppo is hooked up DVI-HDMI running Video 2 with latest firmware.

When I use 480p the Image "shakes", it does not happen at 720p.

The image has a slight movement at random intervals only at 480p.

Anyone have this same issue?

I emailed oppo to see if they can help as well.

This is an issue with the 420/955 series at 480p. It can be corrected through the Service Menu of the Sony.

This is an issue with the 955 series at 480p. It can be corrected through the Service Menu of the Sony.

It doesn't happen with my Pany s97.

why would the oppo have this problem?

and what needs to be changed in the service menu?

It doesn't happen with my Pany s97.

why would the oppo have this problem?

and what needs to be changed in the service menu?

It is an issue with the OPDV971H and the Sony 420/955 series. I can't recall what needs to be changed. Someone on this forum mentioned the problem and the solution.

Found it (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6479534&highlight=Service+Menu+Sony#post6479524)

It is an issue with the OPDV971H and the Sony 420/955 series. I can't recall what needs to be changed. Someone on this forum mentioned the problem and the solution.

Found it (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6479534&highlight=Service+Menu+Sony#post6479524)


thank you sir.

I've seen a lot of talk on this thread about problems playing DVDs that were recorded on set top DVD recorders. Is this a universal problem with discs recorded on ANY DVD recorders? I was considering getting one, but with the Oppo as my primary DVD player there would be little point in recording DVDs that I couldn't watch conveniently.
Does anyone have success stories of Brands and Models of DVD recorders that ARE compatible with the Oppo?
Specifically I'd love to be able to record anamorphic, but I understand that requires both the Recorder and the Source device to corrctly set a 16:9 flag, which apparently the HD Tivo doesn't send out correctly.

DVDs recorded on my Sony GX7, GX300 and Panasonic ES10 DVD recorders all "stuttered" on an Oppo that I bought and returned recently because of this problem. I have since bought a Panasonic S97 which doesn't have the stuttering problem. DVDs burned on my PC DVD burner did not stutter as long as theye were not originally recorded on one of my DVD STB recorders.

As for the anamorphic question, making an anamorphic recording is more a function of the "Source" than the recorder. My DirecTV HR10-250 Tivo HD STB can be set to output a 16:9 anamorphic 480i widescreen signal over S-video. All of my DVD recorders will record the output as anamorphic which can be watched using Full mode on my HD TVs. However the picture is squeezed anamorphically and is distorted on 4:3 SD TVs unless the 16:9 flag is set during recording. The Sony GX7 and GX300 can be set to force recording in 16:9 mode. The Panasonic ES10 can not bet set to record in 16:9 mode and in order to watch DVDs recorded on the Pansonic on a 4:3 SD TV you need to upload the DVD to a PC and modify the flags to 16:9 and burn a new DVD. Not all HD STBs will output a 16:9 signal and will give a letterbox non-anamorphic picture that can be watched in Zoom mode on HD TVs.

The HR10-250 Tivo HD STB does not send out a 16:9 Flag that any DVD recorder will recognize. I have not been able to locate any source that does except maybe an older DirecTV Hughes HD receiver that is rumoured to do that.

I'm considering this DVD player, but only have component cables running to my projector. Anyone know if I can still take advantage of this players DVI output by using some kind of DVI to Component adapter?

Thanks.

I'm considering this DVD player, but only have component cables running to my projector. Anyone know if I can still take advantage of this players DVI output by using some kind of DVI to Component adapter?

Thanks.

I'm using my Oppo with an iScan VP30, with 720p DVI from the Oppo being converted to 1080i component into my RPTV. It produces beautiful results, but at a high cost. The iScan HD+ would also work, and is available a lot cheaper than the VP30, but still fairly expensive. I don't know of any DVI to component adapter that would give worthwhile results outside of a video processor. But if you want to go the video processor route, the Oppo does a great job.

JD, it is best to leave all OPPO settings at the default, or as found in this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6722751&&#post6722751). Then calibrate the TV. This applies to the component and the DVI outputs.

Gary

Got it hooked up last night and realized, my old DVD player was pathetic. I know that through component, this dvd player is not tops, but man, it was the best picture that I have seen on my SDTV with any DVD player.

I watched Underworld (UR) and not only was the picture as good as I have seen on my SDTV, but the sound output through the optical cable was superb.

As of now, I am greatly pleased and look forward to hooking this baby up to my new HDTV when I get it.

:) :p :D

A lot of really great info.
Aprest,
Thanks very much for the detailed response.
So i guess there is not a known DVD recorder that can be forced to set the 16:9 mode and not stutter when played back on the Oppo? :(
I have the HR10-250 so from what I've read and what you found the Tivo won't send the flag so I need a recorder that not only can be forced to that mode, but also doesn't stutter. I'm beginning to think my chances are better that Oppo will come up with a fix before that happens :D I was hoping to be able to record hybrid DVDs so I could watch them full screen, but if I play them on a 4:3 set they would still play normally.
In your experience, how big a loss in quality is there zooming a letterboxed recorded DVD rather than stretching an anamorphic? I would guess that the lower amount of visual data in a letterboxed 480 would allow higher bit rates and thus be a wash, but I have no experience with the DVD recorders so I have no idea. I know when I zoom letterboxed shows like BSG on DTV the quality suffers a little but it's not too bad.

hsinnott - Since you have both going into the same TV, can you tell me how macroblocking compares between the two? I.e., is the Oppo a significant improvement over the Zenith? Thanks!

TonyS- I've never noticed macroblocking at all on my set- with either DVD player...but it might be like the 'rainbow effect' common on DLP's- some people notice them, others don't....my tv is only a 50" screen- I'm guessing it might be more noticable on a larger screen? One thing I have noticed on the Oppo is a kind of 'shimmering' effect- the image seems to move or shake on the screen- I noticed this only a handful of times but I recently watched "The Hours" with Nicole Kidman and it was really bad-
I love both players for different reasons as mentioned before- the Zenith for how it handles 'non-anamorphic' discs, and the Oppo for its slightly shaper and less grainy image. The build quality of the Zenith is better- it comes with a decent remote too- the Oppo has 2 quirky design features I've really come to notice over time- specifically the 'flimsy' dvd tray and the way it doesn't eject all the way- you have to kinda' slide the disc in to place. The tray is so slim- sometimes I've thought the disc was seated correctly and closed the door- only to realize the disc was not in place- and the disc ended up getting scratched...and the remote with the Oppo goes straight in the bin- its a joke--- but anyone with a decent home theater set up should get a Harmony remote- they're so nice to use...and besides, I'd rather Oppo put the money in the player than into the remote.
HD DVD is only 2 months away- BestBuy I think is already taking pre-orders on the first Toshiba player for about $330....and BlueRay is on the horizon too.....
Movies in either of these formats will be superior to anything any current DVD players can display so my advice to anyone is to wait for those formats.

I'm considering this DVD player, but only have component cables running to my projector. Anyone know if I can still take advantage of this players DVI output by using some kind of DVI to Component adapter?

The Oppo's output is in DVI-D digital format. A simple adaptor won't convert the signal to analog component. You need a transcoder, which will cost you more than the DVD player.

Those DVI-to-component adaptors only work for DVI-A analog signals.

If you don't have a DVI/HDMI input on your projector, the Oppo is not an appropriate player for your application, unfortunately.

Does anyone know if discrete power on/off codes exist for the Oppo? Didn't see this addressed in the FAQ.

Thanks,
Sean

Does anyone know if discrete power on/off codes exist for the Oppo? Didn't see this addressed in the FAQ.

Thanks,
Sean

Discrete On/Off is not supported due to hardware limitations. However, OPPO has received some rather clever work arounds that could theoretically be implimented in a future specialized firmware in the future.

It is an issue with the OPDV971H and the Sony 420/955 series. I can't recall what needs to be changed. Someone on this forum mentioned the problem and the solution.

Found it (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6479534&highlight=Service+Menu+Sony#post6479524)

This VSTT Fix wont hurt my display at all will it? I have been in the service menu before and am used to the proceger I just would like some reinsurance that its a safe fix.

This VSTT Fix wont hurt my display at all will it? I have been in the service menu before and am used to the proceger I just would like some reinsurance that its a safe fix.

I have not heard of any issues associated to using the VSTT Fix.

How about this for the wishlist:
Video passthrough so I can use the Faroudja scaler for something other than just DVDs.

Obviously that'd be a hardware thing, so we can't expect to get it on this model, but it seems to me that since the chip is already in there... Or does the DCDi only work for MPEG video streams?

You can do DCDi for any type of input really. Many projectors, televisions, and receivers have DCDi built into their analog inputs. OPPO's DVD Recorder is reportadly going to use the Faroudja chipset for scaling all playback.

How about this for the wishlist:
Video passthrough so I can use the Faroudja scaler for something other than just DVDs.

You're never going to see that in a DVD player, much less one for $200. What you're asking for is a full video processor.

Kinda of a strange question for you guys. I have 100-200 backups that I did on the mac, which won't play on the oppo. I've already bought 300 dvd-r's to re-burn them (pc format) but was wondering if I go back to an earlier firmware version, do you think that might solve the problem of these mac disks? Probably not, but doesn't hurt to ask...

TIA

Anam8tor-
Take a look at this site--
Could be a great resource for Mac users

http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/%7Eshmhav/SVCD_on_a_Macintosh.html#edit_convert_MPEG

Covers conversions between DVD/VCD/DV

Anam8tor-
Take a look at this site--
Could be a great resource for Mac users

http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/%7Eshmhav/SVCD_on_a_Macintosh.html#edit_convert_MPEG

Covers conversions between DVD/VCD/DV

Thanks for the link. I spoke to oppo on Friday when I bought this player and I mentioned the mac backups. They said no problem if your mac program is burning iso format and not udf. Well, I was burning through disk utility and that uses the udf format. Wish I knew a couple of years ago and I could've burned with Toast. Oh well...

I got my Oppo today and just finished calibrating with DVE.

Exceptional picture, and no macroblocking to be seen on my Optoma RD50A.

Chalk up another satisfied customer.

Rolen_it_Up, that's good to hear! Now go and vote on the "Rate your OPPO" thread.

Gary

Yeah I got my oppo yesterday also. I calibrated it with DVE and it looks great. I haven't seen any macroblocking (JVC P61R1U). I will check the scenes in Monster Inc that people have suggested can show macroblocking tonight.

It played everything I threw at it, some xvid AVIs on DVD-R and a DVD-R DL and DVD+R DL movie disc I burned that doesn't work in any other player in my house. I didn't sit down and watch a complete movie yet, I was basically just jumping around in bunch of movies.

I recently watched "Dark Water" with Jennifer C. It has some noticeable macroblocking on the walls. It's only slight with my RPCRT but might be a gauge for flat panel owners to see if the Oppo is going to work out.

I recently watched "Dark Water" with Jennifer C. It has some noticeable macroblocking on the walls. It's only slight with my RPCRT but might be a gauge for flat panel owners to see if the Oppo is going to work out. I assume your TV is calibrated? Was this macroblock-enhance, or just a bad case of MPEG compression?

Gary

Just for reference, there are some examples of macroblocking that Kris Deering (and others) refer to, that are not caused by the Faroudja chip. Those examples are very visible on ANY player.

See this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6415307&&#post6415307) by Kris Deering about macroblocking on a Sony 3100ES in "Star Wars Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones".

Gary

No 720P on my Oppo! I've got my Oppo hooked up to my receiver (Denon 3806) via HDMI and passing into my Pioneer 4360. When I've got my Oppo set to 720P it's only coming across as 580i (or whatever the res is) on my Pioneer. Anyone have any ideas?

No 720P on my Oppo! I've got my Oppo hooked up to my receiver (Denon 3806) via HDMI and passing into my Pioneer 4360. When I've got my Oppo set to 720P it's only coming across as 580i (or whatever the res is) on my Pioneer. Anyone have any ideas?

Connect the Oppo directly to your display, does the problem still exist? This will determine if it's a problem with the Oppo or the Denon.

Does this only happen on 720p? What about 1080i or 480p?

I assume your TV is calibrated? Was this macroblock-enhance, or just a bad case of MPEG compression?

Gary


Yes, I have the set calibrated. This instance was indeed MBE. The scenes revealed the telltale brownish square-like blockiness. It was brief and seemed to be most noticeable in scenes with a greenish cast. I have seen the typical compression artifacting you refer to, but this was not one of those. Being the first time I've seen anything resembling this, it is possible it's the disc's fault, but I'd like to hear some other reports about it.

Does anyone have a Pronto CCF file with the new remotes code?

I've put the new firmware but the button "2" turn the player off rather than just 2. I need this to make it region free.

The OPPO's sound quality is excellent, the new remote is much better, and yes, one option skips the trailers and goes straight to the movie, and the other option takes you directly to the main menu.
What option on the oppo remote takes me directly to the main movie and skips everything else?

I watched Underworld (UR) and not only was the picture as good as I have seen on my SDTV, but the sound output through the optical cable was superb.
I watched that same version last night and it looked sick.

Anyone watch the R1 of Batman Begins, particularly the foggy scenes towards the end where the chemical agent is being released in the air on Gotham? I think I noticed fairly apparent MB, but it didn't bother me enough to warrant returning the player.

Does anyone have a Pronto CCF file with the new remotes code?

I've put the new firmware but the button "2" turn the player off rather than just 2. I need this to make it region free.
Use the remote that came with the Oppo to enter the code.

What option on the oppo remote takes me directly to the main movie and skips everything else? Its in the FAQ in the first post.
As soon as the DVD will allow, press "Stop", then "Menu".
Anyone watch the R1 of Batman Begins, particularly the foggy scenes towards the end where the chemical agent is being released in the air on Gotham? I think I noticed fairly apparent MB, but it didn't bother me enough to warrant returning the player. Yes, before my display was properly calibrated, that scene showed some macroblocking. After calibration, the MB was gone. I followed this method (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6811617&&#post6811617).

Gary

does anyone know when we are due for the new fimware or can tell us whats going to be in it as a teaser?

does anyone know when we are due for the new fimware or can tell us whats going to be in it as a teaser?

I actually was thinking the same thing. Seems to be taking longer to get one out this time around. I would have expected one in interim, especially with the unexpected picture shift some have after the 1111b update.