I'm using the 2/20 firmware, and have watched 3 movies, each one has exhibited random stutter, usually on a moving pan. It's usually only one hung frame for just a fraction of a second. I first thought I was imagining it, but now I've seen it over and over again.

So should I go to 2/28 as well? I'm using an Infocus 4805. My OPPO never stuttered before with the older firmware.

Thanks,

Wes

So should I go to 2/28 as well? I'm using an Infocus 4805. My OPPO never stuttered before with the older firmware.

Wes, the 0228 firmware eliminates the very behaviour you've described, though you may need to compensate for the A/V synch the interim release lacks.

Peter

I was watching Star Wars II (Clones) last night on my Pioneer 5060 HD plasma with the sound going through my Yamaha receiver. As the movie progressed, I began to notice a slight lip sync problem. It got worse with time, until it was unbearable near the end. I pushed stop and restarted the movie from where it left off and it seemed to improve somewhat. The Oppo is set to 720p through DVI/HDMI with most settings at factory default. Setting a delay would not help since the lip sync timing is not a constant value. Any wisdom on how to deal with this?

The 0220 firmware seems to help with the sync issue but it also introduces some new issues.Ive noticed the player now seems to drop frames or studder 4 or 5 times during a movie.I don't know if this is the players way of staying in sync or what but it is very distracting to me.

The 0220 firmware seems to help with the sync issue but it also introduces some new issues.Ive noticed the player now seems to drop frames or studder 4 or 5 times during a movie.I don't know if this is the players way of staying in sync or what but it is very distracting to me.
Mark,
The "frame dropping" anomaly is an unfortunate byproduct of the A/V synch fix incorporated in the 0220 firmware, and has been reported to Oppo. An "interim" firmware (0228) is available at the Oppo site that rectifies the frame dropping issue, however, you will have to compensate for the A/V synch.
(The 0228 firmware offers up to 100ms of audio delay, as opposed to the 50ms the 1111b firmware offered)

Peter

Thanks Pete,I send the audio to my Sony receiver via digital coax and my understanding is the delay settings in the Oppo only work on the analog outputs.Unfortunately my reciever doesn't have an audio delay feature.

Thanks Pete,I send the audio to my Sony receiver via digital coax and my understanding is the delay settings in the Oppo only work on the analog outputs.Unfortunately my reciever doesn't have an audio delay feature.

I see...

I suppose as a temporary measure you could revert to the analog audio outputs, reverting back to the digital out once Oppo sorts out the frame dropping issue. Discussion on this thread seems to indicate a fix will be forthcoming... Certainly an inconvenience, but it would "get you through".

Peter

I'm just curious, but has no one else had the loss of 480p problem? I completely lose the 480p setting with both the 0220 and the 0228 versions. Reverting to the 1022 D brings it back.

This is with the OPPO connected to a Sony 50" GWII using DVI to DVI and the OPPO set to either the "Wide" or "Wide/Sqz" mode.

-Toonces

I'm just curious, but has no one else had he loss of 480p problem? I completely lose the 480p setting with both the 0220 and the 0228 versions. Reverting to the 1022 D brings it back.

This is with the OPPO connected to a Sony 50" GWII using DVI to DVI and the OPPO set to either the "Wide" or "Wide/Sqz" mode.

-Toonces

Toonces,

I had 480p with both 0220 and 0228. I'm running oppos over DVI to Tosh 65hx93 RP-CRT

Rick

Toonces,

I had 480p with both 0220 and 0228. I'm running oppos over DVI to Tosh 65hx93 RP-CRT

Rick


Me too - Philips 42" Plasma

I was watching Star Wars II (Clones) last night on my Pioneer 5060 HD plasma with the sound going through my Yamaha receiver. As the movie progressed, I began to notice a slight lip sync problem. It got worse with time, until it was unbearable near the end. I pushed stop and restarted the movie from where it left off and it seemed to improve somewhat. The Oppo is set to 720p through DVI/HDMI with most settings at factory default. Setting a delay would not help since the lip sync timing is not a constant value. Any wisdom on how to deal with this?

Have you not read any of this thread? We've been talking about this for hundreds of pages.

Have you not read any of this thread? We've been talking about this for hundreds of pages.

Sorry for your trouble, Josh. I read on the Oppo site about a generic syncronization fix with the 220 firmware upgrade so I am trying it. I just don't remember a moving sync issue discussed yet;but based upon your comment, I am sure it has been. One tends to skim through the pages looking at what catches your eye, and I was more concerned with PQ topics like macroblocking while I was hunting for a player. I never got this sync issue until the Star Wars disk last night, so it really didn't concern me until then.

For all who have experimented, is the 220 or 228 firmware better for this?

I have been using Ver. 1020 since i got my oppo...i tried 1111b but got the left shift with my Hitachi Ultravision. I've been watching this forum listening to the "judder" talk about the new firmware so i downloaded both Ver. 0220 and 0228 today.

Using SW EPIII and watching the opening at least 5 times with every version and switching between the versions 3 times each, here is what i get with the three different firmware versions. Ver. 1020….If i pop in the disc and let it run through by itself to the root menu then select "play move" from the menu i get NO judder on the "a long time ago..." text or on the flare panning down to the ship...NONE. If i fast forward to or go back to those spots i DO get the judder. With Ver. 0220 i get 4 judders on the text no matter what, and from 4 to 6 on the flair. With Ver. 0228 i get random amounts of judder on the text...from 1 to 4...and the flair is as bad as Ver. 0220. So without any intervention on my part Ver. 1020 plays flawlessly.

Now the glitch....During my tests i would eject the tray, close the tray and wait for the options to "resume by pressing select" or "play from the beginning by pressing any other key". Well with versions 0220 and 0228 it would only resume where i had opened the tray if i pressed the Play/Pause button. With 1020 it worked as it should and played from the beginning. I'm using the older black remote by the way.

FWIW, I tried both 0220 & 0228 and also experienced an unstable image on the SW EPIII "a long time ago..." text. Went back to 1111b and the problem went away. Weird.

I'm running the production release 1.1, downloaded and burned yesterday.

Best,
jeff

Just wondering, where do you download this? I have searched and searched and can't find it.

Using the "mixed" output to TV, I am not having the lip sync issue when sounds is coming out from the TV.

But using the Optical Out to An Amp, I can see the picture lagging behind sound.

The audio delay function of Oppo doesn't affect its optical out. Any chance of Oppo making the audio delay function available for optical out too? My amp doesn't have any delay function either :(

I just got my Oppo player delivered today, and am pretty impressed so far. There's just one problem, and I'm hoping someone that's had the same situation can help me out.

I've got a 36" 4:3 Sony HDTV (KV-36HS420). I set the Oppo up to Normal/LB for the TV type, and then set the DVI to 720p or 1080i, and the menus on the Oppo appear just fine. However, when I put in an anamorphic disc, the picture is "squished", for lack of a better word. If I change the TV type on the Oppo to Wide, or Wide/SQZ, everything looks normal, but then when I play something 4:3, it has the bars on the sides.

Is this something I'm just going to have to live with? And just switch the TV type back to Normal/LB, and change back to 480p when I want to watch something that's 4:3 (TV shows, old movies, etc.). Or is there some setting I'm not setting up correctly with either the TV or the Oppo.

I tried to look through the thread, and I couldn't find a definitive answer by doing a search. One other person posted about this problem with the same TV, but a solution was never given.

Thanks in advance.

Any chance of Oppo making the audio delay function available for optical out too? My amp doesn't have any delay function either :(

Is there a hardware related reason they can't enable the delay for the optical output? I just find it hard to understand why we have to use analog output to get the benefits of the delay feature.

I just got my Oppo player delivered today, and am pretty impressed so far. There's just one problem, and I'm hoping someone that's had the same situation can help me out.

I've got a 36" 4:3 Sony HDTV (KV-36HS420). I set the Oppo up to Normal/LB for the TV type, and then set the DVI to 720p or 1080i, and the menus on the Oppo appear just fine. However, when I put in an anamorphic disc, the picture is "squished", for lack of a better word. If I change the TV type on the Oppo to Wide, or Wide/SQZ, everything looks normal, but then when I play something 4:3, it has the bars on the sides.

Is this something I'm just going to have to live with? And just switch the TV type back to Normal/LB, and change back to 480p when I want to watch something that's 4:3 (TV shows, old movies, etc.). Or is there some setting I'm not setting up correctly with either the TV or the Oppo.

I tried to look through the thread, and I couldn't find a definitive answer by doing a search. One other person posted about this problem with the same TV, but a solution was never given.

Thanks in advance.

You'll have to live with this at 1080i or 720p. If you want to watch 4:3 material using the full screen you'll need to output 480p. Sony 4:3 HDTVs squeeze everything into a 16:9 window with 1080i or 720p. You can get around this if you go into the service menu and apply some major tweaks, but trust me you don't want to do this.

" but to read a "professional" review that states clearly that the component output of the OPPO is superior to the DVI output is disconcerting at best. . . just plain wrong."

I disagree with your statement that it`s just wrong. Altho the Reviewer should have stated it properly. The OPPOs component video IS superior to the DVI output on CERTAIN TVs. The facts are that the OPPO has to be well matched to a particular viewing source for the DVI to do what it can optimally. And from reading manies responses here and elsewhere, they are getting a great DVI picture. My Hitachi UltraVision 51 incher, well the OPPOs component connection was easilly superior to my DVI connection. There was no competition really.

So it`s not totally wrong. More like half right, and half wrong. And the Reviewer should have stated that point.

In the 0220 firmware i noticed that layer breaks are noticable, i don't recall seeing them in 1111b or 1224b

anyone else notice this?

" but to read a "professional" review that states clearly that the component output of the OPPO is superior to the DVI output is disconcerting at best. . . just plain wrong."

I disagree with your statement that it`s just wrong. Altho the Reviewer should have stated it properly. The OPPOs component video IS superior to the DVI output on CERTAIN TVs. The facts are that the OPPO has to be well matched to a particular viewing source for the DVI to do what it can optimally. And from reading manies responses here and elsewhere, they are getting a great DVI picture. My Hitachi UltraVision 51 incher, well the OPPOs component connection was easilly superior to my DVI connection. There was no competition really.

So it`s not totally wrong. More like half right, and half wrong. And the Reviewer should have stated that point.

>>> You made a very good point- the Oppos component may indeed be superior on some tvs when compared to the DVI connection...as far as I know though, the Oppo performs its best at 720p fed to a 720p digital display via HDMI or DVI....I'm just wondering why you choose to match the Oppo to your Hitachi? I don't think the Oppo is giving you the best picture available from your Hitachi.

The OPPOs component video IS superior to the DVI output on CERTAIN TVs. The facts are that the OPPO has to be well matched to a particular viewing source for the DVI to do what it can optimally. And from reading manies responses here and elsewhere, they are getting a great DVI picture. My Hitachi UltraVision 51 incher, well the OPPOs component connection was easilly superior to my DVI connection. There was no competition really.

So it`s not totally wrong. More like half right, and half wrong. And the Reviewer should have stated that point.Wait a minute. I understand that some displays (like yours) may look better with a component input. But that's a display issue. In his professional review, the reviewer was supposed to be rating the player, not the display. The display's shortcomings should not be a factor in the equation.

If the reviewer had chosen a reputable display device, and set the OPPO's resolution correctly to match, the DVI output would have won hands down. But the trouble is... he evidently makes a habit of spouting off about DVI/HDMI being generally inferior to component... so he tries to save face. He picks a display that perpetuates that myth. And that would be OK if he was keeping only himself in the dark, but he's spreading misinformation and defamation publicly. For those who do not know better, such a review can do a great deal of damage.

He ought to be sued. His OPPO review is not the only review that he's blundered.

It looks like OPPO quietly gave us something that has been requested for a long time: an Updated OPDV971H Manual (http://www.oppodigital.com/Download/OPDV971H_User_Manual.pdf)The new manual is a great improvement... and much smaller to download! Thanks OPPO and Neuromancer.

The reviewer didn't bother to learn how to switch the DVI output resolution. He kept it at the default 480p, and so the Oppo didn't upscale to DVI, which is its strong point. Instead, his Vizio upscaled the 480p DVI input to its native resolution.

He chose to compare DVD players without spending the requisite time with each to learn how to operate each correctly. His short cuts in procedure turn his conclusions into fiction.

Shaitan, the reviewer didn't perform enough testing to back up that statement, however right or wrong it may be.

Will Oppo or anyone else make a DVD-HD Player that will be able to play Hi- Def. DVD'S to a non HDCP Projector? I guess non hd sources will be out of the hd-dvd picture. Anyone.

Will Oppo or anyone else make a DVD-HD Player that will be able to play Hi- Def. DVD'S to a non HDCP Projector? I guess non hd sources will be out of the hd-dvd picture. Anyone.


Unlikely due to legal reasons.

Dave

I looked at the component and DVI output with my Hitachi RP CRT and found the DVI to be the better solution. This was with the firmware it came with in April '05. I don't know if anything has changed since then, but when I originally did my comparisons, the component output had red saturation so far off I couldn't correct it within my set's service menu. It also had image cropping, didn't allow for BTB... In short, not the way to go at all, at least IMO. I could check it again, but I see no use. I bought the player to benefit from the de-interlacing capabilities of the Faroudja chip, only available by connecting through DVI.

" but to read a "professional" review that states clearly that the component output of the OPPO is superior to the DVI output is disconcerting at best. . . just plain wrong."

I disagree with your statement that it`s just wrong. Altho the Reviewer should have stated it properly. The OPPOs component video IS superior to the DVI output on CERTAIN TVs. The facts are that the OPPO has to be well matched to a particular viewing source for the DVI to do what it can optimally. And from reading manies responses here and elsewhere, they are getting a great DVI picture. My Hitachi UltraVision 51 incher, well the OPPOs component connection was easilly superior to my DVI connection. There was no competition really.

So it`s not totally wrong. More like half right, and half wrong. And the Reviewer should have stated that point.

The Oppo severely crushes blacks on the analog outputs (not display dependant). Rasing brigthness on the display and/or the player does not solve this. Now, some might prefer this look, but it's no where near accurate.

Wait a minute. I understand that some displays (like yours) may look better with a component input. But that's a display issue. In his professional review, the reviewer was supposed to be rating the player, not the display. The display's shortcomings should not be a factor in the equation.

If the reviewer had chosen a reputable display device, and set the OPPO's resolution correctly to match, the DVI output would have won hands down. But the trouble is... he evidently makes a habit of spouting off about DVI/HDMI being generally inferior to component... so he tries to save face. He picks a display that perpetuates that myth. And that would be OK if he was keeping only himself in the dark, but he's spreading misinformation and defamation publicly. For those who do not know better, such a review can do a great deal of damage.

He ought to be sued. His OPPO review is not the only review that he's blundered.

I agree with everything except the last point.

Instead of suing the reviewer, he should after a round of ridicule just be ignored, along with The Perfect Vision. I haven't found much to like about that mag in a long time.

I agree with everything except the last point.

Instead of suing the reviewer, he should after a round of ridicule just be ignored, along with The Perfect Vision. I haven't found much to like about that mag in a long time.

There is always the off chance he got a bad unit. But if they were dumb enough to pay $249 for it, when it has been selling direct from Oppo for $199 for several months, then they deserve it.

Is there a hardware related reason they can't enable the delay for the optical output? I just find it hard to understand why we have to use analog output to get the benefits of the delay feature.
Very good point indeed !
From a user prospective, it's pure non-sense to allow up to more than 100 ms audio delay on analog (and PCM) output and not any on "raw" digital output, the one recommended for A/V 5.1 amplifiers. Not all A/V amplifiers feature internal audio delay ! :mad: :mad:
Anyone to help on this ? :(

Get this...I did and it works great!

http://www.felston.com/

Get this...I did and it works great!
http://www.felston.com/
That device costs $200. We're cheap, remember? We can't be bothered to spend more than $200 on a DVD player, which is why we're on this thread in the first place! :)

Is there a hardware related reason they can't enable the delay for the optical output? I just find it hard to understand why we have to use analog output to get the benefits of the delay feature. From a user prospective, it's pure non-sense to allow up to more than 100 ms audio delay on analog (and PCM) output and not any on "raw" digital output, the one recommended for A/V 5.1 amplifiers. Not all A/V amplifiers feature internal audio delay ! :mad: Quite right gentlemen, but it is unfortunately a hardware-related reason why the delay cannot be enabled for the RAW output. We do not know if OPPO will be able to get around this yet.

However, there is one more thing to keep in mind: The new firmware not only keeps the video delay very constant, but it has also reduced the typical delay experienced in the old firmware.

Gary

Hi All,
I'm newbie to this forum and quite frankly following this forum for past few days.
I'm really pumped with oppo dvd player, mainly backed up by these forums. :p

I ordered Sammy ln-r267w(ln-rxx8w/ln-rxx7w) series model hdtv lcd.
Wondering eagerly how this oppo smarty works with this.
Does anyone having similar experience.

I'd like to know what resolutions were better with this sammy series.
I hope there shouldn't be any MB issue. Currently hope to use mixed audio with oppo player once i order it. As i seen on previous postings lip sync may not come in the picture with mixed audio.
So to remove the stutter issue with 220 update wouldnt it be better to go with 228 firmware update till we get a solid update to resolve stutter/choppy play issue.

Also would like to know except stutter issues does anyone(generally) faced wth any other issues regarding update of latest firmware vs november 1111b firmware.

Would appreciate any light for my concerns.
Keep it up guys, learned a lot with dvd issues on posts such as this
-Hem

However, there is one more thing to keep in mind: The new firmware not only keeps the video delay very constant, but it has also reduced the typical delay experienced in the old firmware.

Gary

Unfortunately, it also increases instances of combing and interlacing artifacts. I see an error once every 5 minutes on all of my movies. The F-0228 and previous firmware do not show these errors.

However, there is one more thing to keep in mind: The new firmware not only keeps the video delay very constant, but it has also reduced the typical delay experienced in the old firmware.

Gary

:rolleyes: Has anyone of you guys actually experienced this delay reduction on the 0220 ? :rolleyes:

Pascal

:rolleyes: Has anyone of you guys actually experienced this delay reduction on the 0220 ? :rolleyes:

Pascal

I never had problems in the past with audio, but I ran the new firmware through an Oscilioscope, and the audio remained constant with the new firmware. In the previous firmware, it was a crap shoot as to the video and audio delay (the difference could be as little as 5ms to as much as 80ms at any given time). The delay in the new firmware, though probably still off in some applications, is at least constant now, making adding a general delay much easier.

EDIT: and instead of being pessimistic/sarcastic/skeptical, you could find out for yourself. Run a movie you previously had an audio-sync error, and see what results you get with the F-0220 firmware.

:rolleyes: Has anyone of you guys actually experienced this delay reduction on the 0220 ? :rolleyes: Yes Pascal, we have actually measured this delay reduction accurately with oscilloscopes... the same technique that was used to identify the source of the delays in the previous firmware. Why the scepticism?

Gary

Yes Pascal, we have actually measured this delay reduction accurately with oscilloscopes... the same technique that was used to identify the source of the delays in the previous firmware. Why the scepticism?

Gary

Gary and Neuromancer, I guess you reported on your oscilloscope measurements somewhere in the thread but I missed it. I apologize then :o
To answer to Neuromancer, it's quite hard to find out by myself, this audio delay being a kind of erratic, and myself not being equipped as you are with oscilloscopes. But I sure trust your statement :cool:
Could you then give an estimate of the new audio delay ? Is it acceptable without
any audio delay compensation, for poor guys like me with a regular A/V amplifier on raw output.
Thanks in advance

Pascal

Yes Pascal, we have actually measured this delay reduction accurately with oscilloscopes... the same technique that was used to identify the source of the delays in the previous firmware. Why the scepticism?

Gary

What's going one? The new firmware is for naught if the vidoe has turned to crap. I see that the knowlegeable contributors to this forum are uncharacteristically "silent" on this matter. I have upgraded my oppo to the latest and like everyone else am putting up with this - make this player no better than any other DVD player - video studder. Great audio sync, but the image is (studdery) crap!

What's going on?

What's going one? The new firmware is for naught if the vidoe has turned to crap. I see that the knowlegeable contributors to this forum are uncharacteristically "silent" on this matter. I have upgraded my oppo to the latest and like everyone else am putting up with this - make this player no better than any other DVD player - video studder. Great audio sync, but the image is (studdery) crap!

What's going on?


Unfortunately this is a good point. I'm also concerned. The 0220 fw seems to introduce as many problems in the video as it may remove in the audio. If it's introducing de-interlacing errors and dropped frames, as is my experience on several discs now, as part of its audio correction solution is this not undermining the oppo's greatest strength, it's peerless bang for buck pq?

I'm sure oppo are having sleepless nights trying to sort this out--I appreciate all their efforts. And I hope they do sometime soon--for their sakes and ours.

(FYI, I've switched to the 0228 fix)

Dave

What's going one? The new firmware is for naught if the vidoe has turned to crap. I see that the knowlegeable contributors to this forum are uncharacteristically "silent" on this matter. I have upgraded my oppo to the latest and like everyone else am putting up with this - make this player no better than any other DVD player - video studder. Great audio sync, but the image is (studdery) crap!

What's going on?Yes, everybody (including OPPO) is disappointed. But your post is a little antagonistic.

Firstly, the "knowlegeable contributors" do not have access to the OPPO source code, nor the proprietary code for the various hardware devices (chips and processors) on the various boards. So we can only make an educated guess about the cause of the new "judder" problem. I'm pretty sure I know what it is, and I have reported it to OPPO, but I cannot divulge this info to the public. OPPO engineers and others are already attacking the problem, and we hope they are able to fix it (firmware engineers are so often at the mercy of the hardware and its related code, and this case is no exception).

Secondly, very few of the beta testers picked up the juddering problem, because it is intermittent, and because they were probably not watching the few DVD's that easily reveal it, and because they were specifically looking out for A/V sync.

"What's going on"... is that an unfortunate side-effect has been discovered, OPPO is working furiously on it, and in the mean time, they have already produced an interim version of the firmware to address the new problem if it bothers you.

Gary

Could you then give an estimate of the new audio delay ? Is it acceptable without any audio delay compensation, for poor guys like me with a regular A/V amplifier on raw output. The Faroudja chip must buffer a few frames of video for the de-interlacing and scaling process. So there will always be a fixed video delay that may, or may not, be acceptable to you when using the "RAW" output. That depends upon your personal tolerance for lip-sync error, and whether your DVD and display have additional delays.

To put this in perspective:
During our measurements, we discovered that some displays contribute considerable video delay, depending on input and "enhancement" settings. We also found highly variable A/V sync on DVD's. But we already knew this, so no big surprise. However, we even found significant sync errors on the "DVE" test DVD, which has a specifically designed chapter for A/V sync. That was a big surprise! Though the original "DVE" source files may have been perfectly synchronized, when the MPEG compression took place for DVD production, the resulting sync differed for each of the DTS, DD5.1 and DD2.1 sountracks. For that reason, I will not publish my delay measurements until I am 100% certain of their accuracy.

Gary

The Faroudja chip must buffer a few frames of video for the de-interlacing and scaling process. So there will always be a fixed video delay that may, or may not, be acceptable to you when using the "RAW" output. That depends upon your personal tolerance for lip-sync error, and whether your DVD and display have additional delays.

Gary

Thanks Gary for your clarification.
I understand that, at best, Faroudja processing yields, say, 50 to 100 ms video delay (2 to 4 half frames ?). Therefore OPPO (as any other Faroudja based DVD player ?) provides a DVI output systematically out of sync versus "raw" audio output ! And it's up to the user to find a way to compensate for this unavoidable delay ! Hard to believe such equipment is (basic) customer oriented...
OK. I swear I stop complaining on this issue. ;)

And I'm looking forward to reading your further test results on video delays with OPPO.

Pascal

is hdmi considered RAW? at least for video...

Im a bit confused as to what is considered raw on video and sound.

Hi Neuromancer;
Appreciate alot your effort for clarifying issues for all of us.

By all means if you know about the latest samsung LCD Tv series and how does it marry with oppo dvd please enlight me.
[LN-RXX8W OR LN-RXX7W] SERIES, mine is 26'' so LN-R267W.

I just posted again coz i didn't receive a reponse for my previous question.
sorry if i'm being nosy but enthusiasism has overwhelmed me right now.

Thanks in advance.
-Hemake

Hemake,

I contacted OPPO and had them do a search on orders for the LN-RXX8W series, and they had 6 hits for the LN-R268W. One of the 6 was returned for a refund, due to the television having only one HDMI interface (and that was currently being used by their cable box). I asked them if they have heard of any problems, but they could not recall any off the top of their head.

Very good point indeed !
From a user prospective, it's pure non-sense to allow up to more than 100 ms audio delay on analog (and PCM) output and not any on "raw" digital output, the one recommended for A/V 5.1 amplifiers. Not all A/V amplifiers feature internal audio delay ! :mad: :mad:
Anyone to help on this ? :(

Maybe I'm lost here but I find the sound quality using PCM through the digital coax sounds better, richer, a little fuller than if I use RAW. Also, I do see changes in the lip sync when I adjust the timing.

What's going one? The new firmware is for naught if the vidoe has turned to crap. I see that the knowlegeable contributors to this forum are uncharacteristically "silent" on this matter. I have upgraded my oppo to the latest and like everyone else am putting up with this - make this player no better than any other DVD player - video studder. Great audio sync, but the image is (studdery) crap!

What's going on?

The implementation of the A/V Sync fix is done through the MTK chipset. MTK, in their infinite wisdom, devised a rather clever way of keeping the audio and the video in sync by speeding up video decoding (run at 60 frames rather than 30). This process, though, will require a secondary step to bring it back to regular speed. This entire process will likely drop frames (which I have not seen) and cause improper DCDi functionality on the Faroudja chipset (de-interlacing errors). I know from the MicroSoft test disc, that the 60 frames per second test pattern causes the same de-interlacing errors on the Faroudja chipset as the new firmware does (though actual viewing is greatly reduced).

What I don't really get is how the MTK chipset is speeding up the playback, as it is only a 27Mhz chipset. I don't see a feasible way for it to double the frames consistently.

I wouldn't be surprised if the the interim F-0228 firmware will become the new official firmware, and the F-0220 firmware will become the alternative firmware for people who are having A/V Sync errors, as visual clarity was the selling point of the OPDV971H.

Hemake,

I contacted OPPO and had them do a search on orders for the LN-RXX8W series, and they had 6 hits for the LN-R268W. One of the 6 was returned for a refund, due to the television having only one HDMI interface (and that was currently being used by their cable box). I asked them if they have heard of any problems, but they could not recall any off the top of their head.


Thanks Neuromancer;
Guess this is all positive for me. :) I will use component interface to get the HD signal from cable box so for now one HDMI is enough on the TV for me.
Looks like oppo doesnt have issues with this LCD series.

Very nice of you Neuromancer

Unfortunately, it also increases instances of combing and interlacing artifacts. I see an error once every 5 minutes on all of my movies. The F-0228 and previous firmware do not show these errors.

I use raw audio with my optical cable. If I use the F-0228, will I benefit from the 10ms to 100ms delay or not ?

I use raw audio with my optical cable. If I use the F-0228, will I benefit from the 10ms to 100ms delay or not ?

Using PCM or the multi-channel audio outputs, then you can use the delay functionality. RAW and optical/coaxial still requires a delay on the receiving equipement.

Birchwood,
there is no need to be upset. The problem has been corrected (well, sort of).
You have an option: to use an interim release that fixes the video issue but, however, lets audio sync aside (available from oppodigital.com) or a hacked (read, improved) russian firmware that takes care of the audio delay and crappy video.

You can also wait for a while, the new firmware will be coming out.

Maybe I'm lost here but I find the sound quality using PCM through the digital coax sounds better, richer, a little fuller than if I use RAW. Also, I do see changes in the lip sync when I adjust the timing.That may be because with PCM, 6 channels are being down-mixed to 2. Hence you may hear the surround channels mixed in with the sound from the front speakers.

Gary

You can also wait for a while, the new firmware will be coming out.

sorry, is there going to be another new firmware that you know of?

is hdmi considered RAW? at least for video...

Im a bit confused as to what is considered raw on video and sound. "RAW" is an audio setting only (SPDIF Output). It tells the player that you want the player to pass the audio to the receiver without any decoding or alteration whatsoever.

Gary

...or a hacked (read, improved) russian firmware that takes care of the audio delay and crappy video. The MTK chipset (as with other chips) have a certain number of handles available to firmware programmers such as OPPO Digital or the Russian hackers, but there are some routines that are beyond the control of the programmer. I don't think any hacker could solve the issues we are seeing here. It may be up to MTK to fix it... assuming it is even possible.

Gary

sorry, is there going to be another new firmware that you know of?

Not that I know of, but do you honestly believe that after all this tremendous support Oppo would just leave things like that?:)

The MTK chipset (as with other chips) have a certain number of handles available to firmware programmers such as OPPO Digital or the Russian hackers, but there are some routines that are beyond the control of the programmer. I don't think any hacker could solve the issues we are seeing here. It may be up to MTK to fix it... assuming it is even possible.

Gary

Gary,
I am not talking about doing some impossible tasks.
The russian hackers have a mod the only purpose of which was to fix the video problem introduced by the latest firmware and add Nero digital support for whoever needs it.
That tells me that even though MTK chips, as everything else, have limits, there are some things that can be added or improved, and we shall see a lot of nice changes in the future. Frankly, I am happy with what the player can do right now.

Macroblocking: never seen any
Audio delay: never heard any

There is just a couple of minor things that have no affect on playability but I'd still like to see incorporated from hacked 1022.

I doubt that what we see now, I mean, the jerky playback, is something more than a bug which can be fixed by Oppo as it was by the hackers.

The MTK chipset (as with other chips) have a certain number of handles available to firmware programmers such as OPPO Digital or the Russian hackers, but there are some routines that are beyond the control of the programmer. I don't think any hacker could solve the issues we are seeing here. It may be up to MTK to fix it... assuming it is even possible.

Gary

The hacked firmware "improves" on the F-0220 firmware as much as the F-0228 firmware does. That is, it just removes the A/V Sync fix.

The additional features om the Hacked firmware are: German subtitle support, UOP bypass (this will never be supported), Nero Digital support (still licensing issues are prohibiting this), and long file names by removing the Explorer Preview window (OPPO engineers have been reluctant to change the UI).

The hacked firmware "improves" on the F-0220 firmware as much as the F-0228 firmware does. That is, it just removes the A/V Sync fix. Exactly. Trance Dog, this is for you, though I do agree that we should see a fix or at least a compromise at some stage.

Gary

The hacked firmware "improves" on the F-0220 firmware as much as the F-0228 firmware does. That is, it just removes the A/V Sync fix.

The additional features om the Hacked firmware are: German subtitle support, UOP bypass (this will never be supported), Nero Digital support (still licensing issues are prohibiting this), and long file names by removing the Explorer Preview window (OPPO engineers have been reluctant to change the UI).
Neuromancer,

OK, may be I was wrong to say the hacked version had the A/V sync fix.
But it certainly hasn't removed the explorer preview window.
May be there is something I've missed? I hate this window and would want to see it go away for good.

Neuromancer,

OK, may be I was wrong to say the hacked version had the A/V sync fix.
But it certainly hasn't removed the explorer preview window.
May be there is something I've missed? I hate this window and would want to see it go away for good.

The Explorer Preview window is the window on the right hand of the screen. It is used to show a preview of image files, as well as contains ID3 Tag information for MP3 files. The Hacked firmware removes the preview window to allow for more text.

I have had my Oppo for about 6 months...all of a sudden I noticed sound/speech levels goes from normal to lower back to normal. This is happening on all disc's...has anyone else had this problem. Hope its not my old trusty Yama 995 dieing...or could it be I need to clean the oppo's laser. Any suggestions

I have had my Oppo for about 6 months...all of a sudden I noticed sound/speech levels goes from normal to lower back to normal. This is happening on all disc's...has anyone else had this problem. Hope its not my old trusty Yama 995 dieing...or could it be I need to clean the oppo's laser. Any suggestions Not likely to be the laser, or you would see the video affected too. You didn't tell us what your audio connection is. If you have a digital connection, the problem is unlikely to be with the player - you would hear pops or drop-outs rather than volume level changes. Check your connections.

Also, turn off the receiver and dust it out - most of them have digital volume controls that may use an optical encoder-wheel to sense the position of the volume knob. Mine stopped responding to knob adjustments, or doing erratic things - like increasing the volume in jumps while I was trying to turn it down! It needed a good blast from an air-duster to clear the encoder-wheel and optical sensor.

If that doesn't work, try reseating all of the receiver's internal connectors (unplug the power cord first). If THAT doesn't work, the receiver may be going on the fritz!

Gary

I have had my Oppo for about 6 months...all of a sudden I noticed sound/speech levels goes from normal to lower back to normal. This is happening on all disc's...has anyone else had this problem. Hope its not my old trusty Yama 995 dieing...or could it be I need to clean the oppo's laser. Any suggestions

In additional, I would try using a different optical/coaxial input on your receiver, and try the analog audio output (mix) to your television to better diagnose the problem.

Thanks everyone for the help...its the receiver not the Oppo. :o

Is there an advantage to using raw as opposed to just using all the respective RCA connections? (other than fewer wires)

Quite right gentlemen, but it is unfortunately a hardware-related reason why the delay cannot be enabled for the RAW output. We do not know if OPPO will be able to get around this yet.
Gary

The lip sync issue is driving me insane. Everyone's mouth move so much faster now as if I am watching a dubbed film.

Please Oppo, find a way to put delay on RAW output!!!!

The Explorer Preview window is the window on the right hand of the screen. It is used to show a preview of image files, as well as contains ID3 Tag information for MP3 files. The Hacked firmware removes the preview window to allow for more text.

Neuromancer,
exactly. I am using the hacked 0220, and it is there.
Hacked 1022 didn't have it.
Is there another mod of the latest firmware that removes the preview window?
If there is, where can I find one?
Thanks.

Neuromancer,
exactly. I am using the hacked 0220, and it is there.
Hacked 1022 didn't have it.
Is there another mod of the latest firmware that removes the preview window?
If there is, where can I find one?
Thanks.

There is no other hacked firmware. I could have sworn the window was gone in the 0220 firmware, but I guess not. With all the firmware I have thrown at my unit the last week, I couldn't follow what is what anymore.

I've down loaded the russian mod firmware, but I can'f for the life of me get it to burn as an ISO file.

Currently it's saved to my desk top as an extracted BIN file, but when I try to burn it to a disc using CopyToDVD SE and the burn "ISO, Cuesheet" wizard the program doesn't recognize the fw as an ISO file and won't burn it.

What am I doing wrong?

Is there a better way?

Thanks.

Dave

I've down loaded the russian mod firmware, but I can'f for the life of me get it to burn as an ISO file.

Currently it's saved to my desk top as an extracted BIN file, but when I try to burn it to a disc using CopyToDVD SE and the burn "ISO, Cuesheet" wizard the program doesn't recognize the fw as an ISO file and won't burn it.

What am I doing wrong?

Is there a better way?

Thanks.

Dave

You will need to use a burning program that allows you to edit the disc type. You need to master the BIN files as ISO 9660 ONLY. Most burning programs default to ISO 9660 + Joliet. This is not supported by the firmware upgrade process.

You will need to use a burning program that allows you to edit the disc type. You need to master the BIN files as ISO 9660 ONLY. Most burning programs default to ISO 9660 + Joliet. This is not supported by the firmware upgrade process.

Thanks. Now how do I do that?

I've also down loaded burnatonce if that a help.

thanks,

Dave

I've down loaded the russian mod firmware, but I can'f for the life of me get it to burn as an ISO file.

Currently it's saved to my desk top as an extracted BIN file, but when I try to burn it to a disc using CopyToDVD SE and the burn "ISO, Cuesheet" wizard the program doesn't recognize the fw as an ISO file and won't burn it.

What am I doing wrong? Dave, you can only burn an ISO file if the file has a .ISO extension! If the file you have on your desktop is a .BIN file, burn it directly to the CD as a regular data file.

Gary

Dave, you can only burn an ISO file if the file has a .ISO extension! If the file you have on your desktop is a .BIN file, burn it directly to the CD as a regular data file.

Gary
Ok, I tried that twice, Gary. The oppo just says "un disc."

Dave

Ok, I tried that twice, Gary. The oppo just says "un disc." Did you try it with ISO 9660 (only) format? If so, it is possible you have a corrupted file.

And if you received it by email... for some reason, Outlook blows away the ISO extension and pops a BIN extension on. In that case, just change the .BIN to .ISO and try burning as an ISO file again with BurnAtOnce.

Gary

Did you try it with ISO 9660 (only) format? If so, it is possible you have a corrupted file.

And if you received it by email... for some reason, Outlook blows away the ISO extension and pops a BIN extension on. In that case, just change the .BIN to .ISO and try burning as an ISO file again.

Gary


Thanks for all the help. I've sussed it now--though I don't know if I could do it again--it was unchecking the joilet box and getting it to be an ISO file that made the difference.

Can't check it yet as the PJ isn't running, but I will later today.

Dave

Thanks for all the help. I've sussed it now--though I don't know if I could do it again--it was unchecking the joilet box and getting it to be an ISO file that made the difference.

Can't check it yet as the PJ isn't running, but I will later today.

Dave
Once you have used the russian firmware it will only recognise a file for upgrading that is called the same, so if your original disc .bin file was BBKXXX.BIN, rename the 935.BIN file to the same name then make a disc and upgrade..

Great Info!!

Thanks for all the help. I've sussed it now--though I don't know if I could do it again--it was unchecking the joilet box and getting it to be an ISO file that made the difference.

Can't check it yet as the PJ isn't running, but I will later today.

Dave


Hi dgkp.
Could you tell me where you found the Russian firmware please?
The link I used before is now dead.
Thanks in advance!

Hi dgkp.
Could you tell me where you found the Russian firmware please?
The link I used before is now dead.
Thanks in advance!
http://rapidshare.de/files/14326191/oppo971-F-0220-newARM.zip.html

It was here earlier today--maybe it still is.

Dave

Once you have used the russian firmware it will only recognise a file for upgrading that is called the same, so if your original disc .bin file was BBKXXX.BIN, rename the 935.BIN file to the same name then make a disc and upgrade..

The russian mod BIN file was called 935.BIN already--will I have to do anything to upgrade again?

Dave

subtitles are not working properly with the russian version of the firmware (0220). tried my new double life of veronique R2 disc and no matter how i try to bring up the english subs (by selecting via disc menu or subtitle button), it will only present the french. trying the official (0228) firmware next... to be cont'd...

cont'd...

updated firmware to oppo's 0228 release and the subtitle problem i experienced is no more. didn't try it with any other discs, but if anyone using the russian 0220 has a problem selecting subtitles, you were not alone.

subtitles are not working properly with the russian version of the firmware (0220).

I had this same problem last week.

I found a problem with the new Russian firmware. I just got a new DVD from HK called "The Great Yokai War" (Japanese movie, HK release). When I selected to turn on English subtitles I would get only Chinese subtitles. There are 3 different sub tracks on the disc, but no matter which I selected I only got Chinese. Reverting back to the official firmware fixed the problem.

I'm still using the official 0220 and I've noticed that sometimes when subtitles are displayed that a line appears through them. They're still readable but it looks like some sort of distortion. At first I thought it was a probelm with the netflix disc I was watching being scratched, but later it also occurred on one of my own discs which is in perfect shape. Next time I see it I'll write down the timecode and filim so others can check for it on their setups. I noticed it during the 2 disc SE of "The Wizard of Oz", but I don't recall at what point.

One other thing I've noticed is that if you start a disc without subs and then go to turn them on during the film, it often makes you cycle through subtitle tracks beginning with #2 rather than #1, so if you want to use the first track you have to cycle through all the options and come back to option #1. This seems like an unusual way of doing things.

subtitles are not working properly with the russian version of the firmware (0220). tried my new double life of veronique R2 disc and no matter how i try to bring up the english subs (by selecting via disc menu or subtitle button), it will only present the french. trying the official (0228) firmware next... to be cont'd...

Yes, this is an issue with the russian mod. I tried several discs, most subtitles worked fine (Ivan's Childhood, an MK2 disc like your Veronique, AFI's R2 of Mirror, Infernal Affairs, and even the awkward Kill Bill 2 all passed) but the moded fw choked on Star Wars IV, where the aliens would only speak in something scandanavian. The Star Wars also showed the dreaded angle icon too during the opening scroll!

Does anybody know how to contact the Russians to ask them to mod their mod?

Dave

I'm still using the official 0220 and I've noticed that sometimes when subtitles are displayed that a line appears through them.

This has always happened with the oppo--it's a known issue.

Dave

One other thing I've noticed is that if you start a disc without subs and then go to turn them on during the film, it often makes you cycle through subtitle tracks beginning with #2 rather than #1, so if you want to use the first track you have to cycle through all the options and come back to option #1. This seems like an unusual way of doing things.
Would it be the Star Wars DVDs you noted this on, by any chance? On the SW discs, subtitle track 1 is the full English subtitles, and track 2 is English subtitles only for the alien languages. If you selected "None" for subtitles in the disc menu, then it actually put you on subtitle track 2, and that's why you're starting there when you try to cycle through with the Oppo's SUBTITLE button.

I downloaded the Russian mod. I upgraded to the official 0220, but I'm dying to have the UOP bypass due to the fact that my daughter loves Barney and I'm forced to sit through at least 3 minutes of unskipable material to get to the GD menu. You can at least FF with a vcr.

Mar 7, 2006 6:29 AM
On FedEx vehicle for delivery
FORT WORTH, TX



come on oppo!

Would it be the Star Wars DVDs you noted this on, by any chance? On the SW discs, subtitle track 1 is the full English subtitles, and track 2 is English subtitles only for the alien languages. If you selected "None" for subtitles in the disc menu, then it actually put you on subtitle track 2, and that's why you're starting there when you try to cycle through with the Oppo's SUBTITLE button.
Dixie, thanks for the input. It was because of this known problem that I tested Star Wars IV. With the Russian mod if you select 'none' on the menu you get Norwegian, or some such, rather than the words of Gredo/Jabba. If you select 2 you get nothing at all--but I will double check that. On no tracks that I checked could I find English. It's clear that the Russian mod is causing subtitle issues that the 0220 fw wasn't--but they are erratic, as this is the only disc so far that has caused me any problems (I've checked about 10). I'll post again if I catch any more--or any more angle icons.

Dave

Yoyo.

Here i'd like to know a question seems never discussed in this thread (at least i didn't see in my brief scroll through over the thread)

does anyone has experience playing scratched disks on oppo.
How does it compare to sony precision drive 3. Coz these days you find a somewhat scratched disk in rental locations are mucher higher that it was before.

So i'd like to make a discussion on playing disks that are scratched. Like if a scratch disk is cannot be played in oppo it is much likely that it would not play in any dvd player(computer dvd roms act different in this regard though).

Does this varies depending on firmware version installed.
What is the capability of oppo to pass through a dvd disk that is merely scrached, once you passed the spot it could be smoothly played until end ( same behavior like ina computer DVD rom).

Thanks loads...
-hemake

does anyone has experience playing scratched disks on oppo.
How does it compare to sony precision drive 3. Coz these days you find a somewhat scratched disk in rental locations are mucher higher that it was before.

I always try to polish the disc, if scratched, prior to playing...and I have had a few of them. So far the OPPO has played them all. My Momitsu with its EPO loader was the twitchiest machine I've ever had. On the other hand, I think if you threw a mini-pizza in the OPPO there's a good chance it would make a picture for you... :D

-Toonces

Yoyo.

Here i'd like to know a question seems never discussed in this thread (at least i didn't see in my brief scroll through over the thread)

does anyone has experience playing scratched disks on oppo.
How does it compare to sony precision drive 3. Coz these days you find a somewhat scratched disk in rental locations are mucher higher that it was before.

So i'd like to make a discussion on playing disks that are scratched. Like if a scratch disk is cannot be played in oppo it is much likely that it would not play in any dvd player(computer dvd roms act different in this regard though).

Does this varies depending on firmware version installed.
What is the capability of oppo to pass through a dvd disk that is merely scrached, once you passed the spot it could be smoothly played until end ( same behavior like ina computer DVD rom).

Thanks loads...
-hemake

The Oppo seems to play scratched discs pretty well. I don't have any with major gouges, but I do have a few that are scratched-came dislodged during shipping. I've had no problems-wouldn't even know they are scracthed if I hadn't seen it. Yes, rental discs do tend to be scracthed.
J

My rewritables have a lot of scratches on them, and I've had no issues with the Oppo reading them.

I have many scratched up discs (some due to neglectful friends, some due to shipping problems) and I have only ran across one disc that would not play properly. This disc has no surface anymore, it is all scratches. What is odd, is that sometimes it will play without incident, and then other times it will pause like there is no tomorrow.

Hell, my Michael Godry disc from the Director's Series has a circular patch of scratches the size of a quarter, and I have not experienced playback errors with it.

Would it be the Star Wars DVDs you noted this on, by any chance?

No, Gilmore Girls Season 2 is one title that I know has this problem now. If I push the subtitle button it shows "off", if I push it again it goes to option #2 French. I have to go through all the options, go back to "off", and then push it once more to get English.

Thanks for your responses.
Oppo is the one.....

It looks like oppo reads scratched discs better than other commercial dvd players or is this an inherent feature for most dvd players.

From my personal experiences at least, the Pioneer players are right up there with Oppo for playability with scratched discs. Most others I've had, skipped or froze a lot more than I would've liked.

Thanks for your responses.
Oppo is the one.....

It looks like oppo reads scratched discs better than other commercial dvd players or is this an inherent feature for most dvd players.

Yup, Oppo's pretty generous with scratched disks. My little girl decided to rub the Nilo&Stich DVD on the wall which made some nasty cratches and some minor gouge of the surface..... This disk wasn't playable at all on the Pineer 578a because it would get stuck while playing, wouldn't even load on denon 2900, but Oppo plays it. It will skip on some scenes, though.... but it never hangs or get stuck.... If you see the damage on the disk, you'll be surprised that how oppo even plays it at all.

Is there a consensus on which firmware is the best at this time?

Is there a consensus on which firmware is the best at this time?

If audio-sync errors are annoying, then the F-0220 firmware.

If audio-sync errors are few and far between, you are using 1080i, you play a lot of DivX/XviD files, or are experiencing interlacing/combing errors with the F-0220 firmware, then you will want to use the F-0228 firmware.

mine came in today and i am very impressed. i only have like 4 real dvds and like 400 burned and it still handles them like a charm. i would have not bought it if it werent for this forum. thanks everybody :).

mine came in today and i am very impressed. i only have like 4 real dvds and like 400 burned and it still handles them like a charm. i would have not bought it if it werent for this forum. thanks everybody :).


Isn't that illegal? ;)

yea, the Oppo has handled every burned disc I've thrown at it. I don't have any sync problems either. Or maybe I'm just going blind, heh.

Isn't that illegal? ;)

yea, the Oppo has handled every burned disc I've thrown at it. I don't have any sync problems either. Or maybe I'm just going blind, heh.


I've had mine for a week and also will confirm that it has so far read and played every burned disc I've thrown at it for a multiture of vendors. No lip sync problems here either!!! What a great buy so far!!!!

So far the OPPO has played them all. My Momitsu with its EPO loader was the twitchiest machine I've ever had. On the other hand, I think if you threw a mini-pizza in the OPPO there's a good chance it would make a picture for you... :D

-Toonces

Same here, my Momitsu is pretty particular. That said, last night on Harry Potter #2, The Chamber of Secrets, the OPPO could not handle the pixies being released in chapter 11. Just froze up several times for 5-10 seconds until it could work things out. The disc looks like new, so I don't know... guess I'll try the disc in the Momitsu tonight just to see.

Its nice to hear a few positive reports rolling in every now and then. Most people use the thread to discuss problems, which is all very well (this thread is here to help), but some of the posts have made certain issues sound like a catastrophe of international proportions!

Gary

If audio-sync errors are annoying, then the F-0220 firmware.

If audio-sync errors are few and far between, you are using 1080i, you play a lot of DivX/XviD files, or are experiencing interlacing/combing errors with the F-0220 firmware, then you will want to use the F-0228 firmware. Nicely, concisely, summed up!

Gary

I have been putzing with my OPPO this past week trying 0220, 0228, component cables, DVI/HDMI, the usual sort of absolutely neccessary putzing. I can't see any difference between having the OPPO set on video 1 vs video 2, all the while using the DVI / HDMI cable.
Does it matter which I use, video 1 or video 2? The bottom line menu reads "DVI only" when I switch it to video 2 which makes me think that is what I'm to use.

I have been putzing with my OPPO this past week trying 0220, 0228, component cables, DVI/HDMI, the usual sort of absolutely neccessary putzing. I can't see any difference between having the OPPO set on video 1 vs video 2, all the while using the DVI / HDMI cable.
Does it matter which I use, video 1 or video 2? The bottom line menu reads "DVI only" when I switch it to video 2 which makes me think that is what I'm to use.

Video 2 is for PAL or NTSC/PAL mix use.

ok i have watched 3 movies today and all i can say is that it is great for my tv to finally get the respect it deserves. shark tale looks beautiful on it :).

cont'd...

updated firmware to oppo's 0228 release and the subtitle problem i experienced is no more. didn't try it with any other discs, but if anyone using the russian 0220 has a problem selecting subtitles, you were not alone.

You Crash hater you. ;)

At least we have the same taste in dvd players.

Video 2 is for PAL or NTSC/PAL mix use.

Thanks bitemymac!

FROM 4114 above:Same here, my Momitsu is pretty particular. That said, last night on Harry Potter #2, The Chamber of Secrets, the OPPO could not handle the pixies being released in chapter 11. Just froze up several times for 5-10 seconds until it could work things out.


For grins I tried the Potter Chamber of Secrets disc in several players, an old Philips, a Momitsu, a Philips Q50 and the OPPO. The OPPO handled the flaw in the disc the best. A few seconds pause, several times and the OPPO jumped to the next chapter and continued. The others took either more time or in the old Philips's case, just froze up.

BTW, the OPPO and Momitsu have stunning pictures with the edge going to the OPPO via DVI.

Tom

For grins I tried the Potter Chamber of Secrets disc in several players, an old Philips, a Momitsu, a Philips Q50 and the OPPO. The OPPO handled the flaw in the disc the best. A few seconds pause, several times and the OPPO jumped to the next chapter and continued. The others took either more time or in the old Philips's case, just froze up.

BTW, the OPPO and Momitsu have stunning pictures with the edge going to the OPPO via DVI.

Tom

Tom,

What's your display- if it's a fixed pixel (dlp or lcd) are you pixel mapping with the Momitsu? Just trying to get another sense of context for the comparisons. . . I love my OPPO, but have a Bravo D1 coming tomorrow to try pixel mapping to my Infocus 4805 and compare. . .

Wes

Wes

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you F-0302 Firmware (http://www.oppodigital.com/Download/Firmware_971h-f-0302.iso). This is basically the F-0228 firmware, but with the UDF fix (dropping out from playback should not give you gibberish).

So why, now, would OPPO be making another firmware? Well glad you asked skippy! Due to the overwhelming positive and negative feedback OPPO has received from the F-0220 firmware, OPPO has decided to rescind the F-0220 firmware for two reason:

1. The new firmware causes instances of interlacing and combing which were not inherent to the previous firmware. This is most important to 1080i users, but effects us 720p/480p users as well.

2. It breaks DivX/MPRG-2 playback. Studdering is only funny when put into the context of a man so deeply in love with someone he can't say the "L" word.

So why not just release the F-0228 firmware instead? OPPO believes in the "give a little, take a little" philosophy. They have removed the A/V sync fix, but gave back the UDF fix.

What does this mean? The intention is to replace the F-0220 firmware with the F-0302 firmware, while the F-0220 will become the new "interim" fix for users who desperately need Audio/Video syncronization fixes.

However, it needs testing before it goes mainstream. That is where you guys (including me) come into play. Please download the F-0302 Firmware (http://www.oppodigital.com/Download/Firmware_971h-f-0302.iso) and report any errors you experience with the firmware. And no, the Star Wars III Pan is not an error.

Oppo should include a spindle of blank cd-r's with every DVD player purchase :P

Oppo should include a spindle of blank cd-r's with every DVD player purchase :P


This is where you can wisely use CD-RW disc that used to come free with older retail version of CD-RW drives.

This is where you can wisely use CD-RW disc that used to come free with older retail version of CD-RW drives.

With all the beta testing I do, I stil use my old 1x(!) CDRW media that I bought with my first HP CDRW drive.

Yes yes I know -- i guess i should have added </sarcasm>

I'll be reading the reports with interest. I'll most likely wait for the Russian version to surface. Being able to jump to the Root Menu right away on every disc has become something I'm reluctant to give up.

http://rapidshare.de/files/14326191/oppo971-F-0220-newARM.zip.html

It was here earlier today--maybe it still is.

Dave

Does anyone get the Nero MP4 working? I downloaded the MP4 clips from official Nero site. Burning to cd, when I tried to play, the video is broken and jumpy, and no audio.

I also tried the russian version of 1022 firmware. It mess up my black remote (the one before newest one).

I'll be reading the reports with interest. I'll most likely wait for the Russian version to surface. Being able to jump to the Root Menu right away on every disc has become something I'm reluctant to give up.

If you are really good with your timing, with the official firmware, you can just press Stop right as the DVD loads. You can then go directly into the film or into the Root Menu.

Tom,

What's your display- if it's a fixed pixel (dlp or lcd) are you pixel mapping with the Momitsu? Just trying to get another sense of context for the comparisons. . . I love my OPPO, but have a Bravo D1 coming tomorrow to try pixel mapping to my Infocus 4805 and compare. . .
Wes


The Momitsu is normally 1:1 mapped to a Sony Hs10 LCD front projector in a light controlled room. For my little face off, I was using a new JVC HD61FH96, a RP 1080p LCoS display located in my living room using DVI for the OPPO and the Momitsu and component and composite for the older Philips.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you F-0302 Firmware (http://www.oppodigital.com/Download/Firmware_971h-f-0302.iso). This is basically the F-0228 firmware, but with the UDF fix (dropping out from playback should not give you gibberish).

So why, now, would OPPO be making another firmware? Well glad you asked skippy! Due to the overwhelming positive and negative feedback OPPO has received from the F-0220 firmware, OPPO has decided to rescind the F-0220 firmware for two reason:

1. The new firmware causes instances of interlacing and combing which were not inherent to the previous firmware. This is most important to 1080i users, but effects us 720p/480p users as well.

2. It breaks DivX/MPRG-2 playback. Studdering is only funny when put into the context of a man so deeply in love with someone he can't say the "L" word.

So why not just release the F-0228 firmware instead? OPPO believes in the "give a little, take a little" philosophy. They have removed the A/V sync fix, but gave back the UDF fix.

What does this mean? The intention is to replace the F-0220 firmware with the F-0302 firmware, while the F-0220 will become the new "interim" fix for users who desperately need Audio/Video syncronization fixes.

However, it needs testing before it goes mainstream. That is where you guys (including me) come into play. Please download the F-0302 Firmware (http://www.oppodigital.com/Download/Firmware_971h-f-0302.iso) and report any errors you experience with the firmware. And no, the Star Wars III Pan is not an error.


:eek: My hair hurts trying to figure this out...

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you F-0302 Firmware (http://www.oppodigital.com/Download/Firmware_971h-f-0302.iso). This is basically the F-0228 firmware, but with the UDF fix (dropping out from playback should not give you gibberish).

So why, now, would OPPO be making another firmware? Well glad you asked skippy! Due to the overwhelming positive and negative feedback OPPO has received from the F-0220 firmware, OPPO has decided to rescind the F-0220 firmware for two reason:

1. The new firmware causes instances of interlacing and combing which were not inherent to the previous firmware. This is most important to 1080i users, but effects us 720p/480p users as well.

2. It breaks DivX/MPRG-2 playback. Studdering is only funny when put into the context of a man so deeply in love with someone he can't say the "L" word.

So why not just release the F-0228 firmware instead? OPPO believes in the "give a little, take a little" philosophy. They have removed the A/V sync fix, but gave back the UDF fix.

What does this mean? The intention is to replace the F-0220 firmware with the F-0302 firmware, while the F-0220 will become the new "interim" fix for users who desperately need Audio/Video syncronization fixes.

However, it needs testing before it goes mainstream. That is where you guys (including me) come into play. Please download the F-0302 Firmware (http://www.oppodigital.com/Download/Firmware_971h-f-0302.iso) and report any errors you experience with the firmware. And no, the Star Wars III Pan is not an error.


I'll try this out later tonight. Post results here?

Thanks,
Rick

I put 0302 on my unit tonight. Speaking of Russians ....

I watched a burned copy of Night Watch after doing the update. Absolutely no problems. Perfect audio sync, no subtitle problems, and no more macroblocking than I would expect from a ripped downloaded DVD. Not a bad movie either.

BTW, I use RAW digital out to my Sony receiver. HDMI - DVI at 720p.

But I"m one who hasn't had many issues to begin with, so YMMV.

Just applied the new firmware, and did a very quick test (EP III, ha... but, yes, i know that pan down is not an error!)

I noticed only one "jutter"... when I skipped to the "A Long Time Ago..." but, I wasn't able to repeat it... and did not occur again elsewhere on the disc... (skipped back and forth through chapters.)

No other problems.

-Terry

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you F-0302 Firmware (http://www.oppodigital.com/Download/Firmware_971h-f-0302.iso). This is basically the F-0228 firmware, but with the UDF fix (dropping out from playback should not give you gibberish).

So why, now, would OPPO be making another firmware? Well glad you asked skippy! Due to the overwhelming positive and negative feedback OPPO has received from the F-0220 firmware, OPPO has decided to rescind the F-0220 firmware for two reason:

1. The new firmware causes instances of interlacing and combing which were not inherent to the previous firmware. This is most important to 1080i users, but effects us 720p/480p users as well.

2. It breaks DivX/MPRG-2 playback. Studdering is only funny when put into the context of a man so deeply in love with someone he can't say the "L" word.

So why not just release the F-0228 firmware instead? OPPO believes in the "give a little, take a little" philosophy. They have removed the A/V sync fix, but gave back the UDF fix.

What does this mean? The intention is to replace the F-0220 firmware with the F-0302 firmware, while the F-0220 will become the new "interim" fix for users who desperately need Audio/Video syncronization fixes.

However, it needs testing before it goes mainstream. That is where you guys (including me) come into play. Please download the F-0302 Firmware (http://www.oppodigital.com/Download/Firmware_971h-f-0302.iso) and report any errors you experience with the firmware. And no, the Star Wars III Pan is not an error.

Sorry, but what is the UDF fix?

Sorry, but what is the UDF fix?

There is an error in all the official firmware which will make the Explorer text become garbage once you stop, or crash, playback on files which have been UDF ISO mastered. Not really a big fix, but a fix none the less.

I'll try this out later tonight. Post results here?

Thanks,
Rick

Either here or to OPPO. Either way, the results will be known by them.

Does anyone get the Nero MP4 working? I downloaded the MP4 clips from official Nero site. Burning to cd, when I tried to play, the video is broken and jumpy, and no audio.

I also tried the russian version of 1022 firmware. It mess up my black remote (the one before newest one).

Nero Digital works fine. But for using audio you have to change the digital output from "RAW" to "PCM". Sounds logical because an A/V-Receiver doesnt support Nero Digital. Converting is an issue of the Oppo.

@All

This is my first post. So I just like to say hallo to all.

Holger

I applied v0302 last night and there is still stuttering on the "a long time ago..." section, not as bad as 0220, but still there. And the pan down remains. Can someone explain to me how the big stutter on the pan down is not an oppo error when it does NOT occur on my Panny RP82 or my Panny RP91? With those two players outputting 480p it is smooth as silk. The only player I have it occurs on is the Oppo, so I don't see how it's a disc error.

I applied v0302 last night and there is still stuttering on the "a long time ago..." section, not as bad as 0220, but still there. And the pan down remains. Can someone explain to me how the big stutter on the pan down is not an oppo error when it does NOT occur on my Panny RP82 or my Panny RP91? With those two players outputting 480p it is smooth as silk. The only player I have it occurs on is the Oppo, so I don't see how it's a disc error.
Well, I think it is technically an error, but I assume it's a cadence error on the disc that certain players can deal with but certain players (like the Oppo) have a problem with. (My Pioneer 588a has problems with this, although it's not as "stuttery".) In any event, I think it is not an error in which the firmware changes have dealt with, so in regards to the new firmware you wouldn't see any difference on that particular stutter.

-Terry

I just recieved my dvd player. i noticed some pretty bad microblock on the panny 900u. I remember there being a downloaded guide somewhere on the AVS forum can someone point me to that ? THere is almost to much content to filter though in the huge oppo threads.

thanks everyone!

I'm getting extremely shaky video during the menus on Sex and the City. Is anyone else experiencing these problems, or know of a way to fix it? I was running the 0220 firmware, but just upgraded to the 0302 version, thinking this may be what has been reffered to as "judder." It appears with both firmwares.

Thanks in advance!

I'm getting extremely shaky video during the menus on Sex and the City. Is anyone else experiencing these problems, or know of a way to fix it? I was running the 0220 firmware, but just upgraded to the 0302 version, thinking this may be what has been reffered to as "judder." It appears with both firmwares.

Thanks in advance!


Using what resolution? Have you tried different ones?

I remember there being a downloaded guide somewhere on the AVS forum can someone point me to that ? THere is almost to much content to filter though in the huge oppo threads.


Go to the first page and first post of this thread. He graciously keeps it up to date.

Using what resolution? Have you tried different ones?

Since Sex and the City is 4:3, I can only run it at 480p on my set. I've got a Sony 36" 4:3 HD, and if I upconvert, it forces 16:9, which windowboxes all 4:3 material. It only seems to happen on the menus, so it's not a huge deal for me, but the wife is kind of ticked off about it. I did notice it happening near the end of an episode of Futurama last night though (Futurama Vol. 3 - Disc 1 - Bendless Love). It was a couple of scenes within the last 2 or 3 minutes of the episode, sorry, but I don't currently have a timestamp.

Nero Digital works fine. But for using audio you have to change the digital output from "RAW" to "PCM". Sounds logical because an A/V-Receiver doesnt support Nero Digital. Converting is an issue of the Oppo.

@All

This is my first post. So I just like to say hallo to all.

Holger

Welcome aboard!....

thanks for the info on MP4.

OK I have a lip sync issue, and a bit of jitters, only noticeable during credits. I'm thoroughly confused right now as to the recent firmware announcements. I'm most concerned with the lipsync. Which firmware should I try?

Well.... I updated to 0302 and watched Harry Potter (Goblet of Fire) last night. Everything looked good at 1080i in terms of video playback. The DVD mastered quality sucks though.... over 2 hours of movie on dual layer DVD just doesn't cut it anymore. This is why I'm looking forward to BR-DVD release. I was expecting better DVD transfer quality after watching the 1080p QT trailers and reason being a newer title release. I was disapointed. I've been spoiled by oppo.... once you've watch good DVD transfer titles with oppo.... poor ones look just unacceptable.

OK I have a lip sync issue, and a bit of jitters, only noticeable during credits. I'm thoroughly confused right now as to the recent firmware announcements. I'm most concerned with the lipsync. Which firmware should I try?

If you are primarily concerned with audio-syncronization, then you will want to use the F-0220 firmware, as this will have the built in A/V Fix. However, you will experience unwanted visual errrors, such as stuttering (some applications) and intermittent combing and interlacing artifacts.

I'm getting extremely shaky video during the menus on Sex and the City. Is anyone else experiencing these problems, or know of a way to fix it? I was running the 0220 firmware, but just upgraded to the 0302 version, thinking this may be what has been reffered to as "judder." It appears with both firmwares.

Thanks in advance!


Im sorry but i have to ask:

Are you sure that it's not your hand thats shaking as you watch this show??


hahaha

Im sorry but i have to ask:

Are you sure that it's not your hand thats shaking as you watch this show??


hahaha


LOL..... that would do it.

I loaded this last night. Reset my setting to Video 2. DVI out to 1080i. I did a quick check for blacker than black and whiter than white. Ended up setting Bright at +1 and contrast at -1 (same as with 0220 and 0228). No problem with that.

Watched about hour on recorded DVD (home recorder). Good and smooth. Lip-sync was ok as well, though when I've had lip-sync problems it's been intermittent and pretty few and far between. Checked about 5 minutes on second home recorder (it has always had the stutters on OPPO, and it still does, but I didn't expect that to change).

Watched just a few minutes of Gettysburg (commercial DVD). I'll watch some more commercial today. But I suspect it will be fine. Usually my home recorded DVD's will show weaknesses at lower threshold than commercial ones.

Rick

If you are primarily concerned with audio-syncronization, then you will want to use the F-0220 firmware, as this will have the built in A/V Fix. However, you will experience unwanted visual errrors, such as stuttering (some applications) and intermittent combing and interlacing artifacts.

So I am clear on the difference between the two firmware fixes, 0302 firmware removes the fixes for audio-syncronization that the 0220 provided? If so, what would be the advantage to upgrade to the 0302 from the 1111B?

So I am clear on the difference between the two firmware fixes, 0302 firmware removes the fixes for audio-syncronization that the 0220 provided? If so, what would be the advantage to upgrade to the 0302 from the 1111B?

The F-0302 still has the following fixes:

1. Increase audio delay up to 100ms (analog audio output or PCM digital ONLY)
2. Fixed the shifting error on some displays (such as the Sony SXRD line)
3. Fixed PAL 50Hz
4. Fixed PAL "memory loss"
5. Fixed Volume control for analog outputs (volume will now be remembered when the unit is shut down)
6. Longer file names for the Explorer (though this is really broken as the scrolling is too slow).
7. VOD DivX support.
8. Skip Back on Audio CDs now goes back to the beginning of the track, not the previous track.

Basically, if you will be using the analog audio outputs or playing PAL DVDs in their native format, you will want to use the new firmware. If not, then you can keep using the 1111B firmware.

Just upgraded to 302, it fixed my weird subtitle problem where the oppo would choose the 2nd subtitle option and to get the first track you would have to cycle through all the other options first. But something weird happened the first time I popped in a disc, I got no sound. Everything seemed to be hooked up right but I tried again and still no sound. So I changed from raw to pcm and the sound began to work. When I switched back to raw again I now had sound. Everything seems to be okay now, hopefully it won't happen again.

Well.... I updated to 0302 and watched Harry Potter (Goblet of Fire) last night. Everything looked good at 1080i in terms of video playback. The DVD mastered quality sucks though.... over 2 hours of movie on dual layer DVD just doesn't cut it anymore. This is why I'm looking forward to BR-DVD release. I was expecting better DVD transfer quality after watching the 1080p QT trailers and reason being a newer title release. I was disapointed. I've been spoiled by oppo.... once you've watch good DVD transfer titles with oppo.... poor ones look just unacceptable.

Just picked that up last night and watched it on my other tv, with my new Oppo. Glad you mentioned the rather poor transfer/quality , as I felt it was a little noisey. I wasn't sure if it was my TV or not, since that is the first time I had watched a movie over DVI on it. I can't quite place the oddities, but I did notice in the foggy scenes, there was some video noise in they foggy areas. Yet, some parts, usually close ups of people, seem to be pretty sharp.

[B]Originally Posted by bitemymac
Well.... I updated to 0302 and watched Harry Potter (Goblet of Fire) last night. Everything looked good at 1080i in terms of video playback. The DVD mastered quality sucks though.... over 2 hours of movie on dual layer DVD just doesn't cut it anymore. This is why I'm looking forward to BR-DVD release. I was expecting better DVD transfer quality after watching the 1080p QT trailers and reason being a newer title release. I was disapointed. I've been spoiled by oppo.... once you've watch good DVD transfer titles with oppo.... poor ones look just unacceptable.[B]


Just to let you know, i think it will be awhile before this movie is on br as warner is on the hd dvd side i believe......

Just picked that up last night and watched it on my other tv, with my new Oppo. Glad you mentioned the rather poor transfer/quality , as I felt it was a little noisey. I wasn't sure if it was my TV or not, since that is the first time I had watched a movie over DVI on it. I can't quite place the oddities, but I didn't notice in the foggy scenes, there was some video noise in they foggy areas. Yet, some parts, usually close ups of people, seem to be pretty sharp.

Well....157 minutes of MPEG2 movie is just too much for dual layer DVD disc can handle. MPEG4 would've been very useful. Anyhow, Truelife & Noise Reduction should help alot for this particular DVD title. Once I get home I'll also try this DVD on my Denon 2900, and also with NR activated on oppo.

ok so i am not the only one that noticed harry potter was bad. it was the first movie i put in my new oppo (came in the mail yesterday) and i got upset but watched it anyway. i put in shark tale and it was all gravy after that.

ok so i am not the only one that noticed harry potter was bad. it was the first movie i put in my new oppo (came in the mail yesterday) and i got upset but watched it anyway. i put in shark tale and it was all gravy after that.

The best title to watch with oppo @ 1080i on 1080p display is Incredibles. Make sure you have the right firmware though... 1224b and later, including the current 0302 does wonders for 1080i. You can see all the facial texture details and all of everything just looks fabulous....... it's closer to true HD than any other 480i DVD titles I've seen.

Hi all!

First of all: this is my first posting, so I want to say "Hi" to everyone in this great forum!

Having just copied the new FW0302 I was wonder if anyone managed to change the region code with the "9210" command in setup with tray open ?
The player seems to power off after I pressed the 3rd number....can anyone confirm this?

Thx!

CU

Bigkraut

Hi all!

First of all: this is my first posting, so I want to say "Hi" to everyone in this great forum!

Having just copied the new FW0302 I was wonder if anyone managed to change the region code with the "9210" command in setup with tray open ?
The player seems to power off after I pressed the 3rd number....can anyone confirm this?

Thx!

CU

Bigkraut

If you are using a BBK/European OPPO remote, the number 2 will act as the power button.

Well.... I updated to 0302 and watched Harry Potter (Goblet of Fire) last night. Everything looked good at 1080i in terms of video playback. The DVD mastered quality sucks though.... over 2 hours of movie on dual layer DVD just doesn't cut it anymore. This is why I'm looking forward to BR-DVD release. I was expecting better DVD transfer quality after watching the 1080p QT trailers and reason being a newer title release. I was disapointed. I've been spoiled by oppo.... once you've watch good DVD transfer titles with oppo.... poor ones look just unacceptable.


A bit off topic though it is, the relationship between GBs and movie quality is a vexed one. I've seen two hour films with pretty low GBs, say The Incredibles, Serenity, which look great, and others with high GBs which look rubbish (the R2 of Virtigo, for wxample--the R1 has a lower bit-rate and looks 10x as good). My own feeling on this is that SD DVDs have got much, much better over the last year or so and new titles are often very good indeed--but they aren't HD and you shouldn't expect them to be.

Quality with SD DVD is to do with how the film elements are handled far more than the gigs and know doubt it will be the same with HD.

It's a shame about Potter, though: all the reviews of HP Goblet that I've seen give it a pretty high figure for PQ, and as it's Warners it should be good anyway as they are far and away the best DVD authors amongst the major studios. It could be that the thing you are calling 'noise' in dark/foggy scenes is film grain. That happens in dark scenes and it will also be there in HD--unless they manipulate the image--as it's part of the film and caused by the highspeed film used in dark situations.

I'll wait for the PAL release in a couple of weeks.

Don't you think it's misleading for newbies to compare the oppo to HD. They are chalk and cheese, apples and oranges, or whatever.

Dave

The best title to watch with oppo @ 1080i on 1080p display is Incredibles. Make sure you have the right firmware though... 1224b and later, including the current 0302 does wonders for 1080i. You can see all the facial texture details and all of everything just looks fabulous....... it's closer to true HD than any other 480i DVD titles I've seen.
I just did the same thing on a buddy's 45" Sharp 1080p Aquos, but the movie was Monsters Inc - absolutely incredible (pun intended). ;)

A bit off topic though it is, the relationship between GBs and movie quality is a vexed one. I've seen two hour films with pretty low GBs, say The Incredibles, Serenity, which look great, and others with high GBs which look rubbish (the R2 of Virtigo, for wxample--the R1 has a lower bit-rate and looks 10x as good). My own feeling on this is that SD DVDs have got much, much better over the last year or so and new titles are often very good indeed--but they aren't HD and you shouldn't expect them to be.

Quality with SD DVD is to do with how the film elements are handled far more than the gigs and know doubt it will be the same with HD.

It's a shame about Potter, though: all the reviews of HP Goblet that I've seen give it a pretty high figure for PQ, and as it's Warners it should be good anyway as they are far and away the best DVD authors amongst the major studios. It could be that the thing you are calling 'noise' in dark/foggy scenes is film grain. That happens in dark scenes and it will also be there in HD--unless they manipulate the image--as it's part of the film and caused by the highspeed film used in dark situations.

I'll wait for the PAL release in a couple of weeks.

Don't you think it's misleading for newbies to compare the oppo to HD. They are chalk and cheese, apples and oranges, or whatever.

Dave

It's true SD DVD's have improved and this is how we can pick out the bad ones in comparision. A lot of times, upconverting/upscaling bad quality DVD's make things worse than leaving them as 480p or 480i, unless signal is manipulated with filters and enhancements which oppo offers. However, even the studios do this when they re-release digitally mastered/enhaced DVD's, and I'm sure if HP series ever make it out on the HD format DVD's, it will be enhanced. You'll probably disagree with me, but compression rate of dvd title contents does matter and will reflect on the PQ. Or else...why would we need new formats of DVD/optical disc that stores 25x more storage than current DVD to show better quality picture?
Anyway, I don't remember seeng that much GB at the theather or 1080p trailer, so my bets are on the DVD.

We've had a sudden influx of new posters. Welcome one and all!

Gary

I just recieved my dvd player. i noticed some pretty bad microblock on the panny 900u. I remember there being a downloaded guide somewhere on the AVS forum can someone point me to that ? THere is almost to much content to filter though in the huge oppo threads. See my next post.

Gary

Here is an updated guide to suppressing the macroblock-enhance bug... a slimmed-down version of my previous post. For the newcomers, please note that there is a difference between macroblocking recorded on the disk (a compression artifact which cannot be fixed), and the Faroudja "macroblock-enhance" bug. (See the links below for a description and examples):
Set the OPPO's Brightness and Contrast controls at their default values (0) to prevent the possiblity of false contouring (banding). Select the RGB colorspace to eliminate the possibility of green color tints if your display applies colorspace incorrectly.
The most important step is to properly calibrate your display to use its FULL range of available contrast. This made BY FAR the biggest improvement on both of my DLP sets. If you do the calibration yourself, use Avia or DVE, and at the very least, calibrate the brightness, contrast, and saturation. If you skip this step with any player, you will not be getting a good picture. For best results, you should also calibrate grayscale and gamma in your display’s Service Menu (ideally by an ISF-qualified calibrator). Otherwise, pick the "Cinema/Theater/Movie" mode in the User Menu, and turn off any image "enhancement" circuits (like Samsung's DNIe) before you start tweaking.
If you are seeing macroblocking in black/dark areas, it can help to set the TV's brightness one or two clicks below the ideal setting. An easy way to do this, is to enable the screensaver. After each OPPO logo fades away, if you can see any oval ghosts left behind, turn the brightness down until they just disappear. Do this every time you make a change to the contrast.
Turn OFF the OPPO's "Truelife" and "Noise Reduction" features.
Tweak the OPPO's Saturation control a few clicks in either direction and pick the setting that best suppresses the macroblock-enhance. (As you adjust the Saturation control between min and max values, the macroblocking comes and goes in cycles, it does not increase in a linear fashion). Then compensate for the saturation changes by adjusting the display's saturation control. (The controls on my display also affect the severity of the macroblocking, but to a smaller degree). Note that the Avia RGB filters were designed with CRT color primaries in mind. DLP and other technologies have slightly different primaries, so the Saturation result may not be 100% accurate for those display types. My DLP looks best with Saturation set to -10%. Trust your eyes to help you pick a Saturation setting that looks the most natural, not necessarily the most vibrant, particularly in skin tones.
Once you've done all these tweaks, you can play with the OPPO's "Noise Reduction" feature, which can also suppress digital noise and macroblocking on badly encoded disks. Set it back to "OFF" afterward, because this feature causes minor "ghosting" in fast-moving images.
Here are a few related posts that may prove useful:
Macroblocking... Description and Examples (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6846236&&#post6846236)
Kris Deering on Macroblocking in the Source: "SW2 - Attack of the Clones" (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6415307&&#post6415307)
MPEG2 Compression Causes Digtal Broadcast Macroblocking Too (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=606578)
More on Macroblocking Problems (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6746147&&#post6746147)
Samsung DLP Calibration Crash-Course (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5120358&&#post5120358)
Gary

Like almost everyone else in here, I am an early adopter and often find myself with more disposable income than common sense. My first experience with a set-top DVD player that offered regular firmware updates was with the Momitsu v880. It was playing with that unit that made me understand (more accurately brought it home) that this was more like playing around with a modded home-built PC than your average piece of consumer A/V gear.

That realization brought something home to me that I believe may not be sinking in with some folks in this forum. At least with a home-built PC, you only update the bios when there is a genuine need to do so...Unless, that is, you are just begging trouble or consider the computer a test-bed and have other boxes to fall back on. I guess it all comes down to the old dictum, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

My v880 had the truly crappy EPO loader, so every firmware upgrade was at least a bit of light in the darkness...Any hope of making the loader work better was a glimmer of hope if you didn't want to retrofit it with a Lite-On loader.

The OPPO, thank you Jesus!, is not the v880. If the machine is doing what you need and you don't have the lip-sync issue...as I do not...then you do not have to slap on every firmware update that is released. I guess the bottom-line is that if the newest release does not address some specific problem you are having, then don't use it and let well enough alone...Unless, like me you just enjoy experimenting with your player.

I have tested the 0220, the 0228, and the 0302...All managed to break more features than they fixed, so I have reverted to the 1022-D and will stay there until the next release. I suppose the bottom-line here is that if you enjoy doing the updates to see what happens, go for it. If however, your OPPO is performing acceptably, you do not have to use every release that comes down the pike.

-Toonces... ;)

Not a bad movie either.



Not a bad movie??????This film is an utter piece of trash!!!!
And I don't know which one I hate more: this or Napoleon Dynamite.....

BTW, any word from Russians on modifying 0302?
Please, don't tell them I trashed their movie, though :-)

P.S> Did I mention that Night Watch 2 is also crap????

Not a bad movie??????This film is an utter piece of trash!!!!
And I don't know which one I hate more: this or Napoleon Dynamite..... Woah Trance, that's stirring up the hornets nest!

Looks like Sound Stage AV (http://www.soundstageav.com/onhometheater.html) posted a review on March 1 for the OPDV971H.

A snippet from the closing
In the past, I’ve really liked the Ayre Acoustics DVD players and the Lexicon RT-20. But are they 20 to 50 times as good as the Oppo? Of course not. When you want the very best, you pay dearly for incremental improvements. The difference in speed and handling between a Corvette and a Ferrari doesn’t justify the difference in their prices unless you just happen to have the money and are willing to spend it. If fact, for most of the planet, the difference between a nice, new Honda Civic and a Ferrari makes no sense.

That’s a good analogy for the little Oppo. As with a Honda Civic, you get a lot for your money: It does what it’s supposed to do with no surprises, and to get something obviously better would cost a lot more money.

So true! Nice review.

Gary

I have tested the 0220, the 0228, and the 0302...All managed to break more features than they fixed, so I have reverted to the 1022-D and will stay there until the next release. I suppose the bottom-line here is that if you enjoy doing the updates to see what happens, go for it. If however, your OPPO is performing acceptably, you do not have to use every release that comes down the pike. Toonces, I agree with you. But I'm just a little curious... what didn't you like about 0302 that made you go back to 1022?

Gary

Toonces, I agree with you. But I'm just a little curious... what didn't you like about 0302 that made you go back to 1022?

Gary

Gary,

I have the OPPO connected to a 50" GWII that really does a nice zoom on non-anamorphic material at 480p when the OPPO is in the "Wide" mode. I lose a lot of resolution on sub-titles and such in the "Wide/Sqz" mode with 4:3 and non-anamorphic titles.

All three versions: 0220, 0228, and the 0302 made the 480p mode disappear in the OPPO's "Wide" mode...I did report this problem to OPPO and post it here earlier.

-Toonces

BTW - It's the only thing I miss about the Momitsu v880... ;)

Interesting. I wonder if your TV just baulks at the new timing, or if the OPPO really loses 480p? I'll check it on my TV.

Interesting. I wonder if your TV just baulks at the new timing, or if the OPPO really loses 480p? I'll check it on my TV.

480p is fine on my Panasonic TH-42PX50U and Optoma H78. When all else fails, I blame Sony.

Toonces,

I undrstand what you're saying about only upgrading to fix something. I'm hoping that one fo the upgrades will actually fix a problem I've had since I first got the oppo. One of my DVD recorders produces DVD that "stutter" on the OPPO. They play fine on other players, but stutter every few minutes on the OPPO. It's not the media, (I've used same media on another recorder as well as on PC and both play fine in oppo). I've sent DVD's to OPPO for them to have some sample, and they've been able to see the problem.

A few other have the same problem, but it doesnt' appear to be too widespread.'

I don't really expect OPPO to fix this at this point, but I'm hoping that one of their firware updates will accidentally fix this. So I keep hoping.

I also think, though this could just be my impresssion from some of the chatter here, that the 1080i looks better on the 0228 and the 0302 than it did on the 1022 FW version.

Applying the firmware is fairly easy, and I dont really mind doing this, particularly if it helps OPPO at all. They are one company that really seems to take customer service to a new level. I wish ohters would follow suit.

Rick

new 0302 firmware has a bug

put on video 2 and NTSC tv and aspect ratio's for film's are messed up.

I noticed it when I was watching harry potter and the goblet of fire, when I changed it back to Video 1, the aspect ratio went to the correct 2:35:1

Before that it had only tiny bars on the top and bottom.

Anyone else see this problem?

Now everything works fine in Video 2.

I am confused to what caused this.

Like almost everyone else in here, I am an early adopter and often find myself with more disposable income than common sense. My first experience with a set-top DVD player that offered regular firmware updates was with the Momitsu v880. It was playing with that unit that made me understand (more accurately brought it home) that this was more like playing around with a modded home-built PC than your average piece of consumer A/V gear.

That realization brought something home to me that I believe may not be sinking in with some folks in this forum. At least with a home-built PC, you only update the bios when there is a genuine need to do so...Unless, that is, you are just begging trouble or consider the computer a test-bed and have other boxes to fall back on. I guess it all comes down to the old dictum, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

My v880 had the truly crappy EPO loader, so every firmware upgrade was at least a bit of light in the darkness...Any hope of making the loader work better was a glimmer of hope if you didn't want to retrofit it with a Lite-On loader.

The OPPO, thank you Jesus!, is not the v880. If the machine is doing what you need and you don't have the lip-sync issue...as I do not...then you do not have to slap on every firmware update that is released. I guess the bottom-line is that if the newest release does not address some specific problem you are having, then don't use it and let well enough alone...Unless, like me you just enjoy experimenting with your player.

I have tested the 0220, the 0228, and the 0302...All managed to break more features than they fixed, so I have reverted to the 1022-D and will stay there until the next release. I suppose the bottom-line here is that if you enjoy doing the updates to see what happens, go for it. If however, your OPPO is performing acceptably, you do not have to use every release that comes down the pike.

-Toonces... ;)

Amen! good advice brother, and sorry about you having to live in Texas.

Larry

Toonces,

I undrstand what you're saying about only upgrading to fix something. I'm hoping that one fo the upgrades will actually fix a problem I've had since I first got the oppo. One of my DVD recorders produces DVD that "stutter" on the OPPO. They play fine on other players, but stutter every few minutes on the OPPO. It's not the media, (I've used same media on another recorder as well as on PC and both play fine in oppo). I've sent DVD's to OPPO for them to have some sample, and they've been able to see the problem.
Rick
I am experiencing exactly the same problem and have also sent the guy's at Oppo a disc. Fingers crossed they can come up with a fix soon.

new 0302 firmware has a bug

put on video 2 and NTSC tv and aspect ratio's for film's are messed up.

I noticed it when I was watching harry potter and the goblet of fire, when I changed it back to Video 1, the aspect ratio went to the correct 2:35:1

Before that it had only tiny bars on the top and bottom.

Anyone else see this problem?

Now everything works fine in Video 2.

I am confused to what caused this.

Watched a couple of films this afternoon which were all 2:35:1 and my Video was set to Video 2. I did not experience any problems.

However, it appears that I am getting more underscanning on my H78. I left my AVIA disc at work, so I can't verify it until tomorrow. Though, it could be that my projector is to blame, as I recently moved around some stuff in my theater room, and I didn't bother to check if everything was aligned still.

Hi!
To contact russians I just wrote to bbk985s@narod.ru. When I asked if there is a modded 0220 version they send me fw, that I put to rapidshare.

On russian forum mentioned on the main page of http://bbk985s.narod.ru I found message that fully modded version of 0220 fw almost ready.

BTW what is the problem with subtitles? I do not found any problems on my player.

Hi!
To contact russians I just wrote to bbk985s@narod.ru. When I asked if there is a modded 0220 version they send me fw, that I put to rapidshare.

On russian forum mentioned on the main page of http://bbk985s.narod.ru I found message that fully modded version of 0220 fw almost ready.

BTW what is the problem with subtitles? I do not found any problems on my player.


Two subtitle problems with the russian mod of 0220 have been found. Firstly, on the French MK2 disc, 'The Double Life of Veronique' only French subtitles have been accessible; secondly, the 'alien language' into english subtitles in all the Star Wars films (well IV to VI anyway) come out in any language but English.

Checked Star Wars on the 0302 update yesterday and the subtitles played fine if 'none' is selected in the start menu--though I dislike those movies more everytime I watch them.

BTW, has anybody else noticed that the lip sync in Luke's conversation with Jabba in VI--a good subtitle test spot-- is just terrible, no matter what settings you use? It looks like bad dubbing

Dave

Here's something strange:
I watched the new special edition of "Free Enterprise" tonight on my 0220 firmware and the audio behaved well throughout most of the film. However, there was one single chapter where the audio got completely out of sync, lagging by what seemed like 200-300 msec! How could this happen?

You'll probably disagree with me, but compression rate of dvd title contents does matter and will reflect on the PQ. Or else...why would we need new formats of DVD/optical disc that stores 25x more storage than current DVD to show better quality picture?

The HD formats need more storage space because they are storing much higher resolution data. They also use new compression codecs (well, HD-DVD anyway) that are more compressed than standard DVD, not less. And yet they look exponentially better than DVD.

A too low bit rate can affect picture quality, I'm not denying that, but the quality of the compression work is much more important than the numerical rate. With quality compression, it is possible to produce a good looking disc with a low rate (many Pixar DVDs prove this). It's just as possible to produce an awful looking disc with a high bit rate.

An improperly restored film may have scratches, uneven colors, burn marks-- and those details may be captured faithfully by a high bitrate mpeg2. Restore it properly, and the bitrate may go down.

The HD formats need more storage space because they are storing much higher resolution data. They also use new compression codecs (well, HD-DVD anyway) that are more compressed than standard DVD, not less. And yet they look exponentially better than DVD.

A too low bit rate can affect picture quality, I'm not denying that, but the quality of the compression work is much more important than the numerical rate. With quality compression, it is possible to produce a good looking disc with a low rate (many Pixar DVDs prove this). It's just as possible to produce an awful looking disc with a high bit rate.

Wasn't making a direct comparision on two different codec (MPEG2 vs. MPEG4), just making the point that more storage is required to lessen the compression artifacts within the same codec format for long movies like HP. I agree that good dvd may be produce with low bit, and I do agree that Pixar DVD's are one of the best examples of that. However, this comes with a limit and longer the movie gets.... somethings will be sacrificed..... mostly on the PQ due to lower bit rate.

Anyways, I've kind of figured out what makes HP (Goblet of Fire) look bad on the oppo. It's mostly due to MB and all the video noise in the title makes things worse. I've not experienced this before since I've always had Truelife off. However, I've had it on a default setting with 0302 firmware flash and that exacerbated the MB. I've tried turning Truelife off and MB was mostly gone, but still faintly exist. This is first time seeing a noticeable MB on my display. Anyways, I've tried watching HP on the Denon 2900 (non-faroudja player) and it was fine, but was still not that good in PQ and noisey. Also, even on oppo with Truelife off, only certain scenes would show noticeable MB. All in all, amongst all 4 HP titles I own, Goblet of Fire is only one with noticeable MB on the oppo.

Interesting. I wonder if your TV just baulks at the new timing, or if the OPPO really loses 480p? I'll check it on my TV.


I have not lost 480p either going to 0302 with a Philips 30pw9110d/37.

Switched to 0302...
Interestingly, after viewing two random movies, 1080i (always having a extremely slight jitter) seems very nice.
However, the OPPO Logo/Load Screen shakes severely at 1080i. :D
Worse than ever..LOL!
Weird!!!!

Philips 9110D CRT, btw.

Oh well... guess I won't pry into the "gift horse's" mouth.
It's probably just that my aging nerves are jitterin' in sync. :D

Switched to 0302...
Interestingly, after viewing two random movies, 1080i (always having a extremely slight jitter) seems very nice.
However, the OPPO Logo/Load Screen shakes severely at 1080i. :D
Worse than ever..LOL!
Weird!!!!

Philips 9110D CRT, btw.

Oh well... guess I won't pry into the "gift horse's" mouth.
It's probably just that my aging nerves are jitterin' in sync. :D


Now I'll have to try 1080i because when I saw the Oppo screen still jittering I just put it back on 780p.

Was the 0302 firmware supposed to fix the 1080i jitter (the very slight jitter, esp. seen on resolution ramps on Avia)? It still displays it on my Sony GWIV LCD RP, for what it is worth. 720p is still completely solid (and still what I use.)

I figure there can't be too much difference (if any) between 1080i/720p, in actuality...

-Terry

Was the 0302 firmware supposed to fix the 1080i jitter (the very slight jitter, esp. seen on resolution ramps on Avia)? It still displays it on my Sony GWIV LCD RP, for what it is worth. 720p is still completely solid (and still what I use.)

I figure there can't be too much difference (if any) between 1080i/720p, in actuality...

-Terry

The new firmware does not address 1080i jitter. There will always be jitter at 1080i, as the Faroudja chipset was not designed for interlaced throughput. In fact, the Panasonic S77/97 seem to be more "jittery" at 1080i if my memory serves me correctly.

I was wondering if anyone has played the original Dr. No and Goldfinger. The ones with Widescreen and Pan & Scan on the same side. On my OPPO it goes thru the WARNING, THX and MGM intro. but gets to film it freezes will not play. These are only disc's I've run across that wouldn't play. I'm using the D-1022 firmware.

Mark

Never mind its not the OPPO.Tried in computer same thing its some kind of ROT.

Mark

The new firmware does not address 1080i jitter. There will always be jitter at 1080i, as the Faroudja chipset was not designed for interlaced throughput. In fact, the Panasonic S77/97 seem to be more "jittery" at 1080i if my memory serves me correctly.

Is this also somewhat display dependant as well? I use a CRT RPTV and I've never really seen any noticble "jitter" at 1080i. Well, maybe a little, I have to really look for it and anyways I think it's just the guns warming up because it's absolutely not there after the tv has been on for about 20 minutes.

Here's something strange:
I watched the new special edition of "Free Enterprise" tonight on my 0220 firmware and the audio behaved well throughout most of the film. However, there was one single chapter where the audio got completely out of sync, lagging by what seemed like 200-300 msec! How could this happen? Tell us more... What audio output were you using? What video output? Was it repeatable - did you rewind that scene, try stop and play, or chapter skip? Did it occur after you did something like pausing or accessing the setup menu?

Is this also somewhat display dependant as well? I use a CRT RPTV and I've never really seen any noticble "jitter" at 1080i. Well, maybe a little, I have to really look for it and anyways I think it's just the guns warming up because it's absolutely not there after the tv has been on for about 20 minutes.I've never seen any noticable "jitter" at 1080i on my Samsung DLP either.

Gary

Is this also somewhat display dependant as well? I use a CRT RPTV and I've never really seen any noticble "jitter" at 1080i. Well, maybe a little, I have to really look for it and anyways I think it's just the guns warming up because it's absolutely not there after the tv has been on for about 20 minutes.


I can almost see it on the OPPO splash screen at 1080i on my Tosh 56hx93. While watching movies, no, I dont see it. I have a hard time seeing difference between 720p and 1080i. For last week I've been in the 1080i mode. Will probably stay there for a while.

I actually think it looks slightly better, but then again, maybe not. Main reason i switched from 1080i to 720p was The AVIA resolution patterns looked just a hair better at 720p. But I've now convinced myself that the 1080i on movies look better.

(Does it sound like I cant make up my mind??)

Rick

Hello all,

FWIW, I also "almost" see jitter on the Oppo splash screen at 1080i - not at 720p. But, I use 1080i on my Sony 34XBR910 direct view CRT and there is no jitter during play. I have no complaints with Oppo on this display. None. I wish folks would avoid generalizing about "all Sonys such and such... or "all CRTs do this or that" since mine doesn't.

A survey of one.

:)

Dana

Did anyone else find that the new 0220 firmware (haven't tested the later versions) of firmware still has a left shift? My Toshiba 34HF83 crt is still shifted left at 1080i, 720p, and 480p. I don't even see the left 5% overscan line on the DVE tests. I do see the right one.

I'm pretty sure I've had this problem with every version of firmware that I've used. Any suggestions? Is anyone else still seeing this shift? Could it just be that my TV's DVI implementation (which I suppose is relatively old, being from 2003) isn't great?

BTW, I have no overscan problems (less than 5%) on component at 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i.
Thanks.

Did anyone else find that the new 0220 firmware (haven't tested the later versions) of firmware still has a left shift? My Toshiba 34HF83 crt is still shifted left at 1080i, 720p, and 480p. I don't even see the left 5% overscan line on the DVE tests. I do see the right one.

I'm pretty sure I've had this problem with every version of firmware that I've used. Any suggestions? Is anyone else still seeing this shift? Could it just be that my TV's DVI implementation (which I suppose is relatively old, being from 2003) isn't great?

BTW, I have no overscan problems (less than 5%) on component at 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i. No shift here, the OPPO appears to be fine. It is very possible that your TV may have a shift between component and DVI/HDMI. If you like, try another (known good) DVI device to check.

Gary

Hello all,

FWIW, I also "almost" see jitter on the Oppo splash screen at 1080i - not at 720p. But, I use 1080i on my Sony 34XBR910 direct view CRT and there is no jitter during play. I have no complaints with Oppo on this display. None. I wish folks would avoid generalizing about "all Sonys such and such... or "all CRTs do this or that" since mine doesn't.

A survey of one.

:)

Dana

I think there was some support for the Faroudja processing and Sony displays not being a good match. But this was on earlier technology. I think you will find many Oppos mated up with Sony displays (CRT and microdisplays) these days. I love mine! Works great!
Plus, there is a general bias against HDMI players, many saying they are a waste of money with HD DVDs around the corner. First of all, it's a still a long walk to the 'corner' :) and the greatest availability of movies will be with DVDs for some time yet. Not to mention the higher initial cost of HD DVD players & software, and likely some new problems to resolve. It would appear most of the ones complaining, have never tried an Oppo or other highly rated upconverting player, as they rarely have specific complaints about the performance.
Granted, nothing is perfect, but this is about as close to an improvement we should expect, all things considered.

Agreed.

One "blind spot" of the new HD players apparently is that they are not/will not be region free capable. I stumbled into the OPPO originally because I was looking for a Region 2 player. LOL. Look what I found. :)

I just watched a 1995 French film "Les Milles" with Kristin Scott Thomas in a bit part. Region 2 PAL 16:9. It played perfectly on the OPPO tonight.

Dana

I think there was some support for the Faroudja processing and Sony displays not being a good match. But this was on earlier technology. I think you will find many Oppos mated up with Sony displays (CRT and microdisplays) these days. I love mine! Works great!
Plus, there is a general bias against HDMI players, many saying they are a waste of money with HD DVDs around the corner. First of all, it's a still a long walk to the 'corner' :) and the greatest availability of movies will be with DVDs for some time yet. Not to mention the higher initial cost of HD DVD players & software, and likely some new problems to resolve. It would appear most of the ones complaining, have never tried an Oppo or other highly rated upconverting player, as they rarely have specific complaints about the performance.
Granted, nothing is perfect, but this is about as close to an improvement we should expect, all things considered.

I have an Oppo hooked to a Sony KDL-40XBR1 Bravia and it works great. Watched the Good, Bad and Ugly showed so much facial detail you could see individual pores and pock marks. I have whatever software version came with the set and I have no complaints.

Larry

New Owner, I thought I would chime in. I have been using XBMC as a DVD Player on my main HT setup at home. I had a Samsung 9X0 DVI player for a week two years ago and couldn't justify the $350 for the slight improvement over the xbox. This was hooked to Sammy 61" DLP at 720P for both. non XBMC DVD playback via Xbox DVD Player is only 480P. Anyway both looked good. The sammy was better but not enough for $350.

I have a vacation house. I already had a hacked xbox running XBMC for there as well hooked to a Sony 27" CRT. Gotta deal on some closeout Samsung 27" CRT HDTV with DVI for $350 at CC. Seemed too good to pass up. Running component out of the xbox to it the text on XBMC menus was definately sharper at 480I or 480P than the old sony and I paid less for it. Anyway DVD Playback was not good. All the sudden I was seeing lots of jaggies on DVD ISO's over the lan and discs. Never saw this on the samsung DLP. Can't seem to tweak the settings to make it look good. So I bought an OPPO and hooked up to the DVI input on the cheapo Sammy CRT at 480P.

Huge Improvement. Jaggies are gone. seems to be much more detailed picture than before. Cool.....

I can't thank you all you enough for the FAQ. I had the thing configured and running in no time. did the region free thing and updated to 0302 firmware. Watched 5 movies with it and no issues with audio sync, macro blocking etc. Very pleased.

NOTE: I tried 720P ( I don't think this CRT can even resolve this much res) and it seemed worse than 480P which again looks great on DVD's.

MiniReview:

Manual SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

new remote is good. Better than any onkyo or sony or cyberhome remote I have. will setup pronto for it soon.

Player is very quiet. Xbox makes some fan noise. my cheapo cyberhome I bought for $29 sounds like a mini jet engine its totally obnoxious. A++ on this front.

Looks cool. super thin and sleek. case seems fairly strong. I have a DTV Tivo sitting on top of it. So far so good... Blue LED's are cool. nice you can turn em off.

The worst part of the whole player is the disc tray. Its absolute POS. I have never seen such a flimsy tray. I'd give up thin case for a slightly better tray. I hope I don't break it. If you have kids don't think of buying this player, seriously.

Firmware update was a peice of cake. thanks again for FAQ's and links here.

like the quickstart feature.

Haven't compared Truelife and CCS. I can say I didn't like DNIE on my Sammy DLP.

I dunno if I will ever try DIVX, or Audio or Pics. All that works beatifully on XBMC. Nice knowing its there but the lack of ethernet and a nice GUI won't win over XBMC users like me.

I can't wait to haul this thing back home when in the spring and hook it to the Sammy DLP. I'm expecting good things there...

Overall very pleased. PQ is great. Noise is gone, nice looking, no jaggies. great info from AVS as usual. Anyone care to comment if they have broken a tray or the durability of it. I have managed not to break CD/DVD player on 10+ computers/laptops and all my other gear over the years but this thing scares me.

Cheers,
Sean Smith
Raleigh,NC and PowMow, Utah

Nice review, welcome to the club.

One thing to note though: the tray is NOT flimsy. It was intentionally designed to be VERY bendable WITHOUT breaking off. I'm assuming that you've never had the misfortune of accidently dropping something onto an open CD tray before. Believe me, with a regular tray, they snap right off, or at least come off the track enough to render the player useless.

With the Oppo, the thing bends so much that only the heaviest of objects would break it off. It takes some getting used to, but you appreciate it after a while.

That being said, I DO wish that the tray would eject a little farther to make getting the discs out an easier task. Oh well.

Anyone care to comment if they have broken a tray or the durability of it. I've posted this before, but it has been a while...

The tray is certainly not flimsy, it is designed to be flexible and tough. My 2 year old kid whacked the tray so hard that it hit the deck below. No damage was done.

With the same impact, my Pioneer player would have broken... if not the tray, then for sure, the loading mechanism.

Gary

Hey guys I just got the new control (glow in the dark one) and I tried using it but the commands are all wack... like for example the right arrow on the control is stop, etc, all the keys do something dif than what they are supposed to. I cant even turn it on or off as that button is also assigned to some other command.

I had to put the batteries back into the old one (black with plastic buttons) and use that.

Is there something I have to do so it recognizes this new remote?

Hey guys I just got the new control (glow in the dark one) and I tried using it but the commands are all wack... like for example the right arrow on the control is stop, etc, all the keys do something dif than what they are supposed to. I cant even turn it on or off as that button is also assigned to some other command.

I had to put the batteries back into the old one (black with plastic buttons) and use that.

Is there something I have to do so it recognizes this new remote?
Hold "stop" down on the player itself (not the remote) for 5 seconds. You should see 'New RC' flash up on your display device (not the player).

Dave

I was wondering if anyone has played the original Dr. No and Goldfinger. The ones with Widescreen and Pan & Scan on the same side. On my OPPO it goes thru the WARNING, THX and MGM intro. but gets to film it freezes will not play. These are only disc's I've run across that wouldn't play. I'm using the D-1022 firmware.

Mark

Where can I get the D-1022 firmware (or any of the older firmware versions for that matter)? The Oppo site only seems to offer the last two versions.

Where can I get the D-1022 firmware (or any of the older firmware versions for that matter)? The Oppo site only seems to offer the last two versions.

There's a link in the FAQ on the first page of this thread.

Is there any reason why PCM audio on the oppo has to be down-mixed to 2-channels? Could it not send a full dolby digital (Pro-Logic) 5.1 signal at least--PCM is capable of that, isn't it? (Obviously I'm thinking about making the audio delay more usable.)

BTW, I've been using the 0302 firmware for a few days and noticed no problems whatsoever--yet (and, Toonces, it plays 480p fine--but I'm sticking to wide/squeeze).

Dave

Last Night's finding...

v:0302 + Video-2 + reg-2 PAL disc + Wide/SQZ = Postage-Stamped & improper display of a 16x9 aspect movie.

Had to switch to "Wide" and all was as should be. :)
Did I just never notice this before(?).. hard to believe that.

Last Night's finding...

v:0302 + Video-2 + reg-2 PAL disc + Wide/SQZ = Postage-Stamped & improper display of a 16x9 aspect movie.

Had to switch to "Wide" and all was as should be. :)
Did I just never notice this before(?).. hard to believe that.
Those are my settings, I mostly play PAL and I've not seen this problem. What was the movie, is it repeatable?

Dave

Hold "stop" down on the player itself (not the remote) for 5 seconds. You should see 'New RC' flash up on your display device (not the player).

Dave

Didnt work... when I did this it displayed OLD RC and the commands were still wack, did it again and it displayed NEW RC and nothing. Had to switch the batteries again.

The black with glass plastic buttons only works under NEW RC, not old (just fyi in case it helps)

What can I do?

Didnt work... when I did this it displayed OLD RC and the commands were still wack, did it again and it displayed NEW RC and nothing. Had to switch the batteries again.

The black with glass plastic buttons only works under NEW RC, not old (just fyi in case it helps)

What can I do?
Contact Oppo support. The two black remotes both use the "NEW RC" IR codes, so there should be no changes necessary when switching between them. Sounds like the glow-in-the-dark unit you have is bad. I dont imagine Oppo will give you any trouble about replacing it.

Those are my settings, I mostly play PAL and I've not seen this problem. What was the movie, is it repeatable?

Dave

"Walkabout"... and OOPS! I mis-spoke... it's a reg-4 disc.
haven't tried another reg-4 PAL to see if it does the same.
In fact.. not certain I have another reg-4... I think most of my international films are reg-2.

I'll have to see what reg-2 does. :D

Is there any reason why PCM audio on the oppo has to be down-mixed to 2-channels? Could it not send a full dolby digital (Pro-Logic) 5.1 signal at least--PCM is capable of that, isn't it? (Obviously I'm thinking about making the audio delay more usable.) That's a very good question!

PCM is capable of 6 channels, but I don't know whether RAW-to-6-Channel-PCM conversion is even possible with the MTK chip. It would certainly help with the audio delay. That's a question for Mediatek to answer. I'll ask OPPO to check that for us.

Gary

This afternoon I got my AVIA out and checked the overscan pattern for the OPPO display.

I had 3.5 to 4 top and bottom, 4.5 to 5 on right side and 6.5 to 7 on left. This kinda matched what I was seeing with the width of the sidebars on some 4:30 material on the OPPO. A left shift.

I actually think this was case with the 0228 FW as well.

I actually went ahead and centered it in SM (Tosh 65hx93). Unfortunately, I'll probably have to switch it back since now my Broadcast HD signal is too far to the right.

I know last nite watching some 4:3 recording show noticed that the left and right bars (pillar boxes where not equal, so I suspect she will notice the "new adjustment" I made. (I'll wait and see if wife notices)

Rick

This afternoon I got my AVIA out and checked the overscan pattern for the OPPO display.

I had 3.5 to 4 top and bottom, 4.5 to 5 on right side and 6.5 to 7 on left. This kinda matched what I was seeing with the width of the sidebars on some 4:30 material on the OPPO. A left shift.

I actually think this was case with the 0228 FW as well.

I actually went ahead and centered it in SM (Tosh 65hx93). Unfortunately, I'll probably have to switch it back since now my Broadcast HD signal is too far to the right.

I know last nite watching some 4:3 recording show noticed that the left and right bars (pillar boxes where not equal, so I suspect she will notice the "new adjustment" I made. (I'll wait and see if wife notices)

Rick

I've always had the left shift problem, doesn't matter which firmware I'm using :(

I've always had the left shift problem, doesn't matter which firmware I'm using :(It may well be your display then. Have you tried another known good DVI device to compare? I have compared the output of the OPPO to my ATI Radeon DVI card, and at 720p, there is no shift and no difference between the two.

I must add though, that the image on my TV was not properly centered when it arrived from the factory (very common). I had to adjust it in the Service Menu. There is still a slight difference between the centering of the component and DVI inputs (also common, because they are completely different circuits).

Gary

It may well be your display then. Have you tried another known good DVI device to compare? I have compared the output of the OPPO to my ATI Radeon DVI card, and at 720p, there is no shift and no difference between the two.

I must add though, that the image on my TV was not properly centered when it arrived from the factory (very common). I had to adjust it in the Service Menu. There is still a slight difference between the centering of the component and DVI inputs (also common, because they are completely different circuits).

Gary

I'll be watching some network HiDef tonight, via an OTA antenna connection. They usually have commercials that are somewhere between 16:9 and 4:3 so I'll probably see some network pillar bars. I'll see how balanced they look. But I'm guesing that by centering the OPPO I've probably gone to far to the right (some quick look at network tv shows this pretty clear. I have another DVD player hooked to component, I'll check it as well. But I right now, OPPO is centered, but OTA looks pretty shifted. I'll probably end up compromising, or maybe even leaning a little further back to original left shift on OPPO.

Rick

Last Night's finding...

v:0302 + Video-2 + reg-2 PAL disc + Wide/SQZ = Postage-Stamped & improper display of a 16x9 aspect movie.

Had to switch to "Wide" and all was as should be. :)
Did I just never notice this before(?).. hard to believe that.

Could be that the DVD was non-anamorphic.

That's a very good question!

PCM is capable of 6 channels, but I don't know whether RAW-to-6-Channel-PCM conversion is even possible with the MTK chip. It would certainly help with the audio delay. That's a question for Mediatek to answer. I'll ask OPPO to check that for us.

Gary

Thanks, Gary. Let me know what they say.

BTW: watched the R2 PAL of Open Range this morning--up at 6 am for Saturday Morning Pictures at home (joy!)--it was the most beautiful "un"digital image I've seen. The landscape and the horses in the first 10 minutes were simply stunningly realized. I don't know if the R1 is as good, but if so it should be a reference picture disc for those who want to test non-digital images. The oppo performed absolultely wonderfully: no trace of lip-sync problems and pin sharp detail. The film is 2h13m long yet only 5 gigs! Just goes to show how marvellous a properly mastered/compressed SD disc can look. Just thought I'd report some good news, for a bit of balance.

Dave

Nice review, welcome to the club.

One thing to note though: the tray is NOT flimsy. It was intentionally designed to be VERY bendable WITHOUT breaking off. I'm assuming that you've never had the misfortune of accidently dropping something onto an open CD tray before. Believe me, with a regular tray, they snap right off, or at least come off the track enough to render the player useless.

All very true. I had a mishap with my Rotel CD player/transport (very pricey unit) and my dog (not so pricey unit), and after performing surgery on it, it still sticks when ejecting. Hard Plastic does not always equal durable.

just upgraded from 0220 to 0302.

And so far... playing PAL discs (on my A10) instead of jittering effect (on 0220) I get something that I can describe as lines (horizontal) when there is medium to fast motion. Had a/v sync issue but remembered that it defaults to +5 when you flash so I put it back to 0 and a/v is now syncd.

I find this horizontal line effect better to cope with than the jitter... cuase it would basically cause the image to be blurry most of the time, and now its clear, but suffers from those lines. 1080i seems to be better or the same as 720p now... so I've switched to 1080i till I see something wrong with it.

NTSC discs seem to be playing the same, didnt notice any dif on that, my issue is with PAL (even though I only have 1 pal dvd haha)

[QUOTE=Crimguy] my dog (not so pricey unit) QUOTE]


Good doggie!

LMAO :-)

I've noticed these forums always seem to attract a lot of "problem" discussions (regardless of topic) so I wanted to post some favorable comments if there are any prospective buyers lurking. Its not scientific approach but its practical.

I've been pleased with picture quality of my new OPPO for past 3 weeks but with all the posts of "studdering, lip sync, image shifting, etc etc" I was kind of spooked that maybe I was just kidding myself to justify the purchase.

So I DVR'd Saving Private Ryan in HD this week and used that to do some freeze frame "A/B" comparisons with the OPPO last night. We DVR a lot of HD movies and this is our primary method for watching either movies or TV. We have an SA 8300HD DVR going to Infocus 4805 over component. Right now this is the best source I can get and it won't work over DVI in my setup.

I had expected the HD signal to look better since we've noticed significance of color/contrast information with HD over SD signal, even though we only have 480P projector. However, as soon as I froze the scenes and started switching back and forth, I was impressed to find that there some subtle improvements in the OPPO source over the HD source.

1) Color:
Both were very close but OPPO had the edge. I assume its because I was able to carefully calibrate the DVD player using Avia, something I can't do easily with the 8300. The color hues looked the same but OPPO was slightly deeper.

2) Sharpness:
This surprised me a lot but the OPPO was definitely sharper, I assume I have DVI to thank for this. Possibly the electronics in 8300 aren't as good as OPPO.

3) Contrast:
The OPPO had about 10% more pop than the HD signal, again I assume this is due to calibration.

4)Stutter/Juddering/Lip Sync:
There were no differences in playback that I could discern between the network feed and the DVD source. The scenes I was worried about (various scenes from the landing on the beach and the platoon along the roadside bushes preparing attack on the fixed machine gun) played the same on each. The "studdering" I had worried about turned out to be editing trick for dramatic effect.

So resolution aside (since its not an issue with 480P display) the OPPO held its own against HDTV in my setup. I realize there are all sorts of factors (DVR output settings, lack of calibration etc) but this is a realistic test for me.

Not scientific but pretty practical. I had expected HDTV to win easily and the OPPO to be respectable. But the OPPO was better in my setup and I now prefer the OPPO over the 8300.

YMMV

does the oppo do lets say 1366x768 so I can get 1:1 pixel mapping on my panny 8uk

Sorry, it doesn't do custom resolutions.

I just wanted to chime in with my experience. My brother just picked up the Oppo 971 unit for his 51" Hitachi HD RP. He let me borrow it for a night with my Optoma EzPro739/745 XGA projector. All I can say is WOW! It completely eliminated ghosting and really cut down on graininess in sky backgrounds. Picture quality was excellent. We watched "Just like Heaven" and the image quality was just superb. My wife was so impressed that she even gave me the OK to pick one up for my birthday ;) I'm sure that DVI helped out a lot; my other methods of input included computers (both PC and Mac, both by VGA) and a Pioneer DV-588 DVD player using a component-to-VGA cable. Excellent quality, great unit. Yay for good cheap stuff! :D

Will my luck with the OPPO DV97H was not to good. :(

Sending it back, the picture on my Sony SXRD KDS-R50XB1 was grainy.
I was using the DVI connection to HDMI and the TV was setup using the AVIA disk, but it didn't matter. My old XBOX played the DVD's better then the OPPO.

The OPPO DV97H had the current firmware ver. 05.00.01.07 Batch: F-0220

I had based my purchase on all the great reviews listed on this forum as well as on the web (maybe my unit was just bad).

Sending back on Monday.

P.S. Have a great picture with my DirecTV HD using the HDMI connection, so I don't believe its the tv (only 1 month old).

Oops!

Forgot to ask this in the last post, what would the masses recommend as a good up scaler or progressive player for around 300 dollars or less.

Thanks!

I have a 4:3 movie that must be improperly flagged because the oppo is stretching it. Is there any way I can override the stretch to get the disc to play correctly

Will my luck with the OPPO DV97H was not to good. :(

Sending it back, the picture on my Sony SXRD KDS-R50XB1 was grainy.
I was using the DVI connection to HDMI and the TV was setup using the AVIA disk, but it didn't matter. My old XBOX played the DVD's better then the OPPO.

The OPPO DV97H had the current firmware ver. 05.00.01.07 Batch: F-0220

I had based my purchase on all the great reviews listed on this forum as well as on the web (maybe my unit was just bad).

Sending back on Monday.

P.S. Have a great picture with my DirecTV HD using the HDMI connection, so I don't believe its the tv (only 1 month old).

I highly recommend you return the Oppo and ask for a new one. At the very least - a poorly configured 971H is still considerably more capable then a Xbox.

It is very likely you ended up with one with broken parts(A bad capacitator will do this)

Sending it back, the picture on my Sony SXRD KDS-R50XB1 was grainy.
I was using the DVI connection to HDMI and the TV was setup using the AVIA disk, but it didn't matter. That does not sound normal at all. What do you mean by "grainy"? Can you describe this more clearly? What DVD were you watching? Some movies are grainy due to film properties or artistic intent.

Gary

Oops!

Forgot to ask this in the last post, what would the masses recommend as a good up scaler or progressive player for around 300 dollars or less.

Thanks!The OPPO of course!

Gary

I have a 4:3 movie that must be improperly flagged because the oppo is stretching it. That's unfortunate. The OPPO does the right thing with the flags. Did you try the Normal/PS mode (4:3 TV Pan and Scan)? If that doesn't help, the only hope is with your TV. Mine has a 4:3 mode that can force a squeeze.

Gary

I have a 4:3 movie that must be improperly flagged because the oppo is stretching it. Is there any way I can override the stretch to get the disc to play correctly

I may have missed a post, but presumably you've set the oppo to wide/squeeze mode? Alternatively you can set the oppo to 480p/576p and let your display device set the AR. Some prefer this, though it can bring about pixel cropping (at least it does on my ae700, about 5% all round).

Dave

Oops!

Forgot to ask this in the last post, what would the masses recommend as a good up scaler or progressive player for around 300 dollars or less.

Thanks!


The OPPO of course!

Gary

What other answer do you expect asking in the Oppo thread????

Oops!

Forgot to ask this in the last post, what would the masses recommend as a good up scaler or progressive player for around 300 dollars or less.

Thanks!
I have the OPPO with my Sony sxrd and the lip-sync issue really sucks. :mad:
I would wait until OPPO has the issue resolved.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you F-0302 Firmware (http://www.oppodigital.com/Download/Firmware_971h-f-0302.iso). This is basically the F-0228 firmware, but with the UDF fix (dropping out from playback should not give you gibberish).

So why, now, would OPPO be making another firmware? Well glad you asked skippy! Due to the overwhelming positive and negative feedback OPPO has received from the F-0220 firmware, OPPO has decided to rescind the F-0220 firmware for two reason:

1. The new firmware causes instances of interlacing and combing which were not inherent to the previous firmware. This is most important to 1080i users, but effects us 720p/480p users as well.

2. It breaks DivX/MPRG-2 playback. Studdering is only funny when put into the context of a man so deeply in love with someone he can't say the "L" word.

So why not just release the F-0228 firmware instead? OPPO believes in the "give a little, take a little" philosophy. They have removed the A/V sync fix, but gave back the UDF fix.

What does this mean? The intention is to replace the F-0220 firmware with the F-0302 firmware, while the F-0220 will become the new "interim" fix for users who desperately need Audio/Video syncronization fixes.

However, it needs testing before it goes mainstream. That is where you guys (including me) come into play. Please download the F-0302 Firmware (http://www.oppodigital.com/Download/Firmware_971h-f-0302.iso) and report any errors you experience with the firmware. And no, the Star Wars III Pan is not an error.

I had this problem before the firmware but upgraded in hopes of a fix. Certain DIVX files are synched very badly and the video gets so choppy at times that it skips scenes/frames. The audio is way off but I think this may be due to the video playback or perhaps both need tweaking. I don't know... Fansubs of Blood+ would be a good example.

I have the OPPO with my Sony sxrd and the lip-sync issue really sucks. :mad:
I would wait until OPPO has the issue resolved.
Leo, are you feeding the audio to the SXRD or to a receiver? I've been using the Oppo with the SXRD, and using the TV speakers, for about five months now. I've only seen audio-sync problem two or three times, and that was always when I'd been messing around a lot with FF, rewind, onscreen display, and menus. For normal operation, I've almost never seen it.

I have my Oppo set up to send analog through the red/white RCA cables to my Pioneer 5060 plasma and digital audio through the coaxial (also tried optical) out to my AV receiver. I have the 220 firmware installed. When I play a movie with the surround system and the tv speakers all on, the voice track sounds just slightly off, as if I had a "hall" effect set on my receiver. When I mute the tv speakers, the voices sound fine and are not visually or at least noticeably out of sync. Same when I use only the tv speakers. I wonder what is happening.

Is the Oppo sending the sound out of the red/white RCA and the digital out at the same time? I thought I read that the Oppo sets an audio delay by default but it does not work with the digital outputs. Or, are the receiver and the tv processing the sound at different rates? Is the Pioneer tv delaying the audio to its speakers to match the picture? (my receiver does not have an audio delay option). I'm wondering what, if anything, I can do to perfectly sync my tv speakers with my AV system, and hopefully at whichever is closest to perfect sync with the picture.

I'm having a problem with the frame jumping up and down quickly on 4:3 material. I'm running through the DVI to HDMI cable to a Sony 36" 4:3 HD, and running the 0220 firmware. I was using the 0302 firmware previously, and reverted to see if it lessened the problem.

This only seems to occur on 4:3 material, and only really noticeable at 480p resolution. Unfortunately, Sony 4:3 TVs force everything into 16:9 when in higher resolutions, so if I watch in 720p or 1080i, I get a 'windowboxed' picture.

Is anyone else have this problem, and know of a way to fix it? I noticed it last night while watching the Wild Strawberries Criterion at about 25 minutes. It also has happened during a couple of Futurama and Family Guy episodes as well.

Leo, are you feeding the audio to the SXRD or to a receiver? I've been using the Oppo with the SXRD, and using the TV speakers, for about five months now. I've only seen audio-sync problem two or three times, and that was always when I'd been messing around a lot with FF, rewind, onscreen display, and menus. For normal operation, I've almost never seen it.
Audio from Oppo to receiver for 5.1 surround sound. As Viventis mentioned...when tv and receiver audio are both on there is an echo effect and I have no audio-delay on my JVC 8000 receiver. Why buy a new receiver because of Oppo software.
Not enough delay in Oppo to correct lip-sync. The OPPO is a really nice player except for the lip-sync issue which really ruins a great movie.
I e-mailed Oppo last month but they never replied. VERY DISAPPOINTING !!!
I honestly think Oppo has serious problems resolving this issue but In time I'm sure it will be corrected.
I wish I never bought the Oppo....

This may be a very silly question, but why are you guys have sounds output from both TV and receiver? I don't understand this logic...

This may be a very silly question, but why are you guys have sounds output from both TV and receiver? I don't understand this logic...

Only speaking for myself, I don't always need to fire up the entire system...And, sometimes in order to maintain domestic tranquility, it's in my own best interest to not fire up the large amp.... :eek:

-Toonces

Audio from Oppo to receiver for 5.1 surround sound. As Viventis mentioned...when tv and receiver audio are both on there is an echo effect and I have no audio-delay on my JVC 8000 receiver. Why buy a new receiver because of Oppo software.
Not enough delay in Oppo to correct lip-sync. The OPPO is a really nice player except for the lip-sync issue which really ruins a great movie.
I e-mailed Oppo last month but they never replied. VERY DISAPPOINTING !!!
I honestly think Oppo has serious problems resolving this issue but In time I'm sure it will be corrected.
I wish I never bought the Oppo....

Then it doesn't seem to be Oppo's fault at all. Your TV has different delay circuitry then your reciever (this is assuming that you set the delay on Oppos analog channel to 0)

Keep one or the other - not both.

FWIW, my wife only wants the tv and dvd player going when she watches, and I want the who enchalada going. so I have the optical going to the receiver and the RCA downmix going to the tv.

I have the 1111B firmware and do get lipsync issues with either audio output. Stop and start usually takes care of it. Running the Oppo in 720p mode.

I have a benq pe7700 (native 720p) so I have set the oppo to wide not wide sqz is this correct or should I be using wide sqz.

Also how do you know what the optimum LPCM setting is?

Thanks guys

I have a benq pe7700 (native 720p) so I have set the oppo to wide not wide sqz is this correct or should I be using wide sqz.

Also how do you know what the optimum LPCM setting is?

Thanks guys


The LPCM setting is whatever your reciever can take.

As to Wide or Wide/squeeze, wide squeeze is most flexible because it detects 4:3 or 16:9 flags and plays accordingly. Some users, however, find that while the wide/squeeze mode plays 16:9 anamorphic discs perfectly it can cause minor resolution loss on 4:3 images and thus choose to set the oppo to 480p and let the display set the aspect ratio. Even this, however, has it's problems as it can cause pixel cropping--as I've said before--but if you've got a really good display device it might be worth it. With my Ae700 (comparable to your pj) I use wide/squeeze modeand it's fine and I watch about 50% 4:3 movies.

Test both a see which looks best to you.

Dave

I have the OPPO with my Sony sxrd and the lip-sync issue really sucks. :mad:
I would wait until OPPO has the issue resolved.

I have the Oppo and a Sony XBR40 LCD, I have no lip sync problems with the Oppo connected to the HDMI input on the TV and the sound going into a Panny XR-55.

Larry