In terms of raw pixels, you are getting more information from 540p:
1920x540 = 1036800 pixels
1280x720 = 921600 pixels

hmm.... I guess the 540p option would be good for those 1080p display owners with faulty 1080i deinterlacer.

BTW, any progress on the newer firmware, even at the beta stage, other than the 0316?

BTW, any progress on the newer firmware, even at the beta stage, other than the 0316?

yeah, I'd also be interested to hear any new info on a updated firmware :D

A new firmware is being tested internally at the moment. OPPO hopes to release it in the coming weeks, as it adds some features, and fixes some others.

Neuromancer,

If you mention that the new firmware includes a workaround for the lack of a discrete ON code I may just have to fly out to California and kiss the Oppo guys. :) Either that or smack them in the head for not including this feature from the get-go. :) j/k


Thanks for the continual updates, Neuro.

Regs,
Jeff

I believe it requires a hardware change for discrete codes. I remember seeing that in their webpage

Actually they were doing this, as per my direct contact with them and posting from a month or two ago in this thread.
"We are working with our engineers to see if they can impliment a Psuedo Discrete On/Off command, which will treat the Power as always being "off". However, we do not know when or if this feature will ever become available for the OPDV971H."

Hope springs eternal.

Regs,
Jeff

Neuro is there any chance at all that the overscan isue will be fixed in the new FW? That is about my only complaint with the overal performance of this awsome dvd player.

Actually they were doing this, as per my direct contact with them and posting from a month or two ago in this thread.
"We are working with our engineers to see if they can impliment a Psuedo Discrete On/Off command, which will treat the Power as always being "off". However, we do not know when or if this feature will ever become available for the OPDV971H."

That got dropped. It was an impossible according to OPPO. Had to do with how the power management controller does not delay its "power" command to the CPU. For this reason, they could not make a pseudo On/Off command.

Neuro is there any chance at all that the overscan isue will be fixed in the new FW? That is about my only complaint with the overal performance of this awsome dvd player.

The unit has a tendency to underscan. They are still working on a solution, but any solution designed will cause some kind of loss of resolution, as you will have to zoom a portion of the screen to get the proper mapping.

That got dropped. It was an impossible according to OPPO. Had to do with how the power management controller does not delay its "power" command to the CPU. For this reason, they could not make a pseudo On/Off command.

Crud. That is exactly NOT what I wanted to hear. Frankly, for as well put together as this unit is, I just cannot fathom what went into the design decision that caused them not to think about the need for discretes. If this player had arrived 3 years ago, I could see them failing to recognize the need, but c'mon... it's 2006 and everyone and their monkey uses programmable remotes and macros for wife/family acceptance factor issues.

Sorry.. just had to vent.

Thanks for the update, Neuro. I'd rather have bad news than no news at all.

Regs,
Jeff

Sorry if I was not using the proper terminology. The problem I have and I think a few others is with my Benq PE7700 pj the image sent by the oppo does not go all the way to the edge when I am using "real" mode. There are approximately 15-18 unused pixels per side. If am using the anamorphic or wide modes of the PJ it will go all the way to the edge but not in real mode. Now the odd thing is if I have the pj on real mode the image doesn’t go all the way to the edge BUT if I zoom in using the oppo zoom feature it will fill that extra space. I have to zoom in to 1.3. So that tells me that the oppo is capable of sending and image that will use the extra pixels but it just doesn’t. I didn’t want to have to zoom in to 1.3 every time I watched a movie so went into the service menu of my pj and set it to an overscan of 97 (default is 100) to correct the problem. So the problem is solved but I believe the image is now being processed by the pjs onboard scalar which I don’t want to use. I would rather have 1 to 1 using the DCDi. Zooming in doesn’t fix this problem either because the froudja chip doesn’t do the zooming on the oppo.

That is due to the underscanning error. Both the DV-970HD and the OPDV971H suffer similar problems due to the decoding chipset being inherently underscanned. Both solutions will need to be retooled in order to properly map the pixels, but no true headway has been made yet, due to the engineers wanting to find the best possible solution that does not degrade the picture quality.

As long as they are working on it thats all I can ask.

That is due to the underscanning error. Both the DV-970HD and the OPDV971H suffer similar problems due to the decoding chipset being inherently underscanned. Both solutions will need to be retooled in order to properly map the pixels, but no true headway has been made yet, due to the engineers wanting to find the best possible solution that does not degrade the picture quality.

Neuromancer,

Don't think I have added my thanks to you for all the information you bring to this forum about the OPPO. So, a big Thank You. The underscan issue, I would think, is obvious to all and not much of a problem. Would we not all prefer a true 1:1 maping of a digital stream even if not perfect? What I have found on my BenQ PE7700 projected to a 133" screen is that the result depends on the source material. With any source that is over 1.78:1 you never see the unused pixels. Any of the 2.35:1 titles fill the screen. Then there is the consideration of how the DVD is authored. One of the best sports movies ever made, "Hoosiers", can never render properly due to bad authoring. I wonder if the new guys on the block with HD-Dvd & BD will get it right.

Happy Independence Day to All,

Joe

Crud. That is exactly NOT what I wanted to hear. Frankly, for as well put together as this unit is, I just cannot fathom what went into the design decision that caused them not to think about the need for discretes. If this player had arrived 3 years ago, I could see them failing to recognize the need, but c'mon... it's 2006 and everyone and their monkey uses programmable remotes and macros for wife/family acceptance factor issues.

Sorry.. just had to vent.

Thanks for the update, Neuro. I'd rather have bad news than no news at all.

Regs,
Jeff

I think this player has been out for almost 2 1/2 years if i am not mistaken......

Started selling basically December of 2004.

Bronco70,

Glad I could help. I've noticed that some material takes up a little more screen realistate than others. In fact, if you plop in 2:35:1 films and measure their screen size on a PC monitor, you will often get different results. It is bizzare.

Hi:

I've just purchased an HD72 and have hooked up a Sony DVP-NS75H to it running at 720p onto a rather large 124" diagonal screen. Since all imperfections are greatly magnified, I am noticing a slight image shifting (shimmering/jittery effect) from side to side on some DVDs. I am thinking that the deinteracing of the Sony may be causing this (?). I don't believe I see this using my older Sony DVP-715P at 480P. Is this a fault of a cheaper upscaling player and should I consider the Oppo 971 instead?

In general I'm very happy with the performance and the picture quality of the 971, but there is one little "bug" that annoys me quite a bit: some DVDs use static pictures as a menu screen (e.g. language selection, special features info pages, etc.) and when the Oppo displays those, it seems to only upscale one of the fields of the interlaced frame. This results in a vertical resolution loss and a really ugly picture...

Is this a know problem or is there something wrong with my particular unit?

Here's how I have it set up right now:

Oppo OPDV971H MVer: 05.00.01.07 Batch: F-0302
DVI Output Resolution: 720p 60Hz
TV Display: Wide
Video Mode: Video 2
True Life: Off
CCS: Off
Noise Reduction: Off
TV Type: NTSC

Cheers,
Ulrich

This is a known issue. OPPO has yet to fix it at this time.

I have had my 971 for about 6 months and love it. My dad came to town for a visit and we watched a few movies....he loved the picture on the Oppo and wants one. However, he is a bargain hunter. Can you still get the refurbs? And from where?

I have had my 971 for about 6 months and love it. My dad came to town for a visit and we watched a few movies....he loved the picture on the Oppo and wants one. However, he is a bargain hunter. Can you still get the refurbs? And from where?

Just call Oppo about a refurb.

I received my refurb last week and it was in perfect condition and has performed flawlessly.

I am using the 971 with a Samsung 710 projector and I am noticing audio-sync issues. I have the audio delay setting on the Oppo turned up to the max (10) and it still seems as if the audio is off a bit. I am feeding the Samsung through DVI at 720p going through a Monoprice HDMI switcher. If Oppo were to allow the audio delay setting to max at 15 it would probably take care of the issue.

Would the audio delay vary with the type of source material? I could of sworn with the audio-sync test on the GetGray CD that my setting worked great at "5" on the Oppo, but this was to short for film DVDs.

Is anyone else seeing this type of sync issue?

Download and install the F-0316 Firmware (http://www.oppodigital.com/opdv971h_firmware_0316_download.html) as it contains a built in A/V syncronization fix.

Using DVI connection to an HD72 Front Projector. Seeing a slight distortion at the top and bottom on the image when displaying narrower then 16x9. (almost like an reflection a couple of pixels up / down from edge). Also see it along some edges such as an actors shoulder. Subtle but annoying. Tried playing w/ overscan on the projector, but nothing helped. It is definitely the DVD source since my HDTV box does not exhibit the effect w/ wither HDMI or component.

Any thoughts would be appreciated,

Regards,
coldinMN

I just purchased an Oppo 971H, largely based on the excellent reviews here at the AVS forum. I have been evaluating it on my Panasonic Plasma (TH-50PX60U) for the last several days. I have:
1) Calibrated the unit with both AVIA and THX.
2) Used the recommended settings from this forum.
3) Used the DVI to HDMI connection at both 720p and 1080i.

I see no appreciable difference between the Oppo and my older Panasonic F-65 @ 480p.

I have gone so far as to make copies of movies play them in each player at the same time and switch back and forth between the HDMI and Component section of the TV in order to see the exact difference.

My conclusion is that the Plasma is doing a great job of conversion on it's own, so the Oppo will be returned.

Comments?

I just purchased an Oppo 971H, largely based on the excellent reviews here at the AVS forum. I have been evaluating it on my Panasonic Plasma (TH-50PX60U) for the last several days. I have:
1) Calibrated the unit with both AVIA and THX.
2) Used the recommended settings from this forum.
3) Used the DVI to HDMI connection at both 720p and 1080i.

I see no appreciable difference between the Oppo and my older Panasonic F-65 @ 480p.

I have gone so far as to make copies of movies play them in each player at the same time and switch back and forth between the HDMI and Component section of the TV in order to see the exact difference.

My conclusion is that the Plasma is doing a great job of conversion on it's own, so the Oppo will be returned.

Comments?

I had a similar experience with the 971H connected to my Fujitsu. The Fujitsu AVM II processor was doing as good a job scaling as the Faroudja, so I returned the 971H as well.

I'm now using the Oppo 970HD at 480p, and this combination of Mediatek de-interlacing and AVM-II scaling are giving me the best DVD picture I've ever seen on my display... comparable to satellite High Def, though still not quite as good as over the air High Def.

/steve

I had a similar experience with the 971H connected to my Fujitsu. The Fujitsu AVM II processor was doing as good a job scaling as the Faroudja, so I returned the 971H as well.

I'm now using the Oppo 970HD at 480p, and this combination of Mediatek de-interlacing and AVM-II scaling are giving me the best DVD picture I've ever seen on my display... comparable to satellite High Def, though still not quite as good as over the air High Def.

/steve

The biggest benefit to using the 971 over the 970 is deinterlacing. The 970 is best used with 480i feeding a high quality deinterlacer. Mediatek deinterlacing is subpar. You should try 480i with the 970, as your display might do the better job of deinterlacing.

This may be a little off-topic but I just burned a MP3 DVD disc just to see how many songs will be displayed inside the Oppo dislpay window. The max that the player will play or display is 648 songs. I have 853 songs on the DVD. Yesterday I spent 4 to 5 hours ripping music cds, something like 40+ cds. Maybe I need to split the folder because I have all the songs in the root folder of the disc. I will make another music disc and put 430 songs inside the root and the rest I will put inside the second folder.

Sure cuts down on disc swapping! :D

Oppo FW is F-0316

Note: DVD was a Single-sided 1 Layer Disc.

The biggest benefit to using the 971 over the 970 is deinterlacing. The 970 is best used with 480i feeding a high quality deinterlacer. Mediatek deinterlacing is subpar. You should try 480i with the 970, as your display might do the better job of deinterlacing.

Agree. You should try 480i first because it's the cleanest signal you have to work with.

I did, but found 480p ultimately gave me better visual results than my display's de-interlacer. By my own testing, at 480p the 970HD Mediatek de-interlacer holds it's own very nicely against the excellent Genesis de-interlacer in the 971H.

The Mediatek scaling leaves something to be desired, however. The Genesis scaler does a much better job, but not better than my display's built-in scaler. Also, because my Fujitsu is a 768p native panel, allowing it to scale saves an additional interpolation step (480>768 vs. 480>720>768).

/steve

I have had my 971 for about 6 months and love it. My dad came to town for a visit and we watched a few movies....he loved the picture on the Oppo and wants one. However, he is a bargain hunter. Can you still get the refurbs? And from where?


This is a bargain!!

I haven't experienced it, but can DVI introduce banding due to it being 8 bit (or any other reason)?

Here's a question for you. I recently got my first HD TV, a Hitachi 51f59 that has one HDMI input and a couple of different Component inputs.

I have an Oppo 971 DVD player - currently I have it hooked up with a DVI-to-HDMI cable into the Hitachi's HDMI input. But I can't use it for a normal 4:3 setting on a DVD done that way, like my Farscape DVDs that are not widescreen - only 16:9 or 4:3 Expanded. Would it be better to use the Component Cables going out of the DVD player instead of the DVI-HDMI cable? I think if I do that I can then do the 4:3 thing on the DVDs that need them, or go to 16:9 for the widescreen DVDs. I just want to know if by not using the DVI-HDMI cable, am I losing the ability to use the Upconvert function of the Faroudja chip as well as not getting as good of a picture?

I guess I don't really understand the whole "upscaling" thing. It seems odd that I have to push the DVI button while there isn't a DVD in the tray - and I guess I just want to figure out the best way to view both my 4:3 DVDs as well as my 16:9 DVDs - I watch a lot of TV series that were not done in 16:9, but do have a lot of movies in Widescreen as well.

Would it be best to keep the DVI-HDMI setting, and use component for the 4:3 ones (and would I still be able to "upscale" them if I need to and want to?)

Here's a question for you. I recently got my first HD TV, a Hitachi 51f59 that has one HDMI input and a couple of different Component inputs.

I have an Oppo 971 DVD player - currently I have it hooked up with a DVI-to-HDMI cable into the Hitachi's HDMI input. But I can't use it for a normal 4:3 setting on a DVD done that way, like my Farscape DVDs that are not widescreen - only 16:9 or 4:3 Expanded. Would it be better to use the Component Cables going out of the DVD player instead of the DVI-HDMI cable? I think if I do that I can then do the 4:3 thing on the DVDs that need them, or go to 16:9 for the widescreen DVDs. I just want to know if by not using the DVI-HDMI cable, am I losing the ability to use the Upconvert function of the Faroudja chip as well as not getting as good of a picture?

I guess I don't really understand the whole "upscaling" thing. It seems odd that I have to push the DVI button while there isn't a DVD in the tray - and I guess I just want to figure out the best way to view both my 4:3 DVDs as well as my 16:9 DVDs - I watch a lot of TV series that were not done in 16:9, but do have a lot of movies in Widescreen as well.

Would it be best to keep the DVI-HDMI setting, and use component for the 4:3 ones (and would I still be able to "upscale" them if I need to and want to?)

I set my oppo to wide/sqz mode. This puts black bars on sides of 4:3 recordings, maintaining the original aspect ratio, and handles the anamorphic 16:9 just fine. Only negative for this is for the non-anamorphic DVD's that show with black bars both sides and top and bottom (i.e letterboxed).

Rick


Rick

I set my oppo to wide/sqz mode. This puts black bars on sides of 4:3 recordings, maintaining the original aspect ratio, and handles the anamorphic 16:9 just fine. Only negative for this is for the non-anamorphic DVD's that show with black bars both sides and top and bottom (i.e letterboxed).

Rick


Rick

Thanks, Rick - that did the trick!

I haven't experienced it, but can DVI introduce banding due to it being 8 bit (or any other reason)? It really depends on the display, and the level of calibration. On my PC, I created a smooth gray ramp with Photoshop. It uses PC RGB values (digital 0 to 255). I connected three monitors to the 8-bit DVI output, and calibrated them. The LCD flat panel shows only two bands across the entire ramp, but my Samsung DLP RPTV's both show dozens and dozens of fine bands across the ramp... that's the nature of DLP, not necessarily the 8-bit connection. The DLP's are also many times brighter than the LCD, with a much greater contrast ratio, so that could be part of the reason too (each digital step represents a larger difference in light output than with the LCD).

CRT displays are a little more analog in nature too, so banding may not be quite as evident.

Another thing to keep in mind, though... DVD uses Studio RGB values (digital 16 to 235). This means there are fewer codes (steps) available to represent the ramp from black to white, therefore the steps will be a little more visible. A 10-bit player, feeding a truly 10-bit display (from the input stage, all the way to the display panel), will certainly reduce or eliminate that banding.

Gary

What I see on my CRT RPTV with DVE grayscale steps.....

on the bottom left to center...particularly near the medium to darker grays, I see fainter vertical lines. These lines are underneath the grayscale ramps....the grayspace that doesn't have step or blocks if you know what I mean.

However, this is evident on two different DVD players....one (Sony 3100ES) with HDMI and the other (Oppo 971) with DVI. DVI or HDMI makes no difference in what I see here.

is the 316 fm out of beta now?

is the 316 fw out of beta now?

No, it is still beta. A final firmware is still being tested.

...on the bottom left to center...particularly near the medium to darker grays, I see fainter vertical lines. These lines are underneath the grayscale ramps....the grayspace that doesn't have step or blocks if you know what I mean.

However, this is evident on two different DVD players....one (Sony 3100ES) with HDMI and the other (Oppo 971) with DVI. DVI or HDMI makes no difference in what I see here. Underneath the grayscale ramps? Assuming you are using the DVE "Reverse Steps and Ramps" pattern, the ramps are the smoothly graduated grayscales (from black to white) underneath the steps. If that's where the faint vertical lines are, you are seeing minor banding. You may be able to minimize it further, by carefully calibrating your display, but it is nothing to worry about.

Gary

Another thing to keep in mind, though... DVD uses Studio RGB values (digital 16 to 235). This means there are fewer codes (steps) available to represent the ramp from black to white, therefore the steps will be a little more visible. A 10-bit player, feeding a truly 10-bit display (from the input stage, all the way to the display panel), will certainly reduce or eliminate that banding.

Since DVD's only contain 8 bits of grayscale information for each color, where are these extra 2 bits of image data coming from? Upconversion by the player's MP3 decoder? Or are they just used for error correction?

And if the latter, why would that minimize banding, unless banding is an artifact of signal noise?

/steve

Underneath the grayscale ramps? Assuming you are using the DVE "Reverse Steps and Ramps" pattern, the ramps are the smoothly graduated grayscales (from black to white) underneath the steps. If that's where the faint vertical lines are, you are seeing minor banding. You may be able to minimize it further, by carefully calibrating your display, but it is nothing to worry about.

Gary

Yes, I'm seeing it near the bottom of the screen (middle to left)...underneath the grayscale ramps.

I see it with two different DVD players, so I know it's just not DVI...as it's on HDMI, as well.

The thing is, I don't see it in movies that I'm aware of anyway

My TV has been fully calibrated and ISF'd.

any comments on this unit as a digital audio transport?? is the sound quality acceptable for serious music listening?

i will likely not use the analog audio out, but have a good preamp/dac....but have noticed extremes in audio transfer from other "cheap" great video dvd players (bravo comes to mind!)

thanks

Yes, I'm seeing it near the bottom of the screen (middle to left)...underneath the grayscale ramps. You must be looking at the wrong pattern. Its DVE, Chapter 14: "Reverse Gray Ramps and Steps". The top and bottom of the pattern contains a gray ramp and the middle contains gray steps. The DVE manual says: "This pattern is also capable of revealing information about the bit depth of video processing. Look at the ramps in the pattern. These should appear smooth from black to above white. If there are vertical lines or noise in any areas of the ramps, the system more than likely does not have enough bit depth to properly handle the video signal."

The pattern looks like this:

Since DVD's only contain 8 bits of grayscale information for each color, where are these extra 2 bits of image data coming from? Upconversion by the player's MP3 decoder? Or are they just used for error correction?

And if the latter, why would that minimize banding, unless banding is an artifact of signal noise? Steve, I already answered your question back in this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7819808&&#post7819808).

Gary

Belated thanks, Gary! I thought I had already posted that question, but I must have missed your previous answer. I'll repeat it here, in case others are interested.

If I understand you correctly, it sounds like 10 bit processing can produce a few extra digits of precision to the right of the decimal point, so to speak, that are either used or ignored, depending on whether or not your display is 8- or 10- bit capable. Makes perfect sense.

/steve

Steve, the extra bits are not just error correction. It is true that the DVD only contains 8 bits per color, but the deinterlacing, scaling, gamma correction, and other conversions (whether done in the display or the player) can certainly benefit from the extra precision available in 10-bit processing. If the display's output-panel itself is 10-bit capable as well, the picture can look even smoother.

However, if you send 480i HDMI from a player like the 970HD, there is no benefit to sending a 10-bit signal, because the player is not de-interlacing or doing any significant processing (and the DVD is 8-bit 480i, anyway). In that case, the display is doing all the processing, so it should take care of the 10-bit conversions.

To answer your other question: When a 10-bit player is connected to an 8-bit display, the display simply ignores the 2 least-significant bits, so to the display, the player would look like any other 8-bit player.

Question - is there a way to ensure that my Hitachi's internal upscaler does NOT do the work while using my OPPO DVD player? Meaning, I want the Oppo with the Faroudja chip to be doing the 1080i or 720p upscaling and NOT the Hitachi.

Does the Oppo do this automatically since I am using the HDMI/DVI input?

Question - is there a way to ensure that my Hitachi's internal upscaler does NOT do the work while using my OPPO DVD player? Meaning, I want the Oppo with the Faroudja chip to be doing the 1080i or 720p upscaling and NOT the Hitachi.

Does the Oppo do this automatically since I am using the HDMI/DVI input?

If you set the Oppo to output 720p, then your display will accept that resolution and only apply more scaling if the display's native resolution is different. So, if your Hitachi is 720p, nothing more will be done. If it's some other resolution (768p, e.g.), then some add'l scaling will have to occur inside your display's electronics.

/steve

My Oppo is attached to my Z4 via a 25 ft. hdmi cable and a Gefen hdmi to dvi adapter. Since the Z4 is a 720P DLP projector I'm upconverting the Oppo to the 720P format. I have watched several different movies with this setup and am a little disappointed with the picture quality. I was expecting an awesome picture and it appears to be no better than my older Sony DVD player. Am I doing something wrong?

You must be looking at the wrong pattern. Its DVE, Chapter 14: "Reverse Gray Ramps and Steps". The top and bottom of the pattern contains a gray ramp and the middle contains gray steps. The DVE manual says: "This pattern is also capable of revealing information about the bit depth of video processing. Look at the ramps in the pattern. These should appear smooth from black to above white. If there are vertical lines or noise in any areas of the ramps, the system more than likely does not have enough bit depth to properly handle the video signal."

The pattern looks like this:

That's the exact pattern I've been looking at. The faint lines I see are at the bottom left of that pattern between the two sets of "3 dots" underneath the larger ramps. The lines are faint and vertical (and thin).

I see them with the Oppo and an HDMI player (not sure if it's 8 or 10 bit) that I have. Neither player seems to accentuate them anymore than the other.

My Oppo is attached to my Z4 via a 25 ft. hdmi cable and a Gefen hdmi to dvi adapter. Since the Z4 is a 720P DLP projector I'm upconverting the Oppo to the 720P format. I have watched several different movies with this setup and am a little disappointed with the picture quality. I was expecting an awesome picture and it appears to be no better than my older Sony DVD player. Am I doing something wrong?

Calibrate, calibrate, calibrate. Leave all the settings on your OPDV971H at default, then run a test disc such as AVIA or DVE and use it to properly calibrate your Z4 for use with the OPDV971H. A poor calibration will leave you with a picture that is less than beautiful.

That's the exact pattern I've been looking at. The faint lines I see are at the bottom left of that pattern between the two sets of "3 dots" underneath the larger ramps. The lines are faint and vertical (and thin). There's the confusion... the sets of "3 dots" are not underneath the ramps, they're on the ramps and underneath the steps. Think of a wheelchair ramp next to a flight of stairs. The ramp is a smooth gradient.

I see them with the Oppo and an HDMI player (not sure if it's 8 or 10 bit) that I have. Neither player seems to accentuate them anymore than the other. Well, that's a good thing. It is more likely that your display is creating the banding (vertical lines). With the 971 set to 720p, my 720p LCD renders those ramps perfectly smoothly, but my calibrated 720p DLP renders the same ramps with hundreds of faint vertical lines, all the way from black to white.

Gary

If I understand you correctly, it sounds like 10 bit processing can produce a few extra digits of precision to the right of the decimal point, so to speak, that are either used or ignored, depending on whether or not your display is 8- or 10- bit capable. Makes perfect sense. That's a pretty good analogy, but to give you an idea of the significance of 10-bit, think about it this way:

8-bit is 2^8, which is 256 steps from black to white.
10-bit is 2^10, which is 1024 steps from black to white. That's exactly 4 times as many steps between black and white! In other words, each step is 4 times smaller, which can give a much smoother-looking gradient (if the display is truly 10-bit all the way through).

Gary

That's a pretty good analogy, but to give you an idea of the significance of 10-bit, think about it this way:

8-bit is 2^8, which is 256 steps from black to white.
10-bit is 2^10, which is 1024 steps from black to white. That's exactly 4 times as many steps between black and white! In other words, each step is 4 times smaller, which can give a much smoother-looking gradient (if the display is truly 10-bit all the way through).

I agree. I just took a look at that same test pattern you've been talking to David Hir about, and I too see some faint banding on the ramp at all resolutions from my 970HD (480i/p, 720p, 1080i) connected to my Fujitsu P50XHA40US plasma with it's AVM II processor. I'm pretty sure that AVM II processor is nominally 12 or 14 bits (defintely 10!), so I'm wondering if the banding comes from the 8-bit Oppo output?

I don't see 100's of vertical bands like you see on your DLP. I only see 3 or 4 very faint vertical bands, all clumped above 75% near the black end of the ramp. Same pattern on top and bottom.

/steve

By the way. many of you probably already know this, but Oppo service confirmed the 971H only outputs 8 bit RGB 4:2:0 over DVI.

The 970HD outputs 8 bit 4:4:4, either RGB or YCbCr over HDMI.

/steve

For anyone interested, I ran the HQV Benchmark DVD on the 970 and 971, using all digital output resolutions compatible with my NEC 50XR5A. The results are posted here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7962776&&#post7962776

(Is this considered cross-posting? If so, my apologies.)

For anyone interested, I ran the HQV Benchmark DVD on the 970 and 971, using all digital output resolutions compatible with my NEC 50XR5A. The results are posted here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7962776&&#post7962776 Nice job! You might also want to draw attention to it on this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=550103).

Gary

I'm pretty sure that AVM II processor is nominally 12 or 14 bits (defintely 10!), so I'm wondering if the banding comes from the 8-bit Oppo output?

I don't see 100's of vertical bands like you see on your DLP. I only see 3 or 4 very faint vertical bands, all clumped above 75% near the black end of the ramp. Same pattern on top and bottom. 3 or 4 faint bands is excellent. That could be coming from the display panel itself. 8-bit 480i into a 12-bit processor is as good as it gets. You cannot expect more than 8-bit data from a 480i signal (but the processing - and display panel - can certainly benefit from more bits).

Gary

So, for the record, there is no advantage to having a 10-bit HDMI player sending info to an 8 bit display? I'm just asking because I've heard before that somehow the 10 bit HDMI has an advantage over 8 bit DVI for reduced banding.....even if the display is 8 bit.

Nice job! You might also want to draw attention to it on this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=550103).

Gary

Thanks Gary. Done.

So, for the record, there is no advantage to having a 10-bit HDMI player sending info to an 8 bit display? I'm just asking because I've heard before that somehow the 10 bit HDMI has an advantage over 8 bit DVI for reduced banding.....even if the display is 8 bit. Well, in theory, it is POSSIBLE that a 10-bit player could still have some advantage on an 8-bit display. If ALL the processing is done in the player, and the final result is fed to a perfect 8-bit display in its native resolution, you could end up with a slightly smoother rendering. But an imperfect 8-bit display is absolutely the biggest limiting factor.

Gary

Is there really a need to access the set-up menu on the 971H?

I recently made the connections for a realtive who had just received a new Panasonic TH-42PX60U plasma, the Oppo, and other gear. The Oppo is connected via the DVI-HDMI to the TV and an HDMI-HDMI from an SA-8300HD DVR to the TV.

We viewed a number of segments from several DVD's (including Superbit) and the display was just outstanding (similar results from analog, digital, and HD displays from the SA8300 box).

So, if the initial impressions are that good with the Oppo/Panny combo, is there any need to tinker with the default settings in the Oppo? Can if be left alone or am I really missing something by not going in there to the menu and calibrate in search of nirvana??

Appreciate any comments...

-G

Hi All. I was wondering if the Oppo outputs to both the DVI out and the Svideo out at the same time. I'd like to be able to use the DVI/HDMI for my PJ for "real" dvds, and my regular TV for viewing student work, divx, etc. My Philips will do Component or s-video, not both.
Thanks,
DP

All outputs are live at the same time. You can use the DVI and S-Video at the same time.

Great News.
Thanks!
-DP

All outputs are live at the same time. You can use the DVI and S-Video at the same time.
...although in this case, dporvin should avoid setting the "Video 2" mode, which improves PAL deinterlacing, but may disable the analog outs, including S-Video. Keep it on "Video 1", and everything should be fine.

Any clues on when a firmware update fixing the angle icon and subtitle bugs may surface?

...although in this case, dporvin should avoid setting the "Video 2" mode, which improves PAL deinterlacing, but may disable the analog outs, including S-Video. Keep it on "Video 1", and everything should be fine.

In principle, yes. In actual use, most of the time Video 2 works without a problem in terms of the analog outputs still producing a picture.

Any clues on when a firmware update fixing the angle icon and subtitle bugs may surface?

It is still being tested. There are some errors that need to be addressed before it is released.

I was hesitant to purchase this DVD player to couple with my Samsung 710 because of the reports of macro-blocking. However, with a basic calibration using GetGray, I can say I have not seen any macro-blocking at all using this DVD player and projector. I am perfectly happy.

I just wish they would change two simple things...

1. With the unit turned off, pressing the "Open" button would turn the unit on and open the tray.

2. Wit the power on and tray open, pressing "Off" closes the tray and turns off the player.

...these are the lazy man's features. :)

Is there really a need to access the set-up menu on the 971H? No. The OPPO's settings are fine at default. Picture nirvana comes from calibrating the display.

If your display does not have a pillar-box feature for movies with a 4:3 aspect ratio, you should set the OPPO's "TV Display" to "Wide/SQZ".

Gary

I was hesitant to purchase this DVD player to couple with my Samsung 710 because of the reports of macro-blocking. However, with a basic calibration using GetGray, I can say I have not seen any macro-blocking at all using this DVD player and projector. I am perfectly happy.

I just wish they would change two simple things...

1. With the unit turned off, pressing the "Open" button would turn the unit on and open the tray.

2. Wit the power on and tray open, pressing "Off" closes the tray and turns off the player. Good to hear you are happy.

Those 2 features would be great, and they have been requested many times, but unfortunately, it is a hardware limitation that cannot be changed.

Gary

I've got a question. I have a CRT RPTV with 1080i as native.

The Oppo set at 1080i on test patterns seems to shimmer. When I set the Oppo to 720p, this isn't the case...the patterns are a bit sharper. My TV accepts 720p and upconverts it to 1080i. My question is, is the 1080i setting on the Oppo working as good as the 720p setting?

Would the 971 be an upgrade from a 2.5 year old Bravo D1. For 199 bucks, how can I go wrong. I think that was the price of my D1.

I'm going to use the 971 with a Gefen 4x1 DVI switch box that goes to a Infocus 7200. I would output the 971 at 720P into the Infocus 7200. This would be pixel perfect. Thanks for your answers.

Ken

By the way. many of you probably already know this, but Oppo service confirmed the 971H only outputs 8 bit RGB 4:2:0 over DVI.

The 970HD outputs 8 bit 4:4:4, either RGB or YCbCr over HDMI.

/steve

That explains why I'm seeing a reddish orange image.

No. The OPPO's settings are fine at default. Picture nirvana comes from calibrating the display.

If your display does not have a pillar-box feature for movies with a 4:3 aspect ratio, you should set the OPPO's "TV Display" to "Wide/SQZ".

Gary

Gary: Thanks for your reply.

-G

Hello to all the Oppo buffs out there.

Can you tell me if I am imagining things, or does the picture seem a little softer with the latest firmwares, 302 and 316. :confused:

I switched back to 1022 and the picture seems slightly sharper to me. Is there any reason for this, such as a macroblocking fix? Or am I just seeing things? :eek:

Any advice much appreciated.

I have been a HTPC guy and have no complaints about PQ. I have been using Zoom Player and ffdshow and have tweaked my picture to the point that I am happy with it. I use a Hitachi HDPJ52 to project on to a 106" High Power Screen.

I won't get into the circumstances behind this, but I have to relocate my HTPC to another room and will no longer be able to use it in my HT. I am considering the 971H as a good temporary solution untilI make the leap to the winner of either HD-DVD or Blue Ray.

I have concerns that the image from the OPP will not be as sharp or as good as I am used to, especially considering that my screen is 106". Can others that use this player and use projectors alleviate my concerns?

Thanks.

Lawguy,

You will not be disappointed. I have the Panny S97, Oppo 971H, and a HTPC in my rack connected to my Panasonic AE900 with a 120" screen. All of the players have the latest firmware in them. The Oppo is giving me the best picture at 720p via DVI/HDMI. It truly is an amazing player.

mdray,

Use the newer -0316 firmware. The older firmwares (-1022 and older) had a lot of edge enhancement due to the sharpness being on and you could not disable it (even when set to OFF). This gives the false impression of a sharper image when in fact it is simply adding bogus information to the picture with edge enhancement. This is best seen on a gray background with a thin black line pattern on it (like the image resolution pattern in DVE). With the edge enhancement, you will see white echo's to the sides of the black lines. This is called ringing. Not good. The new firmwares are much better for many reasons other than this as well. Regardless, if you like this kind of edge enhanced picture, you can use the newer firmware and turn the sharpness up in the player to get the same exact results as the older firmware with the sharpness at the lowest setting. However, I don't recommend it.

Hello to all the Oppo buffs out there.

Can you tell me if I am imagining things, or does the picture seem a little softer with the latest firmwares, 302 and 316. :confused:

I switched back to 1022 and the picture seems slightly sharper to me. Is there any reason for this, such as a macroblocking fix? Or am I just seeing things? :eek:

Any advice much appreciated.

Additional:

I believe the 1022 firmware was still off in terms of the contrast and brightness settings being too hot at default. As such, your increase in brightness/contrast is leaving you with an impression of a sharper image. Try re-calibrating your display to confirm your settings.

I have recently purchased a Panasonic 50PHD8UK plasma set and am looking to getting an upconverting DVD player. I had read some good things about the Oppo 971. But I've also read some users who's television had a better de-interlacer/scaler and saw no noticeable improvement when using the 971. Does anyone have experience with the 8UK paired with the 971? Is the 8UK's scaler superior to the 971? Any thoughts?

The Oppo set at 1080i on test patterns seems to shimmer. When I set the Oppo to 720p, this isn't the case... the patterns are a bit sharper. My TV accepts 720p and upconverts it to 1080i. My question is, is the 1080i setting on the Oppo working as good as the 720p setting? This depends to a large degree on the display. If 720p looks better on your display, use 720p.

Gary

This depends to a large degree on the display. If 720p looks better on your display, use 720p.

Gary

I spent over an hour tonight comparing 720p vs. 1080i on my display (Sony 57" CRT RPTV). I calibrated the 720p scan rate (including entering the service menu and using DVE and Avia to make sure all individual color, hue, contrast, brightness, sharpness/EE settings were matched; grayscale is global on all scanrates/inputs on my display). 1080i was already fully calibrated and ISF'd

I've never used 720p for anything before. On my display, it accepts a 720p signal but converts it to something (not sure what, but it is progressive and I see no scanlines as I do at 480. I would say it's converting to 540p, however, my set won't accept the 540p Oppo signal.....so who knows?).

720p with the 971 does show very slightly more horizontal resolution. In addition, text on the test patterns is a bit sharper and much more stable (text jitters at 1080i).

However, none of this seems visible with "real world viewing." In fact, 1080i might look just a bit more natural...a bit more analog and filmlike (less digital). I suspect this might be because my display is having to do another conversion with 720p. 1080i is native for my display so it's one less conversion in the entire process.

I'll be doing some more comparisons, but so far, I might still actually prefer 1080i.

However, none of this seems visible with "real world viewing." In fact, 1080i might look just a bit more natural...a bit more analog and filmlike (less digital). I suspect this might be because my display is having to do another conversion with 720p. 1080i is native for my display so it's one less conversion in the entire process.

I might still actually prefer 1080i.

Ditto, I have found 1080i to look better on my CRT as well and have switched back and forth, but always return to 1080i.

Thanks for doing the comparison, David.

Please forgive this hijack (if that's what you call it). I am trying to post a new thread (it says I can post new) but I can't find anything to click on to allow new material to be typed in. There is always a quick reply box but I want to start a new thread. Please chastise me if you must but I just don't know where else to ask. My question concerns the Oppo and Widescreen Anamorphic 1.78:1.
Thank you

Well, it looks like the quick reply box is what I was looking for it did what I wanted. My question is how to best handle Widescreen Anamorphic 1.78:1 material. When I play a DVD on my Samsung 5667W with the Oppo I not only have black bars at the top and bottom but the black space is so large that only about one third of the screen is being used. I can go into the Samsung menu and Zoom 1 to increase the vertical space and get an acceptable amount of picture but I loose definition. Is there a way on the Oppo to increase the size of the picture without losing resolution?

Thanks
Ron

Please forgive this hijack (if that's what you call it). I am trying to post a new thread (it says I can post new) but I can't find anything to click on to allow new material to be typed in. There is always a quick reply box but I want to start a new thread. Please chastise me if you must but I just don't know where else to ask. My question concerns the Oppo and Widescreen Anamorphic 1.78:1.
Thank you

Go up one level - out to the Forum root - as it were - and there you can start a new thread.

redjr... :)

On a 1:78:1 Amamorphic DVD, your entire screen should be filled.

What resolution are you using?

Lawguy,

You will not be disappointed. I have the Panny S97, Oppo 971H, and a HTPC in my rack connected to my Panasonic AE900 with a 120" screen. All of the players have the latest firmware in them. The Oppo is giving me the best picture at 720p via DVI/HDMI. It truly is an amazing player.

I'm just setting up my Oppo again with my Panny700 after a few months in transit, so I am a few firmware versions behind. Does the latest firmware fix the image shift issue with the Panny projectors that was around a while ago? Previously I had to roll back to the 1022 firmware to resolve this.

Cheers,
Steve

720p usually wirh 16.9. Maybe I have the amamorphic confused with just widescreen; yes, I just looked up Days of Thunder in Widescreen 1.85:1 and it was the one with about two thirds of the screen in black. Is there a way to expand this format to a usable one?

I spent over an hour tonight comparing 720p vs. 1080i on my display (Sony 57" CRT RPTV). I calibrated the 720p scan rate (including entering the service menu and using DVE and Avia to make sure all individual color, hue, contrast, brightness, sharpness/EE settings were matched; grayscale is global on all scanrates/inputs on my display). 1080i was already fully calibrated and ISF'd

I've never used 720p for anything before. On my display, it accepts a 720p signal but converts it to something (not sure what, but it is progressive and I see no scanlines as I do at 480. I would say it's converting to 540p, however, my set won't accept the 540p Oppo signal.....so who knows?).

720p with the 971 does show very slightly more horizontal resolution. In addition, text on the test patterns is a bit sharper and much more stable (text jitters at 1080i).

However, none of this seems visible with "real world viewing." In fact, 1080i might look just a bit more natural...a bit more analog and filmlike (less digital). I suspect this might be because my display is having to do another conversion with 720p. 1080i is native for my display so it's one less conversion in the entire process.

I'll be doing some more comparisons, but so far, I might still actually prefer 1080i.


David,

I have a Tosh 65HX93 RP-CRT and I keep switching back and forth between 1080 and 720. (the Tosh doesnt accept the 540 input either). I cant seem to decide between the 720 and the 1080. but it's easy to change, and theyre both so close that I've decided I'll just use whichever I happen to decide at the time.

Rick

Is there a mode I can use to vertically stretch out letterboxed movies? My TV can perform the corresponding horizontal stretch, but its zoom mode is somewhat limited.

Is there a mode I can use to vertically stretch out letterboxed movies? My TV can perform the corresponding horizontal stretch, but its zoom mode is somewhat limited.

My TV has limited zoom modes with HD resolutions (720p or 1080i). In those situations, I just change the Oppo resolution to 480p to get the more extensive zoom modes available for that resolution.

It's not an ideal workaround but it's not too bad. The result looks better than using the Oppo zoom.

There is no such mode on the OPDV971H. This is something that has been requested, but has yet to be implimented through software.

Well, it looks like the quick reply box is what I was looking for it did what I wanted. My question is how to best handle Widescreen Anamorphic 1.78:1 material. When I play a DVD on my Samsung 5667W with the Oppo I not only have black bars at the top and bottom but the black space is so large that only about one third of the screen is being used. I can go into the Samsung menu and Zoom 1 to increase the vertical space and get an acceptable amount of picture but I loose definition. Is there a way on the Oppo to increase the size of the picture without losing resolution?

Thanks
Ron


I have a Samsung 5063 HLP DLP TV and I am considering the Oppo. Are you experiencing any macroblocking with the Oppo and your Sammy!

Thanks!

I have a Samsung 5063 HLP DLP TV and I am considering the Oppo. Are you experiencing any macroblocking with the Oppo and your Sammy!

Thanks!

I have the 5063 and an Oppo and I rarely (if ever) see MB. I did have my display ISF'd before I got the Oppo (had a Panny S97) and the calibrator strongly recommended I get rid of the S97 for the Oppo. The PQ has been much better since.

I have a Samsung 5063 HLP DLP TV and I am considering the Oppo. Are you experiencing any macroblocking with the Oppo and your Sammy! Calibration is the key. I have no macroblocking on my Samsung DLP either, but before calibration, it was pretty bad.

Gary

720p usually wirh 16.9. Maybe I have the amamorphic confused with just widescreen; yes, I just looked up Days of Thunder in Widescreen 1.85:1 and it was the one with about two thirds of the screen in black. Is there a way to expand this format to a usable one?Yes, "Days of Thunder" is not anamorphic. So the only options, are to use the OPPO's zoom (which is pretty terrible), or get the TV to do the zooming (the TV may require you to switch to 480p to allow picture control).

Gary

hmm. That worked. Still, the Oppo looks best at 720p, even after "recalibrating" with THX optimode.
My set is a 768p Viewsonic n2751w, btw.

I have a Samsung 5063 HLP DLP TV and I am considering the Oppo. Are you experiencing any macroblocking with the Oppo and your Sammy!

Thanks!

Very, very seldom.

i've been using the oppo 971 for about 6 months using a monster cable "hdmi 400 and dvi adapter" and was always very happy with the picture results on my tosh 62" dlp. i decided to try the oppo supplied dvi>hdmi cord and found that the picture was really no better or worse then the much more expensive "monster cable" i wasted my money on. i was searching the web for alternate companys making dvi cords. i ended up ordering a 6 ft dvi>hdmi cord from a company called "DVI GEAR"....this cord has given me the BEST picture i've seen on my display using my oppo 971 in every way....looks great! the cord i ordered is from dvi gear's "SHR (SUPER HIGH RESOLUTION) DVI>HDMI CORD" LINE....the difference was really amazing. i went from happy with my picture to very , very happy. yes, i have had an ISF certified tech calibrate my set and there still is a great difference using this dvi gear cord. just thought i'd share my findings using "dvi gear" cord. cheers

Guys/experts on this forum,
Is there anyway we can use the upconverting DVD players to upconvert other signals (e.g. TV signals). My logic is that both DVD (some of them) and standard TV signals are 480i, so why will this not work? It will be interesting to see if it can be done, given the similar output quality upconverting DVD players have, at much lower price, compared to the much expensive dedicated upscalars.

Thanks in advance

................"DVI GEAR"....this cord has given me the BEST picture i've seen on my display using my oppo 971 in every way....looks great! the cord i ordered is from dvi gear's "SHR (SUPER HIGH RESOLUTION) DVI>HDMI CORD" LINE....the difference was really amazing. i went from happy with my picture to very , very happy. yes, i have had an ISF certified tech calibrate my set and there still is a great difference using this dvi gear cord. just thought i'd share my findings using "dvi gear" cord. cheers

took a look at their website. The prices look impressive compared to what I've seen locally.

If the signal is digital and there is no interference, dropouts, the PQ cannot look better I believe. It's psychosomatic. Digital unlike analog is either there or not. Better cables reduce the chance of dropouts, sparklies over longer runs but that's it.
I think I'm right. And yes, Monster is a bunch of overpriced marketing hype...

:)

No offense, but I dont see how a cable can make a difference. Cables pass digital signals and they work or they don't. You will see sparkles if they don't work. I wonder if it is a placebo effect as with the M brand? What length are you running? I wonder if your old calble was bad.

Is there anyway we can use the upconverting DVD players to upconvert other signals (e.g. TV signals).

The Oppo is a DVD player, not a video processor. You need to read some threads in the Video Processors forum here to find what you're looking for.

ya, i hear what you guys are saying and i've read these types of pros and cons on lower priced and over priced digital cables (dvi or hdmi) in my case before. i can only tell you what i have seen using the cables i've tried. i do see an overall improvment in picture quality on my oppo/tosh dlp using the dvi gear cord. it really produces a better picture than what i was getting using the monster or the oppo supplied cord. i viewed dvd's with the new cord that i had viewed with the old cords dozens of times so i knew what they looked like then and what they look like now.....im not talking a night to day picture jump...but enough of an inproved picture that i wrote something about it. to me it looked closer to what HD sould look like. the cord seemed to work well for me. btw...the old monster cord was 6ft as well as the dvi gear cord is 6ft...

I believe that you think it looks better but is that possible? It's a digital signal. Seriously, someone who knows for sure chime in..
:) d

PC World did testing of Cables last year and reported that Digital Cables work or don't work. There can be no difference in picture quality since the signal is digital. A bad cable can produce sparkles, this usally happens if the cable is too long. The only way to to do accurate testing is to do blind testing, not knowing which cable is which.

Yeah, I'm fairly certain that it's not possible that it actually looks "better". Likely a placebo effect. These cables are very highly rated, in fact earning product of the year from some sources as far as cables and connecting components go. However, that was due to the fact that they allowed 1080P to be passed at longer distance runs than previously allowed with "regular" DVI/HDMI cables. It was due to this increase in distance, not any increase in picture quality... since there is none.

My friends had the DV971H and raved about it, but once I saw the DV-970hD I was curious about it and thought I'd give it a chance... I love it! It up-converts standard DVDs and the picture is so crisp and clean! I've even been able to look at pictures from my digital camera and the pictures look great. Has anyone else checked it out?

Do a Blind test and than you will know. Don't be certain. The cables may be able to pass 1080p and may look nice but digital is digital. PC world did a blind test.

What is the main difference between the 971 and the 970HD?

I have the 971 (first one they came out with, right?) and so far it has been good, but it doesn't play SACD disks. Is that the only difference, or can the 970 do some things that the 971 cant?

From the first question on the OPPO FAQ:
Q: What are the main differences between the OPPO DV-970HD and OPDV971H DVD players?
A: While both the OPPO DV-970HD and OPDV971H are excellent DVD players with high definition up-conversion, the OPDV971H emphasizes more on the video performance and the DV-970HD emphasizes more on the overall performance and value. The main differences between the two models are:

* The OPDV971H features video processing with "DCDi by Faroudja" technology and video chipset by Genesis/Faroudja; the DV-970HD uses a different chipset and technology for video de-interlacing and up-conversion. While both player produce excellent picture quality and the difference is subtle, the "DCDi by Faroudja" technology is able to handle some tricky video contents. On very large TV or projector screens, the difference could be noticed by experts or videophiles. When benchmarked with contents designed to test video performance, the OPDV971H will score higher than the DV-970HD.
* The OPDV971H has a DVI output for digital video; the DV-970HD has an HDMI output for digital video and audio.
* The DV-970HD supports Super Audio CD (SACD) in addition to DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, Audio CD etc. supported by both players.
* The DV-970HD has a flash memory card reader and USB interface while the OPDV971H does not.
* The OPDV971H front panel has a brushed aluminum finish; the DV-970HD front panel has a reflective mirror finish.

Two thing not mentioned is the ability to do component based progressive scan and upconversion (non-CSS Encrypted media) and 480i/576i through the HDMI output (good for video transport).

While both player produce excellent picture quality and the difference is subtle, the "DCDi by Faroudja" technology is able to handle some tricky video contents.

But, the Faroudja also handles film content better too, right? I'm surprised they don't mention that.

Video stands for anything that is related to the visual image. This includes DivX/XviD, VCD, etc, not just Video Cadences.

I have this player hooked up to my 42" Westy and there are slight vertical black bars on the left and right side perhaps 10 pixels wide. Is there any way to stretch the picture to fill the entire screen or is this normal?

Just FYI.... the cables that ship with the Oppo are identical to the ones you can buy from Monoprice.com.

I have this player hooked up to my 42" Westy and there are slight vertical black bars on the left and right side perhaps 10 pixels wide. Is there any way to stretch the picture to fill the entire screen or is this normal?

Some displays will have an obvious underscan to them, which includes your Westinghouse. There is no way of eliminating these bars on your display.

One thing you can try doing is changing the resolution, as some resolutions will cause different screen mapping.

People, I do have two questions related to HDCP and DVI

1) Is the signal of the 971H HDCP compatible or does the Oppo use the HDCP protection (sorry for the redundancy?

On the very first post of this trail, it is said to be "no HDCP present". However OPPO claims in its page, that he signal is compatible with monitors that have HDCP .

2) Besides the ability of the first of being able to accept digital and analogical signals, what are the differences between DVI version 1 and DVI version 2??

Many thanks
s

The OPDV971H is not HDCP compliant, so it will work with virtually all display devices.

Being non-HDCP compliant does make you compatible with HDCP displays, as you will still see a signal. OPPO is using cleaver wording as to not bring down the hand that be against them.

The OPDV971H is not HDCP compliant, so it will work with virtually all display devices.

Being non-HDCP compliant does make you compatible with HDCP displays, as you will still see a signal. OPPO is using cleaver wording as to not bring down the hand that be against them.



Thanks, so there isn´t HDCP on the OPPO signal?
s

No, there is no HDCP signal coming from the OPDV971H.

No, there is no HDCP signal coming from the OPDV971H.


As usual NEUROMANCER you have been of great help. By the way... aren´t you a DVI specialist? are you?

I still need to find out if one of the firmwares published by Oppo will change the DVI version to version 1. Is this possible anyway?

It is a Version 1 DVI output. Version 2 DVI is designed around PC to allow for the graphics card to monitor's EDID (such as refresh rate, maximum resolution, and so forth). It has no bearing on the OPDV971H as the resolution outputs are pre-defined.

It is a Version 1 DVI output. Version 2 DVI is designed around PC to allow for the graphics card to monitor's EDID (such as refresh rate, maximum resolution, and so forth). It has no bearing on the OPDV971H as the resolution outputs are pre-defined.


Sorry you mean that the DVI version on the OPPO is version 1, I always thought it was version 2, exactly for the motives you expose above (DVI 1 being able to acomodate PC signals)

s

No, it is Version 1, as there is no information being sent back to the OPDV971H for analyzation.

I haven't been on in a couple months (new job, new puppy, etc) and am just now finally about to get my oppo 971H set up properly. I have found the post here about some good recommended settings. I am going to try that. What I have seen with the settings now, (this will be hard to describe) when there is a bright scene or really any scene that switches to black, I can still see the image on the screen but in green. Very annoying. I have a Mitsu 52725 DLP using the supplied DVI cable. Is this the bug that is not seen on all displays? Is there a way to help remove it?

Thanks in advance.....

Ensure that DNR and Sharpness are turned Off on the OPDV971H. You may also want to make sure that your settings are Off/None/0 except for TrueLife.

On your Mitsubishi turn off DNR or other enhancers which can lead to image retention. Run a calibration disc on the OPDV971H and tweak your contrast and brightness settings. You should not see those green after images anymore.

So you suggest leaving TrueLife on?

yes, leave TrueLife On, otherwise Noise Reduction will be turned to Low, causing ghosting and image retention.

Neuromancer,

Do you suggest leaving TrueLife on in most cases?

In pretty much all cases I would leave it On. There are only some minor cases in which you would want to turn it Off to reduce instances of macroblocking.

Could you put DNR on low and Truelife Off for the same effect?

It would produce the same effect.

I'm asking because, despite proper calibration, I occasionally see hint of macroblocking with poorly compressed DVDs, but at the same time it seems there is some benefit with this player in regards to using low (DNR) noise reduction (which I have yet to try).

yes, leave TrueLife On, otherwise Noise Reduction will be turned to Low, causing ghosting and image retention.

I just asked Oppo about this a few days ago and this is what they said.......

Is it true that when you turn off truelife with the 971H that Noise Reduction defaults to low even when it set to off?


"There have been unsubstantiated claims that when TrueLife is turned Off,
Noise Reduction is set to Low. We have not been able to confirm this
error."

Depends on your their testing methodology. If you just turn it Off in the middle of playback, there will be no change. However, if you change it to Off then Stop playback, then resume playback, then you will notice the obvious NR being Low. If OPPO or other's tested it TrueLife without stopping playback, then they will not notice the error.

Has Oppo fixed the problem with displaying the image with a black pixel border around the image? I guess you call this underscan?

No, it has not been fixed, as they have not developed a solution which does not effect the visual replication.

Neuromancer,

Keeping DNR on low does not mask out any detail?

It will remove some noise (dependent on the disc) but can create ghosting/image retention errors, which is why most people will just turn it Off.

What exactly is Truelife supposed to do?

it is a 3D color enhancer designed to make things more pronounced. In practice you can't really see the difference.

Has anyone had the problem with their remote going on the fritz? The unit is doing zoom when I press stop, and play when I press DVI. Any suggestions?

UPDATE: For some reason it seems that the unit started recognizing the New Remote as the Old. I reinstalled the Firmware and did the remote switch thing, and now it works as designed. Anyone else had that problem?

Older firmware used to have a memory leak in which the remote control would change to the OLD remote. I havn't heard of this happening with the new firmware revisions.

I have a LCD monitor with a DVI input port that can accept signals up to 1080P (1920x1080). If I save individual JPEG 1920x1080 pictures on a CD, then will the OPPO 971H output these pictures with or without processing (i.e. modifying) them?

Thanks,

No, the OPDV971H will downsample the images to 720x480 then upconver them to 1080i. This is a hardware limitation.

So my OPPO just took a dump. I tried to power it on Sat. night and to no avail it did not turn on. So I unplugged it out of my power conditioner and tried it on a regular recepticle and nothing. I tried it on yet another one and nothing.

Then I noticed that the red light "in" the power button for standby was not coming on when I plugged it in.

I think my OPPO has gone bye bye.........

Going to email OPPO now.....

Rob

So my OPPO just took a dump. I tried to power it on Sat. night and to no avail it did not turn on. So I unplugged it out of my power conditioner and tried it on a regular recepticle and nothing. I tried it on yet another one and nothing.

Then I noticed that the red light "in" the power button for standby was not coming on when I plugged it in.

I think my OPPO has gone bye bye.........

Going to email OPPO now.....

Rob

How long have you had the Oppo?

How long have you had the Oppo?

Since January. I just email them this morning and they want me to send it in so they can repair it. Hopefully it's just a fluke and they'll get it back to me ASAP. It's been a great player and up till now worked flawlessly.

Looks like another weekend without the HT.

Since January. I just email them this morning and they want me to send it in so they can repair it. Hopefully it's just a fluke and they'll get it back to me ASAP. It's been a great player and up till now worked flawlessly.

Looks like another weekend without the HT.

If you are tech savy, or feel like you can open your DVD unit without the risk of damaging it or yourself, you may want to open the OPDV971H (first disconnect it!) and look at the power board located on the left hand side of the DVD unit. Ensure that all the cable leads are securly connected. Once you have done a manual check of all the cables, close it back up, plug it back in, and power it on.

What if you have TrueLife and NR both set to off, but never use the stop button in the middle of a DVD? Is the stop command the only thing that changes the NR setting to Low?

In order for the TrueLife and DNR changes to become effective, you must first stop playback.

If TrueLife has been turned Off, then the DNR will default to Low after you have stopped playback. If you just turn off TrueLife in the middle of disc playback, DNR will not be turned Low, provided it was off to begin with.

If you just want TrueLife Off, then you need to turn if Off in the middle of disc playback. As long as you do not stop the disc, TrueLife should be Off. However, this is assuming that TrueLife itself does not need a refresh (Stop and resume). I have not tested to see if TrueLife does indeed turn Off when just toggled through the menu.

I need some help with audio set up. There is something I have never paid attention to until just now.

Oppo is connected to 5.1, and I can't get any sound from the center speaker. My receiver is Sony STR-DE345. I have 2 options in 5.1: C STUDIO and V SURR.

Also, the subwoofer level is low comparing to the cable box attached to the same receiver.
Is it something in the Oppo set up or 5.1 is supposed to work that way?

Are you using the mutli-channel analog outputs, or the optical or coaxial output?

Analog outpust: RCA jacks from Oppo's L/R, center, subwoofer outputs to the receiver's inputs. All cables are connected correctly.
Oppo's set up is as follows: all speakers are set to small, subwoofer is enabled.

Ensure that you have changed your downmix to 5.1. Ensurr that the center channel is properly connected to the back of the OPDV971H and the back of your receiver.

You can check for center channel output by connecting one of the other channels (such as Right Front) and throw a test pattern (white noise) or a film and listen for output (I would recommend disconnecting all other channels to make the identification easier). If connecting the center output to another input works, then you likely have the cable set wrongly on your Sony receiver, or there is some kind of software conflict. If the center channel does not produce audio in this test, then you may have a defective product.

The subwoofer output will be lower through the analog outputs than the digital outputs. You can increase the subwoofer through the Channel Trim settings of the speaker setup.

That's weird.
Everything is connected as you say.
I have another DVD player and a cable box connected to the receiver.
None of them even have a cable connected to the subwoower or the center speaker, but I do get sound.
I did switch Oppo from 5.1 to CD mode on the receiver. The result is exactly what I am looking for.

So, the question is why I can't get the same from 5.1.

You other DVD player and cable box were likely using an optical or coaxial cable. Try using a coaxial or optical connection and try playback again. You should get Stereo (CD) and 5.1 (DVD-Video) from your receiver, as it will do all the audio decoding.

I'm still confused. How can I ensure that both TrueLife and NR are always off? Do I need to turn them off in the setup menu during playback every time I play a disc?

Can you *realy* see a difference if NR is on low when TL is off anyways? Just belive that the Oppo does what it says its doing, off is off and you'll be fine. I still get a great pic eather way, be that if TL is off and NR is realy on low or if its realy doing what is saying who cares when the pic looks so good.

Can you *realy* see a difference if NR is on low when TL is off anyways? Yes, NR creates ghosting (image retention) in fast-action sequences.

Gary

I'm still confused. How can I ensure that both TrueLife and NR are always off? Do I need to turn them off in the setup menu during playback every time I play a disc?

It is impossible to ensure that both are Off in the current firmware. As I mentioned before, I have not tested to see if you turn off TrueLife, but don't stop playback, if TrueLife is truly turned Off.

In that sense, you will need to leave TrueLife On, to ensure that DNR is always Off.

Neuromancer,
I changed the cables, went through all the checks again to no avail. No middle speaker.
Did the tone test on the receiver, everything is OK.

Anything else I could have missed?

And you tried connecting one of the other analog audio cables (such as Right Front) and plug that into the Center channel output, and you still got no output? What about connecting the Center channel cable to another output of the OPDV971H (such as the Right Front)?

Are you playing a DVD-Video, music CD, or other source?

My brother-in-law is purchasing a Sony HS60 projector, and I'm thinking the 971H at 720p would be the perfect player for it. Are there still any audiosync issues at all with either the 220 or the 302 F/W? DIVX playback is not a requirement for him.

Also, are they are any PQ differences on standard DVD's between either F/W?

Thanks in advance, and sorry if these are repetitive questions. I'm on vacation with limited connectivity and don't have time to search.

/steve

Has anyone have a modified OPPO 971H?

BoulderCables does mod on DVI board for $400 while Reference Audio Mod does it for $1K which includes the audio side.

My brother-in-law is purchasing a Sony HS60 projector, and I'm thinking the 971H at 720p would be the perfect player for it. Are there still any audiosync issues at all with either the 220 or the 302 F/W?

Most Audio and Video syncronization errors have been fixed through the F-0316 firmware.

There are no visual differences between the firmware as far as I can tell.

LeviR, what is there to modify? I recently purchased one and am curious what all can be done..

They modify the DVI board for cleaner more detailed picture quality and sound.
We offer a "Basic" mod that rebuilds the main power supply board.
Replaces the stock power cable with an ACME Audio Silver plated IEC connector
It also includes upgrades to the many power supply capacitors on the DVI board.
The mod also adds dampening material to many areas of the chassis and cover.
The feet are replaced with JJAZ FOD isolation pods.

I am just wondering if anyone knows when they come out with a new firmware or convert the beta firmware (0316) into an official one?

no one knows. They have been working on a new beta firmware, but no pogress has been made in terms of a release date.

They modify the DVI board for cleaner more detailed picture quality and sound.

Wouldn't it be easier to dip a chicken foot in blood and draw a crucifix on it? Should do pretty much the same job.

Wow, $400 to modify the oppo. Might as well just buy a toshiba hd-a1...!!!
But anyways, I still have a "slight" y-delay at times on my oppo. Just upgraded PJ so it's NOT the projector. It's very noticeable on menus, like say Star Wars where there is that kinda floating yellow/green font. Also on the settup display it can be seen. Sometimes it's VERY pronounced, changing resolution often makes it better but still not perfect. I think on my original firmware from last yr. I didn't notice it. I upgraded for the VIDEO 2 mode access for my PAL discs. Anyone els notice this?

:) d

no one knows. They have been working on a new beta firmware, but no pogress has been made in terms of a release date.

Any chance of another beta?

So we can benefit from the subtitle and angle icon fixes?

Probably not. OPPO has only officially released two betas (one become the defactor Minor Firmware), and both were due to severe playback problems needing to be addressed.

Probably not. OPPO has only officially released two betas (one become the defactor Minor Firmware), and both were due to severe playback problems needing to be addressed.

what do they drink there maybe we could arrange some sort of trade or bribe :)

Atleast they are still fixing problems. I can't complain!

And you tried connecting one of the other analog audio cables (such as Right Front) and plug that into the Center channel output, and you still got no output? What about connecting the Center channel cable to another output of the OPDV971H (such as the Right Front)?

Are you playing a DVD-Video, music CD, or other source?


Neuromancer,

connected the center cable to the right channel (right out on oppo -> center input on Sony): get the sound from the center channel.

Tried everything: DVD-Video, audio, mp3.

...I still have a "slight" y-delay at times on my oppo. Just upgraded PJ so it's NOT the projector. It's very noticeable on menus, like say Star Wars where there is that kinda floating yellow/green font. Also on the settup display it can be seen. Dave, its not Y/C Delay. It seems to be a defect with the MTK chipset (other players using this chipset have a similar problem). The issue is #3 on our defect list:

"Colorful ghosting on the vertical edges of saturated colors. When Sharpness is set any higher than OFF, this ghosting intensifies and the vertical edges break up".

Gary

Wow, $400 to modify the oppo. Might as well just buy a toshiba hd-a1...!!!
But anyways, I still have a "slight" y-delay at times on my oppo. Just upgraded PJ so it's NOT the projector. It's very noticeable on menus, like say Star Wars where there is that kinda floating yellow/green font. Also on the settup display it can be seen. Sometimes it's VERY pronounced, changing resolution often makes it better but still not perfect. I think on my original firmware from last yr. I didn't notice it. I upgraded for the VIDEO 2 mode access for my PAL discs. Anyone els notice this?

:) d

Dave,

If you have Avia, there is a YC Delay test pattern to look for it.

I just bought one of these from Amazon. I am very disappointed with it. I can't believe some of the issues it's having. It has the latest 0302 firmware (that is the latest, isn't it?) and I have it connected to the DVI input on my 52' Mitsubishi DLP. It does absolutely nothing for the "wiggles" on my PAL discs, and in fact looks worse than my Philips 727 through component. Even some region 1 discs have problems...Episode III for example, during the pan down to the space battle after the opening credits, the pan is staggered in movement and completely jittery. I tried both 480p and 1080i (my DLP doesn't support 720p), changed the settings from Video 1 to Video 2, turned TruLife, CSS and Noise Reduction on and off, and all these problems still exist. Sometimes I even notice slight image shudder and flicker when using 1080i. Could I have a defective machine?

There is a F-316 beta firmware, link is back a few pages. You might try that. I didnt experience any of the problems you are talking about on ep III. I have a different tv though.

EDIT: here is the link http://www.oppodigital.com/opdv971h_firmware_0316_download.html

dullboy, the Episode III issue you mentioned is well known with the Oppo. It's really the only issue in that entire film, so I wouldn't judge the player based solely on a 3 second pan in one movie.

Also, how does your DLP set NOT support 720P? I've never heard of that.

Okay, that's kinda weird about the pan on Ep III, but since all the Oppo's do it, I guess I can accept it. I still have horrible problems with any PAL disc, even in Video 2 mode. Hopefully that 316 firmware russelle mentioned will help.

My Mitsubishi 52' is one of the older models, so I guess they just didn't configure it with a 720p for whatever stupid reason. When I hit 720p on the Oppo, the picture gets all distorted for a second, then goes to blue with text on the screen that says "no 720p, go to 1080i for HD".

Are you doing PAL to PAL or PAL to NTSC?

Neuromancer,

connected the center cable to the right channel (right out on oppo -> center input on Sony): get the sound from the center channel.

Tried everything: DVD-Video, audio, mp3.

If center channel output to right channel input does not work, then it is a defective product. However, I have never heard of one channel not working while the others still do, but there is always a first.

Trance Dog, I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but have you made sure the source material being played has a center channel signal (or that the 971 is applying Pro Logic II processing to generate one)?

Neuromancer, I'm doing PAL to NTSC.

And on the topic of helping Trance Dog with his multi-channel connections, is it normal for an advanced stereo surround track to not have much, if any at all, signal coming from the subwoofer channel? I turned my speaker settings on the Oppo to small and the subwoofer to on.

For CD applications I prefer using the digital outputs on the OPDV971H and letting my receiver do all the audio decoding, especially since it has the more robust bass management system.

So, you don't enjoy the Advanced Resolution Surround tracks on DVD-Audio? You can't hear them through the digital connection, right? I was only referring to DVD-Audio. I prefer the digital connection on my regular CDs, too.

You can hear it through the digital connection, but the audio will be PCM decoded by the DVD unit.

dullboy, the judder in ep. 111 is because there is seamless branching at that point, (text in film in other languages) If you watch the scene in order from the beginning of the film, meaning don't chapter skip to it, it does not happen. What annoys me is the angle icon that keeps popping up like in the new TITANIC SE if I skip around. The damn ship icon pops up every 3 minutes!

:)

dullboy,
What region do you have your player set to?

I have it set to Region 0.

Neuromancer, as you can see it worked. I am not sure if I mentioned, I even switched the cables from 5.1 to TV/Sat (on the receiver's side, ie I connected Oppo to where the cable box goes into). The center channel works like a charm without even having the center cable connected to Oppo. And the subwoofer doing a great job. If 5.1, the subwoofer is barely heard.

Gonk,
I tried The X-Files DVD (guilty in having all DVDs of all seasons:-)). These have Dolby. Well, you can guess the result.
That puzzles the hell out of me.

Okay, so now I'm completely confused. After turning the Oppo off last night and coming home from work today (having let it sit in Video 1 mode since Video 2 didn't seem to make a difference), I turned the Oppo back on and decided to try Video 2 again. Now the damn thing completely removes "wiggles" on my PAL discs. IT DIDN'T DO THIS YESTERDAY! I don't get it. Did it need a night to break into the mold and adapt? Well, there is a trade-off. Now every time I insert a disc, particularly a PAL disc, the screen adjusts itself (like a video twitch) almost like it is switching from interlaced to progressive. It does this twitch EVERY time a command is entered...when the disc loads, when the movie starts, when the menu is chosen, when the movie is paused and when it is started again, and when the disc is ejected. Sometimes the twitch will happen a couple times in a row...like each time a different title screen pops up before the main menu appears.

Well, I downloaded the 316 firmware and successfully upgraded my player hoping to get rid of this twitch problem and the occasional shimmering on 1080i, as these things were still prevelent. No such luck. Maybe I should let it sit overnight again? I think I'm just gonna send this back and opt for a cheaper all-region upconverter like the Samsung that doesn't have these problems.

Dullboy...

I haven't seen a single one of your problems with PAL discs. Not sure what the problem is. Maybe you got a bum unit. Either that, or you TV just can't handle it. Very odd it won't display 720. I thought all DLP's were at least 720. I'm using the 316 firmware.

I'm watching the Region 2 Flash Gordon disc right now...Video 2 mode, and it's gorgeous on my Samsung DLP. (via HDMI to DVI)

For a movie that has so many process shots, I'm surprised it looks as good as it does. The commentaries are really excellent as well. Both the one by Hodges, and the hilarious one by Brian Blessed.

SV

Dullboy...
I'm watching the Region 2 Flash Gordon disc right now...Video 2 mode, and it's gorgeous on my Samsung DLP. (via HDMI to DVI)

SV

I own the same disc, and you're right it looks great on the Oppo! At this point there would be no reason for me to buy this in a R1 version if it's ever released here. I doubt a Region 1 version would look this good.

Dullboy...

I haven't seen a single one of your problems with PAL discs. Not sure what the problem is. Maybe you got a bum unit. Either that, or you TV just can't handle it. Very odd it won't display 720. I thought all DLP's were at least 720. I'm using the 316 firmware.

I'm watching the Region 2 Flash Gordon disc right now...Video 2 mode, and it's gorgeous on my Samsung DLP. (via HDMI to DVI)

For a movie that has so many process shots, I'm surprised it looks as good as it does. The commentaries are really excellent as well. Both the one by Hodges, and the hilarious one by Brian Blessed.

SV

This is probably somewhere else on this site, but where do you pick up your "Other Region" discs? Websites?

Thanks

Maybe you got a bum unit.
That's what I'm thinking. I'm sending it back.

Either that, or you TV just can't handle it. Very odd it won't display 720.
Yes, it's lame that my TV won't display 720, but I don't see why that would affect what else it can handle.

This is probably somewhere else on this site, but where do you pick up your "Other Region" discs? Websites?

Thanks

I've gotten a couple via ebay. Not the auctions, but the "other sellers" listings with "buy it now" fixed prices. All have been from outside the US; video stores with an ebay presence.

I would note that there are many overseas bootleggers on ebay and quality may be an issue with their products. You can usually tell the real stores from the illegal copiers.

-Bill

www.cd-wow.us has alot of good stuff at great prices if you use the discount links out there.

This is probably somewhere else on this site, but where do you pick up your "Other Region" discs? Websites?

Thanks

Region 2 DVDs are available from Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/283926/ref=br_bc_h_1_2/202-5703392-8512662
I think this is a strength of the OPPO, i.e., its ability to play other region DVDs in high quality.

Dana

My favorite site is www.xploitedcinema.com

Unlike 90% of Ebay sellers they don't overcharge you for shipping. I literally got the Flash Gordon DVD in 2 days for about $4.00 shipping.

SV

Can I just chime in to say that I hooked up my new 971 last night using HDMI and, although I have only used it to screen one DVD, I am 100% satisfied so far. Very nice piece of equipment. I haven't done any programmatic "set-up" on it yet but I really love this thing. I even love the blue lights.

The people at Oppo seems to really know what they are doing and have a committment to excellence and qa. This is something that I can't say for other manufacturers who shall remain nameless here. Some stuff you get is just junk and some stuff is really awesome. The Oppo is one from the latter catefory.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK OPPO!!!!!

Thanks to everyone that replied quickly and efficiently regarding the DVD websites. I appreciate all your help!! :D

Perhaps the TV Type in the Preference page set to "Auto"? That will make the player output NTSC for the background but PAL for the content of the movie. Doing PAL disc - PAL output will produce the best picture, but the switching between NTSC/PAL will cause the TV to re-sync. just like switching a video source. Next time try to set the TV Type to "PAL" before you play a PAL movie and see how it goes.

Okay, so now I'm completely confused. After turning the Oppo off last night and coming home from work today (having let it sit in Video 1 mode since Video 2 didn't seem to make a difference), I turned the Oppo back on and decided to try Video 2 again. Now the damn thing completely removes "wiggles" on my PAL discs. IT DIDN'T DO THIS YESTERDAY! I don't get it. Did it need a night to break into the mold and adapt? Well, there is a trade-off. Now every time I insert a disc, particularly a PAL disc, the screen adjusts itself (like a video twitch) almost like it is switching from interlaced to progressive. It does this twitch EVERY time a command is entered...when the disc loads, when the movie starts, when the menu is chosen, when the movie is paused and when it is started again, and when the disc is ejected. Sometimes the twitch will happen a couple times in a row...like each time a different title screen pops up before the main menu appears.

Well, I downloaded the 316 firmware and successfully upgraded my player hoping to get rid of this twitch problem and the occasional shimmering on 1080i, as these things were still prevelent. No such luck. Maybe I should let it sit overnight again? I think I'm just gonna send this back and opt for a cheaper all-region upconverter like the Samsung that doesn't have these problems.

Perhaps the TV Type in the Preference page set to "Auto"? That will make the player output NTSC for the background but PAL for the content of the movie. Doing PAL disc - PAL output will produce the best picture, but the switching between NTSC/PAL will cause the TV to re-sync. just like switching a video source. Next time try to set the TV Type to "PAL" before you play a PAL movie and see how it goes.
This was mentioned to me by Oppo support. I don't have it in Auto mode, so it's not that. I've tried putting it in PAL, but since my TV is NTSC, it makes the picture blurry as soon as you set it to that mode. I'm afraid if I try to put a disc in afterwards, and it doesn't work, I won't be able to set it back to NTSC.

I got the DV-971H along with Samsung HP-S5053 plasma HDTV yesterday, I do have one question while watching the SD (from The Mask), then I hit "Info" button on the Samsung it said "resolution 720 /480" without "p" or "i" at the end. So, I wonder whether the 971H did upcoverting the SD to 720p or i? :confused:

linhsy, this might be a stupid question... but you did hit the "DVI" button on the remote after turning on the player, prior to putting in a disc (or alternatively with the tray ejected) right? If you didn't specifically change the output resolution via the DVI button on the remote, then, even with the DVI->HDMI connection, the 971 is still going to be outputting at 480i by default I think.

I know that I'd forgotten to make this change prior to watching the Incredibles for the first time with my new TV... the difference was quite noticeable after I changed it.

Instead it's excellent question from you cause I didn't press any DVI button. That's why the resolution is so low, right ? .... I will check it out this everning and see if there is any improvement... I know for sure... I didn't do any to DVI button though.... Thanks tmeader. You guys good.... I need to read the manual again ... cause I just setup some of them according to the recomendation from the first post of this thread...

My 4 month old Oppo 971-H has started to do some wired things. It has started to produced vertical green lines accross the picture (via DVI). Sometimes it's so thick you can't see the picture, sometimes you can make the picture out behind the green lines. It has also stopped and started a few times at the beginning of the movie and rereads the "DVD-video", but seems to after it gets stopped and started a few minutes in to it works (I also can get rid of the green lines by turning off and on the player, at least sometimes). I've done a firmware upgrade and yet the vertical green lines have happened once since I did the upgrade. I also tried a differnt cable and had the same problem. It's feeding a Sony 30 HS420, but has worked flawlessly with it for 4 months. Any ideas? Time to RMA it? TIA

ps the s-vhs output looks fine ..no green lines just the dvi.

I would try another pair of DVI/HDMI cables (if available) or another digital display device (such as a LCD PC monitor) for further diagnostics.

My new OPPO 971 is to be delivered on Monday. I have not read any post of users using the OPPO with a Philips plasma. I own the model 42FW9220/37 plasma and I am wondering how the two components will work together as in regards to the player's Faroudja processing to de-interlace and upscale to 720p? I plan to use my HDMI input on the plasma.

What are some of the do’s and don’ts that I should look for right out of the box? Any help will be much appreciated as this thread has gotten so large it would take me months to read the entire thread.

This is probably somewhere else on this site, but where do you pick up your "Other Region" discs? Websites?

Thanks

I use Amazon UK. The login was the same from the US site and all my info was still saved.

I'm waiting for Rome Season 1 (R2) to ship next week.

Is there any concern about 1:1 pixel mapping with the oppo considering it plays material with the black pixel border? I'll be using it with my 1280x720 Sany Z2 projector and I'm concerned that I'll be losing out on the 1:1 pixel mapping...

You will have slight underscanning, so you will have small boarders on your screen. If this is something that will annoy you, then you will not want to purchase this unit.

That's too bad. In my current setup a little underscan would actually be a good thing, but I know in the long run that would bother me.

You will have slight underscanning, so you will have small boarders on your screen. If this is something that will annoy you, then you will not want to purchase this unit.
Approximately how many pixels (or inches) are we talking here? I'm planning to mate this with an Optoma HD72 projector and a 100" diagonal screen?

My 4 month old Oppo 971-H has started to do some wired things. It has started to produced vertical green lines accross the picture (via DVI). Sometimes it's so thick you can't see the picture, sometimes you can make the picture out behind the green lines. It has also stopped and started a few times at the beginning of the movie and rereads the "DVD-video", but seems to after it gets stopped and started a few minutes in to it works (I also can get rid of the green lines by turning off and on the player, at least sometimes). I've done a firmware upgrade and yet the vertical green lines have happened once since I did the upgrade. I also tried a differnt cable and had the same problem. It's feeding a Sony 30 HS420, but has worked flawlessly with it for 4 months. Any ideas? Time to RMA it? TIA

ps the s-vhs output looks fine ..no green lines just the dvi.

I would imagine it needs to be returned, but I can tell you from my own experience that you won't be too upset. I was sent a pre-paid Fedex return label for my RMA and the turnaround time was so short I would've sworn they just sent me a new unit. But they had fixed mine by replacing some circuit board. It was back in less than a week both ways.

I didn't have your problem but just wanted to share my great experience with Oppo customer service. My unit was a month old. (The discs were still spinning as they were ejecting.)

HTH...

Approximately how many pixels (or inches) are we talking here? I'm planning to mate this with an Optoma HD72 projector and a 100" diagonal screen?

It is about a 2-3 pixel boarder. On a large projection screen, this can be half an inch to an inch, depending on the screen size and any inherent overscanning.

notice this over at the OPPO website: Career OPPOtunities (https://www.oppodigital.com/careers.html)

Looks like they are looking for Customer Service Representatives to fill their ranks.

My new OPPO 971 is to be delivered on Monday. I have not read any post of users using the OPPO with a Philips plasma. I own the model 42FW9220/37 plasma and I am wondering how the two components will work together as in regards to the player's Faroudja processing to de-interlace and upscale to 720p? I plan to use my HDMI input on the plasma.

What are some of the do’s and don’ts that I should look for right out of the box? Any help will be much appreciated as this thread has gotten so large it would take me months to read the entire thread.

I just got my 971 a few days ago to use with a Philips 42PF9630A/37 and I'm pretty impressed so far. I tested it with a Harry Potter DVD (same DVD I used with the LG I briefly owned), and it was good, no concerns, but not exceptional. However, I just got finished watching Pirates of the Caribbean and it was just plain terrific.

Out of the box, I kept the TrueLife on, CCS off, put the sharpness on low, and that's about it. I recommend reading through the manual and just messing with the settings if you have the chance.

I also took the opportunity to adjust my TVs picture settings using the Avia disc I just bought. That could also be making quite a bit of difference between the Harry Potter DVD (old settings) and Pirates (new settings).

I just got my 971 a few days ago to use with a Philips 42PF9630A/37 and I'm pretty impressed so far. I tested it with a Harry Potter DVD (same DVD I used with the LG I briefly owned), and it was good, no concerns, but not exceptional. However, I just got finished watching Pirates of the Caribbean and it was just plain terrific.

Out of the box, I kept the TrueLife on, CCS off, put the sharpness on low, and that's about it. I recommend reading through the manual and just messing with the settings if you have the chance.

I also took the opportunity to adjust my TVs picture settings using the Avia disc I just bought. That could also be making quite a bit of difference between the Harry Potter DVD (old settings) and Pirates (new settings).

travelguy_73, Thanks for the feedback. This thread moves so fast it was just a matter of hours before my post would have been move to the next page, certainly not to be seen again. I am not even sure if this thread is maintained any longer as it has been 3 months that it has been updated.

I have both the Avia and Digital Video Essentials and have run the plasma through its settings and will again once the 971 arrives. The 42FW9220/37 is a commercial version with no HD tuner of which I could care a less as I have purchase a stand alone OTA turner along with a SD8300HD TUNER / DVR. It also can be setup to use as a PC monitor as well. Let’s keep in touch as we both nearly have the same system…

notice this over at the OPPO website:

Looks like they are looking for Customer Service Representatives to fill their ranks.


What they need to hire are some firmware programmers. :rolleyes:


With the amount of time they have spent on the last official firmware they could have solved the zoom problem with non-anamorphic dvds already. :mad:

It is about a 2-3 pixel boarder. On a large projection screen, this can be half an inch to an inch, depending on the screen size and any inherent overscanning.

If 3 pixels of a 720p picture become half an inch, you would have a screen that is 120 inches tall and 210 inches wide. That's a 240-inch diagonal screen.

That is just the inherent underscanning. Some displays will also have a small amount of underscanning built into them. My numbers were pulled out of my ass (except the pixel boarder).

With the amount of time they have spent on the last official firmware they could have solved the zoom problem with non-anamorphic dvds already. :mad:

You are thinking at the speed of thought. Understanding the error and implimentation are two seperate beasts.

travelguy_73, Thanks for the feedback. This thread moves so fast it was just a matter of hours before my post would have been move to the next page, certainly not to be seen again. I am not even sure if this thread is maintained any longer as it has been 3 months that it has been updated.

I have both the Avia and Digital Video Essentials and have run the plasma through its settings and will again once the 971 arrives. The 42FW9220/37 is a commercial version with no HD tuner of which I could care a less as I have purchase a stand alone OTA turner along with a SD8300HD TUNER / DVR. It also can be setup to use as a PC monitor as well. Let’s keep in touch as we both nearly have the same system…
Hey no worries, glad to help. The only thing I noticed was that during really dark scenes, the blacks were sort of washed out. I never really noticed it before, but it was probably already there (the Philips doesn't have the hottest black depth!).

I bought the 971 and well it has not impressed me infact it is going back unless I can find out someway to make it look good. That right I said it the Oppo wasn't good for me :eek: !

So I bought it and hooked it up to a PDP4270 display DVI-HDMI popped in my first reference CD "The Incredibles" the foreshaddowing begain when the animation for the menu screen was coming up and for the first time on any player I saw banding (perhaps others had it but this was highly noticable). I then skipped to chapter 15 where Mr. Incredible is looking over the edge of the cliff. The sky was absolutely crawling with major banding once again that I hadn't seen on any player before. So I turned on noise control each level being noticeably better but the image getting noticeably worse and then when MR. I jumps off the cliff massive blurring with a 8 inch trail behind him!

Settings I played with:
480->720->1080
Noise reduction
Low->medium->high back to of
CCS
On and off

As I just bought this yesterday in Toronto I imagine the firmware has got to be up to date. Shall check it later (I remember the instructions being in the FAQ). But I just can't see it being anything other than firmware.

The same display with Pioneers own $400 DVD player was damn good.

Anyone got any thoughts on what I can do? Am I missing a setting labelled "Make this image look as good as everyone says YES/No?" :). Does this player just suck at animation? I didn't even bother putting in a live action DVD as the picture on this was so bad that if not fixable it is going back.

The center channel level of my Oppo 971 has inexplicably dropped to ~10db below other channels. I use the Oppo thru the Coax or Optical digital connections and they both show the same issue. I've extablished that it is not an issue with my speakers or with my receiver or cables.

Anyone else experienced this? What was the resolution path?

Thx.
B

I bought the 971 and well it has not impressed me infact it is going back unless I can find out someway to make it look good. That right I said it the Oppo wasn't good for me :eek: !
...
The same display with Pioneers own $400 DVD player was damn good.

Anyone got any thoughts on what I can do? Am I missing a setting labelled "Make this image look as good as everyone says YES/No?" :). Does this player just suck at animation? I didn't even bother putting in a live action DVD as the picture on this was so bad that if not fixable it is going back.

Maybe this a stupid question, but what, if any, steps have you taken to calibrate your display? DVE's ramps and steps pattern is somewhat useful, here.

You are thinking at the speed of thought. Understanding the error and implimentation are two seperate beasts.


I totally get what you are saying, but other company's players using the same chipset handled this early on in their release. To expect this feature fixed by now in this product's cycle of development can hardly be considered unduly impatient.

Maybe this a stupid question, but what, if any, steps have you taken to calibrate your display? DVE's ramps and steps pattern is somewhat useful, here.
I have done nothing to calbrate the display but the Pioneer DV45A player looks stunning on it in comparison to this one that is mean to go up against the best. I am not saying that this players picture was bad (it wasn't great) but rather that the massive issues with banding and dark scenes were what I would expect out of well a $100 player not something that is meant to be the bee knees.

I have done nothing to calbrate the display but the Pioneer DV45A player looks stunning on it in comparison to this one that is mean to go up against the best. I am not saying that this players picture was bad (it wasn't great) but rather that the massive issues with banding and dark scenes were what I would expect out of well a $100 player not something that is meant to be the bee knees.

"The Incredibles" has THX Optimizer in the setup section. Why not go through it and see what happens? A display has to be calibrated differently for every input device.

-Bill

I have done nothing to calbrate the display but the Pioneer DV45A player looks stunning on it in comparison to this one that is mean to go up against the best. I am not saying that this players picture was bad (it wasn't great) but rather that the massive issues with banding and dark scenes were what I would expect out of well a $100 player not something that is meant to be the bee knees.

If you are seeing major banding then you will definately need to calibrate. I would personally not use the THX Optimizer as the results are not very good, but it is a good simple first step. I would highly recommend looking into purchasing either AVIA or DVE and do a proper calibration on your display.

Not sure if this means anything, but this review of the dvd-45a (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all&type=&manufacturer=30&maxprice=0&deInt=0&mpeg=0) says

The white level is low on this player at 96.88 IRE. There really is no valid reason for the levels being this low. The video encoders used by Pioneer all come from Analog Devices and can be set pretty close to perfect, at least within the +/- 2 IRE window we use for ranking. You may need to bring contrast up when using this player.

The frequency response in this player is hotter than any other player. It looks like they have really emphasized the mid band frequencies. At first glance, this will make the 45A appear sharper than other players. Once you have properly adjusted the sharpness control on your display, this difference will go away.

The component timing is outside of spec. The 45A does reproduce blacker than black picture information, which is at least one nice thing we can say about the player.

So, a display that's tweaked for the 45A might not reproduce the Oppo very well. (and vice versa).

The center channel level of my Oppo 971 has inexplicably dropped to ~10db below other channels. I use the Oppo thru the Coax or Optical digital connections and they both show the same issue. I've extablished that it is not an issue with my speakers or with my receiver or cables.

Anyone else experienced this? What was the resolution path?

Thx.
B

No, I have not experienced this problem, nor have I heard about it, in the year and a half of use with my OPDV971H.

Ensure that you have not changed your channel trim settings on your receiver.

Optimode's contrast test (basically, turn it up until it looks white, but doesn't bloom) isn't optimal for digital displays. The brightness test works, but contrast is best set with ramps and steps (http://www.ramelectronics.net/assets/images/calibration/rev-steps-ramps.jpg).

(5 minute guide to calibrating with Avia or DVE (http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/Video-calibration.html))

DVE has this pattern, and I believe Avia has something similar.

I have done nothing to calbrate the display but the Pioneer DV45A player looks stunning on it in comparison to this one that is mean to go up against the best. I am not saying that this players picture was bad (it wasn't great) but rather that the massive issues with banding and dark scenes were what I would expect out of well a $100 player not something that is meant to be the bee knees.

As others have said, you really need to calibrate for each DVD player.

How did you manage to make the center channel work at all????
If you read my messages on the previous page for me it was a no go.
What is your set up?

As others have said, you really need to calibrate for each DVD player.
I find it hard to believe that you need to calibrate to get the picture quality from the level of a bad player to on par with a with high end $1000 plus player that this player is touted as being. I am not talking about minor image issues but, well I wouldn't pay $50 for this DVD player from what I have seen so far. During my TV research I have viewed this reference scene on at least 7 different DVD's and Panels and none of them have needed tweaks to look good, only look better.
When i spoke to the guy I purchased it from and told him what I did tweak he said nothing about tweaking the panel. If the player is handling the upconverting and the noise in the settings then I don't see where banding and noise are something that the TV has much control over. Right now I have been told that it is possibly "a bad DVI board" so I am going to suspend final judgment until I give it a second chance but I don't have high hopes.

Any chance anyone else has put the combination of 971, PDP4270 and The Incredibles together?

I'm thinking about this DVD player for my Infocus IN76 (106" diag screen).

Does anyone have any experiences with this combination? I have an Avia disc and my primary concern is the Macroblocking. I've been reading that MB is very "display dependent" so, maybe i'll get lucky. I will be using a DVD-I -> HDMI adapter then using a 35ft. 24 AWG cable.

Is there another Oppo player in the near future that will resolve the macroblocking issue ?

The DV-970HD is less likely to show macroblocking, but you may notice aliasing artifacting as well as a noisier picture overall when used on your Infocus IN76.

I have not heard of any macroblocking annoyances in reference to the Infocus IN76.

During my TV research I have viewed this reference scene on at least 7 different DVD's and Panels and none of them have needed tweaks to look good, only look better.

Each content device is going to behave differently on the display due to inherent properties. One thing you have to consider is that the OPDV971H utilizes a FLI2310 chipset, which has a "macroblock enhance" bug. For this reason, special attention needs to be played in regards to calibration.

...banding and noise are something that the TV has much control over.

Improper calibration can cause false contouring, banding, noise (especially on plasmas, which have a tendency to produce sparkling) and other unwanted artifacts.

Right now I have been told that it is possibly "a bad DVI board" so I am going to suspend final judgment until I give it a second chance but I don't have high hopes.

It is highly unlikely that it is a bad DVI board, simply because there are basically only three problems associated with a bad board.
1. No DVI output - extreme chipset failure.
2. Sparkling in an isolated area - this is caused by bad memory chips.
3. Missing colors - due to a bad memory chip.

Bill,
You haven't mentioned whether the other DVD players you tested with this screen used HDMI/DVI.

Here's how an eight bit (per channel) picture works on a computer implementation of DVI

255 = white
0 = black

The other 254 shades are grey.

Here's how it works with a "digital" TV

239-255 white
0-15 black

leaving 224 shades of grey.

Now, suppose that the brightness is set too high. The display moves the black point, so that 0-50 are now considered black. And if the contrast is set so that 200-255 are now white, that leaves 150 shades of grey to represent the ideal 224. It's no longer so smooth, and the transitions from one shade of grey to the next become more visible to the viewer.

All mpeg2 files have artifacts. All of them are made up of macroblocks. The compressionist's job is to make sure that these artifacts are not visible. But if a screen is not calibrated, artifacts which were not detectable on the compressionist's screen become visible to the viewer. Visually important details, such as objects in shadow, become invisible.

There's always the small chance that the Incredibles is not truly reference quality, but since I don't have the disc, I can't comment further.

All the DVD's connected to these Panels (4270,4360,D90 and 5060) were connected via HDMI.

I agree that the chances of the issue being fixed by a new unit with a "good" DVI board are highly dubious.

All I can say about the quality of the Incredibles is if it works on 7 out of 8 players then I blame player number 8, by deductive reasoning :).

I am all for calibrating a TV set but once again when 7 out of 8 combinations work well and I know for sure that the TV's weren't calibrated (took many off torch mode) I blame the new entry into the mix that stops the picture from looking great.

There's always the small chance that the Incredibles is not truly reference quality, but since I don't have the disc, I can't comment further.

I take that back. (http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showthread.php?t=207310&highlight=Incredibles) Hmm.