thanks Gary...I had read that post previously and that's why I'm confused why 1080i looks better than the other resolutions...seems like that shouldn't be the case...hmmm It could be that the TV needs a calibration for the 720p input. But sometimes a TV manufacturer does not design one or more of the inputs properly, and in that case, a different input may look better (like 1080i for example).

Gary

I find that to be true on my 1080i Phillips crt. It is no surprise that 1080i looks better on a natively interlaced TV.

Gary

I think it may have been a heat related issue, as the player was on top of my receiver, which has top vents -- even though the player has always been there. I watched the rest of the movie on the DVP642, and after put the Oppo on a different shelf, and it had cooled down. Put the DVD in and went to the point of problems and it worked fine. Oh yea, I also dl'ed the latest firmware (again) and flashed it again, so maybe it was that too.

FWIW, I haven't watched the DVP642 on the plasma in some time, and man, I'm glad I got my Oppo :D I'm glad its working now. The 971 definitely does not like extra heating beneath it. Keep this info in your vault to help someone else down the road.

Gary

Use the link to go to the first post and serach for the following: TOONCES T. CAT'S DUAL LAYER BURN

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=491306&page=1&pp=30

If you still have problems send me a PM and I'll help you sort it out.

-Toonces...:D
I have burned many DL +R disks (Verbatim and TDK) using DVDDecrypter to both rip and burn in "ISO" mode. By pointing the burn dialog at the .mds file instead of the .iso file, an exact duplicate is burned with the layer break at the same spot as the original. I have never burned a coaster. I've also burned DL disks using Nero after ripping with Decrypter in "File" mode. These also play fine in my Oppo, although they sometimes will pause longer at the layer change.

Just my experience, one thing I try to do is burn at single speed if I have the time. In any event, I don't push the burn faster than the media is rated for.

Hey all

I've recently started having problems with my 971. It has started stuttering/freezing on burned DVD's. Retails and burned .avi's seem fine. At first I thought it was the burner in my MacBook Pro, but now its happening with discs burned on my G5, which used to work fine.

Tonight it happened so I stuck the disc in my old DVP642, and the disc worked great. No skipping at all. I'm kind of miffed that my $69 player is working better than the $199 one I bought to "upgrade." And its been fine til recently - I'm on the latest firmware. I've had the unit almost a year. Any thoughts?

And just to pre-empt -- I've used the same media etc etc. Always burned with Toast on my Macs with no problems. So I kinda think its the Oppo.

Peace.
This is happening to me too. I only use rental DVDs from Netflix. Many DVDs that are scratched, gets frozen. But they play fine in my PC. I tried cleaning disk, blowing compressed air, no use. Oppo suggested the same. I will test again, if it is not helping, I will send teh unit for repairs.

Anyone using this DVD player with Mits HD1000U? What is you experience with picture quality? I will be upgrading my Optoma H31 to HD1000U. Oppo does a great job with H31, I hope it does even better HD1000U.

This is happening to me too. I only use rental DVDs from Netflix. Many DVDs that are scratched, gets frozen. But they play fine in my PC. I tried cleaning disk, blowing compressed air, no use. Oppo suggested the same. I will test again, if it is not helping, I will send teh unit for repairs.


Yep mine has started again, so its not the heat after all. Cleaned it too. I'm bummed.

It is no surprise that 1080i looks better on a natively interlaced TV.

Gary

It does depend though. Sometimes, not very often, but sometimes, 720p looks better. Not sure why that is. It is the same with the local channels. FOX at 720p always looks better than the 1080i broadcasts in Houston.

Thanks.

It does depend though. Sometimes, not very often, but sometimes, 720p looks better. Not sure why that is. It is the same with the local channels. FOX at 720p always looks better than the 1080i broadcasts in Houston. It could be that your TV's 720p input is better designed and implemented.

Gary

Hi, having spent many hours reading up on the Oppo 71H I may now be more confused than confident in a decision to make a purchase. If someone can help me understand a few items that would be awesome!

1) I was wondering if someone can explain the value in having an upconverting DVD player if the TV upconverts anyway?

2) I have a Toshiba 51H83 RPTV. Anyone hazard a guess as to how the Oppo will perform on this unit using a DVI connection?

3) I've read that macroblocking isn't bad on CRT displays, anyone know how it will be on a RPTV?

4) Bottom line, will this unit give me a better picture than the basic old school progressive scan DVD player? And can this be achieved without an expensive visit by a tech for calibration?!

My thanks to anyone who can shed some light on this!

I have a Toshiba 51H83 and have had the Oppo 971 since July of last year. I replaced a Panasonic RP-82 with this unit and I must say, I am more than impressed. I have 0 macroblocking, and I gained a much cleaner more detailed picture running at 720P. Without a doubt this was money well spent.

TFADMIN

I bought my 971 last summer and upgraded to the beta firmware (F-0316) shortly after I got it. Are there any issues with the lastest firmware release that I should know about? I'm not having any issues, but I have noticed while watching some of the Fox Film Noir DVDs that there is some faint green/purple discoloration if TrueLife is turned off. These are B&W films and I've only noticed it on some of them. I normally leave TrueLife on for everything, but was just curious about this. No other enhancements are turned on.

BTW, I've been really happy with this player and still love the PQ it delivers. It's been running great and I've only noticed a few problems on some badly scratched rental/used discs. It's usually just a skip or hiccup.

720 is best for me also.

I have a Toshiba 51H83 and have had the Oppo 971 since July of last year. I replaced a Panasonic RP-82 with this unit and I must say, I am more than impressed. I have 0 macroblocking, and I gained a much cleaner more detailed picture running at 720P. Without a doubt this was money well spent. Glad to hear it!

Gary

I bought my 971 last summer and upgraded to the beta firmware (F-0316) shortly after I got it. Are there any issues with the lastest firmware release that I should know about? I'm not having any issues, but I have noticed while watching some of the Fox Film Noir DVDs that there is some faint green/purple discoloration if TrueLife is turned off. These are B&W films and I've only noticed it on some of them. I normally leave TrueLife on for everything, but was just curious about this. No other enhancements are turned on. No issues with 0316. Sounds like a hint of macroblocking on those B&W movies. Set "Truelife" to whatever looks best on your setup.

Gary

I just watched my 1st dvd using the oppo 971 & a 50" Panasonic TH-50PX60U plasma. The only settings I messed with were a few of the audio settings and of course I switched the oppo to 720p. I was impressed, but on the dvd Kingdom of Heaven, anytime the scenes were dark or dim I could make out "rainbows" in the shadows, fog, smoke, etc. What can I do to get rid or reduce those rainbows? I currently have it hooked up through HDMI. DVI isn't supported through the panny.

I used to have an older pioneer dvd player hooked up through component and I believe I never had this problem. Any suggestions?

Did OPPO Digital enable 480p support w/component for the OPDV971H (http://www.oppodigital.com/opdv971h.html)? Their web site indicates it supports these resolutions:

"High resolutions include 480p, 540P, 576p, 720p, 1080i"

Those resolutions are supported only at the DVI output. Since the component output isn't even physically connected to the Faroudja chip that does both scaling and deinterlacing in the 971H, it is not possible for the component output to support higher than 480i.

I just watched my 1st dvd using the oppo 971 & a 50" Panasonic TH-50PX60U plasma. The only settings I messed with were a few of the audio settings and of course I switched the oppo to 720p. I was impressed, but on the dvd Kingdom of Heaven, anytime the scenes were dark or dim I could make out "rainbows" in the shadows, fog, smoke, etc. What can I do to get rid or reduce those rainbows? I currently have it hooked up through HDMI. DVI isn't supported through the panny.

I used to have an older pioneer dvd player hooked up through component and I believe I never had this problem. Any suggestions?

I don't know what it is that you are seeing, but it sounds like an issue I have with an older NEC 42VP4D plasma. This set has an outstanding picture, provided it has 15-20 minutes to warm up. Prior to that the screen is filled with pink pixels (rainbows?) that make the picture unviewable from any source. These are most apparent in lighter areas of the picture like fog, sky, smoke and what have you. I have three DVD players hooked up to this unit. A Panny XP-30 and a JVC XV-N312 through component and an Oppo 971 through DVI. I fire up either the Panny or the JVC in what I call "full torch mode" meaning NEC factory default settings for brightness and contrast just to warm up the unit. Once the NEC warms up all of the pink pixels disappear and I am able to back off the NEC default settings and switch to reduced contrast and brightness levels. Here is where it gets interesting and where we may have similar problems... If I switch inputs to the Oppo 971 through DVI the picture is great for a while, but eventually the NEC cools down slightly and the pink pixelization begins to reappear. I had the same problem when I ran a Bravo D-1 through DVI on this unit.

I think two things are going on here. First, all plasmas look better when the phosphors have warmed up. One of the phosphor colors in my NEC must take more energy to become "excited" enough to produce optimum color and until that level of energy is reached the picture suffers. This energy is dissipated in the form of heat emerging from the vent on the NEC. If I put my hand over the vent on the NEC I can tell you without looking at the picture if it has warmed up sufficiently.

Second, for some reason running a source like the Oppo 971 through DVI does not seem to generate the same heat producing levels as through component. Does straight digital "run cooler"? Why, I don't know, but perhaps some techies here have an explanation. I used to think this was just an anomaly of the NEC, but your problem with "rainbows" may indicate otherwise. You might try increasing the brightness and contrast levels to see if that removes the rainbows for you, then back down and see if they reappear.

I bought the Oppo 971 dvd player less than 1 year ago and it was working fine. I bought it based upon many recommendations here.
A couple of months ago, it started having green sparkles. I contacted Oppo. They basically told me I was out of luck.
I have the Vizio 42" plasma and they at first claimed that about 50% of them had this problem from the get go. Later they said that it was at a lower rate. Anyway they blame it on the Vizio. My problem developed over time so I couldn't detect this within their 30 day period.
I offered to pay the difference to get a unit they claimed didn't have the problem. They out right refused.
So beware of Oppo.
If anyone knows who I can contact at Oppo to get this corrected I'd appreciate it.
It's STILL under warranty, but they won't do anything to fix it. !!!
Jonathan

I bought the Oppo 971 dvd player less than 1 year ago and it was working fine. I bought it based upon many recommendations here.
A couple of months ago, it started having green sparkles. I contacted Oppo. They basically told me I was out of luck.
I have the Vizio 42" plasma and they at first claimed that about 50% of them had this problem from the get go. Later they said that it was at a lower rate. Anyway they blame it on the Vizio. My problem developed over time so I couldn't detect this within their 30 day period.
I offered to pay the difference to get a unit they claimed didn't have the problem. They out right refused.
So beware of Oppo.
If anyone knows who I can contact at Oppo to get this corrected I'd appreciate it.
It's STILL under warranty, but they won't do anything to fix it. !!!
Jonathan
So it's still under warranty. Yes? Oppo is known for their excellent CS. I would start by asking to speak to the CS Manager. Good luck. :)

So it's still under warranty. Yes? Oppo is known for their excellent CS. I would start by asking to speak to the CS Manager. Good luck. :)

Yes still under warranty!
Thanks for responding, but they told me to pound sand.....
I need to speak with someone there who cares about their business. They wouldn't pass me on to anyone else.
If anyone has a name or email I'd appreciate it.
Jonathan

If it is in fact a problem that developed with your plasma set and the OPPO is working fine, what can OPPO do about that? (Not trying to be facetious)

I do understand the point. So it is not all clear cut.
However, they told me this was a known problem on 50% of the units with vizio plasmas. And when I suggested that is really indicates a problem on their end, they said that they then re-looked at the data and somehow found far less than this, and that number was off the top of his head.
They also told me that another model, the 981 I think didn't have any problem (with the vizio). (By the way, when I purchased the unit , I stated in the order what plasma I was connecting this to.)
All of this is why I proposed paying to upgrade. I would have even swapped a customer return from the other model.
We never even got that far though, as they told me they couldn't do anything whatsoever.
Which is why I'd like a contact there, higher up.
Jonathan


If it is in fact a problem that developed with your plasma set and the OPPO is working fine, what can OPPO do about that? (Not trying to be facetious)

Hardworker,

Sorry to hear you're having a problem. But, have you really ruled out a problem with the display. Have you tried a different DVD player (perhaps borrow one from a friend), a different input and hdmi v. component cables? Just thoughts to narrow the source of the problem.

From what I've read (no first hand experience), sparkles are usually a cable or display problem, not the DVD source. For example, check out this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=726040 One poster had red sparkles on a Vizio plasma.

Anyway, hope you get it sorted out.

I don't know where I could find another upconverting player. I certainly can ask around.
I have tried other cables, and the one I have is quite short 3'.

But I don't think Oppo customer service, would do anything anyway based upon the response I got.
(You know I would have gone with the component outputs but the opp player video component outputs were inferior.... )

But I don't understand the great customer service they are supposed to have. When problems happen, that's when customer service matters.
This is why I was looking for a contact. Before I contact the BBB, and tell friends they should never buy from this company, I'd like to give them a chance to work with me on this. Like some of the reasonable ideas I already mentioned I was willing to do.
Jonathan



Hardworker,

Sorry to hear you're having a problem. But, have you really ruled out a problem with the display. Have you tried a different DVD player (perhaps borrow one from a friend), a different input and hdmi v. component cables? Just thoughts to narrow the source of the problem.

From what I've read (no first hand experience), sparkles are usually a cable or display problem, not the DVD source. For example, check out this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=726040 One poster had red sparkles on a Vizio plasma.

Anyway, hope you get it sorted out.

This is why I was looking for a contact. Before I contact the BBB, and tell friends they should never buy from this company, I'd like to give them a chance to work with me on this. Hold on now... why aren't you taking Vizio to task for this? If this is a known problem with Vizio displays only, and it occurs on a large percentage of their displays, why are you blaming OPPO? It sounds as though Vizio has some signal-integrity issues.

Gary

Well, when I connect the motorola box to the HDMI input on the vizio, it is fine.
No green sparkles.
It was a known problem according to Oppo that they had problems with this display. There's a chance it is the display, somehow.

But since another HDMI source works fine with the display....... I think this means something.
Oppo will take ZERO responsibility. As I said I was willing to be reasonable about it.
Still hoping someone will come up with a contact over at Oppo.

Jonathan




Hold on now... why aren't you taking Vizio to task for this? If this is a known problem with Vizio displays only, and it occurs on a large percentage of their displays, why are you blaming OPPO? It sounds as though Vizio has some signal-integrity issues.

Gary

I just watched my 1st dvd using the oppo 971 & a 50" Panasonic TH-50PX60U plasma. The only settings I messed with were a few of the audio settings and of course I switched the oppo to 720p. I was impressed, but on the dvd Kingdom of Heaven, anytime the scenes were dark or dim I could make out "rainbows" in the shadows, fog, smoke, etc. What can I do to get rid or reduce those rainbows? I currently have it hooked up through HDMI. DVI isn't supported through the panny.

I used to have an older pioneer dvd player hooked up through component and I believe I never had this problem. Any suggestions?

This sounds like you're experiencing some macroblocking, which is a known problem with Faroudja-based upconverting players like the 971 and Panasonic displays. Some say that you can mitigate the problem with careful calibration techniques, and maybe they can tell you how to go about this. If not, you might want to return the 971 for a non Faroudja-based upconverter, like the 970H, while you still can.

/steve

Well, when I connect the motorola box to the HDMI input on the vizio, it is fine.
No green sparkles.
It was a known problem according to Oppo that they had problems with this display. There's a chance it is the display, somehow.

But since another HDMI source works fine with the display....... I think this means something. If the display's input is poorly designed or manufactured, it could be teetering on the very limit of the HDMI spec. In such a case, one HDMI source may work fine, while another may not. The Vizio owners who are compaining about sparkles, do not all own OPPO's.

Gary

Hey all

I've recently started having problems with my 971. It has started stuttering/freezing on burned DVD's. Retails and burned .avi's seem fine. At first I thought it was the burner in my MacBook Pro, but now its happening with discs burned on my G5, which used to work fine.

Tonight it happened so I stuck the disc in my old DVP642, and the disc worked great. No skipping at all. I'm kind of miffed that my $69 player is working better than the $199 one I bought to "upgrade." And its been fine til recently - I'm on the latest firmware. I've had the unit almost a year. Any thoughts?

And just to pre-empt -- I've used the same media etc etc. Always burned with Toast on my Macs with no problems. So I kinda think its the Oppo.

Peace.

I have the same problem here with burned DVD. All of my burned DVD are Verbatim DVD+R and I have alway burned at 6X. All of these DVD's work fine on my Samsung HD841 and my 8 year old Sony DVD player. I have tried the cleaning CD and blast of air from a duster can, still no help.

The only fix to the problem is to unplug it over night, then it works the next day. I don't understand why it work this way. However, the only reason I try this is because someone here has suggested to unplug it for 15minute. Unplug for 15 min. does not work, it needs to be unplug a lot longer.

I have the same problem here with burned DVD. All of my burned DVD are Verbatim DVD+R and I have alway burned at 6X. All of these DVD's work fine on my Samsung HD841 and my 8 year old Sony DVD player. I have tried the cleaning CD and blast of air from a duster can, still no help.

The only fix to the problem is to unplug it over night, then it works the next day. I don't understand why it work this way. However, the only reason I try this is because someone here has suggested to unplug it for 15minute. Unplug for 15 min. does not work, it needs to be unplug a lot longer.

Hmm, I'll try that. I've tried everything else, even burning at 1x

I'm also starting to have this problem... ill try unpluging it tonight.

Have had the unit working via an IR emitter for just over a year (one week out of warranty) and the IR sensor seems to be unresponsive. Switched IR emitters. Old one works on cable, previously working cable emitter doesn't work on OPPO. Neither the OPPO remote with new batteries nor my previously working learning remote operates the OPPO except for power. Play/pause is iffy even standing in front of the unit. Have the new black remote and switched the remote type back and forth in case the unit has somehow reset itself. Successfully updated firmware. Any ideas? Thanks.

rmf, call OPPO immediately. They may still be willing to help.

Oppo tends to honor things outside of warranty periods. I would call them, rmf.

Hmm, I'll try that. I've tried everything else, even burning at 1x
Well, I've been kinda smug that I've been able to play DL +R media without a hitch - up untill last night. Now all of a sudden it's starting to stutter, freeze and choke on them. I even heard the head mechanism rasping around on one of them. I tried three of them last night, all disks that I've viewed before, all clean as a whistle. I tried going back to a previous FW, then back to the most recent, no joy. Single layer disks still play fine. I'll try the unplugging trick tonight, then take the cover off and clean the laser lense if that doesn't work.

I'm beginning to think that the cost of inexpensive upconversion is decreased longterm reliability.

I switched my DVP642 back to the living room, pained me as it did, cause that thing still works like a charm and it was only $70. No upconversion obviously but its better then not being able to watch a movie.

I bought the Oppo 971 dvd player less than 1 year ago and it was working fine. I bought it based upon many recommendations here.
A couple of months ago, it started having green sparkles. I contacted Oppo. They basically told me I was out of luck.
I have the Vizio 42" plasma and they at first claimed that about 50% of them had this problem from the get go. Later they said that it was at a lower rate. Anyway they blame it on the Vizio. My problem developed over time so I couldn't detect this within their 30 day period.
I offered to pay the difference to get a unit they claimed didn't have the problem. They out right refused.
So beware of Oppo.
If anyone knows who I can contact at Oppo to get this corrected I'd appreciate it.
It's STILL under warranty, but they won't do anything to fix it. !!!
Jonathan
I have the Oppo hooked up to the Vizio 50". I started getting green sparkles after about three months use, noticebly in dark areas and along the outlines of objects. I was told it was a DVI problem, with either the DVI output port on the Oppo or the cable. I went out and purchased a "higher" quality cable and the sparkles went away and haven't returned since.

Oppo will take ZERO responsibility. As I said I was willing to be reasonable about it.
Still hoping someone will come up with a contact over at Oppo.

I will tell you this: OPPO is very lax on some of their policies, but if you start demanding (ie. demand a new product, an upgrade, so forth) they will dig in their heels and not give in.

If your product had no issues previously, then they will repair it per their original warranty guidelines. If the unit was not always working, and you waited months to report your problem, then you are up a creek without a paddle.

Vizio and the OPDV971H has a long history of "friends and enemies". Search the OPDV971H threads and you will see people who have either had great success or great failures.

I updated to the latest firmware via a cd a few days ago, and it seemed to work fine. But I tried to watch a dvd last night and it seems it gets stuck trying to boot up. When I turn it on the blue light comes on and the display says OPPO. But then it just stays their and no display is showed via DVI or Component. The remote and buttons on the player itself doesn't seem to work, except for the power button.

So all I can do is turn it on and off and no display. Any help how to fix this problem.

Thanks

Have had the unit working via an IR emitter for just over a year (one week out of warranty) and the IR sensor seems to be unresponsive. Switched IR emitters. Old one works on cable, previously working cable emitter doesn't work on OPPO. Neither the OPPO remote with new batteries nor my previously working learning remote operates the OPPO except for power. Play/pause is iffy even standing in front of the unit. Have the new black remote and switched the remote type back and forth in case the unit has somehow reset itself. Successfully updated firmware. Any ideas? Thanks.

Yes I have seen this on some players, press fit the connector from the front panel to the mainboard internally, I suppose it voids warranty or at least breaks the seal, but so far this has worked on at least 2 occasions.

jas722, try completely unplugging the OPPO from the wall or power center. Give it a few minutes and plug it back in. Sometimes this fixes things. Good luck.

Martin, thanks for the tip. I unplugged it for 2 hours this morning and just plugged it back in. It seems to be working fine, kinda odd but just glad its working again.

Thanks again

Have had the unit working via an IR emitter for just over a year (one week out of warranty) and the IR sensor seems to be unresponsive. Switched IR emitters. Old one works on cable, previously working cable emitter doesn't work on OPPO. Neither the OPPO remote with new batteries nor my previously working learning remote operates the OPPO except for power. Play/pause is iffy even standing in front of the unit. Have the new black remote and switched the remote type back and forth in case the unit has somehow reset itself. Successfully updated firmware. Any ideas? Thanks.

My 971 got into a funky state where it wouldn't respond to any remote codes at all, except for "standby". All other IR codes were ignored by the player. The hard buttons on the front of the unit worked fine. Multiple hits to the front power button would bring it in and out of standby, but the player remained unresponsive to IR commands (excepting "standby"). At that point, I unplugged and plugged the power cord to force a hard reset, and the player reset and become responsive to all IR commands. It's been fine ever since.

I notified Oppo support about this, and they said that they had a few reports of this occurring with IR repeating systems (which I do use), but no concrete results as of yet. They are aware of the issue and are looking at it.

Good news jas. This happens occasionally with digital devices. I've had the same sort of freezup on my cable box and receiver. It's annoying, but at least there's a workaround!

Martin, thanks for the tip. I unplugged it for 2 hours this morning and just plugged it back in. It seems to be working fine, kinda odd but just glad its working again.

Thanks again

Mine is doing the same thing. Two questions: Do you have to physically remove the plug or will turning off your power center do the trick? Secondly, is this just a temporary fix or do you have to do it repeatedly. I think mine is still in warranty. Is this issue known by Oppo yet? (ok that's 3 questions)

Viventis, yes, you have to completely remove the plug. Not sure about using the power center, so you might as well take the plug out. As for it being a temporary fix, it depends on the item that's freezing up. My receiver freezes around once every 3 months. I should get the newer firmware installed, but it's a pc thing and being a mac guy it's a bit more complicated. Also, I don't think it's always the fault of the DVD player, although it can be. It's a digital thing and it's affected by many factors including AC, even with a power center, Sometimes BECAUSE of the power center. Much like a computer, sources can freeze up. Good luck.

Viventis, yes, you have to completely remove the plug. Not sure about using the power center, so you might as well take the plug out. As for it being a temporary fix, it depends on the item that's freezing up. My receiver freezes around once every 3 months. I should get the newer firmware installed, but it's a pc thing and being a mac guy it's a bit more complicated. Also, I don't think it's always the fault of the DVD player, although it can be. It's a digital thing and it's affected by many factors including AC, even with a power center, Sometimes BECAUSE of the power center. Much like a computer, sources can freeze up. Good luck.

Um, I use Macs exclusively and its not a big deal. Burn the .iso file with Toast and you're done. Insert, update, viola.

... I should get the newer firmware installed, but it's a pc thing and being a mac guy it's a bit more complicated. ....

If you aren't in a big hurry, you can request a free CD to upgrade your firmware. Usually Oppo will forward it the next day. dean123

I just got a 971 today and am having a strange problem. I can't get any video from the component connections. Composite works fine, but looks crappy on my projector. DVI works fine on my small monitor. I searched through this thread and didn't find anything addressing component issues. I can connect the component cables to my old Sony DVD player and I get video, so I know the cables/connection are fine. Is there some setting on the 971 I'm missing to switch to component video? Any help would be appreciated.

Sorry guys, I've been moving back and forth between threads and I must have confused my need to upgrade my projector's firmware, which demands I borrow a pc. OPPO sent me the disc and my 971's software is up to date. Thanks.

Sorry guys, I've been moving back and forth between threads and I must have confused my need to upgrade my projector's firmware, which demands I borrow a pc. OPPO sent me the disc and my 971's software is up to date. Thanks.
hey, could you upload the files to rapidshare.com, I'd like to upgrade my 971 to work with projectors, couldn't hurt it so I might as well do it if I could get a hold of the files for upgrade.

hey, could you upload the files to rapidshare.com, I'd like to upgrade my 971 to work with projectors, couldn't hurt it so I might as well do it if I could get a hold of the files for upgrade.
If you are looking for the latest 971H firmware, it's available right here (http://www.oppodigital.com/opdv971h_firmware_0830.html).

I'm saving for a HD display and when it was time to upgrade my DVD player I wanted to get a great CD player that would be compatible. I'm actually using S-Video with my 971, which I know bypasses a lot of the internal processing. Is this the same with component? Does the internal processing only work with the DVI output?

The 971H's video scaling and deinterlacing capabilities are limited to the DVI output - the component video output just gets 480i video. Of course, scaling and deinterlacing are not valid for s-video and composite video anyway.

I sent an email to Oppo service about my 971's sudden dislike of DL +R disks. I tried their suggestion, and it worked - mostly. The disks I was having problems with did play, but had a few hiccups. I didn't have to stop and restart them, tho, they played all the way thru. We'll see how long this "fix" lasts. If the 971 starts goofing up again, I'll send it in.

Service@oppodigital.com[/email]
Tel: 650-961-1118
Fax: 650-961-1119


> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Problem playing DL+R on my 971
> From: "
> Date: Tue, January 23, 2007 12:10 pm
> To: <service@oppodigital.com>
>
> Hi, I've had the 971 for about a year and have been very happy with it. Up until a few days ago I had no problems playing DL+Rs, all are Verbatim or TDK. Now all of a sudden it is having problems with them. It will play for about ten minutes and start stuttering. The stuttering gets worse until the unit completely hangs. If I unplug it for a few minutes, it will begin OK, and then after ten minutes start stuttering again. I've tried going back to a previous version of the firmware with the same results, then reloading the most recent version, again with the same behavior. I took the cover off and cleaned the laser lenses, and it still acts the same. It seems to play single layer media fine so far. My question is, could this be something that can be fixed with a servicing, or am I now looking for a new DVD player? A player that won't play recordable media is of no use to me. Thanks.

I sent an email to Oppo service about my 971's sudden dislike of DL +R disks. I tried their suggestion, and it worked - mostly. The disks I was having problems with did play, but had a few hiccups. I didn't have to stop and restart them, tho, they played all the way thru. We'll see how long this "fix" lasts. If the 971 starts goofing up again, I'll send it in.

Hah, gently shake it? Well I havent' tried that yet ... thanks for the post :)

Does anyone know if there is such a thing as a DVI to Component adaptor and if it will work for this DVD player?

I only have component cables to my projector so this player is only outputting 480i.

If there is such an adapter, then would this DVD player output 720p/1080i if it was plugged into it's DVI connector?

Does anyone know if there is such a thing as a DVI to Component adaptor and if it will work for this DVD player?

I only have component cables to my projector so this player is only outputting 480i.

If there is such an adapter, then would this DVD player output 720p/1080i if it was plugged into it's DVI connector?There is no such thing as a DVI to component video converter, at least not at a reasonable price. To take advantange of the up-scaling capabilities, you're going to have to go DVI out of the player to DVI or HDMI in on your display device - period.

hey everyone--this is prob a stupid ?, but got a dvd-audio and tried the 5.1 surround MLP mix (96kHz/24bit) mix to try it out and only am getting 2 channel output through the digital audio out...why? The dolby digital surround mix feeds the receiver 5 channels but not the MLP surround mix, what am I doing wrong?

Does anyone know if there is such a thing as a DVI to Component adaptor and if it will work for this DVD player?

I only have component cables to my projector so this player is only outputting 480i.

If there is such an adapter, then would this DVD player output 720p/1080i if it was plugged into it's DVI connector?
At least, theoretically there is no reason that something like that should not exist. However it definitely will not be a simple adapter. It needs to be an electronics component as it is converting digital to analog. However, as there would not be a lot of demand for something like that, it could be hard to find.

hey everyone--this is prob a stupid ?, but got a dvd-audio and tried the 5.1 surround MLP mix (96kHz/24bit) mix to try it out and only am getting 2 channel output through the digital audio out...why? The dolby digital surround mix feeds the receiver 5 channels but not the MLP surround mix, what am I doing wrong?

Not sure if I am understanding you correctly but, it sounds as if you are trying to use the 5.1 sound capabilities built in to the DVD player and not using the analog connections out of the DVD player. The digital outs from the player send everything to the receiver through a digital in on the receiver. You need to connect all 5.1 analog cables (RCA type) out of the DVD player into your receiver to do what you want.

hey everyone--this is prob a stupid ?, but got a dvd-audio and tried the 5.1 surround MLP mix (96kHz/24bit) mix to try it out and only am getting 2 channel output through the digital audio out...why? The dolby digital surround mix feeds the receiver 5 channels but not the MLP surround mix, what am I doing wrong?
The DVD-Audio format has a restriction - the only way to get the true MLP output is via the multichannel analog output.

I have the Oppo hooked up to the Vizio 50". I started getting green sparkles after about three months use, noticebly in dark areas and along the outlines of objects. I was told it was a DVI problem, with either the DVI output port on the Oppo or the cable. I went out and purchased a "higher" quality cable and the sparkles went away and haven't returned since.


Doesn't say much for the quality of the OEM Oppo cable.

It's not necessarily the cable's fault. Things can happen to any cable at any price. I'd rather commend OPPO for even sending cables with the DVD player, after all, it's still a relatively low budget player and it comes nicely packed as well.

The DVD-Audio format has a restriction - the only way to get the true MLP output is via the multichannel analog output.

but the Dolby Digital is 5.1 output, shouldn't that fall under the restriction also? Anyway, I hooked up the DVD player to the multi channel input on my receiver but the subwoofer/bass extension is almost non-existent in the mix where it is very apparent on the dolby digital surround mix...why would that be?

The MLP track is the true DVD-Audio track, and is the one that is subject to copy protection - the player is required to downmix to stereo for the digital output. The Dolby Digital track is identical to any other DVD's DD track, and as such passes over the digital audio connection just fine.

When using the 5.1 analog output, you are no longer using the receiver's bass management - you are now relying on the 971H's bass management. That means that you need to make sure all speakers are set to small and that the subwoofer is turned on in the 971H's setup menu.

The MLP track is the true DVD-Audio track, and is the one that is subject to copy protection - the player is required to downmix to stereo for the digital output. The Dolby Digital track is identical to any other DVD's DD track, and as such passes over the digital audio connection just fine.

When using the 5.1 analog output, you are no longer using the receiver's bass management - you are now relying on the 971H's bass management. That means that you need to make sure all speakers are set to small and that the subwoofer is turned on in the 971H's setup menu.

gotcha, thanks a bunch gonk. I did have all the speakers set to small and the subwoofer set to "on" but really no bass to speak of. This is the Dire Straits Brothers in Arms DVD-audio which is supposed to be one of the best so I don't think it's the DVD itself...is this something that the oppo doesn't do particularly well (i.e. subwoofer/bass reproduction)? ...

is a good combination the oppo 971 or 981 with a 32" CRT TV ?
it can cause macroblocking?

is a good combination the oppo 971 or 981 with a 32" CRT TV ?
it can cause macroblocking?You're double-posting. See my reply on the 981 thread.

Hah, gently shake it? Well I havent' tried that yet ... thanks for the post :)

Gently shaking the unit is their way of telling you that a cable may be loose. So rather than having OPPO recommend that the customer open the unit for inspection, they are basically trying to rebind the post by having the unit shaken (not stirred).

I have a question regarding the THX Optimizer tests. For the test with the 2 squares with the circle in the middle, it said the lines of the squares should be straight. On my LCD(Samsung LN-S3251d) I noticed that the lines of the squares were not straight at all points, with some areas looking jagged. What does this mean, and is there an easy remedy to this?

just wanted to chime in in here on this legacy dvd player. I have a RPTV with component input at most(no hdmi, dvi inputs) conected to my Oppo and couldn't be happier cause itsplaying all my .avi movies so far and its so good. Couldn't asked for more and when my RPTV konks out I'll get a LCD TV to try to stay clear of MacroBlocking.

thanks guys!

Hi--I just bought a Mits HC1100, and hooked it up via DVI to HDMI cable to my 971 today. When I upscale conventional DVDs to 720p, the images are stretched horzontally. How do I view these movies normally with 720p upscaling? Any advice as to how to fix this, or on setup in general would be appreciated. I've searched this thread and these forums, but didn't find what I was looking for.

Thanks in advance!

Ensure that your display type has been set to Wide/Auto and not Wide (General Setup).

Yeah, I tried every display mode, and it didn't seem to work.

There is a flag in the DVD which will tell whether it is 4:3 or 16:9. If the flag is set wrong or not present, it will not work. In the 6 months I had Oppo, I had only one of those

Hi--it's doing this with almost every DVD I put in it, so I don't think that's it...I have the feeling it's a relatively simple fix, but I haven't figured it out yet. Hopefully somebody here can steer me in the right direction.

Did you use the setup on the DVD player and not the TV

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

Hi, and thanks. Yep, I already figured that out. It was past midnight when I was messing with this, and it didn't occur to me in my stuporous state. Today the light bulb came on, but thanks for helping anyway. I'm sorry my first post was such a dumb one!

Don't feel bad cifac88. This unit has so many options, I am still learning. dean123

Are there any benefits/drawbacks to using the direct Dolby 5.1 output from the Oppo to my receiver instead of the digital outputs?

Specifically, will the audio delay work on the dolby outputs? I know it doesn't work on the digital outputs, but if it works on the dolby outputs, that will help me a lot. It's either that or spending a lot of money on a new receiver with its own delay mechanism or buying a Felston.

FWIW, I use the 5.1 and I've never had audio sync problems at all.

Are there any benefits/drawbacks to using the direct Dolby 5.1 output from the Oppo to my receiver instead of the digital outputs?

Specifically, will the audio delay work on the dolby outputs? I know it doesn't work on the digital outputs, but if it works on the dolby outputs, that will help me a lot. It's either that or spending a lot of money on a new receiver with its own delay mechanism or buying a Felston.
Don't know if it's a benifit but the delay should work on the 5.1 analogue outs.

I was playing an anamorphic widescreen edition of the Incredibles on my 971 to my Tosh 57h84 rptv (TV set to full). The picture filled the screen (might have been small black bars top and bottom - no biggie, I see those on other movies depending on original aspect ratio). Then I put in It's a Bug's Life (gold edition, with both full screen and widescreen - no mention of whether it's anamorphic) and when I played the widescreen version (no changes to TV or Oppo settings (Oppo set to wide/sqz)) the picture had black bars on all four sides. Is that because the Bug's Life isn't anamorphic? If so, is there an anamorphic version out? If not, what setting should I change (I tried setting Oppo to wide, but that just stretched the picture out to the edges and didn't look right).
TIA

If the disc had black bars on all four sides when the player is in Wide/SQZ mode, then it is non-anamorphic. The only way to make the aspect look right is to play the disc in Wide/SQZ mode and then use the Oppo's zoom feature to fill the screen. This will fix the aspect ratio, but the picture quality won't be very good since Wide/SQZ works by removing horizontal information to compress the picture. Effectively what you are doing is removing some of the horizontal resolution to make the horizontal match the vertical, and then zooming the whole image. But that is just the fundamental problem with non-anamorphic DVDs, there simply is less information to work with.

I was playing an anamorphic widescreen edition of the Incredibles on my 971 to my Tosh 57h84 rptv (TV set to full). The picture filled the screen (might have been small black bars top and bottom - no biggie, I see those on other movies depending on original aspect ratio). Then I put in It's a Bug's Life (gold edition, with both full screen and widescreen - no mention of whether it's anamorphic) and when I played the widescreen version (no changes to TV or Oppo settings (Oppo set to wide/sqz)) the picture had black bars on all four sides. Is that because the Bug's Life isn't anamorphic? If so, is there an anamorphic version out? If not, what setting should I change (I tried setting Oppo to wide, but that just stretched the picture out to the edges and didn't look right).
TIA

You can research some of these issues by looking at the IMDB, for example: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120623/dvd.

Anamorphic editions of A BUG'S LIFE exist, but it looks like the "Disney Gold Classic Collection" version is letterboxed.

We all keep a list of our unloved 4:3 widescreen titles. In some cases you can upgrade to anamorphic by buying the title again. Who thought of that, I wonder?

-Bill

I came across an odd problem and wondered if anyone has solved it:

The other day I was in a hurry to eject the disc in my player. So I powered it up and held down the stop button for several seconds on the front panel while the display read LOAD. That didn't do anything, or so I thought, the disc just loaded as normal and then stopped, and I was able to eject it and put in another disc.

When I got back to the sofa and tried to use the remote, the buttons were all hosed up. Yup: by holding down the STOP button for more than 5 seconds without a disc being fully loaded, I had accidentally triggered the command that tells the Oppo I have the old-style remote.

I searched everything I could think of, but there doesn't seem to be any way to undo this. Holding down the STOP button for 5 seconds without a disc in the player just brought up the "Old RC" message.

Thankfully, the solution is just to reflash the firmware, which resets the Oppo to look for the new style remote. I just wonder if there isn't an easier way to do this?

You can research some of these issues by looking at the IMDB, for example: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120623/dvd.

Anamorphic editions of A BUG'S LIFE exist, but it looks like the "Disney Gold Classic Collection" version is letterboxed.

We all keep a list of our unloved 4:3 widescreen titles. In some cases you can upgrade to anamorphic by buying the title again. Who thought of that, I wonder?

-Bill
Thanks, I forgot about zooming on the Oppo. At least it is available anamorphic.

I came across an odd problem and wondered if anyone has solved it:

The other day I was in a hurry to eject the disc in my player. So I powered it up and held down the stop button for several seconds on the front panel while the display read LOAD. That didn't do anything, or so I thought, the disc just loaded as normal and then stopped, and I was able to eject it and put in another disc.

When I got back to the sofa and tried to use the remote, the buttons were all hosed up. Yup: by holding down the STOP button for more than 5 seconds without a disc being fully loaded, I had accidentally triggered the command that tells the Oppo I have the old-style remote.

I searched everything I could think of, but there doesn't seem to be any way to undo this. Holding down the STOP button for 5 seconds without a disc in the player just brought up the "Old RC" message.

Thankfully, the solution is just to reflash the firmware, which resets the Oppo to look for the new style remote. I just wonder if there isn't an easier way to do this? You should still be able to load a disk, and once its loaded, try holding down the STOP button on the front panel again. I believe its only 3 seconds.

Gary

Anyone noticed how they play with aspect ratio in the Disney movie Brother Bear? Is starts out in 16:9, but it's pillar-boxed. After a few minutes into the movie, they jump into the Cinemascope aspect ratio, which then causes the image to fill the screen (horizontally, at least - there are still letterboxing bars tops and bottom).

Anyone noticed how they play with aspect ratio in the Disney movie Brother Bear? Is starts out in 16:9, but it's pillar-boxed. After a few minutes into the movie, they jump into the Cinemascope aspect ratio, which then causes the image to fill the screen (horizontally, at least - there are still letterboxing bars tops and bottom). Yes. For added effect at the cinema, the curtains would open wider when the aspect ratio changed.

Gary

Thanks for the replies - I now understand why anamorphic is so important; however, why do I not remember my prior DVD player (NAD T571 480p over compenent) displaying nonanamorphic letterbox DVDs with bars on all sides? Does it have something to do with the Faroudja chip and DVI? Or am I misremembering?

Thanks for the replies - I now understand why anamorphic is so important; however, why do I not remember my prior DVD player (NAD T571 480p over compenent) displaying nonanamorphic letterbox DVDs with bars on all sides? Does it have something to do with the Faroudja chip and DVI? Or am I misremembering?

It only does that if the Oppo is set to "Wide/SQZ" instead of "Wide" , all letterboxed dvds will look stretched if your tv "pic-size" is set for anamorphic, either go to a larger "pic-size" on the tv or use the zoom feature.

dj

Maybe someone can help. I have the 971 and a new Sharp DT-500. When using DVI –HDMI connection my sharpness, contrast, and hue are grayed out. I cant adjust them. Via component everything is usable. Any ideas? DVI thing or some other setting? Do I need a DVD player with a pure HDMI out? Any help would be appreciated.

Hi I just received a Oppo 71 and hooked it up to my 5070 and sound system. Unfortunately it does not seem to be working properly. The video is delivered to the set by DVI is stretched and distorted much more than non hd programming any suggestions. Any help appreciated. ron

Hi I just received a Oppo 71 and hooked it up to my 5070 and sound system. Unfortunately it does not seem to be working properly. The video is delivered to the set by DVI is stretched and distorted much more than non hd programming any suggestions. Any help appreciated. ron

Have you set up the aspect ratio in the player? It should be "Wide" (or "Wide/Sqz" if you want it to pillarbox 4:3 titles).

-Bill

Hi again i just read the top messages about stretching.. I tried all the screen sizes no help. The disk i was playing is a wide format DVD, nothing seemed to help. Is there a setting in the oppo or 5070 that could be causing the problem? thanks

Maybe someone can help. I have the 971 and a new Sharp DT-500. When using DVI –HDMI connection my sharpness, contrast, and hue are grayed out. I cant adjust them. Via component everything is usable. Any ideas? DVI thing or some other setting? Do I need a DVD player with a pure HDMI out? Any help would be appreciated.


Sounds like your panel won't let you adjust settings at the HDMI level. I know some panels that do that (in fact, mine does that too, but only at the 720p setting, via HDMI). The oppo does have it's own settings, so you'll have to use them in place of the panel's.

Thanks. What do you mean by panel. Also, it seems there are others out there where it is not greyed out. Do you think it is the projector? I believe the ones where it works are using HDMI to HDMI. Maybe it just won't take DVI. Also, my projector says 720P RGB in this mode.

Thanks. What do you mean by panel. Also, it seems there are others out there where it is not greyed out. Do you think it is the projector? I believe the ones where it works are using HDMI to HDMI. Maybe it just won't take DVI. Also, my projector says 720P RGB in this mode.

Yep, the issue is at the projector. I thought you had a flat panel display, but i know that's not the case here. I don't think it would make a difference if it was HDMI-HDMI. The software in the projector probably just won't let you make adjustments at that setting. I don't know much about projectors, but maybe you could get in touch with a calibrator or someone that can go into the projector's hidden menu (if there is such a thing). Tweaking it via the player's options might be the only work around. I'm assuming you don't have the same problem when the player is set at 1080i correct?

This is a quick question for anyone out there with the "Flags of Our Fathers" DVD. I put this one in for a spin last night and I noticed horrendous aliasing throughout the disc. It's virtually unwatchable especially during any special effects shots. I've owned the 971 for over a year and never experienced anything like this. Does anyone know of issues with this DVD? By the way, everything else plays fine.

This is a quick question for anyone out there with the "Flags of Our Fathers" DVD. I put this one in for a spin last night and I noticed horrendous aliasing throughout the disc. It's virtually unwatchable especially during any special effects shots. I've owned the 971 for over a year and never experienced anything like this. Does anyone know of issues with this DVD? By the way, everything else plays fine.

Just finished watching it and I thought the transfer was nothing short of spectacular...Can you give us an example of a specific scene and time that we can check?

-Toonces :eek:

Just finished watching it and I thought the transfer was nothing short of spectacular...Can you give us an example of a specific scene and time that we can check?

-Toonces :eek:

About 15 minutes into the feature notice the Operational Planning Boards behind the General. The edges of the boards are jagged and almost shimmer as the cameras moves. Also notice the water during the first bombardment scene as the first planes fly by. There's plenty of shimmering seen here. I've included a picture taken directly from my television. Excuse the quality but it does demonstrate what I'm seeing. By the way I'm using the 971H via DVI upconverted to 1080i on a CRT RPTV.

It only does that if the Oppo is set to "Wide/SQZ" instead of "Wide" , all letterboxed dvds will look stretched if your tv "pic-size" is set for anamorphic, either go to a larger "pic-size" on the tv or use the zoom feature.

dj
It occurred to me after I asked that with my old DVD player I used to set the TV to full rather than natural, so that must be the difference (with the Oppo and an anamorphic transfer, it fills the screen when the TV's set at natural).
Thanks for your help.

About 15 minutes into the feature notice the Operational Planning Boards behind the General. The edges of the boards are jagged and almost shimmer as the cameras moves. Also notice the water during the first bombardment scene as the first planes fly by. There's plenty of shimmering seen here. I've included a picture taken directly from my television. Excuse the quality but it does demonstrate what I'm seeing. By the way I'm using the 971H via DVI upconverted to 1080i on a CRT RPTV.

I went to the exact spot you have in your attachment and my results were very different. Yes, there is some aliasing but it is minimal and you can only see it on the map board frames where there are several very closely over-laid parallel lines. The map portions of the boards are clean...This is exactly where I can see the problem in your image.

Two factors here that may be having a significant impact on what you are seeing:

.1) I use 720p on an LCD RPTV using DVI to DVI...I tried this at 1080i and the aliasing was a bit more noticeable to me.

.2) You are using a CRT RPTV which means that regardless of the connections being used, you are introducing an opportunity for NTSC artifacts to enter the picture and that may be the case here.

To summarize, I am bascially saying that yes the Flags of our Fathers disc may have some issues. You are viewing it on a rig that could exacerbate the problem and I am running the same disc on a set-up that is likely minimizing it.

-Toonces

anyone have a problem playing StarWars Return of the Sith on the 971. Its the only disk that I have had a problem with - I get it to play and when it starts it keeps going back to the beginning, nothing wrong with the DVD as I have no problem playing it on my Denon 1600.

Odd - I watched that disc a couple times on my 971 without any problems.

No problem with mine either. :confused:

Believe it or not, I started looking at this player when my CD player broke. It took me a bit, but I soon came to realize that dedicated CD players are not very common any more. Since I also have a 42" Panny PD50u EDTV and no DVD player to feed it anything better than 480i, I thought maybe I should be looking at an upconverting DVD player that also doubles as a CD player. I have to justify this to my wife however, so I have a question about WMA playback. One of the things our old CD player was good for was loading up a cartridge with 6 CDs and putting it on random play so we could listen to hours of music during a party. Now I have a ton of WMA tunes on my PC and was wondering if I could burn a CD (or DVD?) with a bunch of those and have the Oppo randomly select tracks to play? I would think I could get at least 6 CDs worth of WMAs on a single disk? Any thoughts appeciated.

Warren

EDIT: Yes, the 971H and 981HD support WMA files as well as MP3's. You could easily burn probably ten discs' worth of files onto a single CD-R. For that matter, if you had a DVD burner, you could burn a lot of files onto a DVD-R.

I went back through my notes and the manual - I don't believe that it supports WMA files, but it does support MP3 files. You could easily rip a bunch of CD's to MP3 and burn probably ten discs' worth of files onto a single CD-R. For that matter, if you had a DVD burner, you could burn a lot of files onto a DVD-R.

Hm, according to information from Oppo at http://www.oppodigital.com/opdv971h.html it does support WMA:
Functions:

* DVD Video, DVD Audio, DivX®, XviD, Audio CD, HDCD, WMA, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, CD-R/RW, Kodak Picture
* Super Error Correction with Twin Laser and Intelligent Laser Wavelength Control
* PAL / NTSC discs
* Automatic screen saver
* Menu Driven Setup Screen
* Playability of self-recorded discs may vary depending on media and formatting software types

Thanks for the reminder - I didn't have any comments either way in my notes and didn't see it in the manual. Should have checked the web site first. For that matter, I think I'm going to try to track down a WMA file or two and give it a whirl...

I've gone back and edited my previous post - the issue was that I didn't recall ever trying WMA because I have almost no files in the format, but they work fine as long as they aren't DRM'd.

Just received my Oppo 971H and would like to report no macroblocking issues at all with my Panny 58" 600U. Watched several movies, especially watched 'Gladiator" very closely. It has many dark/light transitional scenes and smokey battle scenes and saw no instances. Purchased on Amazon and came with all latest firmware. Very happy with it, seemed to look best at 720P but hard to tell difference in 1080I.

Did You try Matrix 1 ?

How are the default settings for the Oppo 971 outta the box? Do i need to ensure any settings are on or off for best quality? (if i connect via optical digital out to my receiver does this automatically bypass all audio settings? eg. feeds raw signal direct to receiver to process?)

Thanks for the reminder - I didn't have any comments either way in my notes and didn't see it in the manual. Should have checked the web site first. For that matter, I think I'm going to try to track down a WMA file or two and give it a whirl...
Gonk, let me know how it goes :cool:. I realize it is probably not a common request, so a little direct feedback on this function would be good to have. Can I assume the Oppo has a random play feature for CDs (be it regular music CD or MP3/WMA)?

On to the next question then... I have seen comments about macroblocking problems with this player on Panny displays. Does anyone have any experience with this player hooked up to a Panny TH-42Pd50U? I definitely would like to use it as a DVD player as well :D .

I have a minor issue with my OPPO OPDV971H. On HD cable and xbox 360 HDDVD the picture is centered, but when I play DVD's on the Oppo I need to go through the menu of my projector and do a horizontal shift to the left a significant amount to center the picture.

Anyone else experience this? I just downloaded the latest firmware for the player, but did not see this mentioned anywhere as an update. Any ideas on how to fix?

I confirmed last night that the 981HD will play WMA - my 971H is at my dad's house now, but based on the specs and the common platform shared by the two players, the 971H will also play WMA. The only problem that is possible is DRM: if your files are DRM'd (bought from a download service), it wouldn't work.

The player offers random play for both CD's (activated using the ANGLE button) and MP3/WMA (activated using the REPEAT button to scroll through shuffle and several repeat options). I've got a disc full of MP3's in there now so I could see how this feature worked, and it's working just fine.

I've ordered the 981 (I wanted SACD capability) and will be selling my totally MINT 971 in a few days via Audiogon/Videogon. Anyone here that wants first dibs send me a pm and we'll talk. (Mods, if this is against forum rules, please let me know and Ill edit immediately, thanks)

I have a 971 and wanted to know if there is a way to upgrade the audio if the dvd player is directly connected to my display. I know I could use a receiver for surround sound, but was just curious.

Try new cables. I like Harmoniic Technology, Acoustic Zen, Kimber Kable. For lower budgets, try Audioquest or Acoustic Research. (please, this is not a request for yet another great cable debate.)

I have a 971 and wanted to know if there is a way to upgrade the audio if the dvd player is directly connected to my display. I know I could use a receiver for surround sound, but was just curious.
What do you have for audio at the moment? If you are sending the audio straight to your TV presently, there's not much that you could do without adding at least a receiver and a few speakers (fronts and center).

Theoretically speaking, with a 1366x768 resolution display (58") which format *should* produce the best picture using the Oppo 971?

What do you have for audio at the moment? If you are sending the audio straight to your TV presently, there's not much that you could do without adding at least a receiver and a few speakers (fronts and center).

Right now I have the audio only from the tv. I do have a receiver and 5 speaker sound not hooked up yet, but I was just curious. When I do set up the surround sound, I can send an optical or coax cable from the 971 to my receiver, correct?

That's exactly correct - when you hook the 971H up to the receiver, use either a coaxial or optical digital audio cable so you can make use of Dolby Digital and DTS audio.

That's exactly correct - when you hook the 971H up to the receiver, use either a coaxial or optical digital audio cable so you can make use of Dolby Digital and DTS audio.

Cool thanks. I'm not too knowledgeable on Dolby and DTS. Are they used at the same time, and do they have to be selected through the dvd player, receiver, or neither? Thanks.

Dolby Digital is the standard audio format for DVD. It can offer anywhere from one to 5.1 channels of audio (typically 5.1 for newer movies, but TV and older movies often show up on DVD with Dolby Digital 2.0). DTS is an optional audio format that is sometimes included on DVD's and is normally 5.1. The digital connection allows this data to be handed off to the receiver so it can decode the data into the six discrete audio channels. The receiver will automatically detect which format it is receiving, but for those cases where more than one is included on a DVD you'll have to pick which you want to use. In the early days of the format, many DVD's had a Dolby Digital 2.0 track as the default and Dolby Digital 5.1 was an optional track that you had to select in the disc's menus (under either "audio" or "setup" usually). These days, DD 5.1 is typically the standard if it is included. DTS will always be an optional track that you'll have to select from the disc menu.

Theoretically speaking, with a 1366x768 resolution display (58") which format *should* produce the best picture using the Oppo 971? 720p, because the display is natively progressive. For 1080i, the player has to de-interlace, scale, then re-interlace... and then the display has to de-interlace AGAIN.

Gary

I have a problem with my oppo.

I noticed a problem with the image "twitching" or sporadically "jumping" slightly,it is hard to describe accurately,but it is very annoying.

Even if i leave it on the menu screen it twitches every now and then? I changed the cable to a monster cable,hoping blindly that it would somehow solve the issue,but it still happens.

Everything is fine other than this issue.

Everything is default.I am in the uk so video mode 2 is selected,i have tried "auto" and "PAL" both for tv setting and all my dvds are region 2.

I am totally stuck.I love the image quality but this is really hindering my experience and i cannot even sell it with this problem and buy a hd player.Please can someone advise.

I have tried every single firmware,i am currently using the very latest one.

I have a problem with my oppo.

I noticed a problem with the image "twitching" or sporadically "jumping" slightly,it is hard to describe accurately,but it is very annoying.

Even if i leave it on the menu screen it twitches every now and then? I changed the cable to a monster cable,hoping blindly that it would somehow solve the issue,but it still happens.

Everything is fine other than this issue. I've noticed this on a few DVD's too, but it may not be a problem with the OPPO. The Faroudja processor is known to take a second or so to "lock in" when the video cadence switches. Heavily compressed short sequences like DVD menus are often poorly encoded with all kinds of mixed cadences, which makes it difficult for the hardware to lock in, and so the image may appear to twitch. This does not occur in normal viewing.

I must add, though, that in some material, the film-to-DVD transfer causes the whole image to jitter, and this has nothing to do with cadence... The original film has to go through a scanner, frame by frame. If it is not properly registered in the scanner, the film may be allowed to "wobble" around a little. The worst example I've ever come across, is "The Three Amigos". Throughout that movie, the film frame moves continuously from side to side - by a few pixels. On a big HD screen, it can leave you feeling quite seasick! In other movies, it might be just a single pixel of jitter, which can certainly look like "twitching".

Gary

I've noticed this on a few DVD's too, but it may not be a problem with the OPPO. The Faroudja processor is known to take a second or so to "lock in" when the video cadence switches. Heavily compressed short sequences like DVD menus are often poorly encoded with all kinds of mixed cadences, which makes it difficult for the hardware to lock in, and so the image may appear to twitch. This does not occur in normal viewing.

I must add, though, that in some material, the film-to-DVD transfer causes the whole image to jitter, and this has nothing to do with cadence... The original film has to go through a scanner, frame by frame. If it is not properly registered in the scanner, the film may be allowed to "wobble" around a little. The worst example I've ever come across, is "The Three Amigos". Throughout that movie, the film frame moves continuously from side to side - by a few pixels. On a big HD screen, it can leave you feeling quite seasick! In other movies, it might be just a single pixel of jitter, which can certainly look like "twitching".

Gary

When i say menu i mean the system menu,NOT the dvd menu.This is happening without any dvd in the machine too!

Gonk, I copied some WMA files to DVD. I can see the files on the 971 but they will not play. Need
some help.

I copied some WMA to a CD and they will show files from the 971 but will not play, or theres
some trick to make them play that I don,t know. I'll take help or advise from anyone reading this

Where did the WMA files come from?

My computer, standard cds converted for Windows Media, they are not protected cds

Any news on a new firmware?

I have emailed oppo with my problem,i hope they can help me.I have had the player for over a year though.I think the dvi board is broken,as the twitching and green flashes appear even when the disks are not in the system.

I will pay for it to be fixed,but was'nt there some kind of law stopping oppos from being delivered to the uk? Would that stop them fixing it?

When i say menu i mean the system menu,NOT the dvd menu.This is happening without any dvd in the machine too! Well that's not normal. Something else is wrong. Have you tried a different resolution. I assume you are using the DVI connection? Is it going through any other equipment? Have you tried another DVI source - like a PC - to eliminate the TV from the equation?

Gary

Well that's not normal. Something else is wrong. Have you tried a different resolution. I assume you are using the DVI connection? Is it going through any other equipment? Have you tried another DVI source - like a PC - to eliminate the TV from the equation?

Gary

Thanks for the suggestion,i did not even consider connecting my pc!

I just tried it and it worked really well! I even watched some 720p clips and it looked great,no flicker/twitching at all,a stable image for 30 mins.

So it looks like my oppo has a fault on the dvi board? Me being in the uk it is impossible for me to send it to oppo due to the silly law restricting it,so it looks like it is the bin :(

I was going to sell it to fund a hd e1 player but i cannot sell it in this state.

Me being in the uk it is impossible for me to send it to oppo due to the silly law restricting it,so it looks like it is the bin :( That can't be right - it doesn't make sense. A lead-free law might prevent OPPO from distributing in the UK, but why would it prevent you from sending your own equipment for repair? I think you should check again.

Gary

I searched this thread but could find no reference so excuse me if this has been posted before.

A couple of days ago, just for laughs, my daughter had me play a CDG disc in this player. I knew it would play the music... but... it actually played the video lyrics on my TV also. I was quite amazed as I did not see any reference to this on OPPO's website.

So if your interested in karaoke and have this player, all you need to add is a mixer and microphone.

Has OPPO decided to not release any more FW for the 971 since they have their updated model out now?

Thanks,
Rick

For any members interested I Just posted my mint DV971H here at Videogon:

http://cgi.videogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?sorcdvda&1177192427&class&3&4&

Has OPPO decided to not release any more FW for the 971 since they have their updated model out now?

Thanks,
Rick
I really doubt that they'll abandon support for the 971H. If there are opportunities for improvement or bug fixes, I'm sure they'll release new firmware. Keep in mind that the 981HD is based on the 971H's platform, and there are similarities between the two (as there are similarities between the 981HD and 970HD) that allow work on one player's firmware to aid in making changes to another player's firmware. At the moment, however, the 971H's video performance has been pretty heavily optimized and bugs have been pretty well squashed (at least as far as I'm aware).

What brand of recordable dvd have you guys had the most luck with? I am currently using Sony DVD +R. They seen to play Ok the first coulpe of times and then after that it is hit and miss. I am using DVD decrypter and image burn. :confused:

I use Maxell, however you should be careful that there are no scratches and and dirt on the DVD. I find it it makes a difference

What brand of recordable dvd have you guys had the most luck with? I am currently using Sony DVD +R. They seen to play Ok the first coulpe of times and then after that it is hit and miss. I am using DVD decrypter and image burn. :confused:

I posted some media notes back here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8355119&highlight=yuden#post8355119

-Bill

didnt have time to read through the entire post, so sorry if this has been mentioned, but i just went to oppo's site to purchase the OPDV971H, and when i clicked on it, i got the option of purchasing a refurbished one for $160. same warranty and everything as new. ive heard very good things about oppo as a company, so i decided to purchase this one. just thought id share:)

FYI - They can still be purchased on Amazon (new units).

I really doubt that they'll abandon support for the 971H. If there are opportunities for improvement or bug fixes, I'm sure they'll release new firmware. Keep in mind that the 981HD is based on the 971H's platform, and there are similarities between the two (as there are similarities between the 981HD and 970HD) that allow work on one player's firmware to aid in making changes to another player's firmware. At the moment, however, the 971H's video performance has been pretty heavily optimized and bugs have been pretty well squashed (at least as far as I'm aware).


Actually, I still have the occassional stuttering on DVD's recorded on standalone recorders. This has improved over the last few FW upgrades, but is still there (generally two - three times over an hours how. cured by pausing and restarting).

This has been an ongoing issue for me.

Thanks,
Rick

I may have overlooked the obvious, but I only get 2 channel output with DTS (DD is 5.1 and works fine)...I have been through the settings but I can't seem to rectify this...help please! :confused:

I may have overlooked the obvious, but I only get 2 channel output with DTS (DD is 5.1 and works fine)...I have been through the settings but I can't seem to rectify this...help please! :confused:

No expert on this stuff, but the Audio setup on about page 30 of the manual indicates that SPDIF (raw vs pcm) can make a difference.
dean

Dolby Digital is the standard audio format for DVD. It can offer anywhere from one to 5.1 channels of audio (typically 5.1 for newer movies, but TV and older movies often show up on DVD with Dolby Digital 2.0). DTS is an optional audio format that is sometimes included on DVD's and is normally 5.1. The digital connection allows this data to be handed off to the receiver so it can decode the data into the six discrete audio channels. The receiver will automatically detect which format it is receiving, but for those cases where more than one is included on a DVD you'll have to pick which you want to use. In the early days of the format, many DVD's had a Dolby Digital 2.0 track as the default and Dolby Digital 5.1 was an optional track that you had to select in the disc's menus (under either "audio" or "setup" usually). These days, DD 5.1 is typically the standard if it is included. DTS will always be an optional track that you'll have to select from the disc menu.Hello...just got the 971...if you get the 5.1 sound thru the (optical or coaxial digital audio out) on the 971 why do you (or need to?) need to use the 5.1 ch RCA audio out jacks?...if I don't need to hookup 6 more interconnects all the better! Or are those jacks for another format...just wondering as I am about to install this into a Harman Kardon AVR325 (7.1). thanks guys~ :confused:

Hello...just got the 971...if you get the 5.1 sound thru the (optical or coaxial digital audio out) on the 971 why do you (or need to?) need to use the 5.1 ch RCA audio out jacks?...if I don't need to hookup 6 more interconnects all the better! Or are those jacks for another format...just wondering as I am about to install this into a Harman Kardon AVR325 (7.1). thanks guys~ :confused:
The only real reasons to use the 5.1 analog output are either because you have a receiver that lacks Dolby Digital and DTS decoders (which is effectively unheard of today) or (and this is the real reason that folks are likely to use it) you want to play DVD-Audio discs - DVD-Audio cannot be output via coaxial or optical due to copy protection limitations.

The only real reasons to use the 5.1 analog output are either because you have a receiver that lacks Dolby Digital and DTS decoders (which is effectively unheard of today) or (and this is the real reason that folks are likely to use it) you want to play DVD-Audio discs - DVD-Audio cannot be output via coaxial or optical due to copy protection limitations.So that means in order to hear the full effect of the new Beatles "Love" DVD AUDIO disc I have to hook up the analog 5.1?

Yes.

No expert on this stuff, but the Audio setup on about page 30 of the manual indicates that SPDIF (raw vs pcm) can make a difference.
dean

thanks Dean-Turns out I had it right--the DVD had the 2 channel stereo and the DTS surround settings mixed up. No prob with the oppo after all...whew. :D

I am looking for an optical audio cable to connect my 971 to my receiver. I was looking at Monoprice, but I am confused by some of the terminology, such as Toslink. These are what I was looking at:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=optical+audio&x=0&y=0

Am I looking at the right cables?

I am looking for an optical audio cable to connect my 971 to my receiver. I was looking at Monoprice, but I am confused by some of the terminology, such as Toslink. These are what I was looking at:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=optical+audio&x=0&y=0

Am I looking at the right cables?

Yes.

720p, because the display is natively progressive. For 1080i, the player has to de-interlace, scale, then re-interlace... and then the display has to de-interlace AGAIN.

Gary

I'm using the Oppo OPDV971H paired with an Olevia 542i. The native resolution on the 542i is 1366 x 768 and supports resolutions of 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i.

To be certain, the best picture quality will result in setting the output on the OPDV971H to 720p and NOT 1080i?

Thanks.

I've always liked the 720P setting over 1080i on my set

720p definately looks better than 1080i on my Samsung LN-S4095. There is some noticable jittering with 1080i due to the 1080p native resolution and the Samsung's inability to do a good job of deinterlacing the 1080i.

I have been trying to decide between the 97 and a refurbed 971 from OPPO BUT here is my dilemna[unknown]: I have a 3 year old CRT RPHDTV with 1 DVI Input and two Component Inputs [both presently being used by SAT and DVD].
In researching here I have read some possible negative things about connecting these Upconverters to a CRT RPTV - ie. MacroBlocking etc. I was thinking that because the 971 is Native DVI OUT and my set is Native DVI IN that that might be the way to go BUT somewhere I read that the Super Duper converter chip in the 971 can cause problems for PQ on/in a CRT TV. Can anyone here with a CRT TV and an OPPO please help me out here?
I really like some of the added features of the 970 BUT I'd either have to buy a DVI adapter [which some say can cause problems too] OR find the HACK to enable use of my Component connection to upscale?

TKS Michael :confused:

I thought most of the macroblocking problems were with specific models of plasma and LCD sets, not CRT sets. Regardless, I have a Toshiba (57h84) crt rphdtv and the 971 looks great to me (I haven't seen any macroblocking).

I've used both a 971H (which I have a review of here (http://www.prillaman.net/oppo971_review.html)) and a 981HD (reviewed here (http://www.prillaman.net/oppo981_review.html)) and I have never seen any problems with macroblocking on my CRT HDTV. My experience is common: Faroudja macroblock enhancing is not normally an issue with CRT (DLP and plasma are a different story, although even then careful calibration can do wonders from what I've been told). The 971H would be a good fit for you, as would the 981HD (although you'd need an adapter or HDMI-to-DVI cable for that, of course).

I have been trying to decide between the 97 and a refurbed 971 from OPPO BUT here is my dilemna[unknown]: I have a 3 year old CRT RPHDTV with 1 DVI Input and two Component Inputs [both presently being used by SAT and DVD].
In researching here I have read some possible negative things about connecting these Upconverters to a CRT RPTV - ie. MacroBlocking etc. I was thinking that because the 971 is Native DVI OUT and my set is Native DVI IN that that might be the way to go BUT somewhere I read that the Super Duper converter chip in the 971 can cause problems for PQ on/in a CRT TV. Can anyone here with a CRT TV and an OPPO please help me out here?
I really like some of the added features of the 970 BUT I'd either have to buy a DVI adapter [which some say can cause problems too] OR find the HACK to enable use of my Component connection to upscale?

TKS Michael :confused:


Michael,

I'm on other side of willamette from you. I have a 3 yo Tosh RP - CRT with 1 DVI and 2 component in as well. I've had the OPPO 971 for almost 3 yrs now, and think the PQ is great. I haven't experienced any macroblocking problems.

Rick

THANKS Rickie for replying to my question - this is VERY encouraging news and definitely is moving me to make the plunge and upgrade to the OPPO too.
I notice that on the OPPO Site as of yesterday they are not offering 971 Refurbs now...........I wrote their Support people and asked them their HONEST advice, knowing the type of hdtv that I have, "which would be BEST for me between the 971 and 970?" They gave a GREAT response and said they would
recommend the 970 for my setup - I believe that that is the way that I will go now.

Here is what OPPO Support wrote me about choosing for a CRT RPTV:

If your display is HDCP compliant then we would recommend the DV-970HD,
as this unit will produce the highest quality 1080i picture of the two
units. For a CRT display 1080i performance in precedent.

If the display is not HDCP compliant, then the OPDV971H at 720p or 1080i
will be the best alternative.

The DV-970HD has a better audio sound stage due to a redesing in the DAC
and the entire unit being a single, 4-layer PCB.

Best Regards,

Customer Service
OPPO Digital, Inc.


TKS Michael ;)

THANKS Rickie for replying to my question - this is VERY encouraging news and definitely is moving me to make the plunge and upgrade to the OPPO too.
I notice that on the OPPO Site as of yesterday they are not offering 971 Refurbs now...........I wrote their Support people and asked them their HONEST advice, knowing the type of hdtv that I have, "which would be BEST for me between the 971 and 970?" They gave a GREAT response and said they would
recommend the 970 for my setup - I believe that that is the way that I will go now.

Here is what OPPO Support wrote me about choosing for a CRT RPTV:

If your display is HDCP compliant then we would recommend the DV-970HD,
as this unit will produce the highest quality 1080i picture of the two
units. For a CRT display 1080i performance in precedent.

If the display is not HDCP compliant, then the OPDV971H at 720p or 1080i
will be the best alternative.

The DV-970HD has a better audio sound stage due to a redesing in the DAC
and the entire unit being a single, 4-layer PCB.

Best Regards,

Customer Service
OPPO Digital, Inc.


TKS Michael ;)


Michael,

Thanks for follow-up. I have to admit, I'm surprised by their response. I would have expected them to suggest the 981, with a HDMI-DVI cable. But then again, they should know.

Rick

I took their advice and ordered the 970 from Richard here at AVS - yesterday! EXCITED to see the improvement over my present DVD which is NOT even progressive......and the sounnd should be something to behold too, look out neighbors! I see that my new Onkyo 603X will handle a 192Khz Sampling Rate - where my present DVD Player kicks out 96khz.

Laters, Michael ;)

Thanks for follow-up. I have to admit, I'm surprised by their response. I would have expected them to suggest the 981, with a HDMI-DVI cable. But then again, they should know.

I know that OPPO is very biased towards the DV-970HD for CRT displays because of the less aliased and sharper 1080i picture of the DV-970HD. The DV-981HD is more geared towards progressive displays, or displays which have major scaling issues (ie. most fixed pixel LCD and PDP displays).

Has OPPO decided to not release any more FW for the 971 since they have their updated model out now?

There are still some issues which need to be ironed out. I do not expect OPPO to just stop doing support for the OPDV971H, simply because that unit is still in healthy use.

I know they want to get some of the kinks related to DVD-Audio ironed out, as well as the introduction of the alternate RC codes from the DV-970HD injected into this machine.

720p definately looks better than 1080i on my Samsung LN-S4095. There is some noticable jittering with 1080i due to the 1080p native resolution and the Samsung's inability to do a good job of deinterlacing the 1080i.

The judder is also a problem of the Faroudja chipset. The Faroudja chipset was not designed for interlaced throughput, which results in a judder at 1080i.

The judder is also a problem of the Faroudja chipset. The Faroudja chipset was not designed for interlaced throughput, which results in a judder at 1080i.

But the 1080i looking much better on my 1080i CRT. Now that I have the 1080p LCD, 720p looks better. The only thing is the softness to the picture. Any suggestions? Currently all settings are flat on the oppo.

NEVERMIND Neuromancer. I was being lazy and upon a search found that the softness is normal. Thanks ;)

Hey Cyberized and Rickie...I'm actually *on* the Willamette (Newberg). Small universe this Oppo board :D

Finally! We are getting "Oregon-ized"! ;)

But the 1080i looking much better on my 1080i CRT. Now that I have the 1080p LCD, 720p looks better. The only thing is the softness to the picture. Any suggestions? Currently all settings are flat on the oppo.

NEVERMIND Neuromancer. I was being lazy and upon a search found that the softness is normal. Thanks ;)

Damn straight you are lazy! In all serousness, the softness is just a byproduct of the Faroudja processing. You either like it or hate it. This is why people who like sharper images (ie. CRT users) will usually gravitate towards the DV-970HD.

Damn straight you are lazy! In all serousness, the softness is just a byproduct of the Faroudja processing. You either like it or hate it. This is why people who like sharper images (ie. CRT users) will usually gravitate towards the DV-970HD.

Man, you hurt my feelings :eek: :( ;)

I would, but I have had it too long. Maybe when the 981 drops a little in price. I could always play with the Contrast in the 971 menu :D

Thanks for all your input Neuro

Does anyone know if the up conversion capability of the OPDV971H will work when using a DVI to Component video cable (http://sewelldirect.com/DVI-to-Component-Adapter-Cable-6ft.asp), which will be connected to an HD ready CRT TV that has only component input connectivity?

I'm afraid not - a DVI to component cable like that one will only work with DVI-I connections that offer both digital and analog signals. The 971H's DVI output produces a digital signal only, so the analog pins in the DVI connector are not in use.

I'm afraid not - a DVI to component cable like that one will only work with DVI-I connections that offer both digital and analog signals. The 971H's DVI output produces a digital signal only, so the analog pins in the DVI connector are not in use.Bummer, but that makes sense and thanks for the explanation. I'm thinking of buying an HD DVD player but I have only one digital video input connection on my PDP. I guess I could give it away, but I really like my OPPO so I would hate to do that too! :D The other alternative is to "mothball" the 971H until I buy another PDP. :)

BTW... does OPPO Digital have any plans to release a 1080p DVD player? Sorry for this question but I am woefully out of touch.

What about a DVI or HDMI switcher?

Oh, and you might want to check out this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=760726) - OPPO's 981HD offers 1080p output. ;)

I've followed the instructions for burning dual Layer DVD's at the start of this thread. I've done "Flags of Our Fathers" - glitch free. However, "Serenity" died when it was time to switch layers.

Any explanation- or should I just try again?

And a related question--If I compress my backup DVD's(using a single layer DVD) with DVD Shrink-Does the PQ suffer on the 971?

Thanks!
Kempo

What about a DVI or HDMI switcher?

Oh, and you might want to check out this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=760726) - OPPO's 981HD offers 1080p output. ;)

I would think the 970 would work better, since the 981 only has HDMI and his TV will only accept component. Look here (http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/dv981hd_comp.html)

I would think the 970 would work better, since the 981 only has HDMI and his TV will only accept component. Look here (http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/dv981hd_comp.html)
I took this statement:
I'm thinking of buying an HD DVD player but I have only one digital video input connection on my PDP.
to indicate that he had at a single DVI or HDMI input on his HDTV, in which case an inexpensive HDMI switcher from MonoPrice could let him connect his 971H (or a new 981HD) and an HD-DVD player to his display.

I've followed the instructions for burning dual Layer DVD's at the start of this thread. I've done "Flags of Our Fathers" - glitch free. However, "Serenity" died when it was time to switch layers.

Any explanation- or should I just try again?

And a related question--If I compress my backup DVD's(using a single layer DVD) with DVD Shrink-Does the PQ suffer on the 971? Try asking "Toonces" - author of the dual-layer burn stuff.

As for DVD Shrink, PQ suffers on ANY player when compressing onto a single-layer DVD.

Gary

I've followed the instructions for burning dual Layer DVD's at the start of this thread. I've done "Flags of Our Fathers" - glitch free. However, "Serenity" died when it was time to switch layers.

Any explanation- or should I just try again?

And a related question--If I compress my backup DVD's(using a single layer DVD) with DVD Shrink-Does the PQ suffer on the 971?

Thanks!
Kempo

You'll find tons of info at videohelp.com and in the user forums at cdfreaks.com. I think DVD-ripping discussions are not allowed on AVSForum.

-Bill

I think DVD-ripping discussions are not allowed on AVSForum.

-Bill

Thanks for the link .

The directions for doing this are part of the first post in this thread. I assumed I could mention it because of that fact. I apologize if I was mistaken.

Kempo

Thanks for the link .

The directions for doing this are part of the first post in this thread. I assumed I could mention it because of that fact. I apologize if I was mistaken.

Kempo

You're right, and I hadn't noticed that. I'm not an AVSForum insider, but I suspect discussion of general procedures for burning DVDs is ok, in that you can burn firmware updates and content that you legally control. But you mentioned specific titles and I'm pretty sure that is a "no", as is commercial DVD ripping. It's still illegal, even if widely done.

-Bill

What about a DVI or HDMI switcher?

Oh, and you might want to check out this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=760726) - OPPO's 981HD offers 1080p output. ;)I appreciate your continued feedback. Does OPPO have plans to release an HD DVD player anytime soon?

I appreciate your continued feedback. Does OPPO have plans to release an HD DVD player anytime soon?

There have been no rumours.

-Bill

Had a bad experience with Oppo tech support just now, wanted to vent, and hope that someone here has some input.

My 971 is having trouble with movies on dual layer DVDs. These are Verbatim DVDs, so good quality. Movies play back okay until it hits the layer break, then they tend to skip around and eventually stop playing altogether. I can play these same DVDs back on my crappy $50 toshiba without a problem. I also tried them on my dad's cheap DVD player, and they work there too.

I called tech support to ask them if it might be a problem with my player. The support guy didn't really know what he was talking about, and only seemed to be half listening to me. He put me on hold and asked if I had updated the 971 firmware, which I had. He put me on hold again, and them came back to tell me it was probably my burner, and that I needed to update it's firmware. My burner firmware is up to date, not to mention the fact that the DVD plays fine on all other players, just not the 971. There were some uncomfortable silences, he never offered to have me send it in for them to look at it, and I eventually just told him I'd live with it.

I have loved this player, but now this is getting really annoying. I am thinking about picking up a new player from the local store, but it kills me to do so with the 971 being less than a year old. If anybody has any suggestions, please let me know. If not, thanks for letting me vent.

Andy

You're right, and I hadn't noticed that. I'm not an AVSForum insider, but I suspect discussion of general procedures for burning DVDs is ok, in that you can burn firmware updates and content that you legally control. But you mentioned specific titles and I'm pretty sure that is a "no", as is commercial DVD ripping. It's still illegal, even if widely done.

-Bill
Indeed the definition of 'fair use' has been severly mudded with the passage of the most recent DRM legislation here in the US. I don't agree with it, but it is the law. However, the forces against such Draconian DRM strangle-hold tactics will likely get repealed once there's enough of a public out-cry. These things have a way of coming back around and biting the proponents in the a...

I remember the uproar the industry was in when VHS tape rentals were about to debut. Well, we know what happen with that. Now DVD rentals and sales are the bread and butter of the industry. Humm... Allowing fair use copying and backups in the digital age will only foster and promote sales in my opinion. But some people are never convinced, so this will drag out for another decade. :D

Had a bad experience with Oppo tech support just now, wanted to vent, and hope that someone here has some input.

My 971 is having trouble with movies on dual layer DVDs. These are Verbatim DVDs, so good quality. Movies play back okay until it hits the layer break, then they tend to skip around and eventually stop playing altogether. I can play these same DVDs back on my crappy $50 toshiba without a problem. I also tried them on my dad's cheap DVD player, and they work there too.

I called tech support to ask them if it might be a problem with my player. The support guy didn't really know what he was talking about, and only seemed to be half listening to me. He put me on hold and asked if I had updated the 971 firmware, which I had. He put me on hold again, and them came back to tell me it was probably my burner, and that I needed to update it's firmware. My burner firmware is up to date, not to mention the fact that the DVD plays fine on all other players, just not the 971. There were some uncomfortable silences, he never offered to have me send it in for them to look at it, and I eventually just told him I'd live with it.

I have loved this player, but now this is getting really annoying. I am thinking about picking up a new player from the local store, but it kills me to do so with the 971 being less than a year old. If anybody has any suggestions, please let me know. If not, thanks for letting me vent.

Andy

Andy,

This is just a cut and paste from the first post of the thread that I wrote a while back:

*********************************

TOONCES T. CAT'S DUAL LAYER BURN:

Yes, I now have great success with +R DL burns on the OPPO. For me, the key was in getting two very specific things right:

1. The book-type...set in the burner itself...needs to be set to DVD-ROM. Most burners have utilities available to set the book-type. IMGBurn, a free download, will do it for virtually all burners. Non DVD-ROM DL burns will NOT play in my OPPO.

2. The layer-break must be in the correct place or it is highly likely that the OPPO will choke on it. Here is my guaranteed method that has yet to fail me: Rip the DVD as an ISO file with DVD Decrypter. The program will automatically create an MDS file with the same name as the ISO you create. Then burn the DL disc using IMGBurn. When you browse to the file, just select the MDS, and not the ISO, for a DL disc and it will place the layer-break in exactly the right place.

This is the process I have found that ALWAYS maintains the precise integrity of the original image. Nero, DVD Fab, DVD Shrink, and every other program I have used all move the layer-break and create problems during the transition. It may not be the case for every unit, but my OPPO is quite sensitive to moving the break.

-Toonces

*********************************

I also use Verbatim and I have no problems at all with the above procedure...But, and this is a huge BUT, it only works in the OPPO for me using ImgBurn and retaining the exact position of the layer break. Some units are more sensitive than others, but many will not play an incorrectly burned DL DVD.

-Toonces

Yeah Toonces, I tried all of that. I had been doing it the way you had described, also tried some other tools, nothing is working. I don't think it's the method, I think its the Oppo, since they play fine on all the other players. I think I have decided to just bite the bullet and pick up another player.

Thanks.

Yeah Toonces, I tried all of that. I had been doing it the way you had described, also tried some other tools, nothing is working. I don't think it's the method, I think its the Oppo, since they play fine on all the other players. I think I have decided to just bite the bullet and pick up another player.

Thanks.

Andy,

One more thing first...Was it always like this, or did it play the DL burns in the past? If it never played them, then there is likely nothing you can do to change it. If it used to play them fine and has recently started this behavior, then I suggest that you reflash the firmware as that might fix it for you. The loader firmware is part of the package. I use the 10-0720 and it has been perfect in very respect for my set-up:

http://www.oppodigital.com/Download/Firmware_971h-10-0720.iso

Hey! It won't cost you anything to try it... :D

-Toonces

Andy,

One more thing first...Was it always like this, or did it play the DL burns in the past? If it never played them, then there is likely nothing you can do to change it. If it used to play them fine and has recently started this behavior, then I suggest that you reflash the firmware as that might fix it for you. The loader firmware is part of the package. I use the 10-0720 and it has been perfect in very respect for my set-up:

http://www.oppodigital.com/Download/Firmware_971h-10-0720.iso

Hey! It won't cost you anything to try it... :D

-Toonces

Thanks for the advice Toonces, I'll try reflashing that ver of firmware, like you said, can't hurt.

I am trying to remember when I started having problems with the DVDs playing back. I believe it has always been a problem, as I used to used just single layer DVDs.

Anyway, I'll try reflashing, if that doesn't work I'll probaby pick up that Sony 75 model, it's supposed to be pretty good, and inexpensive.

Thanks.

I took this statement:

"I'm thinking of buying an HD DVD player but I have only one digital video input connection on my PDP."

to indicate that he had at a single DVI or HDMI input on his HDTV, in which case an inexpensive HDMI switcher from MonoPrice could let him connect his 971H (or a new 981HD) and an HD-DVD player to his display.Precisely, the Panasonic TH-50PX50U has (1) HDMI connection.

Had a bad experience with Oppo tech support just now, wanted to vent, and hope that someone here has some input.

<snip>

Andy

Andy, we are in the minority but I'm with you all the way. In my case the PQ produced on Pioneer is about what you would expect on a $1000 plasma not a $3000 one (the picture looks like it was shot thru a sepia filter and the blacks, well they just aren't) . I contacted Oppo and they went thru a standard checklist which ended with calibrate your set (this had allready been done). Basically I can't watch a DVD the PQ is so poor. Unlike many "quality" companies, they never suggested the problem could be on their end. The PQ I get with a $50 Samsung is far superior. This unit will be on the block as well.
Oppo is a vastly overated company IMHO.

Andy, we are in the minority but I'm with you all the way. In my case the PQ produced on Pioneer is about what you would expect on a $1000 plasma not a $3000 one (the picture looks like it was shot thru a sepia filter and the blacks, well they just aren't) . I contacted Oppo and they went thru a standard checklist which ended with calibrate your set (this had allready been done). Basically I can't watch a DVD the PQ is so poor. Unlike many "quality" companies, they never suggested the problem could be on their end. The PQ I get with a $50 Samsung is far superior. This unit will be on the block as well.
Oppo is a vastly overated company IMHO.

Yeah, I would have liked for Oppo to take a look at my player, but they never seemed to offer that up as a choice, so I left it alone. I don't want to sound like an Oppo basher, just had a bad experience with their CS. I own two oppos, and have otherwise been pleased.

I did try another DL DVD the other day and it played flawlessly. Didn't do anything different, although I did back the firmware down to what Toonces was using. I doubt that did the trick, as sometimes DL's would play fine. Only time will tell, but it made me a little less stressed.

Andy

Yeah, I would have liked for Oppo to take a look at my player, but they never seemed to offer that up as a choice, so I left it alone

If you exhaust all possible diagnoses for the player, and are sure that your errors are in fact a derivative of your individual player and not the design of the player, then they will offer an exchange or warranty services.

For things like disc compatibility, the easiest solution is to offer to send them a couple of sample discs which exhibit your error. The reason for this is that it doesn't cost you much to send these discs, you will not be out of a player for a couple of days, and OPPO will not have to spend as much time, energy, and money diagnosing an error which may or may not be isolated to your specific unit.

I highly recommend offering some discs for diagnosis.

My Oppo is sitting on a shelf in my basement now.

If you exhaust all possible diagnoses for the player, and are sure that your errors are in fact a derivative of your individual player and not the design of the player, then they will offer an exchange or warranty services.

For things like disc compatibility, the easiest solution is to offer to send them a couple of sample discs which exhibit your error. The reason for this is that it doesn't cost you much to send these discs, you will not be out of a player for a couple of days, and OPPO will not have to spend as much time, energy, and money diagnosing an error which may or may not be isolated to your specific unit.

I highly recommend offering some discs for diagnosis.

Thats a good idea, except I can't repro the problem on the same disc all the time. For example, I had a movie exhibit the behavior after the layer break one time. I tried turning off the unit, track back, fwd, etc. It was always breaking up at the same point. So I tried reburning the DVD a deifferent way, to see if the problem was the DVD. I put the one with the problems back in, to see if I could fid exactly where the problems started, and it played through fine. So, seems like sometimes the player is more sensitive than other times. I can pretty much guarantee that I would send them the DVDs, and they would come back with "works fine for us", since they have been saying that the discs work fine on theirs all along.

Again, not trying to bash. I have since decided to not do much with DL DVDs, to avoid the problem. Although, like I mentioned, I tried one the other day and it was flawless, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks for the advice though,
Andy

Did you guys get the list of dual-layer media that Oppo has approved? I'm pretty sure they said to avoid Verbatim.

SV

Did you guys get the list of dual-layer media that Oppo has approved? I'm pretty sure they said to avoid Verbatim.

SV

I've never seen that list. Do you have a copy? I've used many Verbatim DL without trouble on both the 971 and 981.

-Bill

Did you guys get the list of dual-layer media that Oppo has approved? I'm pretty sure they said to avoid Verbatim.

SV

I've not seen that list either, but I would be surprised if Verbatim was listed as media to avoid. Verbatim is typically considered some of the best DL media.

OPPO generally recommends Vertbatim, Ridata, TDK and Taiyo Yuden. Memorex will work as well.

Bill has a list of his recommended media in these and other OPPO threads.

I use Verbatim exclusively for DVD5's and 9's burning at 2.4 to 4x using ImageBurn, Nero, or DVDShrink on a Plextor 740A. I've never had anything but flawless play back on my 971H and layer changes are undetectable (I let the software determine the layer break). My success rate with Memorex was poorer at roughly 1 problem disc out of 10 burns. Note this is with VOB and image files only.
For DivX/AVI files I just burn a DVD data disk and 9 gig discs work perfectly well with no layer issues. Occasionally I run into a codec/format that the Oppo won't handle but it's very rare.
The only "problem" I have had is burning DVD5 ISO's on a DVD9 disc. Nero seems to handle this well while ImageBurn does not.

Hey guys, I am just now getting into DIVX, what are you recomendations for maximum resolution and best quality settings using MAGIC DVD?

Some Divx movie audios don't play, but the video does. It must be that the Divx is using a VBR that isn't supported. Is there a way to just reencode the audio so it will play without reencoding the video and losing quality?

TIA

answer to my own question:

Well the answer was to use virtualdubmod and demux the audio and resample it (I use 160CBR stereo). Here's the steps:

In the streams menu, select streams list, you should demux the audio. Import it into foobar or another transcoder (I used Nero's), and then resample it to something like CBR 160. Then import the new one back into vdubmod, double-click the old one to disable it, and resave with direct stream copy.

Thanks for the advice Toonces, I'll try reflashing that ver of firmware, like you said, can't hurt.

I am trying to remember when I started having problems with the DVDs playing back. I believe it has always been a problem, as I used to used just single layer DVDs.

Anyway, I'll try reflashing, if that doesn't work I'll probaby pick up that Sony 75 model, it's supposed to be pretty good, and inexpensive.

Thanks.

It very well could be the way your preparing the disk.
I rip the disk in file mode using DVD decrypter then use pcgedit to set the layerbreak then burn with dvd decrypter. I have never had an issue with payback on my oppo 971h using this method. There is a great guide on doom9.org on this method.

Hi all. Which would be the best way to hook up audio from the Oppo OPDV971H?
- Digital Optical Cable
- Digital Coax Cable
- RCA Cables (3 pairs for FL FR RL RR C SW)
Right now I'm using an old digital optical cable (cheap ones). BTW This is going to an AVR-3806.
Thanks..

It can become contentious when someone tries to answer this question. Some people think there is no difference between digital cables and some definitely hear differences. In almost every instance in the audio press, coax digital wins. I prefer coax cables. Now the analogue cables are a different story, since you'd be comparing the 971's DAC to your Denon's. Odds are good the Denon DAC is superior and you'd be better off with a coax.

Martin, thanks for clearing that up. I'll go for the coax. Since I've got an optical cable, I'll try to do a comparison and report what I find here.

I've been in a discussion on the calibration forum concerning using SD DVD to calibrate a TV when playing form HD dvd plaeyrs, (and from upconverting players.

Apparently one issue is whether when the DVD player upconverts, it also convert or maps from a 601 color space to a 709 color space.

Does anyone know if the OPPO 971 does that? Over DVDi in any event?

Thanks
Rick

I've been in a discussion on the calibration forum concerning using SD DVD to calibrate a TV when playing form HD dvd plaeyrs, (and from upconverting players.

Apparently one issue is whether when the DVD player upconverts, it also convert or maps from a 601 color space to a 709 color space.

Does anyone know if the OPPO 971 does that? Over DVDi in any event?

Thanks
Rick

The 971 uses DVI which is RGB. I believe 601/709 applies only to YCrBr.

-Bill

The 971 uses DVI which is RGB. I believe 601/709 applies only to YCrBr.

So if your TV allows you to set it to either one, which one is the correct setting for a player that outputs RGB?

So if your TV allows you to set it to either one, which one is the correct setting for a player that outputs RGB?

There is no choice. RGB has only one color standard. The TV should do the right thing automatically.

You'll get the same thing from an HDMI player when using an HDMI->DVI cable. Or, some HDMI players allow you to select between RGB and YCrBr color spaces. The Oppo 981 added this in beta firmware.

-Bill

There is no choice. RGB has only one color standard. The TV should do the right thing automatically.

You'll get the same thing from an HDMI player when using an HDMI->DVI cable. Or, some HDMI players allow you to select between RGB and YCrBr color spaces. The Oppo 981 added this in beta firmware.

-Bill

It's been quite a while since last FW upgrade to the OPPO 971. THere were still a few issues that were troubling some folks. I've noticed they've released some FW updates for the latest model 981, is it reasonable to assume they won't be releasing any more FW updates for the OPPO 971?

Or has anyone heard of any future 971 FW updates in the works?

Thanks
Rick

First off, I'm relatively new to the AVS forum and glad I found you all. My Oppo 971 does not have the stellar pq that everyone raves about here. I called Oppo a while back and they said that I need to have my TV, a Hitachi 51" projection TV calibrated. The only problem is when I had my old Panasonic dvd player with the Harauda chip hooked up to it the picture was fabulous, much better than the Oppo, w/o calibrating the set. Unfortunately the panny died and I bought the Oppo. Any suggestions such as settings to use, etc., please? If not does anyone know Amazons reutrn policy? Thanks again.

Sorry that you - presently - are unhappy with your new OPPO; but, IF you feel you better return it - I had to return something the Amazon once and it was NO PROBLEM.....they gave me the instructions, I followed them, and eventually they put the money back into my Checking Account.

Rots A Ruck!

I'd much rather keep it , but I wanna see the same pq every
one else is raving about.

Just curious, is it connected via hdmi/dvi or component? Mine is hooked up via HDMI/DVI at 1080i & other settings are "Off", defaulted color/contrast & Video2. Keep in mind that some video-based DVD has terrible PQ or bad transfer. FWIW, I get better PQ on the same movie through Oppo than some major HD-Station. Just in case you can't return it, put it on AVS's classifieds / Ebay / Audiogon.

Cheers,
TP

First off, I'm relatively new to the AVS forum and glad I found you all. My Oppo 971 does not have the stellar pq that everyone raves about here. I called Oppo a while back and they said that I need to have my TV, a Hitachi 51" projection TV calibrated. The only problem is when I had my old Panasonic dvd player with the Harauda chip hooked up to it the picture was fabulous, much better than the Oppo, w/o calibrating the set. Unfortunately the panny died and I bought the Oppo. Any suggestions such as settings to use, etc., please? If not does anyone know Amazons reutrn policy? Thanks again.

Would the 981 really be of any benefit over the Bravo D1 in picture quality on a 720p projector?

Tp, I have it hooked up with a DVI cable. I use the default settings. I'll try what you reccomended. Thanks. Anyone else have any other suggestions? The main problemis that the picture isnt really clear like the only Panasonic I had.

First off, I'm relatively new to the AVS forum and glad I found you all. My Oppo 971 does not have the stellar pq that everyone raves about here. I called Oppo a while back and they said that I need to have my TV, a Hitachi 51" projection TV calibrated. The only problem is when I had my old Panasonic dvd player with the Harauda chip hooked up to it the picture was fabulous, much better than the Oppo, w/o calibrating the set. Unfortunately the panny died and I bought the Oppo. Any suggestions such as settings to use, etc., please? If not does anyone know Amazons reutrn policy? Thanks again.

You need to try a calibration disc before anything else. General comments here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9889995&&#post9889995

-Bill

Thanks Bill. Ill try the THX Certified disks. What settings should I use on the Oppo itself? Just leave them default? Thanks again.

Thanks Bill. Ill try the THX Certified disks. What settings should I use on the Oppo itself? Just leave them default? Thanks again.

Charlie,

Read through the very first thread here. It has most of the settings you should use on the OPPO.

Rick

Charlie,

Read through the very first thread here. It has most of the settings you should use on the OPPO.

Rick


Where are these settings? Beginning of this thread or is there another thread? I would like to try someone people’s settings. I just am not happy with the tiling on dark scenes and can not get them right. It has a beautiful picture otherwise, best I have seen. It might just be something with this dvd player and my tv. possibly the dvi on my tv. I might try hooking something else up to the dvi connection on my tv and see.

Honestly I think I am just going to sell my unit and buy a cheaper unit till I decide which new dvd format I want to invest in.

Dave

At the risk of sounding a little on the dull side, which is the easiest of the calibration softare to use? Secondly, after reading a few of the messages in the calibration forum, some of the folks are saying that calibrating is like some kind of black art and youll screw up your set forever trying to do it yourself; that its best left to the pro's. Any suggestions, please? Thanks again.

At the risk of sounding a little on the dull side, which is the easiest of the calibration softare to use? Secondly, after reading a few of the messages in the calibration forum, some of the folks are saying that calibrating is like some kind of black art and youll screw up your set forever trying to do it yourself; that its best left to the pro's. Any suggestions, please? Thanks again.

They're talking about the Service Menu. It's true: leave it alone if you don't know what you're doing.

There is nothing wrong with the sort of calibration you do with the standard user controls; that's what they're for.

General comments on calibration discs: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9889995&&#post9889995

-Bill

What is the warranty on this player? I can't find my warranty card, and I don't see it listed on the website. My player, after more than a year of faithful service, just up and died the other night. And of course it's just a couple months past being one year old, so unless Oppo has a longer than average warranty period, I have a feeling I'm screwed. :(

I just am not happy with the tiling on dark scenes and can not get them right. It has a beautiful picture otherwise, best I have seen. It might just be something with this dvd player and my tv. See this post: Suppressing the Faroudja Macroblock-Enhance Bug (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7270763&&#post7270763), and be sure to follow the relevant links.

Gary

What is the warranty on this player? I can't find my warranty card, and I don't see it listed on the website. My player, after more than a year of faithful service, just up and died the other night. And of course it's just a couple months past being one year old, so unless Oppo has a longer than average warranty period, I have a feeling I'm screwed. :(

One year warranty. Call them or email and ask if it can be repaired. They might have some diagnostic tips.

-Bill

According to page 37 of the 971H's manual, the warranty is for one year. You might still want to give them a call and talk through the problem with them.

Does anyone know why if I have a mpeg and its 544x480 it stretches it, but an avi that's 512x384 it doesn't stretch? and i don't think it's just because it's an mpeg because I believe I've had mpegs not stretch before and no display mode on the Oppo makes a difference. I don't like things stretched, I like the original ratio which should had been 4:3.

Does anyone know why if I have a mpeg and its 544x480 it stretches it, but an avi that's 512x384 it doesn't stretch? and i don't think it's just because it's an mpeg because I believe I've had mpegs not stretch before and no display mode on the Oppo makes a difference. I don't like things stretched, I like the original ratio which should had been 4:3.

What is it stretching it to? Is it being forced into a 4:3 shape? 544x480 = 1.13. 4:3 = 1.33.

-Bill

It's been quite a while since last FW upgrade to the OPPO 971. THere were still a few issues that were troubling some folks. I've noticed they've released some FW updates for the latest model 981, is it reasonable to assume they won't be releasing any more FW updates for the OPPO 971?

Or has anyone heard of any future 971 FW updates in the works?

Thanks
Rick

It seems as though upgrades or fixes for the 971 have been abondoned in favor of the 981.

With a 720p projector will going to a Oppo be an improvement over a 720p upconverting player (Bravo)

It's stretching it to widescreen as my TV is an HDTV, but it doesn't do with the divx stuff. Now I can run the same mpeg thru my HTPC that upscales it to 1080i , but it keeps it at 4:3.

It seems as though upgrades or fixes for the 971 have been abondoned in favor of the 981.

I just received a reply from Oppo and they said that they are working on a few uprades for the 971 and that they are not finalized yet. So we can expect something "soon." ;)

I just received a reply from Oppo and they said that they are working on a few uprades for the 971 and that they are not finalized yet. So we can expect something "soon." ;)


Thats good to hear. I was afraid I was going to be an orphan.

Thanks,
Rick

It's stretching it to widescreen as my TV is an HDTV, but it doesn't do with the divx stuff. Now I can run the same mpeg thru my HTPC that upscales it to 1080i , but it keeps it at 4:3.
Supposed to be a flag in the file to tell whether it is 4:3 or 16:9. Either that file does not have it or maybe it is not supported in mpeg. I mostly watch divx

I just received a reply from Oppo and they said that they are working on a few uprades for the 971 and that they are not finalized yet. So we can expect something "soon." ;)

Did they say any info on what it will do?

Heres what they told me....

Q-I hate to bug you guys, but can you tell me if you will be releasing any
more firmware updates for the Oppo 971? If so do you have any info on
what it will fix and/or upgrade?

"We are looking at introducing some more bug fixes (particularly
DVD-Audio playback errors) in a future firmware release, but we do not
have any current release schedules at this time."

When is this expected

Did'int you read what they said.

I don't know if this has been asked before in this thread, but I was having trouble searching through the 250+ pages, but I am having some real issues with ghosting during dark video playing ... during light and bright moment's the video quality is amazing and crisp, but once it turns to a dark setting, the ghosting is absolutely unbearable. I don't have my sharpness setting high, and have never had any problems with other dark settings on any other device with my television. Any ideas why this is happening or any ways to tweak up the settings to help with it?

I don't know if this has been asked before in this thread, but I was having trouble searching through the 250+ pages, but I am having some real issues with ghosting during dark video playing ... during light and bright moment's the video quality is amazing and crisp, but once it turns to a dark setting, the ghosting is absolutely unbearable. I don't have my sharpness setting high, and have never had any problems with other dark settings on any other device with my television. Any ideas why this is happening or any ways to tweak up the settings to help with it? Turn Noise Reduction OFF, both in the player and the TV. Make sure you have also turned OFF all of the TV's other "image anhancement" circuits and give it a basic brightness/contrast calibration. Then experiment with the OPPO's Truelife setting (ON and OFF).

If the ghosting continues, it could be the particular DVD you are watching... ghosting is yet another wonderful side-effect of poor MPEG compression.

Also be careful not to judge any of your equipment by the performance of one or two DVD's. It is essential that you evaluate a whole range of high-quality DVD transfers before blaming your setup.

Gary