I have been searching and reading 'til my eyes rolled back in my head. I am not willing to go with a faroujda-based player, so it is down to these two in my mind. I care only about standard definition dvd playback. They will be paired with a Mitsubishi HD1000U. Which player will provide the overall superior picture? Thanks.

Seems like all the reviews I read compare the 971 to the A2, which is why I'm wondering about the 970 compared to the A2. What also worries me is reliability/glitch issues with the A2. Any thoughts?

I strongly recommend the A2. It is better than the 970 for upscaling, and plays true high def discs (HD-DVD) as well. I have not had a single problem with mine.

I strongly recommend the A2. It is better than the 970 for upscaling, and plays true high def discs (HD-DVD) as well. I have not had a single problem with mine.

Bill--have you, by chance, seen both in action (even back to back) or are you basing this on things you've read? I mean absolutely no offense--just trying to clarify things. And I'm thinking that, if the A2 has mostly been compared to the 971, maybe that makes the case even more clear that it's superior to the 970.
I've heard about some quirkiness issues with the A2, as I said above. I've also heard that it may not pass blacker than black over the digital connection. Any idea about btb or any other issues that a real obsessive videophile might care about?

the a2 doesn't play dvd+r correct?? what about dvd+r with bitsetting/booktype to dvd-rom...does that make a difference?

Not to me. I'm only concerned about standard-definition, store-bought dvds.

Like you I was on the fence for a while - but for the projector I just got (Mitsubishi HD1000U DLP Projector @ 1500 ANSI Lumens, Native Resolution: 1280 x 720, Contrast Ratio: 2500 : 1), the 970 was a perfect fit.

So I really think it depends on the screen resolution you're looking for. If you need 1080P, then you have to move up to more expensive players. I stayed away from the Toshiba to keep out of the format wars primarily....all we'll be playing is just standard definition DVDs too for the foreseeable future.

Happy shopping!

I have the Oppo 970 and it does wonders for upscaling. There's some material that it won't make a large difference on because of how it's encoded, but put in a reference quality DVD like Star Wars Episode III or something, and it looks close enough to high def for me to pass on the HD war for now.

lewdog, I own the A2, and have had absolutely no problems with it. There is, however, a noticeable layer change with SD DVDs. The 970 is not quite as good as the 971, and therefore (by all accounts -- I have not done an A/B comparison on a shared display) not quite as good as the 970. The A2 is an excellent upscaling player. If you're obsessive, then consider the Tosh XA2, one of the very best upscaling players on the market (and it plays HD-DVDs to boot).

Seems like all the reviews I read compare the 971 to the A2

so how does the A2 compare to 971 ?

>>>I have the Oppo 970 and it does wonders for upscaling. <<<

I am curious, since you have one and do upscaling...does the upscaled output get sent through the HDMI? (So standard 480i definition video from DVD discs can go to 720p, which would match my Mitsubishi HD1000U DLP Projector @ 1280 x 720) Or do I need to run a set of component video cables too????

The 970 is not quite as good as the 971, and therefore (by all accounts -- I have not done an A/B comparison on a shared display) not quite as good as the 970. The A2 is an excellent upscaling player. If you're obsessive, then consider the Tosh XA2, one of the very best upscaling players on the market (and it plays HD-DVDs to boot).
I think you meant "by all accounts not quite as good as the A2." That's how I'm reading it anyway. Also, I'd love to be able to shell out the money for the XA2, but alas...

Pretty mixed bag as to how the A2 compares via reviews to the 971. Hard to pick a clear winner.

You would send something via the HDMI. 480i if your external scaler/deinterlacer (in your projector or external scaler) were better than the 970 or probably 720p since the 970 (hopefully) has a better scaler/deinterlacer than your projector. Always advisable to try 1080i just to see if it looks better. It's possible that the scaler works better in the 970, but the deinterlacer works better in the projector (and it handled the 1080i to 720p scaling well). Overall, it's just theoretically better to avoid the additional digital to analog conversion that component entails.

Pretty mixed bag as to how the A2 compares via reviews to the 971. Hard to pick a clear winner.
But that tells you something -- that the A2 is pretty similar to the 971, which is a great upscaling player. In my mind, if I was shopping for a new upscaling player today, I would go with the A2 since, for very little additional cost, you get a very good upscaling player (at least comparable to the Oppos) that also plays HD-DVDs, which will clobber any upscaled SD DVD for PQ (there just is no comparison between upscaled SD DVDs and true high def discs, either HD-DVD or BD). Both high def formats are here for many years, with no clear winner (despite all the rhetoric and wishful thinking by many), so I don't buy the argument to stay away from high def and wait it out -- IMO, it will be a long wait. And even if one format does die, you are left with an excellent upscaling player and lots of high def discs (they won't self destruct, and stores will continue to sell them and Netflix will continue to rent them even if the format dies).

If you're seriously considering the 970 and don't care about SACD and DVD-A, I'd save myself $80 and purchase the Philips 5982. it's $70 at BestBuy. Similar video quality and upscales to 1080p, if that matters to you.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10896503#post10896503

I think I'll order both the A2 and the 970 and just compare them head to head, returning the loser. It'll be interesting.

I also "Had" both and I sold the Oppo....

I have a 970 now, just ordered the HDA20. (339 shipped) I'll see what the difference is between these, although I expect the 20 will be better for SD.....(the Oppo is no slouch though) I am keeping the Oppo in the mix as I really like the DVDA/SACD capabilities. Also the Oppo can play formats the Toshiba can't......Pal/avi's....ect.

Anyone compare just the 480i of these two into an outboard scaler? I'm looking at these for 480i output possibly into an Onkyo 875 w/Reon. Any major PQ differences @480i.

Leaning towards the Oppo. Based on a couple things. I believe the layer change of the A2 is the same as an A1?? A1 layer change is terrible, imo. Also the Oppo can stretch non-anamorphic widescreen dvds horizontally then my projector can stretch vertically, whereas A2 has no option to stretch. Wish Toshiba would add this in a future firmware update.

I think I'll order both the A2 and the 970 and just compare them head to head, returning the loser. It'll be interesting.

I had both (just sold the A2 because I got the XA2), and the A2 was better. I bought the Oppo for Audio only, but I did try some DVDs. It is nice, but when playing the same DVD in both players, I felt the A2 did a better job. XA2, now, beats them both hands down. I am amazed at how well my SD DVDs look with this player. A2 was solid too, just not as nice.

I believe the layer change of the A2 is the same as an A1?? A1 layer change is terrible, imo.
That I agree with. The layer change on the A2 is very noticeable, which is why I still use my Denon 3910 for SD DVDs (and my A2 for HD-DVDs).