Now that the Toshiba HD-A2 is about the same price and the DV-981HD, I have this question. Which produces an overall better quality picture for Standard definition DVD's? I have an XBR1 which accepts a max resolution of 1080i.

The HD-A2 is a better SD DVD upconverter that the Oppo 981 in terms of picture clarity and detail for film based sources. However, you are really comparing apples to oranges. The 981 is a universal player that supports playback of DVD, SACD, DVD-Audio, etc. It can easily be made region free and has excellent PAL to NTSC conversion. The HD-A2 can't do any of those things. It's an affordable HD DVD high definition player with great Region 1 SD DVD upscaling as a bonus. If that's all you need, then get the HD-A2.

I personally have the HD-A2, a Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-Ray player (which has even better SD DVD upscaling than the HD-A2), and a new Oppo 980HD on the way. The three players allow me to enjoy high definition discs on HD DVD or Blu-Ray, superior SD DVD upscaling, USB 2.0 input support for file playback from external storage drives, HD-JPEG slideshow capability, and playback of nearly every type of video and audio disc from any region in the world.

The HD-A2 is a better SD DVD upconverter that the Oppo 981 in terms of picture clarity and detail for film based sources. However, you are really comparing apples to oranges.

I'm purely looking for the DVD player that will produce the best picture quality with standard DVD's. That's all I really care about. There are a few region 2 disks I wouldn't mind picking up that are anamorphic, that aren't available anamorphic in region 1. But overall I just want the player that will give the best picture quality for SD dvd's.

On the DVD benchmark, it sounds like the chip used in the HD-A2 is one of the vest ones available (The Reon). this is superior to the 981HD's Genesis chip I take it? quote from the benchmark on the XA2, which is a slightly scaled-up version of the HD-A2 apparently:

***edit: apparently the HD-A2 doesn't have the Reon chip, only the HD-XA2 does. which chip does the HD-A2 use, and is it better than the genesis?


"The second generation HD DVD players from Toshiba are quite different than the first generation. The HD-A1 and HD-XA1 were on the larger side from a height standpoint and rather clunky from an operability standpoint. Their replacements have a smaller profile and are about half as tall. The HD-A2 and HD-XA2 are very similar in appearance, but the XA2 has some features you won’t find with the A2.

The XA2’s biggest asset is the ability to deliver a 1080p video signal from its HDMI output. This represents the first HD DVD player to have such an option. Remember that HD DVD (like Blu-ray) is encoded at 1080p24 on disc. Unfortunately, all of the first generation HD DVD players only offered a 1080i60 output from their decoders. This is very similar to most of the first generation Blu-ray players except they added a video processing chip after their decoder to de-interlace the 1080i60 signal to 1080p60. This is the same thing Toshiba is doing here except they are using a different video processing solution than we’ve seen on the Blu-ray side.

The XA2 uses an NEC decoder that outputs 1080i and feeds that to the Silicon Optix Reon video processing chip. I know of only one other DVD player on the market that uses this chip, the Denon DVD-2930. The Reon is a scaled down version of their flagship solution, the Realta. The Realta chip is the de-interlacing solution used in my reference DVD player, the Denon DVD-5910. I consider the Realta chip to be one of the best de-interlacing solutions on the market today.

The Reon is not much different than the Realta. Silicon Optix has scaled down its performance in some areas, but most of these areas will not impact the image quality much. The Realta was the first single chip video processing solution that I know of to handle mixed cadences that are rare, such as 8:8 and 3:2:2:3:2. While these cadences can appear in real world software, they are uncommon. The Reon drops support for these cadences but retains most of the other features of the Realta chip. This includes support for 3:2 and 2:2 cadences as well as the Hollywood Quality Video (HQV) video enhancement tools such as motion adaptive noise reduction and detail enhancement.

What this means for SD DVD playback is that you’ll get top of the line de-interlacing and scaling performance that is in line with some of the best DVD players on the market which cost a lot more. It also means that you can upscale DVDs to 720p, 1080i, and 1080p via HDMI."

Here is Oppo customer service told me when I asked them to compare the HD-A2 with the DV-981HD:

"The Toshiba HD-A2 will have very comparable results to the DV-981HD DVD player."

Here is Oppo customer service told me when I asked them to compare the HD-A2 with the DV-981HD:

"The Toshiba HD-A2 will have very comparable results to the DV-981HD DVD player."So if you want to play Region 2 titles, I think you already made your decision. ;)

The Samsung BD-P1200 and the Toshiba HD-XA2 both use the highly regarded Silicon Optix Reon chip for upscaling. Not sure what the HD-A2 has in it, but it is an excellent upscaling player, too. Definitely better than my Oppo 970 and Sony DVP-NS75H.

Genesis/Faroudja chips produce a softer image that is plagued by macroblocking artifacts when hooked up to most plasma and DLP displays. I had an Oppo 971 and it was nearly unwatchable on my DLP... a blocky mess with certain DVD's. The 970 looks much better on my set with no macroblocking problems and a sharper picture than the 971, and I expect the 980 to look at least as good as the 970 (the 970 and 980 both use Mediatek chips, not Faroudja).

The 981 may look just fine on your display... many people swear by them, but generally not plasma and DLP owners.

The Samsung BD-P1200 and the Toshiba HD-XA2 both use the highly regarded Silicon Optix Reon chip for upscaling. Not sure what the HD-A2 has in it, but it is an excellent upscaling player, too. Definitely better than my Oppo 970 and Sony DVP-NS75H.

Genesis/Faroudja chips produce a softer image that is plagued by macroblocking artifacts when hooked up to most plasma and DLP displays. I had an Oppo 971 and it was nearly unwatchable on my DLP... a blocky mess with certain DVD's. The 970 looks much better on my set with no macroblocking problems and a sharper picture than the 971, and I expect the 980 to look at least as good as the 970 (the 970 and 980 both use Mediatek chips, not Faroudja).

The 981 may look just fine on your display... many people swear by them, but generally not plasma and DLP owners.Well I have a Sony NS77H and the Oppo 980HD was noticeably better at 1080P with default settings with my DLP set. You be the judge when you gets yours.

That's good news... my Oppo 980 is supposed to arrive this Friday (I pre-ordered last week). I'm looking forward to checking it out.

does anyone know exactly which chip is in the Toshiba HD-A2? Most reviews I've read say the picture quality it produces with standard DVD's is close to the HD-XA2.

Does anyone have the HD-A2 and an Oppo, to give a comparison?

does anyone know exactly which chip is in the Toshiba HD-A2? Most reviews I've read say the picture quality it produces with standard DVD's is close to the HD-XA2.


Does anyone know? thanks

does anyone know exactly which chip is in the Toshiba HD-A2? Most reviews I've read say the picture quality it produces with standard DVD's is close to the HD-XA2.

No review says whats the processor inside a HD-A2. (Unknown) Buying a HD-A2 to scale SD-DVD's only to 1080i is up to you.

No review says whats the processor inside a HD-A2. (Unknown) Buying a HD-A2 to scale SD-DVD's only to 1080i is up to you.

1080i is as high as my XBR1 will accept.

does anyone know exactly which chip is in the Toshiba HD-A2? Most reviews I've read say the picture quality it produces with standard DVD's is close to the HD-XA2.

Does anyone have the HD-A2 and an Oppo, to give a comparison?

It can't be said often enough.. the 981 performance is highly dependent on its interaction with your display... you just can't recommend it for plasma and dlps.. It will do diagonal lines better than the A2. It has the potential if it is a good match to be very comparable to the A2 in performance if it works well with your TV. Then depending on the deinterlacer on your TV it could be better in some ways. A lot of ifs. I am not knocking the 981 it is what is. I gave mine away to a brother who had a Sammy LCD and he hasn't complained... He has A1 on his Sammy DLP, and a PS3 on 1080P Sharp LCD. The best picture is the A1, and the Sammy DLP for what it is worth.

I tried the 981 on my DLP and on my Plasma.... the first combo was bad, the second was horrendous. I have an A2 on the Plasma now, D2 on the DLP, and an XA2 on my Sharp LCD.

Wow, 3 HD-DVD players, you must bank on HD-DVD instead of BD-DVD.

It can't be said often enough.. the 981 performance is highly dependent on its interaction with your display... you just can't recommend it for plasma and dlps.. It will do diagonal lines better than the A2. It has the potential if it is a good match to be very comparable to the A2 in performance if it works well with your TV. Then depending on the deinterlacer on your TV it could be better in some ways. A lot of ifs. I am not knocking the 981 it is what is. I gave mine away to a brother who had a Sammy LCD and he hasn't complained... He has A1 on his Sammy DLP, and a PS3 on 1080P Sharp LCD. The best picture is the A1, and the Sammy DLP for what it is worth.

I tried the 981 on my DLP and on my Plasma.... the first combo was bad, the second was horrendous. I have an A2 on the Plasma now, D2 on the DLP, and an XA2 on my Sharp LCD.

Thanks for the info. I have a 60" Sony XBR1 which is LCoS. I've been told the 981 would work well with it, as the LCoS is low-risk for displaying macroblocking with this dvd player. Again that's what I've been told, on this forum and by Oppo. Oppo told me themselves that the HD-A2 would perform on par with the 981. I have to choose one, and my main concern is which player will display the best picture quality with standard dvd's. Having access to HD DVD's with the HD-A2 is a plus obviously..

Does anyone know? thanks

I don't know. But, I do know the HD-A2 is a very good upconverting player. I have one and I love it. I also have the Pany blu-ray player and I think the A2 is better than the Pany at upconverting but it's very close. But I must admit, once you start watching HD and Blu-ray movies, it's hard to go back to standard DVDs...

But I must admit, once you start watching HD and Blu-ray movies, it's hard to go back to standard DVDs...Most people are more then adequately impressed with video quality of upconverted SD-DVD's that they can get for a reasonable price. ;)

Most people are more then adequately impressed with video quality of upconverted SD-DVD's that they can get for a reasonable price. ;)

that's where I am. upconverted sd dvd is good enough for me, considering sd dvd's are close to half the price. I won't pay $30 for a movie, period.

that's where I am. upconverted sd dvd is good enough for me, considering sd dvd's are close to half the price. I won't pay $30 for a movie, period.

Rent HD DVD and/or Blu-Ray unless its a must own title. I use Netflix and it has worked out great for my HD DVD and Blu-Ray rentals. I do own a handful of titles in both formats that I was able to get on the used market pretty cheap (I won't pay $30 for a new one either). It's definitely preferable to watch movies in 1920x1080 high definition over upscaled standard def DVD, especially on larger screens (I have a 62" DLP).

I'd say get the HD-A2 and rent some HD DVD discs to check it out. It kicks ass as an upscaling DVD player, and you can start enjoying HD DVD as well. Plus, there is the 5 free HD DVD promotion that you can take advantage of.

Rent HD DVD and/or Blu-Ray unless its a must own title. I use Netflix and it has worked out great for my HD DVD and Blu-Ray rentals. I do own a handful of titles in both formats that I was able to get on the used market pretty cheap (I won't pay $30 for a new one either). It's definitely preferable to watch movies in 1920x1080 high definition over upscaled standard def DVD, especially on larger screens (I have a 62" DLP).

I'd say get the HD-A2 and rent some HD DVD discs to check it out. It kicks ass as an upscaling DVD player, and you can start enjoying HD DVD as well. Plus, there is the 5 free HD DVD promotion that you can take advantage of.You know quite a few people pick up a incredible amount of SD-DVD's for $4 to $10 each every week at Fry's, BB or CC. Why rent.

You know quite a few people pick up a incredible amount of SD-DVD's for $4 to $10 each every week at Fry's, BB or CC. Why rent.

Because for $17 a month I rent and watch 25 to 30 movies using Netflix, most of which are HD DVD or Blu-Ray. The truth is, there are very few titles that I want to own and watch over and over. Plus, by renting them first it helps me decide for sure which titles I do want to own.

Because for $17 a month I rent and watch 25 to 30 movies using Netflix, most of which are HD DVD or Blu-Ray. The truth is, there are very few titles that I want to own and watch over and over. Plus, by renting them first it helps me decide for sure which titles I do want to own.

this gets to a different issue then - people who rent basically every movie they put in their dvd player vs. those who rent movies and purchase them about equally. I fall into the latter category, I will rent dvd's I'm really interested in each week, but I have a decent size collection of sd dvd's (around 250) and I like to add to it (much easier now that tons of dvd's can be found for $5-10)

That is also my approach. Having over 300 SD DVDs, I see no need to start an entire collection over again. HD-DVD or BluRay will only be for the must have collectibles, latest and greatest, etc.

Everytime I see a Potter movie on TV, I see scenes I've never seen before on my disc versions. What's up with that? Are they delected scenes reattached? This is one of the main reasons I would never spend that kind of money on a Hi-Rez DVD collection of any format. They always come out with some better version after you've plunked down your hard earned money. I would say at least half of my standard disc collection was bought at low sale prices...but always widescreen and directors cut or collectible in some manner.

that's where I am. upconverted sd dvd is good enough for me, considering sd dvd's are close to half the price. I won't pay $30 for a movie, period.
Couldn't agree with you more. I have the Oppo 981 HD and it puts out a fantastic 1080p. Even makes my home made DVDs look great.

Couldn't agree with you more. I have the Oppo 981 HD and it puts out a fantastic 1080p. Even makes my home made DVDs look great.BTW the Oppo 980H also does a pretty good job with 1080P output for people with displays that have macroblocking issues.

The HD-A2 is a better SD DVD upconverter that the Oppo 981 in terms of picture clarity and detail for film based sources. However, you are really comparing apples to oranges.I'm purely looking for the DVD player that will produce the best picture quality with standard DVD's. That's all I really care about. There are a few region 2 disks I wouldn't mind picking up that are anamorphic, that aren't available anamorphic in region 1. But overall I just want the player that will give the best picture quality for SD dvd's.
I don't see how it's apples to oranges? The OP wanted a SD comparison b/w the 981 and A2. OP didn't ask about any other features.

Luckily for you, sl@cker, I've had the pleasure of owning both. I no longer have the 981. 981 was a very overpriced SD player. My A2 puts out a great SD picture. I did comparison shots of my A2, Sony 75H, and a Philips 5982. A2 wins hands down. I didn't take shots of the 981 but I compared that to the Sony and they were comparable although the 981 was slightly better. A2 is a lot better than the Sony.

What would the most cost effetive player be for SD DVDs? I can pick from the Oppo 980, 981, or the Toshiba A2. I don't really plan on getting any region besides 1 and don't need DVD-A or SACD that much. My display is a Sony 32S3000.

What would the most cost effetive player be for SD DVDs? I can pick from the Oppo 980, 981, or the Toshiba A2. I don't really plan on getting any region besides 1 and don't need DVD-A or SACD that much. My display is a Sony 32S3000.Your cheapest is the 980H which would work fine with your 32" 720P LCD display. The 980H ($169) is a universal player (all regions) that has very good upconversion that comes with HDMI +AV cables to connect to your display. Also the 980H is fast . . .about 7 seconds after you insert a DVD you get the menu.

A2 ($250 amazon) offers very good upconversion and the ability to play HD-DVD media. Its also very popular.

The 981HD ($229) has Faroudja video processing resulting in maybe the best upconversion for your LCD display.

Well I have a Sony NS77H and the Oppo 980HD was noticeably better at 1080P with default settings with my DLP set. You be the judge when you gets yours.

hmm i have the sony NS75H right now on my samsung DLP, while it looks pretty good it sucks taht theres no region free hack for it. so i been thinking about picking the new oppo up. i thought about the hd-dvd as its cheaper now but i dont own any hd-dvds and probably wont buy much anyways and no region free for standard dvds. im itching to buy but im still thinking .... lol

Your cheapest is the 980H which would work fine with your 32" 720P LCD display. The 980H ($169) is a universal player (all regions) that has very good upconversion that comes with HDMI +AV cables to connect to your display. Also the 980H is fast . . .about 7 seconds after you insert a DVD you get the menu.

A2 ($250 amazon) offers very good upconversion and the ability to play HD-DVD media. Its also very popular.

The 981HD ($229) has Faroudja video processing resulting in maybe the best upconversion for your LCD display.

I've heard that the A2 is actually the best picture possible for upconverting.

It comes down to whether I will actually notice a difference between the three; will the quality on one stand over the others on my LCD? It won't be viewed from that close (8 feet) so if nothing is perceptible, theres no point. Also it doesn't display 1080p.

Also, I have never seen HD DVDs in play, are they vastly superior in pq at reasonable TV sizes and viewing distances such as mine? If they are, it would be cool to have it for the future and to rent movies off netflix.com

I've heard that the A2 is actually the best picture possible for upconverting.

It comes down to whether I will actually notice a difference between the three; will the quality on one stand over the others on my LCD? It won't be viewed from that close (8 feet) so if nothing is perceptible, theres no point. Also it doesn't display 1080p.

Also, I have never seen HD DVDs in play, are they vastly superior in pq at reasonable TV sizes and viewing distances such as mine? If they are, it would be cool to have it for the future and to rent movies off netflix.comGoing back to the original question "What would the most cost effective player be for SD DVDs?" If you wanted to be able to play HD-DVD's why didn't you mention that aspect in your original question?

From Ultimate AV review of Toshiba HD-A2 review (http://www.ultimateavmag.com/hddiscplayers/207toshhda2/index.html):
"I also popped in standard DVD's to test the upconverting capabilities of the HD-A2, comparing it to the Oppo 970 I use as a standard definition DVD player. As I expected, both were adequate in upconverting the standard DVD 480i image to 720p or 1080i. But neither does as a good a job as a good outboard scaler."

Regarding HD-DVD quality:
"I viewed a number of other HD DVDs in my collection, including V for Vendetta and Superman Returns. It is really difficult for me to sit down and watch a standard definition DVD now that I'm accustomed to the superior audio and video offered by both high-definition disc formats."

So as you see if you are used to watching a SD-DVD, watching a HD movie is quite a experience. For people who want to extend the life of all their SD-DVD collections a high quality upscaling DVD player can approach this. Usually referred to as "near HD" in PQ. If you got some time, try getting some demo time at AV dealers, its worth it!

Going back to the original question "What would the most cost effective player be for SD DVDs?" If you wanted to be able to play HD-DVD's why didn't you mention that aspect in your original question?

From Ultimate AV review of Toshiba HD-A2 review (http://www.ultimateavmag.com/hddiscplayers/207toshhda2/index.html):
"I also popped in standard DVD's to test the upconverting capabilities of the HD-A2, comparing it to the Oppo 970 I use as a standard definition DVD player. As I expected, both were adequate in upconverting the standard DVD 480i image to 720p or 1080i. But neither does as a good a job as a good outboard scaler."

Regarding HD-DVD quality:
"I viewed a number of other HD DVDs in my collection, including V for Vendetta and Superman Returns. It is really difficult for me to sit down and watch a standard definition DVD now that I'm accustomed to the superior audio and video offered by both high-definition disc formats."!


Since you offered some advice earlier in this thread, might I ask for some, too? In specific, for the Panasonic 42PX6U plasma, which of the following DVD players would be best suited for upconverting SD disks (rentals, etc)

Oppo 971H
Oppo 980H
Oppo 981H
Tosh A2

Or would I be better off going with an Oppo HD player, mostly for upconverting, but also against future HD source material?

Since you offered some advice earlier in this thread, might I ask for some, too? In specific, for the Panasonic 42PX6U plasma, which of the following DVD players would be best suited for upconverting SD disks (rentals, etc)

Oppo 971H
Oppo 980H
Oppo 981H
Tosh A2

Or would I be better off going with an Oppo HD player, mostly for upconverting, but also against future HD source material?I saw you already have a 971HD. The 981HD is a improvement on the 971HD (HDMI/1080P versus DVI/1080i), but your display is 720P native.

If you have any macroblocking (http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=macroblocking&i=56319,00.asp) visible with the plasma then the 980H or HD-A2 would work better for you.

The 980H ($169) would be the cheaper then the HD-A2, offering many features that benefit a audio buff and someone that needs decent upconversion for viewing SD-DVD's. Now the HD-A2 costs more (cheapest price currently is $226) and isn't for a audio buff, but a person who wants decent upconversion and the ability to play HD-DVD's.

As quite a few people commented, most are renting HD or BR movies not buying them, so its up to you if you want to dive in now or live with just upscaled SD-DVD's until the prices come down on HD/BR DVD's. Right now who wants to spend $30 on a HD-DVD, compared to $14 for a SD-DVD?

For myself I have many years worth of SD-DVD's collected , and so went with a 980H because of potential macroblocking issues with my DLP display. If I had a different display type such as LCD I might have gone with the 981HD ($229), but at that price you start thinking about HD-A2.

I can tell you that the 980H uses a new remote, and produces a very sharp, clean picture for its price.

I do not know about the A2 but I am not thrilled with the PQ of SD movies on my A1. My A1 crushes blacks on my Sony 36xs955 on both component and HDMI. Colors are also poor. I just bought a Hitachi 42" Plasma and will be delivered at the end of the month. Hopefully SD PQ will be better on that set. Also my A1 will not play some of my burned movies. I hate the way it postage stamps 4:3 material on my 4:3 set. Toshiba stated it the way the player works. Stupid. My RCA dvd player is my main player for SD movies and I use the A1 exclusively for HD DVD movies.

I saw you already have a 971HD. The 981HD is a improvement on the 971HD (HDMI/1080P versus DVI/1080i), but your display is 720P native.

If you have any macroblocking (http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=macroblocking&i=56319,00.asp) visible with the plasma then the 980H or HD-A2 would work better for you.

The 980H ($169) would be the cheaper then the HD-A2, offering many features that benefit a audio buff and someone that needs decent upconversion for viewing SD-DVD's. Now the HD-A2 costs more (cheapest price currently is $226) and isn't for a audio buff, but a person who wants decent upconversion and the ability to play HD-DVD's.

As quite a few people commented, most are renting HD or BR movies not buying them, so its up to you if you want to dive in now or live with just upscaled SD-DVD's until the prices come down on HD/BR DVD's. Right now who wants to spend $30 on a HD-DVD, compared to $14 for a SD-DVD?

For myself I have many years worth of SD-DVD's collected , and so went with a 980H because of potential macroblocking issues with my DLP display. If I had a different display type such as LCD I might have gone with the 981HD ($229), but at that price you start thinking about HD-A2.

I can tell you that the 980H uses a new remote, and produces a very sharp, clean picture for its price.

Thanks very much for the reply. Reading between the lines I'm thinking this is a dubious achievement award for the other players, like, "you've already got as good as it gets short of HD players" -- that about right?

I bought and returned an A2 already -- it was way slow and had a case of giganticism and I was in a bad mood anyway.

Maybe the best thing is just to stick with the 971H and forget the upgrade? I guess--I mean, is the 980 or 981 really an upgrade of the 971H? Other notes here suggest that the A2 is thought by some NOT to be so good at upscaling SD DVD (95% of my usage and interest).

Thanks.

Thanks very much for the reply. Reading between the lines I'm thinking this is a dubious achievement award for the other players, like, "you've already got as good as it gets short of HD players" -- that about right?

I bought and returned an A2 already -- it was way slow and had a case of giganticism and I was in a bad mood anyway.

Maybe the best thing is just to stick with the 971H and forget the upgrade? I guess--I mean, is the 980 or 981 really an upgrade of the 971H? Other notes here suggest that the A2 is thought by some NOT to be so good at upscaling SD DVD (95% of my usage and interest).

Thanks.The question you have is how much better upconversion are you going to encounter with a 42" 720P native resolution plasma display?

Going to a 981HD from a 971HD buys you nothing PQ wise, you get HDMI 1.1, 1080P which you can't use. Going to the new 980H gives you a cool looking black player, thats fast, plays a lot of formats, allows you to see HD-Jpegs as you can input 1080i to your display it just converts it to native 720P.

Are you planning to ever get a 1080P display, and use the 42" plasma as a backup?

How do these things do upscaling divx?

Also you guys are saying 980H is better on plasma than 981?

Other notes here suggest that the A2 is thought by some NOT to be so good at upscaling SD DVD (95% of my usage and interest).

Thanks.
A2 is superior to any OPPO in upconversion of SD DVDs. I had the 981 and A2. I later returned the 981.

Also you guys are saying 980H is better on plasma than 981?

Plasma and DLP owners sometimes report enhanced macroblocking with Faroudja-chip players like the 981. The 980 is a safer choice if you don't want to worry about it.

-Bill

Also you guys are saying 980H is better on plasma than 981?

Plasma and DLP owners sometimes report enhanced macroblocking with Faroudja-chip players like the 981. The 980 is a safer choice if you don't want to worry about it.

-Bill

Here is another perspective:

I use an external scaler (DVDO VP50) and so the ability to pass a signal in its native form from the player is important to me. This requires that the player be able to send a 480i YPbPr 4:2:2 signal via hdmi.

Toshiba HD-A2 : can send a 480i YPbPr 4:2:2 signal via hdmi.
Oppo 981HD : cannot send a 480i via hdmi.
Oppo 970HD : can send a 480i YPbPr 4:4:4 signal via hdmi. Cannot send YPbPr 4:2:2
Oppo 980HD : can send a 480i YPbPr 4:2:2 signal via hdmi.


So for those with external scalers, the Toshiba HD-A2 and Oppo 980HD should be preferable to the others.

Plasma and DLP owners sometimes report enhanced macroblocking with Faroudja-chip players like the 981. The 980 is a safer choice if you don't want to worry about it.

-Bill

Sometimes???? This is not a rare thing by any means. I believe there are many 971/981 players out there hooked to DLPs and Plasmas that look horrendous and the users are in a state of denial. This is a frequent, not infrequent problem. Also the 981 has a tendency for some reason to cause many TVs to push a green tint. If you run into that one you maybe be able to calibrate it out, maybe with an ISF calibration for that one device, but everything else maybe off to bring the grayscale from the 981 into spec.

My advice if you have a DLP, or a Plasma is to just say no to a 981. If you have an LCD you may be fine... the 981 deinterlaces exceptionally well. On that front I prefer it to the REON XV in the Tosh XA2, and the Sammy BDP1200.

Sometimes???? This is not a rare thing by any means. I believe there are many 971/981 players out there hooked to DLPs and Plasmas that look horrendous and the users are in a state of denial. This is a frequent, not infrequent problem. Also the 981 has a tendency for some reason to cause many TVs to push a green tint. If you run into that one you maybe be able to calibrate it out, maybe with an ISF calibration for that one device, but everything else maybe off to bring the grayscale from the 981 into spec.

My advice if you have a DLP, or a Plasma is to just say no to a 981. If you have an LCD you may be fine... the 981 deinterlaces exceptionally well. On that front I prefer it to the REON XV in the Tosh XA2, and the Sammy BDP1200.

I don't have a plasma or DLP but many users on the Oppo threads report good results. Careful calibration helps. As I said, if you don't want to worry about it, pick a non-Faroudja player.

Green push: reports of this dropped after Oppo added an RGB color space option. The theory is that some displays don't handle YCrCb color standards correctly.

-Bill

Most people are more then adequately impressed with video quality of upconverted SD-DVD's that they can get for a reasonable price. ;)

Agreed 100%. My HD-A2 makes my DVD collection alive again... It is very unfortunate that I have been watching my DVD not being able to utilize it full capabilities... It is a shame we can only realize this when this format is set to expire soon...

If you only care about Blockbuster/Netflix DVDs (no PAL, no other regions) buy an HD-A2 to watch them and treat its HDDVD capabality as an added bonus...

Agreed 100%. My HD-A2 makes my DVD collection alive again... It is very unfortunate that I have been watching my DVD not being able to utilize it full capabilities... It is a shame we can only realize this when this format is set to expire soon...
Hmmmmm set to expire soon . . . wow I don't think so. :rolleyes:

Usually you spot trends by walking into stores and noticing the subtle inventory changes of what stocked in various stores. Yesterday I walked into a very well stocked fry's and saw one part of a long row of mixed HD and BR content maybe 1000 titles all together. Next door were probably 10 long rows all SD-DVD's perhaps well over +50,000 titles! Missing in action are music DVD's, television series, custom sets, horror, sci-fi, westerns, family, education, porn titles not on HD or BR.

It took quite a while for vhs tapes to disappear, but it was at a point in time that the vhs recorders/players were disappearing quickly. Now I don't see really any number of SD-DVD players disappearing off shelves. In most chain stores you see only a few HD and BR players to pick from right now. I think a lot of HD/BR vendors/fans are hoping that SD-DVD's will just end, and everyone will immediately switch to HD or BR . . . it just won't happen that quickly my friend!

Video upconversion on SD-DVD players up to 1080p might not be as good as a native HD DVD or Blu-ray, but it sure looks significantly better when compared to standard DVDs and that is going to be a impairment to immediate phase out of SD-DVD's!

One last thing . . . when VHS was going you could buy a DVD for the same price as a VHS tape and you were getting widescreen, noise free PQ, and great sound. Where's the cheap HD and BR titles that you can buy at the same prices of SD-DVD's?

I agree with the others - avoid the 981 if you have a plasma/dlp. I have a panasonic plasma and bought the 971 ... the macroblocking was absolutely horrendous and no matter how much I tried to calibrate the set, could not get rid of it. So now I have a 970 (with vertical squeeze fix) and it looks great at 1080i. A little more "digital" looking and a bit more aliasing, but naturally sharper and no macroblocking compared to the 981.

Then I was at a friend's house and his parents have a 73" Mitsubishi DLP :eek: :D
They have the A2 and it looks fantastic for HD and SD-DVD' I think its PQ was better than that of the Oppo, though I found the Oppo much more responsive. So I dunno, it's up to the OP.

I agree with the others - avoid the 981 if you have a plasma/dlp. I have a panasonic plasma and bought the 971 ... the macroblocking was absolutely horrendous and no matter how much I tried to calibrate the set, could not get rid of it. So now I have a 970 (with vertical squeeze fix) and it looks great at 1080i. A little more "digital" looking and a bit more aliasing, but naturally sharper and no macroblocking compared to the 981.

Then I was at a friend's house and his parents have a 73" Mitsubishi DLP :eek: :D
They have the A2 and it looks fantastic for HD and SD-DVD' I think its PQ was better than that of the Oppo, though I found the Oppo much more responsive. So I dunno, it's up to the OP.I keep wondering how much better is the PQ with the new Oppo 980H then the Oppo 970HD it replaces?

The 980 is easily better than the 970 in terms of upscaled picture detail and sharpness. They fixed the vertical squeeze problem (the old beta firmware that stretched the 970 vertical image to normal also caused a visible reduction in picture resolution).

In fact, if you turn the 980's Sharpness setting on, you get a subtle but noticeable improvement in detail and clarity without objectionable edge enhancement problems (like edge ghosting)... the resulting picture is almost as good as my HD-A2's upscaled picture (not quite, though).

My Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-Ray player with its Silicon Optix Reon HQV chip has the best upscaled SD DVD image of the three, but only just a little bit better than the HD-A2, as far as I can tell.

This is at 1080i out for all three through HDMI into a 62" Toshiba 62HM196 1920x1080p rear projection DLP.

The 980 is easily better than the 970 in terms of upscaled picture detail and sharpness. They fixed the vertical squeeze problem (the old beta firmware that stretched the 970 vertical image to normal also caused a visible reduction in picture resolution).

In fact, if you turn the 980's Sharpness setting on, you get a subtle but noticeable improvement in detail and clarity without objectionable edge enhancement problems (like edge ghosting)... the resulting picture is almost as good as my HD-A2's upscaled picture (not quite, though).

My Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-Ray player with its Silicon Optix Reon HQV chip has the best upscaled SD DVD image of the three, but only just a little bit better than the HD-A2, as far as I can tell.

This is at 1080i out for all three through HDMI into a 62" Toshiba 62HM196 1920x1080p rear projection DLP.Thanks for the feedback gshelley61.
I assume you also noticed that as you go to 1080P on the 980H a degree of improved sharpness also occurs with default settings, compared to 1080i. I did. :)

I plan on getting the HD-A2 in a few months for by b-day. It's going for a little under $200 used on amazon.com, or about $250 with free shipping. I'm getting it mostly for it's great SD DVD performance. I think this player may replace the Oppo players as the stadard for low price, high performance SD DVD upscaling players..

Thanks for the feedback gshelley61.
I assume you also noticed that as you go to 1080P on the 980H a degree of improved sharpness also occurs with default settings, compared to 1080i. I did. :)

My DLP accepts 1080i signals max and de-interlaces to 1080p for display, so I can't comment on any of my players' 1080p up-conversion capabilities.

But the 980's scaling to 1920x1080 (at least in the interlaced mode) is excellent, yes.

I plan on getting the HD-A2 in a few months for by b-day. It's going for a little under $200 used on amazon.com, or about $250 with free shipping. I'm getting it mostly for it's great SD DVD performance. I think this player may replace the Oppo players as the stadard for low price, high performance SD DVD upscaling players..I don't think so :)

FYI I paid $182 altogether for my "new" 980H, so still much cheaper. Plus I can make mine regional free easily. There are no hacks for the Toshiba HD-A2 as far as I know.

I'm curious. . why aren't you looking at the new HD-A3 since it will be coming out in October? I would think this would be a improved version of the HD-A2 for the same price

I plan on getting the HD-A2 in a few months for by b-day. It's going for a little under $200 used on amazon.com, or about $250 with free shipping. I'm getting it mostly for it's great SD DVD performance. I think this player may replace the Oppo players as the stadard for low price, high performance SD DVD upscaling players..

As long as Region 1 commercial DVD playback is all you need, perhaps.

However, the 980HD is tough to beat as a universal player.

The HD-A2 is really all about getting into HD DVD at a reasonable cost, with great upscaling capability as a nice bonus feature.

I'm curious. . why aren't you looking at the new HD-A3 since it will be coming out in October? I would think this would be a improved version of the HD-A2 for the same price

Because I'm guessing it will probably by around $400 or something, where as the HD-A2 just came down to the reasonable price it's at.

Because I'm guessing it will probably by around $400 or something, where as the HD-A2 just came down to the reasonable price it's at.Toshiba has already announced that the MSRP of the A3 will be $299. It's anybody's guess as to what the street price will be...

Toshiba has already announced that the MSRP of the A3 will be $299. It's anybody's guess as to what the street price will be...

I haven't been able to find what the changes/upgrades to the HD-A3 will be, compared to the HD-A2. does anyone know?

I haven't been able to find what the changes/upgrades to the HD-A3 will be, compared to the HD-A2. does anyone know? Not much online. . . a few comments:

All three new models feature some cosmetic changes, as well with rounded edges, slim chassis (only 59.5 mm – nearly half as tall as first generation players) and high gloss, black acrylic face plates.

See this LINK (http://www.krunker.com/2007/08/07/toshiba-announces-third-generation-hd-dvd-players/) they look a bit different.

FYI You can buy a ton of HD DVDs on this site, slightly used by videophiles who keep their discs pristine for $15 shipped.

Also if you check your weekly Fry's ad, they continually offer HD DVD sales with discs costing 13.99 and 14.99.

I have over 30 HD DVDs of which I only spent over $20 on 4 of them, the rest were all under 20 bucks.

FYI You can buy a ton of HD DVDs on this site, slightly used by videophiles who keep their discs pristine for $15 shipped.

Also if you check your weekly Fry's ad, they continually offer HD DVD sales with discs costing 13.99 and 14.99.

I have over 30 HD DVDs of which I only spent over $20 on 4 of them, the rest were all under 20 bucks.Yeah but too often Fry's offers them one day only, and often you have to get there early before their out of stock. I have five Fry's in my immediate area and sometimes it is challenging to get what you want. ;)

Value Electronics had brand new HD-A2 on sale for $199 with 5-free HD-DVD rebate and free HDMI cable recently. Amazon has this same player for $240. This player likely will stay at $199 by Xmas.

It's gonna be tough for Oppo 981 to sell for $229. Their other players may do OK though due to good reputation, region free, USB, DivX, decent build, and universality.

Value Electronics had brand new HD-A2 on sale for $199 with 5-free HD-DVD rebate and free HDMI cable recently. Amazon has this same player for $240. This player likely will stay at $199 by Xmas.

It's gonna be tough for Oppo 981 to sell for $229. Their other players may do OK though due to good reputation, region free, USB, DivX, decent build, and universality.Key word "had" ;)
Now the HD-A2 at **************** is $295.99 Plus get 7 (5 from Toshiba) FREE HD DVDs or our 4 yr. extended warranty. Oh boy what a deal! :D

IMHO I think the cheap HD-A2 supply is drying up quickly since the HD-A3 will soon be in distribution.