Official OPPO DV-983H w/ ABT VRS FAQ/Dump - Page 49

...probably as you'd expect, (I don't know all the technicalities), but I did notice that setting the de-interlacing mode to 2:2 odd makes me get similar dropouts all the time.

Neuromancer, I don't know this is delibrate or not. This is the second time you seen to ignore my posts. Yes, I HAD dropped out issue with SACD at 1080p and yes, the latest firmware seems to have fixed this.

You seem to have known some of the issues earlier in the game but never disclosed them until someone else have encountered them. Then you will dismiss every issue as minor and can be more than compensated by the other greatnesses of the machine.

Among the few AVS threads that I have visited, this is perhaps the most one sided one.

May be Cnet is trying to tell people who do not have a substantial DVD collection that while 983 is best of the Toyotas but there are Lexuses?BMWs out there that cost about the same.

We don't want to belong to the "ignorance is bliss...." group, do we?

Although it's always worth running through different settings to try and resolve the problem, the more I hear about this video dropout issue I don't think there is an answer other than a firmware upgrade from Oppo.

It seems the only way to resolve it for now is run at 1080i and for me changing colourspace to RGB definately seemed to help.

I'll have another play tonight.

I am interested in buying this player or wait until oppo will produce an "all in" blue ray player (does upconverting and blue ray). Within a year they should have it since they bought a blue ray license (so I heard).
The company I want to buy it from here in Canada made me aware of the following:

"I should clarify – the chipset they’ll likely move to is the new ABT2010 chip, which is a one chip integration of the ABT102/1018 solution in the current 983, but with some additional features, including Fine Detail Enhancement and Edge Enhancement. This switch (if it happens as I and some others are predicting, since it’s the chip Oppo wanted to originally use but wasn’t available in time) will have no negative effects on the quality of the player."

Is the above correct and should I wait for for this newer chip? Thanks for any input.

The next batch will feature the same ABT102/1018 configuration, since I gather that they’ve been able to secure more of these chips to get more of the DVD players produced. There are no real advantages to the ABT2010 over the current configuration, so there's no sense in waiting for a change that "might" happen (somewhere down the line - it isn't going to happen now, and I underscore that it's still a MAYBE for the future). The switch over was a speculation based on the perceived cost and availability of the chips they're using right now which seem to be bottlenecking production.

Being someone with a lot more DVDs than I should have, I'd like to think of it as a Porsche that'll run on regular gas rather than one that'll run on high octane super.

Neuromancer,

Any word on Oppo eventually using the ABT2010 chip in future 983s?

I'd doubt they'd change the solution midway through. It's already hard enough for them to source enough chips, to switch to something that isn't really available either and would require different firmware more than likely, and a whole host of other hurdles, it just seems unlikely.

Does anybody know wheter the 983 can be switched on/off by using a master/slave power socket or is it a problem for the device (or the firmware state) if the power gets interrupted in running state instead of a smooth shutdown first?

Personally, I find your input to be most helpful and I appreciate it greatly.

An unnecessary attack on our Most Valuable Poster. Neuromancer is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge, who dedicates countless hours to help us and liaise with OPPO. We deeply appreciate his expertise and his tireless efforts.

If your questions haven't been answered to your satisfaction, please rephrase them nicely.

Gary

You have provided very good feedback, but the most important diagnostic step (which you still intend to do) is bypassing the receiver and connecting directly to your LCD.

If "RGB PC" looks more like YCbCr (in terms of color depth) than "RGB Video", then, either your display is set up to expect PC RGB, or it badly needs calibration for Video RGB.

Gary

thanks for the quick response.
What about the second part of my question - should I rather wait for a blue ray machine from oppo which also upconverts sd dvd (all in one machine)?

I have seen no information about when that machine is coming or what it's features will be.

I would hope to see it in 2009 but there has been no word on whether that will happen.

-Bill

Try this DVD if you have it DVD #2 of 2. Very repeatable Audio drop outs, and only once in a while video drop outs with my DV-983H and the Integra 9.8 combination.
CLAPTON ERIC, CROSSROADS GUITAR FESTIVAL 2007, DVD, 0349-79877-6

Garth

The worst one for me was the UK (PAL R2) version of Phil Collins Finally First Farewell Tour, especially on the "extras" but occasionally in the main concert footage
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Phil-Collins...8810932&sr=1-1

I also saw it occasionally on the UK (PAL R2) version of Bee Movie:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bee-Movie-Je...8810815&sr=8-1

I have many other burned DVD's, mostly PAL, of other concerts, etc. that also exhibited the problem, but these 2 are the more mainstream discs.

I'll go direct to my LCD this week.

I am using the same combo you are, and I do not believe this is media related. In my case the dropouts occurred randomly. One disc had numerous dropouts, then played fine.

FWIW, I have about 8 hours on my replacement 983, and I haven't experienced any problems (yet), using exactly the same cable, etc.

Oppo has informed me that they have not been able to duplicate the dropouts with my original unit at their facility.

On the subject of drop out, I've now had my 983 for over a week and managed to take 4 days off so I've had a great opportunity to play lots of DVDs - both PAL and NTSC. The amp I'm using is a Cambridge 640R which simply passes through the video signal at 1080p through to a panasonic AE100 which is a 720p projector. I'm using oppo hdmi and supra cables which are both quality cables. Audio is via optical and analoque.

Initially everything was hunky and the picture on a 120 in screen was such a clear improvement over my 981 that I can best sum up by saying I've been camping in the cinema den ever since. Sound was just as great with more punch from the dialogue and SACDs sounding even more 'there'. so a happy camper all round. Great colour, natural tones, smooth motion, all in all a great viewing experience from TV recorded Sherlock Holmes to superbit DVDs.

Then I suffered video drop out, not audio since the HDMI is not being used for sound in my set up and either/or the optical or analogue kept pumping sound out. This happened 4-6 times during 'Just Cause' a Sean Connery thriller and the Dreamworks version of Sinbad. Both are PAL versions. At the time, I just ignored and watched to the end since I was with company but noted where the drop outs had happened. Next day when I had the time, I replayed both and could not reproduce the errors even when I queued up the segments with different run in times. This has lead me to conclude rightly or wrongly that I don't think they were encoding errors.

This was running the oppo at 1080p (yes I know that's illogical given the projector resolution limits but to my eyes it looks better and I know from running blu ray through it that it hiccups by occassional purple lines that flicker and then go away, so it was not the projector that was getting throttled.

Anyway for what it's worth I changed to RGB on the basis that the projector manaual describes its display method as '3 transparent LCD panels (RGB) and some 20 discs down the line I've not had another incident with either PAL or NTSC from mid '90s - 2008 issues discs.

My logic may be screwed and it may be too early to say conclusively, but on a 'so far so good' basis switching from 'auto' has so far made the difference in the set up I've got.

Hope that adds another perspective to the drop out debate

My situation refutes your premise, as:

1) The same media had problems one minute and played fine the next.

2) I am am using exactly the same hardware and media as before, and I am not having dropout problems (yet).

The dropout problems I experienced with the first 983 were intermittent, and therefore I do not agree that Oppo should be able to verify the problem "immediately." Perhaps Oppo has simply not put enough hours on the unit to see it malfunction. Or, perhaps I have not put enough hours on the replacement to see it malfunction. Either way, we agree: "..there is a major disconnect that needs to be diagnosed." As the reports of dropouts with the 983 rise, it becomes less important to diagnose the other hardware in the system and more important for Oppo to make the player work in all systems. My 981 @ 1080p never had this problem, same cable, pre/pro & projector. I feel confident that Oppo is on the case as best they can with the sketchy, anecdotal information they've got to work with. They seem eager to get to the bottom of this, and I bet they will!

Now we're getting some thorough, constructive observations for the diagnostics database. Have any of you further explored the overheating scenario that was raised recently?

Gary

Well, thank you for clarifying that.


Who made that assumption?! Not me. Truth be known, I'm trying to help Oppo isolate the problem at this time!


It make perfect sense if you appreciate, as I have said, that the problem was intermittent. Are you suggesting that I lied to go through the hassle of returning a perfectly good unit for another?


Are you responding to something you think I said here? If so, what? Of course there is an interest in finding the root cause. If my replacement 983 continues to work w/o dropouts, then I will have found the root of my problem: the first 983. How Oppo chooses to use that information is up to them. I wish only the best for Oppo, Bill and anyone else who wants a 983 that works properly in their system.


Yes, that is all true, as is that fact that if dropout reports persist, folks may simply choose not to play the game. I hope that reports of dropouts go away. Do you think they are about to?


Well, I'm sorry to be part of the quagmire. Perhaps I should have just lived with the audio and video dropouts associated with my brand new DVD player and kept my bad experience to myself.

Neuromancer, your assistance to Oppo users has been invaluable. However, your tendency to shoot the messenger of "bad" news relating to their products is not serving anyone well. If it hadn't occurred to you, I'm one of the guys trying to help solve the problem.