Oppo Digital DV-981HD FAQ/Brain Dump - Page 7

I thought there still wasn't a fix for this. The last beta firmware was September 22nd.

Does this 981 have the same problem with image reduction at resolutions higher than 480p?

hoping gary or anyone else can answer this sort of sidetrack question,

does HDMI supports some sort of signaling for interlace formats that help the TV deinterlace the signal properly? Basically tell what field goes with what field for proper deinterlacing and help with 3:2 pulldown. Since it is a digital signal it seems like it would be easy to add.

Do all of those features listed on the first post come out of the box or is that after it is hacked?

I'm asking about stuff like skipping past warning / trailers.

The first post data from Paul is all based on the stock firmware and the standard configuration. The only hack is the trick to make it region 0, and that serves only to provide playback of other region discs.

just got my shipping notice from Oppo. 981 is on it's way. Too bad it has to cross the country by truck.

Yeah Baby! Mine shipped too, and will be here on Thursday... I can't wait.

I am considering that combo myself, so I'll be very interested in any feedback.

To add to this confusion - there is considerable discussion that you will get the best picture on a recent generation plasma such as the 5070 by feeding it a raw 480i digital signal - i.e. that doing so from the 970 will yield a better picture due to
1) single conversion on the plasma itself (rather than the 971/981 doing e.g. 720p, and then the tv doing a secondary conversion)
2) better scalar and deinterlacer on the tv (apparently they really are very good now)

-g

Like a lot of folks here I have a ton of SD DVDs and will probably be purchasing an HD-DVD/BluRay player at some point. I'll never be replacing all my SD DVD's however. So does anyone know how the expensive HD players match up for upconverting as compared to the Oppo? I just read the Xbox 360 HD DVD is suppose to support 1080P output/upconverting to 1080P for SD-DVDs, etc.

It seems that if I can get a true HD DVD player that supports the upconverting and HD DVDs then I would have the best of both worlds. Thoughts?

What I really wanted was a true Oppo HD DVD 1080P player...

Rich,

You are correct. Here's the official OPPODigital response I received a few days ago.

"The PAL support is far superior on the DV-981HD player versus that of the DV-970HD as the DV-981HD supports 2:2 Cadence, while the DV-970HD does not. This means that the DV-970HD will have more aliasing (jagged edges) and interlacing (combing) errors than the DV-981HD."

Dana

The Secrets Benchmark review of the Panasonic BD10 Blu-ray player upconverting SD DVDs has been posted here http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=132#PanasonicDMP-BD10%20(Component)
(Disclaimer: I own one and like it a lot.) The rating on a scale 0-100 was 73 HDMI/78 component. The 981 hasn't been rated yet but we are told that OPPO has worked very hard to ensure that it matches its famed predecessor, the 971 that scored a 98.

Dana

my question i asked a few post above is related to yours. Is there any reason to buy the Oppo versus the Toshiba HD-A2? Yeah the toshiba is twice the price of the Oppo but you also get a HD dvd player. Looking at the test results for HD-A1 the HD-A2 should be a good upconverter too. Only main difference is 1080i upconverting vs 1080p. As long as the TV can deinterlace and do 3:2 pulldown properly the picture should be the same right? can someone talk me into the oppo?, seem like a good company and wouldnt mind giving them my money.

quick question regarding the Samsung 6168W 1080P, i have been reading about nativelu 1080P and still dotn quite understand what they mean that it has macroblocking, and also what is natively 1080P? I hope i asked the right question. but will i have that problem with the 981HD if i use it with the 6168?

THanks

When it comes to upconverting SD DVDs the new HD players aren't as good as the Oppo 971H or the Panasonic S-97. Look at the extra conversion steps and its apparent why. While I suspected as much when I compared them with the Toshiba HD-A1, that was also the opinion of several people who also looked at the comparison. That's the main reason I haven't bought a full HD player. A calibrator friend mentioned if that was my criteria to think in terms of a dedicated SD player and dedicated HD player but I'd rather buy the 980 and wait for the HD-A3 which is supposed to resolve the extra conversion steps.

The Xbox will only support upconversion via a VGA connection, IIRC. It doesn't support either component nor HDMI/DVI for upconversion.

Wow... is that true? I thought that the Secrets testing rated the 971 as the best image at 1080i?
Dang... maybe I need to return the 981 when I get it and buy a 970???

Can anyone please clarify why the 970 will give me a better upconverted SD-DVD image at 1080i on my CRT based HDTV than will the 971/981?

You might want to read Kris Deering's review of the HDA1 here. It isn't pretty. http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all&type=DVD+Player&manufacturer=1&maxprice=0&deInt=0&mpeg=0#ToshibaHD-A1%20(Component)

If the 981 is the equal of its predecessor the 971, it will be the best upconverting SD DVD player you can buy at any price. And, the tech support and customer service by OPPO are nonpareil.

Dana

I just ordered the 981 for my Hitachi 51" RP CRT. I have a lot of region 2 DVDs too. I e-mailed Oppo support and was told the 970 would give the best 1080i signal for my display but when I called I was recommended the 981 and, due to my extensive region 2 collection, I went with it.

I couldn't recomend a worse set than the samsung 5679.
The processing in it looked like absolute crap. You will see color banding all over the damn place.
I saw it on standard def, high def, as well as DVDs
http://home.cfl.rr.com/funkyelf/TV/colorBanding1.html

If you look at the forum on it they say a solution to the color banding is to put it on movie mode which washes out the picture and makes everything you watch look like a western. I was reminded of O Brother where art thou whenever I put it in movie mode, and to tell you the truth, it didn't really fix it completely.

~Eric

Any chance Oppo would come out with a 980 Non Macroblcking model?

What is next on the drawing boards for Oppo? Is the 981 the final apex in upconverting players for them before HD-DVD and Blue-Ray become ubiquitous or are there still some improvements left to be made in future Oppo upconverting players?

Not as long as they use the Faroudja FL 2310. Macroblocking is endemic to that chip. From my review of the Oppos the 970 fared best in that department with no macroblocking that I saw because it didn't use the FL 2310 but then it doesn't process as well as the 971. Panasonic has gotten a better handle on this problem with their FL 2310 implementation through their many firmware updates and if macroblocking is a problem look at the the S-99 which looks like an S-97 with new firmware. For video processing the Mediatek chip in the Oppo does a slightly better job than the Panny Matsushita chip so their is your tradoff. In any event, the choice of display has more to do with how much macroblocking you see. Plasmas seem to be more susceptable.

That figures just bought the Mits 3000 DLP PJ, supports only 1080i currently have the first OPPO player whatever that model is. If I would had bought the Optoma HD72 with 1080P would had somewhat benefit from the new Oppo

1st time writing here, but was reading a lot recently.
Could some of you please clarify few things for me. I saw some questions were asked but I still can't make some decisions based on the answers I saw so far.
Here we go:
1. Planning to buy Sony 46" XBR3, but ot hold right now until cloudness issue will be solved (looking for another brands as well). So it will be 1080p set pretty soon.

2. Currently I am using Sony SACD DVP NS900P player and for the PAL/Divx using Phillips DVP642 with my Sony 27" CRT. Will OPPO 981 outperform Sony DVP9000P player if I will use digital out (5.1 connection)? Or at least will it be comparable?
I think digital quality suppose to be good, I don't care about analog.How about video performance compared with Sony?
I like sony Audio and Video quality, hate forward/backward speed 2x only.Unfortunatly not DIVX or PAL support.
I think to replace both players with Oppo 981. Is it worth it?

3. I am planning to build HTPC soon as well. Does it make sence to have upconvert player in this case?

4. And the last one: How you guys know your HD TV doesn't do upconvert good enough? Is there are realy reason to have upconvert player?

Thanks , Sergey

The Philips DVP642 scored a 56 (out of 100) on the Secrets Benchmark test here http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-b...PhilipsDVP-642

The Sony DVP9000 scored 39 (out of 100) here http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-b...onyDVP-S9000ES

The OPPO 971 scored 98 (out of 100). The 981 is expected to do as well, since it's the same chassis. Also DivX and PAL support.

Yes, it's worth it.

Dana

Also, for digital audio output (coaxial or optical), the 981HD should be completely indistinguishable from the other players on audio quality - it passes the DD and DTS bitstreams without any problem, and all of the "heavy lifting" (decoding, processing, D/A conversion) happens in your receiver whichever player is used.

The Samsung 960 is more of an audio player. The video quality on the Oppo will be higher.

Also, the Samsung does not play SACD or DVDA and the 981 Oppo does.

I have a quick question for those of you who have already received their units: Is the trim around the front panel straight and even across the width of the unit, or does it taper at the edges as shown in the sample photo on Oppo's webpage? It just looks a little odd to me...
Link to sample photo

:d

gonk.. Can you get more than 5.1 analog multi-channel outputs?

can you configure the 2 analogs labelled as "mixed" to provided another Left and Right for separate channels going to rear surrounds and gain 7.1 analog audio out of this player? Obviously pairing with a receiver that can accept 7.1 multi-channel analog inputs.

Sure, anything in particular that you'd like to know? After getting a mysterious FedEx shipping notification today, I realized that I could of driven 2 hours to pick the thing up. I'll be getting it sometime tomorrow, and once I do, I'll hook it directly to the TV and pop in Indiana Jones atRotLA. I have no experience with other upconverting DVD players, and little experience with any other HDTVs, so my report will be basic at best, but I'm certainly going to watch it with a critical eye. I've read that macro blocking might be seen in some dark scenes. Is there anything else I should be watching for from a technical performance standpoint (I mean, besides a beautiful 1080p picture)?