OPPO Digital Presents: DV-980H (1080p, SACD DSD, 7.1 Surround, USB 2.0) - Page 7

Correct, but some people have imported DVD's from other area's and a region free player will allows the playing of this media.

Macroblocking only a problem with Faroudja chipset, not a problem with Mediatek

fish1050

I wish more companies seemed to be as locked on and understand consumer needs like Oppo. They need to make TVs and other equipment now too...haha. Their tech support keeps up with people's complaints, and, unlike a lot of companies, they actually keep their web site relatively up-to-date. The 980H is now showing shipping in 1 - 2 weeks now. I'm looking forward to it.

I didn't read anything about the 980-h being used with a<45" screen anywhere except in a prior quote. Wondering if the 980-h would be a good choice for a 61" dlp sammy 1080p. Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanx.

I think the DV-980H would be an excellent choice for that display, especially if you are interested in the formats other than DVD-V that are handled by the DV-980H. The comparison chart provided by Oppo that only shows the DV-981HD recommended for 720p/1080i screens over 45" is here:

http://www.oppodigital.com/dv970hd/d..._compare.html#

The same chart does not show the DV-981HD recommended for rear projection DLP. Buy the DV-980HD with confidence and if you aren't happy with it, be aware of the terms of the Oppo return policy.

Chris

Man I was just ready to click the order button for the 970 on Onlybestrated (the Canadian Oppo site) and for some reason, I decided to check Oppo's US site and there was the 980. Obviously I got that instead.

Jeff

Funny, I always regarded this as the Canadian Oppo website. It's 5 minutes from where I work and is cheaper with no opportunity for customs charges.

http://www.solutionsav.ca/oppo.html

guy (from QQ?) - onlybestrated is also in Canada so there are no Customs charges. You can order via the web rather than phone. Good service, got my 970 from them.

They don't list the 980 yet so thanks for the above link to the other site

Question for Chris and Neuromancer:

I already have the 970 which I will be using as a transport to an AVM50 (with the Gennum scaler).

Also will be used for SACD/DVDA/CD to replace my Pioneer 59AVi.

Because the AVM50 will not decode DSD are there any other reasons besides USB2.0 (and the colour) to replace my 970 with the 980 ?

That's me!

I thought he said that he didn't order the 980 from onlybestrated but from the Oppo web site. There would be customs from there for sure.

Question about bass management which I posed to Oppo about the 970. I hope that the 980 fixes this as I have pre-ordered one. Here's the issue, when you are playing a DVD-A 5.0 disc using the analog outs (ie-player decoding), there is no way of activating the subwoofer even if you have your speakers set to small and the subwoofer "On". For SACD (and everything else but DVD-A) in 5.0 if you set your speakers to small the sub is activated. Seems to be just an issue with 5.0 DVD-A discs. Can anyone not using the HDMI for this tell me if the 980 has this issue as well?

Ok, I'm on board, I had the 970 and now I'm switching over to the 980, Oppo is doing a lot of things right. For one part, it can be hard for a company to retain customers, well, I didn't even think twice with upgrading. For me, it was between the A2 HD dvd player and this 980H. Oppo has better features for what I need at the moment.

Possible consideration is the DV-980HD has 7.1 analog output. In addition the DV-980H reputedly uses better DAC's and might sound better to some so waiting for an independent objective analysis might address that possiblity. I think both are awesome for budget universal players in terms of audio and owning both I can't conclude you need to upgrade unless you want the 7.1 output.

Chris

I am looking at the new Oppo 980H to replace my Pioneer Elite 45A. My guess is I will be upgrading the picture by getting the upscaling to 1080p vs. just the 480p from the Pioneer. The question I have is what would one use for CD / SCAD and DVD-A player? Should I keep both and use the Oppo for watching movies and the Pio to listen to music? Space is not really an issue so I can do this but if the Oppo performs as good as the Pio then I may look to move it out. Since the Pio has the Burr Brown processor I would think it beats the Oppo.

This will be connected to an HLT 89S for watching DVD's. Thanks for any input.

I retired my 45a when I got the 970. To me, the Oppo sounded a lot better for SACD and DVD-A. SACD especially was an improvement as the distance/delay etc settings worked for SACD as well as DVD-A. When my 980 arrives I will be able to do a 970 to 980 comparison.

There is no issue with DVD-A discs when setting the speakers to small and using the 5.1 RCA outputs. But, I had no issue with the same settings with the 970, so I'm not sure you have things set quite right in your player. You reference 5.0, and that alone would mean that there is no subwoofer output...was that just a typo on your part???

I mean when the disc is authoured as 5.0 not 5.1 Such as with the Zappa DVD-A's and David Crosby's DVD-A. There is a issue with the 970 with these discs even when you set the speakers to small. Everything is set-up in my player correctly.

Regardless of whether it is authoured as 5.0, the player should "create" a sub-woofer output when you set the speakers to small and shunt everything below a certain frequency from the other channels to the sub. It works this way with 2.0 and 5.0 authored SACD's. I get a sub when I set the speakers to small.

I also have the Elite 45A and it has started misbehaving; its about 4 1/2 years old and occasionally just stops playing a DVD. Anyway, the 980H has caught my eye because of the supposed improvements in the DACs from the 970 and it can feed a 480i signal via HDMI. I hope to purchase a new pre/pro mid-2008 with an interal video scaler/processor and a new Panasonic 50" plasma this fall. I currently feed my Outlaw 990 with the 45A's digital signal from CDs and use the Outlaw's DACs for stereo playback. I'd like to do a comparison between the 980H's and Outlaw's DACs for regular CD playback.

guyrobinson: How did your 45A compare to the Oppo 970 for CD playback?

Well, I didn't notice much in the way of a difference with CD's but then I don't play a lot of CD's. Sort of stopped buying those. I'm down to maybe 5-10 new ones a year now. I mainly play SACD, DVD-A and DVD-V (concerts). CD's are usually relegated to the car.

I do play a lot of DTS CD's but those don't count of course as a CD from a sound perspective.

My apologies if this is a dumb question. Would I be able to run a cable from the USB port on the 980 to my computer and then watch videos from my hard drive to my home theatre big screen via the 980? I already own the 971 but would switch if this was possible.

Any word on other e-tailers (like Amazon) on when they are going to get the DV-980H?

Actually are you saying that I could plug in my external Maxtor 400 GB drive in and it could read the files and I could play them back on the Oppo in this fashion? That would be great!

Yep, already picked mine up earlier at Oppo Mt View location. Will see how well it performs later today.

Looking forward to your comparison of the DV-980H and the Sony DVP-NS77H! I assume you've held on to the Sony...

Mine shows shipped. Should have it tomorrow, as I am fairly close.

For those that pre-ordered the 980H...check your order status. Mine shipped today as well and should be here on Wednesday. I was told over the phone when I ordered that I was #300 and something. It is somewhat rare to pre-order electronics and have them arrive when posted...much less early. I just hope the picture quality is as good or better than the 970HD.

those with DSD capable receivers - please post your comparison with pcm output of SACD vs. DSD. this is the main reason i might upgrade. thanks all.

Did you order it direct from OPPO or through onlybestrated? I live close to onlybestrated but they don't show the 980H on their web site yet!

fish1050