OPPO Digital Presents: DV-980H (1080p, SACD DSD, 7.1 Surround, USB 2.0) - Page 3

I use HDMI. It appears the DAC's are different. Also, DSD output.

Guess we will see.

Neuro - hope you have answers to these:

1. I am hoping that they haven't abandoned the DSD to PCM conversion feature as an option (needed for those HDMI 1.1 receivers). In other words, they have an option in setup that allows users to choose between PCM and DSD for SACD output over HDMI.

2. Unit has 7.1 out - any way to "copy" the side surrounds to the rear surrounds for analog out - that way you can have all 4 rear speakers (of course, the levels have to be lowered) going without using any processing in the receiver/pre-pro.

3. How about a even higher end unit with "better than Faroudja" scaler for under $350?

what I really want to know is: will this have the same sound quality for CDs and SACDs like the oppo 970 was supposed to?
i also notice that 970 had "downmix" and L/R outs for the 5.1; seems the 980 only has downmixed front L/R.

Compared the 971/981, I've found PAL playback on the 980 to be poor. I only have three titles, but they all show the same thing. This is both for PAL native and PAL->NTSC.

-Bill

The DSD to PCM is still an option (and the default, if I remember correctly).

This is something that I inquired about a fair bit during the beta tests - either an optional matrix processing mode or simply a way to redirect side data to the rears along with an appropriate level adjustment. The sample that I tested didn't offer the capability, but I have an early sample and I know that this was something that they hadn't ruled out the last I heard. It'll be pretty much the first thing I try when I get an updated sample.

just got this email from oppo; it confirms what neuromancer said:

[i]The tonal qualities of the DV-980H should surpass that of the DV-970HD. The main reason for this is that we hand selected new capacitor and resistor manufacturers, redesigned the DAC layout, are using an improved Cirrus Logic CS4361 DAC and the latest, heavily modified MTK solution for increased audio decoding fidelity. The end result is a system that is more robust and refined over our previous DVD player designs.

Best Regards,

Customer Service
OPPO Digital, Inc.

Hello, one question, i will use the OPPO with a 42" LCD 1366x768 and I want to have a very Good quality in matters of audio in SACD and DVDA, which is my best option .....
Thanks

i wonder if this pre-order price will remain the same after it becomes available for "regular" ordering, or will it go up? I hope oppo doesn't do anything of the kind.

I'm more confused than ever for my DVD player purchase, I have the Sharp LC-37GP1U LCD that up-converts to 1080p, I was going to purchase the Oppo DV-981HD, till I saw the new DV-980HD player and now Pioneer is coming out with their new player as well the DV-48AV, so between the 2 Oppo players, which would be a better fit with my Sharp LCD? obviously I will wait till there are reviews on both the 980HD and 48AV players before making a final decision, thanks for the help

Thanks for your answer.
An aditional question: Can I use the HDMI ouput from 980, to connect the 3806, for audio (DVA, SACD), and the 3806 ouput HDMI to connect my LG LCD at 740P?
It is correct?

Its actually $169.00 as listed on the Oppo site.

You're not alone. Besides the ones you mentioned, I was also looking at the Onkyo DV-SP405 and Denon DVD-1740, they are also brand new on the market, about $150 shipped. Can't find any reviews on them.

I think I'll go with the DV-980H in the end. I prefer a sharper, more vivid looking picture (I won't notice the artifacts anyway unless they are really bad) and I'd like to have USB and component out for when I retire the Oppo to another room where equipment that gets upgraded goes.

I think you will be happy with the DV-980H. I have Faroudja FLI23xx players and like them, but the sharper picture with the DV-980H is really impressive to me. I don't expect the DV-SP405 or Denon DVD-1740 to be comparable.

Chris

If one were only interested in DVD-video playback of mainstream movies, TV shows, etc. is this unit comparable to or better than, say, the Oppo 970H or the Sony DVP-NS75H/77H?

all previous oppo dvdp's could be converted to multi-region players by a few clicks of the remote. This was one of the main reasons I got interested in oppo dvdp's.

does this simple all region hack apply to this model as well? I sure hope so.

Yes, same code as always.

-Bill

cool thanks!

For region 1 DVD-V, the DVP-NS75H is much less expensive and the better deal. Performance is possibly slightly better with the DV-980H, but we will have to see what Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity find with their objective analysis. I would recommend you get into DVD-A/SACD, nobody should miss out on those great audio formats.

Chris

I was wondering about that comparison, but this should be against the DVP-NS77H (also 1080P), hopefully both the Sony and Oppo do well on the DVD shootout. I just wonder how long it will take Secrets of Home Theater to get around doing this?

The 981 review did not appear for many months. Kris Deering has to do the work and then the review appears on the web some unknown time later, beyond his control.

No one has mentioned yet: this machine was in beta for months and there was not a hint of a rumor about it at AVSForum.

-Bill