The Oppo DV-981HD 1080p Upconverting Player
01-11-07, 08:13 AM
#1
The Oppo DV-981HD 1080p Upconverting Player
Okay,
I just received this yesterday. $229.00 from their website. I've read enough positives on Oppo that I decided to get their latest player. I have the Toshiba A1 for upconverting, but I wanted to check this one out as well. While the A1 produces a bit sharper image, the Oppo 981 still shows a solid picture. But most importantly, this one is also region free, which is something I've never had in a player. Another bonus is the ability to play SACD and DVD-Audio discs. This unit also uses the DCDi by Faroudja chip. It also only features a HDMI port, no component. In all, I do like the extras this unit offers.
The unit is very, very slim. The tray is even slimmer. It looks flimsy, but it's quite sturdy. I'm digging the looks of it.
There's a simple code to make this unit region free, which I have done. On the spec sheet, it says "PAL/NTSC disc and TV compatible with automatic or manual system conversion" It also appears to upconvert PAL discs up to 1080p as well.
What does that mean? I am CLUELESS when it comes to importing. Anyone want to give a brief run down on what to look for when buying an import. I know there are FAQ's floating around, but I would also like to hear some comments from others on this player.
I just received this yesterday. $229.00 from their website. I've read enough positives on Oppo that I decided to get their latest player. I have the Toshiba A1 for upconverting, but I wanted to check this one out as well. While the A1 produces a bit sharper image, the Oppo 981 still shows a solid picture. But most importantly, this one is also region free, which is something I've never had in a player. Another bonus is the ability to play SACD and DVD-Audio discs. This unit also uses the DCDi by Faroudja chip. It also only features a HDMI port, no component. In all, I do like the extras this unit offers.
The unit is very, very slim. The tray is even slimmer. It looks flimsy, but it's quite sturdy. I'm digging the looks of it.
There's a simple code to make this unit region free, which I have done. On the spec sheet, it says "PAL/NTSC disc and TV compatible with automatic or manual system conversion" It also appears to upconvert PAL discs up to 1080p as well.
What does that mean? I am CLUELESS when it comes to importing. Anyone want to give a brief run down on what to look for when buying an import. I know there are FAQ's floating around, but I would also like to hear some comments from others on this player.
01-11-07, 09:34 AM
#3
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What kind of TV are you using for this.
Last I read, that oppo is still recommending the 970HD for DLP sets due to some sort of macro-blocking issue. Have you had any experience with any of that?
Last I read, that oppo is still recommending the 970HD for DLP sets due to some sort of macro-blocking issue. Have you had any experience with any of that?
01-11-07, 10:15 AM
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Originally Posted by jon-w9
What kind of TV are you using for this.
Last I read, that oppo is still recommending the 970HD for DLP sets due to some sort of macro-blocking issue. Have you had any experience with any of that?
Last I read, that oppo is still recommending the 970HD for DLP sets due to some sort of macro-blocking issue. Have you had any experience with any of that?
01-11-07, 10:28 AM
#5
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It appears that the Faroujda chipset is the culprit. This was the one thing pushing me towards this player. I really don't have and need or desire for region free of PAL.
http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/dv981hd_comp.html
Towards the bottom is the recommendations: the 981 requires "careful calibration"
http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/dv981hd_comp.html
Towards the bottom is the recommendations: the 981 requires "careful calibration"
01-11-07, 10:33 AM
#6
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I'm very interested in this player and the Denon 3930 CI. Its primary use would be a DVD player and not a replacement for a CD/SACD/DVD Audio player. I would be hooking this up to a Sony KDSR-70XBR2 television. Any recommendations on which I should choose? Is the Denon worth $1300 more in image quality?
01-11-07, 12:44 PM
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Originally Posted by jon-w9
Wow, for $1300 I would just get a HD format player, or even the LG dual format. That being said, I really don't know much about the Denon.
01-05-09, 03:49 AM
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I am really enjoying my Oppo-981HD that I purchased about five weeks ago.
The upconversion processing makes my standard DVDs look gorgeous on my 30" 1080i set, and watching the film-like image makes me crave a larger monitor.
It has played anything I've given it thus far: DivX, XVid, VCDs, MP3s and off any brand DVD-R (where previous players all had "preferences" as to what brands they might accept).
The 16:9/Auto setting is a godsend compared to my previous players. Everything plays in the proper aspect ratio on my 16:9 monitor - widescreen movies, TV shows, menus, and DivX & other type files. With my old DVD players, I was constantly changing the aspect ratio on my monitor, and with 2.35:1 DivX files you were SOL.
The amount of control you have over the output is incredible - sound fields out of a DVD player? Surround mixing? The Disc Browser feature was a surprise as well, where you can bypass the menu to see what's on a DVD, chapter by chapter. Basically I was attracted to this unit for its upconvert quality and didn't expect all these extras.
There is a zoom feature as well, where you can zoom into or out of the image. The ratios it offers are 100% --> 120% --> 130% --> 150% --> 200% --> 250% --> 300% --> 350% --> 400% --> 50% --> 33% --> 25% --> and then back around to 100% (normal).
The incremental zooming is extremely helpful on those non-anamorphic widescreen DVDs, giving you the ability to fill your screen properly.
The zoom-out degrees puzzle me somewhat though - I really wish they included a 95% zoom-out for the older material that tends to crowd the old 1.33:1 aspect ratio (and might be overscanned by the monitor).
But yes, now that I have an Oppo I know I cannot live without one now. In my humble opinion, anybody who owns more than 300 DVDs is getting into some serious collecting and must have an Oppo to enjoy them on!
The upconversion processing makes my standard DVDs look gorgeous on my 30" 1080i set, and watching the film-like image makes me crave a larger monitor.
It has played anything I've given it thus far: DivX, XVid, VCDs, MP3s and off any brand DVD-R (where previous players all had "preferences" as to what brands they might accept).
The 16:9/Auto setting is a godsend compared to my previous players. Everything plays in the proper aspect ratio on my 16:9 monitor - widescreen movies, TV shows, menus, and DivX & other type files. With my old DVD players, I was constantly changing the aspect ratio on my monitor, and with 2.35:1 DivX files you were SOL.
The amount of control you have over the output is incredible - sound fields out of a DVD player? Surround mixing? The Disc Browser feature was a surprise as well, where you can bypass the menu to see what's on a DVD, chapter by chapter. Basically I was attracted to this unit for its upconvert quality and didn't expect all these extras.
There is a zoom feature as well, where you can zoom into or out of the image. The ratios it offers are 100% --> 120% --> 130% --> 150% --> 200% --> 250% --> 300% --> 350% --> 400% --> 50% --> 33% --> 25% --> and then back around to 100% (normal).
The incremental zooming is extremely helpful on those non-anamorphic widescreen DVDs, giving you the ability to fill your screen properly.
The zoom-out degrees puzzle me somewhat though - I really wish they included a 95% zoom-out for the older material that tends to crowd the old 1.33:1 aspect ratio (and might be overscanned by the monitor).
But yes, now that I have an Oppo I know I cannot live without one now. In my humble opinion, anybody who owns more than 300 DVDs is getting into some serious collecting and must have an Oppo to enjoy them on!
01-05-09, 04:05 AM
#10
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My friend has an Oppo, which looks great but it seems to put an onscreen display at the top during the first second of playback saying "PLAY: DVD-Video" or something like that. Even if it's just during the FBI warning, I don't tolerate anything over the picture. I don't think you can even skip back to the beginning of a movie without it saying "CHAPTER 1". A lot of my homemade discs (old stuff transferred from tape or laserdisc) start playing right away so it's really unacceptable there. Do any of the latest Oppos let you turn the damn display OFF? If not, is there a comparable all-region upconverting player that doesn't put any on-screen crap on a single frame of the picture?
