Oppo DV-970HD
 

Seems the folk at Oppo Digital have made a newer (and slightly cheaper) DVD player that uses HDMI instead of DVI.
http://www.oppodigital.com/dv970hd/dv970hd.html

There are other differences between this newer player and the much loved OPDV971H but I'll leave it to the experts to weigh the pros and cons.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...6&page=1&pp=30

Not really "newer" per se - it's basically just the same player with SACD support, HDMI and the MediaTek chipset instead of the Farujada DCDI. It's a solid entry level universal upconverting player, but to anyone happy with the old version, it's not an upgrade. This model is essentially for people who:

NEED HDMI support
Need to be able to pass 480i through HDMI
Would like to be able to use progressive through component
Require SACD support

Why Mediatek instead of DCDI? Simple. Oppo could not get rid of the macroblocking issues, even when disabling the portion of the chip that caused it. Mediatek makes a solid chip, but it's no DCDI.

Oppo will be releasing the next generation flagship player model in August. That's the one to look forward to.

I'm looking to get one of these two and can't decide.

I have a 51" RP DVI TV. Their online comparison says the cheaper for a RPTV, but the original model for 50"+. I already have a HDMI to DVI cable, so it really doesn't matter from a cable view. Would straight DVI to DVI be best though?

I'm hardly a videophile, so I don't know whether this macroblocking is something I'm going to notice.

As to the new model in August, is that going to be more expensive than either of these?

In that case, I'll hold out. Any word on wether the next generation flagship player will use a MediaTek chipset or the Farujada DCDI?

hmm, seem slike i'll hold out too. i'm getting a hdtv this summer so that release date for the new player would be perfect. i just hope the player won't be too expensive. the current price point for their players is good

I'll have to check the thread, but Oppo is very high on the DCDI chip as a deinterlacer, and display the partnership prominently. I am fairly certain it will use the DCDI.

It should be $199.99.

The Macroblocking (which is easily seen as a "pixelation", especially on reds) is mostly an issue with Plasma (panasonics in particular) and DLPs. You may not have an issue with RPCRT.

Remember, all an DVI cable is is an HDMI cable without the sound wires. A properly constructed HDMI to DVI would work just as well as a DVI to DVI.

If you want my honest opinion, if you can't wait, go with the current flagship. If you CAN wait, go with the upcoming flagship model.

Thanks for all the answers Josh. :up:

Anything for the good people of this forum!

I was reading about it earlier this week - it piqued my interest, but hopefully my player can make it through the summer so I can just wait for their next flagship model. If not - I'll pick up the 970 and finally use my TV's HDMI.

I see. Thanks for the quick responses. :)

Will the new flagship include USB? And what makes the new one worth the wait over the current 971?

As you can see, I still can't decide. :(

I would go and search the AVS forums for that info they seem pretty on top of things...BUT as with everything you have to take pre release info wiht a grain of salt untill there is an official release from OPPO on it.........

Basically it will do everything the current flagship does, with HDMI and SACD, and hopefully all issues fixed.

Since I have DVI, don't need SACD, and the firmware is constantly upgraded: I guess I don't feel the need to wait 2+ months and might just have to get the current flagship.

Well you still have the macroblocking issue and the audio sync issue. But you may want to still wait, after the new flagship is out there should be some good deals on the NOS models.

You just don't make this decision easy, do you? :lol:;)

So sad.

I just don't listen to music very much outside my car. :shrug:

I've been back and forth between the 971, 970 and waiting until August for nearly a week now. Could I wait until August? Yeah, I guess so. But, the summer is my high movie watching period and I don't have a decent player right now.

So, based on the review I read from a link over at AVS, I decided to go with the 970. My older Toshiba TV isn't top of the line for display quality and as I stated, I'm not a videophile. The review pretty much makes it sound like the typical viewer won't notice much difference. Macroblocking, on the other hand, is something I can notice on occasion. There should be no issues with that on the 970.

Thanks to Josh :up: Between that AVS review and his posts, it gave me the details I needed to make up my mind.

Now I just hope it ships mid-June like it claims to. :D

i read about that audio synch issue, if that's a major problem, i hope it gets fixed in the next release

Well Ive noticed the Macroblocking issues (now I know what it is thanks to this thread) on my 47" RPTV, but not the sound synch problems so much (I do try and keep up with the Firmware upgrades). Its not something that is unwatchable, but I really noticed it when comparing the Oppo's upconversion next to the HD-DVD player's upconversion. The only other issue I have is that for some reason, whenever there is a sign or something with writing on it, the French subtitles come up.

Thinking of picking up the current player with the DVI input, as I am guessing that the upcoming player will likely only have a HDMI connection. My Sony LCD TV has DVI, but no HDMI.

Somewhat off topic, but does anyone know much about the quality of adaptors such as this one: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-NKgH63D...i&i=119HDMIDVI ?
Perhaps that would be all I need if I was a buy an HDMI only model.

I don't really know much about the "quality" of adapters, but would assume if they're adapting HDMI to DVI, it's still a digital signal and not going to be changed by the adapter?

Anyway, you can save a ton of money by buying this one instead:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...ormat=2&style=