OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio
by OPPO Digital
|
List Price: Our Price: $150.00 You Save: $19.99 (12%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home Theater See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio
Customer Review: An excelent dvd at very low price
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, I feel bad for that other reviewer of this DVD player, because, at least based on my experience (and you always need to wonder whether a sample size of one is statistically significant enough to make any sort of judgment - I believe in logic, it's an ad hominem fallacy - other liberal arts folks, feel free to correct my terminology).
Anyhow, I also wanted to say that I'm not an Oppo schill (though, if they wanted to throw a little cash my way for this positive review, I wouldn't complain ;) ).
So it sounds like my experience with my Oppo 780H has been the polar opposite of the former reviewer. I love my skinny little Oppo 780. I'm using it to replace a Denon DVD-1920, which, though acceptable as a universal disc player, had some issues, among which were it being only an HDMI 1.1 interface (the Oppo is HDMI 1.2 compliant), problems I had with the Denon playing multi-channel SACD, and an annoing tendency of the Denon to pause for a couple of seconds when switching layers in the middle of a movie. So, when the Denon decided to quit working (it was only two years old), I decided it was time to seek out and explore strange new universal disc players.
When I started seeing rave reviews for this machine and its predecssors at Stereophile.com and Audioholics.com, two web sites that seem to have radically opposed philosophies, I thought, what the heck! It's fairly cheap for a universal disc player. Let's get one.
When the Oppo arrived (it's only available over the internet), I was pleased by it's packaging. It was in a sturdy box, with an instruction sheet being the first thing you see when you open the box. It contained very clearly explanations about the need to, once you physically connected the machine, to enter its setup menu and confiigure it before you ever attempted to play a disc.
Connecting the Oppo was simple as I only used the good-quality HDMI cable included with the player. Since the player was HDMI 1.2 compatible, it was supposed to be able to provide my receiver (a Pioneer Elite VSX-82TSX) with a complete, multi-channel signal from an SACD - something the Denon, again, because it applied an earlier version of HDMI, was unable to do; btw, I don't fault the Denon for this, it was the standard when the machine was manufactured - as now HDMI 1.3 is the standard, but the benefits that provides seem more relevant to BluRay).
Anyhow, hookup was a breeze, the setup menus were a breeze, and it's been nothing but a joy to listen to. All the rave reviews I've read about the Oppo are right on. DVD-Audio discs are rich and detailed. Listening to Talking Heads' Speaking in Tongues (DVD-A) rocks. Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (SACD) is as full and rich as my MoFi vinyl recording.
DVDs on the Oppo are awesome, too. I used the Oppo's internal scaler to bump up the signal to a 1080i signal, and, while it's obviously not BluRay, the picture on my 5-year old Sony 57-inch 1080i RPTV is spectacular. No pauses when the disc switches layers. Images are rich, colors are incredible, and definitely no jaggies (check out the flyover view of Rome in Gladiator).
Lots of slick little features. Especially that USB port on the front of the player. It recognizes a number of audio formats, but it's easiest if you just use MP3s. Check out the Oppo web site for all the supported formats. It doesn't support FLAC, though, so Hi-Res downloads won't work via this mode of delivery.
Still, if you have a universal disc player, why aren't you listening to your SACDs and DVD-As instead of crappy MP3s and other lossy codecs? And if you're just going to listen to MP3s, doesn't your receiver have a connector for your iPod?
You can also view movie files via the USB port, but you have to convert them, first, to DiVX files. That's kind of a time-consuming process, but it does work.
The USB will also play photos. They're kind of slow to load, but it is cool.
Overall, I'm incredibly impressed with my Oppo. Audio and video performance rivals that of players several times the cost. It has tons of cool features that I like. For instance, you can capture a frame from a movie and use it, instead of the Oppo flash screen, as your screen saver image when you pause a movie or fire up the Oppo without a disc in its tray.
If you're looking for a universal disc player in any price range, and don't want or need BluRay, definitely check this player out.
Customer Review: What's the fuss? It's loud, picture quality isn't that great!
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this because everyone was giving it rave reviews for TV's 46" and below. My TV is a Samsung 46" LN46A650. Previously, I was using my PS3 to play all DVDs, including Blu-Rays. I decided to buy a standalone up-converting DVD player in hopes that my standard DVDs would be "enhanced" to a level fairly close to Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray discs look incredible! I realize the term "up-convert" means that the DVD player takes the DVD's native resolution and "smartly" blows it up to 1080p (or whatever resolution you so choose). But, people keep saying that there is no need for a Blu-Ray player because up-converted DVD's look just as good!
FYI: All HDMIs are connected direct to the TV, not through my audio receiver (which I find unnecessary considering it's an audio receiver and does nothing with video). I say this to clarify that there is no issue with my HDMI-switching receiver - I don't use that feature. Also, I'm using top-quality, and overpriced, Monster HDMI cables. (I doubt even the cheapest cable would make a real difference anyway so long as the gauge of wires are the same.)
I first started with a Pioneer unit for $89 because all my home theater equipment (except for the Samsung 46" TV) is Pioneer. The standard DVD playback at 1080p with it looked no better than when I played my DVDs through my PS3 and the picture actually looked darker and noisier, as if someone aged the picture in Photoshop. I spent an hour with different DVDs (e.g., Ronin, Kill Bill, American Gangster) attempting to notice a difference, especially one worth spending $89 for. I decided to return it to Abt.com.
I then typed in "Best Up-converting DVD Player" into Google and the Oppo line came up. I decided to go with the least expensive one because all of them were extremely expensive relative to the Pioneer I had. I figure just over double the price of the Pioneer I just had should get me an up-converting DVD player I'll be satisfied with. Boy was I wrong!
Just like the Pioneer, this thing doesn't up-convert any better than my PS3. It certainly up-converted better than the Pioneer, but not by much and certainly not enough to justify its price relative to the Pioneer. I consistently felt as if standard DVDs looked better coming through the PS3. I tested and tested and tested, same feeling. I also consistently felt that DVDs played through the Oppo had a subtle green hue where dark grays and browns were. Through the PS3, everything was natural and normal looking. Not to mention this weird issue: title credits and moving text would actually skip around or get all discombobulated for a quick second everyone once and a while. This never, ever happened with any DVD player connected to any TV I've ever had (including my PS3 and the Pioneer I tried first). My TV checks out fine.
I'm going to try, just because Amazon.com has a fair return policy, the more expensive Oppo 981HD with the Faroudja chipset and see if it will finally satisfy me. If my standard DVD's don't "enhance" to near Blu-Ray quality with the 981HD, I'll stick with using the PS3 and keep my money for something worth it. As far as I'm concerned, if standard DVD's don't look "better" by using this Oppo over a PS3, then it isn't worth two-cents.
Also, just so you know, when the laser eye is moving about the disc, this thing makes more noise than my dust buster, I swear. It sounds like Robocop moving. This isn't a quiet machine. I'm sure it's built well with high quality parts, but it's loudness doesn't reflect that. Plus, why the blue screen text? What home theater set-up uses blue text? Most are green or amber. Blue is hard to read in the dark because there are less blue receptors in the eye than other colors and therefore causes eye strain. (This is why I always wonder why VW still has that blue interior!)
Am I going to say don't buy this? No, because you may not have a PS3 or Blu-Ray player and/or Blu-Ray discs. Nor would you want to pay for either if you don't. (I rent Blu-Rays from Blockbuster Online!) I'm going to say, if you have a big 46"+ TV, I have a feeling you and I will be sticking with Blu-Ray discs only and skipping the whole "up-convert" thing because it just ain't good enough.
Customer Review: OPPO DV-980H review
Summary: 4 Stars
I really spent a lot of time looking at reviews of upconverting DVD players. I read a review of the new Toshiba upconverting DVD player that got me started. That is a fine looking machine but reviews of it indicated some initial flaws in its capabilities so I kept looking. Somehow I found OPPO while surfing the NET. Their Web site gives you a recommendation of which of their three machines would be best, based on your needs and current equipment. I was intrigued with their recommendation that their cheapest machine would be best for me. It was hard to pass up their most expensive DVD player which passes all the really tough video benchmark tests. I had to keep reminding myself that I could purchase two of the 980H's and still have some change left over from the price of the expensive machine.
I do have an audio streak but it's a little odd. The OPPO 980H has tremendous audio capabilities. I am not very demanding in that regard given that my speakers are the original Bose 901s - so I am only asking for stereo. I was enthralled by the sound of Simon and Garfunkel master-level CDs. The producers of these CDs spent three years tracking down the best they could find for each song. So to summarize audio capabilities, I have only tested stereo and have found that to be terrific.
My testing of video capabilities was a little more demanding. We have two HDTVs. The one downstairs where the speakers are hooked up is a Protron with a best video capability of 1080i. But we also have a Panasonic Versa with 1080p capability. So I had a lot of fun putting the Panasonic through its paces. I used The Kingdom of Heaven as my review DVD. Ridley Scott is my favorite director. I used his director's cut of this movie, which is very different from what was released in the theaters. He uses all kinds of video tricks in this movie so at least for me, I was able to see tremendous differences going from no upconversion to various levels of upconversion. I saw things in the movie that I had never seen before and saw fine degrees of things like fire and woodgrain that could not really be seen at all before. There is one critical scene near the beginning in which a man with crossbow appears for an instant. He was barely visible at 1080i upconversion and really visible at 1080p. I had never seen him before testing the OPPO.
I did encounter one unexpected problem with the OPPO. At first, when I tried 1080p, I would get a message that 1080p was not activated or something similar to that. The OPPO initially would not go past 1080i. There is one HDMI cable that comes with the OPPO. I had used that to connect it to the Panasonic Versa. I had also purchased two HDMI Cables To Go which are certified to run 1080p. So I had the bright idea of replacing the OPPO-supplied cable with one of the Cables To Go cables. And, voila, 1080p was activated. So it wasn't the DVD player or the HDTV, it was the cable. It's sort of an unexpected extra to receive an HDTV cable at all with an HD player. On the other hand, if one is supplied, then it should be one that will work at 1080p. I did not complain at all to OPPO, so if they read this review, this finding will be news to them. Otherwise, I would rate the OPPO DV-980H as a full five stars. I almost did that anyway.
If anyone out there is doubting the need for upconversion, put away your doubts. Join the party. The OPPO comes with the plus of outstanding audio capabilities that generally only are included with much more expensive players. Definitely visit the OPPO Web site to determine which of their DVD players fits your needs best. Then compare that machine to others available. You likely will purchase an OPPO.
I was trying to find a DVD player that I could use to preserve my collection of DVDs without having to move to the new Blu-ray standard. I have not tested a Blu-ray player. All the reviews that I read stated that upconversion of DVDs on Blu-ray players left something to be desired. Now I don't foresee the need to move to Blu-ray at all for a very long time.
Customer Review: Keep expectations reasonable
Summary: 4 Stars
If you're like me, you're only reading these reviews to see what's being said about the Oppo's upconversion ability. If you're like me, you're unwilling to replace your DVD collection more times than you have to while the new format war plays out. You could buy an HD/Blu-Ray player, but what's the point if you don't want to wait for the victor to be decided before investing in a whole new collection? If you're like me, all these glowing, dazzling reviews for the Oppo are pretty hard to resist.
So: Bad news. I personally wasn't wowed by the Oppo's performance. It looks fine, but noticeably, jaw-droppingly better than my old 480p player? Not to me. Unfortunately I don't have the means for a true side-by-side comparison, so this is just a general statement. I think a lot depends on the DVD and on your TV settings.
I spent hours wondering why my brand new "Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix" disc, surely made by the newest, latest technology, looked to my view worse than on my old player. This bugged me for days before I tried "Fifth Element (Ultimate Edition)" instead and it looked pretty amazing. Then I switched the settings on my new Sharp Aquos from "movie" (which you'd think would be optimized for DVD) to "game" and to me that made a huge difference. The colors were more saturated and the jaggies were less noticeable. Close to "true" hi-def? I don't think so, but trying to be a videophile on a modest budget is exhausting.
The player itself is VERY elegant in design and makes a stylish addition to any setup. The blue lights are classy and unobtrusive. The region-free adjustment went off without a hitch. Like other "off-brands" I've owned, it has an annoying habit of becoming unresponsive if left paused or stopped for too long (fixed easily enough by restarting, thanks to the saved position feature). I'm not happy about needing to keep another remote on my coffee table, since universals haven't heard of Oppo yet. I do like having the HDMI connection that frees up a set of RCA jacks on the TV for other components.
I know I wouldn't have been happy without seeing for myself if there was any truth to the impressive reviews this player has received, but as soon as the format war is over, I will most likely be replacing this anyway.
Really the one star was removed thanks to all these reviews hyping it through the roof. I really expected (and wanted) to be knocked out of my seat.
EDIT: After doing more research into upscaled images vs. true HD, I've come to realize the differences are very infinitesimal, leading me to suspect that a.) the Oppo is probably doing a much better job than I gave it credit for, b.) my unreasonable expectations might have been in the HD format itself, and c.) results will vary depending more on the disc than the machine. I say this because the new release "Across the Universe" looks breathtaking on the Oppo, and I can't imagine getting a noticeably better picture with HD. There might also be an adjustment factor involved, because even SD satellite is starting to look far more bearable than the day I brought my Aquos home. Allow me to add another star to my rating, and say "my bad."
Customer Review: WOW......
Summary: 5 Stars
...that's what your gonna say the first time you fire up this baby with your favorite standard-def DVD. This is not your average Big Box Mart or Big Buy DVD player. I did a fair amount of online research for upconverting DVD players and the OPPO DV-980H quickly rose to the top of the heap ...and I had never heard of this company 'til now. Here's some of my comments to add to all the other positive reviews.
This player is different from the moment you open the box, and even the box is a bit different: most consumer electronics are wrapped and taped in a white foam liner, this unit was encased in a custom fit, velcro fastened soft black envelope with "OPPO" printed across it. The unit is slim yet has a bit of heft to it. The DV-980H is a very sophisticated DVD player and has adjustments well beyond those of mere mortal players ...in short, READ THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL. If you're the type who "doesn't do instruction manuals" or is "technologically challenged", then maybe you should stick with the lesser fare DVD players. You can get a truely amazing picture by setting this unit up properly BEFORE you begin feeding it your DVD collection. The manual is quite thorough and the adjustments are really not hard to figure out.
Word of advice: if your TV/Monitor does not have an HDMI or DVI connection, don't waste your money on this DVD player. There are four ways to make video connections with this unit: HDMI,Component Video, S-Video and Composite Video. Upconverting of commercial DVD's occurs *ONLY* through the HDMI/DVI connection; in any other mode you are limited to standard definition (480i/480p) video. The only exception is home video/consumer-created DVD's which can be upconverted using the component video connections. DVI connections can be made using an HDMI to DVI adapter plug with no loss of visual or audio fidelity.
I have this unit feeding my hi-def Hitachi 51F59 50" wide screen RPTV; the difference in video quality from a standard DVD player is INCREDIBLE. The overall effect is that of a theater film ...three-gun RPTV's typically don't have the razor sharp picture most flat screens do but with this player I truely have a home cinema. With the DV-980 set for 1080i upconverting, my standard-def DVD's come across beautifully cinematic with zero artifacts from the upconversion that I've been able to see. Decoding surround sound (Dolby and DTS)can be done through the player with both 5.1 and 7.1 preamp channnel outputs or sent digitally "raw" (via optical or coaxial digital cables) to your reciever/amp for decoding.
If you have a large collection of standard-def DVD's and your TV/Monitor is able to accept the HDMI/DVI connections, then this is the player to get. It has a lot of adjustability and a wealth of video and audio connections and capabilities. What it won't do is play any type of hi-def DVD; but with as oustanding an image as you get from this player using standard definition DVD's, you really won't care.