Oppo DV-981HD Universal DVD Player with HDMI, 1080p Up-Converting, DivX & SACD
by OPPO Digital
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List Price: Our Price: $179.00 You Save: $120.00 (40%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home Theater See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Oppo DV-981HD Universal DVD Player with HDMI, 1080p Up-Converting, DivX & SACD
Customer Review: excellent picture, analog sound works great
Summary: 4 Stars
I have tried both the 980 and 981. The 981 picture from DVD is amazing (but it goes to an upconverting TV, so I'm not really sure which device is responsible.) I have not tried the 980 for video, I just play SACD. The 981 is small, and that is usually an advantage. The trade-off is that you cannot access the menus by pushing buttons. You need the remote and a TV screen. If you are using it as an SACD player only, you need to bring a TV to check or set up the menus. I find it strange that this unit (compared to the 980) has better video output but is a step backward on sound. Not the sound quality, mind you, but the fact that it cannot output SACD via HDMI. This is an SACD player, so of course you may want to play SACD. The digital coax and optical out do not handle real SACD. If you want to listen to real SACD, you need HDMI 1.2 or higher or use the 6 channel analog outputs. This has HDMI 1.1, so you need to use the 6 channel analog out for SACD 5.1 sound. NOT TO WORRY. I also have a 980 which I use at the office to play SACD. Although the 980 will output HDMI 1.2 so you can run the SACD sound through the HDMI, I have tried it both ways and I actually prefer the analog 6 channel sound going into an amplifier, rather than a digital HDMI conection. So, with the 981, although you are limited to playing an SACD through the 6 channel analog out, I think you will like that better than HDMI anyway. (It's certainly not worse.) For playing DVD, I run the picture into the TV with HDMI, and run the sound into an amplifier with 6 channel analog. Both the picture and the sound are awesome. There is one potential glitch. I noticed the 981 freezes if you turn off the power with a disk in the tray. When you power on, it is frozen and I have to unplug the power cord to re-boot. This problem has consistently occurred when I leave a disk in the tray and has not occurred when no disk is in the tray. But that's easy to live with, just learn to remove the disk before turning it off if that happens. All in all, exceptional video and audio quality, and if you have a 5.1 sound system, you will love the sound of multichannel SACD for music. It would be a shame to have a 5.1 system available and have a player that cannot play an SACD. This one does it all- 1080p upconvert AND it plays SACD. If you want a SACD player only and don't care about video, the 980 is fine.
Customer Review: Oppo DV-981HD Nice Improvement
Summary: 4 Stars
The Oppo DV-981HD does a very good job of up-scaling a standard DVD to emulate a higher resolutions with minimum artifacts. I am a big fan of Faroudja DCDi Technology, and the Oppo DV-981HD doesn't disappoint.
The only complaint I have, is that switching resolution cannot be found in setup menu, you have to hit the HDMI button on Remote and playback must be stopped before you do this (not intuitive). I would have thought this setup parameter should be replicated in the video setup menu (not just on the remote). I'm not a big fan of Oppo remotes to begin with. The connected monitor is a 58" Panasonic plasma (1366 x 768) which is a low cost, large display (due to the resolution), but the player worked well, set for 720P with no noticeable macroblocking (higher resolutions did not look as good as pointed out in the Oppo Manual on Page 17).
The inclusion of a long HDMI cable is a nice touch, and I like the fact it follows the true HDMI standard, integrating the audio (unlike the conversion from DVI to HDMI found on OPDV-971H, which I own for an LCD set in the bedroom), or previous Oppo players with HDMI.
Even though this installation did not have a good sound system to compliment the player, I like the fact they added SACD and HDCD (HDCD is something I haven't seen on many players) to the format mix. I personally have a Denon DVD-2200 which I paid much more for, and love its DVD-A and SACD capability because of its excellent DACs and Bass Management (even though these formats are scarce). The Oppo DV-981HD appears to have good Bass Management, but this installation did not have a sound system for me to test.
If the disc cannot be played on the OPDV-981H, then there is probably something wrong with it. An important facet of Oppo is it's capability to play DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs, which many players just can't do. Also I am glad there is enough buffer memory to avoid visible pause during layer changes (something I detest on other players).
In summary, I recommended this player to the individual who recently purchased the Panasonic Plasma mentioned above, and once it was setup correctly it produced a very nice picture. I was surprised to see Oppo omit the Component Video (YPbPr/YCbCr) outputs, something older generation HDTV owners will not like.
Customer Review: Oppo DV-981... Serious Bang-for-the A-V Buck!
Summary: 5 Stars
Like many of my friends and acquaintances, I am not-so-patiently waiting to see who wins the High Definition DVD "format of choice" tug-of-war. I want to optimize my HDTV purchases we've made over the past few years (42" Plasma and an 32" LCD so far).
Let me say that until the dust settles, the Oppo DV-981HD provides the perfect stop-gap solution at a terrific price-point. I will agree that some of the current features (i.e. the fragile look & feel of the DVD tray, lack-luster appearance of the remote and Spartan "r00t" display when on the main menu) may give you cause to reflect on the wisdom of your initial purchase decision.
<Sidebar: If the folks at Oppo read this please think about using a slot feed DVD mechanism... I know I wouldn't mind paying a bit more for this feature and I bet others would too!>
Back to the good stuff! Once you hook up your DV-981HD (by the way a good quality HDMI cable is included in the purchase price!) and crank up the resolution to 1080p that feeling of apprehension quickly fades! This unit really provides a phenomenal audio-visual experience which is orders of magnitude better than the standard 480i fare!
I highly recommend this unit to any and all who want to extend the return on investment of their current collection of standard DVDs if it numbers more than five, but especially for the value minded videophile!
I've heard via CNET that some DLP owners experience macro-blocking issues which may require some fancy footwork in the color calibration arena. Also, it should be noted that this unit only has the HDMI digital interface as it is the only one that supports upconversion to 1080p though it does still have the S-Video & RCA inputs as a back-up. So it's possible that owners of some older HDTV's may need to look at the even less expensive Oppo DV-971H which only supports upconversion to 1080i but has the component-video output and has USB & card readers all for around $149 USD.
Even with these few caveats in mind, unless you have the cash to blow on either separate Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players or high priced LG combo-player to hedge your bets format-battle outcome, I recommend getting the DV-981HD and start enjoying the viewing difference immediately!
Customer Review: NO REGRET AT ALL
Summary: 5 Stars
I did my shopping and did it well with this unit. Quite an unknown brand, I relied my decision to purchase this OPPO model based on others who gave their positive feedbacks and after using it for a week now I'd say definitely no regrets. I'm a high definition nuts since it's inception in the US market about 6 years ago and had been using and following it's development when VOOM satellite network first came out about 3 years ago. I love watching the 1080i broadcasts up to now with Dish Networks who purchased the original VOOM channels. My first 1080i DVD upconverter started with a unit called Neo Neu a couple of years ago. With no other unit that's comparable to it's price then, I was upconverting regular DVDs to 1080i for more than a year now. Then months ago, Neo Neu came up with an upgraded unit that upconverts to 1080p. I bought this new unit named HELIOS H4000 for $160 but unfortunately the HDMI didn't work well with my 1080p TV and I relied on it's component output which did the trick based on analog-digital upconversion to 1080p. Not too happy about it, I tried to return the unit but was told that they are working on a new firmware that will solve this problem. Six months now and still HELIOS hasn't come up with anything yet. Never buy from HELIOS!! I didn't give up my quest for a 1080p upconverter until my search came across the OPPO DV-981. I'm very pleased with its features. Very user-friendly RC, nice and cool blue LED, plays Super Audio CDs, and played my other HDTV clips and HD demos which I previously ran only on my laptop DVD-ROM player. These HD demo clips were digitally upconverted to 1080p like watching blue-ray or HD dvds. Amazing clarity and vividness. I have a few DVDs filmed in HD and this unit really does a great job of digitally upconverting to 1080p and the player runs smooth and very quiet. About reliablity, I can't comment on that yet since the model is fairly new. It's manufactured in China by a US company which is very common. For the price, I'd say it's awesome, no regret at all. It even comes with a neat travel dustbag and HDMI cable. If you're like me who's into the 1080p mentality and have a 1080p monitor or LCD/plasma displays and you can't wait for the blueray or HDVD prices to fall down to the $200s, try this. I'm sure you'll love it too.Customer Review: Outstanding Audio Features for DVD-Audio and SACD.
Summary: 5 Stars
This DVD player can deliver not only fabulous picture quality but also Outstanding Audio Features for DVD-Audio and SACD audio titles.
Having Blue-ray player I use this Player to play my Music albums.
This is new and exiting titles I enjoy with OPPO DV-981HD player and my home theater:
UNCOMMON BACH - Music Experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality TM, DVD-Audio DTS 24/96 Surround Music Disc. Volume 1.
UNCOMMON MOZART - Music Experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality TM, DVD-Audio DTS 24/96 Surround Music Disc. Volume 1.
SPATIAL DYNAMICS - Music Experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality TM, DTS ES 5.1 and 6.1 Extended Surround Music Disc
VIVALDI: THE FOUR SEASONS - Music Experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality TM, DVD-Audio DTS 24/96 Surround Music Disc
JAZZ STANDARDS - Music Experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality TM, DVD-Audio DTS Surround Music Disc, Volume 1.
SIXTH SENSE - Music Experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality TM, DTS ES 5.1 and 6.1 Extended Surround Music Disc
SOLARIS - Music Experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality TM, DTS ES 5.1 and 6.1 Extended Surround Music Disc
SPACE or DREAM of LIFE Music experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality TM, DTS 5.1 Music Disc.
THE MASTER AND MARGARITA - Music Experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality TM, DTS 24/96 Surround Audio DVD