OPPO DVD Player review

pearsall001

I just got the unit on Sat. I had it up & running in no time. Playing DVD's through the DVI hookup into my 50" Sony LCD at 1080i has been nothing short of spectacular. The picture quality is just outstanding!!! The digital sound is also extremely good. All dialog is crystal clear & surround effects have you jumping out of your seat. The one big surprise is the sound quality of the analog 2 channel. I was not really expecting anything this good at all. I haven't ordered cables for the DVDAudio hookup yet so I can't comment on that. All in all for$199 this is an absolute steal!!

izafar

This is a solid performing player. Only the remote and overall build quality sucks. But one cant ask for more for $199

danger boy

i keep hearing and reading alot about this player. where did it come from? Is it an offshoot brand of one of the larger manufactures?

Is this really that good or is it a fad, like so many others the past few years.. ala that Toshiba 3960 or something like that?

steveinaz

I think the Oppo has alot more substance to it. DVD Benchmark shows some pretty damn impressive video performance against machines 3,4,5 times the price. I think what keeps it inexpensive is that it's not a universal player--it cost manufacturers alot in licensing to include SACD/DVDA/HDCD capability.

jeremie

Glad to hear you like it, i am thinking of ordering one as well for my new Infocus IN76 coming in soon.

EricT43

I have one too. Digital sound is good as indicated above. DVD-Audio is not working correctly for some reason, so I need to check my setup. Not sure if it's the player, bad hookup or what.

Picture quality is pretty good, but I'm getting really bad macroblocking. I need to hook another player to my display and see if it goes away or not.

The drawer takes forever to open.

But for $199, it's pretty good. I'm coming from a Denon DVD-3800, which is (was) an $1100 player, so I am probably expecting too much from the Oppo.

Ron Temple

Just bought my first HDTV a Mits WD57731 1080P DLP. Tried to swing a Toshiba HD DVD player in the deal...could have, but was OOS. Settled on the Oppo as a cheap upconverter, temporary solution.

Well, I'm not sure if I really need the HD Player now. PQ in 1080i is so close to the demo material I've viewed that I'm definitely going to wait. Simply stunning via the DVI/HDMI hookup.

DVD A is a bonus, since my old player didn't support it. It might not be as sweet as a Pio or Denon midfi universal, but it's definitely an improvement.

This is a very solid purchase coming from my older player and set and I'd recommend it to anyone following the same path.

ohskigod

I got the oppo as a temporary solution until the HD DVD becomes more mainstream. great pic and soundquality, as well as surprisingly good performance in 2 channel. For ?199 you cant go wrong. I love getting alot of value for my $

Ron Temple

With the latest firmware and this TV, this unit is a steal. I'm totally juiced.

Hunter20

Thanks for the review....i'm looking at this DVD player as well.

univera

I'm sold. Where do you buy it?

polkatese

oppodigital.com

univera

polkatese wrote:

oppodigital.com

I'm not sure which unit is referred to in the opening thread, but the latest player (dv970hd) adds HDMI capability AND has SACD, which I don't see on the previous player. This is truly a universal player since it has SACD and DVD-A. And, it comes with an HDMI cable.

Here is the link to some info on both the newer and older models respectively. http://www.oppodigital.com/dv970hd/dv970hd-pr-05312006.html http://www.oppodigital.com/opdv971h.html

According to the review found on the link above, the newer player adds SACD and HDMI while eliminating the Faroudja chipset which was causing macroblocking. So, while this player has more features and less problems, it also has less video quality and is recommended ideally as a better than average player for the money that would be ideal as a video transport. I guess if video is your main interest, the older player is ideal.

univera

OPPO Digital's DV-970HD was developed following the success of the OPDV971H, the award-winning upconverting DVD player which scored the highest against hundreds of brands and models in independent DVD player benchmark tests. With experience garnered from the OPDV971H and insightful input from the A/V enthusiast community, OPPO packs the DV-970HD with high performance and enthusiast grade features, all at an incredible value.

"The DV-970HD is one of the most versatile players on the market, providing support for DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD (SACD), DVD+/-RW and CD-R/RW. It is also compatible with Certified DivX, Xvid, Audio CD, HDCD, Kodak Picture CD, WMA and other digital audio and video media formats. The DV-970HD supports NTSC or PAL disc and television systems. As video is only part of the equation, the DV-970HD also features excellent audio with Dolby Digital surround sound and Pro Logic II decoding. A high-quality certified HDMI cable with gold-plated connectors is included, adding even more value to the already feature-packed product." $149.00

univera

EricT43 wrote:

I have one too. Digital sound is good as indicated above. DVD-Audio is not working correctly for some reason, so I need to check my setup. Not sure if it's the player, bad hookup or what.

Picture quality is pretty good, but I'm getting really bad macroblocking. I need to hook another player to my display and see if it goes away or not.

The drawer takes forever to open.

But for $199, it's pretty good. I'm coming from a Denon DVD-3800, which is (was) an $1100 player, so I am probably expecting too much from the Oppo.

Eric, I suspect you have the 971 model based on your problems. It seems this model had problems with macroblocking due to incompatibility with the Faroudja chipset and other equipment. I suggest reading the review on the newer player found in the link above. It mentions that newer player, while not as good in overall video quality, has eliminated that issue. It also seems that your player may need to be set to a particular mode in order for the DVD-A to work properly. Check it out.

Ron Temple

The 971 has had several firmware upgrades addressing various issues. I've experienced no macroblocking and DVD A works fine. I chose this player for it's upscaling abilities. SACD would have been nice, but since I only was buying DVD A discs and listening in DTS or Dolby, it's perfect for me.

Early B.

Popped in a CD last night into my Oppo 970, set the reciver to stereo mode, and I was thoroughly impressed with the sound quality.

BTW, PQ is great, too. Awesome player for the money. Very highly recommended.

Emlyn

Received a new 971 model yesterday. It stopped loading discs, so it's going back and I won't get another. All things considered, I don't think it's worth the $199 price in terms of build quality which is only on par with the lowest end of the market. Maybe about half that, even with the nice packaging job and providing both a DVD/HDMI and an HDMI cable.

jhw59

My 971 works fine. software update due in January. I got mine from Amazon for $199 with free shipping. For the price I can wait and see how the HD format plays out. No macroblocking issues, no issues at all.

Ricardo

I have the 971 for a few weeks now and I am very happy with it; perfect PQ and SQ.

What is macroblocking????

slush

Awesome, I need to add this to my Christmas wish list...hopefully the g/f will be kind

Early B.

Emlyn wrote:

Received a new 971 model yesterday. It stopped loading discs, so it's going back and I won't get another. All things considered, I don't think it's worth the $199 price in terms of build quality which is only on par with the lowest end of the market. Maybe about half that, even with the nice packaging job and providing both a DVD/HDMI and an HDMI cable.

Don't give up on Oppo so soon. I'll bet you'll be quite impressd with a properly working model.

I initially thought the build quality was on the low end, especially the CD tray. But for the price, you cannot expect it to be built like a tank. Focus on the price and performance. A year from now you'll probably upgrading to a HD DVD anyway.

jhw59

agree about the cd tray-pretty flimsy

scottvamp

I think i looked this up before but now some of you have hands on experience with the Oppo's.......................
Does either unit do 1080i upconvert through component?
I am not really sure i am satisfied with my current dvd payer and i am going to hold off on HD players fo now.
I think my Panny does a better job in 480p, than my current player does in 1080i.
THANKS

millerman 3732

I'm still thinking about getting an oppo to play my SD stuff, my HD-A1 used to do a good job converting via the HDMI-DVI but ever since the 2.0 upgrade the black levels are all screwed up.

pearsall001

scottvamp wrote:

I think i looked this up before but now some of you have hands on experience with the Oppo's.......................
Does either unit do 1080i upconvert through component?
I am not really sure i am satisfied with my current dvd payer and i am going to hold off on HD players fo now.
I think my Panny does a better job in 480p, than my current player does in 1080i.
THANKS

Nope!!

scottvamp

Thanks for the quick reply guys. DAM, That is what i thought:(
Going put my panny on the projector and to see if i like the image better, before the big Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest showing this next week...

jrlouie

You can download an ISO file, burn a DVD, and install a hack which allows 1080i over component.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8859172&highlight=component+hack#post8859172

If you're in to that kind of thing

scottvamp

I was wondering about a firmware hack like my Zenith. Have you tried this hack jrlouie. Seems kind of shaddy. The one for my Zenith was real simple and worked.

jrlouie

Nope, never tried it. I don't really have a desire for it, so I'm not gonna spend any time on it, or I'm just lazy
I think several of people on that AVS forum have though.

BIZILL

i believe i've had my 971 for over a year. kept me satisfied and am still not in a big hurry for hd-dvd. the oppo is THAT good.