Denon...Oppo...DVD player for my Vizio

apc

Decisions, decisions. DVD player will be used with 50" plasma capable of 1080i, but not 1080p. Oppo site seems to suggest the DV-981HD for screens over 45". I wonder if the Denon DVD-1730 is comparable or would it be the DVD-1930 for over $100 more. I asked the guy at Crutchfield about comparing and he claimed to have never heard of Oppo. Although I don't believe him I understand his not comparing a product they do not sell. I'm getting light-headed hearing about chipsets and native resolutions.

Oppo is the leader in the clubhouse at this point. Just don't want to regret a decision down the road.

shawn474

I have the Oppo 981 with a 47" RPTV. It looks great and I have no complaints about the picture quality, sound quality, performance, etc. Some are scared away by the "flimsy tray", but it doesn't bother me a bit. At its price point, I'm not sure you could get anything better. Some have suggested to get the Tosh HD-DVD for a little more money, but personally I am going to wait until the format wars settle and there is a clear cut winner.

Shawn

FicmanS

Love my Denon, it has a ton of hours on it with music and movies... Rock solid so far...

MSALLA

If your going to use it as a cd player also, I would go Denon. But for a DVD player members on here seem to like the oppo

apc

Unit may never see a CD. I'm looking purely for DVD capability.

Sami

shawn474 wrote: »

Some have suggested to get the Tosh HD-DVD for a little more money, but personally I am going to wait until the format wars settle and there is a clear cut winner.

My take is that either get the cheapest quality DVD-P that will hold you over the HD war, or get a HD player. As I see it, the benefit of a $200 upconverting player over $50 player isn't worth the price difference. PQ difference is very minimal compared to what it is going from upconverting player to real HD player (whether HD-DVD or BR, both look phenomenal).

HD player is getting in the same price range so even if HD-DVD is the loser in the long run you can still enjoy HD for now. Oppo has a few things going for it (load times, SACD/DVD-A) but the reward of HD really makes up for it.

apc

I must have misunderstood something earlier. How many of you think there's not much difference between a $120 upscaling Sony (DVD-NS71HP) at Costco and the $229 Oppo (DV-981HD)for use as a DVD player?

PS - Since I'm not ready to commit to an HD or BR, I was looking for a "better" DVD player. Would the 50' plasma exaggerate an inferior output and be a good excuse to upgrade a little?

MSALLA

apc wrote: »

I must have misunderstood something earlier. How many of you think there's not much difference between a $120 upscaling Sony (DVD-NS71HP) at Costco and the $229 Oppo (DV-981HD)for use as a DVD player?

PS - Since I'm not ready to commit to an HD or BR, I was looking for a "better" DVD player. Would the 50' plasma exaggerate an inferior output and be a good excuse to upgrade a little?

Get the oppo.;

krabby5

apc wrote: »

I must have misunderstood something earlier. How many of you think there's not much difference between a $120 upscaling Sony (DVD-NS71HP) at Costco and the $229 Oppo (DV-981HD)for use as a DVD player?

PS - Since I'm not ready to commit to an HD or BR, I was looking for a "better" DVD player. Would the 50' plasma exaggerate an inferior output and be a good excuse to upgrade a little?

for me, there was ZERO difference from a Denon 1930 and a non-progressive Sony player...so I took the Denon back (I actually have a Denon 1730 as well..I just wanted to compare the 1930 to my old DVD player)..

It all depends on how well your tv upscales for you...some see benefits..some don't...put me in the latter category..

apc

What's the difference between upscaling and progressive?

Gaara

Basically:

Dvds are 480i, progressive scan outputs to 480p for a smoother picture.

Upscaling changes the resolution to something other then 480, such as 720p, 1080i, or 1080p.

Ricardo

Get the Oppo; I replaced an upconverting Denon 1910 with an Oppo; I karma'd the Denon...because after seeing the Oppo, how could I sell it.....

Denon is not bad, but there is absolutely no comparison in PQ with the Oppo.

apc

Thanks everybody for participating in my mini-education. Seems that the Oppo has a good chipset and may be worth a buy.

Sami

apc wrote: »

How many of you think there's not much difference between a $120 upscaling Sony (DVD-NS71HP) at Costco and the $229 Oppo (DV-981HD)for use as a DVD player?

Minimal difference at best if the reference is the best available PQ. You're spending as much for an upconverting player when you could have the same functionality plus one HD format as a bonus for the same price. Don't consider it as a commitment, you're spending the money on an obsolete (as much any losing format player if that happens to be the case) player anyway with an Oppo. It's your money but it's madness to spend that much money on something that only plays SD-DVD's.

apc

Sami,

You make good points and I'm trying to weigh them against those that are pro-Oppo. I understand you to say that the only step up from a player that handles only standard DVDs is either HD or BR. Did you mean that all upconverting players are basically equal or that they are obsolete and not worth acquiring?

krabby5

apc wrote: »

Sami,

You make good points and I'm trying to weigh them against those that are pro-Oppo. I understand you to say that the only step up from a player that handles only standard DVDs is either HD or BR. Did you mean that all upconverting players are basically equal or that they are obsolete and not worth acquiring?

The benefits up an upscaling dvd player depends on your tv and the source..if your tv happens to handle upscaling almost as good as a player (unless you get a real expensive player or external scaler), then it won't matter...if the source dvd has a crappy PQ, like some older dvds, upscaling isn't going to help it any..in fact it may make it look worse..garbage in..garbage out..

some people claim to see a huge benefit when using an upscaling DVD player on their HD tv...some don't see any real improvement at all..

the only real answer is it depends...you will have to test for yourself

Shannon W.

Ok guy not to hijack this thread but with all the upgrading I've been doing I have almost talked myself into getting a video only DVD player. Now the problem that I'm having now is when I watch a DVD with my Elite DV-45A I sometimes have to change the aspect ration on my plasma to get it to fill the whole screen. But, it never fills it completely there is alway a small strip at the bottom of the panel that is black. So my question is the OPPO DV-981hd able screen shift "I.E. Beable to move the picture around to fit the screen"

On my DVD player now if It just had a menu were I could just align the picture to the screen that would be great but it doesn't have that function. I know when I change the Aspect ratio on the TV it would show the whole picture if i just could move the video source down.

If that make any since let me know.. sorry guys..

Shannon

louthewiz

Well I happen to have both dvd players and to tell you the truth the toshiba's upscaling is alot better than the oppos for sure,
I was able to get the toshiba at refurbdepot for $200.00 shipped and it was worth every penny , Now I do like my oppo alot which I use alot for burned svcds etc and for music but the toshiba has the edge in picture quality...

apc

Just had an interesting conversation with an Oppo rep. The gent was very helpfull as he explained the differences in his 970 and 981 models. He took the time to compare with the Sony I mentioned as well. It turns out that the Sony has the same chipset as the Oppo 970; therefore, the picture should be the same. The important part of the conversation to me involved the difference between the 981 and 970 in picture 'quality' or 'type'. The 981 is supposed to produce a picture type that is similar to a movie on the silver screen in a theater, i.e., a little softer or 'rounded'. The 970 produces a 'crisper' picture according to him. So if you are a critical movie watcher and want the most realistic picture as the director intended, then the 981 may be more suitable. For those who prefer a sharper, more 'HD' appearance, then the 970 would be your choice. I really appreciate when customer service exceeds my expectations. +1 for them.

Sami

apc wrote: »

Did you mean that all upconverting players are basically equal or that they are obsolete and not worth acquiring?

When comparing the PQ difference between certain DVD players (upscaling or not), the difference is quite small. When you jump into HD the difference is huge. You can find A1 for close to $200, the same pricerange than Oppo. Both upconvert and which one is better is not that important as they both are roughly the same. What you get with A1 is the ability to watch HD, and you're not really investing in a dead format since it will still have the functionality of the Oppo for DVD playback for the same price. HD titles cost more than DVD? Rent for now, Netflix has been a great service for me and certainly worth the $20 a month.

Format war aside, compare what you get with the Oppo vs. A1 (or similar). Both are in the $200 range, both upconvert SD-DVD, one plays SACD/DVD-A while the other plays HD-DVD. Oppo propably has less quirks to deal with since the A1 is a 1st gen player but the ability to play HD-DVD should be more than enough to make up for it.

engtaz

apc
Thanks for the info.
Sami
The A1 has been getting updates from Toshiba lately and as a HD-DVD player I like how it is built better then the newer ones.