High End Quality At a Reasonable Price

Only discovered Oppo Digital a few weeks back. For years I have had a Panasonic S-35 which has been great for my standard 27" Zenith; however I recently upgraded to a 37" Westinghouse 37W3 LCD TV with True 1080p HD-Ready display. Needless to say the S-35 didn't quite cut it with that. So I began looking around at HD upconversion DVD Players with HDMI outputs. I found an RCA 257N at my local Wal-Mart for $80 and I decided to go for it. It offered a bunch of features including up to 1080i upconversion. That being said it didn't look better than my S-35 in most cases and outside of the latest movies it actually looked worse on a number of titles. Couple that with a brand new DVD skipping around within 24 hours of my purchasing the unit and an annoying humming sound when the unit was not in use and I decided to return it (see my 257N review for more details).

At this point I decided that it would be worth my time to actually do some research and figure out which player with HDMI stood out from the rest in reviews. So I googled it and lo and behold I start seeing the Oppo Digital DV-971HD popping up all over the place as being one of the best overall buys out there. Now it is true that the Oppo at $200+shipping was in a totally different price range from the RCA but seeing as how it was being compared to high end $400-$500 Players (i.e. Denon, Marantz) I figured it was worth a try. I was just about to order a 971 when I suddenly find the 981 coming out within a week on Oppo's home page. So I immediately pre-ordered one since this one supported 1080p resolution and I wanted to get the maximum potential out of my TV. Well the 981 arrived promptly on the 7th of December and I immediately noticed that although the name may seem like some off the wall cheapo brand that the player is NO SUCH THING. The first indication was when I opened the box, instead of finding the usual cheap sealed plastic; the oppo came in a canvas type cloth with Velcro seals.

Okay now to the specs of the Player:

Universal DVD Player Features:

* DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD (SACD) and DVD-Video universal playback
* Compatible with Audio CD, HDCD, WMA, Kodak Picture CD, and other digital audio/video/picture media and formats
* Official DivX® Certified product, certified to the Home Theater Profile
* Plays all versions of DivX® video (including DivX® 6) with standard playback of DivX® media files

* Plays XviD and .SRT, .SMI, .IDX and .SUB format

Video Up-Conversion Features:

* High definition up-conversion with film-like picture quality to up-convert 720x480 interlaced video encoded on DVD discs to 480p/720p/1080i and 1080p
* DCDi by Faroudja video processing technology with progressive scan, film mode detection, TrueLife™ enhancement and motion adaptive noise reduction.
* Video is analyzed on a single pixel granularity to detect presence or absence of angled lines and edges, which are then processed to produce a smooth natural looking image without visible artifacts (jaggies)
* High-quality pure digital video and audio through a single HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) cable
* Multiple high definition video formats through HDMI output: NTSC: 480p/720p/1080i/1080p; PAL: 576p/720p/1080i/1080p
* Compatible with HDTV, HD-Ready TV, HDTV monitors and projectors with an HDMI or DVI input
* Direct PAL/NTSC disc and TV compatibility and system conversion
* For more information about DVD video up-conversion, please read our white paper article Getting the Most out of DVD on an HDTV Display
* Supports screen aspect ratio 4:3 (standard) and 16:9 (wide-screen)
* User adjustable video controls: Sharpness, Contrast, Brightness, and Saturation
* Composite video and S-Video outputs (standard-definition output only)

Optimized Audio Features:

* High-resolution multi-channel digital audio output through HDMI supporting CD, DVD-Audio, SACD, Dolby Digital and DTS sound tracks.
* Individual analog 5.1-channel surround and down-mixed stereo outputs
* 24-bit, 192kHz high resolution audio D/A converters
* Optical and coaxial digital audio outputs with DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro-Logic II and Linear PCM support
* 3D Surround (Virtual Surround): Concert, Live, Dance, Techno, Classic, Soft
* Built-in equalizer, channel trim and channel delay functions

Compatibility Features:

* PAL/NTSC disc and TV compatible with automatic or manual system conversion
* Compatible with CD-R/RW, DVD±R/RW and DVD+R DL* (* Playability of self-recorded discs may vary depending on media and formatting software types)
* Dual-laser optical pickup head with excellent error correction

* Enhanced dual-layer disc support with fast layer change
* Wide range universal power supply (~100V-240V, 50/60Hz AC)

Convenience Features:

* Special disc tray - thin, flexible and strong. Can tolerate some bending without breaking.
* Smooth and easy navigation of photo albums, music collections and video files on DVD and CD
* Selectable subtitle and audio tracks
* Discrete ON/OFF remote control IR code for programmable universal remote controls

Connectors:

* HDMI - High Definition Multimedia Interface: 1
* Analog Stereo Audio (Mixed 2-Channel Left/Right): 1 group (2 connectors)
* Analog 5.1 Channel Audio: 1 group (6 connectors)
* S/PDIF (IEC-958) Coaxial Digital Audio: 1
* S/PDIF (IEC-958) Optical Digital Audio: 1
* Composite Video: 1
* S-Video: 1
* No Component Video (YPbPr/YCbCr) on the DV-981HD model. This model is designed for use with a display device with HDMI or DVI digital video input.

Accessories Included:

* High-quality certified HDMI cable with gold-plated HDMI connectors
* Remote control with "glow in the dark" keypad (batteries included)
* Stereo audio cable
* Composite video cable
* User manual and warranty information

So even though the player certainly costs more than your $40-$50 DVD Player it certainly boasts far more features. I hooked up the Oppo to my 37" Westinghouse HDTV via the supplied 6 foot gold plated HDMI cable and popped in a few videos for comparison and noticed a difference immediately. Even on the older DVDs which were poorly encoded and even on 1080i and 1080p upconversion the picture was smoother and more seamless. The other thing I noticed immediately is that there was no annoying top/bottom or side bars that needed to be filled in regardless of format. Unlike my RCA which required me to use the fill feature on my TV to eliminate the bars on a number of titles (thereby degrading picture quality); the Oppo automatically optimizes the DVD for your TV settings. The Player is also a champ with all sorts of media files and will do an excellent job not only with Divx and Xvid but will also do so on Windows Media Player files. The PAL/NTSC converter works very well and you need only enter in a 4 digit code on the remote and then press 0 to make the thing completely region free. No crazy firmware hacks, ect. needed on this player.

That being said you shouldn't expect Blu-Ray or HD-DVD quality on any old DVD that you pop into this player. Older or poorly encoded DVDs will look better on this player but even with the Oppo there is only so much you can do with a poorly encoded source, so don't expect to see an amazingly vibrant or crystal clear picture on these sorts of shows/movies. While the player does it's best to smooth out the image you will still notice pixilated artifacts (especially with an LCD TV) With newer movies (i.e. the latest encoded Star Wars DVDs) on the other hand you will be hard pressed to notice much of a difference in picture quality between them and HD-DVD or Blu-Ray formats. The same is true for media files; If it is poorly encoded sources don’t expect a crystal clear picture.

Now I do have a couple of gripes with the Oppo but they are relatively small:

1. The thin loading tray: Although it is fairly sturdy the tray doesn't pop out as far as most players and so it can make it a little awkward when loading discs.

2. It can take a little while to load computer files (i.e. Divx/Xvid). My guess is that it has to get all of its processing power ready to go before playing the file.

These last two are not an issue for me but might be an issue for some people:

1. No component out. As was pointed out above this player is designed for use with HDMI setups and an HDMI connection will really give you the most out of your HDTV, but some might prefer to have component connections so that is why I listed it.

2. Apparently the surround sound setup that they put in the 981 is a step down from the one in the previous 971 model. I can't really comment on this as I don't have a surround sound hooked up (not much use for a surround sound in an apartment).

Bottom line is that the Oppo Digital is what it is, a way for people to get the most out of their current DVD collection on the latest HDTV’s. Some might argue that for the $230+shipping that you might as well spend a couple hundred extra for one of the High Definition players as most of them also support DVD Playback. My response to this is the following:

1. Selection: HD Players (HD DVD and Blu-Ray) do not have anywhere near the selection of movies that DVD does right now, nor will they for several years to come.

2. Competing formats: Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are duking it out and both sides have supporters claiming that one has won out over the other. There is also the possibility that they will do like the +/- format war that existed between recordable DVD formats and eventually they will make a player that supports both. Either way, you run the risk of having a format that will become obsolete or you will have a player that won't support both formats yet, you paid a premium price for it.

3. While the current HD Players (HD DVD and Blu-Ray) do support DVD Playback they have not put all of their efforts into maximizing the picture quality of the standard DVD Playback, whereas the Oppo has geared all of it's efforts at giving you the best possible picture quality for the money on regular DVDs.

So when you factor in the features, the selection and the overall investment, this player really is a great buy at $230+shipping. It gives you a chance to preserve your DVD collection while still getting use out of that HDTV that you have purchased and will save you a decent chunk of money while you wait for the high definition formats to come down in price and make some kind of decision.