Help me Choose the Right DVD Player Please!

[rabrinni]

I've ordered almost everything I need already and the only thing I am missing is a DVD player, I am having trouble selecting between the S77 and the Oppo, and if I'm going to get the S77, is it worth it to just get the S97? Any suggestions as to what DVD player I should buy that is compatible with my setup and would work great? Any suggestions/comments/ideas welcome

Thank You in Advance

Here is my setup

Panasonic PT-AE900U Projector (2,000)
Athena Point5 System MK II Surround Speakers System ($200)
Dayton 10" Sub-100 125 Watt Powered Subwoofer ($125)
Panasonic SA-XR55S Receiver ($230)


My Options for DVD Player

Panasonic DVD S77S ($215)
Panasonic DVD S97S ($240)
Oppo Digital OPDV971H Hd-Ready Upconverting DVD Player ($200)

[Josuah]

Get the OPPO unless you aren't going to use DVI. See the benchmark at http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/

[Buckeyefan 1]

The Oppo has an outstanding picture, but the start up time is atrocious. If you're patient, it won't matter. If you're buying the player for movies, all are good choices. If you're buying it for sound, there are better options (ie: Denon and Pioneer Elite). Have you seen the reveiws here? Check out AH's ratings on the Oppo. They're less than stellar.

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/oppoDV971Hdvdplayer1.php

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/PanasonicDVDS97p1.php

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/DenonDVD-2910Review1.php

[Josuah]

Well, the Audioholics testing of the OPPO evaluated it on more than just DVI playback. That's why I think it received a lower score than the other players. But for pure movie playback over DVI, I think it's the best choice.

I'm not really sure about those additional cadence tests though.

[jcPanny]

Based on the secrets benchmark, it looks like the Oppo's firmware updates addressed some of the cadence issues. If you are using it as a DVD movie player, then the bass management and quality of the analog outputs are irrelevent. Based on the AH update it looks like Oppo even improved the quality of the remote control.

[j_garcia]

I was reading a thread on the Oppo and it says that even with the recent firmware updates it still may have occasional audio sync issues (fixed by stopping and restarting the disc apparently). By all accounts it has great picture quality with upconversion. I also read that they would include either a digital cable - HDMI, DVI or HDMI-DVI converter free. Some models seem to ship with the older remote, but I believe someone said if you get the old remote they would replace it with the new one.

[GlocksRock]

how good is the oppo with digital audio connections? Does anyone know if Oppo plans on releasing a new DVD player in the near future, maybe one with a HDMI output?

[supervij]

I got back a response from Oppo on this subject a few weeks ago.

My e-mail: "I heard through the grapevine that there will be a new Oppo unit, only it will have HDMI out, no DVI. The word is that this player (a "daughter product") will retail for less than the current OPPO. Does this mean that some features will be removed? I've been waiting for an OPPO HDMI unit to come out, but I don't want reduced performance/features compared to the current OPPO. Can you please clarify the differences between the current OPPO and the upcoming HDMI OPPO?"

Oppo's response: "We are currently not discussing the new product, aside from it not having a Faroudja chipset and it containing a HDMI output. We are also developing a replacement to the 971H, but nothing can be disclosed
about this product."

So . . . no Faroudja chipset, but HDMI. And there will be a replacement for the original unit too. Cool. I'm looking forward to hearing more about that.

cheers,
supervij

[GlocksRock]

I hope the picture quality on the new unit(s) will be close to if not just as good as the original even though it won't have a Faroudja chipset. I wonder if the 971H's replacement will continue to use a Faroudja chip? But I am interested in getting one with HDMI. I guess I will have to wait for them to release the product(s) and see how the reviews go.