Oppo 980H

[joltdudeuc]

Check it out!

http://www.oppodigital.com/dv980h/default.asp


Looks like an update to the 970. Changes seem to be:

-HD JPEG
-1080P output
-New Black Case
-7.1ch audio (Could be a first, since I can't seem to remember another player that can do this)
-DSD over HDMI output (or PCM)
-USB 2.0

[joltdudeuc]

Well looks like there is more info here at AVS:


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=879341

[avaserfi]

Looks pretty cool. The USB feature will be extremely nice as it allows much greater functionallity out of the player using it as a complete media source.

[obscbyclouds]

Looks awesome, kind wish this was out before I bought my 981...

[j_garcia]

I didn't think they were going to have it out that soon, which is why I picked up the 970....I may have to pay them a visit.

[MDS]

Interesting. They put back the component video outputs and it appears to have similar if not identical features to the 981...and it's cheaper?

[j_garcia]

Interesting. They put back the component video outputs and it appears to have similar if not identical features to the 981...and it's cheaper?

Which is why it seems more like an updated 970 than a 981... likely has the Mediatek decoding rather than Faroudja like the 981. The 970 has component out. I just want it because it is black and doesn't have the amber display.

[joltdudeuc]

Interesting. They put back the component video outputs and it appears to have similar if not identical features to the 981...and it's cheaper?
It's an updated 970. You shouldn't really compare it to the 981.

[MDS]

I just read the comparison pages at the Oppo site. The big differences that would account for the lower prices are Mediatek instead of Faroudja deinterlacing and an all plastic body.

Still sounds like a pretty good player.

[j_garcia]

Will have a report on this guy next week. I just got off the phone with them and I pick mine up on Monday.

[supervij]

Oppo's site does seem to say that it's an upgraded 970, which makes me feel good about just having bought the 981. I will say that I would LOVE to have that USB port on mine, though. Save on a lot of unneccessary DVD-R and CD-R usage that way.

cheers,
supervij

[zildjian]

Will have a report on this guy next week. I just got off the phone with them and I pick mine up on Monday.

Great J! If you can, let us know how the USB functioning works pulling video and audio files via external storage devices; I'm very interested in that especially since I just got a 500 GB USB 2.0 hard drive last week. If it works well enough to pull files from that as a media server, that'd be awesome! Probably expecting too much, but it's nice to dream!

Brad

[j_garcia]

I haven't tried it out yet (I'm at work), but they said yes you CAN use flash media to use for movies and pics. He did say you could use an external HD as long as it is formatted to FAT32, however he sad he believes there is a limitation to the size of the drive, but he didn't know what the limit was. You might need to give them a call for more specifics.

I haven't pulled mine out of the box yet, but I did check one out at their facility. About the same size as the 970, but looks really nice in black. Will have pics and info once I fire it up and try it out tonight.

[j_garcia]

So, initial impression is, I don't see a major difference in picture quality. It looks excellent just like the 970 did, so I guess that is a good thing. Color seems to pop and there is plenty of detail. Video based material looks sharp and film based material looks smooth and natural. Via digital, DVD sound seemed a touch low, though I only watched a few scenes from discs I recently watched on the 970. For audio, I listened to Patricia Barber's Modern Cool SACD via analog and it did seem to sound a bit better than the 970, but I can't say fthat for certain without a 970 to compare. It should suffice to say that it sounds great so far. I'm really liking the dim blue display also. I don't know if the 981 came with that same black/dark gray remote, but I like the look better than the previous silver too. Some pics:

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l181/jgarcia14/HT/IMG_2591.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l181/jgarcia14/HT/IMG_2592.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l181/jgarcia14/HT/IMG_2594.jpg

[MDS]

So what do you think about the plastic body as opposed to the aluminum body of the 981? Is the CD/DVD tray up to par or shoddy in construction?

[j_garcia]

Not sure where people got that from? The case is metal and the front panel is plastic, just like the 970.