DVD Player Recommendation

[mactep76]

Hi, would anyone please recommend a DVD player for the following system:
TV - Panasonic TH-50PX60U
Receiver - Onkyo 803
Speakers - KEF 3005

I will use HDMI connections to connect DVD player to receiver to TV. I don't really care about features, the picture and sound quality is my main concern. It has to also play CDs, as i don't want to buy a CD player.

The maximum i'd like to pay is $$300.

Thanks.

 

[Davidt1]

You are in luck!!! If I remember correctly, about 99.9% of DVD players play CDs as well. Since a nice DVD player can be had for as little as $70, $300 should get you a very nice one from any of the major makers such Denon, Oppo, etc.

 

[Mort Corey]

The Oppo will give you the best "bang for the buck" and a great picture. If you choose the 970 model you'll also be able to play SACD & DVD-A as well as DVD's and CD's.

Mort

 

[Xsound]

I'm going to second the Oppo 970. Great piece for $150. Not much under $600 that will better it. Sound, Picture - Awesome

Enjoy
X

 

[mactep76]

Ordered the Oppo 970. thanks guys!

 

[gooders]

sounds like this is DVD of choice. This is not the first time I've heard that. I love the fact it's so simple and cheap looking and obviously packs a punch. A few companies could learn from this!!!

I have one million dollar question before I order mine. Is this multi-region? I moved to the US from England so it is the most important criteria for me.


Sorry one more question -where did you guys buy this from - i was thinking Amazon? I've always been treated well by them.

Ok one more question...I see two models online. 970HD and 971H. 971 is $50 more, but i don't know why. Sorry for being a dumb ***.
I have this TV :http://www.hitachi.us/tv/browse/plasma/plasma/42hdt79.shtml
It has 1080i plasma (only brand on the market that does it I believe)

Thanks all.

 

[Davidt1]

You can read about these Oppo dvd players at avs forum:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=18

I was going to buy the 970, but there are a few things that I don't like about it. For example it has a usb port, but it's the old version 1.1. There are no skip buttons on the player. You have to use the remote control to skip to the next track. These things, while minor, annoy me.

 

[gooders]

Fair points but I could probably get past though for the moment with the low cost. Do you know if it's multiregion out of the box? I took a look at the thread you linked but it's SO big I couldn't really hone in on what I needed.

 

[Davidt1]

No, it's not multigegion out of the box. However, it can be made multiregion by pressing a few buttons on the remote control.

 

[gooders]

OK Thanks- that is all i needed to know. just wanted to make sure the multiregion fix was software not hardware. thanks for your help.

 

[gooders]

I'd heard some rumours about Oppo 981 so I checked with them before I made my purchase and they came back to me:

"We are working on a new DVD product called the DV-981HD. It will be
Faroudja based, support HDMI and SACD audio, and upconvert to 1080p. We
hope to release it later this month with a MSRP around the same price of
the OPDV971H, if not a little higher."



I guess I have to wait a couple more weeks!!

 

[Plasmali]

I have a panny 50px500u and recently tried the Samsung HD960 priced very close to the Oppo 971. It apparently uses the same Faroudja chip as the Oppo and includes an HDMI cable. Like the upcoming 981, it can upconvert to 720p/1080i and on 1080p sets 1080p as well (it will not do 1080p on the PX500).

I did notice a difference in the colour fidelity over my old Toshiba 3860 DVD player, but I did not notice a substantial difference in detail. I found that 1080i was ever so slightly better. There were slightly less jaggies, but on the hole I felt that it was not a significant enough difference to warrant its purchase. The Samsung also has an irritating blue power light on it's face that shines like beacon.

I have not seen any reviews of the HD960 anywhere. Would there be any difference between the Oppo 971/981and the HD960? Does the MediaTek chip used in conjunction with the Faroudja make any difference? Anyone have any experience with both of these players?