New Oppo DVD player finally available for preorder.

[allargon]

I haven't been using my 980 recently, but with the demise if HD DVD and the fact that my A2 doesn't seem to handle 4:3 material well, I may switch back to the 980. I don't think it is a bad price for what you are going to get from this machine, but is it really worth it for SD? For me, I just want a good player for SD at this point, not a great one, because I am more than satisfied with Blu-ray.

IMHO, Oppos were overpriced last year when I bought my Tosh HD-A20 last June. They are still overpriced now. You can get Anchor Bay scaling (not de-interlacing) in a Tosh HD-A20,30,35 for under $200. You can get Reon scaling in a Tosh HD-XA2 (most say it's better than the Oppo 980) for under $300 on Ebay. I can get an Onkyo universal player (DVD, SACD, DVD-A) from Fry's for less than $200 (unless I read the price wrong).

Now, I have to call BS on you dissing the HD-A2. I have an A2 in my bedroom connected to a 768p LCD via HDMI. It plays 4:3 material just fine. I mean scratched, rented SD DVD's. It feeds Dolby Digital/DTS via Toslink to my POS Sony receiver without any problems.

 

[Pyrrho]

IMHO, Oppos were overpriced last year when I bought my Tosh HD-A20 last June. They are still overpriced now. You can get Anchor Bay scaling (not de-interlacing) in a Tosh HD-A20,30,35 for under $200. You can get Reon scaling in a Tosh HD-XA2 (most say it's better than the Oppo 980) for under $300 on Ebay. I can get an Onkyo universal player (DVD, SACD, DVD-A) from Fry's for less than $200 (unless I read the price wrong).

Now, I have to call BS on you dissing the HD-A2. I have an A2 in my bedroom connected to a 768p LCD via HDMI. It plays 4:3 material just fine. I mean scratched, rented SD DVD's. It feeds Dolby Digital/DTS via Toslink to my POS Sony receiver without any problems.

I just did a quick search on eBay of completed listings for the Toshiba HD-XA2. Although it is true that a few of them have sold for less than $300 (not including shipping and handling fees, which put most of them over $300 that one must pay), most have sold for more. And these are USED units. Brand new, from Amazon, one can get an Oppo DV-981HD for $229.99 with free delivery. The Toshiba scores slightly lower on the Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity DVD Benchmark test—see:

(warning: the following link may take a while to load up)
http://69.64.68.156/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all

For DVD playback, the Oppo has some advantages (faster to load up, does not pause for layer changes on DVDs unlike the Toshiba which pauses for 1.75 seconds [see above link]). The Oppo also plays SACDs and DVD-Audio discs, does a good job of converting between PAL and NTSC, and is easy to make region free.

The only advantage of the Toshiba is its ability to play HD-DVDs, which is a dead format. If one has HD-DVDs, then it might be something to buy. If one does not need or desire HD-DVD playback, it is crazy to spend more for a used player that does a worse job with DVDs.

By the way, the Oppo DV-980H that you mention is only $169.99, new and delivered, from Amazon. How is buying an Onkyo universal player "for less than $200" such a bargain, and buying that Oppo universal player for less than $200 overpriced?

 

[j_garcia]

Now, I have to call BS on you dissing the HD-A2. I have an A2 in my bedroom connected to a 768p LCD via HDMI. It plays 4:3 material just fine. I mean scratched, rented SD DVD's. It feeds Dolby Digital/DTS via Toslink to my POS Sony receiver without any problems.

On my display, with the player set to 16:9, 4:3 material displays as 4:3 - it does not automatically stretch and that is annoying. Video based material is of particular concern to me, as I have a lot of Anime and more or less 90% of it is 4:3 and video based. The 980 does not have this problem, and while I feel the 980 upscales a bit better with film based material, there isn't a night and day difference between them upscaling wise, IMO.

 

[allargon]

On my display, with the player set to 16:9, 4:3 material displays as 4:3 - it does not automatically stretch and that is annoying. Video based material is of particular concern to me, as I have a lot of Anime and more or less 90% of it is 4:3 and video based. The 980 does not have this problem, and while I feel the 980 upscales a bit better with film based material, there isn't a night and day difference between them upscaling wise, IMO.

Wait a minute... you want your player to STRETCH your 4:3 content a la TNT/A&E/TBS? Why? God, I hate that. I have a Philips upconverting DVD player/recorder that does that. It drives me nuts. Did you mean zoom instead?

I meant the (may possibly macroblock on DLP's and plasmas) 981H was overpriced. I will leave the 980H alone. (Apparently, the 980H has a toggle? You can answer that. I have no idea.)

 

[j_garcia]

The A2 doesn't have a zoom function either... For anamorphic material, I want it to fit the screen the way it should. For letter box, I want it to show the whole thing, and for 4:3 I want the ability to do a uniform "fit". It can't do all of these with one setting for SD DVD for some reason. Yes, I want it to stretch because I don't like watching 4:3 with black bars on the sides; it is distracting to me. Every one of my current other players have no problem with this.

 

[Pyrrho]

Wait a minute... you want your player to STRETCH your 4:3 content a la TNT/A&E/TBS? Why? God, I hate that. I have a Philips upconverting DVD player/recorder that does that. It drives me nuts. Did you mean zoom instead?

Some people feel like they paid for a big screen, so they want it all filled with picture, even if that means that it ends up looking all distorted. Also, some people have purchased TVs with screens that are subject to burn in, and they need to be careful about how much time they spend watching properly formated material on their screens when the material does not match the aspect ratio of their screen. For them, stretching and/or cropping pictures is a method of protecting the screen from damage.

I meant the (may possibly macroblock on DLP's and plasmas) 981H was overpriced. I will leave the 980H alone. (Apparently, the 980H has a toggle? You can answer that. I have no idea.)

The Oppo DV-981HD works very well for many people. But, as Oppo freely admits (and accordingly gives appropriate recommendations), people with certain types of TVs often have macroblocking issues when using that player, particularly when they have not taken enough care to set up their TVs properly. So it is not recommended by Oppo for people with DLP TVs. Scroll down to see the chart at:

http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/dv981hd_comp.html

If you consult the chart, they advise against the use of this player with DLP TVs. But if you don't have a TV that tends to exhibit this problem, it is a very good player for its price.

 

[j_garcia]

For them, stretching and/or cropping pictures is a method of protecting the screen from damage..

Yep, that is also a factor for me having a CRT.

 

[mnnc]

I have little doubt that the 983h will perform well concerning video however, will it be stellar in the audio dept regardless of whether your playing 2 ch or multi ch cd's?

For 4 bills I can find a prev owned/like new Rega planet, Jolida, or Music Hall that that would be extremely difficult to beat at that price range.

I have a great hd player that upconverts really well...good enough for me at least. The audio performance would be the selling point for me on this new 983 otherwise I would get a 980 for way less than 2 bills and have great audio and vid to boot. Hhmmm? We'll have to wait and see what the 'people' think.