Which Oppo 970, 980, or 981 to buy?

[igeoff]

I am in need of a new DVD player. I have a Sony 60" HDTV SXRD (1080P) and an Onkyo 605. I have heard good things about Oppo but I am not sure which model to get - the 970 the 980 or the 981?.

 

[jonnythan]

Definitely get the 981. The Faroujda chipset makes it better.

 

[j_garcia]

Faroudja isn't better with certain DLPs according to Oppo, not sure about LCOS, so I would contact them directly and ask them.

 

[supervij]

They actually have a chart on the Oppo website that recommends which model to use based on the TV you've got. They would recommend the 981 for you, based on the resolution and size of your particular TV.

And as someone who owns an SXRD and the 981, I can say it's an excellent combination!

cheers,
supervij

 

[igeoff]

I spoke to Oppo and they recommended the 980H instead of the 981HD for my Sony SXRD? But Supervij has the same TV with excellent results?

 

[majorloser]

I own a 981 and love it. My only complaint are the remote buttons. They're small, hard to read the fine print and not "back lit". Granted, I have a universal remote that takes care of that, but still not user friendly to us "optically impaired"

The only thing it lacks over the 980 is component video outs.

 

[supervij]

igeoff, what reason did they give you for recommending the 980?

cheers,
supervij

 

[tcm5]

I highly recommend the 981 with the Faroujda chip, if you can do without componet video. I got my unit on Monday and have been putting it though the typical new product scrutiny, with good results. I'm running it through a new panasonic plasma 720P with HDMI. I've called Oppo service 3 times with questions and they have been great.

 

[Barrye]

macroblocking

According to this site hometheaterhifi.com there is a macroblocking (no idea what that is) issue with the genesis/faroudja chip that shows up on certain tvs. I think that may be why they recomend the 980 rather that the 981.

 

[Martiad3]

Another option is to pick up a really cheap DVD player, wait a few months, and pick up the Oppo DV-983. It uses an ABT chipset that will have none of the issues that the Faroujda chipset has.

Here's some info.

 

[jliedeka]

If you haven't already, I urge you to go to Oppo's site and look at the comparison tables. The models have slightly different feature sets. Depending on what you need, one model may be better than another.

I have the 981 and it's great for my needs. I really like that it is able to play PAL discs with no problems. However, when I upgrade my receiver, I'll wish I had the ability to get DSD over HDMI that the 980 can do. Not a huge deal but something I would have liked.

Jim

 

[fmw]

I bought the 980 mostly to play SACD's and DVD-A's. It is one of the only players on the market that will decode everything it does through HDMI and my HT is 100% HDMI. As it turns out, it upscales just as well as my HD players and I use it every time I play a SD DVD mostly because it boots so much faster. It is an amazing product for the price. A truly great value. Sorry, I have no personal experience with the other models.

 

[krabapple]

They actually have a chart on the Oppo website that recommends which model to use based on the TV you've got.

the chart was pretty well buried in the site ...here it is

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

 

[pepegalleta]

Oppo 980H

Hi, I own a DLP 46" Samsung, working with the Panasonic S77 dvd. I want to try the Oppo 980, but reading the user manual, it says that it is a Region 1 equipment. I live in South America, Region 4, but would like a Region 0 DVD. Any body know something about this.? I know that the 981, can be changed into Region 0, very easily.

 

[supervij]

The 980 can be hacked to be made region free as well. You can find the hack on videohelp.com.

cheers,
supervij