Raves for Oppo DV-970HD

[mtbdudex]

<div><font size=2>Well, my 3+ year old DVD/VCR combo player "died" on me, I did some research and many people raved about the Oppo DV-970HD 720p/1080i High Definition Up-Converting Universal DVD Player, $150. <br>(I did a search on "Oppo 970HD" and nothing came up, so I''m posting as a new topic)<br><br>My old DVD player was a progresive scan player, that gave me 480p output via 3 component video cables. <br>This one is a Hi-Def up-converting DVD player with HDMI, which means they use some sophistacted chips to digitally scale the picture to near true HD (meaning HD-DVD or Blu-ray). I watched a couple reference DVD''s on both and was blown away at the improvement, more so my wife also saw it. <br>When I was at the 2007 CES there were a few video chip makers that were showing their upscaling chip technology, I am sold on this technology, after looking at it I''m asking myself "why bother with HD-DVD or Blu-ray with this video quality level". <br><br>Just FYI, the 4-1 memory card reader worked well, but very slow processing of the images from my SD card (I have a 7.1MP camera and the picts were in highest quality mode). <br><br>Their web page: <br></font><a target=_blank href="http://www.oppodigital.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DV970HD"><font color=#000066 size=2>http://www.oppodigital.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DV970HD</font></a><font size=2> </font><br></div><BR>

[MatthewB]

I''ve had my 970 for about two months now and love it. I bought mine because I found out with some 970 models you can "upconvert" via componnt (which I needed for my non DVI/HDMI tv)&nbsp; I understand if you are using the HDMI then the 971 or the 981 with the Fouradja scaler is a ted better.&nbsp; But I do have to say the PQ on the Oppo is just short of outstanding.&nbsp; Best bang for the buck standard DVD players out there.&nbsp; The fact it also plays DVD-A and SACD is a great bonus feature.<BR>

[AllenW]

<div>Thanks for the review, as I have a older Sony non progressive DVD and have been putting a upgrade on the "to do" list, this may fill the bill, the $150 price tag with good reviews is hard to pass up, I think Rope is another fan of Oppo too.</div><BR><div>&nbsp;</div><BR><div>Al</div><BR>

[MDRiggs]

<BLOCKQUOTE><TABLE BORDER=1><TR><TD><b>Date:</b> 2/5/2007 12:49:19 PM <b>Author:</b>mtbdudex<BR><div><font size=2>My old DVD player was a progresive scan player, that gave me 480p output via 3 component video cables. <br>This one is a Hi-Def up-converting DVD player with HDMI, which means they use some sophistacted chips to digitally scale the picture to near true HD (meaning HD-DVD or Blu-ray). I watched a couple reference DVD''s on both and was blown away at the improvement, more so my wife also saw it. <br>When I was at the 2007 CES there were a few video chip makers that were showing their upscaling chip technology, I am sold on this technology, after looking at it I''m asking myself ''why bother with HD-DVD or Blu-ray with this video quality level''. </font></TD></TR></TABLE></BLOCKQUOTE></div><BR><div>If you connect a regular DVD player to a non-CRT HDTV set, the set will scale the output from the player to its native resolution. If an upconverting player (or an external video processor) has a better scaler than the one built into your TV and can convert directly to your set''s native resolution you may get a significantly better picture than you would with a standard or merely progressive-scan player. In most cases, however, I think the most important factor is the quality of the deinterlacer (the part that gets the picture from 480i to 480p progressive-scan). Regardless of the quality of the scaling or where it''s done, HD DVD and Blu-ray will look better because the discs contain much more actual detail than DVDs; scaling cannot create detail that is not present in the original.</div><BR>

[Jomari]

<p>second that. i love my oppo 970.</p><BR><div>just a heads up as well,they also have refurbished units available for purchase as well. although not on their website,a quick phone call can get you one for around 100clams.</div><BR><div>&nbsp;</div><BR><div>although not true HD, this is going to work perfectly until the format wars clear up</div><BR><div>&nbsp;</div><BR>

[mtbdudex]

<font size=2><BR><div>MDRiggs;<br>I hear you on the DVD data vs. HD data (whether HD DVD or Blu-ray), surly you can't create "true" hi-quality video from DVD quality video, but as you say the improvements in scaling technology has led to better options/choices for consumers - and at what price points!<br>In my case, our HDTV is a 2 year old 42" Sony 3-LCD 720p thin 15" model (KDF-42WE655), it does not do any "up converting" per say.<br>I can remember back in Feb 2004 saying "wow, look at that picture quality" when I went from my really old 27" Panasonic tube / Basic Phillips DVD player to the HDTV/480p JVC combo DVD/VCR via Component cables. Now, I really can see improvement with the Oppo 720p upscaling over the JVC 480p. I also feel the value vs. price is well worth it. By the way, I choose the basic Oppo player with their video scaling chip instead of the Oppo w/Faroudja chip based on recommendations from their web site, since my HDTV is under 50". I will wait till the format wars settle "the big issue" before I invest into a Hi-Def video player, and even then I'm not so sure I'll buy it for my family room set-up.</div><BR><div>Side note: <br>This current set-up is in my family room and I'm using the Atlantic Technology System 350's THX 5.1 speakers I purchased back in 2000.</div><BR><div><a href="http://mmrosinski.tripod.com/loghome/id26.html">http://mmrosinski.tripod.com/loghome/id26.html</a></div><BR><div>My future "real Home Theater" has been under design/construction for the past 2 years. <br>I built a new log home and moved into it May 2002, walkout basement pre-plumbed but unfinished. I was in "baby mode" for 4 years, had 3 kids between 7/2002 and 3/2006. <br>Since Dec-2004 during the cold Michigan winter months of Dec thru March I've been framing the walls, plumbing, HVAC ductwork, changed the downstairs from a "L" layout to a "U" layout, etc, I'm lucky if I get 5-6 "real" hours/week into the project, gotta balance the kids/family with it. <br>Here are my basic plans:<br><a href="http://mmrosinski.tripod.com/loghome/id27.html">http://mmrosinski.tripod.com/loghome/id27.html</a></div><BR><div>I am doing the complete basement myself, which includes 4th bedroom, full bathroom, craft room, large gaming/play/rec room, and of course my future "real" dedicated HT room.</div><BR><div>Plug for helping:<br>All you guys at S &amp; V forums have helped me along the way, I've been a silent lurker, so now I'd like to give a loud "Thank You" to many members for the good info. Shortly, I'll be joining the DIY HT forum with my own post. The neat thing is I was really-really in what is called "new home bankrupt" - cashflow was tight, so 5 years later we are now financially able to do a HT in the basement, plus seems the technology has/is maturing where the price/performance inflection points have really become attractive.</div><BR></font><BR>

[MDRiggs]

<BLOCKQUOTE><TABLE BORDER=1><TR><TD><b>Date:</b> 2/8/2007 4:07:18 PM <b>Author:</b> mtbdudex <font size=2><BR><div>In my case, our HDTV is a 2 year old 42'' Sony 3-LCD 720p thin 15'' model (KDF-42WE655), it does not do any ''up converting'' per say.</font></TD></TR></TABLE></BLOCKQUOTE></div><BR><div>Actually, it does. Like all displays based on fixed-pixel arrays, such as LCDs, it must convert all incoming signals to its native resolution. So it boils down to whether a particular upconverting player does&nbsp;a better job of scaling to that resolution than the display itself does.</div><BR>