Oppo DV971H -- A review (1 Viewer)

[greg_t]

I've had the S97, the Oppo, the zenith 318, and the RP82. On my display, the S97 had a very noisy picture and much more macroblocking than the oppo. The zenith had the worst macroblocking and image retention problems. I sold both the S97 and the zenith and kept the 82 as my main player.

I then got the oppo and found that it is the only player that comes close to the 82. The 82 on my display has better black levels, but like Dave H above noted, I need to have an ISF as I know the difference is due to differences between my component and DVI in the service menu. Once ISF'd, the components advantage will disappear.

I find that the oppo has more detail, and a more defined image. I don't think the oppo has any advantage in color reproduction. It definitely has a much shorter layer change, I love the region free capability, and the oppo's tweakability with it's settings. I also like that it has a screen saver, which is something I always missed on the 82. The oppo is not without issues though, and until all issues get fixed the 82 will remain in my system. Hopefully the upcoming firmware updates will improve things.

 

[ethan_l]

when playing xvid/divx file and output via DVI upsampled to 1080i do you have the option to resize the video? for example if the video ratio is
2.35:1 can you resize it to proper ar or does the player do that for you
basically I'm trying to determine if it has the "zoom scroll" feature on
the Liteon LVD2001 unit

Thanks

 

[Dave H]

Hi greg_t,

I'm also hoping this next firmware fixes the lip sync issue some are having. I've only watched a couple movies at their full length so I haven't see any problems yet. However, that is definitely something that would bother me.

Also, forunately I haven't experienced any macroblocking. Does anyone know of a disc that often shows macroblocking? I know it's display dependent and I don't think it's much of an issue with CRT RPTV displays.

In addition, I heard from a couple of people at AVS who are using the beta firmware upgrade that the video quality is improved a bit further at 1080i. The official release should be happening within a few weeks.

 

[Brett_M]

Charlie Campisi -- It was a 4 m cable. I think that the shorter one you referred to was included along with the HDMI cable option. This was also available from Extremephono, too, but since I don't have HDMI, I didn't go for it.

I haven't had any macroblocking issues thus far but I have noticed the lip sync problem a couple of times -- it has corrected itself within a few seconds.

I haven't noticed any image retention in any flick yet. I have watched almost twenty (including Batman Begins) and it has not cropped up.

I have watched a few with TrueLife on and off and I don't notice much difference at all. Perhaps it is my display.

 

[greg_t]

Hi Dave,

There has only been one time on mine when I've really noticed it being out of sync. I'm also really interested to hear how 1080i has been "enchanced". One guy on AVS with the beta said he could definitely see improvement in 1080i in that it was more stable, more filmlike, and with better colors and that colors popped off the screen. So it will be neat to see what they did with it. I know on my TV 1080i will cause some flicker on subtitles, so there is room for improvement.

Macroblocking can occur on CRT TV's. I have a CRT based HDTV and macroblocking was readily apparent on the S97 and the Zenith 318. One scene is in Star Wars episode II near the begining when the jedi are in the chancellors office. You can see macroblocking in the red color on the walls. With the zenith and the S97, there were black splotches on the walls. On my Rp82, just solid red. I do still see it ocassionally with the oppo but nowhere near as bad as with the zenith and S97 and I have to really look for it on the oppo. Another is in Toy Story 2 at the beginning when Buzz is landing on the planet. The blue sky in the background would break up and get splotchy with the zenith and S97. It is hardly noticeable with the oppo, but there is still a little bit.

 

[Dave H]

I'll check that Star Wars scene tonight and see what it looks like on my display.

I haven't had the chance to play a lot with Truelife. I've heard this can help macroblocking....but in some cases make it worse!

 

[Dave H]

greg_t,

I can see the redwall moving slightly on my XP-30....as well as on the Oppo. However, when the Trulife is set to ON, the wall moving is more noticable. When it's set to OFF, the red wall moves about the same as the XP-30. This is the first time I have see a difference with Truelife.

 

[greg_t]

Also try checking Spiderman I superbit where Peter gets bite by the spider and he bends down to look at the spider. On my display, there is definite image retention with truelife Off. Turning it On eliminates the problem. I haven't noticed any difference in macroblocking with truelife On or off. I'm just glad the oppo tends to minimize it so it's not so noticeable.

 

[Dave H]

I'll check out the Spider-man Superbit tonight. By the way, what audio settings are recommended if I'm using an optical cable from the Oppo to my receiver? Should I keep it at RAW and 46K?

 

[JeremyErwin]

If your equipment can support 96 Khz or 192 KHz PCM, use that setting. I've just checked, and it doesn't upsample CDs. However, if you play certain DVD-Audio CDs, you can pass 96 or (I would assume) 192 KHz Stereo PCM. I only have three DVD-Audio discs, and my receiver doesn't have 192 KHz DACs, so I can't really experiment further.

 

[Dave H]

greg_t,

I see exactly what you are talking about with Superbit Spider-man. In this case, Truelife is a benefit as you said.

Jeremy,

I was able to set it to 192 KHz. Thanks.

 

[Dave H]

What is the 2-2 cadence, film flags? I noticed on the Secrets test this only passes when set to Video 2 on the player....I've had it at Video 1 all this time.

 

[Ronn.W]

That supposedly only effects some PAL discs. They explain it better on the Secrets site.

 

[timNGY]

Hey guys and gals, I just joined the club and ordered the Oppo from ProjectorPeople.com

Can the owners clarify the DVI/HDMI cable that is supplied. My receiver has HDMI input, therefore I need the DVI-to-HDMI cable. Is this cable always included regardless of where you ordered the player, or does it specifically have to be requested?

 

[greg_t]

You should use Video 2. It gives the best deinterlacing performance for NTSC. According to the following link, if using DVI video 2 gives the best performance.

http://www.oppodigital.com/opdv971h_...ease_note.html

 

[Ronn.W]

AFAIK, only Oppo gives that cable and you have to request it; otherwise it just comes with a DVI cable. Just send ProjectorPeople an email and ask.

 

[Dave H]

Wow and all this time I've been using Video 1. I will definitely switch it over tonight. Doing this and the new firmware due out any day (which beta users are claiming they see picture improvements) I may be getting an even better picture than I do now.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

I've been using video1 also. Just switched it last night but it was too late for more viewing. FYI, the player will let you switch output resolution if you stop the dvd. In order to switch to video2, I had to take the dvd out of the player.

As I posted above, mine came with the 1m dvi cable and also the dvi-hdmi cable. Someone else posted theirs came with a 4m dvi cable only.

I calibrated some more and was able to get better performance. I was using Batman Begins. The scene where Bruce while hallucinating fights Ducard as a test among 50 or so ninja dressed in black. Lots of shades of black, shimmering from firelight and background info on the walls. At 480p, 540p I got a lot of video noise in the backgrounds. Many of the blacks were noisy as well in that browny looking color (is this macroblocking of the blacks?) At 1080i (the native resolution of my tv) it was much better. At 720p, it was pretty much gone and the picture looked great, despite my tv not supporting native 720p.

 

[Larry Sutliff]

I've had the Oppo for a few months, I think it has a very crisp picture, but I've noticed a problem with certain DVD's: suddenly everything looks like it's slow motion, and movement(particularly when people or animals walk) looks slow and dreamlike. I particularly noticed this on HELLO, DOLLY! and a couple of the STAR TREK DVD's. On the other hand, the STAR WARS prequel DVD's and THE CORPSE BRIDE look perfect. Any thoughts?

 

[Dave H]

Question regarding macroblocking...

I hear that A Bug's Life is a great disc to use to check for it. There is a scene where the bug blows on a horn to other bugs and there is a dark blue background that would show the macroblocking....is this correct? Has anyone tried this? I see no macroblocking during this scene (fortunately).