Oppo DV971H -- A review (1 Viewer)

[Arnie G]

Yea, the firmware fixed my problem!!!:p)

Thanks to all for your help

 

[Brett_M]

That's great Arnie G!

I emailed [email protected] for the upgrade CD and they replied in about 2 minutes -- it's on the way. I am blown away by the player but even moreso with the customer support they offer.

 

[Dave H]

Unfortunately, I decided to return the Oppo. I do think this is a very good DVD player – however, I still prefer the Panasonic XP-30 to it. After watching more and more movies, I’m finding the Oppo looking just a bit too soft and lacking in detail compared to the XP-30. In addition, looking more closely at test patterns, I’m finding smaller text actually somewhat blurred and looking out-of-focus, while on the XP-30, it’s very clear and defined. I think this is why I don’t see as much ringing on the Oppo, because the image is just less clear and smudgy. In addition, I think the XP-30 has slightly better, more natural looking colors.

I'm not so sure that upconverting has any benefit for analog CRTs....it seems to be more benefical for digital displays.

My post is by no means a knock against the Oppo – I still think it’s a very good player and would recommend it. But, I believe display compatibility here plays a big factor in searching for the “better” DVD player.

One thing I liked about upconverting to 1080i with the Oppo is seeing no scanlines (which makes the image look more filmlike). However, these other factors are more important to me. In addition, I read that when you upconvert, your set thinks it’s get HD and has to convert SD over – which likely will not result in optimal color purity (yellows may be more green looking, etc.). You can read more about it 3/4 down this page called
"Component Video in High Definition"

http://www.videoessentials.com/componentvideo.php

 

[JeremyErwin]

does that discussion apply to DVI?

 

[Dave H]

Your set still "thinks" your sending it HD material and it has to convert it whether it's through component, DVI, or HDMI.

 

[JeremyErwin]

DVI uses the RGB color space. Is there a separate implementation of this for HD?

 

[Chris PC]

Dave H,

If you have an analog CRT you cannot benefit from the Oppo's better performance using the Oppo component outputs. The Oppo has very good performance via the DVI output, but comparably poor output via the component outputs.

 

[Brett_M]

I received my Oppo firmware upgrade CD today. Within 2 minutes it was done. Their customer support is second to none. Oppo is the way to go.

 

[greg_t]

I agree about the customer support, no other DVD manufacturer comes close to oppo in that regards. There are however issues with the 0220 firmware. Actually, they have already released an interim firmware, 0228, that fixes the main issue. 0228 is only meant to be deployed if you have the issue, which is jerky or juddery motion in Divx files. This also can have effect on normal DVD's. Pop in Star Wars Episode III and watch the "a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away" intro, if the you have issue, you can see the letters jump and break up. 0228 is supposed to resolve this but since it is an "interim" firmware it loses the fixes that 0220 brought about.

You should only install 0228 if you have the jerky, juddery motion issue, otherwise you should stick with 0220. I am going to install 0228 on mine tomorrow and see if it fixes things.

 

[Brett_M]

Good info -- thanks. I'll check tonight.

 

[Brett_M]

Well, I checked SWEIII and sure enough "A long time ago..." is jittery/jumpy.

Should I ask them for the 0228 CD firmware upgrade?

Does this issue effect other movies?

 

[greg_t]

I don't know if they have it available on CD. You could check, but the 0228 is an "interim" firmware, meaning it is not offical. I haven't tried 0228 on mine yet so I'm not sure that it actually fixes the issue, but it is supposed to. The bad thing about 0228 is you lose the fixes from 0220. Apparently something in the improved audio/video timing of 0220 is causing the issue. My guess is that they will develop and fix and soon release an official firmware. I'll try 0228 on mine and see if it resolves it or not.

 

[Chris PC]

What is the "best" firmware to use for now?

 

[greg_t]

whichever one works best for your display. Some are using very old versions, others are using the new ones. I put on 0228 today and I still see some stuttering on Star Wars Episode III, but it's not as bad as it was with 0220. I'm still playing with 0228 though. What's nice about the oppo is that you can go back and forth between different versions anytime you want.

 

[Chris PC]

Greg,

Ok, thats cool. Which display do you have?

- - -

LCD projector owners, what firmware is working for you? Anybody with a Hitachi PJ TX200 / HDP-J52?

 

[greg_t]

I have a CRT based HDTV. I find that on Star Wars episode III, if I chapter ahead to the start of the movie, there is some stuttering. If I don't and just let it play from the begining, there is none. Very odd and I hope oppo can fix this.

 

[Chris PC]

If you chapter ahead, try this for a temporary fix, chapter one more ahead, and then back. Does that help? Oppo isn't totally alone in this. I am finding a number of dvd players can stutter after being advanced or paused etc. Chapter advance is usually the culprit, and pausing or chapter back often helps.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

Needed to revive this thread. I am seeing image retention again. This time in the dark scenes in Serenity. Truelife is On, which is oftentimes recommended as the primary culprit for image retention or ghosting. When I first turned it on, it solved some pretty severe image retention, but it is back. I checked the other forum, and there is also a recommendation to turn NR to off or low. I can't find NR anywhere in the menus. Is this something added via a firmware update? I did not update my firmware since purchasing the player a little more than a month ago as I wasn't having any problems, or so I thought.

 

[greg_t]

Actually Truelife to On is what "cures" the image retention. I would check to see which firmware version you have. You should be able to turn on the player and press "OSD" on the remote and it should list the firmware. Some versions that exist are 1022, 1111, 0220, and the latest is 0302. I would recommend trying out 0302 and see if it fixes your issue.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

It took some fiddling, but the new firmware did a lot to fix the image retention. I am getting more video noise than I'd like with the NR turned to off, but if I set it even on Low, the image retention is back. BTW, NR was not a menu item on the old firmware my player was running.

Anyway, here's the new issue -- when looking at the pluge pattern on DVE with the increasing white to black in about 2 dozen small vertical rectangles, my grays to black are all messed up. There is no smooth transition. In fact, three of the rectangles are completely off. There is a real dark rectangle towards the middle of the pluge pattern and 2 others that are obviously out of place. My old Panny S55 ramped this pattern smoothly at 480p component. Has anyone else seen a problem on DVE with the pluge?