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Not happy with the Oppos (1 Viewer)

gojays_1

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I am unhappy with my Oppo DVD player. The reason I even considered an Oppo is because of all the great reviews I read about Oppo online. I managed to find someone here in Canada that sells them online and purchased the 981. I soon discovered the whole macroblocking issue. After repeated attempts to resolve the problem through contacting Oppo customer service and my online retailer, with no positive results, I decided to ask the retailer to refund the purchase. Because it was beyond the refund date, they could not refund it but would allow me to exchange it for the cheaper 971 model which did not have the Farrouda processor. Unfortunately, I continue to have macroblocking problems which are quite annoying especially when watching dark scenes.It's not noticeable with animated movies as they look great as does the HDTV throught the digital cable, so I know it's not my new Toshiba Plasma display that's the problem. Now I'm stuck with an overpriced and poor quality DVD player. So buyer beware!

I now want a Toshiba DVD player. After basing my first purchase on online reviews, like the ones here, I am sceptical. However, I do like to read feedback. I'm considering the A2. The reason I want to go with Toshiba, is that I feel confident it's a good name brand and should be compatible with my Toshiba display.
 

Ed Moxley

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You are the first person I've seen, to say you didn't like the Oppo. I'm not talking about reviews, I'm talking about people that own them. Everybody else I've read about that owned one, LOVED it. Maybe you just happened to get a bad one? That can happen with anything.

Does your Toshiba upconvert? Or your receiver? I ask, because if it's trying to upconvert the same time the Oppo is trying to upconvert, they may be causing problems for each other. Only one piece of equipment needs to upconvert, so turn off any upconverting that any other equipment is trying to do, and try it again.

I can't see it being the Oppo, unless you happened to get a bad one. Too many others love them.
Good luck!
 

MacD

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Can't comment on the Oppo, but if you are going the Toshiba route you may want to take a look at their HD-A20 if it is in your price range. Does 1080P instead of just 1080I and reviews have it a much better unit that resolved some issues with the A2.
 

Chris Gerhard

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Any player with the Faroudja FLI23xx chip can result in the macroblocking enhancement error with certain displays. The DV-971H does use Faroudja and therefore there is no surprise that you have the macroblocking enhancement issue with it as well. The DV-980H does not use the chip and will not cause macroblocking enhancement errors. Are you sure you have the DV-971H? If you do, your retailer should correct their error in swapping one Faroudja player for another. The DV-970HD also uses Mediatek and not Faroudja, but the DV-980H is a better player, I own both.

Chris
 

gojays_1

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In response to Chris: I made a slight error. I had the 981 replaced with the 970. It does not have the Farroujda processor, yet I am still having problems with macroblocking. It was worse with the 981.

In response to MacD: The A20 is a bit out of my price range (I believe it's close to $1000 as opposed to the A2 which is about $200-300 CDN). Also, my Toshiba is only good for 1080i and not 1080p so the A2 should do fine.

In response to ED: I guess you haven't seen me here in a while, but I remember you. Always good advice! I've been real busy lately, trying but failing to truly enjoy my home theater setup. I don't believe my Toshiba upconverts. It pretty much displays whatever the device is set to display. For example, when I set the Oppo to 1080 that's what is displayed; if I'm watching non-HD cable from the digital box, it displays in 480i.
And your point about getting a bad one, well if you read my post carefully you'll see that I tried the 981 first and then exchanged it for the 970 and still had macroblocking. Also, I forgot to mention that I have had both a DVD-R and a CD-R freeze up on me when trying to view/listen to them on the 970. Very disappointing. These discs work fine on my Toshiba (circa 1998) dvd player.

I've contacted Oppo and told them about the problems. They want me to calibrate the display again and download new firmware. I shouldn't have to do that with such highly regarded, expensive equipment. If everyone loves these so much, does anyone want to take it off my hands for a reasonable price? :)
 

JohnRice

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Heh. I can't help but think back to my first DVD player back in 1998 which cost over $600 and was virtually featureless by today's standards. So, I have a hard time thinking of Oppos as "expensive".
 

Ed Moxley

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gojays.........
Sorry you're having troubles. Maybe the firmware update will help. Firmware update helped the Denon 2200 and 2900 players, 2-3 yrs. ago. They were $600-$1000 players at the time.

Do you have a friend with another brand tv, that you can try the player on theirs, to see if same thing happens?
 

Phil A

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I had a friend who had the macroblocking issue with the 971. I told him not to buy it. He has the 980 and it looks great. I have an LCD in the bedroom and I was so impressed I bought the 980 for it (I could have bought the 981 but I wanted to possible see if I can make use of the USB input and perhaps at some future point to have the flexibility to use DSD over HDMI or use the player if I get a DLP projector in the main system). Like John, I have a hard time with people criticizing the Oppo for that issue (they have a check list right on their website for what is appropriate with what displays) given its price point. I have very expensive high end audio things in main system as well as the bedroom system and basement system. At $169, I can't even criticize the CD playback of the Oppo. I've heard worse at 3 times the price.
 

Chris Gerhard

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The DV-970HD does not cause macroblocking enhancement. If you have macroblocking, the DV-970HD is not the cause of the problem, it is either the DVD or the display. I have owned Faroudja players and the Oppo players and I am very confident of this. Macroblocking enhancement, either creating or increasing macroblocking is inherent with the Faroudja FLI23xx players. There are too many owners and too many tests of both Faroudja and Mediatek players at this time for you to have discovered something new. Macroblocking is certainly inherent with many DVD's as well and poorly calibrated displays can be a big part of the problem. I would think a display calibration using the DV-970HD as the source player will improve the performance greatly.

Chris
 

gojays_1

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I calibrated the 970 for the umpteenth time. Made a slight difference. I just feel I shouldn't have to constantly fiddle with such expensive equipment; I just want to watch my DVD's.

As for the Firmware, I have yet to do that. I will eventually and let you all know. I am busy and don't have vast amounts of time to have to deal with all these problems. Again, if Oppo was as good as all of you say, it shouldn't need upgrades. Nothing that has been written here has convinced me that I made a good purchase. I wish I went wish Toshiba.

And Ed, it's a good idea to try it on a neighbour's tv. However, it's a real pain to have to remove all the wires from the Oppo/T.V./Reciever. I'd rather try other options first. And besides, I've tried same DVD's on my ps2 which is connected to same T.V. as Oppo and the picture is better on ps2.
 

gojays_1

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Also, if it's not macroblocking then I don't know what you call it. Distortions, pixelations, it seems all the same to me. Bad picture quality by any other name. Only in dark scenes, always in the backround dark areas.
 

craig_curtis

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I have the 971 and love it.

anyway - have you tried the most direct path - oppo straight into the TV, and not something else... FWIW, wouldn't the PS2 have a different calibration than the oppo, even using the same cable? It is a different player after all.

I second the opinion that you find a friend with a different HDTV than yours, and try the oppo on that. Too bad that you don't love yours. I'm sure you can put it in the for sale section and get rid of it quickly...
 

Ed Moxley

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Even though it's a little hassle undoing the cables and stuff, you need to take it to your friend's, and try it, while it's under warranty. If it looks bad on their's too, then you happened to get a bad one (can happen with any brand). If it's bad, contact Oppo about an exchange. Wait too long, and it's bad, it's your problem, not their's.
Good luck!
 

Screamin

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I originally bought the 970 and then upgraded to the 981. Never had any issues - including video quality. Sorry to hear about your problems.

Has anyone installed the latest firmware released a few days ago?
 

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