Oppo DV971H -- A review (1 Viewer)

[Arnie G]

I just got my Oppo last night. Yea!

I have a Sony 32" 1:33 HDTV & I've been experimenting which mode to set the screen size.

P&S
Letterbox
Wide Squeeze
Wide?

If I set it to letterbox the picture is over compressed top to bottom. Thanks.

 

[JeremyErwin]

Try setting the Oppo to Wide mode. Then use your Tv's zoom feature when playing back Academy ratio material.

Letterbox and Wide Squeeze are compromises that discard some picture information. P&S is an abomination.

 

[Peter f]

Hey Guys

I have a few year old progressive scan Sony DVD player/recorder now connected to my 60" SXRD via component cable, would i see a noticable improvement with this player? I was going to wait for blu-ray to buy a new player, but if i would see an improvment for just a couple hundered bucks.....

the DVD qualitly now is far from my current HD quality

thank you

 

[RAF]

As a point of information: I've updated my HT web site to include material discussing my experiences and impressions of the OPPO971H that I recently added to my system. There is a link in my signature.

In addition, we've created a new "MEMBERS HOME THEATER AREA" here that we are encouraging you to use to discuss details of your own personal home theaters and its equipment if applicable. Check it out and read the "Welcome" message to see how it fits into the entire HTF experience. Enjoy!

 

[RAF]

Also, any word on the progress on the so-called 480i via Digital OPPO model? As I discuss on my HT web site, I'm looking forward to getting one of these new units to provide a direct link from the DVD content to my DVDO iScan VP30 scaler. Has the new model gone past the "rumor" stage?

Thanks.

 

[RAF]

OOPS! Seems like I may have jumped the gun a bit on the new MEMBERS HOME THEATER AREA. The new area has not yet been opened to the general membership (only moderators can see it until it's finalized.) If you can't get to the link I posted in my previous message try again a little later.

But my HT web site is up and running.

Sorry about any confusion.

 

[JeremyErwin]

A niche product, to be sure. I gather you've tried the component outs, and have not been impressed?

 

[greg_t]

Here are the next firmware release notes. A member on the AVSforum posted these but the official firmware is not out yet.

"Firmware Release Notes (note: OPPO has not yet released the firmware, but this is the release information for the release candidate):

The improvements and changes included in this version are the followings:

1. Improvement to DVI output timing

The DVI output timing has been adjusted in this firmware version in order to improve compatibility with display devices. Previously some customers with certain display devices, mostly PAL-system TVs, experienced image shifting or other compatibility problems. With the improved DVI output timing, those compatibility issues are now resolved.

2. Improvement to audio/video synchronization.

This version of firmware greatly reduces the time difference between audio and video outputs. Due to the time required to decode and process the audio and video contents encoded on a DVD disc, there is usually a time difference between the audio and video outputs. In previous firmware versions the time difference could be large enough to cause noticeable “lip sync” problems under certain circumstances. In this version the time difference is greatly reduced. This version also reduced the variation of A/V synchronization caused by playback control operations such as pausing, repeating, chapter skipping and accessing the setup menu.

3. Longer audio delay options.

This version of firmware supports audio delay of up to 100ms, in 10ms incremental steps. The audio delay is designed to compensate for video delay caused by the high-definition up-conversion process within the DVD player and by video processing within the TV display. By delaying the audio to approximately the same amount of time as the video delay, proper audio/video synchronization can be achieved. The default setting is 50ms, which should be sufficient to compensate for video delay caused by the up-conversion process. If you use one of the analog video outputs instead of the DVI output, please reduce or turn off audio delay. If your TV introduces more video delay, you may increase the audio delay setting.

Note: The audio delay feature only applies to the analog audio outputs and PCM format digital output of the DVD player. The audio delay does not apply to Raw format digital audio output. If you are using the Raw format, please utilize the audio delay function on your A/V receiver to set audio delay.

4. Picture settings for PAL mode.

When the “TV Type” is set to PAL or Auto, previous firmware versions did not properly apply picture settings (brightness, contrast, saturation etc) when playing PAL movie. This version corrected the problem.

5. Longer file name display in file browsing mode.

When playing a disc containing DivX, digital picture or music files, long file names are now displayed by scrolling the text.

6. Proper “Skip Prev” function for CD playback.

When playing an audio CD, the “Skip Prev” function (|

 

[JeremyErwin]

Oh dear. And all this time I was worrying about how I might use the oppo's delay controls to best effect. At least they've improved audio/video sync.

 

[Brett_M]

Arnie G -- I have my Sony 51" HDTV set to "wide squeeze" so that 4:3 pictures are automatically put into the correct ratio. I could not use the aspect ratio feature on the TV to shift from wide to full frame (4:3 pictures were stetched). I assume that it can't be changed when using the DVI input.

When set to wide squeeze @ 1080i, I see no loss in piture quality.

Another way to do it is set the Oppo to wide and change the DVI to 480p when viewing 4:3 stuff.

 

[Arnie G]

Thanks all for the setup recommendations. I found Wide mode works best, using 480p for 4:3 titles. I installed the latest firmware & so far so good!!!

Now I have to figure out Truelife on or off. I think I'll try it off and see if I have any problems.

 

[Chris PC]

Is anybody using the Oppo on a display like an lcd projector with HDMI? Have you noticed any difference when comparing the DVI output of the OPPO vs the HDMI output of other players like the Panny S97 or S77? Apparantly there is the potential for fewer gradations between the colours with the HDMI since I believe it is 10 bit vs the 8 bit DVI of the Oppo. Then the S97 and S77 may have other issues. Has anybody compared them for this?

 

[greg_t]

I don't have an LCD projector, just a CRT based HDTV, but I've had both the S97 and the oppo. I found the S97 to have a very noisey picture and bad macroblocking. The oppo has a smooth, noise free image and little to no macroblocking. I used the Pannys HDMI output and the Oppo's DVI. I find the oppo to be a much better player than the Panny was. I also don't think you are going to notice any difference in the 10 vs 8 bit difference. The oppo has the better MPEG decoder and a better implementation of the Faroudja chip.

 

[Arnie G]

My Oppo has a white fog swirling around the black part of very dark scenes. The firmware upgrade made it decrease but it is still there. Anyone else get this & is there a setting to help?

 

[Brett_M]

What's your set up?

Which film?

I have not seen anything like this with mine.

 

[Doug_B]

Is this possibly what some Oppo owners, myself included, refer to as image retention, i.e., are you seeing a sort of "faded" version of the image that previously occupied the area where the dark section appears? If so, and if you've calibrated the player / display combo, try turning Truelife on in the Oppo if not already (trying to remember if another setting also has to be checked / changed).

Doug

 

[Arnie G]

I'm connected by DVI to my Sony 32" HDTV. What I'm seeing is when a movie first starts (or during the credits) and the screen is completely black there is a fog like white swirling around. On bright scenes it is not there, but when there is a really dark scene it is.

I've tried different settings but I haven't found a solution.

 

[greg_t]

Maybe you're seeing macroblocking? Are you using the 720p setting? I know when I set mine to 720p macroblocking is easily seen on dark scenes. I saw this over the weekend, I put on Star wars episode III and after the opening crawl when there is just the black space, it had lots and lots of macroblocking. I don't see it at all on the 1080i setting, it looks like it's supposed to. There are bugs with the newest firmware. Oppo has already listed a known issue with it regarding jumping motion with Divxx files. For those of you with the new firmware, play Star wars episode III if you have it and watch the "a long time ago..." logo and see if you notice any jerky motion. On mine, the words will actually kind of "jump" and stutter. Others on the AVS forum are seeing the same thing.

 

[Brett_M]

This is one of the first movies I watched and I did not see swirling white or jumping in the text when set at 1080i.

 

[Arnie G]

I think there is a new firmware update on Oppo's site. I'll find out more info at home tonight. Hopefully will help my problem