Oppo Digital update

[Rich-n-Texas]

Don't know if anyone's been to their website recently, but both the 980 and 981 now include HDMI. I'm certain the 981 previously only went as high as component out, and I assume this is being offered now because the 983 is about to be replaced with the BDP 83 Blu-ray player. Both are still being sold direct from Oppo at the same previous price point. I went to Amazon to see if free shipping was being offered for either, and to my surprise they both include free shipping.

The price for the 980 @ Oppo = $169.00, the price @ Amazon = $169.99.




So I bought one.

[GMichael]

Spending again huh? Did you get that BFD already?

[BadAssJazz]

I'm not sure if there was a previous version to my Oppo, but I bought mine last year and it came with HDMI connectivity.

[Rich-n-Texas]

You have the 980, and I think the 981 didn't have HDMI. Could be wrong.

GM, well, no, not yet. I'm looking for instant gratification. I get rattled when I start hearing about RIF's at work, and this is like eating chocolate bars as a means to calm me down.

[pixelthis]

You have the 980, and I think the 981 didn't have HDMI. Could be wrong.

GM, well, no, not yet. I'm looking for instant gratification. I get rattled when I start hearing about RIF's at work, and this is like eating chocolate bars as a means to calm me down.

CHOCLATE BARS are cheaper.
Why buy such an antique?
A blu player can be had for near that much.
Although the new BLU oppo will solve the problem of playing SACD while your blu player is hooked to your 5.1, I cant see any reason to buy a plain DVD player right now.
Blu is such an advance.
Kinda like all of the people who got such a "deal" on laser when DVD came out,
or "really made out" with a low priced discontinued HD player.
Anyway you now will be outta work AND outta money, how does that improve things.
Heck, with the candy bars you at least will put a little weight on to getcha through the hard times.
I havent even looked at a DVD since I got my Blu player.

[Luvin Da Blues]

I have a 981 and it has HDMI but no component connections.

[Worf101]

I have a 981 and it has HDMI but no component connections.

+1 here. HDMI only. Which is fine with me.

Da Worfster

[Rich-n-Texas]

Oh well. I guess that blows this thread up right in my face doesn't it?

[nightflier]

Any news on the BR player. I read that SACD/BR players are starting to trickle in at Denon & others. Of course, those guys are MSRPing it at $2K and up, and I'd pay that for a Primare or maybe even NAD, but not a Denon, sorry. These formats change too fast for me to spend $2K on a format that will be passed up with something else in a couple of years.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Any news on the BR player. I read that SACD/BR players are starting to trickle in at Denon & others. Of course, those guys are MSRPing it at $2K and up, and I'd pay that for a Primare or maybe even NAD, but not a Denon, sorry. These formats change too fast for me to spend $2K on a format that will be passed up with something else in a couple of years.

Funny, I know of nothing else set up to replace the Bluray format. There is nothing even in the pipeline that could TRY and replace it. Digital downloads are certainly not going to do it, not any time soon. The market is too fractured with different interfaces and rules, and everyone wants their system to be "the" system. I am not saying spend the 2K, but your statement as to why you wouldn't has to be at least factual.

[Woochifer]

Digital downloads are certainly not going to do it, not any time soon. The market is too fractured with different interfaces and rules, and everyone wants their system to be "the" system

All of these tech pundits that push their inane doomsday predictions for Blu-ray while shamelessly pimping downloads never mention the ridiculously bakanized market for digital downloads. I wonder why ...

Among the downloading schemes out there, there's a whole myriad of file formats and DRM rules, which are all different from one provider to another. This puts severe limitations on device interoperability and transfers, in addition to limited viewing windows. And each of the companies selling/renting digital downloads has to negotiate separate agreements with the studios, which means different content being offered by each provider.

Tech writers just don't get it. Consumers aren't enamored with technology for its own sake. They won't put up with arbitrary hoops to jump through, technical minutiae, and restricted viewing choices just to fulfill some utopian pipe dream of convergence. Distributed media over a home network sounds great in theory, but the practice is a lot messier.

[Rich-n-Texas]

The page on the Oppo site for the 983 had a link to info on the new BD player (I suspect) instead of the "Buy" button, but I didn't click on it.

www.oppodigital.com. Check it out.

[Woochifer]

Good price for a good player. At the very least, you got a solid performer for multichannel music, and one of the better performing upconverting DVD players. As others have mentioned, the 981 is HDMI-only. Without looking it up, I believe that the 980 actually uses DVI as the digital video output (HDMI compatible with an adaptor plug), which works out great for people who own older HDTVs that lack HDCP compatibility.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Good price for a good player. At the very least, you got a solid performer for multichannel music, and one of the better performing upconverting DVD players. As others have mentioned, the 981 is HDMI-only. Without looking it up, I believe that the 980 actually uses DVI as the digital video output (HDMI compatible with an adaptor plug), which works out great for people who own older HDTVs that lack HDCP compatibility.

My plan is to replace my old Panny DVD-F87 changer. I have to believe I'm moving to a better transport as well as a better DAC. Plain ol' CD's played on the F-87 are, IMO too "warm", and on the PS3, too "bright"... "crisp", almost to the point of HF distortion (room treatments and BFD notwithstanding). Another great bang for the buck the 980 is. I really wanted to work a Pioneer CDP into my lineup just for nostalgia's sake, but it wouldn't have been a practical move.

[Luvin Da Blues]

My plan is to replace my old Panny DVD-F87 changer.......

If your thinking OPPO and you didn't see this on their website...

"Display Device Compatibility:
* The DV-983H can be used with any display technology - Plasma, LCD, DLP, LCoS, or CRT; flat panel, front projection, rear projection, or direct-view tube. Its "stretch" aspect ratio control mode is especially useful for high-end projectors with an anamorphic lens.
* The DV-981HD shows its advantage with large screen displays. On a smaller screen, the performance advantage is offset by the screen size and becomes less important. If your projector or flat panel TV has a native resolution of 1920x1080 and can accept the 1080p/60 signal, and you are looking for excellent film-like picture quality, the DV-981HD is highly recommended. When used with some rear projection TVs, especially those with DLP technology, the DV-981H may make encoding defects in video very noticeable. This problem is often called "Macroblocking". It can be avoided by carefully calibrating the display, but calibration is often time-consuming. To avoid the problem, the DV-983H or DV-980H should be used with such rear projection TVs.
* The DV-980H supports all display technologies. It is recommended for display device with smaller screen size for the best performance/cost ratio. It is also highly recommended for users with rear projection TVs, especially those with DLP technology because the DV-980H does not exhibit the "Macroblocking" issue.

HDMI Output Resolution:
* All three models support the following output resolutions: NTSC: 1080p/1080i/720p/480p, PAL: 1080p/1080i/720p/576p.
* The DV-980H in addition supports 480i/576i native SD resolution over HDMI. If you use an external video signal processor with HDMI input the DV-980H is highly recommended.

Component Output:
* The DV-983H offers component output. However the component output does not feature "VRS by Anchor Bay" video processing. Video performance over component is similar to that of the DV-980H.
* The DV-981HD does not have component output.
* The DV-980H offers component output and is recommended you plan to use component video as the primary video connection.

[Feanor]

Good price for a good player. At the very least, you got a solid performer for multichannel music, and one of the better performing upconverting DVD players. As others have mentioned, the 981 is HDMI-only. Without looking it up, I believe that the 980 actually uses DVI as the digital video output (HDMI compatible with an adaptor plug), which works out great for people who own older HDTVs that lack HDCP compatibility.

I have a 980, and it does have HDMI output, 1.2a, and will pass a pure a DSD signal if your downstream component can handle it. (I don't use the HDMI because I still only have a 27" CRT to watch; also my old Panny X25 doesn't have HDMI either.)

[Rich-n-Texas]

Your asking a lot of me at midnight on a Friday LDB. Suffice it to say, my PS3 does everything I need it to do from a video reproduction standpoint, but I want a better solution for CD playback. $169 is reasonable, $229, not so much. The 983 isn't being offer anymore as far as I can tell...

Pix, shut the fvck up. It's late.

[pixelthis]

Your asking a lot of me at midnight on a Friday LDB. Suffice it to say, my PS3 does everything I need it to do from a video reproduction standpoint, but I want a better solution for CD playback. $169 is reasonable, $229, not so much. The 983 isn't being offer anymore as far as I can tell...

Pix, shut the fvck up. It's late.

Later than you think...
YAMAHA makes a nice CD changer (for a changer) sounds really nice, 150$.

[blackraven]

I talked to an oppo tech last year and he said the 980 is better for audio and the 981 is better for video.

[Rich-n-Texas]

I talked to an oppo tech last year and he said the 980 is better for audio and the 981 is better for video.

That's why I'm buying a 980. Surely everyone can agree that it's a good upgrade over my current CDP, can't we?

[kexodusc]

Wake me up when the BluRay player gets here...
For once Pixie and I agree....ain't no way I'm buying a DVD player when there's chocolate bars to be et.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Who here has a 5+ year old DVD changer?

[BadAssJazz]

Who here has a 5+ year old DVD changer?

I have a Sony 400 Disc SACD jukebox. Does that count? :-)

[pixelthis]

I have a Sony 400 Disc SACD jukebox. Does that count? :-)

I have one of those.
Its the rodney Dangerfield of CD players.
But it actually sounds quite good and is great for storing CD's.
RICH, if its CD you want you need something like a Cambridge CD or other dedicated
CD player, no DVD player will EVER sound as good as a dedicated CD player,
for a LOT of reasons.
Any CD changer will sound better.

[blackraven]

It should be a very good upgrade from that panasonic dvd changer (my daughter has the same one) and it will play SACD to boot!

It should also make a good transport for a DAC if you choose to upgrade in the future.