Oppo DV-981HD Universal DVD Player with HDMI, 1080p Up-Converting, DivX & SACD

Other products by OPPO Digital

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 17 x 10 x 2 inches ; 5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 9 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000LU8A7E
• Item model number: DV-981HD
• Batteries: 2 AAA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (345 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,410 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)

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• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 6, 2006

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The DV-981HD is the latest incarnation in Oppo's highly aclaimed line of upconverting DVD players. It offers an HDMI interface (HDMI Specification 1.1), with HD upconversion ouput resolutions of 720p, 1080i, and full 1080p. This is Oppo's most full-featured player yet, and as such, it's not a DVD player for people with regular analogue sets. While the DV-981HD doesn't offer component output, and doesn't output standard or native resolution, it does represent one of the best (if not the best) upconverting DVD players out there, and it's perfect for people with HDTVs up to full 1080p who aren't ready to jump on the HD DVD or Blu-ray bandwagen. In addition to excellent upconversion, the DV-981HD offers playback of a whole host of formats including DVD-Audio, Super Audio CS (SACD), Audio CDs, HDCD, WMA, Kodak Picture CDs, all version of DivX including DivX6, as well as Xvid, .SRT, .SMI, .IDX, and .SUB file formats.

Audio Features
The DV-981HD outputs audio in stereo or in 5.1 channel surround, either via HDMI, or through the included 5.1 analogue outputs. Other connections include S-Video out, and digital coaxial and optical audio outs. It features 24-bit, 192 kHz high resolution audio D/A converters, supports virtual surround in six settings, and has built-in equalizer, channel trim, and channel delay functions.

Farudgja DCDi Technology
Rather than trying to build their own upconversion technology for this machine, the Oppo DV-981HD the DCDi Faruja technology from Genesis Microchips. In addition to upscaling a DVD's native 720x480 interlaced video to 480p, 720p, 1080i, or 1080p, Farudja technology also detects content that has gone through 3:2 pull down to convert film content to NTSC for video, and recreates the original frames by blending the fields back together. It then processes for any edit mistakes and reconstrucs an accurate signal, producing an image free of motion artifacts. The unique DCDi algorithm can also identify moving edges within an image and adjust interpolation at a pixel level to create smooth edges for on-screen objects, eliminating the jaggy edges that commonly result from other upconversion techniques. Farudja processing also uses a proprietary "TruLife Enhancement" technology to identify transitions in the image considered to be details such as skin texture, freckles or hair, and enhance those to bring more detail in an image to life on the screen. This approach avoids image artefacts common with the peaking filter approach used by other systems for detail enhancement. The Farudja system uses temporal filtering for noise reduction, and can achieve 6 to 10 dB of Noise reduction without introducing artefacts or losing sharpness in the image.

Connections:

• HDMI - High Definition Multimedia Interface: 1
• Analog Stereo Audio (Mixed 2-Channel Left/Right): 1 group (2 connectors)
• Analog 5.1 Channel Audio: 1 group (6 connectors)
• S/PDIF (IEC-958) Coaxial Digital Audio: 1
• S/PDIF (IEC-958) Optical Digital Audio: 1
• Composite Video: 1
• S-Video: 1
• No Component Video (YPbPr/YCbCr) on the DV-981HD model. This model is designed for use with a display device with HDMI or DVI digital video input.

Compared with Other Oppo DVD player models
At the time of this writing, Oppo also has the DV-970HD upconverting player, and their original OPD971H model. Of these three models, the DV-981HD is the only that upconverts to full 1080p, the other models offer upconversion to 720p or 1080i only. Both the DV-981HD and the DV-970HD offer Super Audio CD (SACD) playback, the OPDV971H does not. The other major difference to consider is that the DV-981HD and the OPDV971H both use Farudja processing for video upconversion. The DV-970HD uses a different upconversion system that may not be as full featured as the Farudja. For this reason Oppo recommends the DV-981HD, or the OPDV971H for use with larger screen HDTVs 50 inches or greater, while the DV-970HD is only recommended for HDTVs smaller than 50-inches. Oppo recommends the DV-970HD for use with external video processors or scalers, and suggests careful calibration of both the DV-981HD and the OPDV971H when used with DLP HDTVs. Both of these players are good for use with DLP HDTVs, but for the best picture, some setup time is required. For disply with a DVI input on your HDTV, an HDMI-DVI adapter is required with both the DV-981HD and the DV-970HD models.

What's in the Box
Oppo DV-981HD upconveting DVD player, a High-quality certified HDMI cable with gold-plated HDMI connectors, Remote control with "glow in the dark" keypad (batteries included), Stereo audio cable, Composite video cable, and User manual and warranty information.

Product Description

The DV-981HD excels in translating standard definition video stored on DVD discs to high definition format suitable for display on HDTV and home theater projectors. Featuring an HDMI output and DCDi by Faroudja video processing technology, it delivers a breath-taking picture with vivid color, fine details, and life-like picture quality. The player also supports high-resolution audio formats such as DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD (SACD) for enveloping acoustics. Designed for HDTV enthusiasts, the DV-981HD delivers exceptional core video performance as it improves picture quality with progressive scan, film mode detection, TrueLife enhancement and motion adaptive noise reduction. Available up-converted output resolutions include 480p/576p, 720p, 1080i and even true HD 1080p. The DV-981HD is also compatible with discs and TVs in both NTSC and PAL formats. Not only is the picture gorgeous, but the sound is equally impressive. The high bandwidth HDMI output enables transmitting multi-channel high resolution digital audio to a compatible A/V receiver or TV. Additional audio outputs include digital coaxial and optical, as well as gold-plated 5.1-channel and stereo analog outputs powered by a 24-bit/192kHz high resolution audio D/A converter. Its ability to truthfully reproduce sound from DVD-Audio, SACD, HDCD, music CD and Dolby Digital or DTS sound tracks makes the OPPO DV-981HD a true universal player. The OPPO DV-981HD is a tremendously versatile player and an official DivX certified product, offering compatibility with many digital audio/video/picture types and formats such as DivX video, Kodak Picture CD, Windows Media Audio (WMA) on CD-R/RW, DVD+/-R,RW and DVD+R DL discs. Its dual-laser optical pickup head ensures skip-free playback with excellent error correction. Boasting a stylish and sleek black casing, the DV-981HD is a perfect match for any high definition home theater systems.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

240 of 243 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars perfect region free player, December 29, 2006

By	SL (RI) - See all my reviews

Unbelievalbe picture quality like all other reviewers are saying. Changing the player to Region 0 (all region) is easy: 1. Press Setup on remote control to access the setup page, 2.Enter 9210 on the remote 3.A service menu will pop up, 4. Select a region: 0- 6 in region code. 0 is all-region. Press Setup on remote again to exit. It should play all region and PAL discs. Hope that helps.

(added 12/18/07)
I've been using this player for a year now and I still LOVE it. My friend gave me a DVD with several movies in AVI and an XVid formats. Typically, I would have to watch these movies on my PC. I was pretty psyched to find that Oppo will play the files. When I popped in the disc, I see a blue menu with all the files. The player decodes each selected file and it had no problem playing 3 out of the 4 AVI files. For some reason, one of the AVI files won't play. The XVid file played fine. The quality of these compressed AVI files, as you can imagine, isn't great. But depending on the source of the AVI file, the output quality to a 46" HDTV is almost as good as a DVD and much better than VCD or VCR quality.

162 of 170 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic video, fantastic packaging, only minor flaws, February 15, 2007

By	Lisa Shea "LisaShea.com" - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

We do movie reviews very frequently, so having a high quality DVD player is very important to us. As you probably know if you're into DVDs, the resolution on a DVD is higher than regular TV can show, but less sharp as a high definition TV. That's why Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs are coming on the market, to provide true high definition quality.

However, many of us with high definition TVs have a substantial library of regular DVDs that we still wish to watch and enjoy on our higher quality systems. In many cases these are DVDs that may never be released in a high def format, or personal videos that are simply not in high def format. That's where upconverting DVD players come into play. They help to convert the lower quality signal on a DVD into a high def level of quality, as best they can, by interpolating the existing signal and filling in the details.

We've tested several upconverting units as they get released, and to be honest in most cases the TV did a better job of this task working with a regular DVD player, vs having a DVD player that tried to do that task for the TV. So we approached the test of the Oppo DV-981HD with some trepidation. Would it really work well?

First off, the packaging. We were VERY impressed with how this came shipped! I've got to say it's one of the best packed electronic items we've ever seen, and being game reviewers and electronic gadget fans, we get quite a lot. Kudos to the shipping team for this. "Brilliant", says my boyfriend.

The unit itself is extremely nicely designed. We have several other slim items in our shelves and this really takes the cake. The lights and displays are still easy to read, but the height is extremely short. Perfect for people short on space. It stays nice and cool, too.

The remote has great, glowing buttons that make it very easy to use in the dark. The fast forward / reverse buttons have a great range of speeds. We've got probably 8 remotes on our table and this really stands out as being one of the easiest to use.

All of this wouldn't matter if the picture was awful. But we were really impressed with how *lovely* this made regular DVDs look on our high def TV. Blacks were lush and deep. Colors were vibrant. On a title screen with metallic letters, the regular DVD player had them looking lifeless and flat - but with the Oppo they really did look three dimensional and metallic. Facial textures in particular were extremely nice. Yes, it's still not *true* HD - but that's not the point here. You get a HD player to play HD discs. This is for handling the library you already have of DVDs.

You really do get spoiled - if you're going to watch your existing DVDs, why not watch them with the highest quality image that you can? This will make it harder to test out other upconverters in the future.

Now, this unit isn't 100% perfect in every day. Case in point - the menus. These have got to be some of the worst looking menus I've ever seen on a unit. The letters are kludgy and fuzzy looking. Some menus have options off the bottom of the screen - but there's no scroll bar or other indication that there are more items down there. You just have to page down and see if anything happens.

Also, while I'm reviewing DVDs I often want to get a screenshot of an image to use. When you hit "pause" on this unit, the pause icon stays on the screen. With pretty much every other DVD player I've seen, the pause icon vanishes after a few moments. Not here! I'm also not overly fond of the logo floating around on the screen - but heck, you just turn that off. The tray itself is super thin and fragile, to go with the thin design. However, our PS3 and Wii all have a simple insert slot which works perfectly. Why didn't they use that here?

Really, I can airbrush out the pause lines from my screenshots, so really the only thing I'd want them to switch for a new version is to make it trayless. For an enhancement, we really would love to see a unit with a hard drive recorder as well, so that we can both play DVDs as well as record shows. This combo would make this our primary entertainment unit. Still, until then, this is a fantastic buy for anyone who has DVDs they'd like to watch. Highly recommended.

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Make sure it's compatible with your TV, September 13, 2007

By	Richard Newton (Saratoga, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you have a rear projection TV, you may want to consider the DV-980H instead. I have a Sony KDS-60A3000 rear-projection TV. In the forum on avsforum in the Sony KDS-XXA3000 thread, a user posted this message from Oppo customer support:

"LCoS in the SXRD systems is still prone to macroblock enhancement errors. It is not as pronounced as DLP, but it still exists. For this reason, we never recommend the use of the DV-981HD for RPTV, as there will likely be blocking errors.

Secondly, the previous generation SXRD displays did not respond well to the output of the DV-981HD due to bad handshaking errors with your display and proper colorspace. This causes some users to see "green push".

For your display we would recommend the use of the DV-980H. This player will produce the cleanest, sharpest picture on your RPTV display.

Best Regards,

Customer Service
OPPO Digital, Inc.
453 Ravendale Dr, Suite D
Mountain View, CA 94043
[e-mail]
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]"