OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio
Rating: 
- OPPO DV-980H review
I really spent a lot of time looking at reviews of upconverting DVD players. I read a review of the new Toshiba upconverting DVD player that got me started. That is a fine looking machine but reviews of it indicated some initial flaws in its capabilities so I kept looking. Somehow I found OPPO while surfing the NET. Their Web site gives you a recommendation of which of their three machines would be best, based on your needs and current equipment. I was intrigued with their recommendation that their cheapest machine would be best for me. It was hard to pass up their most expensive DVD player which passes all the really tough video benchmark tests. I had to keep reminding myself that I could purchase two of the 980H's and still have some change left over from the price of the expensive machine.
I do have an audio streak but it's a little odd. The OPPO 980H has tremendous audio capabilities. I am not very demanding in that regard given that my speakers are the original Bose 901s - so I am only asking for stereo. I was enthralled by the sound of Simon and Garfunkel master-level CDs. The producers of these CDs spent three years tracking down the best they could find for each song. So to summarize audio capabilities, I have only tested stereo and have found that to be terrific.
My testing of video capabilities was a little more demanding. We have two HDTVs. The one downstairs where the speakers are hooked up is a Protron with a best video capability of 1080i. But we also have a Panasonic Versa with 1080p capability. So I had a lot of fun putting the Panasonic through its paces. I used The Kingdom of Heaven as my review DVD. Ridley Scott is my favorite director. I used his director's cut of this movie, which is very different from what was released in the theaters. He uses all kinds of video tricks in this movie so at least for me, I was able to see tremendous differences going from no upconversion to various levels of upconversion. I saw things in the movie that I had never seen before and saw fine degrees of things like fire and woodgrain that could not really be seen at all before. There is one critical scene near the beginning in which a man with crossbow appears for an instant. He was barely visible at 1080i upconversion and really visible at 1080p. I had never seen him before testing the OPPO.
I did encounter one unexpected problem with the OPPO. At first, when I tried 1080p, I would get a message that 1080p was not activated or something similar to that. The OPPO initially would not go past 1080i. There is one HDMI cable that comes with the OPPO. I had used that to connect it to the Panasonic Versa. I had also purchased two HDMI Cables To Go which are certified to run 1080p. So I had the bright idea of replacing the OPPO-supplied cable with one of the Cables To Go cables. And, voila, 1080p was activated. So it wasn't the DVD player or the HDTV, it was the cable. It's sort of an unexpected extra to receive an HDTV cable at all with an HD player. On the other hand, if one is supplied, then it should be one that will work at 1080p. I did not complain at all to OPPO, so if they read this review, this finding will be news to them. Otherwise, I would rate the OPPO DV-980H as a full five stars. I almost did that anyway.
If anyone out there is doubting the need for upconversion, put away your doubts. Join the party. The OPPO comes with the plus of outstanding audio capabilities that generally only are included with much more expensive players. Definitely visit the OPPO Web site to determine which of their DVD players fits your needs best. Then compare that machine to others available. You likely will purchase an OPPO.
I was trying to find a DVD player that I could use to preserve my collection of DVDs without having to move to the new Blu-ray standard. I have not tested a Blu-ray player. All the reviews that I read stated that upconversion of DVDs on Blu-ray players left something to be desired. Now I don't foresee the need to move to Blu-ray at all for a very long time.
Rating: 
- Very Impressed
Just got this DVD Player yesterday, I had a perfectly fine Toshiba DVD Player and up graded to this one. Man I can really tell the difference in sound and picture quality. Its pretty awesome. I have it hooked up to an old school TV not an LCD and using the PCM cables to connect it to the TV. I can just imagine if I used the HDMI output on a Sony XBR or a Samsung A650 or 750.. This is an awesome DVD player. The sound is powerful and some awesome preset sounds built in too I.E rock, live, club, movie dance etc. there are adjustment for pretty much every thing ,like sharpness, brightness, tone, gamma, etc etc all built into the DVD player. An awesome player for $169. Hope you guys like the pics I uploaded, I upgraded the firm ware, with out any problems. Do not change the downloaded file name, let it be as 981. If you change it to 981.BIN the player will not recognize it. I used the USB input to update the firmware and it took about 3 min, and was pretty smooth.
Rating: - The best DVD player I've seen
This is a fantastic DVD player.Connected via HDMI to a 1080p plasma TV the DVDs look and sound great.I am seeing details I've never seen in movies.This is a finely packaged and engineered player.It includes an HDMI cable and an audio cable.There are several options you can select for picture and sound.The buttons on the remote glow in the dark but there are so many buttons and they are so small that you will need light to operate it.It takes several seconds for this player to boot up or load a DVD menu screen but I've gotten used to it.The DVD tray itself is a little flimsy.A red standby light stays on whenever the unit is off.The running light and readout are a nice blue color which can be dimmed.The best way to watch movies until Blu-ray starts to dominate . . .
Rating: - Outstanding in every way
Great unit! As many have said, its audio and video quality surpass most costing far more. The Customer Service for Oppo is fabulous. I heartily recommend the 980!
Rating: - Best DVD Player I've Owned
This is the best DVD Player I've owned.I will keep my eyes out for other Oppo products every time I upgrade my electronics in the future.I bought this player shortly after purchasing a PS3 and upgrading my TV to a 42" 1080p.My Blue Rays looked great, but neither the PS3 nor my old standard DVD player could make a decent picture out of regular DVDs.This Oppo Player solved that beautifully.There is little difference between an upconverted DVD and most Blue Rays, because most BDs are not shot with high-def cameras anyway.This equipment proves to me that DVD will continue to have a large market for many years to come, even in an HD environment, as a cheaper alternative to BD.PLEASE OPPO MAKE MORE PRODUCTS!These guys know quality electronics.Everything about the product is classy as hell.The only minor flaw I find is that the on-screen menus have a pretty rustic look to them, but they're effective and easy enough to navigate, and in EVERY other WAY THIS PRODUCT IS FREAKIN PERFECT.If you want a sweet Upscaling DVD Player, BUY THIS ONE!
- OPPO DV-980H reviewI really spent a lot of time looking at reviews of upconverting DVD players. I read a review of the new Toshiba upconverting DVD player that got me started. That is a fine looking machine but reviews of it indicated some initial flaws in its capabilities so I kept looking. Somehow I found OPPO while surfing the NET. Their Web site gives you a recommendation of which of their three machines would be best, based on your needs and current equipment. I was intrigued with their recommendation that their cheapest machine would be best for me. It was hard to pass up their most expensive DVD player which passes all the really tough video benchmark tests. I had to keep reminding myself that I could purchase two of the 980H's and still have some change left over from the price of the expensive machine.
I do have an audio streak but it's a little odd. The OPPO 980H has tremendous audio capabilities. I am not very demanding in that regard given that my speakers are the original Bose 901s - so I am only asking for stereo. I was enthralled by the sound of Simon and Garfunkel master-level CDs. The producers of these CDs spent three years tracking down the best they could find for each song. So to summarize audio capabilities, I have only tested stereo and have found that to be terrific.
My testing of video capabilities was a little more demanding. We have two HDTVs. The one downstairs where the speakers are hooked up is a Protron with a best video capability of 1080i. But we also have a Panasonic Versa with 1080p capability. So I had a lot of fun putting the Panasonic through its paces. I used The Kingdom of Heaven as my review DVD. Ridley Scott is my favorite director. I used his director's cut of this movie, which is very different from what was released in the theaters. He uses all kinds of video tricks in this movie so at least for me, I was able to see tremendous differences going from no upconversion to various levels of upconversion. I saw things in the movie that I had never seen before and saw fine degrees of things like fire and woodgrain that could not really be seen at all before. There is one critical scene near the beginning in which a man with crossbow appears for an instant. He was barely visible at 1080i upconversion and really visible at 1080p. I had never seen him before testing the OPPO.
I did encounter one unexpected problem with the OPPO. At first, when I tried 1080p, I would get a message that 1080p was not activated or something similar to that. The OPPO initially would not go past 1080i. There is one HDMI cable that comes with the OPPO. I had used that to connect it to the Panasonic Versa. I had also purchased two HDMI Cables To Go which are certified to run 1080p. So I had the bright idea of replacing the OPPO-supplied cable with one of the Cables To Go cables. And, voila, 1080p was activated. So it wasn't the DVD player or the HDTV, it was the cable. It's sort of an unexpected extra to receive an HDTV cable at all with an HD player. On the other hand, if one is supplied, then it should be one that will work at 1080p. I did not complain at all to OPPO, so if they read this review, this finding will be news to them. Otherwise, I would rate the OPPO DV-980H as a full five stars. I almost did that anyway.
If anyone out there is doubting the need for upconversion, put away your doubts. Join the party. The OPPO comes with the plus of outstanding audio capabilities that generally only are included with much more expensive players. Definitely visit the OPPO Web site to determine which of their DVD players fits your needs best. Then compare that machine to others available. You likely will purchase an OPPO.
I was trying to find a DVD player that I could use to preserve my collection of DVDs without having to move to the new Blu-ray standard. I have not tested a Blu-ray player. All the reviews that I read stated that upconversion of DVDs on Blu-ray players left something to be desired. Now I don't foresee the need to move to Blu-ray at all for a very long time.
- Very ImpressedJust got this DVD Player yesterday, I had a perfectly fine Toshiba DVD Player and up graded to this one. Man I can really tell the difference in sound and picture quality. Its pretty awesome. I have it hooked up to an old school TV not an LCD and using the PCM cables to connect it to the TV. I can just imagine if I used the HDMI output on a Sony XBR or a Samsung A650 or 750.. This is an awesome DVD player. The sound is powerful and some awesome preset sounds built in too I.E rock, live, club, movie dance etc. there are adjustment for pretty much every thing ,like sharpness, brightness, tone, gamma, etc etc all built into the DVD player. An awesome player for $169. Hope you guys like the pics I uploaded, I upgraded the firm ware, with out any problems. Do not change the downloaded file name, let it be as 981. If you change it to 981.BIN the player will not recognize it. I used the USB input to update the firmware and it took about 3 min, and was pretty smooth.
- The best DVD player I've seenThis is a fantastic DVD player.Connected via HDMI to a 1080p plasma TV the DVDs look and sound great.I am seeing details I've never seen in movies.This is a finely packaged and engineered player.It includes an HDMI cable and an audio cable.There are several options you can select for picture and sound.The buttons on the remote glow in the dark but there are so many buttons and they are so small that you will need light to operate it.It takes several seconds for this player to boot up or load a DVD menu screen but I've gotten used to it.The DVD tray itself is a little flimsy.A red standby light stays on whenever the unit is off.The running light and readout are a nice blue color which can be dimmed.The best way to watch movies until Blu-ray starts to dominate . . .
- Outstanding in every wayGreat unit! As many have said, its audio and video quality surpass most costing far more. The Customer Service for Oppo is fabulous. I heartily recommend the 980!
- Best DVD Player I've OwnedThis is the best DVD Player I've owned.I will keep my eyes out for other Oppo products every time I upgrade my electronics in the future.I bought this player shortly after purchasing a PS3 and upgrading my TV to a 42" 1080p.My Blue Rays looked great, but neither the PS3 nor my old standard DVD player could make a decent picture out of regular DVDs.This Oppo Player solved that beautifully.There is little difference between an upconverted DVD and most Blue Rays, because most BDs are not shot with high-def cameras anyway.This equipment proves to me that DVD will continue to have a large market for many years to come, even in an HD environment, as a cheaper alternative to BD.PLEASE OPPO MAKE MORE PRODUCTS!These guys know quality electronics.Everything about the product is classy as hell.The only minor flaw I find is that the on-screen menus have a pretty rustic look to them, but they're effective and easy enough to navigate, and in EVERY other WAY THIS PRODUCT IS FREAKIN PERFECT.If you want a sweet Upscaling DVD Player, BUY THIS ONE!