Now I need a good upconverting DVD player to match my HDTV plasma

BobM · « **on:** 11 Dec 2006, 08:18 pm »

My Panasonic TH-42PX60U plasma should be arriving on Tuesday (tomorrow). Now I need to find a decent upconverting DVD player to mate with it. I found a few at www.jandr.com that look promising. Anyone care to comment on them?

SAMSUNG DVD-HD860 ($89) - I picked this player up for my bedroom HD LCD about 6 months ago and it seems to be just fine, but perhaps there's much better for not much more.

TOSHIBA SD6980 DVD Player ($129) - it says HDMI upconversion in the literature, but Toshiba has a history of repackaging Samsung's wares. So who's player is this?

SAMSUNG DVD-R135 ($149) - ?

YAMAHA DV-S5950BL ($149) - ?

SAMSUNG DVD-HD960 ($164) - DCDi by Faroudja, but I've heard mixed things on this chip

SONY DVP-NS90V ($169) - but I've heard very mixed things about the Sony players, tincluding they aren't made by Sony anymore

SAMSUNG DVD-VR345 ($229) - 4 head DVD - why does this matter to me?

PANASONIC DVDS97S ($229) - is there more cto be gained with the TV if I stick with the same brand?

Any others that you would recommend and keep the price sane?

Thanks,
Bob

dwk · « **Reply #1 on:** 11 Dec 2006, 08:22 pm »

Oppo. I'm surprised this was missing from your list, as I was under the impression that this had become the benchmark for inexpensive HDMI upconverting players.

www.oppodigital.com

bubba966 · « **Reply #2 on:** 11 Dec 2006, 08:30 pm »

Second vote for the OPPO 971

BobM · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Dec 2006, 08:47 pm »

I heard about the Oppo, but was unaware of their high regard here. My TV does 1080i (not p) so I woouldn't need the Oppo DV981 for that, but the 981 has a true HDMI connection and the 971 only has a DVI. Not sure if that's too much of an issue. The 981 is only about $30 more.

Any other thoughts on these, or others?

Thanks,
Bob

Russtafarian · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Dec 2006, 08:52 pm »

Get an Oppo 970 and show us how to hot rod it like you did with the Toshiba/Samsung. Seriously! Where you lead I'll follow!

Russ

jqp · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Dec 2006, 09:21 pm »

I bought the Oppo 971, had planned to do a review and will later.

It has a small form factor. The Picture Quality is awesome over DVI at 720p. DVI video is identical to HDMI as far as signals and wires.

For audio I am using optical digital (toslink) to my Preamp/Processor (Outlaw). You probaly don't want to run audio into the TV!

It comes with both DVI and HDMI cables for TV compatibilty.

BobM · « **Reply #6 on:** 11 Dec 2006, 09:28 pm »

Actually I do want to run component audio cables to the TV separately, so the kids and wife can watch TV without turning on the stereo. So the DVI-HDMI cable and some component audio cables should suffice for that.

I also want to accommodate a digital audio signal to the surround sound processor. I assume I can use the coax output for that, no?

Bob

bubba966 · « **Reply #7 on:** 11 Dec 2006, 11:32 pm »

I'd go with this setup.

Get an OPPO 971 with the DVI-HDMI cable (you can order it with that or a DVI-DVI cable). Run that and a set of analog audio cables to the plasma, and then run the coax digital to your surround processor.

And there you have it, about the best picture you can possibly get and you get it from a $200 OPPO.

But if you want to kick it up a notch Bolder Cables has a Digital Audio & Video mod that takes the 971 to a level that's near impossible to beat (unless you spend well over $5k).

BobM · « **Reply #8 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 01:18 pm »

Thanks for your help everyone. It certainly looks like the Oppo 971 is the way to go for about $200.

- DVI-HDMI to the TV for picture
- component analogue (L-R) to the TV for stereo sound
- digital coax to the stereo for surround sound (Dolby, DTS, etc.)

Thanks,
Bob

windwaves · « **Reply #9 on:** 13 Dec 2006, 02:32 pm »

the oppo is great but I would highly recommend looking into HD-DVD players. Obviously there's no comparisons with upconverted material, the HD-DVD PQ is just fantastic. I have both, just FYI. My old HD NEC plasma screams when fed HD DVDs. It's almost like, only now, it really makes sense to have HD panels and I have had mine for a few years, with so little HD material (broadcast).

Think about it, the HD DVD players are not even that expensive.

BubbleChamber · « **Reply #10 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 07:51 pm »

I have not heard of Oppo until I read this post, thanks for the info.

I am also looking for a upscaling Universal DVD player which I would like to use it for both video and music. I am wondering if anyone has compared the Oppo with either the Denon 3930 or the Marantz DV9600? I've read a few reviews on the Oppo 981 and most of them focus mainly on the video quality. How about SACD playback? Anyone has any experience or comments on the SACD playback on the Oppo 981 or 971? Any info would be appreciated.

bubba966, do you have the URL for the mod?

Thanks.

JoshK · « **Reply #11 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 08:15 pm »

Now that I pulled the trigger on the 58" Panny, I was reading this thread about the Oppo player. However, now I am confused on whether the 971H or the 981H is the better choice. Amazon still has the 971H, but the 981H is an HDMI player and the Panasonic has HDMI inputs or is there more to it?

ctviggen · « **Reply #12 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 08:34 pm »

The 981 is 1080p, while the 971 is 1080i or 720p. The 971 doesn't do SACD. You can compare them here:

http://www.oppodigital.com/

sts9fan · « **Reply #13 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 08:38 pm »

Can I ask a silly question? If your tv is upconverting to its native resolution then why do you need a up-converting dvd player?

BobM · « **Reply #14 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 08:48 pm »

I think I read somewhere that the 971 is no longer going to be manufactured by Oppo. This is pure hearsay and I have no real information on that - just reporting what was said on another forum.

Here's a HUGE thread on the Oppo - just go to the end and start backwards from there after reading the first post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=491306

Enjoy,
Bob

electricbear · « **Reply #15 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 08:51 pm »

The TH-42PX60 is 1024 by 768 which makes it a 720p. There is no point feeding it 1080i as the tv will simply down convert the signal that you just upconverted. You should choose a player that will output 720P so that it matches the resolution of the set without having do do any further conversion.

brj · « **Reply #16 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 09:11 pm »

Quote from: JoshK

However, now I am confused on whether the 971H or the 981H is the better choice. Amazon still has the 971H, but the 981H is an HDMI player and the Panasonic has HDMI inputs or is there more to it?

Are you playing the audio through the speakers on the TV, or external speakers?

HDMI (981H) passes audio, while DVI (971H) does not. Thus, if you want to use speakers on the TV, you'll need separate L/R audio connections in addition to the DVI connection for video. (Note that video works fine over a DVI to HDMI cable.)

Quote from: stsfan

Can I ask a silly question? If your tv is upconverting to its native resolution then why do you need a up-converting dvd player?

Based on everything I've read, the quality of the Oppo's scaler is likely to exceed that of almost every TV.

JoshK · « **Reply #17 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 09:16 pm »

Thanks! No, I am not using speakers on the TV. I ordered the 971H. We'll see how I like it. I have a standard Pioneer DVD player (578a or something like that) that I can use for comparison.

ctviggen · « **Reply #18 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 09:19 pm »

Quote from: BobM on 3 Jan 2007, 08:48 pm

I think I read somewhere that the 971 is no longer going to be manufactured by Oppo. This is pure hearsay and I have no real information on that - just reporting what was said on another forum.

Here's a HUGE thread on the Oppo - just go to the end and start backwards from there after reading the first post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=491306

Enjoy,
Bob

There's also a thread on the 981:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=760726

It's also huge.

ctviggen · « **Reply #19 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 09:21 pm »

Quote from: JoshK on 3 Jan 2007, 09:16 pm

Thanks! No, I am not using speakers on the TV. I ordered the 971H. We'll see how I like it. I have a standard Pioneer DVD player (578a or something like that) that I can use for comparison.

Josh,

You could borrow mine to see if you like it. I have a Proceed PMDT and an Oppo 971H, but I don't have the 971 hooked up (no HDMI connections, and the Oppo doesn't apply processing over component, and the component output on the Proceed crushes the Oppo's component output). My Oppo is sitting gathering dust until I get a 720p projector.