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"A great imporvement from 970" on by asvaberg
Pros: Picture quality, all round use, audio quality
Cons: difficult to find any
Summary: As long as you know this is not a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player (Oppo does not try to tell you this is such a player though) - this must be far the best bargain for DVD and CD playback - including SACD, Audio-DVD and other filetypes.
It even fits with USB mass storage such as external harddrive, flash-memorystick or iPOD (the latter is interesting beacuse 970 did not recognize the iPOD when I connected).
As with the 970 the picture quality is excellent - this is also described in th cNET test.
However, I find it proper to comment the audio quality as cNET seems to forget that this is a truly remarcable good aurdio-playback device.
The chip for audio on 980 is newer and better than on the 970, and it has also been modified by Oppo.
I can absolutely recognize that Oppo have done a good job with this DAC.
Regular CD's sounds clearer, more open and fresher - however it is still up to you as user to decide whether you prefer to alter the EQ settings in the player - a very easy way via the on-screen menu. You can, as with the 970, choose between sound styles like rock, pop, jazz - and also give other charasteristics to the sound like 'livingroom', 'concert hall' etc.
My preference is "rock" and no other changes. This gives the sound more bass and more dynamic in the deliverance.
SACD sounds brilliant. I have to use mulit channel as I do not have HDMI in on my receiver. Still, it's a remarcable performane by the Oppo 980.
Audio-DVD have the same, fine audio delivery.
USB: this is what we in Norway would call "the raisin in the sausage" (it meens: this is the The Bonus). An average family today have so many audio devices, iPOD, mp3's, harddisks etc - and it is so easy to just plug them into this DVD player, use the on-screen meny and fill the livingroom with music. But not only that: the 980 is far much better in picture quality for photos. The pictures are larger and with so much better quality that I almost want to say that it is "useless" on the 970
Thank you, Oppo - I give you 10 points for this player as it must be the very best bargain for a DVD/CD player in this price range!
ps! the bag, the cables and the remote are almost the same as in 970 - brilliant! -
"The 980H is the perfect DVD player for medium size TV's (32' - 42')" on by ronhub
Pros: Excellent audio and video quality at bargain price.
Cons: Hmmmm, give me a minute.......
Summary: Anyone looking to update their DVD player and isn’t interested in waiting for the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD to mature, Oppo Digital is where you should start and end your research. It performs like a player costing 2 or 3 times as much. I found the picture impressive and the audio incredible (music CD’s sound awesome). Out of the three Oppo units, I chose the 980H because it was the perfect fit for my new 40’ TV. If I had a bigger room with a larger screen size, I’d without doubt run off with the DV-981HD (Oppo’s top model). I will definitely purchase a Blu-Ray/HD-DVD player after the dust settles on their war and there’s a significant price drop, but I also plan on keeping my Oppo for my music collection, yes the sound quality is that remarkable.
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"Screw Movies---this is your new CD Player!!!" on by CPTG
Pros: Its the music, stupid!!! It will also play Standef DVDs
Cons: Horrid little drawer and the 'zapper' from Hell!!!
Summary: 1. Let me be clear that I HATE MOVIES!!! The only way you'll get me into a movie theatre is if people's is buying or my date guarentees I'll get laid afterwards. I don't like movies because I don't like the idea of having some lowlife Hollywood "whatzit" forcing me to sit passively for two hours while he/she spurts their 'arte' on me.
2. If I hate going to movies, imagine my joy of staying home for two hours to watch re-runs DVDs) I already know the plot to...
3. So if ol' CPTG hates movies, why did he buy hisself a DVD players? Multiplicity. I can have sex in the backseat of my car on the Sabbath while driving it to Church on the Sunduth. One vehicle; two incompatable activities. Same with the Oppo DV-980H...it plays videos but it also plays music.
4. Don't buy the Oppo DV-980H or DV-981 if you're planning to buy or own a HiDef TV Set. Any HD or Blu-Ray set will blow it away, running standef 480i thru HMDI while upscaling it---you'd be wasting your money.
5. Buy the OPPO if you have a old, killer NonHIDEF TV and you want to occasionally play a STANDDEF 480i DVD movie on it via Component or SuperS outputs. Its DVD video is decent but not something to write home about. Then wait out the HD-Blu Ray war!!!
6. What IS worthy of writing home about is the audio CD section. You're getting a $3-5,000 CD player (think Krell,etc.) for the price of an illegal U-Turn ticket. I wasn't just pleased playing my standard CDs on the OPPO---I was FLOORED. On my 17 Pygmies Captured in Ice CD, I heard stuff buried in the tracks (guitar thumps, squeels, etc.) I never heard before and this is a mid 80's college staple record.
6. Bottom Line: The OPPO DV-980H is a so-so StandDef 480i HDMI (overachiever) but a kickass CD player for the clams spent!!!Updated
Why buy the OPPO and not a full blown HD player:
1. The OPPO is cheaper than my IPOD
2. The audio is STUNNING!!! I'm retiring my $2,000.00 CD player and $1,000 outboard DAC for my cheap-ass OPPO player. Its THAT good!
3. A customer service dept to die for!!!
4. Many bells and whistles for $169.00 including a good HDMI cable and tote bag!!!
5. THE HD/Blu-Ray battle is over but the war is not. Now DTS and Dolby are battling it out in the blu ray market. Wait them out!
6. My parents gave me an old 53" wide screen TV that doesn't have an HDMI output. The best soluton for me is the OPPO 980H
7. Negatives that I can live with. The tray is not just cheap and flimsy---it's Chevy Blazer-ish cheap and flimsy!!! Also, the enclosed zapper is an ergonomic nightmere. I **** you not, there are 50 buttons on it yet you will only use 4-5 at best!!!Oppo ought to let Apple design their remote next time---they have only six buttons!!! -
"Fantastic!" on by Hockeybasednyc
Pros: Image quality, sound settings, menu usage, HDMI
Cons: Not many...
Summary: I picked up the OPPO DVD recently after reading some great reviews on CNET. I didn't want to bust the wallet and go for a high end HDDVD player because I have a decent collection of standard DVD's at home.
I have a Sharp Aquos LCD 37' HDTV and the OPPO integrated flawlessly. I just had to set the OPPO to 1080i before I popped the DVD in and i was set.
I ran Apollo 13 first and used it as the sound check. I have a very finicky surround system, an old Pioneer receiver with 5 speakers and a Sub that I just couldnt seem to get right before. The Oppo has a very extensive sound menu that allowed me to tweak my system even further and really enhanced a set up that was lacking direction. So that was huge plus to start.
The image quality is very good, and for the money i think its totally worth it. It comes in a nice package and even comes with an HDMI wire which is an added bonus, though i'm curious if a higher level wire would present even better results. Did not see any picture haziness or pixelation - nothing of that. Very smooth. I've watched more than 5 DVDs since ive gotten it and haven't noticed any negatives as far as image quality goes - and keep in mind that i'm LOOKING for them.
I would definitely recommend this player to anyone with a decent HDTV and a collection of standard DVD's. -
"Problem with control freezing" on by Bo Diddily
Pros: Has capacity for 7.1 surround sound
Cons: Unable to stop play without occasional freeze-up
Summary: While I concur with the CNET reviewers overall opinions, I have experienced a problem with this particular DVD player freezing up when you press the stop button while playing a DVD. This occurred on the original unit I received and on the replacement unit, despite firmware being sent & installed for the former and already installed for the latter. Unfortunately, Oppo apparently does not have the capacity to update users (customers who've purchased and registered the product) should they be able to resolve this problem. The technician with whom I spoke termed it a problem difficult to replicate and stated that about 20 customers had reported a similar experience.
Oppo DV-980H user reviews
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