Oppo DV-981HD Review
By Marshal M. Rosenthal
October 7th, 2007
Summary
Conventional wisdom says that a consumer electronic product from a “brand name” will be superior to that from a small company, So you wouldn’t expect better video or premium features to be found on Oppo Digital’s DV-981HD DVD player - which retails for $229 USD and is sold over the Internet. But as we’ll see, (with a few noticeable exceptions as to design and menu navigation) when it comes to performance the DV-981HD is right there at the top.
Full Review
Features and Design
The DV-981HD is svelte and has on the front the expected Power and Eject buttons, along with Play/Pause and Stop. So using the Remote is really a necessity, and even though there are tiny buttons, they at least follow a conventional format and can be seen in a poorly lit room, since they glow-in-the-dark. The front panel LCD display is fair in size and readable from a respectable range, and the Eject button glows blue which looks cool while in use.
The disc tray is made of a bendable plastic which “gives” when you touch it - that’s good because you can’t remove the disc from the top as is the case with most players, and instead must poke it up from below. It’s a bit inconvenient for those with big hands and can also lead to smudging the disc’s playing surface until you get the hang of it. Overall, the look of the DV-981HD is attractive, yet unrefined compared to some of Japan's finest.
Setup and Use
The connectors on the back include of the DV-981HD include HDMI, S-Video and composite out for vid-eo. Audio outputs include both optical and coaxial for Dolby Digital and DTS, along with stereo RCA outputs and more of these outputs for analog 5.1 multichannel sound (Front L/R speakers, Center, Surround L/R and subwoofer). But why Oppo chose to leave out a component video output is a head-scratcher, especially as there are still a huge number of displays out there that don’t have HDMI inputs, both large “home theater” types along with smaller sets used in dens, children’s room and the like. The only reason we can come up is perhaps the company figured that since it had HDMI why bother with component? But to be fair this player shouldn’t be confused with some $49 USD model bought at Costco for attaching to a 20” TV in the basement.
Back of the Oppo DV-980HD
We attached the DV-981HD using HDMI to a Samsung HLS5679W LED rear-projection display and scaled to the video up to 1080p with audio coming out of the optical and analog ports connected to a Denon 2807 receiver.
We started by pressing the Setup button on the Remote, which gives you a row of Selections at the top, with corresponding choices appearing below. We set the player for the infamous 16:9 aspect ratio as this looks best for the majority of DVDs since they’ll be in widescreen, keep in mind though that this automatically widens standard format (4:3) images as well and doesn’t make them look very good. So don’t get lazy and change the aspect ratio when playing a full screen disc. Other choices let you set the resolution, decide how SACD and DVD-A discs will perform, conform the player to the size of the speakers being used, etc. Of course that also includes brightness and contrast control, noise reduction and other video aspects - although we find it best to keep all these at neutral and adjust at the display instead.
But we have to say that the menu system’s GUI (Graphical User Interface) leaves a lot to be desired; it’s very old-school, non-intuitive, and at times just plain ugly. This is where the Oppo shows its shortcomings because while you can muddle your way through, it’s not a fun ride. But the good news is that doesn’t affect performance in any way - and once you’ve taken care of the settings you can forget about ever returning to them (unless you must).
Ease of use
There are a number of “power user” and convenience controls that you wouldn’t have expected to see - such as a meter that displays a graphical representation of the audio signal to aid in adjusting the Soundfield and equalization (EQ) settings. Other nice touches include a “virtual keyboard” to let you more easily navigate a disc in the dark, and being able to play both music off of a disc while simultaneously viewing digital photos. And being able to update the firmware is a definite plus, with updates found on Oppo’s web site which you download and burn to CD which then is inserted into the player.
Evaluation
The performance of this player is very good for video; you can thank the Faroudja-based DCDi video processing technology for that. We use the HQC DVD to evaluate the player’s video capabilities. The tests we use center on various aspects that affect performance. For example, “Jaggie” test #1 has a line rotating clockwise (like a second hand of a clock), and as it moves through various points of the circle, you look to see if the line loses its solidity. Another test is Motion Adaptive Noise Reduction - where you look at a roller coaster moving along to see if it is leaving a “trail” behind it as it moves or is blurring. The Oppo passes these tests with flying colors, as it does when evaluating for other things like picture detail and noise reduction.
But the real world means watching DVDs, so we’ll go to a sample disc we were sent of Time/Life’s-Warner Home Video’s The Man from Uncle box set (the entire series comes cleverly concealed inside of an attache case). It’s a good disc to use since it includes both black and white and color episodes, and being an older show we can expect there to be some grain, even though it has been newly remastered - this can highlight a player’s ability to handle contrast without giving up on detail.
Image Courtesy of Oppo Digital
The Oppo handles the video impressively: black and white is free of color bursts and there’s good detail, while the color (a bit muted and so needing some tweaking) looks realistic and clean. As to grain, fairly evident in both black-and-white and color, it doesn’t exhibit any smudginess to cause a softening of the image.
Of course newer DVDs are also very presentable: having a chance to watch Oliver Stone’s Alexander Revisited - The Final Cut on a player that handles contrast well and resolves the image cleanly truly adds to the enjoyment - especially in battle scenes that come across razor sharp (bad pun, we know).
We also played some DivX video files off of a home-brewed disc without incident, and overall audio quality sounds fine whether playing a movie soundtrack or a CD or SACD (of course what is being heard being more a function of the amp and speakers).
Conclusions
The DV-981HD shows that price or brand name alone is no guarantee of quality. And while the lack of a component output is a bit restrictive and it could clearly benefit from an improved graphical interface, the way this Oppo DVD player displays video is something that you will want to see for yourself.
Pros
• High quality video image and upconversion processing
• Many convenience features
• Plays wide range of audio and video formats
Cons
• No Component output
• Poorly designed menus
Specs
Universal DVD Player Features:
DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD (SACD) and DVD-Video universal playback
Compatible with Audio CD, HDCD, WMA, Kodak Picture CD, and other digital audio/video/picture media and formats
Official DivX® Certified product, certified to the Home Theater Profile
Plays all versions of DivX® video (including DivX® 6) with standard playback of DivX® media files
Plays XviD and .SRT, .SMI, .IDX and .SUB format
Note: The DV-981HD does not play Blu-Ray nor HD-DVD discs
Video Up-Conversion Features:
High definition up-conversion with film-like picture quality to up-convert 720x480 interlaced video encoded on DVD discs to 480p/720p/1080i and 1080p
DCDi by Faroudja video processing technology with progressive scan, film mode detection, TrueLife™ enhancement and motion adaptive noise reduction.
Video is analyzed on a single pixel granularity to detect presence or absence of angled lines and edges, which are then processed to produce a smooth natural looking image without visible artifacts (jaggies)
High-quality pure digital video and audio through a single HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) cable
Multiple high definition video formats through HDMI output: NTSC: 480p/720p/1080i/1080p; PAL: 576p/720p/1080i/1080p
Compatible with HDTV, HD-Ready TV, HDTV monitors and projectors with an HDMI or DVI input
Direct PAL/NTSC disc and TV compatibility and system conversion
For more information about DVD video up-conversion, please read our white paper article Getting the Most out of DVD on an HDTV Display
Supports screen aspect ratio 4:3 (standard) and 16:9 (wide-screen)
User adjustable video controls: Sharpness, Contrast, Brightness, and Saturation
Composite video and S-Video outputs (standard-definition output only)
Optimized Audio Features:
High-resolution multi-channel digital audio output through HDMI supporting CD, DVD-Audio, SACD, Dolby Digital and DTS sound tracks.
Individual analog 5.1-channel surround and down-mixed stereo outputs
24-bit, 192kHz high resolution audio D/A converters
Optical and coaxial digital audio outputs with DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro-Logic II and Linear PCM support
3D Surround (Virtual Surround): Concert, Live, Dance, Techno, Classic, Soft
Built-in equalizer, channel trim and channel delay functions
Compatibility Features:
PAL/NTSC disc and TV compatible with automatic or manual system conversion
Compatible with CD-R/RW, DVD±R/RW and DVD+R DL* (* Playability of self-recorded discs may vary depending on media and formatting software types)
Dual-laser optical pickup head with excellent error correction
Enhanced dual-layer disc support with fast layer change
Wide range universal power supply (~100V-240V, 50/60Hz AC)
Convenience Features:
Special disc tray - thin, flexible and strong. Can tolerate some bending without breaking.
Smooth and easy navigation of photo albums, music collections and video files on DVD and CD
Selectable subtitle and audio tracks
Discrete ON/OFF remote control IR code for programmable universal remote controls
Connectors:
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.
Accessories Included:
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
User manual and warranty information
Specifications:
Designs and specifications are subject to change without notice.
Disc Types:
DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD (SACD), DivX®, XviD, Audio CD, HDCD, Kodak Picture CD
Official DivX® Certified product, certified to the Home Theater Profile
Plays all versions of DivX® video (including DivX® 6) with standard playback of DivX® media files with encoded video resolution up to 720x480 30fps and 720x576 25fps
CD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R DL (Compatibility with user-encoded contents or user-created discs is on a best effort basis with no guarantee due to the variation of media, software and techniques used.)
Output:
Analog Audio: Stereo, 5.1ch
Digital Audio: Coaxial, Optical, HDMI
Analog Video: Composite, S-Video (Y/C) - standard-definition output only
Digital Video: HDMI with HDCP (NTSC 480p/720p/1080i/1080p, PAL 576p/720p/1080i/1080p)
No Component Video Output. The DV-981HD is designed for use with a display device with HDMI or DVI digital video input.
Video Characteristics:
HDMI: HDMI Specifications 1.1, CEA-861-B
S-Video Amplitude: Y: 1.0Vp-p (75 Ohm), C: 0.286Vp-p (75 Ohm)
Composite Video Amplitude: 1.0Vp-p (75 Ohm)
Audio Characteristics (Nominal specification):
Frequency: 20Hz – 20kHz (+/-1dB)
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: >100dB
Total Harmonic Distortion: < 0.01%
General Specification:
Power Supply: ~ 100V – 240V, 50/60Hz AC
Power Consumption: 20W
Dimensions: 420mm x 270mm x 41mm, 16-1/2 x 10-5/8 x 1-5/8 inches
Mass: 2.4kg / 5.20 lbs (DVD player unit only)
Operating Temperature:
5°C - 35°C
41°F - 95°F
Operating Humidity:
15% - 75% No condensation
Firmware Updates:
Upgradeable via CD-ROM