[Monkeyboylee]

Anyone here use the Oppo Digital OPDV971H and the Panny PJ AE700?

If so, do they work together well as I am looking for my first hdmi dvd player?

Was looking at the cheaper Toshiba SD350 (but if its anything like my old 340 then it will keep freezing all the time) or the samsung HD850.

Any comments appreciated.

Also, what length hdmi lead do you get with the Oppo player?

Originally Posted by Monkeyboylee

Anyone here use the Oppo Digital OPDV971H and the Panny PJ AE700?

If so, do they work together well as I am looking for my first hdmi dvd player?

Was looking at the cheaper Toshiba SD350 (but if its anything like my old 340 then it will keep freezing all the time) or the samsung HD850.

Any comments appreciated.

Also, what length hdmi lead do you get with the Oppo player?

That's my set up. It works very well indeed--I use it at every opportunity. The DVI-HDMI is 2m, I think--though as I'm only going about 8" it's way too long.

Things you ought to know before outlaying: there are a couple of PAL issues, e.g., the ae700 plays PAL discs from the oppo at 60hz rather than 50; and the oppo forgets some of settings which you play PAL discs--this is not a significant problem and an oppo PAL firmware update is rumoured to be due very soon. There can be lip-sync issues with the oppo as video processing can get behind the audio. The oppo comes with an audio delay which you will need to use. If you have delay on your receiver that may help too.

With those caveats in mind, the pay off is that even with these problems the oppo gives the best pq/£ @ 720p that there is. In order to significantly improve the pq you'd need to spend at least 5x as much or more on a Denon 3190. The upscaling on the oppo is very much better than that done in the ae700. It's less noisy and much clearer, more 3D. IMO do not go with the Tosh or the Samsung. The oppo out performs them in every department. Lastly, oppo has the best customer support of any DVD company. They often reply to emails within the hour, even on Sundays! They're always honest and helpful. This is the kind of company you'll be happy you went with.

Dave

[Monkeyboylee]

Originally Posted by dgkp

That's my set up. It works very well indeed--I use it at every opportunity. The DVI-HDMI is 2m, I think--though as I'm only going about 8" it's way too long.

Things you ought to know before outlaying: there are a couple of PAL issues, e.g., the ae700 plays PAL discs from the oppo at 60hz rather than 50; and the oppo forgets some of settings which you play PAL discs--this is not a significant problem and an oppo PAL firmware update is rumoured to be due very soon. There can be lip-sync issues with the oppo as video processing can get behind the audio. The oppo comes with an audio delay which you will need to use. If you have delay on your receiver that may help too.

With those caveats in mind, the pay off is that even with these problems the oppo gives the best pq/£ @ 720p that there is. In order to significantly improve the pq you'd need to spend at least 5x as much or more on a Denon 3190. The upscaling on the oppo is very much better than that done in the ae700. It's less noisy and much clearer, more 3D. IMO do not go with the Tosh or the Samsung. The oppo out performs them in every department. Lastly, oppo has the best customer support of any DVD company. They often reply to emails within the hour, even on Sundays! They're always honest and helpful. This is the kind of company you'll be happy you went with.

Dave

Dave, cheers. Will I notice much difference beween standard dvd playing 480p and 720p upscaled on the oppo? If not then I think I will just want a 480p dvd player but with an hdmi/dvi output (I can'r use component as my xbox360 uses the AE700's component inputs on the PJ).

Thanks for all your help.

Originally Posted by Monkeyboylee

Dave, cheers. Will I notice much difference beween standard dvd playing 480p and 720p upscaled on the oppo? If not then I think I will just want a 480p dvd player but with an hdmi/dvi output (I can'r use component as my xbox360 uses the AE700's component inputs on the PJ).

Thanks for all your help.

Yes, you will notice a difference. I had a Sony 480p running through component and thought it was good until I tried the oppo. There's no going back. It's not just the upscaling on which the oppo delivers, it also has a far better de-interlacer than most players in its class. These two together are what makes the difference. It's not easy to quanitify, but it is to do with solidity and realism. In my experience, through the oppo water looks wetter, the depth of field is improved, flesh tones emerge, the image is more stable and less noisy. It's not a night and day difference, but it is a very worthwhile upgrade.

If you do try the combo post on the oppo thread an I'll share some settings.

Dave

[pmc]

Just wanted to back up Dave's comments. I also have the same combo and they work together great. I am looking forward to the PAL firmware update to iron out a few minor issues, also would be good could if they fix the slight underscanning that occurs. Oppo are a really responsive company though so I've no doubt they will sort these out.

On lip sync, it may be my imagination but it the problems seem to go away for me after the last firmware upgrade. They made no mention of it in the release notes, but it hasn't bothered me since.

You will definitely get a better picture from the Oppo at 720p than a simililarly priced player at standard resolutions. I also have a Panny DMR-E100. Now thats a Hard Disk DVD recorder, but a £1000 when it first came out you can expect it to be a damn fine DVD player. It doesn't upscale. The Oppo doesn't blow it away, but it does just beat it for PQ. The combination of the £175 Oppo using it's upscaling and the AE700 just beats the £1000 DMR-100 and AE700 with the PJ doing the upscaling. Pretty damn impressive for the price.

The main reason I bought it was for playing DIVX. The upscaling was a nice bonus. It's an excellent DIVX player too, almost everything I've thrown at it works and the pictures is great. My only gripe is that it doesn't support 720p DIVX files. It goes to nearly 700 but no higher. The ability to play 720p DIVX would make it the perfect machine.

[Monkeyboylee]

Originally Posted by dgkp

Yes, you will notice a difference. I had a Sony 480p running through component and thought it was good until I tried the oppo. There's no going back. It's not just the upscaling on which the oppo delivers, it also has a far better de-interlacer than most players in its class. These two together are what makes the difference. It's not easy to quanitify, but it is to do with solidity and realism. In my experience, through the oppo water looks wetter, the depth of field is improved, flesh tones emerge, the image is more stable and less noisy. It's not a night and day difference, but it is a very worthwhile upgrade.

If you do try the combo post on the oppo thread an I'll share some settings.

Dave

Cheers, getting very close to proceeding to checkout. Can someone just give me the final push and tell me to go and buy it and that I will be so glad I did.

Right, I've ordered it. I now need a 3m dvi-hdmi cable but I don't know what to get. Do I need dvi-d or dvi-a to hdmi-a or hdmi-m etc. - I have seen all sorts of different options.

Cheers again