Oppo 981 (£115) or Oppo 980 (£169)

Jixes · 01-12-2008, 4:15 PM

Been looking at DVD players and decided to take the plunge and order a Oppo 980 (after returning a Pioneer 600AV which was very noisy) from CRT projectors to compliment my Pioneer 4280. I don't have any external amps/sound system at present (although looking) and intend the Pioneer 4280 do the upscaling using the HDMI cable.

The Oppo 981 has been reduced to £115, compared to the Oppo 980 £169. So my question is would the 981 be a better option or am I better to stick with the 980? Also looking at the model comparision chart for the DVD player does the 981 output @ 576p using the HDMI cable? (From what I have read it better to let the DVD player deinterlace (576i to 576p) and let the Pioneer upscale to 720p (Correct me if i am wrong)).

Or if I purchased the 981 and used 720p would i really notice much difference in PQ quality.

Thanks

James

Metalhead Pete · 01-12-2008, 5:11 PM

I own an Oppo 981HD and have it set to 720P via HDMI.Picture quality is very good (especially for a £115 player).Its better then my Panasonic BD-30 Blu Ray player (for DVD playback obviously),hence the reason I'm still using it.The player can display 576P via HDMI but on my set (Panasonic TH37PX80) I found the picture looked best upscaled by the player to 720P.Remote on the 981 is a bit rubbish and the screensaver looks like a ZX Spectrum but other than that I would recommend these players for sure,in fact I've just ordered another one for my friend.For AV quality its a seriously impressive piece of kit for its price and I'm very pleased with mine.Hope this helps.

kingfats · 01-12-2008, 5:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jixes

The Oppo 981 has been reduced to £115, compared to the Oppo 980 £169. So my question is would the 981 be a better option or am I better to stick with the 980? Also looking at the model comparision chart for the DVD player does the 981 output @ 576p using the HDMI cable? (From what I have read it better to let the DVD player deinterlace (576i to 576p) and let the Pioneer upscale to 720p (Correct me if i am wrong)).

s

Hi mate.

576p/720p/1080i/p with the 981 over HDMI.

Threre's no hard and fast rule to be honest,but i would definitely give 576p a go and see what you think.
All the best.

TopMeTom · 01-12-2008, 6:33 PM

I have a 981 AND 983, forr £115 squid the 981 is a VERY good option, IMHO.

Jixes · 05-12-2008, 12:03 PM

Thanks for all the advice. I have just ordered a Oppo 981 for £115 from CRT Projectors. At that price it seems very good value compared to the 980 model at £169.

Is there any advice on the configuration settings (like there is for the Pioneer 4280 on this site(Thanks to Bumtious)) or is it a case of trial and error?

Thanks

James

kingfats · 05-12-2008, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jixes

Is there any advice on the configuration settings (like there is for the Pioneer 4280 on this site(Thanks to Bumtious)) or is it a case of trial and error?

Thanks

James

Hi Jixes.

It is case of test and see really

576p might look be best to you or then again it might not.
Cheers.