OPPO 971....Issues????

[Ricardo]

I was providing feedback on this player to a forum member, and thought I'd post here what I see as "negatives" on this player. Not complaining and I would buy it again; these are IMO little thingies, but I think it would be fair to share, plus ask input from other 971 owners.

1.-TRAY.-Since this is mentioned so much, I thought I'd just say that I have no issues here; it looks cheap, but I think that is all. It is a different design/material than what we are used to, so I think that's why we see all the complaints.

2.-Picture Quality: AWESOME....but in very few occasions, in dark areas of the screen I can see a bunch of white pixels dancing around.....not sure if this is a player issue, a TV issue, or a combination or both; I prefer to think it's a disc issue; it happens maybe in one out of 20 movies I watch, and it is so fast that some people don't even notice it. Any other OPPO 971 owners have seen this? I have it connected via DVI/HDMI to a CRT TV, 720p or 1080i

3.-Chapter Display: This is probably the most annoying thing I found on this player; if you skip chapters forward or backwards, it does not display what chapter you are in. I've looked in manual/settings and see no reference to this. If any other owner knows how to fix this, I'd love to know.

4.-When you have the player in pause and hit play, it might take a couple of seconds before it reacts. Not a biggie...you get used to it...

So that's it; a great little player for the money, but not perfect :) I'd really like to hear from other owners, specially on the white pixels stuff.

[steveinaz]

Bubba, on #2 above, I think it's referred to as "sparkling." I've heard that it is caused by either a sub-par cable, damaged cable, or a ground problem. Many people on the AVS Forum address this issue.

FYI

[Ricardo]

Thanks Steve; I'll look into it.

[BIZILL]

no white pixels. but every now and again my audio goes outta sync. just hit pause then play and all is well.

no backlit remote sucks.

[Disc Jockey]

My take on thisw is the same as you HT, there are a few minor issues but that's all they are. I would buy this player again in a heartbeat.

1. Tray - doesn't bother me at all and I've had no problems with it. Oppo says it is a bend/don't break design. I've never tested its' limits and don't intend to :) but I think it will hold up fine.

2. PQ as you stated AWESOME. I have never seen any white pixels

3 Chapter display-for me this isn't a big deal, I don't really care

4. Responsiveness- I don't know that I've ever noticed the pause/play delay but have noticed a delay in pressing eject and having the player actually do it. Not near as bad as the Sony it replaced but also not near as fast as the 970, which was virtually instantaneous.

Other minor gripes:

No power on when hitting the eject button.

No discrete on/off codes (970 and 981 both have this. Oppo says it can not provide a firmware upgrade to change this)

As mentioned before, no backlit remote but the remote is small enough and layed out in such a way that I have no problems using it by feel. Of course if you have a good universal that you use, this is a non-issue.

DJ

[jakelm]

I get my 981 in today..I cant wait.....

[shawn474]

I have the 981 and agree with all of the points above. Tray design / durability does not bother me at all. It may look cheap, but it works and you only see it for the 2 seconds that you are loading a disc. The pause to play response is a little annoying. I originally thought that my player was not functioning properly, but after using it for the last few weeks, I don't even notice. I haven't had any of the "sparkling" so I can't speak on that. I just tried to calibrate my player and TV with the AVIA disc and it says to give it a couple of weeks to get used to it. Some DVD's look a little darker than usual, but not sure if it is because I had too much contrast / picture / brightness before and I got used to that. I'll give it a little while longer to see if it gets better or I will just return it to previous settings. The picture quality is incredible IMO for a 250 dolaar player. I see no reason for myself to go Blu-Ray or HD-DVD until the prices are much more reasonable. Tis will hold me foe a long time.

All that said, I would buy this again and for anyone on the fence, I would wholeheartedly recommend this player. The customer service is top notch - walked me through the firmware upgrades and answered all questions politely and quickly.

[millerman 3732]

No power on when hitting the eject button.



I've only had mine for about a week but that is one of the only gripes I have so far. The other is having to stop play back when you change from resolution output, this maybe common on most players I'm not sure but on the Samsung I have you can change it without stopping playback.

[F1nut]

I have a question. Has anybody tried using the component connection and if so, what's the picture quality like?

[Roy Munson]

I don't see any pixels or sparkling on my 971 nor am I getting any macroblocking. The player does have a couple of minor negatives about it but they are by far out weighed by the positives. My only real complaint is the remote.. it's a little hard to read in a lit room but I'm getting used to the layout of the buttons, in the dark forgetaboutit! I would buy one again without hesitation. At $199.00 and free shipping from Amazon this is a product that just can't be matched in it's price range! I have read that the 971 has been discontinued so if this is true and anyone is in the market for one they better act fast. Of course the 970 and 981 are still in the line-up.

[Disc Jockey]

I used the component on the 970 and it was very good, but it was just hooked up to an older 36" 480i crt so not really a good test. It was still an improvement over what I had before in terms of color saturation. Sharpness was improved but at a more subtle level.

The 970 is supposed to be quite good with component, the 971 less so and, the 981 doesn't have component at all (if I remember correctly). Neither will upscale through component without a fw hack.

[Roy Munson]

Jesse, I believe that the component out is only 480i and the player will only upconvert from DVI or HDMI so in order to take full advantage of the 971 you need to have it hooked to either DVI or HDMI. I don't know what the pq is like over component because I haven't tried but the built in Genesis/Faroudja video processor is bypassed when using component, S-video, or composite out. I don't know if this is accurate or not but I read that there is a hack for the 970 that will allow you to upconvert from component out. I don't think there's a hack for the 971.

[jakelm]

Is the Faroudja chip in the 981 and 971, better than the chip used in the 970? Anyone tested side by side?

Jake

[Disc Jockey]

Is the Faroudja chip in the 981 and 971, better than the chip used in the 970? Anyone tested side by side?

Jake


Yes and Yes

[jakelm]

Thanks Disk. My older Denon 1910 has the Faroudja chip. But alot of macroblocking and very dark Pq. I didnt know if the "generic" chip in the 970 was better.

[Disc Jockey]

The Faroudja chip was easily identifiable as better pq versus the all in one on the 970 on my set (55"). It will be less noticeable on smaller sets. The macroblocking is an issue with the Faroudja chip but Oppo's implementation of the chip has resulted in much less macroblocking than some other manufacturers. I haven't seen any at all. Also, I believe the Faroudja chip in the Oppo is the latest generation whereas yours is would be an earlier rendition and more prone to the MB issue, not having some of the bugs worked out yet.

PQ is excellent, not dark at all. Perhaps your calibration is off on the Denon? I have heard that a good calibration will help to reduce MB also.

The 970 has no MB issues.

[jakelm]

The Faroudja chip was easily identifiable as better pq versus the all in one on the 970 on my set (55"). It will be less noticeable on smaller sets. The macroblocking is an issue with the Faroudja chip but Oppo's implementation of the chip has resulted in much less macroblocking than some other manufacturers. I haven't seen any at all. Also, I believe the Faroudja chip in the Oppo is the latest generation whereas yours is would be an earlier rendition and more prone to the MB issue, not having some of the bugs worked out yet.

PQ is excellent, not dark at all. Perhaps your calibration is off on the Denon? I have heard that a good calibration will help to reduce MB also.

The 970 has no MB issues.

Its ghosting I'm thinking of not macroblocking. With the Denon I ran DVE and Avia, calibrated greyscale also in service menu. I still have to raise the gamma on the Denon to catch the dark areas. I just watched Descent the other night, I had to raise the gamma on the Denon all the way up. If I raised the brightness it would wash out the picture. I'm hoping the 981 does a better job at this.

Jake

[Disc Jockey]

I figured you had done the calibration but thought I'd mention it anyway. In light of your other problems, I think you will be very pleased when your 981 arrives :D

DJ

[shawn474]

The 981 doesn't have component output. I have my 981 hooked up via HDMI to my Panasonic rear projection. While I was waiting for that, I had it hooked up via S video cable. I can't see MUCH of a difference between the two, but actually like the S video a little better (didn't seem as dark). I am going to tweak a little more this weekend - I can't get the player to 1080. When it's hooked up via HDMI, I scroll through 480 to 1080 and when I get to 1080 the picture scrambles. Scroll back to 480 and it comes back. I am open to suggestions on how to fix this - maybe I have a setting wrong or something. I'm going to go through the step-bystep again and see if the manual gives any troubleshooting and contact customer service. Maybe one of you guys have had the same problem - any advice is certainly appreciated.

Shawn

[jakelm]

You Panny has Hdmi. But I'm betteing not 1080p. Just 1080i will work, the 981 is supposed to do 10080p and 1080i over HDMI. Might be trying to 1080p instead of 1080i.

[shawn474]

I looked in the Panny manual and it does 1080i. So am I correct in assuming that I can't get the upconversion? Or if I can how would I go about doing it?

Thanks,
Shawn

[PolkWannabie]

If the Panny allows 1080i in then setting the 981 to 1080i out should work ...

All output modes from the 981 work with my DLP which will take up to 1080p ...

[Disc Jockey]

If the Panny allows 1080i in then setting the 981 to 1080i out should work ...

This is correct, just make sure you're not choosing 1080p. If that doesn't work it's probably time to call cs.

[Ricardo]

Ok guys; what was awesome got even better; I'm so glad I posted this, and need to thank Steve for the tip...

The ONLY issue I had with picture quality, which by the way rarely appeared, is solved.

I swapped the $100 monster cable I had installed, with the $0.99 cable that came with the Oppo. I put on "Anger Management" and went to the "I feel pretty" scene, where J. Nicholson's black jacket showed very noticeable sparkling, and it's gone; nada. This scene showed the sparkling every time; I know because I watched it twice when my parents were here a few weeks ago...and it was there both times.

So, cable quality for digital doesn't matter???:D

[shawn474]

Called customer service and it was a two second fix. I didn't know you had to have the disc tray open to cycle through the HDMI options. At least that's the only way my player would cycle through them. I got it on 1080i and it looks great - put in Ultraviolet and WOW!!!!! Thanks for the input; finally optimizing the OPPO.

[Disc Jockey]

Called customer service and it was a two second fix. I didn't know you had to have the disc tray open to cycle through the HDMI options. At least that's the only way my player would cycle through them. I got it on 1080i and it looks great - put in Ultraviolet and WOW!!!!! Thanks for the input; finally optimizing the OPPO.

LOL, that falls under the heading of RTFM :eek: Glad it's working for you!

And actually the tray doesn't have to be open but it needs to be at a full stop, which I think involves pressing the stop button twice, or turning on the player with no disc in the tray.

[jakelm]

Its not working for me....I just got my 981 in tonight....Hooked everything up...HDMI/DVI. Turned Oppo on opened tray and went through scan rates till I found 1080i 60hz, Tv acted like it was flickering like it was trying to find the scan rate. Turned off tv an 981 turned tv on...then 981 on...Oppo came on screen, tv display read 1080i standard. Then after about 10 seconds picture went to flickering again. It does the excact same thing at 480p. The only thing I can get to work is composite video out. And CS is closed.

Pease Help!!!

[Disc Jockey]

Jake, it sounds like you may have some kind of handshake issue. The component works because there is no upconversion/handshake issues there.

Unfortunately at this point you probably have to wait for cs tomorrow.

What tv do you have?

[jakelm]

A Mitsubishi 55-513 thats is HDCP

My Denon is HDCP and the Denon was working just fine last night. I have had my Denon for 2 years DVI 1080i.

[jakelm]

I just dont understand why I get a perfect signal 1080i when the 981 has just been turned on. When I turn the 981 on it flickers just a bit, but settles down and everything is fine at 1080i. But it seems when "loading" on the 981 stops, the signal trips out.

While the little disk in the left hand corner is spining and loading is displayed along with the oppo logo, everything is fine, but it seems when the loading stops (the player finds no disk) the scramble flickering starts again. I loaded a disk, same thing....loading,...then when the disk started playing, I can hear the audio but the picture starts flickering, like the tv cannot find the scan rate.

I dont know....

[Disc Jockey]

I'm not completely sold that its a handshake issue. That just seems most likely at this point. Course it could be something faulty on the board too. I do know that certain players can handshake fine with a given tv, but another player wont be able to for some reason.

[jakelm]

Whoooo....this is something new. Now when I leave the 981 on and switch the tv to another input, there is terrible interference, the picture on the other intput (cable) has a bad flicker in the back ground.

I think there is something wrond with this player.

[Disc Jockey]

Sure sounds like it.

Call cs tomorrow and exercise your zen patience skills while you wait for a replacement ;) They will take care of you

[jakelm]

It also could be my adapter (maybe). Tomorrow I will replace the HDMI/DVI adapter with a HDMI/DVI cable

This is the adapter I bought
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=186-526

[shawn474]

Jake,
Try pressing the P/N button on the bottom right of the remote. It switches from PAL to NTSC to AUTO - if it's not on the right setting you can get the static picture that you are seeing. Also, did you perform the firmware update? I had to do that before mine started working properly. Just a couple of thoughts that might help.

Shawn

[jakelm]

I did try the P/N . I set it to Ntsc. I dont know about a firmware upgrade. How do I know if I need one?

Jake

[jakelm]

Just did the firmware upgrade. The upgrade states that it does have a fix for sync problems. But after the upgrade, its still messing up. It looses sync with the tv after about 10 seconds. With or without a disk in it.

[jakelm]

Well I ruled out tv problems. Brought the 981 over to my parents house, same make and model Mit. Had the same problems there. Thanks goodness its not my tv. I'll pick up a HDMI/DVI cable today. If that doeasnt work, back to surfaudiovideo it goes.

Jake

[steveinaz]

HT
With video it seems, cable is really hit n miss, more expensive doesn't mean better. Different from audio for sure....

I'm using a $17 Phillips component cable (bought at Walmart) and my picture is spectacular.

[jakelm]

I just picked up a HDMI/DVI cable to replace the HDMI/DVI adapter. I noticed the adapter only has 18 pins including the flat (ground) pin, while the new cable has(on the DVI part) 24 pins and a flat (ground pin). Would the number of pins between the adapter and the cable make a difference? There are 6 pins in the middle on the adapter that were removed by the manufacture. I havent had a chance to try it out yet, but I'm wondering if this would make a difference??

Jake

[shawn474]

IMO it probably would make a difference, but I'm not positive about that. Hopefully it fixes your problem. Good luck, man.

Shawn

[jakelm]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/03/DVI_pinout.png

Pins 4,5,12,13,20,21....seem to be some kind of link 2. I doubt it too, that it will make a difference.

Ah well

Jake

[Ricardo]

Don't think it will make a difference; there are two types of DVI conenctors, one with 18 and one with 24; I think the 6 central pins are not used (The Monster cable I removed yesterday had 18 pins, while my adaptor has 24 pins).

You won't know until you try. Still, I think you ought to call CS for your specific problem (unless changing the cable fixes it :))

[jakelm]

I called. The Oppo CS was great. He told me that even though my Mit supports HDCP, it sounds like a HDCP issue. The syptoms of some HDCP problems is it will show a crystal clear picture for a few seconds and then scramble again. He suggest I get the unit exchanged. He also told me to try a different cable. But he mostly think its a HDCP issue. He did seem very knowlegable.

[Disc Jockey]

Did he seem to think exchanging it for another 981 would fix it or do you have to go to a different model or manufacturer?

[jakelm]

He said to try the same model, and see. He said it wil be trial and error. If a different 981 doesnt work, then try a 970. If that doesnt work then the Oppo is not compatable with my Mit. The issue I have (like most issues I have) are very rare issues.

[jakelm]

The only other model I would go with is the 970. For DVD-A and SACD. The hack over component is a plus to for the 970 too.

[Ricardo]

Well, I hope that changing the cable works for you; after all that waiting it'd suck if you need to send it back....

[jakelm]

No joke...Probably another 2 weeks before I would get another one back and if that one didnt work,,,,,ah well... I would just have to hook back up the Denon.

Jake

[shawn474]

I've dealt with customer service a few times and everytime I get them they are very knowledgable and the same guy helps me. His name is Nathan and he's very helpful and knowledgable. If he's telling you it's a compatability issue, I would bet my next paycheck that's what it is. Would you want to try a 970 or would you just stick with the Denon?

Shawn

[jakelm]

I would definatly try a 970, even though I would like to have the latest Faroudja chip.

[shawn474]

Well, I hope you get one that works with your tv. I have the 981, but have seen and heard the 970 and it's a great unit (especially for the price). Good luck.

[jakelm]

Tryed another cable. Didnt work either. As soon as I can get in touch with Mike @ Surf audio video, I'm sending it back.

Jake

[Disc Jockey]

Well that sucks. Good luck with the next one!

[Ricardo]

So...will you try another 981?

[jakelm]

I just spoke to Mike @ surf audio. It seems I dont have the latest "Beta" firmare that was posted 12.27.06. This beta firmware is supposed to fix any "handshake" issues. I will give that a try and see. If still not working, I will send it back for a refund and shop for another Denon, maybe a 3810 or 5910.

[jakelm]

OK..I did the beta firmware upgrade. Did not work. I guess I'll ship it back and try another one. :(

Unless you guys know of anything else I can try, before I ship it back.

Jake

[shawn474]

I honestly doubt it is the unit that you purchased....I think the 981 might not be compatible with your tv, although I don't know why it would work on mine and not yours. I would suggest trying a different model OPPO altogether to see if the others work. Just a question, did you try hooking it up via s-video? I realize that you would lose your upconversion qualities if you kept it that way, but just curious if that would work. That may tell you if it is the actual unit that is faulty.

Shawn

[jakelm]

The composite and S-video work fine. Its the HDMI/DVI I'm having a problem with. My DVI on my tv works, my Denon plays fine on it (DVI, 1080i).

A DVD player not compatable with my tv, seems alittle wierd, I mean , my tv is a 2004 model, it not like its ancient ....but ah well... I'll leave my Denon hooked up for now and try another 981. If another 981 doesnt work , I might just go ahaead and get a 970, and hack it.

[shawn474]

Hopefully, it is the unit. Just weird that everything else works fine. Maybe it's a bad out put or something. I agree; I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work with your TV, but I thouoght you said something earlier that customer service had told you that. Try another 981 just in case; I could not be happier with mine. It takes awhile to fine tune everything, but as soon as you do, it is way worth it.


Good luck, man.
Shawn

[jakelm]

Thanks for sticking with me Shawn.

Jake

[jakelm]

If the Oppo doesnt work out. Maybe this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-Elite-DV-46AV-DVD-Player-DV46AV-w-SACD-Playback_W0QQitemZ150080294921QQihZ005QQcategoryZ6 4583QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[shawn474]

jakelm,
Just so you know I researched this player before getting my OPPO. I read in a few places that the player will not play SACD's through the HDMI connection. Not sure if that feature is important to you or not, but I wanted the possibility if I ever got an AVR that had HDMI inputs.

Shawn

[jakelm]

My HK has 6/8 channel analog input. I would use that. But thanks for the input.

What player for around the $200-$300 that has upconversion and DVD-A and SACD, would you recommend? If the Oppo doesnt work out.

Jake

[shawn474]

Honestly, I only looked at the pioneer elite and the oppo. The denon was out of my price range, as were the blu-ray and toshibs hd-dvd players. When I found out that the pioneer had that issue, I didn't want to spend more on it (it was 300 dollars) than the 250 dollar oppo because the oppo gave me all the elite's features and more. I just hope it was the player and that you get a new 981 and it works!!!!! That would be the best case scenario I think.

Shawn

[jakelm]

You know the reason for the 981 in the first place was Pq and DVD-A/SACD. My current Denon 1910 upconvert to 1080i over DVI was another reason for player shopping. The Denon has such terrible macroblocking/blotching in dark scenes, I wanted/needed an upgrade.

If Mike at Surfaudio does find something wrong with the 981, should I stay away from the faroudja chip, being the macroblocking/blotching issue? And instead go with the 970?

DVD benchmark had the 971 rated highest, but with all Faroujda chips , macroblocking and blotching on certain sets can be an issue,

[shawn474]

As far as I know, there haven't been any macroblocking issues with the 981. On my TV, there has been none of it and I haven't heard it being reported. The Faroudjia chip in the OPPO, if I am correct, is the latest version of it (not totally sure about that). It is supposed to be one of the finest chips out there on any priced DVD player. I guess the short answer is No, I would not stay away from the 970, 971 or 981.

Shawn

[jakelm]

I'm a big H/K fan, I might try out this one if Oppo doesnt work.

Harman Kardon DVD47 DVD

http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=29763

[Ricardo]

Talk about thread hijacking......get a room...:D :D

[jakelm]

Quit trying to change the subject HT.:D :p

[shawn474]

Sorry guys; guess I got a little carried away. Nice call, HT. :p

[jakelm]

I'm sowwy too.

[millerman 3732]

I'm sending my Oppo back tomarrow, there's nothing wrong with it but for my eyes and on my display there is not enough improvement, if any, over my A1, even with the BTB issues, to justify the $200 bucks it cost.

[jakelm]

Im sorry about that Casey.

[jakelm]

WOOOHOOO!!!

It was that particular player's fault and not an Oppo/Mitsubishi handshake issue. That just made my day.

Mike @ surfaudio is sending me a new one.

If anyone looking to buy a new Oppo..Mike @ surfaudiovideo out of Califormia is great to deal with.

Jake

[Ricardo]

Good for you...wow...what a long wait to have your player :)

[jakelm]

Well I recieved it the 9th...sent it back out the 15th (monday)...Mike recieved it the 19th (friday) and he checked it today (monday). So he will send another one out either today or tomorrow...I dont think thats too bad.