Gizmodo: dv-981hd

Upconverting DVD/DivX Player Battle Royale: Which is Right For You?

Jason Chen — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:21:36 EST

We've looked at three Upconverting DVD/DivX players, and although it would be a great idea to put them up against each other, the fact that they're at three different price points kind of negates the premise.

However, since they are at three price points with different amounts of functionality, we can recommend them to three different types of people.

First, the LG DN191H. It's small, thin, and only around $80. Although there are some shortcomings—lack of 5.1 for one—it's great for people who just want to watch some "HD" content on their new HD sets, but don't really care that much about audio quality or visual quality. Be prepared to miss out on features with this one.

Next, for the mid-range crowd, there's the Oppo DV-981HD. It supports 1080p, has fantastic DivX support, and wi the Faroudja upconverting technology, DVDs look pretty darn great. You'll have to have pretty great eyes to see a difference between one player's upconversion and another player's—it's definitely not as big as the gaps between DVD and HD or DVD and upconverting—but this player does give you great image quality.

At a price of $230, it's two or three times the price of the LG player, but you get 5.1 audio, 1080p support, and a better overall experience.

Lastly, there's the Helios X3000 network DVD/DivX player. This player has both Wi-Fi and 10/100 Ethernet, which means you can stream DivX movies off your PC without having to burn them to disc. Great.

Add to that 5.1 optical and coax output, HDMI, 1080p resolution, and you've got DVD and DivX performance at least as good as the Oppo. Which is a good thing, because at the grand total of $379, you're paying a $149 premium to add that networking functionality.

So to sum it up:
•Low-enders: LG DN191H [Best Buy]
•DVD/DivX Only: Oppo DV-981HD [Oppo]
•DVD/DivX With Networking: Helios X3000 [ModernJoys]

– Jason Chen

Oppo DV-981HD Upconverting DVD Player Reviewed (Verdict: 1080p Alchemy)

Charlie White — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 12:02:25 EST

I just reviewed the Oppo DV-981HD Universal DVD Player, and like its brandmate the Oppo DV-970, the player does a great job of up-rezzing regular old garden-variety DVDs to high definition. This one takes it a step further, though, up-rezzing that unwashed standard-def signal all the way to the holy-grail 1080p resolution.

Taking a look at the results on a 1080p set over HDMI, DVDs just never looked so good. That Faroudja up-rezzing technology under the hood pretty much performs magic, but don't get too excited: even at 1080p, up-rezzed DVDs don't look like real HDTV. Still, it's a remarkable value for $230. – Charlie White

Review: Oppo DV-981HD Universal DVD Player [Consumer Electronics Net]

Oppo Unleashes Best DVD Upscaling Player Yet: DV-981HD Does 1080p

Charlie White — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 12:44:46 EST

Even though you've probably never heard of the company, Oppo uses the the best upscaling tech in the biz—by Faroudja. Now Oppo jumps onto the 1080p bandwagon armed with its latest BFG: the $229 DV-981HD player that upscales garden-variety DVDs from the usual 480p up to 1080p resolution. It has an HDMI output, but gone is the component video output of its predecessor. That coveted 1080p video doesn't travel well over component outputs anyway, especially if you're forced to deal with HDCP (copy-protected) content.

This DV-981HD is an improvement over its predecessor, the highly-regarded DV-970HD which I've favorably reviewed. That player upscales DVDs to 1080i or 720p over HDMI or component, and even though its video output looks better than any DVD I've ever seen, it's still nowhere near the quality of HDTV.

Jump for more pics, including the nice ass-end of this mofo, and a bit of pointed editorializing.

Thank goodness this new model loses the useless SD card reader of its predecessor, which was pretty much a joke. We're looking forward to reviewing this DV-981HD, though, which will probably be the best way to watch plain ol' DVDs on a 1080p HDTV. – Charlie White

Product Page [Oppo Digital]