Hi, got this much-praised player 3 months ago and so thought I'd share a brief review. Won't be a technical review since there are plenty of those available online.
The Oppo comes in a box that looks like any other. But inside it is carefully packed and wrapped in a soft cloth bag to prevent scratches. Nice touch. HDMI cable is included - very nice touch and just shows up so many manufacturers who are too cheap to even provide a component cable in their alleged 'hi-end' DVD players! The black brushed metal look is great and the it feels sturdy - as does the tray.
Out of the box the picture was great but with some little tweaks, it was exquisite. I use a Panny EDTV plasma so I'm not talking about an upscaled picture here - just the standard 480p. Though Oppo recommends leaving the brightness, contrast & sharpness controls to zero, I found my picture improved if I adjusted the contrast up a bit. Which reminds me - Oppo has the most appealing manual I've read - they talk to the point & at relevant places give gyaan, but not too much.
Anyway back to the picture - it is sharp, clear and has depth. Really feels like you're watching a movie at the theatre. The crispness astounds me esp since I have my TV & player sharpness set to zero. I've used players from Samsung, Pioneer, HK & Sony and the Oppo has them beat. Of course the killer app for me is the removal of all types of jaggies, waving lines, shimmering (think window blinds in any movie scene), colour blobs, shuddering etc. One may not notice it but that also contributes to the crispness & depth of the picture. Makes you realise it was almost never the DVD's fault - its usually your player which is screwing up. All this thanks to the ABT VRS chip which I understand is one of the best, if not the best, video processors today. I haven't seen the scaler in action obviously but will report as and when I do.
Something else I really appreciate is the aspect ratio & zoom controls. For someone like me with hundreds of old & new DVDs with all types of aspect ratios and incorrect mastering in some cases, its a blessing. You can ensure that your widescreen TV displays the full picture on almost any DVD.
Hygiene stuff is all there: outputs for component, HDMI, 7.1 channel analogue audio. Remember that the VRS solution is not available through the component out so your TV needs to have atleast an HDCP compliant HDMI 1.1 input.
Happy to answer any questions.
Cheers!
The Oppo comes in a box that looks like any other. But inside it is carefully packed and wrapped in a soft cloth bag to prevent scratches. Nice touch. HDMI cable is included - very nice touch and just shows up so many manufacturers who are too cheap to even provide a component cable in their alleged 'hi-end' DVD players! The black brushed metal look is great and the it feels sturdy - as does the tray.
Out of the box the picture was great but with some little tweaks, it was exquisite. I use a Panny EDTV plasma so I'm not talking about an upscaled picture here - just the standard 480p. Though Oppo recommends leaving the brightness, contrast & sharpness controls to zero, I found my picture improved if I adjusted the contrast up a bit. Which reminds me - Oppo has the most appealing manual I've read - they talk to the point & at relevant places give gyaan, but not too much.
Anyway back to the picture - it is sharp, clear and has depth. Really feels like you're watching a movie at the theatre. The crispness astounds me esp since I have my TV & player sharpness set to zero. I've used players from Samsung, Pioneer, HK & Sony and the Oppo has them beat. Of course the killer app for me is the removal of all types of jaggies, waving lines, shimmering (think window blinds in any movie scene), colour blobs, shuddering etc. One may not notice it but that also contributes to the crispness & depth of the picture. Makes you realise it was almost never the DVD's fault - its usually your player which is screwing up. All this thanks to the ABT VRS chip which I understand is one of the best, if not the best, video processors today. I haven't seen the scaler in action obviously but will report as and when I do.
Something else I really appreciate is the aspect ratio & zoom controls. For someone like me with hundreds of old & new DVDs with all types of aspect ratios and incorrect mastering in some cases, its a blessing. You can ensure that your widescreen TV displays the full picture on almost any DVD.
Hygiene stuff is all there: outputs for component, HDMI, 7.1 channel analogue audio. Remember that the VRS solution is not available through the component out so your TV needs to have atleast an HDCP compliant HDMI 1.1 input.
Happy to answer any questions.
Cheers!
and lots more
