WD TV vs Oppo DVDp vs Philips 4750

[madbullram]

For guys who have WD TV, it is better to rip in H.264 (MP4) format than DiVX. For the same file size, H.264 gives a remarkably better picture than Divx. Mosquito noise is also not noticeable in H.264.

As a sample, try the BDRips of newartriot. You will be surprised by the quality in 1 GB files.

Was just about to post it, handbrake also support h.264. ANy software you recommend.

 

[moserw]

Will do a Divx 1.4 GB and will compare with the rip I did. Will post pics the same way I did for WD TV. What do you we do a DivX 700 vs 1400 vs VOB test

I initially used to copy my DVDs and ended up with some 50 DVDs that were exact copies of the originals. My only reason for doing it was to keep the original DVDs safe from scratches. A friend introduced me to Divx many years ago and then I ripped all in 2.0, but had to watch on the PC since there were no DVDP that would play Divx in those days. Then finally the day of the standalone Divx player dawned and that meant freedom. Then I went the HT route so all my 2.0 rips were a no go so I ended up ripping all over again in 5.1. The reason I am sharing this is to say I found very little difference in terms of PQ between the 700 MB rips, the 1.5 GB 5.1 rips and the original DVDs themselves. The difference was in the SQ, but the Divx codecs compress the file to 1/5th to 1/6th their original size with very little drop in terms of PQ. Amazing stuff really.

Do post the results of your testing, I surely would want to see them. Unfortunately I've not played with VOB compression much.

 

[venkatcr]

Sorry for coming in late. And Ram, thank you for your excellent hospitality and all the compliments. I have to pay some return compliments.

Ram is an extremely friendly guy, other than the fact that he has a dog at home that barks the hell out of everyone. But once you let her check you out, she also turned out to be as friendly as Ram. She spent a lot of time playing 'catch the ball' with me and resting her head on various parts of my body and snoozing when she was not frightening someone. Ram's mother, his fiancee, her mother, are all very nice and beautiful people. Two of Ram's friend's came in looked at what we were doing, shook their heads with disgust at our idiosyncrasies. One of them said he was planning to set up a HT system, and both Ram and I immediately started our usual advisory lectures, till we saw his face. He did not understand a word of what we were saying, and we decided to shut up.

Most of what Ram has said is correct. The Oppo 983 (Yes Marsilians, it is the 983) beat the Philips HTIB quite clearly. The edges were sharper, the movements were smoother, and images were very clearly defined.

The race between the Oppo 983 and the WD, as Ram says, was quite close. But I could clearly see that the Oppo was able to render the colours with a depth that was superior. If you compare the images with part of the word 'Serenity', you will see that the Orange colour is closer to the sunset image, particularly, just below the 'E'. I also feel the the edges of the images are a mite sharper. But as Ram says, I could be biased towards the Oppo. And this comparison was on a 1080P screen with both units upscaling to 1080P. The difference may be even smaller when you use a 720P screen.

As Ram said, we did not do a comparison of the SQ. Though Ram has a very good Philips HTIB, Ram had some work going on at home and there was a lot of human traffic as well as drills poking holes in his walls. Not a very conducive place to check SQ.

We will do a comparison of the WD and Oppo 983 on my Onkyo 875 system in some time. When we do that we will also compare with the Pioneer player that I have. And we will do a comparison of movement, jaggies, etc.

Unlike Ram, I am not too much of a DVD 'ripping' man. I have yet to learn the technology and methodology from Ram. As of now I am ripping my music, and that itself is going to take me quite some time. But I do believe what Ram says makes sense Just like CDs, using a technology such as WD for delivery, if you are going to watch movies extensively and repeatedly (I don't know now many times I have seen Die Hard), it does make sense to back up your DVDs on a WD type of system, and use that on a regular basis.

I must remind people of one thing. The DVD we used was an original, and Ram had used some sophisticated technology for 'ripping'. If you are using copied or pirated DVDs for 'ripping', the results will be different and unpredictable. As the DVD changes hands or gets used, the quality will continuously degrade. As many of you may be aware, I never use a copied or pirated DVD on my 983. It is always a original.

Though close, there is no denying that the Oppo 983 can deliver images better. Whether you want to go in for that or settle for a WD type delivery system is your choice. If you do, you actually may not miss much as long as the ripping is done well and from reliable sources. In my mind, when I sit down to see a movies, I want to set aside all worries about quality. If the first scene does not render well, I panic, and play my standard reference DVD to check if my system is OK. Not everyone may be as idiosyncratic as I am.

Cheers

 

[moserw]

Though officially not yet, the hacker community has hacked the firmware and now you are able to attach an external DVD on to it! They are even working on bringing network support to it.

If you love playing with custom firmwares, give this a try: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1126753

Thanks Phantom (my favorite comic character of all time). Will check it out. Have not decided on the WDTV yet though. I am more inclined towards the Oppo since I am looking for upscaling.

 

[moserw]

For guys who have WD TV, it is better to rip in H.264 (MP4) format than DiVX. For the same file size, H.264 gives a remarkably better picture than Divx. Mosquito noise is also not noticeable in H.264. Handbrake can be used for H.264 ripping

As a sample, try the BDRips of newartriot. You will be surprised by the quality in 1 GB files.

Thanks for correcting me here. I totally forgot about H.264/MKV. I am waiting for a standalone DVDP that plays them. Divx 7 supports it and new generation of players will be out this summer that will play them. Can start on Blu-Ray rips then.

MBR - Agree with Phantom here. You will have the most mileage from H.264 and with the WDTV you have a winner since it already plays H.264 format too.

 

[RAC]

Finally, Venkat and I got time to do the Oppo vs WD TV vs Philips 4750 PQ test.

Here are the pictures for you to judge. The order of pics are oppo > Philips >WD TV


Scene 3 - Deep Space and space craft (the pictures are of the spacecraft with seconds difference in the scene, so the lighting on the spacecraft would be different so analyze with that in mind)

Oppo:


Philips:



Hi MBR
A couple of general q's.

There seems to be some Philips type backlit / light behind the TV. Did you make some special lighting arrangements behind the TV.

On the pictures, comparing the 2 pics of the space ship, the middle portion of the space ship is black and almost invisible in the Oppo with a blue light strip and it is grey in the Philips. Which is the correct one according to you. My feeling is that the grey is correct.

Also in philips, the complete portion of the downward wing is visible with 2 blue light strips whereas in Oppo, only a smaller part of the wing is visible with one blue light strip.

Ps: I could be totally wrong. Just trying to understand.

 

[madbullram]

Finally, Venkat and I got time to do the Oppo vs WD TV vs Philips 4750 PQ test.

Here are the pictures for you to judge. The order of pics are oppo > Philips >WD TV



Hi MBR
A couple of general q's.

There seems to be some Philips type backlit / light behind the TV. Did you make some special lighting arrangements behind the TV.

On the pictures, comparing the 2 pics of the space ship, the middle portion of the space ship is black and almost invisible in the Oppo with a blue light strip and it is grey in the Philips. Which is the correct one according to you. My feeling is that the grey is correct.

Also in philips, the complete portion of the downward wing is visible with 2 blue light strips whereas in Oppo, only a smaller part of the wing is visible with one blue light strip.

Ps: I could be totally wrong. Just trying to understand.

1. Lighting: Yes, I come from the school of thoughts ambient light behind makes colours look richer (visual perception) and also with light behind the TV it helps reduce eye strain. Philips technology is different, the light colour changes based on the screen colours. What I have done is, bought a led rope light and have run it behind the TV. The colour is yellow as my wall colour is yellow. This gives me the warm glow that I love. Here is pic of that with long shot:



Total cost was 140 rs. Will soon post this in DIY section.

2. You are correct, but see the scenes are not the same. Oppo pic was taken 4-5 frames before Philips pictures. So the in the Philips picture, the space craft has moved further (see the engine side on top right) thats the reason you see difference in the colour and depth.

 

[phantom76]

Was just about to post it, handbrake also support h.264. ANy software you recommend.

Yah, I updated my original post. You can use handbrake itself. If you are using a Mac and would like to convert a huge collection, try getting the Turbo 264, which is a hardware encoder. 4 times faster than regular Mac/PC.

 

[venkatcr]

On the pictures, comparing the 2 pics of the space ship, the middle portion of the space ship is black and almost invisible in the Oppo with a blue light strip and it is grey in the Philips. Which is the correct one according to you. My feeling is that the grey is correct.

Also in philips, the complete portion of the downward wing is visible with 2 blue light strips whereas in Oppo, only a smaller part of the wing is visible with one blue light strip.

The ship is moving in space, and it is supposed to be absolutely black in Space. As the ship moves, portions will become visible and portion will disappear completely. Most of us brighten the TV thinking we are missing something. We actually are not as the photography is done in such a way. Modern cinematography use completely black background to enhance the natural colours and movement of objects.

Contrasts and pitch black background are what reviewers look for in good TV and players. Anything that enhances the brightness and makes object appear are not considered good. Remember, a camera cannot take pictures at all in natural light. Even in broad daylight, extra light is shone on the the objects so that they are captured by the camera. Later, during editing, the effects of lights are reduced so that it appears as if the camera has been used without any additional lighting. Cinematography in darkness and in places such as space where there are no lights at all are difficult. Science Fiction movies and movies such as Dark Knight are good example where cinematography has been done in tough surroundings.

Cheers

Cheers

 

[srikarkav]

Hi Ram,

That was very nice of u both to do a comparison like this. I am hearing first time about this WD TV. Can u pls throw some light on this player and where is it available in Chennai? My HT setup is a 29' CRT Panny Tau,Philips dvdp 3106k and Onkyo 3100. My son and me are convinced that the panny ,philips combo is giving excellent PQ. Do u think an OPPO 980h or this WD TV will improve our viewing pleasure anymore?
Thank u,
cheers,
sridhar c

PS.Ram! i have a married daughter and a son in his twenties and i am absolutely sure u will pay me the same compliments u paid venkat atleast in the looks department.

 

[moserw]

Hi Ram,

That was very nice of u both to do a comparison like this. I am hearing first time about this WD TV. Can u pls throw some light on this player and where is it available in Chennai? My HT setup is a 29' CRT Panny Tau,Philips dvdp 3106k and Onkyo 3100. My son and me are convinced that the panny ,philips combo is giving excellent PQ. Do u think an OPPO 980h or this WD TV will improve our viewing pleasure anymore?
Thank u,
cheers,
sridhar c

PS.Ram! i have a married daughter and a son in his twenties and i am absolutely sure u will pay me the same compliments u paid venkat atleast in the looks department.

Hi Srikarkav,

WDTV's strength is it handles a lot of formats and lets you play off external media like a USB or an external HDD. The Panasonic CRT 29" you have gives excellent PQ. I know because I bought one for myself and use that primarily in the bedroom for my TV/Divx rips. The WDTV is not going to improve on the PQ, at least not for the CRT TV. You can think of it if you have formats like Divx, H.264, etc. that the Philips DVDP does not play, otherwise don't bother. You have an excellent setup for SD DVDs and other content. Think of the Oppo when you move to a HD TV like an LCD or a Plasma, otherwise not.

 

[spirovious]

I personally use HandBrake available at HandBrake. It's free and updated on a regular basis. The Divx rips are virtually indistinguishable on SD/CRT TVs and on the PV8 too they rock. Seeing that you have the same TV I am sure the PQ will be great on it too. Play around with the output size to find what works for you. 700 MB rips by AXXO are the most popular on the internet and I too found the PQ simply awesome on his 700 MB rips. Only problem is his rips are in stereo and not in 5.1. I personally go with 1400 MB per rip, that way 3 movies fit on one DVD and they come out great in terms of PQ and SQ. Most of my friends though prefer it from 700 MB to 1 GB so they can fit more data per DVD, but then not all of them are sold on true 5.1 or a HT like us both so stereo is fine with most of them.

Hve you tried Autogordnkok(autogk)which is free & can rip DVD in 5.1Divx/Xvid?
Even newest Mediacoder do the same.

 

[spirovious]

I get from the reviews that if WD comes close to Oppo983,then it can be better than Oppo980,isnt it?

 

[moserw]

I get from the reviews that if WD comes close to Oppo983,then it can be better than Oppo980,isnt it?

For its price yeah, but factor in the cost of additional h/w like a HDD too. If you already have an external HDD or even a USB that's 4GB or more then WDTV is all you need.

 

[moserw]

Hve you tried Autogordnkok(autogk)which is free & can rip DVD in 5.1Divx/Xvid?
Even newest Mediacoder do the same.

No, I have not. Will give them a spin. Been happy with HandBrake for a while now so have not tried anything else.

 

[spirovious]

For its price yeah, but factor in the cost of additional h/w like a HDD too. If you already have an external HDD or even a USB that's 4GB or more then WDTV is all you need.

I have sata HD with casing,pendrive 2 gb(will get 8 GB)
WD is very affordable & easy to carry.

 

[moserw]

I have sata HD with casing,pendrive 2 gb(will get 8 GB)
WD is very affordable & easy to carry.

64 GB USB is available in the U.S. I will be getting one soon. Here try for the 16 GB or the 32 GB. I have an 8 GB that I paid Rs. 1500 for a while back and now it's available for half the price. Makes more sense to go with 16/32 GB especially if you're planning to use with the WDTV. A couple of Blu-Ray rips and the 4/8 GB will be filled.

 

[madbullram]

Hi Ram,

That was very nice of u both to do a comparison like this. I am hearing first time about this WD TV. Can u pls throw some light on this player and where is it available in Chennai? My HT setup is a 29' CRT Panny Tau,Philips dvdp 3106k and Onkyo 3100. My son and me are convinced that the panny ,philips combo is giving excellent PQ. Do u think an OPPO 980h or this WD TV will improve our viewing pleasure anymore?
Thank u,
cheers,
sridhar c

PS.Ram! i have a married daughter and a son in his twenties and i am absolutely sure u will pay me the same compliments u paid venkat atleast in the looks department.

Dear Sri,
Oppo will definitely improve your PQ no doubt. Its the best DVDp available in the market. But it costs 20 to 25k. So you decide if you want to buy it.

WD TV is a different one all together. Its a small media player which plays movies and audio from a Hard Drive connected to it. It can play virtually any video regular avi to blue ray. You need to copy u r DVDs et all to a hard drive and connect it to the WD TV for it to play it. Its future focused but you to invest effort as you have to rip DVDs to hard drive. You and your son are most welcome to come home and I can demo it so you understand it better.

Its not available in chennai currently. But see the threads people have bought it in eBay and are happy about it.

P.S: I have a weird thoery, I think all men who appreciate music and movies tend to enjoy it so much which makes us forget regular tensions of the mortal. May be that in turns makes us get benefits of meditation so all look younger :clapping:

 

[RAC]

1. Lighting: Yes, I come from the school of thoughts ambient light behind makes colours look richer (visual perception) and also with light behind the TV it helps reduce eye strain. Philips technology is different, the light colour changes based on the screen colours. What I have done is, bought a led rope light and have run it behind the TV. The colour is yellow as my wall colour is yellow. This gives me the warm glow that I love. Here is pic of that with long shot:



Total cost was 140 rs. Will soon post this in DIY section.

2. You are correct, but see the scenes are not the same. Oppo pic was taken 4-5 frames before Philips pictures. So the in the Philips picture, the space craft has moved further (see the engine side on top right) thats the reason you see difference in the colour and depth.

Thanks MBR. Clear. However I imagined the wall to be maroon. I have plans of painting the wall (on which TV is mounted) in dark maroon.

hmm: DIY backlight. Interesting. Need to work on wife acceptance factor.

 

[spirovious]

Any idea to improve picQ with firmware update?
popcorn hr & Tvix uses same Sigma chip & r highly recommended.