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With more and more digital components being added to my home theater I felt that I would like to add a DVD player to the mix that provided a digital pathway to my scaler. There were several options available but none seemed more attractive than the Oppo OPDV971H which offered both scaling and DVI output. While the scaling feature of the player was not really necessary because I already owned the DVDO iScan VP30 external scaler the DVI output was what I was looking for. However, the price of the Oppo (under $200) made this an easy decision. Besides, the use of DCDi processing by Faroudja in this player offered an opportunity for alternative scaling possibilities if I wished to experiment.
Since standard DVDs store the video information on the disc in 480i format the ideal solution would have been to find a player with digital output in the 480i mode, thus assuring a direct digital path from the signal stored on the disc to the scaler and, in fact, Oppo is rumored to be releasing a non-scaling player shortly that provides 480i output at the digital output, and at a lower price point to boot! That is certainly something that I will consider when it’s available. Another reason I wanted to add the 971H to my collection of players is that it is replacing my Panasonic RP-91. As nice as that player was as a secondary player I didn’t like the fact that it didn’t readily display the time elapsed and time remaining on discs and that has always been a bone of contention with me.
An alternative approach to purchasing the OPDV971H to get as pure a signal as possible from a Standard DVD would have been to retrofit the RP-91 with an SDI (Serial Digital Interface.) This would have provided a direct link from the 480i content of SD DVDs into my VP30 scaler which accepts SDI. However the cost of this modification was more than double the cost of the Oppo unit and it still would have been an earlier generation RP-91 DVD player. I could get the 971H now and purchase the upcoming 480i/Digital out Oppo and still save money! This was an easy decision.
As I use the new Oppo unit I’m impressed how good my SD DVDs look on my display. Depending on the source material, a large number of my titles actually approach HD quality because of the path the signal is taking. I’m not claiming that I’m able to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, but I do feel that I’ve breathed new life into my current DVD collection. When comparing the newly processed SD DVDs with HD material and 1080p DVDs via an HTPC playing Windows Media Video HD titles, I would say that my SD DVDs are now much closer in video quality to HD than, say, LDs are to DVDs. I feel that the Oppo unit has definitely been worth the modest investment and would recommend an under $200 player for people looking for great video bang for the buck.
Click here for more information about the Oppo OPDV971H
Click here for some pictures of all the new equipment in place
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