Okay...My Circumstances Have Changed: The Oppo Wasn't What I'd Thought It Would Be...

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by bypass

I read somewhere that a PS3 with the latest firmware rivals the best DVD upconverting players on the market. Particularly, when you max out the settings for Mosquito Noise Reduction, Frame Noise Reduction, and Block Noise Reduction. I have PS3, but nothing else for upconverting DVDs, so I have nothing to benchmark. Can anyone else confirm?

I've also heard noise reduction settings should be turned off if you have a display that is capable of 1080p, which mine is. Should I turn them off?


Thanks in advance

The PS3's upconverting is good, but I don't know that I'd say it rivals the best. It's very solid and at that point I'm not sure you're going to squeeze that much more out of a SD DVD.

As for noise reduction settings, if you're talking about on your TV set, yes that should be off for BD's. Any kind of sharpness or noise reduction should be put to a minimum or off as they can smoothie or add noise to your picture. I'd recommend to search for your brand/model of set and see if others have come up with some good settings. AVSForum members have a pretty extensive database of that kind of junk. Also check out the display forum here: https://forum.blu-ray.com/forumdisplay.php?f=64

[olds403]

I have an SXRD tv(60a3000) and 480p sd dvd's look great sent from my denon 2900 dvd player to my tv via component. My tv's upscaling is quite good. sd dvd's do not even have the advanced audio codecs you are so concerned about
so why the big deal about watching them via hdmi.

I have a samsung 1400 bd player and my denon 2900 dvd player kicks its ass on sd dvd's. I thought the upconverted dvd's from the samsung looked like crap. 480p over component looks great on my a3000.

[jomari]

personally, i think a retraction is in order with the title of the thread.

Oppo does an amazing job when it comes to upconversion dvd players, with its upscaling properties, its a great performer.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cd-dv...rk-review.html

The only problem is, a lot of people want a 'hd quality' picture from a sd source. simply put, we expect 1080 lines from a 480 source material, with the player 'adding' the additional 600 lines. Plus, any 'modifications' done on the image (using sharpness, anti-blah blahs et al) would allso cause noise and interference as well to the already bogged down picture.

heres a quick article to help out...

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/fea...fallacies.html

Personally, no matter what kinda chip you're using to de-interlace and/or upconvert the image, you're still using a standard material dvd to output to high def. At 400 clams tho, id rather invest in a HD player instead,may it be a blu-ray dvd player or even a hd dvd player.

[ClinicaTerra LTD]

Originally Posted by olds403

I have an SXRD tv(60a3000) and 480p sd dvd's look great sent from my denon 2900 dvd player to my tv via component. My tv's upscaling is quite good. sd dvd's do not even have the advanced audio codecs you are so concerned about
so why the big deal about watching them via hdmi.

I have a samsung 1400 bd player and my denon 2900 dvd player kicks its ass on sd dvd's. I thought the upconverted dvd's from the samsung looked like crap. 480p over component looks great on my a3000.

I apologize; I simply do not know what you're talking about here...

[ClinicaTerra LTD]

personally, i think a retraction is in order with the title of the thread.

Oppo does an amazing job when it comes to upconversion dvd players, with its upscaling properties, its a great performer.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cd-dv...rk-review.html

Well, I just unpacked the player, ran it through the ringer on a series of torture tests and wasn't that impressed -- and it had NOTHING to do with thinking it would make my DVDs look like Blu-rays because I'm not that far gone as most of the J6P public is about this notion, trust me...I'll address this in greater detail below...

The only problem is, a lot of people want a 'hd quality' picture from a sd source. simply put, we expect 1080 lines from a 480 source material, with the player 'adding' the additional 600 lines. Plus, any 'modifications' done on the image (using sharpness, anti-blah blahs et al) would allso cause noise and interference as well to the already bogged down picture.

I set the 983 WITHOUT ANY PICTURE MODIFICATIONS AT ALL -- all picture enhancements were off, and picture controls were at zero for no affect -- and I ABSOLUTELY do not expect DVDs to begin looking like Blu-rays because I bought this Oppo -- I still see, however, artifacts and video issues that continue to pop up during scaling to 1080p that were not there on the same discs when played back on legacy progressive scan DVD players at 480p. THAT'S why I am criticizing the scalers in these decks.

Personally, no matter what kinda chip you're using to de-interlace and/or upconvert the image, you're still using a standard material dvd to output to high def. At 400 clams tho, id rather invest in a HD player instead,may it be a blu-ray dvd player or even a hd dvd player.

This is an interesting point, and one that I am inclined to agree with -- I dropped 400 bucks on this player and I am going to return it because I would rather spend it on a new BD player that outputs the new codecs via bitstream.

[My_Two_Cents]

I've got to say that my HD-A2 does a fantastic job of playing regular DVDs. I purchased an Oppo about 3 years ago based on all of the glowing reviews. It was a good upscaler, but I never liked the picture. It just seemed washed-out compared to my old JVC progressive player, no matter how much i adjusted the picture. Because of this, and to jump on the HD bandwagon, I purchased the A2 last year and was able to sell my Oppo on eBay for nearly what I bought the Toshiba for. I noticed an immediate and significant improvement in the DVD playback quality as soon as I hooked it up. I've also got a PS3 for BD's, but I continue to use the A2 for regular DVD's because (to my eyes) the picture is better. Sure, it only outputs 720p/1080i, but I'm feeding a 768p plasma and like I said, the picture is very good. Bitstreaming the HD audio codecs? Why would you care on DVD's?

Anyway, I see no reason to spend 4-figures on a player because you might get a slightly improved (inferior format) picture. Just get a PS3 and use the price difference to upgrade all of the important/favorite DVD's to BD's! Then you won't need to worry about regular DVD playback.

[ClinicaTerra LTD]

Thanks for your thoughts here...

Bitstreaming the HD audio codecs? Why would you care on DVD's?

I was talking about BITSTREAMING THE NEW CODECS ON A BLU-RAY PLAYER...not a DVD player...that wouldn't even make any sense...

Anyway, I see no reason to spend 4-figures on a player because you might get a slightly improved (inferior format) picture. Just get a PS3 and use the price difference to upgrade all of the important/favorite DVD's to BD's! Then you won't need to worry about regular DVD playback.

I see your point here and it is definitely another way of looking at it for me; the thing is, I was hoping that the four figure price would also get me in the door of EXCELLENT BLU RAY playback as well -- not just improved DVD upscaling.

[jomari]

Originally Posted by ClinicaTerra LTD

personally, i think a retraction is in order with the title of the thread.

Oppo does an amazing job when it comes to upconversion dvd players, with its upscaling properties, its a great performer.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cd-dv...rk-review.html

Well, I just unpacked the player, ran it through the ringer on a series of torture tests and wasn't that impressed -- and it had NOTHING to do with thinking it would make my DVDs look like Blu-rays because I'm not that far gone as most of the J6P public is about this notion, trust me...I'll address this in greater detail below...

(A) The only problem is, a lot of people want a 'hd quality' picture from a sd source. simply put, we expect 1080 lines from a 480 source material, with the player 'adding' the additional 600 lines. Plus, any 'modifications' done on the image (using sharpness, anti-blah blahs et al) would allso cause noise and interference as well to the already bogged down picture.

I set the 983 WITHOUT ANY PICTURE MODIFICATIONS AT ALL -- all picture enhancements were off, and picture controls were at zero for no affect -- and I ABSOLUTELY do not expect DVDs to begin looking like Blu-rays because I bought this Oppo -- I still see, however, artifacts and video issues that continue to pop up during scaling to 1080p that were not there on the same discs when played back on legacy progressive scan DVD players at 480p. THAT'S why I am criticizing the scalers in these decks.

Personally, no matter what kinda chip you're using to de-interlace and/or upconvert the image, you're still using a standard material dvd to output to high def. At 400 clams tho, id rather invest in a HD player instead,may it be a blu-ray dvd player or even a hd dvd player.

This is an interesting point, and one that I am inclined to agree with -- I dropped 400 bucks on this player and I am going to return it because I would rather spend it on a new BD player that outputs the new codecs via bitstream.

--- i agree with you on this. it dont work for you, then get another player. but i wouldnt consider throwing down the 983 so quickly. its a great player, and although overpriced, maybe the general publics idea of 'upconversion' was overhyped in the first place.

based on your original posting then...

Originally Posted by ClinicaTerra LTD

1. There is something wrong with the HDMI cable Oppo supplies in the box with their players; it was gold plated but maybe it just sucks...

2. Something is going wrong with the way my Onkyo receiver is passing video through its HDMI OUT port -- seems everything that's played through this receiver no matter what the source component doesn't look all that great -- even 1080p Blu-ray...if this is the case, I don't know what to do...

3. Perhaps something is wrong with my Sony SXRD TV -- it's been calibrated with a disc, but perhaps this TV is introducing some kinds of artifacts...

Maybe there is something wrong on another end then. considering that you mentioned it yourself, it might be the other two parts here.

to refer to point (A) ...

again, my personal opinion is to avoid too much 'upscaling' so to speak. if you tend to bed the 480p picture up to 720p then tweak it again to 1080p, your adding more noise than clarity so to speak. its better to have the source stay at 480p then upconvert it ONCE, allowing your display unit to do the upconversion.

Lastly, im sure youve done a lot of homework, and a lot of research on certain players, and have a good amount on your shoulders about home theater material, but may i ask politely, how would Kris Deerings results show a quite significant player? What barrage of torture test DID you do to get your immediate results?

We agree to disagree on this note, and enjoy your input on this as well. At least, what we can agree on is that for 400 bucks, its definitely a little pricey for what it is. You are better off buying a blu-ray player instead. But one things for sure - you can only squeeze so much from a SDVD and output it to look good.

[ClinicaTerra LTD]

Jomari,

Thanks for your input...

--- i agree with you on this. it dont work for you, then get another player. but i wouldnt consider throwing down the 983 so quickly. its a great player, and although overpriced, maybe the general publics idea of 'upconversion' was overhyped in the first place.

I'm really not bashing on the 983 -- if that's how it came across, my apologies; I merely meant that for $400, it didn't seem to blow my fiance's skirt up so to speak ; but seriously, some discs played on the 983 looked awesome -- like the original Fast and the Furious -- but that disc is hard to judge by because it was mastered so well and looks awesome on almost every deck I run it in. For the most part, though, it just didn't look like $400 worth of DVD playback improvement, if you kind of know what I mean...

again, my personal opinion is to avoid too much 'upscaling' so to speak. if you tend to bed the 480p picture up to 720p then tweak it again to 1080p, your adding more noise than clarity so to speak. its better to have the source stay at 480p then upconvert it ONCE, allowing your display unit to do the upconversion.

Well, how is it too much upscaling if I set a source deck to 1080p and it just sends that upconverted signal to my 1080p screen for display?

Lastly, im sure youve done a lot of homework, and a lot of research on certain players, and have a good amount on your shoulders about home theater material, but may i ask politely, how would Kris Deerings results show a quite significant player? What barrage of torture test DID you do to get your immediate results?

Well, I played a bunch of discs I know looked crappy in my collection -- discs whose transfers have given me issues on the Panny 10A all along and tried those; of course, this was not a professional torture test by any means like Mr. Deerings would do, but...

We agree to disagree on this note, and enjoy your input on this as well. At least, what we can agree on is that for 400 bucks, its definitely a little pricey for what it is. You are better off buying a blu-ray player instead. But one things for sure - you can only squeeze so much from a SDVD and output it to look good.

I understand this totally that there's only so much we can squeeze out of a DVD; but these players are definitely introducing artifacts somewhere: have you read a review of the new Panasonic BD50 Blu ray player? Go to CNET and look at it -- the DVD upconversion is simply unacceptable and they explain why. I can't be the only one off my rocker with expectations of DVD upconversion...

Thanks for your thoughts.

[bhampton]

I'm very impressed the original poster mentioned that he has some DVDs he has watched hundreds of times.

I love the heck out of Jaws, Star Wars, Scarface, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future and all that and I doubt I've hit 20 viewings of any disc including Pink Floyd's The Wall which perhaps got spun 7 times.

I just can't imagine investing in something to make a DVD that I've seen hundreds of times look better.

I say forget DVD. Netflix keeps the Blu Rays coming in my house.

-Brian

[olds403]

My point was that you are talking about bitstreaming advanced audio via HDMI to your Onkyo in the same thread as complaining about upscaled sd content from dvd. Why does the dvd image have to upscaled and passed through the receiver, it ISNT NECESSARY for sd dvd(except for convenience of souce switching).

The sony SXRD tv's that I have seen(my own included) do a very good job with 480p content from component. The only problems I have seen with sd content on my SXRD is with the quality of the original signal.

Supposedly the oppo does good upconversion(I've never personally seen one), have you tried setting the oppo for 480p? Maybe your expectations are too high for upconverted sd dvd, there is only so much resolution on them. If you think you must go spend $$$$ on a high end blu-ray player to get good dvd playback go right ahead, but I think you will be disappointed in any case.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by ClinicaTerra LTD

In the Oppo? And you mean just leaving it on "480p"? If so, yes I did, and it didn't look all that much different to my eyes -- anyway, my Sony SXRD upscales any incoming resolution to 1080p anyway, so then perhaps the crappy upscaling of the TV took over...I just don't know...anyway, what would have been the point of buying a premium upscaling DVD player just to leave it on 480p output? Know what I mean?

I've always been of the opinion that an HDTV costing thousands of dollars will do better upscaling with a good progressive scan DVD player than an upscaling DVD player costing a few hundred bucks.

At the end of the day a crappy DVD is going to look like a crappy DVD no matter what you do with it.

[Deciazulado]

beam me out scotty