December 14, 2007

The Gadget Guru

OPPO Digital hits it out of the park with new DVD player

By James Stout
Special to the Times
                                 
Category killer
A Gadgets Guru can get jaded, but occasionally a product arrives that leaves me speechless. Mountain View-based OPPO Digital has hit it out of the park with its DV-981HD player, which allows consumers to sit out the high definition disk wars and enhance the video quality of the DVDs your currently own and rent. Let the manufacturers and entertainment industry sort out the HD DVD – BLU-Ray mess while the rest of us enjoy movies in a whole new way.

OPPO who?
So what’s the big deal about OPPO? In plain speak, they upconvert (enhance) the picture quality to something akin to high definition. Technically, it’s not the super clarity you’ll see in the stores, but it’s a huge boost over today’s DVD presentation. You’ll enjoy your favorite movies in a whole new way. OPPO didn’t invent the concept, but they do it far better than anyone else. But don’t look for the OPPO in your local store. It’s only sold online directly from OPPO or one of its partners like Amazon. The price is $249 or less.

New DVD performance standard
My continuing experience with the 981 took place over Thanksgiving as I staged a client’s entertainment system in my lab. I used three of my movie favorites, “Fellowship of The Ring,” the black-and-white “Hustler” and “Seabiscuit.” Each of these revealed more detail than when played on my other reference players. It was like discovering each of these releases all over again. Set up is a snap, and they even included a HDMI cable, the standard for the latest TVs and home theater receivers. These cables typically cost $30 and up.

Music to your ears
What about music? The sound quality easily matches CD players costing twice as much. But wait, there’s more. There are two little known disc formats: Super Audio CD (SACD) and DVD-Audio that provide much higher quality than regular CDs. Believe me; you’ll want high resolution versions of your favorite CDs. Until now, a universal player cost significantly more, and most only supported one or the other these formats. As with video, OPPO, like Switzerland makes friends with everyone. It supports every format you’ll ever need.

Highly recommended
Any downsides? The DV-981HD only supports an HDMI connection meaning its video enhancement won’t work with older equipment supporting component connections. This really isn’t a shortcoming as the same limitation applies to competing players. Beyond that, there’s everything to recommend OPPO. My advice is to spoil yourself and become part of the fan club. And tell a friend. They’ll thank you.

James Stout, owner of Bay Area Gadgets, creates home entertainment and home office solutions for valley residents. Your questions and comments are welcome at 408-393-4779 or by email at james@bayareagadgets.com.