In Reply to: REVIEW: Oppo DV-980H DVD Players posted by author@escapeclause.net on June 26, 2008 at 14:22:18:
It's not $299 -- it's $199. Different country?
It's their lowest and least expensive model of the three they offer: don't expect to be transported to Valhalla riding on the wings of the valkyries upon listening to it. I haven't tested the output voltage on mine (oppo DV-983H), but I'm willing to bet it's more than "just a little" over the standard 2 volts RMS based on the fact that it's much louder than any of my other sources.
The audio is not over-rated if you compare it to similar cost models from other companies. It is, however, very over-rated based on the description that oppo provides on their site.
Firmware updates are a good thing. They allow manufacturers to better their products and/or take care of glitches that QC didn't catch. It's impossible to test every DVD-ROM, DVD+R, DVD-R, CD-ROM, CD-R, etc out there. There will always be certain discs that will give a player fits: sometimes a firmware update can change that. If you don't like firmware updates, either stop buying consumer electronics or stick with Samsung. They, like you, don't care for firmware updates either.
One manufacturer, Sony, is using firmware updates to give their user installed base a player, the PS3, that meets or exceeds the capabilities of every other Blu-ray player out there. That wasn't the case in November '06 when it was released. While not every manufacturer can do that nor do they have a product that can be upgraded so easily, no manufacturer should end support a year after a product's release.
You're probably referring to the oppo shills at AVS Forum. They don't get paid: they get free product and new product early.
As for oppo's customer service, they are quite arrogant. When some douchebag has the nerve to tell me -- in writing -- that what I'm seeing on my screen (in plain text, mind you) isn't really there, it's time to fire some people. And I paid $400 for the DV-983H, not $170 for the DV-980H. If I wasn't confident that the deinterlacing of misflagged discs was going to make a difference when I get a larger display, I'd take a trip out to Mountain View and personally shove the player up someone's ass. Sideways.
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Follow Ups
- a few words about the tripe - Joe Murphy Jr 20:36:17 06/26/08 (2)
- Actually, it costs $169 in the USA... - Doug Otte 06:34:16 06/27/08 (0)
- RE: Oppo - phatty 05:37:21 06/27/08 (0)