Oppo DV-981H or Denon DVD-1940 - please suggest

[vinod_david]

Hi all:

I am really confused which to pick from the above models. Both seems to be excellent IMO, but never seen PQ of both. Have to buy it just from reviews, awards, and indeed comments from hifivision forum members. Past, present, and auditioned members please give your opinion.

 

[psychotropic]

I've never seen either, but the 1940 is around 30k right? And even if you buy it frmo an authorised dealer in India, the 981H is not more than 20k.....and Oppo are the baaps of DVD players.....so.....it seems like a clear decision in favour of the Oppo, but I'll wait for people like venkat to give their take.....

 

[Anands123]

Hi,

I have the 981 and here is my take on it.

a) Picture Quality : Brilliant! Film like smoothness without jagged edges ( I had the Cambridge Audio DV 99 before this, which in itself was a great player, but this one beats it. It even plays VCDs with very acceptable picture quality for a 46" TV

b) Audio Quality : Very good for both stereo and 5.1. The CA DV 99 was on par with this

It also has decent looks and a solid build. It comes with a HDMI cable. It will cost you around Rs 18K and is highly recommended if you have a TV more than 42". I tired to get hold of the 983 H, but could not manage in India. Also, this is decent money to spend on a SD player in anycase.

 

[audiodelic]

Both use faroudja for upscaling, my personal vote would be for the oppo.
Realistically you cant go wrong with either. Maybe the oppo gives some more perks as its a DVD-Audio/SACD player, cheaper etc.

 

[vinod_david]

I've never seen either, but the 1940 is around 30k right? And even if you buy it frmo an authorised dealer in India, the 981H is not more than 20k.....and Oppo are the baaps of DVD players.....so.....it seems like a clear decision in favour of the Oppo, but I'll wait for people like venkat to give their take.....

A couple of questions to Psychotropic and members:

1. 1940 is costlier than 981, so does that mean 1940 is superior than 981 ?
2. 1940 and 981 both use faroudja processing (if am right).
3. Can Oppo 981 beat the Denon 1940 hands down with regards to SD DVD playback, upscaling, and sound regardless of the price.

 

[vinod_david]

Hi,

I have the 981 and here is my take on it.

a) Picture Quality : Brilliant! Film like smoothness without jagged edges ( I had the Cambridge Audio DV 99 before this, which in itself was a great player, but this one beats it. It even plays VCDs with very acceptable picture quality for a 46" TV

b) Audio Quality : Very good for both stereo and 5.1. The CA DV 99 was on par with this

It also has decent looks and a solid build. It comes with a HDMI cable. It will cost you around Rs 18K and is highly recommended if you have a TV more than 42". I tired to get hold of the 983 H, but could not manage in India. Also, this is decent money to spend on a SD player in anycase.

Anand:

Thanks very much indeed for your excellent review. Last week bought 42" PV8, I think it will be fine. Getting 981 from UK very cheap, so two strong recommendations for Oppo and am 3 steps closer to Oppo!

 

[RB9]

Anand:

Thanks very much indeed for your excellent review. Last week bought 42" PV8, I think it will be fine. Getting 981 from UK very cheap, so two strong recommendations for Oppo and am 3 steps closer to Oppo!

Hi Vinod, as mentioned that you are getting oppo from UK then why dont you go for 983 !!!!! Its better than 981 !
Good Luck
RB9

 

[RB9]

Hi Vinod, by the way oppo 981 will cost you around 15k in India (after discount) with 1 Year Warranty ! Just wanted to keep that in Mind while getting from outside India ! Just compare how cheap is costing by Importing & you will not get the International Warranty with that ...............!!!!!!
Contact Info of the Dealer :

SOUND OF MUSIC=9810050300

Hope it will help
RB9

 

[pnredkar]

A couple of questions to Psychotropic and members:

1. 1940 is costlier than 981, so does that mean 1940 is superior than 981 ?
2. 1940 and 981 both use faroudja processing (if am right).
3. Can Oppo 981 beat the Denon 1940 hands down with regards to SD DVD playback, upscaling, and sound regardless of the price.

DVD Player Benchmark - Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity

Oppo scores way higher than comparable Denon in the above benchmarks. Its almost comparable to Denon-5910. I would not expect 1940 to be much different than the 1910 listed. Hence it is safe to say that Oppo 981 beats Denon 1940 w.r.t DVD video. (Disclaimer: I have not seen the 1940 PQ). How much of it you will be able to make out is a different question. If nothing else, the price difference should seal the deal!

Regards,
Prasad Redkar.

 

[venkatcr]

.....and Oppo are the baaps of DVD players.....so.....it seems like a clear decision in favour of the Oppo, but I'll wait for people like Venkat to give their take.....

The 'Baaps' of DVD. . I remember the days long time ago when we literally used to lust after getting a Marantz CD Player, a Nakamichi Tape Deck, or a Mont Blanc pen. I just one gifted by my son, BTW. Oppo seems to be reaching that status slowly.

Vinod, the features of both units are very similar. If you can audition both unit, that will be the best. The second most important factor is going to be price. It does not make sense to pay more than 20K for either unit.

As RB9 has suggested why dont you look at the 983 if you have the opportunity of procuring an unit from the UK. The 983 is way ahead of both these units.

Cheers

 

[vinod_david]

Thank you all for the overwhelming support for Oppo. From the above posts, I can concur that many of you had not seen the 1940 in action, if am right, I beg your pardon if indeed all of you had auditioned 1940. I think its no contest in my situation then, Oppo all the way

Thanks again for asking me to consider 983H, but then I'm not a movie freak, have hardly 40-50 DVD's, don't have a HT setup, just a 42" plasma and a lovely 2-channel setup. So, do you all think still I need to consider 983H or just 981H is enough ?

Please suggest.

 

[audiodelic]

Thank you all for the overwhelming support for Oppo. From the above posts, I can concur that many of you had not seen the 1940 in action, if am right, I beg your pardon if indeed all of you had auditioned 1940. I think its no contest in my situation then, Oppo all the way

Thanks again for asking me to consider 983H, but then I'm not a movie freak, have hardly 40-50 DVD's, don't have a HT setup, just a 42" plasma and a lovely 2-channel setup. So, do you all think still I need to consider 983H or just 981H is enough ?

Please suggest.

Get the 981 now, later down the line when you have full blown 5.1 system go for the oppo blu ray to be out in 09. It should do everything the 983 does and plays blu.

 

[Anands123]

As RB9 has suggested why dont you look at the 983 if you have the opportunity of procuring an unit from the UK. The 983 is way ahead of both these units.

Cheers

Venkat - I am so carried away by the 981's pq that I really can't imagine how much better the 983 can be. Maybe, I should see it to beleive it. Also, is it way ahead on sound quality? I am quite happy with the 981 as well.

Vinod:
I have gone the exact same way that Audiodelic has suggested. To buy the 981 now and wait for Oppo to luanch the Blu ray player - and may be wait some more for it to get cheaper! This is how I console myself for not getting the 983 now - can't spend so much on a SD player!!

 

[vinod_david]

audiodelic, anand, and other valuable members here, its confirmed now, am getting Oppo 981, and will have a blast with it

 

[RB9]

audiodelic, anand, and other valuable members here, its confirmed now, am getting Oppo 981, and will have a blast with it

Good Luck Vinod
RB9

 

[SKR]

I will suggest don't buy anything if you are later going to buy an OPPO Blu Ray in early 2009. As u said u have only a few DVD's, then better buy cheaper 980 which is better for audio purpose and also a good DVD player. After introduction of 983 no body is buying 981 and in thailand some time back i saw 981 selling for a discount.

I can understand in india due to non availability of 983 (officially) people are buying 981 as it is best available option. But if u are getting from UK or US either buy 983 or 980 or buy nothing (best option ) and wait some more time for blu ray which should be able to play DVD's also. Indian prices of Oppo players are very high due to import duties which makes it a costly DVD player compared to Sony ,Panasonic, Pioneer etc.. Also Oppo will be able to give good picture quality if you are using good quality original DVD's. Specially high resolution DVD's will give exceptional picture quality.
If u are buying primarily for audio with decent picture quality my vote will be for 980 at US price of about $170.

 

[vinod_david]

I will suggest don't buy anything if you are later going to buy an OPPO Blu Ray in early 2009. As u said u have only a few DVD's, then better buy cheaper 980 which is better for audio purpose and also a good DVD player. After introduction of 983 no body is buying 981 and in thailand some time back i saw 981 selling for a discount.

I can understand in india due to non availability of 983 (officially) people are buying 981 as it is best available option. But if u are getting from UK or US either buy 983 or 980 or buy nothing (best option ) and wait some more time for blu ray which should be able to play DVD's also. Indian prices of Oppo players are very high due to import duties which makes it a costly DVD player compared to Sony ,Panasonic, Pioneer etc.. Also Oppo will be able to give good picture quality if you are using good quality original DVD's. Specially high resolution DVD's will give exceptional picture quality.
If u are buying primarily for audio with decent picture quality my vote will be for 980 at US price of about $170.

Good point indeed. I will surely consider 980 also before taking the plunge. Thanks.

 

[phantom76]

Good point indeed. I will surely consider 980 also before taking the plunge. Thanks.

If you see the Oppo site, you will notice that they recommend the 980 for TVs less than 45". Considering that you are also not using a Full HD TV, you may go in for the 980, which is a very sensible choice.

 

[spirovious]

Both use faroudja for upscaling, my personal vote would be for the oppo.
Realistically you cant go wrong with either. Maybe the oppo gives some more perks as its a DVD-Audio/SACD player, cheaper etc.

Hi,

Difference in 980,981 & 983

Faroudja DCDi -only 981
USB -980 & 983
Component - 980 & 983
DAC -better in 980
HDMI -980 has 1.2

So if you wait for 983, is there any point?
980 wil be better choice movie & music.

check-http://www.oppodigital.com/dv983h/dv983h_comp.asp

 

[moserw]

Hi Everyone!

I have decided on the Oppo DV-983H and I have mailed them and they have confirmed that you can order online and they will ship direct to India. Shipping will cost US$72.50 and with the price tag of $399.00 it works out to Rs. 22,339 per today's rates. This also includes a 1 year parts and labor warranty. Before I go ahead and place the order, I wanted to confirm if the Oppo DV-983H is available at a better rate anywhere in India and also with what kind of warranty.

Otherwise please confirm if its a good deal at Rs. 22,339 and I can go ahead and place the order?