ConnectReviews

The OPPO DV-980H provides a sleek and stylish product perfect for any home theater. If you're looking for a DVD player for your new LCD, but you aren't ready to invest in a next generation player, this player is a strong contender in the market for upscaling DVD players.

While HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players are becoming what's "in" as far as the home theater goes, the price range for players of the next generation of movies are too steep for many average home theater owners. This is where the DV-980H comes into play. At the low price of $169, your existing DVD collection will be "upconverted" to 720p or 1080i/p. Compared with a normal composite and even component DVD players, the OPPO is a clear favorite.

In the box, you receive the player (in a nice mesh protective bag), a slew of cables to connect to any TV, a remote control, and a nice manual to get started with. With the setup being quite self-explanatory, I jumped head first into putting the included batteries into the remote and connecting the DVD player to the wall and my TV.

The remote control included with the player is not the most ergo-dynamic remote you will ever hold, but it definitely gets the job done. A simple layout with large buttons makes the included remote control great for anyone with either large hands or bad eyesight.

One of the nicest things about the DV-980H is that included in the price of the DVD player is a high quality HDMI cable. In our tests, we found the cable to perform just as well as a cable we purchased for upwards of $25. With this cable already being included, we had no need to purchase our own which is always nice, and of course will be nice for you also.

The DV-980H includes support for many format types, including DVD, DVD-audio, and SACD. In addition, photo CDs are displayed in full HD resolution, making for a very nice option for displaying slide shows for the family or just providing something to look at during a party.

One of the strong points of this player is in its audio quality however. The DV-980H provides Dolby Digital 7.1 surround sound. This is perfect for those of you with advanced speaker systems that require the highest sound signal throughput.

Another nice feature of the DV-980H is its support for a USB drive to be attached. In our tests of this feature, we found the lack of codec supports somewhat frustrating, however. While the player claims to support DivX and Xvid media files, it refused to detect our high definition Xvid files, which was very disappointing (now how are we supposed to watch The Office?). Also, WMVs are unsupported if you are looking to play them off of a USB drive. However, our tests with standard XviD and DivX worked well. As a note, in addition to playing video off of a USB drive, the DV-980H will also create a slideshow of your pictures and play your music as well.

Overall, the construction of the DVD player and included equipment is very high and stylish. The setup of the device was very simple, and the overall functionality is great. While not perfect, the OPPO DV-980H provides one of the best options on the market for upscaling DVD players.

Pros

• High quality, stylish black design
• Feature rich, and high quality sound and video output
• Great upscaling of DVDs
• Ability to play media off of DVD drives
• Included HDMI cable

Cons

• File support limited for USB Drives

We give the OPPO DV-980H a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Similar Articles You Might Enjoy

• Oppo DV-981HD upconverting DVD player
• First Look: Sony BDP-CX960 Blu-Ray Disc Changer
• XtremeMac XtremeHD 4-to-1 HDMI Switcher
• Epson Stylus Photo R380, reviewed and put to the test.
• Best Bang for Your Buck Projector: Panasonic AE-1000U
• Mitsubishi HC1500 720p DLP Projector Review
• Westinghouse 37-inch 1080p LCD TV
• Logitech Harmony One Review