OPPO OPDV971H Digital HD-Ready Up-Converting DVD Player
WOW!
I got my Oppo in the mail today, and tried out tons of discs.  This player will upconvert your regular DVDs to imitate High Definition.  While it can't create information out of nothing, it can give you the best possible picture, one you didn't think possible from your old DVDs. <br /> <br />NOTE: Disregard this player if you do not own an HDTV.  It will be of no use. <br /> <br />Down to business: <br /> <br />-VIDEO-  <br /> <br />Incredible!  I used the DVI-HDMI cable included in the box (at least a 30 dollar value, free) to hook it up, cycled through the settings, using The Return of the King as my reference disc, and eventually settled on 1080i.  The colors were crisper, details sharper, jaggies gone, color bleeding gone, and everything was actually distracting because it looked so good!  It really looked just a hair shy of true HD. <br /> <br />-SETUP/MENUS- <br /> <br />A little tough to navigate at first, because it was more technical than I'm used to seeing, but the manual explains every option, which you can tinker with to figure out what picture looks best.  I've never seen a DVD player that has internal sharpness, contrast, brightness, and noise reduction settings.  Incredible.  I was able to calibrate it perfectly within a few minutes. <br /> <br />-BUILD- <br /> <br />Solid, but very light.  Remote could use a little work, but what remote is perfect?  One button for play/pause, which is nice. <br /> <br />-DISCS USED, IMPROVEMENT OVER 480p RATINGS- <br /> <br />Lord of the Rings: 10/10 <br />Sin City: 10/10 <br />Open Range: 10/10 <br />Braveheart: 8/10 <br />Munich: 8/10 <br />Once Upon a Time in the West(!): 10/10 <br /> <br />-SUMMARY- <br /> <br />For 200 bucks, you won't beat this value.  If you're wary of the coming format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray, pick up the Oppo 971.  And, if you're thinking about an HD-DVD player for the upconversion it provides, just get this one for 200, hold off on an HD-DVD player for a year, wherein it'll drop in price, and you'll end up paying less, total, for both.