Oppo has seemingly cornered the market on buzz, becoming the “Apple Computer” of rumor and forum discussion. Following the success of their flagship (and still shipping) OPDV971H upconverting DVD player, they naturally felt inclined to release a new upconverting DVD player that also handles SACD – for $50 less. Now, before you fall off your chair and pull out your credit card, realize that this is a different player. Instead of the Faroudja video processing, this new player utilizes a different chipset and scores slightly lower in our video performance testing. However, for those using 42” or smaller screens or for anyone looking for a bargain upconverting player, it’s going to be hard to turn away the additional features provided by the DV-970HD. The new DVD player also offers USB audio capability as well as the ability to read flash memory cards. Both players sport the latest generation Oppo remote control and the reflective mirror-face of the original player has been replaced by a brushed aluminum finish with mirror trim.

Comparison of the Two Players

To illustrate the above differences we have prepared a brief table outlining the differences between the two DVD players:

Feature	OPDV971H	DV-970HD
SACD	No	Yes
DVD-Audio	Yes (analogue)	Yes (analogue/HDMI)
Digital Video Output	DVI	HDMI
HDCP-compliant	No	Yes
Component Output	480i/576i	480i/480p/576i/576p*
Chipset (deinterlacing/scaling)	Faroudja/Genesis FLI2310	MediaTek 1392
Cross color separation	Yes	No
Noise reduction	Yes	No
2:2 pull-down	Yes	No
3:2 film pull-down	Yes	Yes
Finish	Mirror front	Brushed aluminum with mirror trim
USB & 4-in-1 memory card reader	No	Yes
Included cable	DVI/DVI-HDMI (6')	HDMI (6')
Audio output	Analogue/SPDIF	Analogue/SPDIF/HDMI

*will do 720p/1080i on non-CSS-encrypted discs