I guess I need some information on whether the 970 would be the best for my system or whether just to buy something like the new Pioneer 696 (coming sometime). I have a 4 or 5 year old Toshiba 57HX81 RPTV that does not have DVI but only component inputs. I believe the tv does 480i/p->540p upconversion whatever that means. Anyway I have read that the Oppo 971 model would not work the best with my setup but would the new 970 work with my tv? The 970 has everything I'm looking for, the ability to play any media out there, does SACD and Dvd-Audio and does PAL to NTSC conversion along with several other things plus being under $200.
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> On the subject of PAL/NTSC conversion, how well does the Mediatek chipset handle this, do you get a stable or jittery screen when trying to watch PAL movies? I have read at some online sites that sell modified players with PAL/NTSC conversion chips saying that you need a 14 to 16MB converter to achieve a good picture on a screen larger than 34", what is the Mediatek rated at?

Also do the Oppo players have a sharp picture or are they kind of soft (which I wouldn't like). My current dvd player is a several year old Pioneer 626 which I like but it is pretty outdated.

I have a feeling the Oppo 970 is going to be a great player but is it a fit for my old tv? And is it region free to play some of my son's PAL disc?

Your Toshiba converts the incoming signals (480i or 480p) to the native resolution of the display (which may be 720p or 1080i). It sould also accept HD signals over component, although some older HDTV's would only accept one of the two standard HD resolution (they lacked the video processing to switch from one to the other).

Both OPPO players (and I think the Pioneer 696 you mention) scale DVD video (which is 480i) up to HD resolutions for the DVI (in the case of the 971) or HDMI (in the case of the 970) output. The 971's component output is limited to 480i, which is why it isn't recommended for displays that lack a DVI or HDMI input. The 970 will deinterlace the video to 480p at the component output, and for non-CSS discs it'll provide 720p or 1080i at the component output.

No DVD player is going to be able to upscale CSS-protected DVD content (which means most commercial discs) over component video outputs. A few players have in the past, but anymore the manufacturers really can't get away with it in the US market. That means you're going to only get 480p (progressive scan) via component. It's still too soon to know just how the 970's going to perform (it started shipping on Wednesday). The beta testers at AVS have said that the 971 has a bit of an edge on the 970 for PAL (thanks to the Faroudja processing, apparently), but that the 970 still does a very respectable job for PAL. Theh 971 has been accused of being soft (due to the Faroudja processing that removes some of the artificial sharpness of DVD video), but the 970 is apparently not as soft. There is a code to make the 970 region-free, at least based on comments at AVS this week. The principal market for both OPPO players (and in a way all the upconverting players) is DVI/HDMI displays, with a secondary market for the OPPO player being folks with external scalers.

Question from me is this: I wonder whether DVD's that we make from other material (VHS tapes, Hi-8 or S-VHS tapes, or off-satellite to DVR-to-DVD will be up-converted by this Oppo.

An inquiring mind wants to know.........

Question from me is this: I wonder whether DVD's that we make from other material (VHS tapes, Hi-8 or S-VHS tapes, or off-satellite to DVR-to-DVD will be up-converted by this Oppo.

An inquiring mind wants to know.........

Looks like it from the Oppo FAQ: "Q: Does the DV-970HD support up-conversion over its component output?
A: The DV-970HD offers limited up-conversion over its component output...all CSS-encrypted contents (almost all commercially pressed DVDs) will be limited to 480i/480p (576i/576p for PAL) output over component. The DV-970HD only supports up-conversion over component output for non-encrypted contents, such as home video DVDs."

A DVD-R made by DVD recorders from video tape dubs or other recorded content would generally not be CSS encrypted. Based on what I've read, that means the new OPPO 970 would upscale those discs to HD resolutions. Those discs are generally not going to be the best candidates for getting full benefit from upscaling (less sophisticated compression than a commercial disc and less detailed master sources), but still...

Gonk some of this stuff is over my head but you seem to be saying that with having to use the component inputs of my older tv that you are somewhat limited as far as picture quality with today's current crop of dvd players, is this correct? Also are you saying that either the Oppo 970 or Pioneer 696 (similar to 588) would both work equally well within these limitations, any preference? Surely either of these players would provide somewhat of a picture improvement (besides the extra features) over my old Pioneer 626 wouldn't they?

I think I will watch for the user reviews of the Oppo 970 to see how things shake out. I certainly like all the features it has plus you said you can make it Region Free.

You are exactly correct - the newer upscaling players are restricted to providing those higher resolutions over the DVI or HDMI output only; component outputs are normally restricted to no higher than 480p. The original OPPO player (the 971) was focused solely on that upscaled digital output (the DVI port), such that the component output was simply 480i - that's why the 971 is generally not recommended for people without DVI or HDMI inputs. The 970's still so new that it's hard to say just how well its component video output really is - it's very likely that it would be an improvement over your Pioneer 626, but we'll have to wait and see what the consensus is.

Thanks Gonk I'll keep reading the different forums about this player and see how it shapes up. My main concern with the 790 is how acceptable it is to use with larger screens like mine since Oppo doesn't recommend it, although it's hard to imagine it would be any worse than other competing players using component inputs.

On Oppo's website at Comparison Between 970HD and 971H there is a side-byside feature comparison chart.

At Oppo 971H and Oppo 970HD they list the specs for each of them.

I guess one would go with the 971 if not concerned about SACD and DVD-A playing on their Oppo and choose 970 if wanting to play them. Still, there seem to be some unanswered question in the comparison chart for both.

Distilling it down. it seems that if you want the better versatility in video and better picture (unless I'm misreading, and please correct me if I am), you would want the 971. If more interested in the DVD-A/SACD go with 970