Ron,

Though I don't own an Oppo 981, I do own an Oppo 970 which has the feature to only play in audio mode and turn off the video circuit. Play with the Audio Only button and see. Also, did you double check the connections and inputs to be sure they are set correctly? Sounds like the cable is fine. Other than the audio only feature, I can't think of anything else unless it was plugged in incorrectly or the input setting is incorrect.

Slbenz