I’m skeptical of upscaling DVD players. Upscaling is basically just interpolation. So you don’t actually get HD, you get fake HD. Which still might look better than SD, but it’s still not real. And sometimes it can look crappy, though I’ve seen some that looks amazing.
That’s why the jury’s still out on the Oppo Digital DV-980H. I’m sure it’s a fantastic DVD player in every way, but upscaling rubs me wrong.
The DV-980H purports to be the first DVD player on the market featuring both 7.1 Surround Sound and 1080p upscaling, a tasty combo if it looks good. Don’t worry, your 5.1 is still supported, too, as is DivX, which is a nice feature.
In addition to the hot innards, the box includes optical audio, component out, and HDMI, so you know it’ll look as good as it can for $170.
Oppo DV-980H [Product Page, via Slippery Brick]
Unless I am mistaken, this is the first upscaling 1080p DivX machine I have seen, that is pretty slick.
Hey, don’t knock the upscaling. What would you rather have, a $600 Blu-Ray machine or this Oppo and $430 worth of Jiffy Pop?
The HT guys reported in their podcast recently that the 980H produces higher quality video than the 970, but the 981 is still Oppo’s best product.