Technical Issues and Questions

[domino harvey]

My Oppo, which I've had for two years, is now scrambling up the subtitles. I've never had this happen, is it just a sign that the player is getting old and starting to malfunction?

Does it look like a line that runs through the text periodically? Mine does that every once in a while but not consistently

[Gregory]

It's large areas pf garbled text all the way across. Occasionally there is a horizontal lines of partially-readable text visible along with a garbled stripe.
I noticed it last night with just a couple of scrambled subtitles throughout a whole film. Today, while watching a No Shame disc, so many were scrambled that it was pointless to go on watching the film.

[domino harvey]

Yeah, that sounds like what mine does, though it's sporadic enough to not be too bothersome. Did you buy your Oppo direct, because I think they're under warranty for a while if so

[Matt]

You could also try updating the firmware. Or contact customer service: [email protected]. I don't have first-hand experience, but their customer service is supposed to be very good.

[Gregory]

I've never upgraded firmware before and while it sounds pretty straightforward, it looks like the only firmware upgrade that's been released for the 970HD since I bought it has features that deal with SACD playback. \

I have called their customer service before because on occasion it will decide to do something like produce no sound and need to be shut off and turned back on again for the audio to come back. The customer service people were pretty helpful but said that if it's anything they need to look at the machine to fix the cost will be around $38 because it's not under warranty any longer.

[Antoine Doinel]

Ok, so I think I know the answer to this question, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway. I've started watching Mad Men (finally) and I'm currently working my way through Season 1 on BluRay. The picture looks great on my HDTV but I've seen some screencaps online which are somewhat brighter than I'm seeing on my set. So the question is: obviously I'm seeing these screencaps on my non-calibrated laptop monitor so, in terms of contrast/brightness, can screencaps generally be trusted? Of course, the reviewer in question's set could be calibrated brighter than mine, and generally speaking, I haven't been noticing any brightness/contrast issues in general with any other discs BD or DVD. That said, while some suits did look very "dark" in some scenes, texture was still noticeable. I have a feeling I'm just picking a scab I'm creating myself, but I would appreciate any feedback.

[accatone]

So the question is: obviously I'm seeing these screencaps on my non-calibrated laptop monitor so, in terms of contrast/brightness, can screencaps generally be trusted?

No. I am working professionally on and with colors (digital) for both print and product development and know for years the difficulties with correct color reproduction (incl. contrast and brightness). I only did little video but come to think that there are the same difficulties (for the indeed obvious reasons) i.e. when ever you change the device/monitor/screen the result will always depend on the specific adjustments of the specific device. For example if you work mainly for print or lets say textile - there are standard "color reference codes" provided by internationally known companys like PANTONE that are available all around the world so that if you want to get a "French Blue" T Shirt you do not suggest "French Blue" to the factory but a specific Nr# that everyone can find in the PANTONE COLOR GUIDE (here for textile colors) so that in the end all involved do indeed talk about the same Blue/color. When talking about film (photo/dia or movies) its a different story because here all the information is in the image - and does not get reproduced…but thats a different story…

[peerpee]

Dunno if this is the right thread - hope so -- Has anyone in the UK had any luck buying a good, solid (preferably Sony) standalone Blu-ray player which can play Region A and Region B Blu-rays? I've seen a few advertised.

I'm currently using a UK PS3, but need to be able to play Region A. If I could get a workhorse Sony unit that played Region A and B, that would be magnificent. Any model recommendations? Any good UK-based retailers anyone can recommend also?

Thanks!!

[tojoed]

Dunno if this is the right thread - hope so -- Has anyone in the UK had any luck buying a good, solid (preferably Sony) standalone Blu-ray player which can play Region A and Region B Blu-rays? I've seen a few advertised.

I'm currently using a UK PS3, but need to be able to play Region A. If I could get a workhorse Sony unit that played Region A and B, that would be magnificent. Any model recommendations? Any good UK-based retailers anyone can recommend also?

Nick, this Sony is a good one. I have it and this company are very reliable. Unfortunately it is out of stock at the moment, but they have other brands.

[peerpee]

David and tojoed, many thanks for the tips! I'll have a hunt and report back.

[gyorgys]

Dunno if this is the right thread - hope so -- Has anyone in the UK had any luck buying a good, solid (preferably Sony) standalone Blu-ray player which can play Region A and Region B Blu-rays? I've seen a few advertised.

I'm currently using a UK PS3, but need to be able to play Region A. If I could get a workhorse Sony unit that played Region A and B, that would be magnificent. Any model recommendations? Any good UK-based retailers anyone can recommend also?

Peerpee, look for a frequent mentioned retailer here. Not a UK-based retailer but a renowned source for acquiring a modified Blu-ray player. Or better, wait for the Oppo BDP-83 (A-region) here arriving in UK-homeland.

[Foulard]

I am living abroad for 10 months and brought some of my criterion discs with me. I have purchased a Region-Free DVD player, which is able to play other Region 1 discs just fine. However, there is no audio for any of my Criterion discs. The video is fine, but the audio is silent. Any ideas?

Criterion discs of movies released in mono have center channel-directed sound. Could your dvd player be directing the audio to a non-existent center speaker?

[oldsheperd]

I just purchased a samsung blu-ray player online so it hasn't shipped yet.

I have one of those heavy-ass older samsung Rear projection HDTVs which I think maxes out at 720 by 1280 ip. You know one of those HDTVs that needs a special stand that can hold the weight? Has anyone had any experiences of how blu-ray performs on these older HDTVs. I'm talking like a TV from around 02-03? Does anyone know if these have an HDMI outlet?

Thanks,

[Donald Brown]

oldsheperd, your TV probably doesn't have HDMI, but you're in a better position to figure that out for sure. Just look for the input, or look in the instruction manual if you have it. If it doesn't have HDMI, it's no big deal, since the TV can receive 720 resolution through component cables. HDMI wouldn't make it look any better.

Rear projection sets should be frequently calibrated. If you've been on top of this, you should certainly see an improvement with Blu-ray.

[kinjitsu]

oldsheperd, depending on how old your TV is, it might have a DVI input. If it does, you can run a HDMI to DVI cable from your new player to the monitor.

[oldsheperd]

Thanks guys. Kinjitsu, I'm not too technically savvy. Is the DVI input the deal with the seperate yellow, red and white cables?

[kinjitsu]

Is the DVI input the deal with the seperate yellow, red and white cables?

No. The red, green and yellow inputs are progressive scan/component cables. Here's a link (with images) explaining the different types of interconnects, and another with images of cables and their corresponding input/output. Hope that helps.

[oldsheperd]

Yeah, I don't think I have the DVI input on my television. I don't know if there is anything I can do as far as rerouting the signal through my Direct TV DVR box or my other DVD player.

So I won't get any image improvement at all if I go with normal component connections?

[kinjitsu]

It might help to know the model number of your Samsung monitor.

[manicsounds]

What happens if you hook up a Blu-Ray player to a standard definition TV? Can you still watch Standard DVDs on them or not? I'm guessing it also won't downconvert BluRays to Standard def TVs....

[MichaelB]

What happens if you hook up a Blu-Ray player to a standard definition TV? Can you still watch Standard DVDs on them or not? I'm guessing it also won't downconvert BluRays to Standard def TVs....

My PS3 arrived a few days before the plasma telly was installed, so I tried watching Blu-rays through its CRT predecessor.

As I recall, DVDs looked absolutely fine - but Blu-rays were heavily windowboxed on all sides, and looked pretty rough.

I'm sure I could have got a better picture if I'd fiddled a bit more with the settings, but there didn't seem much point given the futility of the exercise in the first place.

On the other hand, SD extras on the Blu-rays were fine (PAL and NTSC alike), and not windowboxed, so maybe changing the settings wouldn't have made any difference.

[manicsounds]

How about non-PS3 players?

[oldsheperd]

Alright guys, I've just finally bought a 1080p television. It's a 40 inch Sony. I've got questions about the picture modes. I have the options of switching to wide zoom, normal, full or zoom. Can anyone give me a clue as to which is best for which aspect ratio?

Thanks