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Well, I've rambled on enough about the Oppo earlier on this thread, but the picture is quite impressive, the firmware upgrades are a great bonus, and the customer service is excellent. Downsides are the oft-mentioned blockiness in dark scenes on certain discs and the occasional audio synch issue (easily remedied). The latest firmware upgrade made PAL disc playback much smoother. You do have to perform a region free hack but it is very simple (actually mine shipped region free but I had to hack it after I installed the new firmware). Here's another helpful Oppo link which I'm sure I've posted earlier. When you order directly from them they also include DVI-DVI and DVI-HDMI cables.

Which brings me to Perpee's difficulty, if you're able to get playback sorted, it is easy enough to get DVI-HDMI cables if you need them to enable progressive scan, but I imagine you must be aware of that. Thanks for the Mactheripper tip.

As for skipping those bullshit ads and trailers at the start of discs (my favorite is the one telling me piracy is theft on the disc I just bought), there are hacks for that which I've never bothered with, but I know they exist for a few players I own (Oppo one is in the above link).

Thanks for the responses.

Is it normal for a player to not supply progressive through HDMI? and only through DVI? --- Do any players support progressive properly through HDMI?

peerpee wrote:Is it normal for a player to not supply progressive through HDMI? and only through DVI?

First I recall hearing of such.

k- sorted it. The man in the shop informed me that the HDMI has to be enabled, and can only be done so when a DVD is stopped, not playing.

I can get 576p and 720p through the Bravia, in complete contradiction to the manual (it's the Cambridge Audio 89).

Couple of problems though... the Bravia's aspect ratio/squeeze button does not work when in 720p mode, but works fine in 576p. Totally annoying.

Secondly, the HDMI has to be enabled *every time you use the player*. Maddening.

Yeah, it would be worth a look on a tech geek forum, like the avs one I linked for the Oppo or the dtv one David posted, to see if there is an upgrade or hack available. I've had to do CD firmware upgrades for an Apex, Toshiba, and Oppo with no problems and I'm neither savvy nor patient.

Another word on Oppo's service, they'll mail you the firmware upgrade CD at no cost.

Since we've sort of been discussing HD-DVD/Blu-ray and how it will affect us around the globe, this article should be of interest. Specifically of note for David, and other down under residents, including the upcoming Aussie music/DVD shop being doubtfully discussed elsewhere:

Paul Sweeting/Video Business wrote:In Australia, the country's highest court has ruled that prohibitions against circumventing access control technologies do not apply to regional coding on DVDs. As a result, while hacking the copy-protection on a disc remains illegal there, hacking the regional codes that are meant to prevent discs imported from the U.S. from playing on Australian DVD players is perfectly legal.

The ruling has greatly complicated debate within the Blu-ray Disc Assn. and the DVD Forum over whether to try to impose a regional coding regime on the new formats.

Some studios regard regional coding as essential. Others argue that anything that encourages hacking is just asking for trouble.

As of last week, the BDA apparently decided to go with a scheme that divides the world into three mega regions (as opposed to the six for standard DVDs), while designating Australia and New Zealand region-free.

And for residents of France and European importers:

Paul Sweeting/Video Business wrote:The strongest pushback against the use of strong DRM [digital-rights management], however, is coming from France.

The government proposal also frowns on “playbackâ€

Does anyone happen to know if the Malata 558 is tweakable in terms of reducing PAL speedup? Thanks.

jguitar wrote:Does anyone happen to know if the Malata 558 is tweakable in terms of reducing PAL speedup? Thanks.

Now we know what your problem is jg. I owned a Malata a few years ago and it literally blew up... the best way to tweak the (appropriately named) Malata is by replacing it.

Well, no explosions so far. Actually, it's been a good machine for me. I bought it when I had no idea of other region free options; it was the only thing they had at the time at Scarecrow Video in Seattle. Hopefully, I'll be completely upgrading my system in another year or so. But thanks for the various recommendations.

Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere, I skimmed the boards for an answer, but didn't find anything.
I have a PhillipsDVD727. Region-free works fine. But I just bought the region 2 of "Thieves Like Us," which is supposed to be letterboxed, and yet it's cropped on my screen (which is a standard-size TV, not widescreen). I believe, judging by the awful framing, that it's playing anamorphically without converting it to letterbox format. I've noticed this happens with a couple other films I own, but generally, anamorphic DVDs play fine. Is there a solution to this? Is this DVD anamorphic-only, with no option to play on a standard size TV? Any help appreciated.

Greetings all;

My wife and I just splurged and bought a widescreen LCD TV. I've been enjoying it (joke ahead) immensely (har har). #-o

However, I've noticed one odd "feature". Whether this is caused by my TV or my DVD player is still unknown to me.

If I watch a movie that's 1.66:1, and anamorphic widescreen, it still gets displayed in the TV's 1.78:1 widescreen mode. A little bit of the top and bottom get cut off.

Not a big deal, but still a little annoying. On my computer, by contrast, such movies appear in a widescreen (1.78:1) window with narrow "pillars" on the left and right. This makes me suspect that the fault may lie in the DVD player but I'm at a loss on how to fix it.

I've verified this behavior and confirmed the minor loss of content on the top and bottom for both Criterion's Fanny & Alexander and Fox's Barton Fink DVDs.

Any thoughts?

runnin' a tight ship here, scratchie. Take a look at this tech thread and perhaps repost.

I assumed that you RTFM'd already so we'll skip that grating advice. Next step is to check that you've setup your dvd player for widescreen tv use. Go to SETUP and then fumble around until peoples heads no longer look like gravity went supersonic.

just a couple quicky thoughts....

runnin' a tight ship here, scratchie. Take a look at this tech thread and perhaps repost.

Thanks for the pointer. I actually did read that thread before I posted but I didn't see anything about the specific problem I'm having (how to get 1.66:1 films to pillarbox on a widescreen TV).

I assumed that you RTFM'd already so we'll skip that grating advice.

Is there a FAQ for this forum ("DVD News and Discussions") that describes what's appropriate? Many forums I've frequented have a "sticky" post that describes the basic ground rules. I didn't see anything like that in this forum. I just double-checked, actually, and couldn't find any "FM" besides the generic "how do I log in?" FAQ.

I didn't post to the aforementioned tech thread because it was in the "International" forum and my question isn't specific to PAL or non-Region-1 discs, so it seemed off-topic for that entire forum. My apologies if this is not the right forum either. Just point me in the right direction and I'll be off.

Next step is to check that you've setup your dvd player for widescreen tv use. Go to SETUP and then fumble around until peoples heads no longer look like gravity went supersonic.

All that is fine. People's heads are normal and 1.85:1, 1.37:1 and 2.35:1 videos are all displaying correctly. There's only a very small amount of picture being cut off on 1.66:1 anamorphic videos.

Oh...the RTFM comment was regarding the manual for your TV, not the use of the forum. Otherwise it sounds like I'm beating you over the head over where you posted.

but quick before it's too late.

that really is the tech thread. preponderance of R2 issues as it started as a conduit for information on region free players but really is for all tech equipment issues.

You don't have to repost there, no harm, except for the three thugs with .org shirts that'll jump you as your getting out of your Oldsmobile tomorrow...

I recently purchased a new TV and DVD player and have since experienced a problem playing certain Criterion DVDs. Every few seconds, the picture will distort, turn to black and white, and then readjust. It's a peculiarity that does not happen with any other DVDs in my extensive collection. The titles in question (so far) are: Notorious, Heaven Can Wait, Kind Hearts and Coronets (both discs), and Mr. Arkadin (all three discs). Has anyone else experienced a similar problem with these particular DVDs, and/or can anyone suggest a solution? Thanks!

check your set-up (cables), it's not the discs... sounds like macrovision...

All titles are Region 1. The player is a Toshiba SD-V394SU DVD/VCR combination. I don't know about the specifc region setting of the player, but the manual says: "If a non-compatible disc is loaded...'Region Code Error'...will appear on the TV screen"...and this has not happened with the titles in question. Also, as I said, it plays all of my other DVDs, including other Criterion titles, without any problems.

My Denon DVD-2900 and ADV-M71 can't play all of Henry V: it sticks/jumps between 61:10 and 64:40

My Pioneer DV-737 can't play the menu on La Strada and one other title whose name I forget. (I remember La Strada because it came with 2 copies of disc 1....and 1 of disc 2).

Fortunately, because I sometimes upgrade before the old equipment keels over, and I replaced 2 of my VCRs with DVD recorders, I have several machines to choose from, and I can usually get a problem disc to play in at least one of them***. If it won't play in any, I conclude it's a defective disc, not a compatibility problem.

***
MAIN SYSTEM
Denon DVD-2900 (multi region)
Sony RDR-HXD710 (multi region)
BEDROOM
Denon ADV-M71 (R2)
Sony RDR-GXD310 (multi region)
BREAKFAST ROOM
Pioneer DV-737 (R2)
COMPUTER
NEC DVD+-RW ND-35330A (with region killer software)

Breakfast room? WTF?

The Invunche wrote:Breakfast room? WTF?

Well, the title is definitely a lot grander than the room itself, but that's what the estate agents called it. I still have their brochure with the title deeds: "BREAKFAST ROOM - 9' x 6' with radiator, artex ceiling, double glazed patio doors to rear."

With a number of my R2 DVDs (especially if they're a few years old) I have to choose between a flickering effect (slight vertical wiggling of stationary objects) or a horizontal blurring on moving objects, depending on whether I have the source set to "auto" or "film." I know this has something to do with the disc authoring, but I believe the presence/severity of this problem also varies from player to player. I've had this player going on three years. Can I reasonably assume that this problem will go away when I get a newer player?

Does anyone know of a decent, basic (non-5.1) DVD-player that has zoom-out to compensate for overscan? My excellent Toshiba has just died, and I can't find anything current that has this function, and sales guys in Hong Kong don't have a clue about such things.

thanks.

I wasn't sure my next player would be HD-DVD. The Oppos look good, but I'd like to spend closer to $100 rather than $150 since I may want to upgrade again in a couple of years.
Anyone have any other information on the problems I'm having and what's needed in a player to overcome them?

Sigh, I just got the Oppo DV-970HD in today, and the component cables simply seem to be screwing up. Typical composite out works, but I naturally expect the Oppo to play ball with the component and coaxial digital audio out that my replaced player handled just fine. When I plug the component cables in on the back, the screen scrolls and flickers as if its having a PAL/NTSC freakout (this is after Ive made sure its region free, and that the unit is set to NTSC as well). Anyone see this vertical scrolling before and know a fix? I looked through the setup menus many times with the composite cables hooked in, and Oppo's customer service center doesnt open for another few hours...

edit: finally called, although i realized the error... the component cables might be marked wrong, because by deliberating switching green with blue, it cleared up nicely.

I don't know if this makes any difference or not for you, depending on which kind of display you have, but I believe the Oppo will not upconvert the signal through the component cables. To produce a 720P or 1080i signal you need to use the DVI out.

Aye, but I don't have an HDTV at the moment, just a CRT with components as the best bit. I mostly bought it as a reliable all-region player that can be used for DVI/HMDI when I get a new TV in late 2007...