Recent Comments:
Oppo's upscaling DV-983H universal player up for pre-order {Engadget HD}
Mar 4th 2008 4:51PM Why do I keep getting cut off?
This is for people who own a BRD player but want the best for their SD DVD collection too. There isn't a BRD player on the market that can come close to touching the quality of this player for SD-DVDs. In fact, most BRD players can be bested by a $70 Phillips player for SD-DVDs, they are that bad.
Again, all that said, I do agree that $399 is a little high for this product, and I hope they drop the price a bit. ~$300 is more appropriate for the market, IMO. But time and Oppo's sales numbers will tell the truth.
Oppo's upscaling DV-983H universal player up for pre-order {Engadget HD}
Mar 4th 2008 4:50PM continued...
Keep in mind also that this is a "reference" player. Not everyone is expected to buy a reference player. In the past, $700-$1000 or more would be expected for a player of this quality... even during the times of the
Oppo's upscaling DV-983H universal player up for pre-order {Engadget HD}
Mar 4th 2008 4:48PM Yes, Oppo is as much an off-brand as any other brand that's not carried in Best Buy. Ever heard of Von Schweikert speakers? No? Must be an "off-brand". But they are arguably some of the best speakers in the world. McIntosh audio components? Hard to find in Circuit City, but not exactly off-brand.
Anyway, the 983 does everything that the 981 does, yes, and costs $170 more, true... but it does all those things (or most) better than the 981. That's like saying, "why buy a Porsche over a Honda when the Honda gets me to church on Sundays just fine?"
The video processing chip in the 983 is the best that's ever been put into a DVD player. EVER. Yes, better than the HQV chip. Considering this is probably the best sd-dvd player that's ever been or will be made, $400 isn't too extreme.
On the other hand, I was disappointed when I saw the price of it. I was hoping it'd be closer to $300, with their (hopefully) soon to arrive BRD player around $400.
Keep in mind also that this is a "reference" player. Not everyone is expected to buy a reference player. In the past, $700-$1000 or more would be expected for a player of this quality... even during the times of the
Ask Engadget HD: Which provider has the best quality HD? {Engadget HD}
Feb 21st 2008 4:12PM If you can get it, OTA is almost always the best. (caveat: I have not seen FiOS HD service yet). But then you can't get ESPN, DiscoveryHD, National Geo., etc. off an antenna (obviously)... only your local channels.
That said, OTA is also susceptible to weather problems, much more so than satellite, since if the wind blows the antenna, there goes your signal (for example). Although it has to blow pretty hard.
Oppo next to create a new Blu-ray player {Engadget HD}
Feb 20th 2008 2:30PM I wonder if this means they will cancel their model 983 that is due out soon? It seems like it would be a poor seller, now that the format war is over AND Oppo has announced a BRD player.
Expect $699 42-inch LCDs this holiday season {Engadget HD}
Aug 27th 2007 11:57AM I think this is a travesty. CRTs are way, way better at SD material than cheap quasi-HD lcd panels. There oughtta be a law against selling LCD panels with shitty processing. The picture is atrocious on most of these very low-end sets. Most people still watch SD programming, even if they could be watching HD for free (e.g. OTA antenna, or clear-QAM cable) because they just don't know any better. Just look at all the sports bars out there with REALLY nice Pioneer and Panasonic widescreen flat panels, that are stretching an SD image of major sporting events that you KNOW are broadcast in HD. You think the average Joe buying a $400 32" 16:9 LCD is REALLY going to get a picture that's better than what a comparable CRT would put out? No way.
Five more good reasons to pick plasma over LCD {Engadget HD}
Aug 27th 2007 11:01AM Another good reason for Plasmas: they cost a butt-load more than comparable LCD's.
Oh wait... that's one in favor of LCD's... for most people, anyhoo.
Plasmas (good ones anyway) are way too expensive.
Bioshock Tuesday: win an Xbox 360 and a copy of Bioshock {Engadget}
Aug 26th 2007 7:41PM Currently, it's Quake Wars: Enemy Territory (Beta v.2) for PC. Only one map/level available, but it's really frikkin' sweet.
iPhone returns from service with 'official iPhone tool' {Engadget}
Aug 3rd 2007 4:06PM Spyvie: MacGuyver was on TV before CD-rom drives were available.
iPhone returns from service with 'official iPhone tool' {Engadget}
Aug 3rd 2007 4:04PM That's SO *innovative* of Apple!
