DV-983H Video Measurements and Viewing Tests

For our performance tests we used several test discs including Avia Pro, Digital Video Essentials (DVE) Pro, Silicon Optix HQV, as well as several real-world DVD clips. The idea is to test various performance metrics and get a good idea of how the player handles real world material in addition to more rigorous unflagged video tests.

All final test scores were derived using the Oppo DV-983H's HDMI output in 720p mode unless otherwise specified.

Audioholics/HQV Bench Testing Summary of Test Results

Perfect Score is 130
Oppo DV-983H Benchmark total score: 105/130 (This scores as one of the top players available)

*All tests were done with the HDMI outputs at 1080p. Any failed tests were checked in other output resolutions as well.
** According to Oppo, they pass 2:2 on the ABT VRS Evaluation disc, however they opted not to tweak the processor to pass HQV since they believe it would interfere with some real-world cadence processing.

Comments on DVD Benchmarks

This player is clearly a top performer with respect to video performance. Anchor Bay is no slouch when it comes to video processing and Oppo's implementation of it is very good, save for their lack of configurable Noise Reduction. Layer changes took just over 0.75 seconds on average (similar to past Oppo players) and we were very impressed at the way the DV-983H snapped to attention on several unflagged and complex cadences. If there is any sort of weird anomaly on the DVD, the Oppo seems to be well equipped to handle it. The DV-983H doesn't crop any pixels from the displayed image and the Moving Zone Plate tests looked great in 2-3 pulldown. The 2-2 pulldown Moving Zone Plate even looked good initially, though it broke up quickly which mimicked the results of the HQV testing - still better than most players do with this difficult test.

Noise reduction was almost nonexistent and we did notice a touch of edge enhancement that showed up when viewing high contrast test patterns. The default Sharpness setting of 0 shows this edge enhancement, but also creates a nice contrast. If you absolutely hate any enhancement, then backing it down to -1 will help quite a bit (this is the setting I preferred as I felt it was most natural). A Sharpness setting of -2 will remove artificial edge enhancement entirely, but the image softens significantly. Note that these settings don't have anything to do with material encoded onto the disc with edge enhancement artifacts.

Viewing Evaluation

When viewing material we looked for detail, lack of banding in bright and dark areas of the picture, and practical examples that would reflect the real-world effects of our many objective tests. What we found was that the Oppo renders a beautiful picture and really brings out the best standard definition DVD has to offer.

DVD: The Fifth Element (Superbit)
You're going to see a lot of this movie in any display or video source component review I do. It's simply a great title and represents some of the best picture quality in both the DVD and Blu-ray formats. We weren't surprised by anything we saw and found the DV-983H to put forth a great picture with no perceivable artifacts or jaggies anywhere in the common areas we check. Faces had all of the skin textures you could want, and the clothing and backgrounds which abounded in this film had a very realistic look and feel that seemed to pop off the screen if you looked closely. You know your detail is exceptional when you begin to see things like reflections in eyes and are able to take note and begin identifying some of the various materials used to make the props in the film.

What we did find interesting was to host a quick comparison of the Oppo DV-983H against the same title, only in Blu-ray format. A lot of people don't understand the fascination with Blu-ray and its increased resolution. There's a good reason for this: it's often hard to appreciate a significant difference when you sit back and have a good DVD player at your disposal. We snapped several pictures to illustrate Blu-ray vs. DVD expecting to show a vast difference. In all honesty, there WAS a difference, but the camera (much like our eye) rendered the results extremely similar from 11 feet away.

DVD Clip1 via Oppo DV-983H

Blu-ray Clip1 via Playstation 3

DVD Clip1 via Oppo DV-983H

Blu-ray Clip1 via Oppo DV-983H - not much different when viewed from an appropriate distance

The next time you're in a store and marvel at the quality of Blu-ray - take about 7 or so steps back to your typical sitting distance and see if it's that much more amazing than a really good DVD player. We think it's definitely a step up in terms of quality, but we've also found that there are many things that affect whether HD is a big deal. This includes the quality of the source player, the resolution of the display, the distance you sit form the TV, and the actual movie content you are watching.

DVD: Lord of the Rings - Return of the King
This movie continues to be an incredible film, though a tad muted in the area of color. What it does well is present a fully dynamic picture whose histogram (black to white levels) is incredibly rich and, assuming a worthy display, is capable of separating the average players from the top performers. The Oppo did a really good job of bringing to life every nuance that was in this third installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We've seen players only barely carry through detail, so that everything appears smoothed and washed out. Some players cannot handle the articulate detail present in on-screen elements like chain mail or detailed crests and emblems. During this film, which had ample of each, the DV-983H never broke into a moiré pattern or blurred details which were present in the digital video stream. Take a look at some of these shots:

Move that chain mail across the screen on a Wal-mart special and see if it holds together!

How someone so ugly can look so good is beyond me…

DVD: Band of Brothers
This epic World War II film series takes you through a roller coaster of emotion and scenery as Easy Company travels around Europe fighting off the Nazis. I found the various landscapes fascinating in that they captured the full range of textures and fast-moving imagery that makes for such great viewing material. One thing this picture isn't is "crisp". They instead opted for a smoother, grainer "old-school" film-like picture and so we mostly counted on the vast array of angles, granular landscaping and rugged equipment and uniforms to challenge the player to new levels. From the pics below, you'll see that the very natural look of the film was perfectly displayed and preserved and the Oppo didn't artificially attempt to sharpen it up or eliminate the natural picture noise which gave Band of Brothers its look and feel.