Which new OPPO DVD player is the one to get?

It depends upon your needs and equipment, the HM-31 is not a player, it is a switch.

The 980 and 981 are similar except the 981 has HDMI connection for video instead of Component. They also have Analog outs for multi-channel audio playback. Both of them use the Faroudja DCDi chip for upscaling video. Both support all shiny disc formats except the new high-def BluRay and HD-DVD.

I have a 981 and really like it. The sound quality is almost as good as my Denon 3910 (which is darn good!) and the video quality may even be better than the Denon. I bought mine, re-furbished, directly from Oppo on FleaBay. I paid the princely sum of $195 delivered - $183 + $12 shipping. It came out of the box looking brand new, not even a fingerprint on the unit!

These units have to be the best bargain out there for a universal player. The only thing bad I can say is that they do not have all the transport controls replicated on the front panel, only Play/Pause, Stop, and Open. Everything else is accessed using the remote control.

I would recommend these to anyone wishing to get into multi-channel audio playback on a budget.

-RW-

I have an Oppo and agree with RW. What a deal!!

Correcting RW.The 980 does have HDMI and also Component.981 NO Component.Their site: http://www.oppodigital.com/?partner=yahoo&OVRAW=oppo&OVKEY=oppo&OVMTC=standard&OVADID=6871769511&OVKWID=40390892011

The 980 is supposed to be bit better for sound so they say.Very close I've read.JD

Ooooops! My bad. Sorry about that - that's what I get for going with (my obviously failing) memory. In any event, these are very good players for very little coin. However, it appears I also lied about the Faroudja processing, only the 981 uses this.

In addition, it looks like the 980H supports Dolby Digital EX, whatever that is [smile], and the 981 does not...

Here is a comparison chart provided by Oppo:
http://www.oppodigital.com/dv980h/dv980h_comp.asp

Based upon what I see, the 980 might be a bit better for audio, the 981 for video.

-RW-

And the release of the new DV-983H is imminent. This includes ABT video processing but it is pricier.

Kal