The DV-980H supports Dolby Digital Surround EX, which adds the surround back speaker channels, giving the player a leg up over traditional 5.1 surround. The player’s video processing circuitry can crank out 1920×1080 full frame images, letting you take advantage of the native pixel resolution of today’s top of the line 1080p displays.

This is a true “universal” player, supporting DVD, DVD-Audio and SACD format discs. Of course, it doesn’t play today’s high definition formats like Blu-ray or HD-DVD, but it’ll sure make your old DVDs look as good as they possibly can. The player also handles DivX format video files with ease.

In terms of connectivity, the 980H offers an HDMI (v1.2a) digital output, as well as component video, optical, coax, and discrete analog outputs for each of the eight audio channels too.

The only real gotcha here is that this player doesn’t include the stellar Genesis/Faroudja video chipset that was found in the classic DV-971H and DV-981HD models. But if you’re looking for both 1080p output and 7.1 channel audio, this new model is the way to go.

As is always the case with OPPO’s players, the DV-980H offers a ton of bang for the buck, retailing for just $169.

[via SlipperyBrick]

Now the company has announced that they are cutting the thickness of the player down to an insanely slim 6.9 millimeters. To put that in perspective, Apple’s super-svelte iPhone is just about 11 millimeters thick.

The new media player will be renamed to the Oppo V9 and should be available later in the year.

I was surprised, though that the Wii consumes about 1/10th the power of other modern console while playing games. Granted, the processing muscle of the PS3 and Xbox 360 is much more robust than the Wii, but with numbers like that, Nintendo could probably do an ad campaign around how much money their console will save you on your power bill each year.

Here’s how all of the tests played out (from least to most power consumed):

• Power used during video gameplay: Wii, 360, PS3, PC
• Power used during DVD playback: 360, PC, PS3
• Power used during High-Def video playback: 360, PS3
• Power used during idle time: Wii, PC, 360, PS3
• Power used during standby: Wii (Connect24 off), PS3, 360, Wii (Connect24 on)

Even though the clear winner is the Wii, it does actually use more power than the other consoles when turned off if you leave the Connect24 service enabled during standby. It’s also interesting to note that an Oppo DV981-HD consumed less than 1/10th of the power of PC, 360 and PS3 while playing back a DVD, so it’s clearly better to use your stand-alone DVD player if you just want to watch a movie.

[via Kotaku]

The $229 OPPO DV-981HD is an updated version of the award-winning DV971H player. For starters, the 981 includes an HDMI digital output, rather than the DVI output featured on the original model. In addition, the player features true 1080p output and adds multi-channel SACD audio support. Both the 971 and 981 feature some of the best video scaling and deinterlacing capabilities out there, using a Genesis/Faroudja chipset which produce excellent image quality.

For those of you keeping score, the original DV971H scored a record-breaking 98 in the Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity DVD Benchmark, a widely respected benchmark in the home theater enthusiast community. What’s even more amazing is that OPPO’s players are very reasonably priced when compared to other high quality DVD players. Assuming that the DV-981HD is built on the same core technology, and simply adds new features and higher resolution output, OPPO could be going for a perfect 100 score this time. If you have a large DVD collection, and don’t think that HD DVD or Blu-Ray are ready for prime time yet, you owe it to yourself to check out one of these players.

(BTW, if you don’t have an HDMI connection on your television, you’ll need to go with the $199 DV971H model, which still includes component analog outputs.)