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You've Got Served, Blu-ray
March 11, 2008

In announcing its latest upconverting player, manufacturer Oppo Digital touts its advantages over going Blu-ray. It's not like the company is exactly lying, but I'd say its over-hyping the product.
The description for the DV-983H makes it sound like it might as well be a BD player as it "delivers film-like picture quality and scales up to 1080p full-HD resolution" according to the press release. 
Oppo's VP development Jason Liao suggests you'll be better off with this model than buying into Blu-ray hardware. With Oppo's "highest-performing player yet," said Liao, "home theater enthusiasts can enjoy their DVD and music collections at a whole new level with the DV-983H before investing in an entirely new Blu-ray library."
Well, the thing is that you don't necessarily need to gobble up new BD titles with a Blu-ray player. You can take your time, and wisely spend money on the titles you want. Like with the DV-983H, BD users can upconvert their standard DVDs and even better, actually have the capability to watch films in true high-definition quality. 
And at its $399 list price, Oppo's upconverter is the same cost as many BD set-tops and the BD built-in Playstation 3.
All companies exaggerate in their spin, but I think BD should get to work fighting back against upconverting hype. These players sit alongside BD set-tops at stores. To protect consumers from picking the other guy, BD backers need to figure out a way to make it really clear that their players are better than upconverters. Maybe do side-by-side visual comparisons of a film, with one being played on a BD player and the other is running on an upconverter? With every single major studio now in Blu-ray's camp, I'd say the format can think of something big and wonderful to avenge its name!

Posted by Susanne Ault on March 11, 2008 | Comments (4)