I have seen the now discontinued 971 in action...very nice video. So-so audio for the 971. The 981 is better in both aspects however, as mentioned by others, the new 980 has refined audio circuitry but ditches the finer vid chip. I'm a 70% music 30% movie/games kind of guy( yea, although I was born in the 60's I enjoy military type shooter games and they are awesome on my large pj screen). Anyways, the new 980 will suit me nicely for a budget player that performs much, much better than the price would suggest. And I, or anybody for that matter, can get it at list w/ free shipping if you look/buy at the right website.
Bought the new Oppo DVD981HD player...
Last week I bought and installed the new Oppo DVD981HD that plays standard DVD's, DVD Audio, SACD and Vox. I'm running HDMI and optical to my AVR into a 55" Hitachi plasma screen. I'm very pleased with the results, better PQ and better audio than I had been experiencing with Sony DVD player.
I recommend this unit.
I recommend this unit.