oppo blue ray players

[LostArt]

opinons?

[JohnnyB]

The first unspoken-for $500 that shakes loose at our house is going to one of these. For awhile I had been trying to decide whether to get a Blu-ray player with built-in lossless hi-def surround decoding or get a new AV processor to decode the newer sound codecs. With its multiple HDMI inputs and low price, the Oppo BDP-103 handily solves the dilemma. Not only does it have state-of-the-art video processing, its surround processing is better (according to a professional review I read) than the decoding in some $1500+ av processors. These Oppos are so ahead of the curve that some high end AV companies are using them as the foundation for enhanced performance rather than try to come up with their own. Nuforce makes an enhanced version of an earlier Oppo, and there was a scandal when Lexicon took a stock Oppo, reskinned and rebadged it and put a $2500 price tag on it.

Opinions? Here are some professional opinions:

Home Theater

Audioholics product of the year (scroll down)

PCMag

About.com

... I could go on ...

Back in Dec. 2008 I bought a now-discontinued Oppo DV-980H universal non-Blu-ray player for $169. Its HDMI uplink is so good that well-mastered std-def DVDs seem almost as sharp as Blu-rays. Four years later it's still going strong, and also plays CDs, DVD-As, and SACDs very well.

[cynic]

I jumped on the Oppo bandwagon about as soon as they put out their first players. Last year I replaced my (still working perfectly fine after 7 years) Oppo OPDV971H DVD player with their BDP-93, which I picked up on close out when the 103 was released.

I don't follow the high-techy stuff as closely as JohnnyB or any of the writers at the links he posted, so I'll just say Oppo is the Hamer of disc players and leave it at that.

[RobB]

The first unspoken-for $500 that shakes loose at our house is going to one of these. For awhile I had been trying to decide whether to get a Blu-ray player with built-in lossless hi-def surround decoding or get a new AV processor to decode the newer sound codecs.

Johnny, does that mean if I want to use the optical out, into my old HK/AVR 110, that I can't select L/R/CTR/SUB(LFE) like I can with my old DVD player? From what I can gather from the Oppo's specs, it'll do Dolby, DTS decoding but only in stereo through the optical out?

I know I should sack-up and buy a receiver from this century, but I like my old one and it still works.

[JohnnyB]

The first unspoken-for $500 that shakes loose at our house is going to one of these. For awhile I had been trying to decide whether to get a Blu-ray player with built-in lossless hi-def surround decoding or get a new AV processor to decode the newer sound codecs.

Johnny, does that mean if I want to use the optical out, into my old HK/AVR 110, that I can't select L/R/CTR/SUB(LFE) like I can with my old DVD player? From what I can gather from the Oppo's specs, it'll do Dolby, DTS decoding but only in stereo through the optical out?

I know I should sack-up and buy a receiver from this century, but I like my old one and it still works.

Not at all. Unless Oppo has changed their configurability (and I doubt it) you can configure anything from 2 (maybe even mono) to 7 channels, with or without subwoofer. So yes, you can configure the optical out to send 3.1 channels. It's very handy. I have my DV980H configured to upconvert everything to 7.1 channels, but you can specify the output to pretty much any combination of channels.

[RobB]

The first unspoken-for $500 that shakes loose at our house is going to one of these. For awhile I had been trying to decide whether to get a Blu-ray player with built-in lossless hi-def surround decoding or get a new AV processor to decode the newer sound codecs.

Johnny, does that mean if I want to use the optical out, into my old HK/AVR 110, that I can't select L/R/CTR/SUB(LFE) like I can with my old DVD player? From what I can gather from the Oppo's specs, it'll do Dolby, DTS decoding but only in stereo through the optical out?

I know I should sack-up and buy a receiver from this century, but I like my old one and it still works.

Not at all. Unless Oppo has changed their configurability (and I doubt it) you can configure anything from 2 (maybe even mono) to 7 channels, with or without subwoofer. So yes, you can configure the optical out to send 3.1 channels.

Thanks! I thought I saw this in the pdf manual, but, couldn't for the life of me find it in the text again.

Now I need an HD plasma TV to replace this old warhorse:

JVC AV-2730

[JohnnyB]

Thanks! I thought I saw this in the pdf manual, but, couldn't for the life of me find it in the text again.

Now I need an HD plasma TV to replace this old warhorse:

JVC AV-2730

That's easy.

And that's for a 60" 3D. Smaller and 2D is less money. My local Costco has the 60" 2D version for $798.

[RichRS6]

BDP-93 owner here.

I was never sold on Blue ray, is the difference worth it ?

It's a struggle to see the difference most of the time between a £50.00 player and a £500.00 one but I needed 3D and the Oppo was the best of the bunch.

A great player and even in the U.K. their prices are more than reasonable.

My major gripe with all this hi-tech stuff is that you barely have time to plug it in and read through the manual and its been superceeded by a new cheaper and better model.

[Armitage]

I have two different OPPO units and couldn't be happier. I got the first after they were recomended to me by our very own JohnnyB and doing some further research. At first I wondered why he recomended the "second best" Blu-Ray player... until I found the one in first place was literally thousands more!

[MCChris]

... I could go on ...

Yes, we know....

[JohnnyB]

... I could go on ...

Yes, we know....

Your attempts at insult are growing tiresome.

[MCChris]

I'm just busting your balls, Johnny.

Now go get your fuckin' SHINEBOX!

[JohnnyB]

BDP-93 owner here.

I was never sold on Blue ray, is the difference worth it?

If you have a 1080p HDTV, AFAIK the only way to watch it at its full potential is via Blu-ray. All other forms of HD deliver at 720p or 1080i at most. 1080i is 1080 lines of resolution, but you only get the full picture every 1/25 or 1/30 sec depending on whether your AC operates at 50 or 60 Hz. 1080p means you get a full refresh ever 1/50 or 1/60 sec, which makes it smoother with faster action sequences. Std-def DVD is 480p at best. 1080 lines makes for over 2 million pixels; 480 makes for 409,000, so Blu-ray has over five times the data density of std-def DVD. Whether it makes a difference to you depends on how you watch and how big your screen is relative to viewing distance. At our house we have a 60" 1080p plasma we watch from about 8-9' away and the difference is quite noticeable. I normally don't even watch or rent std-def DVDs unless I simply can't get the content on Blu-ray. For example, our family got hooked on "The Mentalist" TV series about halfway through season 3, so we got the previous seasons on DVD via Netflix because it wasn't available in Blu-ray. Fortunately the digital transfer is excellent. Combined with the excellent upconverting capabilities of both my Oppo DV-980H and HDTV, the lower resolution wasn't distracting. I wasn't just as good or indistinguishable from Blu-ray, but in this case it wasn't distracting.

If, on the other hand, you're watching on a 32" HDTV from 10' away, the difference won't be as dramatic.

Personally, I find the Blu-ray experience on a whole different level. There are many films I've only watched on a std. def TV, whether sourced from VHS or DVD. When I see these films again on Blu-ray and plasma, it's like I never really saw the film before. Scenes have more emotional impact. I remember (after watching it in std-def a few times) the first time I watched the first Harry Potter film on Blu-ray in hi-def. In the scene where Uncle Vernon pulls Harry's hair, I actually winced. When you combine the heightened emotional impact with a larger screen HDTV and the privacy of your own home without the distractions of a theater (people talking, rattling candy wrappers, etc.) my best movie viewing experience is usually at home now, something you'll never attain with std-def DVD.

One thing that makes Blu-ray painless in the states is Netflix, where I can borrow Blu-ray discs for only $1/mo. more on my subscription. They don't offer 3D discs, so at present to see 3DTV at its best you have to buy Blu-ray discs, although there are 3D shows available on my cable service.

It's a struggle to see the difference most of the time between a £50.00 player and a £500.00 one but I needed 3D and the Oppo was the best of the bunch.

A great player and even in the U.K. their prices are more than reasonable.

Is the Oppo £500.00 in the UK? In dollars-to-pounds that's about double what they cost stateside. Stateside we can get 3D Blu-ray players at warehouse stores for under $70 USD. Of course, they're not as good or versatile as the Oppos.

My major gripe with all this hi-tech stuff is that you barely have time to plug it in and read through the manual and its been superceeded by a new cheaper and better model.

When you consider what an improvement DVD was over VHS (which owned the market share for nearly 20 years), its amazing that DVD became obsolete after about eight years, and Blu-ray was only on the market for 2-3 years before 3D came along.

Still, there are lots of late adopters; There are still plenty of DVDs out there. I tend to be a late adopter. When the new stuff hits the market, the current generation gear is blown out at fire sale prices. I got my freshly obsoleted $2K surround processor in 2006 for $600. The current line of Oppo Blu-ray players would enable me to hear the new lossless codecs via their internal processing and 7.1 analog outputs directly feeding my AV preamp.

[Armitage]

The difference between DVD and Blu-Ray at my house on my 132 inch projected screen is massive. I basically won't watch DVDs on it but instead go to the den and watch them on the 65 inch plazma... where Blu-Rays still look much better.

Just upconverting DVDs makes quite a noticeable difference too. While not nearly as good as Blu-Ray of course, it's still much better.

[kenjones]

I'm a film maker, and have been shooting in HD for about seven years. In other words, I see pristine, camera-original, unedited HD footage every day. I never saw the need to own HD for my home viewing because none of the broadcasters were outputting a decent, proper HD signal. This has all changed now and broadcast has mostly gotten their act together but seven years ago I thought HD broadcast sucked and there were so few channels broadcasting in HD.

Then about 3-4 years ago I saw a Blu-ray movie. OMFG. Night and day. Blu-ray was the reason I got HD.

And in case anybody is interested, satellite is still the only decent HD signal. Cable & U-verse cannot compete since they do not have the bandwidth. We have DirecTV HD and they really do have the best video and audio quality.

[Disturber]

I actually like the old school "fat" tv sets. The softer picture is often nicer to watch than full HD. I am thinking I should get an old Bang Olufsen Beovision tv for the basement.

They can be had for silly cheap now used.

And they look cool;

[tommy p]

Don't Oppo's play DVD's with any region code? That would be a big bonus for me.

[Armitage]

They don't by default but you can get an add on kit for about $50-75.

[LostArt]

ok so it plays blue ray and dvd's fine would it be good to use the optical out and play cds??

I am looking to eliminate some units from my rack I need to get a smaller dvd/cd player and retire the cassettee player since I rarely use it.

I will take up the space with power amps for my triamp system now those amps are on the floor next to the subwoofer and I would like to tigheten it up a bit

[JohnnyB]

ok so it plays blue ray and dvd's fine would it be good to use the optical out and play cds??

I am looking to eliminate some units from my rack I need to get a smaller dvd/cd player and retire the cassettee player since I rarely use it.

I will take up the space with power amps for my triamp system now those amps are on the floor next to the subwoofer and I would like to tigheten it up a bit

It has both optical and RCA coax digital outputs as well as HDMI and fully processed analog outputs. I take it you're thinking of running the digital signal stream through your Lavry to simplify cabling? Sure, that would work. To quote the product page:

Digital Optical and Coaxial Outputs - For simple and easy connection to more traditional A/V receivers, the BDP-103 features both optical and coaxial outputs for digital audio.

The Oppo's built-in DAC may give the Lavry a run for its money, though.

[LostArt]

johnny

I know it would work

but would it be as good, better, less than, a stand alone cd player?

personally the way I view it is one optical disk reader is as good as the next. although I have experienced problems with cheaper ones not wanting to read certain disks etc.

reamember I am a quasi audiophile

[JohnnyB]

johnny

I know it would work

but would it be as good, better, less than, a stand alone cd player?

personally the way I view it is one optical disk reader is as good as the next. although I have experienced problems with cheaper ones not wanting to read certain disks etc.

reamember I am a quasi audiophile

Al, I know you have high standards or you wouldn't stay loyal to tubes and vinyl, let alone have a Lavry DAC. I have an Oppo DV-980H, which was one of their last std-def DVD players. It also plays CD, DVD-A, and SACD. It cost all of $169 and it replaced a $600 Philips DVD/SACD/CD player. It smokes the Philips in every way. Also, with its 7.1 channel analog output plus digital coax output, I can directly compare its internal decoding vs. the DAC in my (originally) $2000 Boston Acoustics 24/96K preamp/processor. As far as I can tell the Oppo's internal processor is every bit the equal of the one in the Boston Acoustics unit with the Oppo sounding slightly more vivid. I use it to source all std-def DVD, CD, SACD, and DVD-A. It can also play just about any format you can record onto a CD-R or DVD-R. That Oppo is 4-5 years old and they have improved their audio DACs with every subsequent product release. I also suspect that all optical readers are not created equal, and the better it spins the disc with the least wobble, the less jitter it will produce. It used to be that the Oppos were pretty light, but the new ones have more metal in them and have more solid chassis.

If you want to save space and wiring, the Oppo Blu-ray would be a great place to start, given that it's the only player you'd need for any format 5-1/4" optical disc, and it would do an excellent job with any of them. Oppo is a Silicon Valley company, and in general I find the audio companies that come from there to be ahead of the general curve. Other examples are Velodyne Acoustics and Spectral Audio.

And if I'm wrong, Oppo gives you 30 days to try it and return for a full refund.

[LostArt]

just for the record I have 2 lavry da10s

love them