Oppo BDP-83: The Official QQ Thread [BLU-RAY/SACD/DVD-A/HDCD]

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JonUrban

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I WANT MY OPPO!!!!!

It's officially out there! It seems that many QQ members will be receiving this machine, and many others will be interested in hearing about it with future purchase in mind.

Let's keep all thoughts, reviews, observations, etc on this player in this thread so we'll have an easy reference for current and future owners. Other forums will have their own threads. Feel free to link to those from here if you wish. Please give credit where it's due and do not "take" info from other forums without giving credit and a link.

Also, if you get one, post here in the forum if you like and we'll keep an owners list in this post. I'll go first! :D


BDP-83 OWNERS [QQ MEMBERS]
  • JonUrban
  • Bill Sherbon
  • Brian Moura
  • Chris Gerhard
  • stormchaser
  • spenceo
  • The Quadfather
  • VACamper
  • deepsky4565
  • doppelbock
  • dwight
  • nightflight75
  • SirRound
  • Bob Romano
  • Patrick1
  • OldAsMono
  • tlake6659
  • LB-V
  • wanners
  • bmoura
  • seymour
  • konoyaro
  • surroundophile
  • ccm0114
  • dadmav
  • chuckflhp
  • El Guapo
  • Robert van Diggele
  • Mike Huff
  • von kulper
  • sukothai
  • byrdman7
  • ted_b
  • peterzach
  • TMEA
  • oxenholme
  • channelar
  • Len61
  • Perpendicular
  • Neil Wilkes
  • next
 

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Here's a peek at the back connectors on the production, released unit that I bought:
 

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I've spent some time with the Oppo and I have to say that this machine is a BARGAIN!! :D

Everything I've seen from the moment I opened the box has screamed QUALITY. The machine comes well packed in a custom box and wrapped in a cool cloth "bag" with the Oppo logo on it. Not that I'll be toting this thing around, they encourage you to use the bag for other things, thus being "good" to the environment. Inside the box is the remote (pictured above), a Blu-Ray test disc, an HDMI cable, other cables, the power cord and paperwork.

The manual is a thing of beauty. Most companies spend 99.9999 percent of their time on the product, and 00.000000001 percent of their effort on the manual. Not here. I've owned or own 3 Blu-Ray players and 2 HD-DVD players, and setting the things up properly to match your receiver in order to get the optimal sound from DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD is a confusing mess. Not with the Oppo. The directions are clear as a bell, and I was up and running within minutes.

I have my Oppo connected to a Denon AVR-4308ci which has all the internal decoders, so I set my Oppo up to send everything out untouched to the HDMI 1.3a port on the Denon. Everything worked flawlessly. The Denon displays whatever format that you select from the disc, so you know for sure you're getting the DTS-HD Master Audio or Dolby TrueHD.

I tried a bunch of DVD-Audio discs, including some I've created myself from Q8's and Q4's, and it handled everything. (See below for a picture of the unit playing a DVD-A and feeding the Denon) No problems with scrolling lyrics or menus. I also tried a few SACDs, and those sounded great. I still have my Denon 3910 sitting on the same shelf, and on the few A/B's I did with SACDs, I honestly could not tell a difference. Not bad, considering the 3910 cost me almost 3x what the Oppo cost.

When playing an SACD, if you have your display on, you get the disc text displayed on a nice screen display (see below). A nice touch.

My Pioneer Plasma is "only" 1080i, so I set the Oppo up for that and checked out the Blu-Ray calibration disc included with the Oppo. A quick run through showed little or no adjustments needed, however I had already set up this monitor with the Joe Kane Blu-Ray disc when I got it. The variations in settings from the Panasonic 30 that I replaced with the Oppo were minimal at best.

The picture on the Pioneer was brilliant. Video was smooth and natural. I tried a few concert Blu-Rays, a Star Trek TOS Blu-Ray (where you can use the ANGLE button on the remote to switch back and forth from old special effects to the new special effects), and a couple of action movies just to check out the performane. Everything was PERFECT!! :D

Considering that early adopters spent more than $499 for the first SACD and DVD-A players, I have to say again that $499 for a player of this quality and capabilities is remarkable. Of course, the economy sucks, but if you have a space problem with too many players, or if you are thinking about going Blu, this player should be considered with great thought. You can certainly find cheaper Blu-Ray, SACD, and DVD-A players, but you won't find another player that can do all three for this price, if you can find one at all.

For me, it gets five stars out of five (*****) It will be fun to hear what other owners at QQ think of it as these machines make their way out into the marketplace. The only thing I noticed that is not "up to speed" is that the DVD logo on the front only says "VIDEO"! The silk screener needs an upgrade! :D
 

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This is my first Oppo and I'm loving it! (And yes, it plays backed-up DVD-As that have watermarks :banana: )

I'm using just the HDMI-out connection, going to an Integra DHC 9.9 preamp that is feeding Mackie monitors - HR824 (front) HR626(center) and HR624(surround). After playing a couple of SACDs, DVD-As and DTS-CDs (and oh yeah, a blu-ray) I haven't run into any issues so far.

I know they aren't supported yet but I had to try anyway... but it was not able to play .mlp or .dts files from the USB - I hope they add support for these file types as well as flac in a future firmware upgrade.
 
This is my first Oppo and I'm loving it! (And yes, it plays backed-up DVD-As that have watermarks :banana: )

I'm using just the HDMI-out connection, going to an Integra DHC 9.9 preamp that is feeding Mackie monitors - HR824 (front) HR626(center) and HR624(surround). After playing a couple of SACDs, DVD-As and DTS-CDs (and oh yeah, a blu-ray) I haven't run into any issues so far.

I know they aren't supported yet but I had to try anyway... but it was not able to play .mlp or .dts files from the USB - I hope they add support for these file types as well as flac in a future firmware upgrade.

I've been using mine since the test phase. With the ROM upgrades it's working quite well on Blu-Ray, DVD Video, DVD-A, SACD and CD discs. Recommended.
 
I haven't received mine yet. The Oppo Web site says it will ship between the 5th and 21st of this month. Meanwhile I wait.

Spence
 
Jon, What is the Bluray disc that was sent with the player and displayed in your picture?

Spence
 
aside question.... anyone here has tried it with different region DVD or BD ? :rolleyes:

I tried the Depeche Mode "Some Great Reward" DVD-V, PAL Region 2, the message given is wrong region. Oppo has indicated all along this will not be all-region capable for either format, either out of the box or with a simple remote hack. I woudln't expect Oppo to reverse that decision and therefore would never recommend buying the player for that purpose unless it has been reported that the decision did get reversed. It is far less likely it can be hacked to play non Region A Blu-ray without a hardware modification than it can be made to play all-region DVD but neither is supposed to happen.

I have this player Jon.

Chris
 
I tried the Depeche Mode "Some Great Reward" DVD-V, PAL Region 2, the message given is wrong region.

Have you tried a PAL Region 0 "zero" DVD. I was planning on buying the Genesis 1970-1975 and 1976-1982 SA-CD/DVD-V sets from Camino Records and play them on the Oppo when I upgrade from my Pioneer Elite DV-48AV.

It seems that many PAL music DVD-V titles are Region "0" for some level of unversal playback.

Cheers, Michael
 
Have you tried a PAL Region 0 "zero" DVD. I was planning on buying the Genesis 1970-1975 and 1976-1982 SA-CD/DVD-V sets from Camino Records and play them on the Oppo when I upgrade from my Pioneer Elite DV-48AV.

It seems that many PAL music DVD-V titles are Region "0" for some level of unversal playback.

Cheers, Michael

Yes, it will play Region 0 PAL DVD-V.

Chris
 
My BDP-83 should arrive tomorrow although I don't expect to have any real time with it until Sunday.


The Eagle has landed (Friday morning). Testing later Saturday night/Sunday.
 
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Congrats to those of you who were able to take the plunge and now have the 83 in your possession.

I look forward to reading all of your detailed reviews, particularly those of you who own or owned a prior OPPO model.

I live close to headquarters (Mountain View, CA) and have become acquaintances with one of their salespeople. I think I'll take a few of my favorite surround discs and HD movies and see what this baby can do.

Cheers,
Dan
 
Brief report so far:

I don't have a HDMI 1.3a capable receiver yet, so I'm switching back and forth from the 5.1 analog outs to the downmixed DTS MA/Dolby Tru HD feeds on my 7.1 receiver when watching Blu-Ray movies (you can select a 7.1 hires downmix to a 5.1 analog output). Sound quality is noticeably improved particularly in battle scenes in Band of Brothers or the ambient sounds/music in Blade Runner.

I've listened to Beatles Love DVD-A, Genesis Lamb Lies Down SACD, and Dead Can Dance Toward the Within SACD, so far. All sound a tad fuller and richer than my old Denon DVD-1920. I've also been impressed with the option to play media from a usb external hard drive.

So far, after a day of listening/watching, color me satisfied. I'll be on a trip for the next week, so fuller comments will have to wait until I get back.
 
Congrats on you purchase!!!!

Thanks! (y)


Jon, What is the Bluray disc that was sent with the player and displayed in your picture?

Spence

The disc is called "SPEARS & MUNSIL High Definition Benchmark, Blu-Ray Edition". I added a scan of the cover to the first post of this thread. It includes calibration patterns and screens to set up your monitor, video clips and samples to "show off" the HD picture, and the DTS flash screens and test audio. It's a nice thing to have to set up your monitor, especially for setting the black level.



What about backups of WM DVD-As?

Yup! :banana:


I added my review and some additional scans to the first three posts in this thread. Feel free to add your commnts and ask questions in this thread. I think this machine will be a big hit with the QQ crowd! :smokin
 
I'm busting at the seems waiting for this. It says shipped but no delivery date yet. The test disc is a nice value added addition, that will come in handy for years to come.

Spence
 
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