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

thank you all for your reports on BDP-83
week or so ago i got e-mail which stated Oppo is now accepting the orders from subscribers.
my bad, i cannot afford at present this toy.
but definately looking forward to buy it in near future.
on the bright side maybe till then they will find and fix some small glitches which not yet discovered or will update with some extra features.

Bill Sherbon said:

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.

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very much possible it could be issue with USB media data transfer rate.
at least i'd bumped in it sometime ago.
980 recognized MLP but cannot smoothly perform playback from USB

Well my 83 showed up today!!:banana: :banana: :banana:

I now have a project for today (Setup). Then a trip to the video store.

My Oppo BDP 83 arrived just the other day, and I went to work replacing the Pioneer. I also replaced a cheap Radio Shack audio/video distribution amplifier with a professional type made by Sigma. Also, I had to repair a bad switcher. The switcher had a corroded connection caused by glue the factory put on the wires to keep them from breaking off. Anyway, it is repaired, and much of the glue has been removed. I have seen this before in vintage equipment. The Oppo was straight forward and easy to set up, but there were some problems at first. I had purchased a 63 foot HDMI cable to connect to the high def TV in my bedroom. The problem began when I set the Oppo for 1080P. It started visual flickering and the audio was breaking up. As you probably guessed, this was very disturbing to see my new player behaving that way. I started backtracking my setups and I set the player for 720P and the flickering stopped. I now have on order a cable equalizer/amplifier. The other glitch I had was that I chose the wrong set of surround outputs for the rears, and I got no rear output. But after correcting this, I soon got my Oppo sounding good. Last night's listening session proved the Oppo to be superior to the Pioneer in sound fidelity, due to the fact that it lacks some of the peakiness that the Pioneer posesses. Although I still had to supress the treble, it was generally smoother sounding. I was also delighted that it would and did play the Queensryche (Empire) DVD-A that the Pioneer absolutely refuses to play. So I heard this music for the first time last night, in spite of owning it for some time now. Since the unit has a dedicated stereo output, I hope that I do not have to reset it to stereo when I watch DVDs in the bedroom, like I had to do with the Pioneer. It may be a moot point with the HDMI connection, since the TV can decode the digital data separately. But I don't have that installed yet, that requires a trip under the house. A bummer is the fact that when I play a Blu Ray disc, in order for both televisions to work, I have to set it to downconvert to NTSC, otherwise no picture is seen on the NTSC set. This will be remedied when I replace the main TV with a digital set. But I intend to watch movies in the bedroom anyway, so the matter is moot. I was delighted to see that with the HDMI connection which has a data channel for control, I can use the Samsung TV's remote to control the Oppo through the Samsung. This gives me remote control of the Blu Ray player from the bedroom which I previously lacked. The Oppo also has a jack for a remote IR sensor and a connection to link control to other equipment such as an optional switcher that I will eventually own, no doubt. There is also an ethernet connection, which can be used to download software upgrades and, I think, files for playing. It has USB connectivity which you can use to play files from a thumb drive or an external hard drive. There is a port on the back and the front. Curiously, the Oppo's remote won't control the Oppo through the Samsung. But that is not a problem and it will help keep each remote where it belongs instead of migrating from one room to the other. I have yet to watch a Blu Ray movie, but I did watch a little of my Titanic DVD in upconverted 720P, and it was very good looking. The player comes with a Blu Ray test disc which has short clips of stunning video and some test patterns. I have yet to figure out what they are all about, but when I get the full high def setup done, I will check it out. That's all for now, I will say more when I know it.

The Quadfather

I finally did some sustained hi-rez listening last night and the BDP-83 blows away my old Denon DVD-1920. I'm connected through 5.1 analog outs to my mid-range Denon receiver. I listened to selections from Alison Krauss and Union Station Live (MC), the Living Stereo Gershwin performed by the Boston Pops (3 ch), E Power Biggs' Bach Toccattas and Fugues (MC), Elton John ST (MC), Roxy Music's Avalon (MC), Beck's Guero (MC) and a few others. The short version is that this player provides much more resolution of details than my old Denon. Bass is much sharper and hits harder.

While I've encountered a few video glitches (picture in picture commentary on Band of Brothers, for example), I am still very happy with this purchase and especially so for the improved audio resolution in my system. I may have one more upgrade whenever Emotiva releases its UMC-1 receiver and I can connect throught HDMI directly.

I'm a lucky owner of a BDP-83 as well, and it was worth the wait. It's my first Blu-Ray player because I was holding out for a universal player. So, not only am I impressed with the build quality and blu-ray quality, the DVD upscaling is fantastic, and the DVD-A and SACD playback is better than my Denon 2910 (which kicked the bucket last fall). No playback glitches yet, and I've played at least 20 DVD-A's and an equal number of SACD's, as well as DTS CDs and a few DualDiscs.

I've got it hooked up via HDMI to a Yamaha RXV-3900 AVR, and it sounds so good I probably won't bother connecting the 5.1 analog cable to compare.

My only complaint - and it's a nit -- is that the on-screen display during SACD/CD playback uses fonts that are so small, they are hard to see on a 50" HD RPTV from 15 feet away. There's lot's of empty space on the screen (and they take up a large portion of it with an Oppo logo), so they could have used much larger fonts to make it more readable.

Still, I'm thrilled with this purchase, and wondering how I can justify buying two more of these for my rec room theater and gym theater!

VACamper said:

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My only complaint - and it's a nit -- is that the on-screen display during SACD/CD playback uses fonts that are so small, they are hard to see on a 50" HD RPTV from 15 feet away. There's lot's of empty space on the screen (and they take up a large portion of it with an Oppo logo), so they could have used much larger fonts to make it more readable.

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Is yours the same as my picture in post #3? That's a 50" plasma. I would agree that the Oppo logo is bigger than the disc info, but it doesn't seem to be that small (although I was a lot less than 15 feet away when I took the pitcure)

Still, it's one helluva box, Eh?

I really appreciate reading all the reviews that you guys are putting in on the Oppo. I am almost getting convinced to order one but was wondering about a couple of things and hope some people don't mind enlightening me on as I was hoping not to have to upgrade all my equipment.
I have a Denon 3805 Receiver-Is it still worth getting the Oppo as do you still get pretty good sound through the 5.1 analog cables or would I need to upgrade to a receiver using hdmi to get proper sound from truehd or whatever its called in BR land?
I have a Toshiba Rear projection 57 inch(1080I) so again is it worth it going BR or stick with my Denon 3910 as it has upconverting Dvd? My wife has actually been trying to convince me to get a front projection setup(which I then could upgrade to 1080P setup) but I have been rather spending entertainment dollars on purchasing Dvda's/Sacd's(unfortunately at inflated prcies now) that I was missing from my collection.
Has anyone from Canada purchased the Oppo or another similar product as what's the duty/shipping costs like getting it across the border?

I guess these questions aren't maybe in the right section but if anyone wants to try to convince me to still go for getting the Oppo, go for it.

peter

Here's another novice question: Has anyone compared the blu ray performance of the Oppo to the Sony PS3? Strictly on the blue ray performance (I assume the OPPO does a better job upconverting) can you see a difference between the Oppo and the PS3?

I've had one since the first 50 testers. It's a great unit. I haven't been able to do any surround because I've just moved, and have to finish the media room.

jefe1 said:

Here's another novice question: Has anyone compared the blu ray performance of the Oppo to the Sony PS3? Strictly on the blue ray performance (I assume the OPPO does a better job upconverting) can you see a difference between the Oppo and the PS3?

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I have both connected to a Panasonic PT-AE900U 720p LCD projector with 100" screen. I haven't done in depth comparisons between the two. So far I can tell no difference in Blu-ray picture quality, regardless of output. My projector accepts 1080p/24Hz, 1080i, and of course 720p. The BDP-83 is clearly better for standard DVD. Perhaps with a better display, I could tell a difference even with Blu-ray, I can only speculate at this point. I will say the BDP-83 and PS3 are my two all-time favorite media players out of the many I have owned.

As far as audio with both connected to my Yamaha RX-V663, having the PS3 decode and output PCM over HDMI compared to having the BDP-83 decode and output PCM over HDMI, I find no audible difference. The BDP-83 decodes all audio codecs for analog output and also bitstreams all audio codecs, the PS3 does neither. I can also say I notice no difference whether I have the BDP-83 bitstream or decode and output PCM over HDMI so I plan to just allow it to decode. Of course my modest RX-V663 might be the limiting link in the comparison and there is potential, just as with video quality, that the BDP-83 could be better for Blu-ray audio. I don't use the PS3 for SACD or CD and of course it doesn't play DVD-A but I think the BDP-83 is better for audio in general, although the PS3 is very good in my opinion.

Chris

VACamper said:

Still, I'm thrilled with this purchase, and wondering how I can justify buying two more of these for my rec room theater and gym theater!

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Now that is funny.

Chris

I have noticed a problem with my BDP-83 and I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this. When I am playing a DVD-A or a SACD, and the video is set for 1080P, the audio breaks up. If I reduce the resolution to 720P, it cleans up. It's like I'm running out of memory or processing power. It's not a real problem, since I can reduce the resolution, but it would be nice to be able to leave it set for the highest resolution my TV will handle. With my Pioneer, I had to keep switching to stereo to watch movies in the bedroom or I would lose dialogue (center channel). With this, I have to switch the resolution. I guess I could leave it at 720P, It looks good on a 40 inch screen. But I did buy the set with 1080P capability. Another problem is I have to mess with the speaker setup whenever I turn the player on, or I get no surround. The player is on a contactor that controls power to the whole sound system. I guess it's possible that I wouldn't have to do this if I supplied power to the unit all the time, I'll have to test this. Even so, I would still have to do it whenever there's a power outage. I just shouldn't have to do this. Once the thing is done, it's good for the rest of the listening session. The problem with the audio breakup doesn't seem to exist when playing a Blu Ray disc, but I haven't done much of that yet. So, we'll see. Anyone else noticed these problems?

The Quadfather

The Quadfather said:

I have noticed a problem with my BDP-83 and I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this. When I am playing a DVD-A or a SACD, and the video is set for 1080P, the audio breaks up. If I reduce the resolution to 720P, it cleans up. It's like I'm running out of memory or processing power. It's not a real problem, since I can reduce the resolution, but it would be nice to be able to leave it set for the highest resolution my TV will handle. With my Pioneer, I had to keep switching to stereo to watch movies in the bedroom or I would lose dialogue (center channel). With this, I have to switch the resolution. I guess I could leave it at 720P, It looks good on a 40 inch screen. But I did buy the set with 1080P capability. Another problem is I have to mess with the speaker setup whenever I turn the player on, or I get no surround. The player is on a contactor that controls power to the whole sound system. I guess it's possible that I wouldn't have to do this if I supplied power to the unit all the time, I'll have to test this. Even so, I would still have to do it whenever there's a power outage. I just shouldn't have to do this. Once the thing is done, it's good for the rest of the listening session. The problem with the audio breakup doesn't seem to exist when playing a Blu Ray disc, but I haven't done much of that yet. So, we'll see. Anyone else noticed these problems?

The Quadfather

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I have not noticed the dropouts when playing SACD or DVD-A with player set at 1080p. Does it happen whether display is on or off? Is the audio being processed over HDMI? I played an SACD with player set to 1080p without dropouts last time I used it. As far as player not retaining settings after power disconnect, I have not noticed that either but I haven't disconnected the power since the last two or three firmware updates so I will check that next chance I get. I am using HDMI to handle all audio so my experience or tests won't be of any benefit if you aren't.

Chris

All good questions. No, I am using HDMI only to feed the bedroom TV. I am using the discrete (RCA) outputs to feed my multichannel setup. Since I only have a 5.1 channel setup, I am not using all the connections. I haven't thought about turning the display off. I will try it. Still, I want to know if it's a common problem or I just got a defective unit. I would assume that I have the latest firmware updates, but that's not guaranteed. I reckon I could hook up a cable to the hub and download the latest. I want to know what is the true nature of the problem before I start communicating with Oppo. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks,

The Quadfather

I just unboxed mine and connected it to the TV and I am having problems as well. It autoplayed the disc that was put in - looked really nice on the screen and all, but it will not respond to the remote control. It ain't the batteries as the remote lights up when you push buttons, and I've tried others too. I've tried using a different setting (in the battery compartment) as per the docs. It *very briefly* came to life and I got into the setup menus...it responded to a half dozen up and down arrow commands, then all of a sudden stopped again. Looks like I got a defective unit to me....

doppelbock said:

I just unboxed mine and connected it to the TV and I am having problems as well. It autoplayed the disc that was put in - looked really nice on the screen and all, but it will not respond to the remote control. It ain't the batteries as the remote lights up when you push buttons, and I've tried others too. I've tried using a different setting (in the battery compartment) as per the docs. It *very briefly* came to life and I got into the setup menus...it responded to a half dozen up and down arrow commands, then all of a sudden stopped again. Looks like I got a defective unit to me....

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That sucks. Sounds like a bad unit alright. It must be the IR receiver in the player.

The Quadfather said:

All good questions. No, I am using HDMI only to feed the bedroom TV. I am using the discrete (RCA) outputs to feed my multichannel setup. Since I only have a 5.1 channel setup, I am not using all the connections. I haven't thought about turning the display off. I will try it. Still, I want to know if it's a common problem or I just got a defective unit. I would assume that I have the latest firmware updates, but that's not guaranteed. I reckon I could hook up a cable to the hub and download the latest. I want to know what is the true nature of the problem before I start communicating with Oppo. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks,

The Quadfather

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I can't recreate any of it using HDMI for audio and I know of quite a number of people using the analog 5.1 output without experiencing those issues. My suggestion is to download the current firmware and if the problems continue, send a detailed explanation to Oppo of connections, setup, equipment and issues. Oppo should respond timely.

I am going to move this player to my system where I need analog audio because it is the only player I have that can handle Blu-ray/SACD/
DVD-A over analog output and I want all three in that system as well but it will probably be a week or two before I do so.

Chris

JonUrban said:

That sucks. Sounds like a bad unit alright. It must be the IR receiver in the player.

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Kudos to Oppo as they responded to my email quickly - on Sunday even. They gave me a few things to try - upgrade the firmware etc etc. The remote still is not working, however the one from my 970HD works with the BDP-83 so the problem appears to be in the remote and not the BDP itself. I've replied to them with that info and expect they'll be sending a new remote to me shortly...much easier than having to send the player back and forth.

doppelbock said:

Kudos to Oppo as they responded to my email quickly - on Sunday even. They gave me a few things to try - upgrade the firmware etc etc. The remote still is not working, however the one from my 970HD works with the BDP-83 so the problem appears to be in the remote and not the BDP itself. I've replied to them with that info and expect they'll be sending a new remote to me shortly...much easier than having to send the player back and forth.

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That would be my guess as well (defective remote). I'm not seeing those problems here with the BDP-83.

By the way, speaking of the BDP-83, it was the player at this weekend's Can-Jam Headphone Show in the AIX Records booth for the Smyth SVS Realiser demos.

Just did a half-hour run through of the Neil Young Archives Blu-Ray on the Oppo and it went perfectly. "Journey Through the Past" is allegedly in DTS 5.1, but I haven't tried that one yet. The Main part of archives is, unfortunately, stereo only........