OPPO BDP-83 Blu-Ray Disc Player

[PETMIC]

More emails are being sent out covering those people who signed up for
the OPPO interest list after March 31st and up to April 28th.

[vinnie97]

wh0a...no email here yet. I signed up on the 27th so I'll keep my eyes opened!

[typ44q]

Originally Posted by PETMIC

I'm glad you are enjoying your OPPO.

You should email OPPO your feature requests, they listen to their
customers. I don't think the eject button will be done but the auto
dimming feature sounds possible.

Btw, there is a dimmer button on the remote.

Mike

I know, but I am lazy and enjoyed the auto dimming feature of the panasonic
I will send an e-mail to oppo and suggest it be added.

I think I am already over the eject button thing.

[jg14]

If you set the dimmer to the "off" setting, the player automatically dims the display and only lights up when a button is pressed. This is a persistent setting as well, so it retains this setting going forward.

[PETMIC]

Originally Posted by jg14

If you set the dimmer to the "off" setting, the player automatically dims the display and only lights up when a button is pressed. This is a persistent setting as well, so it retains this setting going forward.

I just tried it, works great.

Thanks.

[PETMIC]

Here is a little review I put together for those interested. Be gentle.

OPPO BDP-83 Review

When it first came to my attention that OPPO was committed to making a Blu-ray player I became extremely excited. Those that know of the OPPO name can relate to my feelings. OPPO’s reputation for building quality dvd players and having stellar customer service has garnered a large internet following. Their first foray in the Blu-ray market has generated quite a buzz and plenty of hype. A few months ago OPPO was toying with the idea of an EAP(Early Adoption Program) which I promptly signed up for, never believing I would be picked. To my astonishment I was selected along with 49 other lucky people. A few days later the player is sitting in my home being unpacked.

Packaging & Build Quality:

Although the player did not come double boxed, it was carefully packed. Unlike many other consumer electronic manufacturers, OPPO includes an hdmi cable(6’). Also included is a Spears & Munsil Blu-ray calibration disc, a backlit remote with batteries, an OPPO labeled bag, owners manual, and the standard rca cables for audio and video.

This player is extremely well built tipping the scales at about 12 lbs. and feels similar in weight to my Toshiba HD-XA2. The front faceplate is brushed aluminum(black) and adds a touch of elegance. On the rear of the unit there are a numerous amount of connection options spread out nicely. There are 7.1 analog outputs, stereo outputs, optical and coaxial digital outputs, composite and component outputs, an ethernet output, a usb port(one in front also), an hdmi port, 3.5 mm IR input/output, and recent models can have a RS-232 connection added at an additional cost. The remote control is much better than most I have experienced, it is backlit and the buttons are well spaced and feels very comfortable in my hand.

Set-up:
Upon start up I was greeted with a Quick Set-up Wizard consisting of six continuous screens which ask a series of questions regarding your set-up.

1. The first screen gives you the option of using the wizard or skipping it.
2. Video connection screen,: choose between component or hdmi.
3. Resolution screen: 1080p/1080i/720p, 480p/576p, 480i/576i, Auto and Source Direct
4. Aspect Ratio screen: 16:9Wide, 16:9Wide/Auto, 4:3Letterbox, 4:3Pan&Scan
5. Audio Support option screen: Compatible or Advanced. Compatible is for on board decoding for all audio formats. Advanced enables bitstream output.
6. The final screen is a confirmation screen that completes the set-up wizard.

Features:

The OPPO BDP-83 is a profile 2.0 capable player and comes with 1GB of internal storage. Picture in picture, BD Java and BD Live are all supported.

This player is capable of internally decoding all of the newest hi-def audio formats over the multichannel analog outputs or as multichannel PCM over hdmi which is an important feature for those people with receivers that lack hdmi or are not hdmi 1.3. It can also bitstream those formats to a capable receiver for decoding.

Load times are among the best I have ever witnessed and are comparable to the PS3. I also did a direct comparison with the Pioneer BDP-51FD and disc loading was consistently 40 to 50 seconds quicker on the OPPO depending on the disc.

A nice feature that OPPO offers is the ability to overlay the Menu screen during playback and make changes on the fly, unlike most other Blu-ray players which require you to stop playback to enter the set-up menu to make changes resulting in a re-start of the movie.

Also, there is a split screen Demo mode to make picture adjustments, the left side shows the results after adjustments and the right side is the pre-adjustment side.

This player offers a Color Space and Deep Color option with the following choices for color space; Auto, RGB video level, RGB pc level, YCbCr 4:4:4 and YCbCr 4:2:2. The Deep Color option include the following selections; Off, 30 Bits,36 Bits.

OPPO provides three ways of performing a firmware update. Firmware can be burned to a CD, copied to a usb drive or via the ethernet port. There is an option in the Set-up menu that can be set to automatically notify you of a firmware update. Obviously, you have to be connected to the internet for this feature to function properly.

I’m not a big fan of BD-Live but I gave it a go on the OPPO. The test disc was The Dark Knight and it took almost three minutes to be greeted by a WB logo and a few seconds later by the Warner Bros. menu screen. There was a live community screening feature with Director Christopher Nolan that was dated 12/18/08 that sounded interesting but I gave up waiting for it to load. To say BD-Live has been a frustrating endeavor would be an understatement and so far, to me, nothing on BD-Live has been worth my time. At least there is a feature in the OPPO that allows you to turn off BD-Live which shaves a couple of seconds off of disc loading.

Video Playback:

While testing, I connected the player strictly via hdmi. Blu-ray playback at 1080p/24 looked absolutely stunning on my Pioneer PRO-151FD. Disc after disc provided flawless Blu-ray video playback. The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Quantum of Solace among others all looked jaw dropping as Blu-ray should.

After satisfying my Blu-ray fix, I turned my sights to my seemingly large dvd collection. My first test was Gladiator, which by all accounts is one of the better looking dvd’s available, and in the OPPO, it looked HD like at times, especially the many scenes in the Coliseum. Next up was Bad Boys 2(Superbit), and again I was truly impressed. Obviously, the quality of the disc matters greatly and the OPPO made very good looking discs look great. My next test was the Spears & Munsil test disc included in the package so I could test the players ability to deinterlace and the BDP-83 passed with flying colors.

One of my biggest pet peeves are dvd layer changes which are virtually non-existent or too short to time on the OPPO, unlike my Pioneer BDP-51 which takes anywhere from 1 to 3 seconds depending on the disc.

The ability to play dvd’s at 24fps is an included feature which presented some problems, the OPPO seemed to be skipping frames, but OPPO is fully aware and is working on a fix. So, in the interim I’ve disabled the 1080p/24 feature for dvd’s. Obviously, there are some very minor problems with the player but nothing that has stopped me from enjoying it for months. Am I confident OPPO will address the remaining issues? Absolutely.

Audio Playback:
Again, all my testing was done via hdmi and regardless if the player was doing the decoding or bitstreaming blu-ray audio, I was very impressed. Decoding the new codecs in the player is an asset and those with analog connections only or non hdmi 1.3 receivers will have the ability to listen to those codecs in all their hi-def glory. It also enables the ability to mix secondary audio for use with the picture in picture feature some Blu-ray discs provide.

I wanted to quench my thirst with some DTS HD MA, so I popped in The Incredible Hulk, it loaded fairly quickly, and those who are familiar with the movie know it has a powerful soundtrack and with the OPPO doing the decoding, I wasn’t disappointed. All channels were well balanced, bass was strong and the surround speakers were active throughout and I couldn’t help but smile.

The BDP-83 also provides SACD and DVD-A playback. DVD-A has been a work in progress and has been refined with every firmware upgrade. Currently, I only own a handful of SACD’s and all sounded exceptionally well bitstreaming DSD to my Onkyo PR-SC885. I don’t consider myself an audiophile, but again, I was extremely impressed with the players performance, as will others. Aerosmith’s “Toys in the Attic” SACD sounded richer and fuller than I remember and Steven Tyler’s gritty voice was heartfelt but not obtrusive, and again I found myself grinning ear to ear.

Closing Thoughts:
After 2-½ months of ownership, which also included being part of the Early Adoption Program I can say without hesitation that this player has been a joy to have in my system. Sure, there are some bugs, but this was to be expected, especially with all the features OPPO includes in this unit. Firmware updates were issued on a continuous basis, roughly every two weeks, but the most recent one(May 4th) has really made this player rock solid. Many people have been anxiously awaiting this player and after months of beta testing and two EAP programs, OPPO has delivered a truly remarkable machine that will grace my home theater for many years to come.

Enjoy!

[crazzeto]

Nice review pet, even though I can't agree with your assesment of bd-live Have you ever run into any bluray problem discs? Thus far I haven't run into anything catestropic with my 2500 but Rise of the Lycans needs help with my player. Menus are choppy, and I get double response from remote commands.

[CaptainCanuck]

I dunno why they needed to go thru this whole test group thing.Just make the bloody player and release it like all the other companies do.Was there any real doubt that oppo was going to build a good machine?

[Sbert]

Originally Posted by CaptainCanuck

I dunno why they needed to go thru this whole test group thing.Just make the bloody player and release it like all the other companies do.Was there any real doubt that oppo was going to build a good machine?

If they didn't do it this way, it probably would have taken longer to get it out.

[vinnie97]

Originally Posted by crazzeto

Nice review pet, even though I can't agree with your assesment of bd-live

You're in the minority so far.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/05/02...ed-by-bd-live/

[chris gerhard]

Originally Posted by CaptainCanuck

I dunno why they needed to go thru this whole test group thing.Just make the bloody player and release it like all the other companies do.Was there any real doubt that oppo was going to build a good machine?

One point is that Oppo does not do things the same as other companies athough the process for this player was different, even for Oppo. No other player does as much as this player in addition to Blu-ray and it might have been Oppo would have just released the player the same as other players if there weren't so many different things to have tested thoroughly. I think it was done this way because the player took a long time from initial announcement to being ready for release and there was concern potential customers would have been lost if something wasn't done to give them an opportunity to own the player or be committed to the player before its general release. Being the first player to use Anchor Bay ABT2010 for Blu-ray processing was probably part of the delay. The fact the DV-983H used the same ABT2010 chip for DVD-V/SACD/DVD-A should have helped with optimization but I guess these things take time.

Chris

[PETMIC]

Originally Posted by crazzeto

Nice review pet, even though I can't agree with your assesment of bd-live Have you ever run into any bluray problem discs? Thus far I haven't run into anything catestropic with my 2500 but Rise of the Lycans needs help with my player. Menus are choppy, and I get double response from remote commands.

Thanks.

BD-Live hasn't really done anything for me yet. Are there any BD-Live
features that you can recommend?

Regarding Blu-ray playback, there hasn't been one disc that has failed
to play on the OPPO so far and I own over 100 Blu's.

Very impressed with this machine.

[crazzeto]

Originally Posted by PETMIC

Thanks.

BD-Live hasn't really done anything for me yet. Are there any BD-Live
features that you can recommend?

Regarding Blu-ray playback, there hasn't been one disc that has failed
to play on the OPPO so far and I own over 100 Blu's.

Very impressed with this machine.

I haven't had anything outright fail on my 2500 either short of a couple dirty blurays from netflix (wiping the discs resolved the issue). I have had some operate a tad twitchy though, Rise of the Lycans for instance.

In terms of BD-Live, personally I love the movie chats, they're a lot of fun with the right crowed (we've always had fun with the HDD ones). Beyond that, I've enjoyed the streamed features on Kung Fu Panda, as well as the Max Payne & TDK web comic/movies which are available for viewing. I also find my self enjoying movie quizes right now, if I remember right TDK for sure has one, and I find my self thinking I went through one on Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. It might not be BD-Live, but I loved the online polls that were found on the Pans Laberynth disc. If you happen to have Rambo I've heard a lot of good stuff about MoLog (some other LionsGate releases have siimilar features, like Saw IV I think). BD-Live is new, honestly I'm glad that there are studios at least making the attempt to be creative. I'd recommend just playing around with some of the features, you'll find some that you really enjoy. In terms of speed, getting BD-Live conneted can be a little slow, but once you're on the system it usually speeds up pretty quickly. Universal and Disney have the fastest BD-Live load times by far. Oh, watchmen is coming with a FB integrated BD-Live

[PETMIC]

Originally Posted by crazzeto

I haven't had anything outright fail on my 2500 either short of a couple dirty blurays from netflix (wiping the discs resolved the issue). I have had some operate a tad twitchy though, Rise of the Lycans for instance.

In terms of BD-Live, personally I love the movie chats, they're a lot of fun with the right crowed (we've always had fun with the HDD ones). Beyond that, I've enjoyed the streamed features on Kung Fu Panda, as well as the Max Payne & TDK web comic/movies which are available for viewing. I also find my self enjoying movie quizes right now, if I remember right TDK for sure has one, and I find my self thinking I went through one on Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. It might not be BD-Live, but I loved the online polls that were found on the Pans Laberynth disc. If you happen to have Rambo I've heard a lot of good stuff about MoLog (some other LionsGate releases have siimilar features, like Saw IV I think). BD-Live is new, honestly I'm glad that there are studios at least making the attempt to be creative. I'd recommend just playing around with some of the features, you'll find some that you really enjoy. In terms of speed, getting BD-Live conneted can be a little slow, but once you're on the system it usually speeds up pretty quickly. Universal and Disney have the fastest BD-Live load times by far. Oh, watchmen is coming with a FB integrated BD-Live

I have most of those discs you mentioned. I will give them a second look.

Come to think of it, there was a feature on The Bourne Ultimatum(HD DVD
version) were you would view a scene and after the scene you were
asked 10 multiple choice questions about the scene and were graded
a certain spy level depending on how many questions you answered
correctly. I thought that was neat.

I'm not sure if that was carried over to the Blu-ray version.

Interactive Game: "Be Bourne Game" - Activate the game as you watch the film itself, and as you progress through the narrative you'll be prompted to analyze pre-marked 30-second segments. Once the clip is done, you'll be tested on the visual and narrative information you retain. This is kinda fun, although I got a bit tired after a few clips due to the repetition of the exercise. Note that you will receive a score at the end of the game, and you can go online (assuming your player is web-connected) and share your results with others.

Edit: It looks like it was carried over to the Blu-ray verison. I
mistakingly thought it was a on line feature and it seems to be a
U-control/pip feature.

[crazzeto]

yeah, most live features will score you against other participants.