Oppo BDP-83 .... - bluray disc player

[square_wave]

that would also mean the Oppo 980 (their audio performance is identical) beats all CD players under 20k, is that true? .

I have compared the oppo 980 to a Cambridge audio 640c (24k). The 640c was better. More natural, more resolving especially with classical. But the Oppo did a good job. Much better than any dvd player I have heard.
Btw: The oppo 980 is very popular as a transport. With a external Dac it can do wonders.

 

[moserw]

Ha ha. The only ones who will buy it are those with lots of HD rips like MKV and Divx rips and SD DVDs who need a good upscaling device with their HD TV. Considering HD content is so expensive it means the pirates and the downloaders. Even here most will go for the inexpensive WDTV. Only those who want very good upscaling will invest in an Oppo. Or else like you said the videophiles will.

People will buy it if it does the following:
1. Far better picture quality than a 300$ blue player.
2. Substantially better upscaling than a 300$ blu ray player.
I dont think an audiophile will buy an oppo dvd/blu ray player for its SACD capability. They will buy a standard sacd player.

These will sell in Inda in large numbers only if Blu ray becomes popular and affordable. Other wise only gizmo freaks will buy them.
For example: How may blu ray discs will a sane person buy if they cost around 2500 bucks ? Moves are mostly one-time use (mostly) unlike cds/sacds which are used hundreds of times. A few early birds I know are not using their blu ray player at all these days They have exhausted their handful of blu ray discs are back to watching SD Dvds on their big screens. Even the best dvd libraries do not stock blu ray discs
One more fact: Most people I know who are into HD movies are hard-core downloaders who just download their fav movies to the hard disc and watch them. Simple

 

[psychotropic]

just to clarify BDs are now 1799 for two (buy one get one free) or 1299 individually, at landmark, which has a decent collection. So the average cost of a BD these days is between 900 and 1300, which I agree is still steep, but it's starting to approach mass penetration levels. Maybe by end 2009 it'll get even more affordable, and I would expect a BigFlix to start renting them out (RIP Seventymm).

and yes, these were exactly my points, it will have to exceed the 300 dollar player signifcantly in both BD reproduction and DVD upscaling. I am not putting it past Oppo to manage that, so we'll have to wait and see.

People will buy it if it does the following:
1. Far better picture quality than a 300$ blue player.
2. Substantially better upscaling than a 300$ blu ray player.
I dont think an audiophile will buy an oppo dvd/blu ray player for its SACD capability. They will buy a standard sacd player.

These will sell in Inda in large numbers only if Blu ray becomes popular and affordable. Other wise only gizmo freaks will buy them.
For example: How may blu ray discs will a sane person buy if they cost around 2500 bucks ? Moves are mostly one-time use (mostly) unlike cds/sacds which are used hundreds of times. A few early birds I know are not using their blu ray player at all these days They have exhausted their handful of blu ray discs are back to watching SD Dvds on their big screens. Even the best dvd libraries do not stock blu ray discs
One more fact: Most people I know who are into HD movies are hard-core downloaders who just download their fav movies to the hard disc and watch them. Simple

 

[reju]

And here's the review:
http://www.prillaman.net/oppobdp83_review.html

 

[psychotropic]

interesting....but i'd love to see a review of the final released product, and a comparison with the latest generation of players from Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, Sharp, Pioneer, Philips etc., not to mention the players from Marantz, NAD (which is reportedly unimpressive), Cambridge and Onkyo

And here's the review:
OPPO Digital BDP-83 User Review

 

[bhuvanmisra]

the review and links within it are certainly an engaging read. thanks.

And here's the review:
OPPO Digital BDP-83 User Review

 

[bhuvanmisra]

what do you guys think about this from the FAQ at Unofficial OPPO BDP-83 Frequently Asked Questions. It seems to suggest the end of some many dreams...!

Will OPPO Digital create versions of this player for markets outside of North America?

No, according to email from OPPO Digital:

Our player is being designed for North America, which is DVD Region 1 and Blu-ray Region A compliant. We have no plans selling these units internationally or allowing the end user to adjust any regional controls.

For all information related to a European BDP-83, we would recommend contacting OPPO.SE ([email protected]).

Why won't OPPO Digital allow region unlocking for DVD?

OPPO Digital has said:

The Blu-ray Disc Association does not allow us to support any region unlocking capabilities, even for DVD-Video playback.
The people who own the technology, who write the contracts specifying how you may and may not use their property, will not allow region-free playback. If OPPO Digital were to violate those contracts they would be subject to legal action.

Why would the BDA care about DVD playback? No one has told me, so I can only speculate. Studio members of the BDA still make DVDs and still want their region coding enforced. This is an opportunity for them to enforce their rights

 

[psychotropic]

I suspect that this will be their "official position" and I am not surprised. I don't see them saying anything different "officially". But I am sure, like with their DVD players, a fairly simple hack will emerge pretty soon after the player is out, so things may not be as bad as they seem.

what do you guys think about this from the FAQ at Unofficial OPPO BDP-83 Frequently Asked Questions. It seems to suggest the end of some many dreams...!

Will OPPO Digital create versions of this player for markets outside of North America?

No, according to email from OPPO Digital:

Our player is being designed for North America, which is DVD Region 1 and Blu-ray Region A compliant. We have no plans selling these units internationally or allowing the end user to adjust any regional controls.

For all information related to a European BDP-83, we would recommend contacting OPPO.SE ([email protected]).

Why won't OPPO Digital allow region unlocking for DVD?

OPPO Digital has said:

The Blu-ray Disc Association does not allow us to support any region unlocking capabilities, even for DVD-Video playback.
The people who own the technology, who write the contracts specifying how you may and may not use their property, will not allow region-free playback. If OPPO Digital were to violate those contracts they would be subject to legal action.

Why would the BDA care about DVD playback? No one has told me, so I can only speculate. Studio members of the BDA still make DVDs and still want their region coding enforced. This is an opportunity for them to enforce their rights

 

[spirovious]

Pan BD60 has good rev & price too:clapping:
again is it regfree?

 

[moserw]

Pan BD60 has good rev & price too:clapping:
again is it regfree?

I think there is only one region free Blu-Ray player and its from Momitsu. It's listed on HKFlix.com: Region-Free Hardware! Momitsu BDP-899/BDP899.

 

[marsilians]

I think there is only one region free Blu-Ray player and its from Momitsu. It's listed on HKFlix.com: Region-Free Hardware! Momitsu BDP-899/BDP899.

The panasonic DMP-BD30 is a multi region BR player with excellent video capabilities. It was introducted at 599 euros initiatilly. Given the way the BR player prices are assaulted, its going for 164 USD for a refurb model. A new one was priced at 275 when I last checked few months ago. Excellent player and great firmware support.

Samsung BDP 1000 could be made into multi region via an unsupported hack. The 1400 is supported by Sammy.

 

[moserw]

Hey bro, where have you been? Missed ya!!!

The panasonic DMP-BD30 is a multi region BR player with excellent video capabilities. It was introducted at 599 euros initiatilly. Given the way the BR player prices are assaulted, its going for 164 USD for a refurb model. A new one was priced at 275 when I last checked few months ago. Excellent player and great firmware support.

Samsung BDP 1000 could be made into multi region via an unsupported hack. The 1400 is supported by Sammy.

 

[spirovious]

Pan BD30 doesnt have onbrd ana7.1 ana out,BD55 has that.

 

[psychotropic]

The BD30 is an older (and slower) player, so it might not be a great idea to go for it at this stage, the attractive price notwithstanding. Multi-region hacks will be available for all players at some time or the other.

The BD60 i've read is a good player, and it comes for 220 $ or so on amazon, but it's apparently as slow as the older generation of players, but for DVD playback CNET says it falls well behind the 300$ BD-P2500 from Samsung, considering the price difference and the fact that you get a superb BD player, as well as a DVD upscaler that is only a hair short of the Oppo 983, this baby for 300$ sounds like the one to go for.

The panasonic DMP-BD30 is a multi region BR player with excellent video capabilities. It was introducted at 599 euros initiatilly. Given the way the BR player prices are assaulted, its going for 164 USD for a refurb model. A new one was priced at 275 when I last checked few months ago. Excellent player and great firmware support.

Samsung BDP 1000 could be made into multi region via an unsupported hack. The 1400 is supported by Sammy.

 

[spirovious]

Informative preview of Oppo BDP-

OPPO Digital BDP-83 User Review

 

[reju]

Logitech Harmony Universal Remote already supports Oppo BDP-83

Wonder when I will be able to add this device on my remote!

 

[marsilians]

Hey bro, where have you been? Missed ya!!!

Off topic...

Hey Moserw,

Thanks for the thought. I have been crazy busy at the office and also some personal things I had to tend to. Hopefully I see this easing in a few weeks. But right now is much better than the past 3-4 weeks.

now back to the discussion...

 

[marsilians]

The BD30 is an older (and slower) player, so it might not be a great idea to go for it at this stage, the attractive price notwithstanding. Multi-region hacks will be available for all players at some time or the other.

The BD60 i've read is a good player, and it comes for 220 $ or so on amazon, but it's apparently as slow as the older generation of players, but for DVD playback CNET says it falls well behind the 300$ BD-P2500 from Samsung, considering the price difference and the fact that you get a superb BD player, as well as a DVD upscaler that is only a hair short of the Oppo 983, this baby for 300$ sounds like the one to go for.

The question was if there were muti-region players. Wrt VFM, the panasonic and samsungs are excellent. The load times could be slow but it is not in minutes. Also its one off and does not put off too many people.

I had rather go for a slower loading but excellent output player than the other way around as some of the newer Sony's and Hitachi's have been.

 

[venkatcr]

It looks as if my assessment of Oppo as a company has been wrong. The initial reviews of BD 83 is out, and it is disappointing for us Indians.

The BD83 is locked for Region A and Region 1. In other words it can be used only with US media. In addition it seems to play Audio CDs badly which is surprising as it's older brother, the 983, excels in Audio CD. Unless Oppo does some company policy change, I guess we have to look for players from Pioneer and other companies when it comes to Blu-Ray. Quite disappointing, I must say.

Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Player-AVRev.com

Cheers

 

[Kamal]

The reviewer made a very casual/short ref to its audio capabilities-lets wait for more reviews-it appears illogical that Oppo would have lesser audio capabilities in its flagship player than the 983, which they appear to have phased out.
Abt region free, give it some time-I have a lot of faith in human ingenuity & commercial considerations of companies.
In any case,as regards Blu-Ray, I still maintain that for us in India,it shld be still wait & watch, given the costs & highly limited availability of software.