I've only had this for a month but so far it's as... good as advertised. It took me a while to figure out how to set it up since I've never really had much expereince with BD before. I purchased the SE because I'm using a B&K Reference 50 Series 1 and need the analog decoding stages to make use of the Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio tracks. The sound and video is very impressive for the cost of the unit. I haven't spent much time yet with standard DVD's upconversion but since I made the effort to upgrade to Blu-Ray I don't see the point of renting or purchasing regular DVD's unless there is no other choice. I have tried my older SACD and DVD-A discs with success, Apparently the licensing for DVD-A is lacking so the options for playing this type of disc are somewhat limited as compared to the Sony format. (This could be related to the Blu-Ray vs. HDDVD wars) The unit is designed in the US, in fact the company HQ is just a few miles from my home. I like the idea of finding high quality, cost for value engineering that originates in the US. Oppo is a very customer oriented company. I was able to talk to someone on the phone in the office who told me they would honor the warranty on a tranfer of ownership, which was how this unit was purchased. To sum up, great industry reviews, excellent cost for value, US design, excellent customer service. What more can you ask for!
Hi BD Fans ! Via E-Bay, and only via E-Bay, I found addresses of... daelers, who offer the OPPO BDP-83 Universal Players. They are "Region-Free", brand new and cost a little more, because they "tweeked" them, something the "industry" owes us faithful customers, since BD players are on the market ! The Player arrived in the Middle East within 3 days, sent from New York !!! Build : For the price excellent, sturdy and elegant. Features : You get everything to play digital and analog. Handling : Plug and Play Plays everything, you throw at it : On top of it I can play any Region with a push of just one buttom ! Quality : I compared it with more expensive competitors and found no noticeable differences, neither in picture quality, nor in sound ! It is presently hooked up to a 50inch Samsung (HD), a (heavy) Denon AV, which takes care of 5 old Boses (2 901s and 3 701s) & a Sub. Superb ! Mind though, the villas here in the M.E. comprise huge rooms ! (acoustics) All in all : A great American product. I ordered 2 more. Got the message ? Capt. Harry
Fed up with all the Japanese junk i'd been buying, I'd re...ad the reviews on the OPPO BDP-83 universal blu-ray player and it had been adorned with recommendations. Although only available in the US, I managed to track one down on ebay from the US that delivered to the UK. All I can say is that the machine is phenomenal with a capital P. Because it is universal, I can play bluray, DVD, SACD, DVD-A, MP3 and everything else thrown at it. I've managed to sell my CD player and DVD player (on ebay) so it was a 'like for like' swap, but I've definitely got the best end of the bargain!!! Sound quality is as good as i've heard from a bluray player, especially SACD MUSIC played through analogue. It's terrific with MOVIES, and features on-board decoding of DTS HD MASTER and DOLBY HD MASTER Codec. Picture quality is absolutely fantastic with blu-rays, but where it wins brownie points is it's quality when upscaling old DVDs. It breathes new life into the DVD format and yes, they are almost HD like. You get a 2-metre HDMI cable and other leads, remote and manual, all expertly packed and presented. I could go on with all the remarkable features packed into this Universal player - but I'll keep it short and sweet, GET ONE, ENOUGH SAID !!!
I bought oppo's first upconverting dvd... player several years ago and was pleased with it. When I decided to upgrade to Blu ray, I choose Oppo and have not been disappointed. It is a marvelous machine. Not only does it do a surperb job upconverting regular dvds, it is excellent playing blu ray. I also noticed an improvement in sound over its HDMI connection. I had to have an all region player because I have many dvds purchased from Great Britian. This oppo player I bought has been hardware modified for all region play. If you want an all region player, be sure and get one that is hardware modified. If your player is only firmware modified, then you lose the all region capability if you upgrade the firmware. You can buy a region one unmodified machine at Oppo.com or Amazon.com for $499. I noticed some sellers on EBAY are asking a higher price for the region one player. EBAY is still the best place to buy the all region version.
My search for the ideal bl...u-ray player had a rocky start. My first player was a Sharp unit that I mistakenly thought would be a satisfatory product. I was very wrong. I do not know if other blu-ray players suffer from the same problem, but the Sharp unit I owned would take at least 20 seconds from the time I hit the power button, until I could get the disc tray to unload. At that point, it was maybe about a minute and a half from the time I would put in a blu ray disc to actuall arriving at the discs opening menu. I personally found this wait to be agonizing. I have no idea if this kind of wait is standard across the market. In any case, I had already owned one of Oppo's products (980-H) and after putting up with the previous player, this was my first stop. At that point in time, Oppo's only blu-ray player option was the 83. After reading the specifcations, I knew that this player was for me. Oppo made it very clear that the load times for blu-ray discs were fast. With the 30 day return policy, I decided to go for it. When the box arrived, I was already impressed when I opened the packaging. The machine was packaged well, with a nice presentation board that layed over the unit, describing the units performance features. The player came complete with remote, and an added bonus of both a video and sound calibration disc. Fantastic! Cosmetically the unit is nothing short of handsome. There is brushed aluminum faceplate, with metal button on the front. The LCD screen is very large and very clear, and displays all relevant information on whatever it is that you are playing. You do not need to squint or get really close to read it. As far as the loading performance of this unit is concerned, it's everything that Oppo describes it as and more. The first blu-ray disc I put in loaded within 6 seconds. I hate to use the phrase "like day and night", but that pretty much describes the difference between the Oppo and the Sharp. Video performance deserves its own particular section. What the Oppo 83 possesses that most blu-ray players do not is the ABT2010 video upscaler from Anchor Bay. This is one of the best video upscalers made for players today, and is not used even in Oppo's other blu-ray offering. This upsscaler provides astonishing performance for standard dvd discs. With some of my better dvd discs, it was very very difficult for me to really distinguish between them and other hi-def programming. Blu Ray disc performance is, as expected, top notch. No complaints here whatsoever, with loading times, video or sound quality, or anything else. It is quite honestly a treat to watch a blu-ray disc with my surround sound system. Colors, clarity, sound - everything shines with this unit. There is even more involved with this player aside from video. The 83 also supports "legacy" formats such as DVD Audio and SACD playback. I own some media in those formats, so that is without question a bonus for me. There is also a USB port on the front and on the back that I use with memory sticks. Again, a nice touch. The back of the unit has the standard inputs, including dedicated stereo analog out, and multichannel analog out - that would certainly come in handy for anyone using an older audio/video receiver. I have my audio and video sent out through the players HDMI output. This allows full performance from the ABT2010 video upscaler. The unit also has a network (cat-5) port for connecting the player to the internet.
