Deciding between the Oppo or Panny 60

[termin8ted314]

Right now i am using a samsung upconverting dvd player but am purchasing a blur ray. I was going to grab the panny 60 but have been looking at the Oppo 83. Right now all i have a regular DVD's. some will be replaced with blu ray the rest ill just leave.

Anyone know if the upscaling of the Oppo is worth the extra $300(i can get the panny for $200). Im fine with my samsung upscaling and the Panny seems to have good upscaling.

 

[Adam]

I found myself asking the same question before I bought my Panny 60. It is my first blu-ray player or upconverting DVD player. I can't answer your specific question because I've never used the Oppo, but I have some comments in general.

It's not only a question of whether the upscaling in the Oppo is noticeably better than that in the Panny, it's also a question of whether either is noticeably better than the upscaling in your TV. I happen to have a new Panny TV, too, so the upscaling in the TV and in the 60 are (I'm guessing) identical or close to it. I'm quite pleased with how regular DVDs look, but I have also wondered if the Oppo would be even better.

The Panny takes a little time to do operations, so it's not as quick as the DVD players that I've used. Not unexpected because the technology is less mature, but some here say that the Oppo is as fast as a DVD player (when opening the tray, for example). I'd like that, but only you can decide if it's worth $300 for that.

Also, the Oppo adds the ability to play DVD-A and SACD discs, multichannel analog outputs, and a digital coax output.

Just some thoughts on it. I look forward to reading if anyone has directly compared the two units to one another.

 

[Pyrrho]

Right now i am using a samsung upconverting dvd player but am purchasing a blur ray. I was going to grab the panny 60 but have been looking at the Oppo 83. Right now all i have a regular DVD's. some will be replaced with blu ray the rest ill just leave.

Anyone know if the upscaling of the Oppo is worth the extra $300(i can get the panny for $200). Im fine with my samsung upscaling and the Panny seems to have good upscaling.

I own the Pansonic DMP-BD60. For the money, it is a great BD player, and I was surprised by how good it is for upconversion of DVDs. I also own an Oppo DV-983H DVD player, which is now discontinued, but it has the same upconversion as the Oppo BDP-83 according to Oppo's web site:

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-83/

Now, I have not done a detailed comparison, nor have I used any test discs to check on it, but from brief and casual viewing, there is not a lot of difference between them for upconversion. I should point out, however, that not every issue of upconversion is relevant to every scene, so it could well be that with some discs, in some scenes, the difference might be striking. However, if money is tight, and if you don't need anything that you can get the Oppo to do that the Panasonic cannot do, such as playing DVD-Audio, SACD, or PAL discs or other region discs (there is third party firmware available now for the Oppo to make it region free), I would probably go with the Panasonic. But if you need it to do any of the things that the Panasonic cannot do, or if you must have the very best, then buy the Oppo.

For information about making the Oppo region free, see:

http://www.dvdmaniacs.net/forums/showthread.php?t=42223

http://www.codefreedvd.com/dvd_oppo_bdp83_multiregion_firmware.html

Because of the region free issue, if I had it to do over again, I would buy the Oppo. But when I made my decision to buy the Panasonic, the online information I had read indicated that the Oppo could not be made region free, so I bought a BD player only for playing BD discs (though I have played with it a bit for upconverting DVDs out of curiosity). In my case, with my DVD player, it is region free and can play PAL, so all I am missing is other regions for BD with my setup. The Panasonic cannot deal with PAL (from normal U.S. stores; there are foreign versions of the machine) and it cannot be made region free without hardware modification (according to what I have read online, and with Panasonic, they tend to be less "hackable" than some brands).

In my case, I plan on just keeping the Panasonic and not replacing it with the Oppo, unless it fails out of warranty, or I find a need to play non-region A Blu-ray discs. It really is a good player, and for the money, I don't think it can be beat when compared on things that it can do. The Panasonic, according to online reviews, is reliable and does not tend to have problems with some BD discs the way that some players do, and Panasonic is also supposed to be pretty good at supporting their products with firmware updates, if needed (which, in their case, is less often than some brands who put out products that are not really ready for mass consumption). These nice things, however, can also be said of Oppo. Both players should work well.


So, again, if the money is important to you, and you do not need the ability to play anything that the Panasonic cannot play, I would recommend getting the Panasonic. If money is not really a problem, and you need it to play something the Panasonic cannot play, or simply must have the best, buy the Oppo.

 

[PeterWhite]

Right now i am using a samsung upconverting dvd player but am purchasing a blur ray. I was going to grab the panny 60 but have been looking at the Oppo 83. Right now all i have a regular DVD's. some will be replaced with blu ray the rest ill just leave.

Anyone know if the upscaling of the Oppo is worth the extra $300(i can get the panny for $200). Im fine with my samsung upscaling and the Panny seems to have good upscaling.

i have the Panasonic blah blah 30 blah blah and recently bought the Oppo 83. The Panasonic started vibrating about two months after I bought it. Panasonic fixed it quickly. But it's painfully slow, and of course doesn't play SACD or DVD-A. The Oppo is simply wonderful; the various functions are fast, image quality is great, and it plays all of my discs.

Once you have a surround sound capable system, it's a no brainer to buy your music in surround sound. So while the pickin's are still slim, I'd rather pay a few bucks more for a SACD. The Oppo lets me play it in its entirety, the Panasonic will only play it in two channel.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'll cast my vote for the OPPO BD player.

You never know. You might get bored one day and decide to buy a SACD or DVD-A disc.

Oppo is also pretty good with firmware updates, which is important these days.

 

[Pyrrho]

i have the Panasonic blah blah 30 blah blah and recently bought the Oppo 83. The Panasonic started vibrating about two months after I bought it. Panasonic fixed it quickly. But it's painfully slow, and of course doesn't play SACD or DVD-A. The Oppo is simply wonderful; the various functions are fast, image quality is great, and it plays all of my discs.

Once you have a surround sound capable system, it's a no brainer to buy your music in surround sound. So while the pickin's are still slim, I'd rather pay a few bucks more for a SACD. The Oppo lets me play it in its entirety, the Panasonic will only play it in two channel.

The Panasonic you have is a couple of generations ago, so it is not terribly relevant to the issue at hand. However, even it is not supposed to be a bad player, but the newer Panasonics are supposedly better.

I, too, like SACD, but most people do not seem interested in that format. If one is not, then that capability is irrelevant.

Just to be clear: No one, as far as I know, is saying the Panasonic DMP-BD60 is better than the Oppo BDP-83. The only issue is, is it worth the extra cost, which is substantially different? The difference in cost is basically about $200 versus about $500. Something that costs 2 & 1/2 times as much ought to be a lot better, but it is far from clear that it is enough better for most people to justify that kind of difference in price. Most people would be better off spending that $300 on better speakers when buying a system if they care about sound quality.

 

[DaleAV]

The DMP-BD80 would be a more fair comparison, especially for those dependent more on analog connections.
In that respect, the Oppo is only $100 more than the BD80 with the inclusion of SACD/DVD-A playback and what most perceive the better upconversion of SD disks, not to mention quicker loading.
(Also, 80Hz x-over vs. 100Hz..but that is not likely to a major factor for most.)

In favor of the Panasonic, the MSRP price will drop. And they will replace it again with a newer model for 2010, because they always do like other popular brands. The Oppo will continue to be a long term product as Oppos always have been, with some refinements through firmware updates.

60, 60, or Oppo..all very good players with many satisfied customers. Pick the one that is the most cost-effective for your situation.

 

[beatboy77]

Having owned both, I would recommend the Panny.

~Josh

 

[Pyrrho]

Having owned both, I would recommend the Panny.

~Josh

Why? Is there something you did not like about the Oppo? And which firmware were you using with the Oppo?

Were you in the "Early Adoption Program", in which people were invited to buy it for testing, before it was ready for regular sales?

 

[bandphan]

Why? Is there something you did not like about the Oppo? And which firmware were you using with the Oppo?

Were you in the "Early Adoption Program", in which people were invited to buy it for testing, before it was ready for regular sales?

Starts with a T and end with a L........and its gotta ROOO in the middle

 

[termin8ted314]

I'll cast my vote for the OPPO BD player.

You never know. You might get bored one day and decide to buy a SACD or DVD-A disc.

Oppo is also pretty good with firmware updates, which is important these days.

These are the exact reasons i am sold on the Oppo. Its a little more but seems like the best option. I like the idea that they release firmware updates often. The fast operation. The excellent standard dvd conversion. I know the way i am ill be pissed if i buy something else and end up wanting SACD or DVD-A. Ill be ordering within the next couple weeks. My new house warming toys will be this and a new receiver!