recommendations for a universal player

[musta9]

Hi everyone, I would really appreciate some recommendations for a universal player. I mainly watch DVDs so something with excellent upconversion. I have a playstation 3 so I already use that for blu-Ray - is there any difference in picture quality? I also would like to try out DVD-audio and SACD. I plan on using this with a Denon 3808 reciever. I am also thinking of getting a TIVO HD series 3 ( most of all I watch TV on my current TIVO) I would love to be able to do that in HD - any thoughts on the TIVO HD vs. alternatives?

Thanks again for all your help

 

[musta9]

sorry one last point - I am planning on spending 300-500 dollars. Initially I planned to buy the Denon 3930 but now I am thinking of getting the Oppo BDP-83 - any votes to one or the other?

Thanks again

 

[chris357]

i think th eoverwhelming favorite here is the oppo, if i had known about it before i bought my sony I would have bought it instead. On the Tivo, I have only used a non Tivo product for about a week when I switched to HD tv and the person said it was like tivo(yes I was skeptical) and no it was nothing like Tivo so I ended up buying the Tivo series 3 HD and yes I love it!! tivos are just easier to use.. If Apple came out with a DVR it would be the Tivo.

the only pain is the cable company has to coem out and install the cable cards.. ?? this seems goofy to me but its the way it is.

I've had mine for a few years now and its great.

 

[j_garcia]

Since you have the PS3, you could just add a Oppo 980H for SACD and DVD-A, if you weren't looking to trim the budget. Video wise I can't say I notice a difference between the PS3 and the BDP-83. Since I don't have an HDMI receiver, I am able to get the new audio formats with the Oppo, so I tend to watch movies on it rather than the PS3 now. For $500 though, my vote easily goes to the 83.

 

[musta9]

is the quality of the DVD playback the same between the oppo 980H and the oppo bdp-83?

Thanks for your help

 

[Ron Temple]

is the quality of the DVD playback the same between the oppo 980H and the oppo bdp-83?

Thanks for your help

No, the upconversion on the 83 is superior to the 980 and 981. The 980 was good, but tended to have a slightly washed out image when upconverting to 1080P. The BD83 will take a well mastered DVD nearly to BD levels, very good color depth.

 

[j_garcia]

The 980 makes DVDs look good, but the 83 makes them look great. Like Ron said, better mastered discs end up at near Blu-ray quality. Bad discs still look bad.

 

[morejustin]

Thanks a lot

Thanks a lot, this is great info.

 

[mnnc]

+1 j garcia...980 makes dvd look great...83, even better. However, a clean used 980 can be had for a hundred dollars vs five hundred for the 83. You can save money and get a 980 for music playback or get an 83 for everything playback and use ps3 for games only. Decisions, decisions.

 

[XEagleDriver]

+2 j garcia for the 980. In fact I own two they are so good, inexpensive, and as a plus have a very intuitive menu system--a pleasure to use!!

XEagleDriver