Oppo BDP-80: To good to be true?

[ljaggers]

I'm sure most of you by now have heard of the upcoming release of the $298 Oppo BDP-80 Blu-ray player. It sounds almost too good to be true. I understand that the features between Oppo's two players are generally the same including support for SACD & DVD-A (which is a feature almost exclusive to Oppo Blu-ray players.) The biggest difference between the two is dedicated video processor in the BDP-83. So what do you think? Oppo claims that the BDP-80 performs excellently at DVD up-conversion which is one of the most important functions of a Blu-ray player in my opinion. Do you all have any thoughts on the matter?

 

[markw]

A friend has their BDP-83 and it delivers a superb picture on Blu-ray, does a dgreat job on regular DVD's, and great SACD sound, the three main things I am looking for.

Oppo also has a sterling price/performance track record for everything they have ever produced , although past performance is no guarantee of future performance, I see no reason that this should be any different.

I was saving for the 83 but it looks like their new offering might push that purchase date up a little.

But, for those that don't believe they can deliver such a quality product for this price, they might want to wait a little while and maybe Lexicon will release their own version for seven times the Oppo price.

 

[spartanstew]

I'm sure most of you by now have heard of the upcoming release of the $298 Oppo BDP-80 Blu-ray player.

It's not upcoming, it was available for order last Monday.


If you need a universal player, Oppo is far and away the player of choice. If you're just looking for a BD player, it's a waste of money. If you need BD and SD playback, other factors come into play. The 83 has better upconversion than the 80. The 80 is no slouch, but I don't think it will be that much better than some other players that cost half as much (JVC, Panny, for example). On a scale of 1-10, the 83 is probably a "10", the 80 is probably a "9", and there's many players that are "8"'s. Is going from an 8 to a 9 worth $150 - $200? Only the buyer can make that decision. For me, it's not worth it. My Panny 35 upscales just fine on my 65" living room display and my JVC is even better on my 126" HT screen.

Heck, I bought a $59 Sherwood BD player about 9 months ago that's actually pretty decent at upconverting SD-DVD's (I'd give it a "6.5").

The only way I'd buy one of the Oppos, is if I had a need for DVD-A, or SACD, which I don't.

 

[ljaggers]

Good call. However, would you consider the decoding of SACD/DVD-A worth that extra $150 dollars?

 

[Matt34]

Good call. However, would you consider the decoding of SACD/DVD-A worth that extra $150 dollars?

Is it worth it too you? Really that is what matters. He may not need a DVD-A or SACD player.

 

[ljaggers]

Is it worth it too you? Really that is what matters. He may not need a DVD-A or SACD player.

You know, as pathetic as it is, I do. Funny thing is, the brand name alone makes it the most appealing. Makes an interesting discussion for percieved value. It's funny how our brains work.

 

[j_garcia]

There are already like 5 discussions on this in the sources area. Mods please move this one there too or merge it.