Is Oppo the way to go?

[son-yah-tive]

I'm sorry to ask this. But, trying to compare the advantages of the Oppo BDP-83 to other comparable DVD players is daunting. I guess I just need a player that would work best with the Emotiva UMC-1. Since the UMC-1 has a lot of Dolby formats, will other players be in be in the same performance range of the Oppo at a lower price? I read that the Oppo can convert regular DVDs to Blue Ray quality, is this so? Is this Anchor Bay a real advantage? I'll just be using it for DVDs, no CDs; internet, or other formats. I just want the best PICTURE and SOUND for movies. Thank you.

 

[jamie2112]

I would go with the Oppo myself.Just sayin......

 

[son-yah-tive]

Thanks for the comment. I just need to know FOR SURE the advantages of the Oppo. I need more to go on. I know the BDP-83 is a great player, but is it that far ahead of everyone else? Ads and graphs are one thing, but what real differences shows up in the real world. Is there really a DVD player that is the best above all the others? If the Oppo is I'm ready, but if other brands are comparable I'd like to know that too.

 

[jliedeka]

Upconverted DVDs will not look as good as Blu Rays but a good quality scaler like in the Oppo will make them look pretty good on a HDTV. I use the Oppo because of the support for nearly all optical formats and because its audio and video processing are better than anything else in my signal chain.

If you have a pre-pro or receiver that does good processing, the Oppo may be overkill - especially if you don't care about SACD and DVD-A. In that situation, I would just get a BD player that loads fast and not worry about it. If you want to take advantage of the commentary tracks on Blu Rays, you want something that will convert the hi-res audio codecs in the player.

You really can't go wrong with the Oppo. It's an excellent player and I'm not sure there is anything better at any price. If you don't need its capabilities and want to save money, you will probably be fine with a less expensive player.

Jim

 

[TLS Guy]

I'm sorry to ask this. But, trying to compare the advantages of the Oppo BDP-83 to other comparable DVD players is daunting. I guess I just need a player that would work best with the Emotiva UMC-1. Since the UMC-1 has a lot of Dolby formats, will other players be in be in the same performance range of the Oppo at a lower price? I read that the Oppo can convert regular DVDs to Blue Ray quality, is this so? Is this Anchor Bay a real advantage? I'll just be using it for DVDs, no CDs; internet, or other formats. I just want the best PICTURE and SOUND for movies. Thank you.

Do you need a universal player? If so the BD 83 is for you.

 

[termin8ted314]

Im in the same boat. Im looking for a Blu ray player and was considering the oppo but i dont care about the audio portion so im trying to figure out my next best choice.

 

[PENG]

I read that the Oppo can convert regular DVDs to Blue Ray quality, is this so?

I don't own an Oppo but I doubt any player can convert DVDs to BR quality. My players can play some DVDs to near BR quality but I am talking about seleced DVDs and selected BRs. The average BR quality BRs will always look much better than the average DVDs.

Is this Anchor Bay a real advantage?

Not always, it depends on how it is implemented, the ABT chip itself cannot guarantee the "real advantage" that you may be referring to. My own experience is that the quality of the transfer (DVDs) itself has much more impact on PQ than the upscaling circuitry of the individual players. I did notice at least two exceptions though, the Sony S350 seemed slightly worse and the Toshiba XDE500 (I can imagine people laugh at this but I am reported my own experience) seemed slightly better in general. Otherwise in real world applications I believe there are little noticeable difference. In synthetic tests, the Oppo is probably unbeatable.

I'll just be using it for DVDs, no CDs; internet, or other formats. I just want the best PICTURE and SOUND for movies.

So you will not be taking full advantage of the Oppo that is an universal player. Is speed and quietness important to you? The Oppo is reportedly fast, not top, but probably near top performer in this department. It is also reportedly quiet.

There are players as quiet as the Oppo but not as fast, and there are players that are as fast or even faster but probably not as quiet. You told us the features that are important to you but depending on what features (example: how about speed?) are not important to you, there may be players that can satisfy your needs for much less money than the Oppo 83.

 

[TLS Guy]

I have had my Oppo BD 83 for a few months now. It is a great performer.

I reviewed it previously.

I think it is very good value for money. I would have expected to pay more for this level of performance.

I have not observed the fan cutting in, but there is plenty of space in my racks, with heavy cooling and air extraction, so I don't have problems with overheating.

According to Admin, Denon are going to introduce a competitive player at slightly reduced cost. However don't be surprised if the manual is in pigeon English, like the manual for my Marantz pre/pro.

The Oppo has a very classy presentation. I can't believe it for the money.

 

[j_garcia]

It has already been said quite a few times. If you don't need SACD/DVD-A capability, then you don't need to go with the BDP-83. PQ isn't going to change much with most decent players.

 

[supervij]

Don't forget the stellar customer service for which Oppo is renowned. E-mail them a problem or question and they'll generally get back to you within hours. You think you're gonna get that from Denon or Yamaha? Heck, I once spent three weeks on and off trying to get a simple question answered by Pioneer!

Plus, their firmware updates are speedy and there's tons of info on what's going into them. Their manual is in plain English and very easy to understand. They pack an HDMI cable with their player. They give you the Spears & Munsil calibration Blu-ray plus the AIX Records calibration and music Blu-ray. Is there any other company that puts that much thought into the little things for its customers? So yeah, I'd say Oppo is the way to go. And remember, they have the 83 but also the 80, which is significantly less expensive.

cheers,
supervij

 

[TLS Guy]

Don't forget the stellar customer service for which Oppo is renowned. E-mail them a problem or question and they'll generally get back to you within hours. You think you're gonna get that from Denon or Yamaha? Heck, I once spent three weeks on and off trying to get a simple question answered by Pioneer!

Plus, their firmware updates are speedy and there's tons of info on what's going into them. Their manual is in plain English and very easy to understand. They pack an HDMI cable with their player. They give you the Spears & Munsil calibration Blu-ray plus the AIX Records calibration and music Blu-ray. Is there any other company that puts that much thought into the little things for its customers? So yeah, I'd say Oppo is the way to go. And remember, they have the 83 but also the 80, which is significantly less expensive.

cheers,
supervij

That's the whole point. There is no point in making anything if the customer can't use it easily.

The set up of the BD 83 has the best ergonomics I have ever seen, is this slap dab age we live in.

If that player lasts 10 ir more times longer than anything else, which it may well, then Oppo owners get the last laugh.

For what you get that player is downright cheap.

We get obsessed on these forums with low priced POS, that we can't seem to see a real bargain, when one stares us in the face.

 

[gonk]

According to Admin, Denon are going to introduce a competitive player at slightly reduced cost. However don't be surprised if the manual is in pigeon English, like the manual for my Marantz pre/pro.

The Denon player that was announce recently is not equal to the BDP-83. It is a new 3D model, but aside from that it is comparable to the BDP-80 (a $290 player): it omits the BDP-83's and BDP-80's multichannel analog outputs (which doesn't matter to the original poster) and it doesn't have the BDP-83's ABT2010 processor (which does matter to the original poster, since the UMC-1's video processing isn't on par with the ABT). Also, the Audioholics announcement that you mention overlooked a couple things (such as the DLNA support that the BDP-83 does now offer and the fact that the BDP-83 does allow the use of USB to expand the internal memory - something that the article mentions is uncertain, even though there's a menu setting for just this purpose that has been available on the BDP-83 from day one).

 

[j_garcia]

Don't forget the stellar customer service for which Oppo is renowned. E-mail them a problem or question and they'll generally get back to you within hours. You think you're gonna get that from Denon or Yamaha? Heck, I once spent three weeks on and off trying to get a simple question answered by Pioneer!

Plus, their firmware updates are speedy and there's tons of info on what's going into them. Their manual is in plain English and very easy to understand. They pack an HDMI cable with their player. They give you the Spears & Munsil calibration Blu-ray plus the AIX Records calibration and music Blu-ray. Is there any other company that puts that much thought into the little things for its customers? So yeah, I'd say Oppo is the way to go. And remember, they have the 83 but also the 80, which is significantly less expensive.

cheers,
supervij

Customer support is definitely one of the biggest things you are getting with Oppo. No player is perfect when it ships out the door from a manufacturer, but as things go, Oppo has had the best support of any player I've ever owned, even the $160 ones Speaking of firmware, ther beta has been upgraded to final and a new official version available.

 

[son-yah-tive]

That's the whole point. There is no point in making anything if the customer can't use it easily.

The set up of the BD 83 has the best ergonomics I have ever seen, is this slap dab age we live in.

If that player lasts 10 ir more times longer than anything else, which it may well, then Oppo owners get the last laugh.

For what you get that player is downright cheap.

We get obsessed on these forums with low priced POS, that we can't seem to see a real bargain, when one stares us in the face.

That's a great point! And from what I've read in the responses I've received, Oppo seems to be really involved with their product. As though they take a lot of pride in it, as SUPERVIJ reminded me. Sometimes it's not JUST the product, but the company behind it that makes all the difference. Thank you all for your help. I was already leaning toward the OPPO, but, just needed the nudge you all provided. Thank's again..BOB

 

[Gov]

Do you need a universal player? If so the BD 83 is for you.

AMEN!!!! A big plus 1!!!!!

 

[avliner]

Yeah, I think Oppo is the way to go indeed!

I have a 983 model, which has the ABT chispet and now I got the BDP-80 and couldn't be happier, as now I have the best from both worlds, though

 

[son-yah-tive]

Okay OPPO BD-83 it is. I guess OPPO DVD Players don't have special sales. I've looked everywhere, I think? So, I guess I can just throw a dart and order one from anybody for 499.00, or does it matter which vender you order from?

 

[avliner]

Why don't you support your local AH forum and buy it thru them??
Full factory warranty, just the same as buying directly from Oppo though

 

[son-yah-tive]

Thanks Chuck. I tend to forget about the site as a buying tool for some reason. I almost forgot to do that too, back when I was looking for cables. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[j_garcia]

Get the SE Even though you don't need it because you are going HDMI...