OPPO BDP-95 Blu-ray Player First Look

[PearlcorderS701]

In fact 90% of the time I am very happy to use my $89 Toshiba XDE-500 to watch DVD.

Oh boy...

You have to be one of the first end users of the XDE upscaling DVD player I have "spoken" with who has found this deck to be anything but reliable or suitable for crisp, clean DVD playback...

Try even a PS3 slim, you may be surprise how good it is, watching DVD movies. It won't be as good as your 83, but it will be close.

I doubt that -- but regardless, I would never use a gaming console as a primary disc player for film playback, regardless of how many do use the PS3 as a DVD/BD player; I realize this system can do CDs, BDs, DVDs, etc. but I just don't like the idea of serious film watching left to a gaming device (its primary role).

Well at least we are in agreement on this one. I have a few DVD, including newer ones such as 'Finding Neverland' that even Oppo cannot do much about. And then I have a few that can truly compete with some piss poor BRs.

What was wrong on the DVD transfer of Finding Neverland? Was it that bad? Most of the titles I'm talking about when I spoke of the BDP-83's inability to make them look any better were older, back catalog titles that are just riddled with so much noise and compression problems, it's worth turning the disc off and going to sleep -- examples include HBO Home Video's release of the Rutger Hauer/C Thomas Howell classic The Hitcher (one of the most horrid DVD transfers I've ever seen, with a snowy, staticky noise and grain that litters almost every scene -- it makes the film look like it was taped off an over-the-air station from a TV with rabbit ears), the Goodtimes Home Video release (Full Screen 4:3 version with the uncut music tracks which make this film, hence the reason I will only own this version and not Universal's subsequently released "cut" edited version) of the Sly Stallone/Rutger Hauer camp classic Nighthawks (much like The Hitcher, with ridiculous artifacting, noise and garbage all over the transfer; it's really ugly) or even slightly newer titles like Warner's edge-enhanced, ugly-looking No Reservations with Catherine Zeta Jones, which appears with nasty ringing and artifacting around every character and object in every frame of the film -- don't know what went wrong there, but my Oppo BDP-83 won't clean this transfer up, even with Noise Reduction engaged...

I do too, as I have quite a few DVDs in my collection. I also enjoy Netflix and fortunately my Kuro does a decent job upscaling. Again, it is not that I don't value upconversion/scaling. It is just that I find my other players can do the job almost as good as the Oppo. Back to the 83 vs 93, from reviews I read, the 93 scores as well as the 83 in synthetic tests. I doubt one performs better than the other and if you are looking for direct, certifiable differences I am not sure if you will find one. If you do, I hope you would share the information as I would be very curious to know the outcome.

Well, I will take your word for your intention explanation here, but I was merely going by the statements you made in the previous post with regard to the DVD upscaling issue being beat to death too much and the way I took your other statements to mean you felt most players do the same kind of job for this duty -- I clearly saw a difference, as I said, between my Panasonic and the Oppo...there's no comparison, and DVDs didn't just look like DVD between these two machines; there was an immediate difference.

As for comparing the two Oppos, if I ever get some kind of concrete evidence or information, I will be sure to let you know -- this is being discussed in detail on forums like Blu-ray.com and AVS but I don't think there has been any conclusions formulated on whether or not the BDP-95 performs any "better" on DVD upscaling than the 83.

Okay I understand. You are right, for me, I actually wish if Oppo would offer a lower cost audio only player. I also would not have bothered with the Oppo had I not replaced my 4308 with the AV7005. The Marantz cannot do MCH SACD and DVDA so I had to do something.

Well, if that's what you needed, that's what you needed -- we all have our demands and requirements. Me, not getting into SACD or DVD-Audio and also always keeping my audio system separated from the home theater, didn't need a player with superior analog interfaces out back or support for these formats; all I wanted and required was superior DVD upscaling for my massive collection and bitstreaming capability for TrueHD and Master Audio, which is kind of a given now (but wasn't when I bought my first generation Panasonic BD player).

 

[PENG]

Oh boy...

You have to be one of the first end users of the XDE upscaling DVD player I have "spoken" with who has found this deck to be anything but reliable or suitable for crisp, clean DVD playback...

And I have been laughed at (understandably) for even mentioning that player. Actually there were two reviews I have read on the XDE. One by the British HCC, they gave it very good rating. The other was by Ultimate HT....something and the benchmark tests show excellent results. That being said I would not say this deck to be reliable as I don't have a lot of hours on it but I do not someone had problems with it within the first year. The fact that it first came up people thought Toshiba tried to launch it to compete with BR, well you know what that meant, so the rest was history.

I doubt that -- but regardless, I would never use a gaming console as a primary disc player for film playback, regardless of how many do use the PS3 as a DVD/BD player; I realize this system can do CDs, BDs, DVDs, etc. but I just don't like the idea of serious film watching left to a gaming device (its primary role).

I share your view on this too, I mainly use it for Netfix and streaming. In Canada, there isn't much choice, PS3 is one of the earlier vehicle for Netflix HD 5.1 programs. I only mentioned it as a ref point because I am able to compare the PS3 back and forthe with the Oppo, by memory of course as I have only one display.

What was wrong on the DVD transfer of Finding Neverland? Was it that bad?

I was totally surprised too. It is one of the DVD on my shelf that I intend to bring it in to Best buy when they offer a $5 trade-in, for perhaps the Sound of Music BR or something. Could you tell one the worse transfer you know of that even your 83 cannot do good with so I can rent it and try it with the 95? Ironically, all of my old James Bond DVDs look superb with any of my players. I am sure they have been 'remastered' but still, the films are very old.

all I wanted and required was superior DVD upscaling for my massive collection and bitstreaming capability for TrueHD and Master Audio, which is kind of a given now (but wasn't when I bought my first generation Panasonic BD player).

I think you already own the perfect player. From all I have read so far, the 83 probably is a better player for DVD than the 93 but again, I look forward to your sharing if you manage to find any solid proof of that.

By the way, I do remember reading about the second and third generation Panasonic BDPs do a much better job upscaling/conversion than the first generation one. They may use the same Uniphier chip but the devil is in the implementation. For example, the Marantz AV7005 has the latest ABT2015, but I am 100% sure the 2010 in the Oppo 83 does a much better job upscaling than the Marantz.

 

[PearlcorderS701]

And I have been laughed at (understandably) for even mentioning that player. Actually there were two reviews I have read on the XDE. One by the British HCC, they gave it very good rating. The other was by Ultimate HT....something and the benchmark tests show excellent results. That being said I would not say this deck to be reliable as I don't have a lot of hours on it but I do not someone had problems with it within the first year. The fact that it first came up people thought Toshiba tried to launch it to compete with BR, well you know what that meant, so the rest was history.

LOL -- no worries; your secret is safe with me. I do know Toshiba intended this to not really "compete" with Blu-ray but to launch it as a "response" after their death in the HD DVD camp; they were counting on upconverted DVD as a worthwhile alternative to real high definition (i.e. Blu-ray) but from everything I read, including Josh Zyber's review in Home Theater on this deck in which he found it to deliver sub par performance (whatever that's worth ), they just didn't succeed. I don't have personal experience with the players, so I can't comment. I was considering one, though, to be honest, after the poor performance I was experiencing with the Panasonic BD player...

I share your view on this too, I mainly use it for Netfix and streaming. In Canada, there isn't much choice, PS3 is one of the earlier vehicle for Netflix HD 5.1 programs. I only mentioned it as a ref point because I am able to compare the PS3 back and forthe with the Oppo, by memory of course as I have only one display.

Indeed; I just personally wouldn't use a gaming console to play films for serious viewing, as I do in my home, even if I was a gamer (which I'm not).

I was totally surprised too. It is one of the DVD on my shelf that I intend to bring it in to Best buy when they offer a $5 trade-in, for perhaps the Sound of Music BR or something. Could you tell one the worse transfer you know of that even your 83 cannot do good with so I can rent it and try it with the 95? Ironically, all of my old James Bond DVDs look superb with any of my players. I am sure they have been 'remastered' but still, the films are very old.

Well, as I said, two titles that look absolutely horrendous even on the BDP-83 (did you see where I referenced these in my last post?) are the original Hitcher from HBO Home Video (you won't be able to find this to rent) and the Goodtimes Home Video full screen version of Nighthawks, but I don't think you would be able to find this either; try renting, though, the Catherine Zeta Jones cooking film No Reservations and tell me how that one fares, as that's another piss poor transfer from Warner...

I think you already own the perfect player. From all I have read so far, the 83 probably is a better player for DVD than the 93 but again, I look forward to your sharing if you manage to find any solid proof of that.

I appreciate the sentiment as it does make me feel better about my player )) and I will keep you informed of any feedback I get from others on this comparison, but I don't really see how the 93 could be bested by the 83 in terms of DVD playback, as the 93 boasts a more "upscale" processing solution...doesn't it? Doesn't the 93 have the Marvel processor in it, and isn't that supposed to be "superior" to the 83's Anchor Bay solution?

By the way, I do remember reading about the second and third generation Panasonic BDPs do a much better job upscaling/conversion than the first generation one. They may use the same Uniphier chip but the devil is in the implementation. For example, the Marantz AV7005 has the latest ABT2015, but I am 100% sure the 2010 in the Oppo 83 does a much better job upscaling than the Marantz.

Yes -- you are correct about the Panasonics; supposedly, the next generation players did much better at DVD upscaling. However, at that point already, I was hearing all about the launch of Oppo's BDP-83 and how its Anchor Bay processor was supposed to be the best of the best in terms of scaling and processing, so I wasn't going to do another Panasonic, at that time.

 

[goodman]

UPS delivered my BDP-95 on Friday. It is heavy. I installed it, played with it, and eventually removed my Sony DVD/SACD player and my PS3 from the system. I wired it with 5.1 analog outs and stereo analog outs. I also installed a coax audio cable and an optical audio cable, thinking I could send digital audio to my receiver for standard Dolby Digital and DTS. So far, this doesn't seem to work - all formats seem to emanate from the BDP-95 through the analog outs. The picture and sound, while very good, are not noticeably superior, except for DTS HD MA and Dolby True Surround, which are superior. The question is: am I getting DTS HD MA and Dolby True HD through the analog outs or merely uncompressed audio? Even if it is only uncompressed audio, it sounds much better than squawky DD and DTS. How much better would the uncompressed audio be if I spring for an HDMI-equipped receiver?

 

[Ron Temple]

UPS delivered my BDP-95 on Friday. It is heavy. I installed it, played with it, and eventually removed my Sony DVD/SACD player and my PS3 from the system. I wired it with 5.1 analog outs and stereo analog outs. I also installed a coax audio cable and an optical audio cable, thinking I could send digital audio to my receiver for standard Dolby Digital and DTS. So far, this doesn't seem to work - all formats seem to emanate from the BDP-95 through the analog outs. The picture and sound, while very good, are not noticeably superior, except for DTS HD MA and Dolby True Surround, which are superior. The question is: am I getting DTS HD MA and Dolby True HD through the analog outs or merely uncompressed audio? Even if it is only uncompressed audio, it sounds much better than squawky DD and DTS. How much better would the uncompressed audio be if I spring for an HDMI-equipped receiver?

My understanding is that the player converts the codecs and sends it as PCM to your receiver, but your are getting the entire package. As far as HDMI bitstream being better...that will depend on the DACs in the AVR or pre plus any automatic eq added.

In my case, I was using a legacy pre/pro with my 83SE. The player always displayed which codec version was on the disk and sent it along PCM. When I moved over to an Onk 1007 via HDMI w/Audyssey the differences are subtle, but I have no real preference. I do prefer the Oppo DACs for 2 channel and MCH so I'm connected both ways. However, I haven't found a way to force the signal to either analog or HDMI. If it's a DTS MA or DDTHD, then it goes via HDMI. DVDA and SACD go analog and the AVR display shows MUltichannel. If a BD only offers uncompressed PCM, then it goes analog.

 

[Techlord]

I'm sure at some point someone could do a comparison between the 83SE and the BDP-95 and even the BDP-93, while I'm not interested in 3D whatsoever its hard to imagine being able to see a dramatic difference in video quality of the VRS 2010 chip vs the new kid on the block. The only thing I upgrade every two years is my computer, you know who you are. Anyhow it will be interesting to see the differences between (excluding the XLR outputs) the 83SE and the new kid in town!

-Techlord

 

[PENG]

I'm sure at some point someone could do a comparison between the 83SE and the BDP-95 and even the BDP-93, while I'm not interested in 3D whatsoever its hard to imagine being able to see a dramatic difference in video quality of the VRS 2010 chip vs the new kid on the block. The only thing I upgrade every two years is my computer, you know who you are. Anyhow it will be interesting to see the differences between (excluding the XLR outputs) the 83SE and the new kid in town!

-Techlord

You can see such user reviews by visiting avsforum and I have read more than one HT magazine reviews that offer some sort of comparisons as well. From what I can remember, they said the 83, 93, 95 are basically equal in PQ and the 83 SE and 95 are better in SQ. Between the SE and the 95 I don't think anyone said anything about which one was better in SQ.

 

[PearlcorderS701]

You can see such user reviews by visiting avsforum and I have read more than one HT magazine reviews that offer some sort of comparisons as well. From what I can remember, they said the 83, 93, 95 are basically equal in PQ and the 83 SE and 95 are better in SQ. Between the SE and the 95 I don't think anyone said anything about which one was better in SQ.

Hello Again PENG,

Oh, so okay -- you got your answer then regarding the PQ between these decks...didn't you? They're basically the same, picture quality wise, between the 83, 93 and 95? Isn't that what you and I were discussing earlier in this thread? And is that PQ with regard to DVD or Blu-ray quality?