OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray player discussion thread*

How about one of those Hi-res DVD-R's from Reference Recordings? Tried any of those? have any of those?

 

I do not have any of those.

The player will work find with both 24/96 DADs and 24/192 DADs.

 

ISO files are images. When you use one to burn a DVD-R, the software you burn them with looks at what's in the ISO, and burns what is contained in it to the DVD; not the actual ISO itself. Generally for DVDs, there will be folders called AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS, which will be put directly onto the DVD's root directory.

Generally, if you author the DVD or DVD-A correctly, it will play on any player that can play DVD-Audio and DVD-Video discs.

 

Great information there. Thanks!

Now will it play my Edison cylinders?

 

A feature I greatly enjoy from my Denon DVD-3910 (and is available on other Denon universal players) is the ability for the player to output to the subwoofer when a 2-channel source is played, via the analog outs.

I hook my player up via the 5.1 analog outs and use it for SACD, DVD-A and normal CD listening. I have my front speakers setup as LARGE, all others as small, plus a subwoofer. The setting in the Denon means that when I listen to a normal CD, it does the bass management to output to the subwoofer as well, which I prefer. This feature is called "bass enhancer" and was the selling point for me. page 24 on: http://www.usa.denon.com/DVD-3930CI-OM-E.pdf "Sets the subwoofer output for when playing 2-channel or other sources without LFE signals."

Otherwise, I'd only get LEFT and RIGHT output via the 5.1 channels when listening to CD, and not get to take advantage of my sub.

In reading through the oppo manual which was posted, I saw no mention of this option. Would you (SamS) be able to communicate back to Oppo as this being something to look into? It is a GREAT feature having the player do the bass management, even on 2-channel sources which do not have specific LFE information (like music CD's). It would be a deal breaker for me, and others I know, to lack this feature.

 

DustinTaj,

I'll check to see if the BDP-83 can do this type of bass management with CDs.

Looks like the guys at Engadget got ahold of one:

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/03/20/oppo-bdp-83-universal-blu-ray-player-hands-on/

A clarification: they don't seem to distinguish between the Early Adopters and the beta testers, refering to one as the other. There is a definite distinction.

 

I confirmed that this type of setup works for stereo CD/SACDs.

In the speaker set up menu, you select only L/R speakers (small), subwoofer set to Yes. There is also a subwoofer level trim +/- 12dB in .5dB steps and distance compensation.

So, this will work as you're wanting it to on the BPD-83. However, you must use the L/R jacks of of the 7.1 analog outputs, not the dedicated L/R jacks.

 

I just wrote an email to Oppo requesting that the $499 price be extended to everyone on the early adoption mailing list once the player is released, if in fact it will be released to the general public at the higher $599 price. I figure we gotta get some kind of consolation prize!

 

Neat! So, what this means is that we can do bass management for standard CD's?

 

Yep.

EDIT: I'm obligated to say that I'm using pre-production firmware. While I don't expect this particular behavior to change, I need to give this caveat until the player is actual made available for general release.

 

What about if you want to have your speakers set to LARGE, as my front speakers are? Is there a separate option somewhere, like the Denon has, to use subwoofer in this situation?

Thanks for looking into it for us!

 

I did some more testing/checking on this for you.

Subwoofer is only active for stereo discs if front L/R is set to small, and Downmix option is set to 5.1/7.1.

 

Thanks for checking. If you provide them feedback, let them know that would be a good feature to add.

 

I have decided to delete this post until I get a clarification from Oppo.

 

Sure, I'll request it. If I get any feedback, I will let you know.

My personal opinion is "if" they added this capability, it would be down the road.

 

Just a bump to see if there is any word on a release to the general public. Getting a little antsy to spend my $$$.

 

No word from Oppo. They have not yet set a price for the player, either.

 

I've got mine, as a member of the Early Adoption Program's second round. Yep, I finally won something.

For the most part it is a fabulous piece of equipment at any price, but there are several minor-to-moderate bugs and operational issues that are going to need a firmware fix before it's ready for the general public (in particular DVD-Audio, which is not functioning reliably yet).

And Oppo has made it quite clear that the player will not be officially released until it's darn well ready.

My advice ... be patient. This thing 95% rocks already, and the other 5% is on its way. I would guess before the end of the month, although I would not bet the farm on it.

 

For whatever reasons it seems that attempts to develope a "Universal" Blu-Ray player(either low budget like Oppo or ultra expensive like Denon) have run into problems. Perhaps these problems are unsurmountable. To date, no manufacturer's attempt to develope a Universal Blu-Ray player has actually resulted in a saleable product.

 

thanks for the update

 

My PS3 plays blu-ray SACD, CD, DVD and games..

 

.....but not DVD-Audio.

 

I have a Denon 3930 for Hi-Rez audio.

All I want is a Blu-Ray video player.
With this in mind, do I need the Oppo?

Or will a decent Panasonic /Sony/Pioneer etc suffice

 

You probably don't need the OPPO if you already have a good hi rez audio player. A basic Panny or Sony player would be more than good enough for Blu-ray.

 

I'm expecting the Oppo to be quite saleable with the next firmware update, any second now. It's already more saleable than a lot of the major brands' general release Blu-Ray players have been.

The Oppo's Blu-Ray picture quality is fantastic, which is true of any good Blu-Ray player. HOWEVER ...

The Oppo has dramatically faster Blu-Ray load times than any other product on the market. Like, 25 seconds vs. 2 minutes. Only the PS3 comes close.

It supports bitstreaming and onboard decoding of all the latest Blu-Ray audio formats.

It has some nifty "zoom" settings for use with anamorphic lens projectors, letterboxed standard def footage and other situations you may run into. It has an underscan mode too.

And if you're planning to play any standard definition DVDs on your Blu-Ray player, the Oppo contains Anchor Bay's latest VRS upscaler, an update of the one in their 983 DVD player. No Blu-Ray player anywhere near the price point can touch it for SD-DVD playback. There are only a couple, WAY above the price point, that are even competitive in this regard. A nicely-mastered DVD can look mighty close to HD on this thing.

And then, of course, there's Oppo's super-human customer service. You can email them on a weekend with a question or problem, and they'll be back to you with a personal response within hours ... sometimes minutes. Lotsa luck getting that from Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer or Denon.

You will be paying a bit extra for these things, as well as the Hi-Rez audio, the playback of assorted video file formats, and the BD-Live support (big whoop-de-doo). It's also a bit more complicated to use than your typical Black Friday special. You have to decide if it's worth it.

It most definitely is for me, and that's with the buggy EAP firmware.