OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player with SACD, DVD-Audio, and VRS Technology by OPPO Digital, Inc.
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List Price: Our Price: $425.00 You Save: $74.99 (15%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home Theater See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player with SACD, DVD-Audio, and VRS Technology
Digital camera Review: A "High End" piece of equipment at a moderate price
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, you can get excellent Blu-Ray playback more cheaply and media streaming (e.g. netflix, pandora) as well elsewhere. It's the range and quality of media play back (e.g. SACD) and the picture adjustability offered that isn't offered at this price point elsewhere. A good example of such omission is the recent CNET review, which while generally laudatory, makes the comparision to cheaper players with more features and fails to make comparisions with the more expensive players such as Denon, Pioneer, and Sony's top of the range offerings. With the Oppo you get those feature sets, and equal or superior performance at a substantial savings. If you've invested in a good Home Theater rig, you can't go wrong with this player. Additionally, you'll get Oppo's excellent customer support, which based on my experience always goes the extra mile to address user issues.Digital camera Review: A Blu-ray Universal Player That Does Everything Well!
Summary: 5 Stars
This was my first Blu-ray player; I deliberately waited for awhile until the technology had settled down before taking the Blu-ray plunge.
Other factors that influenced my decision to act were the inclusion of SACD, Dolby True HD, DTS Master Audio, and DVD-A decoding as well as its ability to play the usual assortment of DVD and Blu-ray discs. Playing back the new uncompressed audio formats in surround sound is a blast; I'm confident the audio engineering for these new uncompressed formats will only improve as the engineers gain more experience with the opportunities these formats provide!
I bought this machine in August of last year and am pleased to report absolutely no problems to date. One of the first things I did was to hook it up to an Ethernet network and sure enough it acquired, downloaded, and installed an update almost right away.
Let me emphasize the importance of updating this player; it is much more like a computer than the DVD players we have been using. The latest update came out on May 5, 2010 and includes some important changes. If you do not have yours connected to the web, I strongly recommend you go to the OPPO web site and download the update and the instructions for installing it. You can download it to your computer and transfer it to your player by either memory stick or disc. The player has a setup menu that gives you the choice of which you want to use.
As far as the performance of the player goes, it does a fabulous job; I have been very pleased with its performance on Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and all of the audio only media that I have.
If you are in the market to buy your first Blu-ray player, or you need to upgrade to a newer model the BDP-83 is a great choice. I recommend it highly!
Digital camera Review: A Disappointment
Summary: 1 Stars
In my experience, the OPPO Blu-ray plays only about 80% of new Blu-ray discs and about the same percentage of DVD's. On others, it repeatedly locks up, skips, or hesitates. A very annoying machine. I regret buying it.Digital camera Review: A Great Universal Play
Summary: 5 Stars
What can be said, but this is one of the best media players I have purchased. Not only does it offer superior video playback but the audio playback is exceptional. This media player has the ability to play both SACD and HDCD and does so in an outstanding looking chassis. From an audiophile standpoint, the re-produced soundstage is outstanding. The crisp and dept of the music reproduction is clearly evident in its reproduction. This media player is a great addition to my audio video system. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to upgrade their multi-media system or to the first time BD owner.Digital camera Review: A Question of Value
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the second Oppo product that I have purchased; the first being the DV981 DVD player.
As others have already mentioned, the BDP 83 is a very classy unit - from the packaging to the weightiness, appearance and operation of the unit, it exudes a level of quality that very few, if any, mass market consumer electronics possess. The Blu-ray playback quality is very good, although I can't honestly say that I notice a significant difference between it and my 2-year old Panasonic BD35. What IS noticeable is the improved IQ of upconverted DVD's played on the OPPO. I suspect that this is where Anchor Bay's VRS techology pays diffidend. Audio performance is also well above average, with a well-defined soundstage, smooth mids and trebles (ever so slightly on the darker side of neutral) and, most importantly for me, a full bass that serves to underpin any sensibly recorded music. Moreover, this player has the ability to play Super Audio CD's, something valuable to me and other audiophiles but perhaps not for most consumers.
The main issue with this product for most prospective buyers comes down, rightly and inevitably, to price: $500 is quite a bit of money in the here and now marketplace to pay for a Blu-ray player, even a quality one such as this. For most consumers on a budget, I am afraid it may well prove too much - the current line of demarcation for an average BD player being somewhere in the $200 pricepoint. In terms of the Oppo's video performance (the reason for being for most people considering buying it), one can have 85-90 percent of it in another Oppo model (BDP-80) or other name mass market players costing half or less. The audio performance, fine as it is, is almost a throwaway; most consumers between 18-49 (the target demographic for a tech product like this) nowadays listen to their music at home on portable devices connected to inexpensive docking stations/speakers.
With all that being said, it seems clear that Oppo rolled out this product with a 500 dollar pricepoint for a niche group of potential buyers - those who are currently looking for high(er)-end BD players that are not being sold at your local Best Buy, who appreciate quality video AND sound performances and don't mind paying more for incremental improvements. If that is you, then your search can end here.