Official OPPO BDP-83 Owner's Thread [technical talk only] - Page 1048

For each input in prepro setup I can choose analog, digital, and video. In the analog selections I can't choose off/none...have to select something. I set analog to 1...as if it matters...there is no current analog connected. I then set audio digital to hdmi and video off. I get 2ch or dsp's like prologic, etc. I am just going to use what I had. When I press 'watch dvd' on my remote(harmony) it will switch to dvd input and the 7.1 as signal source. When I press listen to cd on remote it will switch to cd input and use the hdmi as signal transfer. I'm over it. Until I upgrade this will do. Pissed.

I have not updated the firmware in a while as I'm on the January Official firmware. I was watching Sherlock Holmes last night via HDMI and it was fine. I tried to finish it this afternoon and I could not see anything. I can see that it is sort of working as my screen goes from gray to black, but I get no picture. I even took the disc out and I don't see the home screen. I was on a switch, but my other device that is on there works fine. I directly connected my Oppo via HDMI and still a blank screen. I unplugged it for an hour and still no luck. I just hooked it up Component and I can see the home screen. I'm going to try the new firmware, but I really hope that works. I had my Oppo almost been a year and have not used it that much anymore since I got a Dune. I hope it is still under warrenty.

Updated the firmware and it did not work.

Luckily, I decided to try one more thing. I turned off my TV and then turned off the the Oppo. I turned on the Oppo first and then my TV and now it is working again. Wierd. I hope it holds up.

Updated the firmware without issue.

However, there is still a sync issue on Saving Private Ryan for me... chapters 15 and on. Guh.

Are you sure you aren't viewing through the box that Pandora came in???

Thanks for the heads up on the 0dB thing...I'll check that.

If you go look at the thread for this title, a lot of people are reporting sync problems on different players. I don't think it is a BDP-83 issue.

-Bill

I'm aware of this, I was just hoping that I'd be able to have the issue go away with a new firmware since other people are having no problems with this at all (other people who own a BDP-83 that is). Ah well, so much for that.

So, is this a disc issue that one can return to the seller?

I am currently running the BDP-83-48-1224 firmware. I downloaded the BDP-83-50-0424 zip file and extracted the UPG folder. The instructions say there should be three files:

BDP-83.bin
DVD.BIN
MCU83-1.BIN

I see five files. In addition to the three above I see:

BDP-83.SIGN
DVD430.BIN

What are these two extra files? Why are they not referenced in the instructions?

The 0620 update did not have these files. The 0925 added the DVD430.BIN and the 1224 added the BDP-83.SIGN. Does anyone know why? Just curious.

They are referenced in the instructions.
There are 2 different loader revisions requiring different firmware. The signature file authenticates a genuine Oppo firmware.

Sure, if you are unhappy with it. I haven't followed the history of the title so don't know if a replacement would be any better.

-Bill

Is there a way to force 7.1 sound to get sound in both the sides and rear speakers or is that always done in the AVR? I have an Integra 70.1 and playing some DVDs I only get 5.1 sound.

Thanks

First, that is because those DVDs (most, in fact) only have 5.1. However, your AVR has at least two modes for deriving 7.1 from 5.1.

How are you connected and where are the soundtracks being decoded?

Im about to get a BDP-83 (mainly to watch DVDs) but I was wondering if I could save some money by buying an upconverting receiver, like an Onkyo or something and not buying the BDP-83. In this way, I will be getting a new receiver and an upconverting dvd player (kinda) all in one component. If I bought a new receiver, I would connect my existing Sony Progressive Scan DVD player (non-upconverting) player to the new receiver with Component cables (my old Sony DVD player doesnt have HDMI). Would this configuration work? Would the picture quality be as good as if I bought the BDP-83 and used that as my DVD player by itself?

Oops, so they are referenced! I had only checked the instructions on the first page of this thread, and not the Oppo page. Thanks, rdgrimes.

I bought the oppo for its anchor chip that performs amazing upconversion to the extent that you dont need to buy blu-ray discs and your old dvds will look pretty close to blu-ray.You will not get that quality on most upconverting blu -ray players let alone receivers that upconvert.

Has anyone had reoccuring problems with freezing specifically on universal blu rays with the new firmware?

Ever since I upgraded it the first two univeral blus I tried (2 different titles, but both universal) they both froze the first time I played them at the exact same spot. You click play and it runs you through the gauntlet of intro screens on all universal discs, and then when it finally switches tracks to the actual movie title track and the actual movie starts, it hung right there on both different universal titles. I've never had it freeze on any universal titles before, and I've watched my fair share before this.

Also I DID clear the persistent storage when I upgraded the firmware, which was prior to it freezing on both of the discs.

Your theory is one way to go, but you probably won't get as good of PQ as you would with a player like the BDP-83, unless...
Unless your current player can output the native res of dvd (480i), and do a good job at it too.
Just as well, you'd have to buy a pretty good avr to be able to match the capabilities of the BDP-83, which has the ABT2010 chip doing the scaling, and arguably even more important, the deinterlacing.
You'll also not get Blu-ray playback with your current player, not to mention all of the other awesome features of the BDP-83.

Another option is to go for broke and get that new AVR with high end scaling/deinterlacing, and also get a BDP-80 and send Source Direct to the AVR and let it do it's magic.
One more advantage to this type of setup is you are able to also route your other sources like cable/satellite/roku though the avr to clean up those images too.
AND: Even another way to go would be to get the BDP-80, a lower end but quality hdmi 1.3-or-1.4 avr, and then add an external scaler like a DVDO Edge to do all the video processing.
That final scenario could be done for as little as $1150...
(Yamaha RX-V665 = $350, DVDO Edge = $500, OPPO BDP-80 = $300)
...and those are prices from authorized dealers today.

HDMI set to Bitstream

I use my BDP-83 to mainly watch DVDs. On occasion I do get a BD disc from time to time, particularly action or sci-fi flicks heavy in special effects. (Star Trek 2009, Angels and Demons, etc.) Dramas, comedies, etc. I don't see much need in BD given the Oppo's upscaling. I don't have a huge screen or projector, which might make a bigger difference toward BD (mine 46"). I've just left my netflix que at DVD.

The Oppo BDP-83 does a fantastic job with DVD. It was worth every penny. I'd buy it again tomorrow.

There are things an SD-DVD player has to do correctly even if you are not asking it to scale the SD video up to higher resolution. The BDP-83 does those things correctly. If your current player does not do them correctly then there's nothing that a fancy, scaling receiver can do to undo the damage already done by the player.

Note however that to get the best video from the BDP-83, it must be connected to an HDMI device -- either directly to an HDMI TV or via an HDMI receiver.
--Bob

No problems with Universal titles here. If you have a repeatable failure you should call Oppo tech support.
--Bob

No such problems here on that disc.

From what I'm reading elsewhere, it seems that if you call Paramount in LA, they've been acknowledging there is an issue with Saving Private Ryan, and that they'll most likely have replacement discs soon. They're taking names and #'s... now, if only I knew their number...

I have given up on the use of my 1.2 hdmi prepro...went back to the 7.1 analogs...could not be happier. Pat Metheny br crankin the house now. Saw the Orchestrion show at Chapel Hill UNC...blew me away...it was stupid good.

Actually, DVDO Edge and OPPO BDP-83 use the same ABT chip. I have both Edge and BDP-83. I have set the OPPO to Source Direct and am letting the DVDO do all my video processing. I would not go to the extent of saying that you will not need Blu Ray but for well authored DVDs, it does get pretty close.

That's correct, and I also have a similar setup. I thought for a very long time that I should have an external scaling source to run everything through.
I don't watch a lot of television, so I always got by on what the cable box provided, and relied on the OPPO scaling from current and past players to do the job for my disc watching.
Recently though, I finally aquired an Edge for a nice price used, and have 2 systems running through it, with the BDP-80 in Source Direct in the family room, and the BDP-83 also in Source Direct in the theater room.
Now I can run any/all sources through the Edge and they all come out looking as good as the BDP-83 running full tilt.

As an addition to the previous post, there are also available, good displays/televisions with good scaling.
However, once again, it's very hard to equal what is in the BDP-83 without spending a lot of money.
These days, it's easy to grab a decent avr without video processing for a few hundred bucks, this in comparison to the expensive ones containing high end scaling. Same goes for the display too.
AND, as Bob mentions above, you need a great player that does everything right to put in one of the slots, and that is where OPPO comes in. Adding an external (reasonably priced) scaler like a DVDO Edge, in combination with an OPPO -83 and/or -80 can be a match made in a/v heaven.

Reminds me that just tonight, I had guests visiting from out of town, and one gentleman had never been to my home before.
He walked into my theater and was awed at what he saw.
He went as far as to try and guess how much money I had put into it.
When his best educated guess was literally 5x more than what the actual cost was, he was blown away.
Now his new goal is to add a new garage onto his house and turn the old garage into a home theater.

The player will not be involved in producing rear channel sound. It will be done by your receiver.

Anybody else having problems playing back a 50 Hz 1080i MPEG-TS in 16:9? I just downloaded the new 50-0424 firmware and was really pleased I can now view streamed MPEG-TS from my QNAP TwonkyMedia server. However when I play a 16:9 50 Hz 1080i TS it's squeezed down to 4:3. All my other 16:9 files (MKV, AVI, etc) play correctly. I see the problem with the BDP-83's video output set to "16:9 Wide" and "16:9 Wide/Auto".