Official OPPO BDP-83 Owner's Thread [technical talk only] - Page 1276

I have an OPPO BDP-83 for sale good conditions PM me if interested

Anyone else having trouble getting The Amazing Spiderman to play? I erased persistant storage, but still had three lock ups that required a power cycle. Actually got to the menu once, but it froze again before playing. Firmware is up to date. First movie I've ever had trouble playing.

Played perfectly for me last evening start to finish.

same here - we watched The Amazing Spiderman last night w/o issues (got the disc from Netflix).

I watched the amazing spiderman in 3d yesterday on my oppo 93. it worked fine.

Jacob

^ It is quite possible that the disc from Netflix is a "Rental Special" with different authoring from the normal retail release. The usual tip-off is that the rental special contains no, or fewer, Extras bonus content. Check the detailed review on Blu-ray.com for what Extras come on the retail disc.

It looks like the studio has done something funky with the authoring of the retail release. It's always such FUN trying to figure out what stupid thing they tried THIS time to "enhance" their menus, push more previews, load extraneous crap from the network, or foil those meanies who would prefer to play their movie from a hard drive.

I suspect we'll be seeing problem reports on lots of players in short order. Evidently there is a workaround here for folks running into the problem. There should be an answer soon.
--Bob
Edited by Bob Pariseau - 11/10/12 at 12:17pm

Mine is the retail 2D version. It definitely seemed related to the authoring of all the junk at the beginning. I really wish the studios would get there crap together when it comes to Blu. Makes me want to beat the dead horse and wish HD-DVD would have won again! LOL. Oh well...glad to hear it's not just me. If you have any news on the workaround, please let us know ASAP. In the mean time I'll probably try it in the PS3 tonight, or worst case scenario watch the DVD since it was a combo pack. Thanks!

Stick it to Sony by not purchasing their wares. They can go the way of the dodo bird or adapt, their choice.

Mine will not play either on my OPPO/83? It plays fine on my old crappy Samsung BD player no problem........any ideas?

Make sure you are running current firmware.

Turn off BD-Live.

Erase Persistent Storage and power the player off and on.

If still no good: what happens? How long are you waiting?

-Bill

Oh man! Total head slap moment. I apparently turned ON BD-Live at some point...I'm pretty sure it was almost a year ago playing with that Orb caster thingy. I forgot all about that and assumed it was off last night. I erased the persistent storage, but didn't think to check BD-Live. Just did it now and guess what? Yup...loaded that puppy up no problem. I should have known. Thanks much for the reminder Bill! I'll be watching some web slinging tonight!

^ I wish they'd rename it BD-Dead just to set people's expectations correctly...


--Bob

Thanks folks. Disabling bd live fixed it for me.

I forget, does the BDP-83 come with on-board NetFlix app for streaming movies? If it does'nt I will have to sell my (brand-new, never-played) BDP-83 unit and possibly purchase a BDP-103.
Edited by WestCoastD - 11/10/12 at 7:07pm

Bill, call me stupid, but just how does one erase persistent storage? Thanks!

Just had a chance to check my Netflix rental copy of "The Amazing Spider-Man" (2012, 2D Version), Blu-ray.

It is DEFINITELY a "Rental Special". It is lacking the Second Screen app functionality of the retail version.

It's a disc authored with BD-Java, and it's a little on the slow side for initial loading -- 1:31 to start playing the initial Sony logo animation -- but it loads Top Menu reasonably quickly after the previews and the feature also starts reasonably quickly from Top Menu. Repeat loadings have no problem either. (I did erase Persistent Storage before trying all this. My 83 is network connected and I keep BD-Live ON for testing purposes.)

By the way, for folks eyeing the new 103/105, the time to load to the beginning of that initial Sony logo animation on this disc is only 0:39 for those.

---

My guess is that the problem people are running into with the retail version is due to that Second Screen app. I think it likely the disc is trying to load updated disc-side support for that app over the network from Sony's servers (via BD-Live) during the disc loading period. That's either taking a ridiculous amount of time, or actually even wedging -- perhaps due to overloaded servers at Sony.

Which would explain why turning BD-Live OFF cures the problem, because the disc can't go out and get that stuff.

Another possibility is that the disc is hunting for the Second Screen app running on another device on your network. It's hard to really know for sure, but I think one or the other such example of poor studio programming of the disc is likely.

Obviously if you play the disc on an el-cheapo player without BD-Live networking functionality enabled, you wouldn't run into this studio installed gotcha.
--Bob
Edited by Bob Pariseau - 11/11/12 at 12:49am

OK, then, and thanks for the tip, but I have just one more question since I've never delved into this issue before: just what is the function of persistent storage? Thanks again!

Persistent storage mostly saves stuff downloaded via BD-Live, IIRC.

P.S. is a cache of downloaded crap from BD-Live, but it's also a repository for disc-specific data that JAVA likes to leave behind. So even if you keep BD-Live turned off, P.S. continues to collect JAVA droppings. Occasionally a disc will leave behind stuff that inadvertently effects some future disc's programming, and sometimes the data gets corrupted over time.

Think of clearing P.S. as erasing temp files on your PC.

OK, then, so as I understand it, clearing PS becomes a maintenance issue which should be done periodically to get rid of old "JAVA droppings. How often should this be done and afterwards, will it speed up load times or improve player performance? Thanks!

okay, thanks. I'm placing this unit on eBay today to sell. It's never been used (or powered-ON), an original release BDP-83 with original firmware. Brand-new (literally).

Im purchasing a BDP-103, My wife wants to have NetFlix capability (the Samsung TV model we're using in this room doesn't have NetFlix app either). Otherwise I'm happy using the Oppo BDP-83 as is.
Edited by WestCoastD - 11/11/12 at 12:55pm

I've been having problems with my disc tray not opening when I push the eject button. I was able to force it open a few weeks ago without problems, but not tonight. It's jammed halfway open. Does Oppo service these? I live about 45 minutes from their HQ.

^ Sure! Give them a call, and they'll take care of it.
--Bob

Mine did exactly the same thing. When I first power up and press the eject button on the unit, the tray doesn't open, but the "open" turns to "loading" then "no disc". Pressing the eject does nothing. I have to power cycle then maybe if I'm lucky it'll open up.

Contacted oppo tech support and got the standard message about resetting everything, but unfortunately no joy. They will service it out of warranty for $97.

How common is this: I wonder.

Perhaps I should just get the new 103.

I have sent my 83 in twice for a loader problem. The first time, it was the not opening issue. They replaced it for free that time. The 2nd time it was not recognizing any disks (just said no disk on the display). I sent it back again and they repaired it again for $79. Replaced the loader both times. I love the picture/sound quality of this player, but I'm not impressed with its dependability thus far. Their customer service is excellent and fast, but should I really need to send a $500 player back twice for repairs? I bought a Sony BDP-S790 to replace it, but that developed dvd stuttering issues so I'm not sure which I will keep yet. I got a new replacement for the Sony. Anyway, I guess I expect a little more out of a player that costs twice or more than other players.

I also had to send my 83 in twice. the first time was when I was upgrading to the 93. I went to oppo's building and got the new player and left the 83 with them. they fixed it and sent it off that same day. I got it back the next day. months later I had a problem and sent it off to them. they were kind enough to fix it. it was still under warrenty. I ended up selling the player since i had the 93. I only had to send the oppo 93 in once. its been working like a champ ever since.

Jacob

I love my 83, and Oppo's customer service and support. It's great they still keep updating the firmware over 2 years after the launch.

However, given that top of the line blu-ray players can be had at a little over $150 (street), I am wondering if it's worth the $80 to repair this one. True, none of those other units have all the bells/whistles of the Oppo, nor it's superior video processing. None have the wireless reliability either. However, I don't use many of the toys in the unit, and my Kuro looks just fine even when tested with a less expensive player.

Still, it is an Oppo, arguably the best of the breed--just wish they had chosen a better loading mechanism. Then there's the very tempting 103...

Ah well--it's nice to have choices!