Official OPPO BDP-83 Owner's Thread [technical talk only] - Page 1285

A bigger question might involve whether the dedicated stereo analog out is of great value to you, because the 103 doesn't have it.
That said, the features that the 103 has, which the 83 doesn't have, should be given more weight in this decision than the relative analog audio sound quality. They will be very similar, the 83SE and the 103, in that regard. So its really the other features that should drive your decision. the list of things the 103 can do which the 83 cannot is fairly substantial, but if none of them are important to you then the upgrade might make more sense.

If it matters, isn't the 83 the last to have component video out?

No, the -93 has component. Gone on the -103.

-Bill

Thanks fdgrimes for your reply. Yes, dedicated stereo analog is extremely important to me as it is with all audiophiles I would think Niney-Eight of my music listening is done thru 2 channel audio. I can't beleive that OPPO left this option off the 103, if anything they should have included the 83SE option in the 103 and priced it accordingly for those of us who want the best of both worlds with music and movies, (assuming the 105 does not have the 83SE upgrade either).

Looks like to have best of both worlds you would need the 83SE for audio and either the 103 or 105 for blu-rays. Why not have the best of analog stereo and the best of 5.1,7.1, (blu-rays), etc., in the same unit or does the 105 have both?

I can understand that, component video is fairly old technology.

I think it's more the case they want to force HDMI to control us, i.e. copy protection.

That's probably true.

You may be missing the point of the BDP-95 and BDP-105 players, which have improved analog design over the 83SE. That said, much of what was developed for the 83SE analog stages was ported into the 93 and 103 as well. But the 95 and 105 are in a whole new class. Putting the 83SE board into a 105 or 95 would be a downgrade.

If you don't really need the newer features of the 103 and 105, you should strongly consider grabbing a BDP-95 before they vanish completely.

I'd be careful about lumping the 105 with the 103. The 105 has dedicated stereo outputs in both XLR and rca modes, as well as a well regarded headphone amp built in.

There are two Sabre DACs used in the 105, one for multichannel and the other dedicated to stereo outputs. Those choices (among others) and things like the Asynchronous USB input, allowing a straight digital pump of music from a computer to the 105's DACs instead of relying on a music card. Many other choices (toroidal power supply, choices made along the whole signal path), put this in a separate category as far as analog sound quality.

I understand not liking losing a separate output, but given improvements made, the two non-dedicated FL/FR may produce good stereo sound in the 103. It's a good question to ask in the 103 forum, where I know it's been talked about.

Firmware upgrade question:

Just realized I seem to be TWO firmware updates behind-the-times. Lacking both 58-1215 (December 2011) and 59-0117 (March 2012).

Not having any issues (except occasional "drawer opening" issues, which I remedy by keeping a disc in there at all times), but thought maybe I should get up-to-date.

I know that I can usually just jump to the newest firmware update and it will contain all previous updates... but noticed that the December 2011 update contains many more files than the newest March 2012 update.

1. Does this mean I need to perform BOTH firmware updates in order to get all the benefits?

2. I thought I'd heard some grumbling (back in the day) that the December 2011 update somehow adversely affected DVD quality. I think that was why I didn't do that update. Is there any truth to this notion?

^ The firmware comes in three parts: Main, Loader, and Sub/MCU. Check in Setup > Device Setup > Firmware Information to see what versions you have for each. Then go look at the first post of this thread and you'll see the firmware versions for each which were current for each release.

You do not have to install any intermediate firmware versions -- just the latest version for each part. Even though you are two releases behind, it is likely only your Main firmware actually needs an update, which means you can just install the 0117 Official firmware and you are done.
--Bob

I would very much like to buy a refurbished 95, but they are out of stock. Thanks for the suggestion.

deleted persistent storage and still my copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Elia Kazan Collection from Fox connect) freezes at the intro credits . Disc looks mint under lights . Pressed at Cinram (many of their HD-DVD's rotted)

Did you reboot the player after deleting Persistent Storage? That's a required step.

Do you have BD-Live off? If still no good, try in "On". (We advise keeping it off but there have been discs that won't start unless it was on; at least that has seemed to be the case. When you try to load a disc a bunch of times it's not always clear why it finally works).

If still no good, contact OPPO with the title details.

-Bill

does reboot just involve unplugging the power cord for like 30 seconds?

No, just turn it off and on again.

Although: pulling the power for 20 minutes or so has cured obscure problems in the past. I doubt it in this case but you could try it.

-Bill

thanks Bill

Disc still stutters so ill email oppo/fox

A question for the experts here. I own a BDP-83 with the latest firmware installed. I have several Warner Brothers Blu-rays (Batman Begins and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 for example) which frequently cause the player to lock up at 00:00:00 during the loading process. Clearing persistent storage with reboot doesn't fix the problem. The only thing I've found that allows the disc to play is restoring factory settings and then re-entering all my custom settings—a bit of a nuisance. Am I missing something or is this a known issue? Thanks.

James

Is BD-live shut off?

Yes, BD-Live is off.

James

A visual inspection does not mean much: thin films of oil can interfere with laser transmission yet not be visible to the human eye.

Always wash a suspect disc with mild detergent and warm water and rinse well.

I am currently using an Oppo 83SE... From what I also have (a Pioneer BDP-05FD and a Marantz SA-8260 (dedicated CD player, rated class A by Stereophile) the Oppo 83SE definitely an improvement over the other two players. I also have a Pioneer BDP-09FD to play with and it is comparable to the Oppo in some respects. The Oppo is more open but the Pioneer has tighter bass. My brother has a Oppo 83 and the upgrade has a notable improvement in sound. I think $200 is definitely a worthwhile investment and a bang for the buck value. You would have to pay a lot more just to get a decent player. From what I understand, the Oppo 105 is a downgrade in sound over the 95. While the 95 has stacked DACs, the 105 does not. I don't know how the 105 compares to the 83SE but I am willing to say that the 83SE would probably be better sounding over the 103.

Regarding the video quality. I think the latest Qdeo video processors are better than the Anchor Bay for upscaling DVDs to 1080P. The Anchor Bay seems coarser to me than the Qdeo. The Pioneer BDP05/09FD has better DVD PQ than the Oppo.

The consensus is that the 105 sounds a bit better than the 95. There's more to it than stacking the DACs or not as the 105 has a different power supply and other changes to the analog circuitry.

Jon S,

Appreciate the insights. I've been very pleased with the 105's analog sound quality in the theater (have it set up analog for 2-channel and HDMI PCM for multichannel). The living room system isn't using as robust a receiver (14-year-old mid-range Marantz) and is more for casual listening, so I can't really justify buying another 105 for that room. The 83 sounds pretty decent there, but it seems like $200 for the upgrade is probably worthwhile given that I expect to stay with 2-channel analog in that room for the time we'll live here. Audio quality is really the only driver for the decision, as the BDP-83 has always been very satisfying from a video disc playback point of view and I can stream any audio and video desired from a squeezebox or Dish receiver. I'll probably go for the SE upgrade.

Mike

I wonder if going analog on my OPPO 83 would get me better audio vs HDMI? I have a great set of speakers but my Pioneer Elite SC61 has no analog inputs.

I just wanted to know if it's worth the trouble for getting better audio from Bluray movies?

No... not typically for Blu ray movies. Going the analog audio route especially with the 83-SE, the 95, and the 105 is typically for better DAC performance with high resolution audio only formats such as SACD or other high resolution music files. For Blu ray movies, it is much easier to use the digital HDMI connections for better bass management and the plethora of sound field options available with a later model receiver or pre/pro. But in the end, it really depends on the quality of your receiver or processor and what you want to do I guess....

Thanks, i will leave it as it is. I just picked up another mint used OPPO83 and really like both of my 83's. They sure beat my slowwwwww loading Pioneer 51fd and 05 fd BD players.

I am brand new to the world of Blu-ray and Oppo.

There's a BDP-83 for sale at $289 at a local dealer. Haven't checked it out yet, but it's listed as 9/10 condition. Any idea if this is a good deal assuming it's in great working condition? If not, what should I be able to pick up a nice used Oppo for?

Too many posts to sort thru here, so in a nutshell, how does this player stack up re: features and quality and reliability to more recent Oppos?

I had already picked up a Sony BDP-S590, but it's still in the box. So that could be used as a comparison to the Oppo too.

I am not a videophile per se. What is most important to me is nice playback, including no lag etc on action scenes. High quality DVD upconverting is very, very important. Good sound reproduction also key for playing concert DVDs, many of which are not in blu-ray.

I will be playing sound thru an integrated amp and my floorstanding speakers.

For disc playback it compares well with the later players. For DVD some people prefer the ABT processing of the -83 to the QDEO processing of the later players.

It's not 3D and has fewer networking options.

We expect new firmware updates from time to time but they will only be to address disc playback problems caused by new BR authoring issues.

-Bill

Were the decoding issues with the DTS HD MA track on Jurassic Park ever remedied?