Official OPPO BDP-83 Owner's Thread [technical talk only] - Page 227

Ahh, could be it. The one thing I didn't do, since I had a movie already in it. That makes sense, as you aren't playing a movie at the time.

Wow. I used the "via network" option and that was the most simple, painless firmware upgrade ever. Easier than upgrading most anything I own that uses firmware.

Now to see if it hosed anything up since I didn't have any problems. Hope I don't now.

Hi,

Before I include the email I just sent to Oppo I thought I would let all of know that I am a big Oppo fan. I have owned a 981, and 2 983 dvd players. I currently own a 980 and obviously the BDP-983. I am using my BDP-983 in my bedroom, I am bitstreaming to a Pioneer Elite SC-05 receiver, and HDMI from the receiver to a Pioneer Kuro 5020 TV.

The BDP-983 is replacing a Oppo 983, and a Pioneer Elite 05 blu-ray player. I have sold both of these players so that shows the confidence I have in Oppo to fix the problems I have experienced. I got the player last Saturday, and have been playing blu-rays, SACD and dvds with no problems. The picture and audio quality is excellent.

I wanted to wait for the new firmware to come out before I wrote to Oppo since I knew that DVD Audio was a work in progress. I will say that most of the discs that I had problems with now play without problems. There is still one disc that doesn't play properly which I include in my email.

Lastly I have not voted yet, because I wanted to wait until the new firmware was released. I will not vote until either a new firmware is released that fixes my problems, or until Oppo instructs us to vote. I also wanted to thank all of the people on this forum for their contributions.

Below is the email I sent to Oppo this morning:

I am part of the 2nd EAP and I have several discs that I am having problems with. I downloaded the new software last night so the discs I am writing about are being used with the new firmware. I am using HDMI out bitstream to a Pioneer Elite sc-05 receiver.I also tried LPCM and had the same issues. I also have tested all of the discs in My Onkyo 805 HDDVD player, and the problems don't exist with that player.

1. Elvis 30 #1 Hits is a 5.1 DVD Audio discs with 6 stereo tracks at the end of the disc. When I attempt to play this disc it always goes to the stereo tracks at the end of the disc. Will not recognize the 5.1 tracks.

2.Rob Thomas Something to Be DualDisc-Will not play, just zeros on the player display. I have to shut the player down, and then hit eject while the player is off to get it to eject.

3. Jackson Browne Running on Empty DVD Audio-I am having issues with the menu, when I select audio set-up the player freezes. If I go straight to play it will play.

4. Neil Young Hawks & Doves 2ch DVD Audio- When I play the disc the songs are played back extremely slow, doesn't even sound like music.

5. Neil Young On the Beach 2ch DVD Audio- Same issues as #4.

I am writing to you to send you my feedback on the player so far. No issues with SACD discs yet, no CD issues. Blu-Ray and regular DVD both play very well.

Insatlled new firmware last night...went very smoothly.

But, I'm still getting some lip-sync delay with 1080P @ 24Hz on the Superbit Air Force One. If I switch from DTS back to DD, and then back to DTS, it gets a bit better, but it still seems a bit off.

Did not test with 24Hz off, as I really like the look of 24Hz. Seems like this has been improved with the new firmware. Maybe it is my imagination.

Superbit menus work great now, and Metallica Black Album in DVD-A works nicely too.

Providing it's not a bug, all you have to do it stop and play the movie and or power off, like most players. The directions were just given in detail to make sure that is what you are doing for testing.

"3. Jackson Browne Running on Empty DVD Audio-I am having issues with the menu, when I select audio set-up the player freezes. If I go straight to play it will play."

FYI - I just tried this same DVD-A and didn't have any problems with it, or specifically with the menus.

Just a crazy idea, but wouldn't it be great if the BDP-83 could reach into a Tivo, pull video files over, and upconvert to 1080p with the same astounding improvement as with a regular DVD?

Wishful thinking, I know....

Thanks Gonk and Bob for the responses on "Ironman BD has 8 subtitles".
I asked to make sure the player did not create 3 phantom subtitles on its own.

I found this in my inbox a little while ago. I had already powered up the player to listen to some music and saw the "Update Available" message, but this was certainly a welcome message.

Dear Stephen,

We are delighted to let you know that a new version of firmware is now available for your OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player. This firmware version contains improvements and fixes based on the feedbacks we have received from Early Adoption Program (EAP) participants like you. Thank you very much for the support!

The download link, release note and installation instruction can be found at:

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-b...e-18-0402.aspx

After you install the firmware and experience its features and functionalities, please come to the EAP web site to cast/revise your vote and share your comments. The EAP web site is located at:

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-83/eap.aspx

Please keep the feedbacks coming. At OPPO Digital, we listen to our customers and your support helps us to build a stronger product for our user community.


Sincerely,


Customer Service

OPPO Digital, Inc
2629 Terminal Blvd. Suite B
Mountain View, CA 94043
Tel: 650-961-1118
Fax: 650-961-1119
www.oppodigital.com

Mark69 - I have all but one or two of those DVD-As and will check as well. In the mean time have you tried switching between 5.1 and 2.0 with the remote audio button? It sounds like some of what you are experiencing is just menu issues which are known. The Neil Young is interesting I'm pretty sure I have the On the Beach title and will give it a check.

This just in from Oppo regarding HDCD, which we already sort of knew.

BTW, I wonder if the Oppo can do the same "trick" as the Meridian DVD-Audio player?

Usually you put in the disc, close the tray and the menu autostarts. You select what you want from that menu, multi-channel or stereo, all tracks or one specific. With the Meridian player (and maybe others?) you can also put in the disc and then press Play without first closing the tray. The player then automatically plays all tracks using the default mode (MC/stereo).

Originally Posted by Brian-HD
My CD is playing too fast.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian-HD
Not Good
Analog is off. Please Check. This is not the same.

Brian
Did these questions/issues ever get addressed? I could not find an answer, but the tread is moving pretty quick.

I'm a little paranoid to do the upgrade until I hear back on this - I listen to a LOT more CD's than DVD-A's.

Seems like most of the issues have been resolved, and I really want to try this version soon (tonight if all goes well @ work)

John

I think that it is/was the vibration that is making my CD seems too fast. Not all CDs vibrate. Since I do all my regular CDs listening on analog, I was under the impression that it is anolog. My opinion is that this is with certain discs only.

Did a small test (my tactile and auditory) with SACD, DTS CD,and CD. SACD and DTS CD have less vibration (I consider this normal). CDs vibrate more which can be distracting.

Very impressed with how easy and fast the firmware upgrade process was using USB. The slot on the front of the OPPO is a very nice touch. Based upon starting several BD discs, the HDMI connect seems smoother. The only thing I did not like was the need to set defaults and then do setup again. It would be nice to see a utility to save settings. Setup, however, is easy and fast with the OPPO.

It is known that 24p will cause synch issues with some DVD's. 24p in general has been improved for DVD in this FW revision, but synch issues will continue until the processing part is finalized. Probably a couple FW revisions down the road. The changes being made to the processing end will effect synch, so synch may be the last thing to address, and the 2 could well be related.

I don't want to open up a can of worms here so I'm just putting this out. Something has to be different because i own many of the same discs that people are having problems with and mine play fine. I have no problems as they describe.

Here goes, I do clean my discs before they get played. Not every time, but I do run a few drops of this cleaner/polish (mikrosmooth) on my discs when I open them. I de-magnetize them too - this is more a holdover from my vinyl days than anything. I have bought more than a few discs used from places like eBay and had a few "skip" or stutter and the mikrosmooth eliminated those. I've also used Plexus plastic cleaner and polish with good results.

I'm just saying, there has to be some reason the same discs play fine for some and not worth a darn for others. I hope this helps.

And get a whiter smile with Pepsodent.. Oups sorry your post made me go in full advertisement mode

Take this with a grain of salt, I'm in a whimsical mood right now

Sure, I'll give this a try tonight after the firmware upgrade and report on exactly what gets displayed on the screen, as well as how fast I can manually flip through the photos of 8 MP size.

Then something didn't work as designed in my case. I had a disc in the tray, and the player was off. Powered on and no Firmware Notification message. Like I said earilier, not a big deal.

On another note, I hooked the rear IR input up to an IR output on my Crestron controller over the weekend and the player is responding perfectly to commands - much better than with the remote that OPPO includes with the player. I must say I'm definitely not a fan of the remote that they went with - the buttons are too mushy and the signal sometimes doesn't get sent to the player as a result because you didn't press the button just right. Now where's that dang RS-232 option already .

Glad you have a system that seems to work. I think the average person isn't going to be willing to go through such a laborious process to simply listen to a CD that played just fine yesterday on a different player... I know I certainly wouldn't and I have over 4000 CDs and 250 DVDs (not including burns).

I've encountered the vibration issue on one DVD and one CD so far, out of about 15 DVDs and 4 CDs I've played in the BDP-83. I do believe that the problem can be attributed to individual discs (not necessarily individual titles), but a player should be able to compensate for such minute defects. If previous players had no problems, I think it's fair to expect the BDP-83 to perform just as well.

Yipes! All the settings return to default? I only had time to do the upgrade last night. I didn't check the settings or use the Oppo after the upgrade.

Perhaps the point was that you have to consider the condition of the discs you are playing. Some people don't take as good care as others. Some people buy used discs, etc. So you cannot always blame the player. I don't clean my discs but I'm pretty careful with them and I have not had any problems so far with the Oppo playing a disc.

A related point: The irony is that sometimes better players are more sensitive than not so good players and thus they have trouble with discs in poor condition that lesser players are able to play.

No, it's just recommended that you do a factory reset and redo all of your settings - just in case the update happened to scramble your settings. In my case, the settings weren't changed by the firmware update.

No problem updating via USB port. Actual firmware transfer from thumb drive takes maybe 15 seconds. Would that every device I own was so easy to reflash (looking at you here Onkyo).

I agree that scuffed or mishandled discs can lead to problems during playback, but I doubt very much that the majority of folks in this particular community are unaware that the condition of a disc could be a contributing factor in vibration problems. My own experience has been with two visually clean discs I purchased new, so I feel that I have a fairly legitimate complaint with the BDP-83.

Many people have reported successful testing with Netflix discs, so there is something else at play here than the surface of the media. Some units may be more susceptible to this issue than others. Some users may be more sensitive than others. The placement of players (mine is right next to my seating area) also can be masking the issue for some.

You have a valid point about the condition of media, and I can safely say that, in my experience with vibration in the BDP-83, the two do not appear to be linked.

Yes good point. I wouldn't notice vibration unless it was really bad because I have my Oppo in a cabinet with a closed door and relatively far away from the listening area.

I think some discs are subtly damaged as a result of production defects that you might not notice with a visual check. Perhaps manufacturing standards are a bit loose? Again, I do think that lesser quality players tend to be better at playing such discs than higher quality (ie more sensitive) players.

If the vibration is so loud, you'd think it would affect the sound quality as well as creating an irritating additonal noise in the room. Does it?

I find the vibration issue very curious. I have not seen it on my unit so this is a shot in the dark but here goes. Spinning little shiny plastic discs in trays is hardly a new technology. It's hard to figure what Oppo could have done wrong here--if anything. They buy their BD drives from some supplier (somebody here can tell us who makes them) so they should be more or less the same as any other. Making a tray that slides in and out is also hardly a new technology. Most optical media players just don't vibrate so much that you would report it. So what has OPPO done to make discs vibrate? Or is the fault in the discs as has been suggested? Something just doesn't add up here.

+1 This is the kind of painless, automatic firmware upgrade I always imagined our components should do!!

It's not that I don't enjoy burning ISO files to disc, checking the file sizes to ensure perfect copies, sweating bullets while my equipment freezes on something like "FW21" for 35 minutes, frantically re-reading the instructions to see if it's safe to power-cycle, panicking on discovery that "OH CRAP the tray was supposed to open!," and finally thanking the AV gods when I finally get my player back.....

Oppo's approach isn't nearly as exciting, but I like it!