Official OPPO BDP-83 Owner's Thread [technical talk only] - Page 319

It was Nuforce. See this post on AudioCircle: http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/i...topic=47725.40

After the latest firmware install, I can report that I love the tray's open/close speed.

It's as smooth as a baby's bottom and makes the player seem more high end.

I have the exact same problem, as I have a Denon AVR-4800 and also use the ICBM for base management. I have been thinking about this problem, and may have a better alternative (without having to buy another subwoofer or receiver):

1) Adjust the channel trim in your receiver such that the subwoofer is -10 dB below the mains and recalibrate with a sound meter using the internal test tones (you will need to increase the subwoofer amplifier gain). This setup should still be correct for Dolby Digital/DTS audio sources decoded in your receiver.

2) Set all of the LFE controls on the ICBM to nominal (0 dB), and set all speakers in the BDP-83 setup to "Large".

3) Ideally, you would like to set the channel trim levels on the BDP-83 to the same values you used in your receiver setup, except that the subwoofer trim level will now be the same as the mains (10 dB higher than in step #1). You can use the audio test tones on the DVE Blu-ray disc to verify the speaker trim settings for the BDP-83, and hopefully they will be close (within a dB or so) to your receiver settings (but this is not necessarily critical). Anyway, since the analog inputs on your receiver are basically just a pass-through (no channel trim is applied), the LFE input to your receiver from the BDP-83 will be the standard -10 dB low, and will be amplified another 10 dB by the subwoofer amplifier. This places the LFE amplification at the proper point in the gain chain.

This setup should be correct for both audio sources decoded by your receiver and the analog outputs from the BDP-83. I have verified this configuration using the analog outputs on my Panasonic DMP-BD55, and it appears to work as desired. Let me know what you think.

Brian

Most of those are without any appreciable benefit, except to void your warranty and to lighten your wallet.

I don't know about all that, but it is much improved.

Can we get mods done WITHOUT the big ugly sticker on the front?
I didn't see a mod for enabling HD DVD playback, with that be coming soon?
What about rubber feet?

But they can sell you genuine hand rubbed wooden handles also for your BDP-83, so you don't strain your back.

Is it actually faster?? I hadn't noticed. (But then I wasn't paying attention to that.) I thought it was pretty speedy already.

Not faster, smoother

Yes - to the BDP-83 setup

I'm not 100% certain what you receiver's mixing matrix looks like but if the subwoofer channel is separate from the LFE channel so the LFE signal isn't attenuated in step #1 along with the subwoofer THEN it just might work!

PolarWeasel - This should work for you too.

Are you sure there isn't an option in your scaler to convert SD input to HD color space for output as part of upscaling the resolution? That would be a highly unusual thing to be missing from a scaler.

Alternatively (1), set the Oppo to do to upscaling (e.g., 1080p output for both Blu-Ray and SD-DVD) and you will be getting HD color space from the Oppo for both. Then send HD color space to your display (assuming you are sending HD resolution to the display).

Alternatively (2), use RGB from the Oppo. It will correctly convert the HD color space off Blu-Ray discs and the SD color space off SD-DVD discs to RGB and your scaler won't have to care about the color space of the input.
--Bob

Maybe, maybe not. I had my Sony SACD upgraded fro $500 and it was the best money I ever spent on a $200 source component.

I plan on using my BDP-83 for a year as a video player and then have it upgraded and used exclusively for audio. Hopefully, it will improve as much as the Sony did to improved PSU, clock, OP Amp tweaking, and output caps.

Gentleman - send me your bids!

I bet they are sensing a winner on their hands and will be a money maker for them, if 27,000 people on the interest list was any indication. I am sure they will burn the midnight oil to get these players out ASAP.

I would suggest you audition the BDP-83 for audio first before making that decision.

I most certainly will One thing that led me to upgrade the Sony was that the Redbook audio was so far below the quality of the SACD audio, that I knew it could be improved.

We'll see with the Oppo. I have a 970 HD and the analog audio, even on SACD, is nothing special. But I'll give the BDP-983 a chance, live with it for a year, read the mod reviews, and then decide. That said, I am an audiophile, and spending $500 just to see how much better it can sound is not a big expense... it's an addiction

It is quieter than before, especially when loading. That had been a complaint.

Ejecting is still louder than the 983H, which is whisper-quiet. There is a trade-off when opening the tray: you need a certain amount of force or you risk a stuck tray. But oomph (as we scientists call it) is audible, even when applied for just a fraction of a second.

-Bill

I have not even noticed the noise the tray makes. Oppo sent me a replacement player (HDMI connection issues) and I've been using it as much as I can for music, DVD and BD playback. It plays perfect - no problems. I had some minor open/close issues that I wasn't worried about but the new player resolved that too. I'm thrilled with this unit overall and can't see much need in me checking this thread anymore. As far as I'm concerned this unit is fully production.

Many thanks to all the beta testers that suffered through any of my questions and for the rank and file readers and listers that did as well. I did learn much from this thread and the info is greatly appreciated.

Enjoy your Oppo units....

OPPO's analog designs have come a long way from the 970HD. You may very well still decide to mod it at some point, but the BDP-83 should be a nice step up from the 970HD when evaluating analog performance.

Actually, there are six DVD regions (1 through 6), and region 0 is simply the lack of a region code (similar to Blu-rays that lack a zone code). Region/zone 0 discs can be played on any hardware.

What I said was don't expect the less expensive do-it-yourself installation option to be available for anyone other than Beta and EAP participants. I'm sure the option of sending it back in to have the option installed will be available long term.

Does this distort the picture in any way?

Did any of other European subscribers to the-1st-EAP or I-want-one-list receive an email yet, or is it once more sold exclusively to North American users?

Had any work done on your car lately? The shop I took my truck to charged me $89 just to read out what the "Check Engine" light was on for. I think $39 to do *any* work these days is (unfortunately) sounding like a bargain to me.

Firmware Install Question:

I understand the latest install instructions (two-passes, etc) but the second pass is not responding.

BDP83-22-0430 and BE23F3 857523F3 install with no problem (verified in the 'Setup' menu) but MCU83-22-0410 results in the following on-screen messsage: "Failed To Upgrade MCU Firmware." I repeated the set up several times without success. (I download the FW and burn it on a CD for updating).

Anybody have an thoughts?

-George

Well, you should do that right away!

The MCU update sometimes has to be retried until it succeeds. I believe the MCU must be caught in a quiet state.

Try it a few more times. If that doesn't work, can you try it with a USB stick? Else you'll have to contact OPPO.

-Bill

The two pass option worked for me using a burned CD using Nero. I would suggest try burning another disk at a slow speed. You might also want to reset the unit and unplug it for a few minutes and try again.

But since he used the CD method to update initially doesn't he need to do the update some other way, i.e. USB or ethernet?

I don't think so. The MCU is meant to be updated in the second pass after the new main firmware and loader are in place. This should be the same for all methods.

-Bill

Oops, I forgot about the redirected base in the ICBM (the receiver is just a pass-through with no signal manipulation, only amplification when using the analog inputs). The subwoofer output channel on the ICBM will include both the LFE from the BDP-83 and the redirected base from all the other speakers (based on the crossover settings). Since the ICBM is most likely mixing the redirected bass without any attenuation, this steered bass will then be amplified 10 dB too high by the subwoofer amplifier. As has been stated previously in this thread, the 10 dB boost on the LFE must be applied before the redirected base is mixed back in. Oh well, back to the drawing board ...

The more I think about it, the only way to properly use the ICBM in this situation is to boost the LFE coming from the BDP-83 by 10 dB (using the channel trim in the player) so that it mixes at the proper level with the redirected base in the ICBM. I realize that this defeats of purpose of reducing the LFE by 10 dB to begin with, but I think this is the only way to properly use the ICBM. This should not cause any problems as long as the receiver pre-amp does not clip this "full strength" analog subwoofer input. Since I typically listen to movies no louder than 10 dB below reference level anyway, I don't think I should have any clipping problems using this methodology. Unfortunately, I cannot test this idea using my Panasonic DMP-BD55, as it does not allow positive trim on any speaker channel (and only allows for -6 dB attenuation). I will just have to patiently wait for my BDP-83 to arrive.

Not only those at Stereophile! Loved this post by the way!