Picked up the 320 at Best Buy for $99 @ the only location in the Denver area that could locate one in a box for me.
I thought I'd share a few observations re: DVD upconversion for the benefit of the forum members who may be wondering just how good their 320 is and who might occasionally second guess whether the 320's SD DVD picture would look any better with a player like the Oppo BDP-83 (short answer: not really). If you're interested in how I came to that conclusion, read on.
Background:
106" projection setup which I zoom down to around 84" when watching SD DVD. I would actually zoom a little smaller on most discs as I hate soft looking, blown up 480i material, but that's as far down as my projector will zoom from it's current location.
I've been using an Oppo BDP-83 for the past 1.5 years until I sold it less than 2 weeks ago for the same price I paid for it ($500). I sold it because I picked up a Denon 2310ci receiver on closeout at Best Buy last month for $339. This receiver has the same ABT 2010 chip as the BDP-83, and while not fully implemented with all the tweaking capabilities as in the Oppo, basic scaling and deinterlacing performance are identical between the 2 devices. Since I never used any of the advanced picture controls in the Oppo anyway, selling it made financial sense since the Denon would yield the same basic result (although I miss my Oppo already).
For the sake of my comparisons below, let's say the Oppo/ABT chip is a "10" out of 10 for upconversion. Mainly because if there is something better (i.e. possibly the Marvell chip), I personally haven't been exposed to it.
All tests were performed in an A/B fashion with identical discs in 2 players simultaneously, flipping inputs on my AVR (I borrowed 6-7 movies from a buddy that we both had in our collection).
To replace the Oppo, I've tried the following in the past 2 weeks:
Panasonic BDP-85K - I'd read some reviews stating that the newest Panasonics were pretty good upconverters. Not true. Compared to the ABT chip, I'd rate the Panasonic somewhere around a 6-7 at best. It took me all of 60 seconds to figure out that the Panasonic was not satisfactory at 84" when A/B'ing against the ABT chip in my Oppo BDP-83.
Denon DBP-1610 - purchased at Best Buy as an open box/scratched up display unit for $79, figuring I could return it within 30 days after taking it for a spin. The main thing that interested me in this player is it's ability to output in Source Direct mode, which is needed in order to let the receiver upconvert. The player does a HORRIBLE job of upconverting on it's own (maybe a 5 out of 10), but obviously did the job as a transport in Source Direct mode. The Denon is quite a bit slower than my Oppo, but that was to be expected. For $79, I could live with it, but not a particularly impressive machine - especially considering it retailed for $499 and was the worst upconverter of the group (not that it mattered if I would be using Source Direct mode).
Oppo BDP-80 - I picked up the Oppo as a refurbished unit after calling the company and asking them to please call me if any refurbs became available. They called me around 10 or so days later and I ordered one. Still a savings of over $200 from my beloved BDP-83 with all the speed to boot! Source Direct to the receiver would allow me to reap all the benefits of the BDP-83 in regards to picture quality, but this solution was $180 or so pricier than the Denon I picked up on closeout. SD DVD upconversion of the Oppo on it's own is pretty good, but definitely not perfect. While it may pass every synthetic test, errors crop into the picture quite often on difficult material (i.e. American Beauty DVD = terrible transfer IMO with many clips that cause shimmering or jagged edges). Overall, I'd only rate the BDP-80's upconversion at around an 8 out of 10 when viewed at 84". Still a very competent performer, and on smaller screens (non-projection), probably a great choice.
Pioneer BDP-320 - As mentioned, I picked this unit up for $99 after reading about the deals a few others had found at Best Buy recently. I have to admit, I was curious to see just how well this unit upconverted, and I must report, I have been astonished so far. While the 320 might fail some synthetic tests according to what I've read, I have yet to find any real world material where the 320 doesn't look just about as good as the ABT chip! The same clips repeated over and over between the Oppo BDP-80 & the Pioneer revealed that the Pioneer is without a doubt the better unit at upconverting real world, commercially authored material. The differences are subtle and not night and day (unlike with the Panasonic and Denon players), but the differences are there and easily recreated. After setting the Oppo to Source Direct so that I could A/B between the ABT chip in my receiver and the Pioneer's upconversion, I honestly cannot see much (if any) difference in any of the clips that I've tried. Kudos to Pioneer! 9+ out of 10, and only because I'm sure there is some difficult material that the Pioneer would get tripped up on that the ABT chip wouldn't based on reviews I've read. I haven't seen any of that material yet on "normal" DVDs however.
Aside from the fact that this player is dog slow compared to both Oppo players (booting, loading, skipping/scanning - all around), it's picture quality is damn good!
Have you checked the batteries in that stop watch?
