Official OPPO BDP-93 Owner's Thread - Page 809

I only see this as one downside (OSD) since your other situation is somewhat unique. If one uses his Oppo direct to the television mainly for blu-ray viewing, you should not miss the OSD.

Actually I go direct with my 93 and 103 and I do miss the Pre/Pro OSD. I miss the fact that I don't get volume feedback or am not able to check the surround mode or lipsynch delay or what it is receiving if something doesn't seem right. Not sure why you would say it shouldn't be missed as this isn't unique.

ETA: Amazon says your Avatar should be here Tuesday.
Edited by obie_fl - 1/6/13 at 9:31am

Fair enough. I'm the unique one then in that I haven't had to tweak those parameters during a movie (maybe I did when I first got my Oppo). My Anthem display is visible to me if I need to monitor changes.

Hey guys, after throwing all my pix and videos onto a separate HDD, I find it wont play the vids since MOV files are not supported.

I was just going to convert them to AVI but is there anything better PQ that the Oppo can read?

Thanks

MOV is a supported container but the A/V codecs inside the container must also be supported.

There is a free utility called "mediainfo". Could you post the results of that for one of the problem files?

You will have to get the codecs identified and converted or switching to a different container won't help.

-Bill

^^
Understandable, but if you want the use the QDEO processing, send HDMI 1 to the display, HDMI 2 to the AVR and set the video to split so that the AUDIO capabilities are not limited by the display.

- Rich

Thanks, I hadn't considered that. I'll likely experiment a bit.

For receiver OSD I might just use the portable DVD player that I've been using for USB audio file guidance of the 980h running composite, which spared my main display when just listening to music. I don't often need anything from the receiver anyways, and of course the 3yr old Yamaha OSD is rather primitive.

Fun, fun and thanks to all.

Mike K

That's cool you can use a USB powered USB hub, but I think it's because you are using powered drives.

While using USB powered drives works in the Oppo front and back port, I think if I add a hub to the back port it's going to need to be plugged in so that say 4 or more USB powered 2.5" portabledrives like WD passport and seagate free agent goflex drives will show up.

As far as leaving them in place connected to the Oppo and transfering direct from pc I thinkl some ppl we're figuring out how to do that early in in the thread if i recall over a year ago and it might be possible with a powered Ethernet networked drive but being I'm going to swap the drives to another device in another room then I mine as well swap the drives off the Oppo.

Maybe one day I will get and figure out to setup a Nas so that all media can be pulled from one source but I know the Oppo can't do that anyway.

Btw the other device I wo t have for a few weeks but it's the popcornhour a-400 with coveted Sigma flagship chip 8911 with vxp.

There are other media tanks that came out before it with Realtek chip that can play 3d bd iso but not as good as te Sigma chip and other devices with a slight lower end version of the sigma chip that an also play 3d bd ISO like the zappiti made by Dune but not branded by them. Meanwhile none can do full menus so the Oppo will still be better in that way but the media tanks can use a juke box index and details page gui for displaying movie cover which is better for kids and movie and file info etc. While the Oppo is just scrolling text file names. I'm used to pch and has good support and updates so I think it was a good choice and gives me another room to watch my ripped 3d bds which I prefer and ISo format is the best easiest way to go and this way I have a backup in case my Oppo ever can't play them anymore at which point it will be sold. I don't see how we can be forced to view content we own only one way but anyway.

Also pch a-400 will be able to use iPad jukebox program to view. Collection and play including full feature remote so it will be like a big touch screen remote. Android and phones of both iOS work too and iPad mini may be the perfect size because you want big enough to display movie index but small enough to use the on screen remote.

Anyway I guess I will continue my search for a USB hub but probably any powered one will work with the USB powered drives.
Edited by Quatre - 1/6/13 at 8:44pm

I am a bit disappointed in my 93. Got some bugs, thinks that start to play and then stop, sometimes, it crashes, but my biggest problem is this:

I have an old firmware, the one that still plays iso's, I not want to loose that feature. I not know if that has been corrected or not, but Mkv playback is difficult.
First I not got a right aspect ratio most of the times. very annoying it zooms in with normal setting, so I not have the black bars, seems it not understand it is an anamorphic picture. So the black bars are gone and the earth will not be round. Subtitles inside the Mkv will not always show, neither external srt. And when they show, they are really not refined and ugly......

Is there something to do about that? My firmware is BDP 9xEU-57-0917........

I don't know about the subtitles, but I believe there IS a workaround for your MKV files.

First, make sure you have "16:9 Wide/Auto" set. Not "16:9 Wide". That's the setting that preserves the aspect ratio.

If that doesn't fix it, then be aware that there are two different sets of aspect ratio data in MKV files. Most authoring tools put the correct information into both, but some versions of the tools only fill in one set. As I understand it, the OPPO firmware you are using does not default the missing set of values to match the set of values which ARE present, and so you get the wrong aspect ratio.

Newer firmware fixes that. But the workaround for older firmware is for you to adjust the files to have the same values in both sets of fields. I think the information you need may be in the FAQ, and if not it is probably findable by searching this thread.
--Bob

Could it be that my BDP-93 is broken in the audio department??

Just got a BDP-103 and moved it into the location formerly occupied by my BDP-93. Standard multi-channel AVR, etc. Everything was and is still working fine, audio-wise, with both the 93 and 103.

The BDP-93 then got re-purposed to a second location formerly occupied by my BDP-83. Direct connection via HDMI from the 83 to a Sony 32XBR9 HDTV. Everything was working fine with the 83, but with the 93 I'm getting no sound from the CONTENT portion of BluRay movies (tried two Disney discs, both with DTS-HDMA sound, "Toy Story 3" and "Up"). However I am getting sound from the menu sections and promos and previews. But as soon as the actual movie starts the sound disappears.

So that's the issue: BDP-83 -> HDMI -> 32XBR9 works perfectly with the movie portion (DTS-HDMA), but BDP-93 -> HDMI -> 32XBR9 has zero sound from the same movie (DTS-HDMA) but does produce sound for the non-movie sections on the disc.


I've checked the Audio Format Setup for the 83 and 93 and they are identical: HDMI=AUTO. The manual states that LPCM is recommended for direct HDMI connection to a TV, but I've always used AUTO with the 83 and it's been fine... both for movie and non-movie portions of the disc.

However if I do try LPCM (as recommended) on the 93 I lose even the sound I was getting on the non-movie portions. I MUST use AUTO in order to get that sound.

Now presumably, AUTO should send out 2-channel stereo to the TV, since that's all it can accept. And since I'm hearing the non-movie portions of the disc, it surely must be sending out that sound in 2-channel stereo. But if I actually set LPCM (which should produce exactly what AUTO surely is producing) the sound disappears.

And of course AUTO should convert 7.1 DTS-HDMA to 2-channel stereo (LPCM) on the movie portion, but that's definitely not happening no matter whether I specify AUTO or LPCM.


On the Audio Processing setup, I've never done anything on the 83 (i.e. it's still in its original 7.1ch setting), and yet this plays perfectly on the TV. Obviously AUTO is discovering the TV, which only has 2 speakers and cannot accept multi-channel. So it's converting 7.1 DTS-HDMA to 2-channel LPCM stereo and delivering it to the TV (even with this 7.1ch setting here) and it works perfectly. Never had a problem with sound on the TV with the 83.

But with the 93, it doesn't matter whether I use AUTO or LPCM in Audio Format, or 7.1ch or Stereo (which forces down-mixing multi-channel to 2-channel stereo) here in Audio Processing, I still get no sound in the movie section of discs.


Unless the 93 is broken, there must be something different about the audio HDMI handshake results between the 93 and the 32XBR9 that is causing this, although the audio HDMI handshake between the 83 and the same 32XBR9 goes without a hitch.

Of course I could try other non-Disney BluRay and DVD discs, connecting both the 83 and 93 to a different [Samsung] HDTV (which is something I can easily do, so I'll probably try that tomorrow) to see if the same failure occurs or not, etc.,just to gather more information and evidence, but the fact is that I need to use the 93 with this 32XBR9... which worked flawlessly in conjunction with the 83. Surely the 93 should perform identically.

Anybody got any ideas?

I will call Oppo tomorrow, and probably will send it in for examination and hopefully repair of something defective.

Thoughts?

Thanks for your comment. The thread is 800 pages, so if someone know a turn around this problem....?

I saw in the versions on page 1 there were some newer beta versions then mine, that still has iso capability. Does the problem get maybe fixed in a newer one, before the change in Iso handling? Does the subs stay so ugly, even in recent versions?

If there is a beta version before, that is better and not giving issues, I will be happy to know!

Well, I'm now convinced it's defective.

I tried both the 83 and 93 with a second HDTV, my kitchen Samsung 22". Again, the 83 worked perfectly and the 93 failed. Not only did it fail, but now there's zero sound period... nothing on any portion of the disc, neither setup and filler/promo areas nor actual movie content. Nothing.

Furthermore, on the speaker configuration dialog there is a "test tone" button with the 93. This actually was working with my Sony 32XBR9 (with format AUTO), but with the Samsung it's grayed-out. It's as if the audio handshake between the 93 and the Samsung results in an answer that says "I have no speakers, and cannot accept audio". That would explain why there is ZERO sound with the Samsung.

Ok. I'll call Oppo in the morning, but I believe it has to be defective.

No, the fix for MKV aspect ratio appeared after ISO support was removed.

First: try setting the player to WIDE/AUTO.

If still no good, you can fix the problem by editing the header of the MKV file. This is quickly done and you do not need to recreate the file.

(I'm presuming you're dealing with Blu-ray rips here; DVD would be different).

The free utility "mkvmerge" has a mode within it called "Header Editor". Run that and open your file. Look at the video parameters.

If Video Display Width and Video Display Height are not assigned, you must copy the values from Video Pixel Width and Video Pixel Height.

Save the file. Aspect ratio on the OPPO should be correct now.

NOTE: this is not necessary if you have current firmware. But if you need to retain the old ISO capability, it is the way to accommodate these files.

I still don't know what tool produces MKV files with these blank fields. Handbrake and mkvmerge always populate them.

-Bill

Please excuse a "for sale" post but figured this was the audience. I ended up with an extra BDP-93 Middle Atlantic custom rackshelf that I can't return to MA. New, unopened. If anyone needs one, PM me, I'll sell below dealer cost. Back to your regular programming....

Thank you Bill I try that! Hope I got the best firmware for iso's, as there are several one's.....

From my notes, ISO was removed in firmware 64-0119. Anything before that, back to 50-0608 where the feature was added, should be OK.

-Bill

Only one thing defective here... and it's my mind! The Oppo tech support guy immediately pointed to what I'd probably got set wrong.

Unwittingly, when I moved the BDP-93 from where it was (in a true A/V environment using HDMI-1 for video-only and HDMI-2 for audio-only) to its new location where it spoke simply through HDMI-1 to the HDTV, I neglected to reset the Video Setup option of "HDMI-1 - video only". So it was still sitting at ON, which of course MUTES THE AUDIO ON HDMI-1 (exactly the meaning of this setting, if HDMI-2 is going to be carrying the audio to an external sound system)!!!

I simply needed to change that "HDMI-1 video only" to OFF, to trigger both audio and video on HDMI-1 which is now feeding the HDTV directly in this second home location, with HDMI-2 no longer in use at all.

And of course, as soon as I did that I had sound!!! GRRRR... what an idiot.

And I left the audio format to "AUTO" instead of "LPCM", although I'm sure it would now work either way. And even the speaker configuration of 7.1ch speaker configuration is obviously automatically being down-mixed to 2-channel stereo, so there's no need to change that to "stereo".

Ok. Case closed. False alarm. BDP-93 is just fine. It's me who's defective.

Thanks for getting back to us on this. Everyone makes mistakes like this but not everyone sets the record straight.

This is why when trying to help we (perhaps, it seems, unkindly) first suspect the user: settings, cables, forgotten configurations. We're not trying to be cruel or excuse the player of it's faults but it's usually an oversight of some sort which everyone does from time to time.

I recently did a big writeup on how the player was mysteriously retaining ancient IP values in the network settings. Two months later I discovered I was running a forgotten second DHCP server on my network which was still handing out old values. I had to send in my own "Sorry, false alarm" note. OPPO replies graciously: "Thanks! We'll close that ticket."

They knew I was the problem all along, of course.

-Bill

If you don't want to use the Header Editor, all you need to do is simply run the mkv through MKVMerge GUI: add the file and mux it - you don't have to touch or adjust anything else. The new file will display correctly.
As far as the subs go, the easiest way to get them to display is to mux them into the mkv file itself. Again, MKVMerge GUI will do this for you. But yes, they've always been ugly - I've been asking and hoping for adjustable font and size options for SRT subtitles (nothing fancy - just a couple of choices) for a long time now to no avail. Nobody else has ever been fussed about it:-)

Now that you've solved your problem, l have a question. Why not use the 83 in your TV only setup and sell the 93?

Enjoy.

Just curious, as I have HDMI 1 going direct to my Panny VT50 for video and HDMI 2 going to Anthem for Audio...What is the advantage, rationale for setting HDMI 1 to Video Only on the Oppo? Is it only so you don't get conflicting sound coming out of your TV speakers or does it have an impact on something else?

Thanks!

That's one reason. The other is that there were some problem device combos that got the HDMI handshake confused if the audio was included on both outputs. If you are not having a problem, and have otherwise prevented audio from coming out of your TV speakers by mistake, there's no value in setting this. For example, it doesn't make the video "better" or any such thing.
--Bob

Thanks Bob...that's exactly the answer I was looking for!

Well, it's really a matter of "hand me down" philosophy, and what I might possibly want to make use of in the future.

At this moment I only need TV-only for that second location. I'm guessing the video processing in the 93 is superior to that of the 83 (along with its two HDMI ouputs, although at the moment I'm only using one) so why not just retain the better unit there, and reserve its improvements for possible use some future day.

My 83 was 4 years old, and although I didn't have a need for a 3rd BluRay player in my house I have a friend who just moved from LA to a new home in VA and bought a new Sharp 80", but doesn't have a BluRay player. So I thought I'd just "hand me down" the 83 to her as a very appropriate and useful "house gift". Also sent along a BD copy of "Up" so she'd have something to look at immediately that would show off both player and HDTV.

I felt the 83 had been "fully amortized" by now, and I'd rather find it a good new home where it would be used, rather than relegating it to the "parts graveyard" in my own house.

Not necessarily. There are limits as to what can be done and we've been close to the limit for a while now.

Blu-ray requires very little extra video processing and for DVD some people like the ABT solution in the -83 better than the QDEO used in the -93 and -103. Both are very capable implementations.

-Bill

Sure.

Well on this topic, I can't really speak from vast experience for DVD and the relative qualities of the "add-on video processing" applied to BluRay vs. DVD, for all three players. But my own feeling is that for the few DVD's I've played on all three I do think the image results from the 93/103 are superior. And of course it's really hard to tell if there's any real impact when watching BluRay movies. I would expect that only when using a stationary test pattern and side-by-side players/monitors could you really have a legitimate basis for comparison.

On the other hand I can very definitely speak for the "magic" apparently applied by QDEO in the 103 when using external HDMI input which is broadcast-quality HDTV (both OTA/ATSC as well as cable-provided HD channels which have a broad range of bitrates and MPEG-2 compression quality).

I have a three Linksys DMA2100 Windows Media Center Extenders delivering HDTV around the house from my HTPC. And one of them is now routed THROUGH the external back-HDMI input of the new BDP-103 (where the output video then goes to my Yamaha RX-V867 via HDMI and then on via HDMI to my Sony 34XBR60 HDTV). Before the 103 arrived the DMA2100 was connected directly to its own HDMI source input on the AVR. So I can (at least from memory) visually compare the results of (a) direct connection of DMA2100 through AVR to HDTV, and (b) relay connection of DMA2100 through 103/QDEO and on to AVR and HDTV.

And I IMMEDIATELY NOTICED A VERY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT the very first time I watched something (in this case it was "The Graham Norton Show" on BBCAHD, 1080i). The picture was sharper, brighter, clearer, and with stunning color. I never had made such an observation before, because the picture never "stunned me" like it did when watching it "cleaned up" by the 103 (which is what I assumed had to be going on) for that first time in this new setup.

I've now made similar observations on other shows (e.g. "NBC Nightly News", also 1080i), in particular other 1080i "live" shows where things are mostly stationary on the set, so that it is very easy to focus on a particular part of it and make a mental note of how it reads to you.

This really was the reason I was motivated to buy the 103, was for its external HDMI inputs. In addition to the surprising improvement in video quality from the DMA2100 watching this way, this also buys me the decoding-to-LPCM and output via HDMI for DMA2100 HDTV input (same as for BluRay), in order to feed my Smyth Realiser (for headphone listening) via HDMI for ALL my sources (BluRay and HDTV). Previously I had to use the Realiser's analog inputs from the AVR's preamp outputs when the AVR was doing the DD5.1 decoding for the DMA2100. Now the 103 does the decoding (to LPCM) and I can use the preferred HDMI input on the Realiser.


Anyway, I never had a complaint about the single-HDMI 83, which I had for about 3 1/2 years. And originally all audio decoding was done in the AVR, for both BluRay and HDTV (both 83 and DMA2100 connected to HDMI inputs on the AVR), delivering analog from the preamp outputs to the analog inputs of the Realiser.

Wasn't until I bought an HDMI upgrade to the Realiser that I then bought the 93 (for its two HDMI outputs, with decoded-to-LPCM HDMI-2 going to HDMI input of the Realiser), still sending the DMA2100 through the AVR and analog to the Realiser.

And now finally, with the 103 and its external HDMI input, I can do the audio decoding-to-LPCM for the DMA2100 here so that ALL audio delivered to the Realiser is via HDMI. And I'm happy.

How does the 93 QDEO compare to the Toshiba XA2 HD DVD Silicon Optix Reon-VX chip for upsampling? I've been using my XA2 exclusively for DVDs and never actually considered using the 93.

I knew I was in over my head by just speculating as to the explanation for the results...

But I honestly feel that the results do speak for themselves. I definitely feel (and I don't think this is placebo) that the picture quality on my 34XBR960 from HDTV is now SUPERIOR when being routed from the DMA2100 through the external input of the 103 and then on to the AVR, rather than when the DMA2100 is directly connected to my AVR.

So that's why I thought the 103 must have been doing something to the HDTV video, and I assumed it therefore must have been its video electronics. In other words, if the same "noise reduction and contrast enhancement" is being applied to the external HDMI input (in this case, ordinary MPEG-2 HDTV) why wouldn't I expect some improvement in the picture when "corrected" by the 103, as compared to the "raw" un-corrected feed from DMA2100 direct through the AVR?

Just how it appears to me.