HTPC vs. Oppo 93

In my opinion, if all a person wants to do is play movies, stick with a set top box. The only time you would want something more is if you are going to rip movies and play them back, if you are going to watch live tv using the PC, or doing things that just can't be done with a STB.

So, you have to decide what you want. If you want a computer, build one. If you just want to watch BD discs, get a STB.

If you are more concerned with quality and reliability and are okay with putting blu-rays in manually, then I would just go with the Oppo. HTPCs are more for convenience and flash and for those who just like to play around.

As the others have said it really depends on what you want to do. If you're just playing physical media, then stick with the Oppo as others have recommended. If you want to stream or play media from a NAS, file server, other PC or the internet then it gets a little more complex.

The Oppo can act as a media player but you need to investigate its capabilities, which I imagine will be far less than a HTPC and the interface probably isn't as friendly as XBMC. The blu-ray player section of this forum is a good place to start to find out how the Oppo performs in that respect.

I settled on a HTPC primarily because it was far more flexible in what it could do and handle (different file types and formats, etc). I only touch the physical media once when I rip the main title, and then store it away never to be seen again. I get away with using the DLNA client on my bedroom 'Smart' TV but there is no way I could put up with it as my main screen as it is very clunky compared to a HTPC setup (I have regular compatability issues with several media formats despite using a DLNA server which transcodes my media on the fly). I haven't got the video quality on my HTPC as good as it could be, but that's due to my lack of knowledge in tweaking it rather than any fault of the HTPC.

Consumer Electronic (CE) standalone player:

Works out of the box
No need to mess around
No regular maintenance (except for firmware updates)
Cost (though with an Oppo this is moot)
WAF (Wife Approval Factor) - very high

HTPC:

Requires working knowledge of PCs & HTPC software
Needs set up, even for pre-built HTPCs
Depending on applications, will require maintenance
Costs - Initial investment is usually high (around $500 or so)
WAF - have to tweak a lot to get it high

HTPC offers many advantages that may seem insignificant.
Since it is basically a computer connected to your TV, you can watch and do anything that you would do on a regular Desktop/Laptop. For instance, sports viewing; ESPN broadcasts many games on their online network and the majority of the population bemoans the fact that they need to watch it on a tiny screen. With a HTPC, you don't have that problem.
HTPC can store data, music, movies. photos etc. When family or friends come over, it is very convenient to simply turn on the HTPC and use a remote to view photos on a large TV display.

A few other points: similar to audio playback, the quality depends on the device at the end of the chain.
Good aural reproduction requires high quality speakers, not an all-in-one Home-Theater-in-a-Box and good visual reproduction requires a very good display.
Secondly (this should actually be the first), you need to have a very good pair of ears and eyes to distinguish and recognize quality. Eg. I have a 720pTV and a 1080p PJ and most of the time I'm hard pressed to distinguish between the two.

You need to buy a $50 BD player and see how you like it, before spending $500 on an Oppo.
Personally, I would rather spend $500 on a HTPC but that's just because I have had one for a number of years.

I started specifically because I wanted to hook up a PC to the TV for online viewing.
Then HD-DVD and Blu-Ray came along. It was very cheap (compared to CE players) to have HD playback on a PC. Simply add a $100 drive and go, whereas CE players (at that time) were $400 & up.
Then came Terabyte storage, I purchased a 1TB external and never looked back.

Now, I use it primarily to store and play some of my favorites; movies and shows that I watch over and over. Watching TV shows is great because of the UI. I use Media Center with Media Browser to organize my collection.

Its a great hobby to get into. And it has a lot of 'flash'.
Edited by hirent - 6/11/12 at 6:23am

I wouldn't buy an Oppo over the similar Dune player because Oppo has removed the ability to play ripped bluray discs. Probably only a matter of time though until Dune is forced into that as well.

Where did you see that Oppo removed BDMV playback? I did a quick search and haven't seen anything about that. But, in my opinion, Dune just blows Oppo out of the water when it comes to a networked media player. Mine plays back all of my rips stored on my WHS 2011 box, and it works great with MyMovies, too.

Maybe the person was referring to BR menu support.

http://watershade.net/wmcclain/BDP-93-faq.html#are-iso-files-or-blu-ray-or-dvd-directory-structures-supported-on-external-media

Thanks. I didn't see that in my quick search. Looks like Dune is the only game in town for BDMV and ISO support right now.