Official OPPO BDP-103 Owner's Thread - Page 192

If you're looking for inexpensive quality cables, I've bought dozens of these Monoprice 3 foot sets. Their other cables are first rate, too.

Those cables you listed are from a third party seller. Not always a good thing if there's an issue.

The problem is, to some of our eyes, and some very experienced member's tests, the handbook's statement that sharpness (or other controls) set to "0" turns
off the processing doesn't quite seem to be the case. It appears there is some effect, some processing of some sort, that is going on with the output of HDMI 1
that is giving a slightly 'softened' picture, even with all controls set to 0, and even on Source Direct.

This is controversial, and there are also experienced voices here not seeing the effect, so exactly what is or isn't going on is confusing.

For myself, on casual viewing of blu-rays. I do see some kind of slight softness on "0", while +1" seems a bit of an over-correction.

It looks like on "0", blu-rays are a bit softer than on my old BDP-83, and also softer than HDMI 2 (which skips the QEDO processor). If nothing
odd were going on, the picture on HDMI 1 set to all zeros (which should skip all processing) should be identical. But to many
of us this doesn't seem to be the case.

I noticed it even more strongly when playing SD-DVD (which I did test extensively, using several DVDs I helped master). There was
a notable difference between HDMI 1 and 2. It wasn't just sharpness. but also contrast and even color. Again, the differences were
fairly small, and both the images were good (although the HDMI 2 output was closer to the original master, thus 'better'), but if the QEDO
processor only kicks in when controls are at something other than "0" there should have been no difference at all.

May be some confusion here:
The manual states that sharpness at "0" turns off any sharpening, and it does. Noise reduction at "0" means that no additional NR is being applied.

"Source Direct" refers to resolution, and only to resolution. It may be a misconception that Source Direct refers somehow to bypassing all video processing. So it's not necessarily a conflict if some VP is still taking place in Source Direct mode. There has always been some NR being applied at default settings in the Qdeo chips, even in the previous revision used in the BDP-93/95. It's all a question of degrees, and in every case the effect is more apparent with lesser quality content and nearly invisible on BD content. IOW, the more noise there is, the more it's doing. It's not possible to apply ANY noise reduction without some loss of fine detail. Some people prefer that look, some prefer to see a little noise and the finer detail that comes with it.

If you want processing-free video, use HDMI-2.

Thank you for that important clarification. The first time I feel less in the dark about what's going on.

I was among those (and I think there's a bunch of us) who thought everything at zero in HDMI 1 essentially meant the QEDO processing was supposed to
simply be 'off''. Especially with Source Direct.

In turn, that has lead to some of the frustration expressed here. (Mine certainly, but I think others as well)

If some NR is SUPPOSED to always be part of the HDMI 1 output, I feel less confused and frustrated, although I don't like it. I'd like to be able to have the QEDO
processing available when I'd want it, but not for the 95% of the time I wouldn't (without having to switch cables).

And if it has to be there, I wish it was less aggressively applied. (I don't remember noticing it in the 93).

In any case, you've made my head hurt a little less.

I'm using component video cables, since I no longer have any use for those. 22 AWG conductor, shielded, gold-plated connectors. The best thing is that they were already paid for.

The question I have is that I am bring in my satellite dish Tv into the front HDMI input on the 103 as I am using it as a hdmi switcher as my Yamaha RX-V1 has no HDMI inputs on it , and I know a lot of the channels with the dish are in 5.1 sound but I do not seem to get 5.1 sound out of the analog out puts on the 103 to my receiver. As my A/V receiver is an older Yamaha RX-V1 which will only do 5.1 but it does have the ability to do 6 channel direct which I have been using with the analog out puts on the 103 and have set the 103 to down mix to 5.1 speaker configuration. And in the tone test on the 103 set up all speakers are working fine . I just do not get the sound quality( channel separation) I get when I use optical out to the AV receiver directly from my satellite receive. As when i turn off 6 channel input to my AV receiver and let A/V receiver get the signal from the optical output from my satellite dish receiver the sound is back to being 5.1 and sounds very good again.

So can the 103 take 5.1 sound from an HDMI input such as my satellite receiver and then send the sound out through the analog output on the 103 in 5.1 so i can use 6 channel direct on the A/V receiver?

As when I play a Blu ray disc in the 103 I can get all audio formats out of the analog out put on the 103 such as Dolby True HD and DTS HD master as they light up on the display of the 103 that it is decoding it , and sending it to the direct inputs on my RXV1 and the sound is very good and all channels work well.

But one i have the input switch to the front input HDMI on the 103 all i get in the display is front HDMI in use.

thanks

According to Oppo's manual, Source Direct does bypass the QDEO:

page 22: In Source Direct mode, the player works as a “transport”. It decodes video from the discs and then sends the raw video signal in its native resolution and format, without extra processing, to the external video processor or TV.

page 53: For HDMI 1 OUT, the dedicated QDEO video processor will be used unless Source Direct is selected, in which case QDEO is bypassed.

What I saw using Source Direct on Netflix streams certainly seemed be verify this.

This may sound like a dumb question, but I assume there's no reason I couldn't hook up both HDMI1 and HDMI2 inputs simultaneously to two different HDMI inputs of my AVR to facilitate A/B testing of the two video feeds?

I can't think of any reason why it would be bad, but don't recall seeing anyone mention doing it that way.

That's what I'm basically doing, just direct to panny gt50. I use the input connected to hdmi1 as bluray and hdmi2 as cable. Hdmi2 is just better for surfing channels as the handshaking is better.

^Thanks - I'll give it a try.

That's what I'm doing right now, and what's really odd is that I'm seeing the same artifacts and drop in detail with Netflix on HDMI 2 at 1080p as I see on HDMI 1 at 1080p. Source Direct clears it up in both cases. This indicates that QDEO isn't responsible because it isn't available on HDMI 2.

Didn't the 93 have a problem where it was downconverting Netflix 1080p streams to 720p when the output resolution was set to 1080p?

I'm still seeing random audio sync issues with Netflix streams. I'm on the latest firmware, and this firmware has solved all of the disc audio sync issues I was seeing earlier this year. But I can't for the life of me figure out why this player still has audio sync issues on Netflix. I know the beta testers have stated that this issue is all on netflix's end, but what I'm seeing just doesn't make sense. Randomly, certain streams will go out of audio sync when they're started. If I pause the stream, restart the stream, exit the netflix app, power cycle the bdp 103, turn off my receiver and entire system and start up again, none of these things will fix the audio out of sync issue for that stream. It will happen randomly on a particular stream, and then the next morning it will be fine. The audio sync issue, when it's happening, happens on both analog and digital outputs of the 103 equally. Basically, there's nothing I can do to make it go away when it's happening. Occasionally I can watch another stream that syncs audio correctly and then come back to the original stream with sync errors and find that it now syncs correctly. I find it really odd that power cycling my whole av system AND the oppo still doesn't fix the problem. Any advice on other things to try when I'm seeing this issue? It's happens completely out of the blue. Sometimes when I first start streaming the netflix app, sometimes 3-4 streams into an 1-2hr streaming session.

I have yet to experience any of these issues with netflix.
Running the 103 through a Rotel into Kuro-
Stream looks great and no sync problem.

The only change I made was sharpness to +1.
I don't look at charts- but 0 did look a tiny bit soft and think +1 snaps it all together.
Beyond test patterns- I can't see how anyone can complain about the picture with this player.

I am a bit confused about Source Direct and why you would use it with the 103?
I went with the 103 because of it's processing power and the QDEO chip.
What's the point of using a 103 if you're going to bypass it's best feature?
Is Source Direct considered better for Blu Rays?

Source Direct looks good on my end- but 1080p looks better.

It's a personal choice; you have options. If you want the player to do the video processing you can have that, if you would rather that be done elsewhere, in a receiver, video processor or in the display itself, you can have that.

Most people will use 1080p.

-Bill

Please help me out, for the HDMI out # 1 and # 2 on the Oppo 103.

Is there any advantage to using HDMI # 2 for Hi Res audio playback?

So set up as follows:
HDMI # 1 - Blueray DVD play
HDMI # 2 - Audio ONLY

I currently have set as everything going through HDMI # 1.

Please advise

Thanks
CC

No, one cable for everything is how it is supposed to work.

HDMI2 is mainly for people who have receivers that will not pass the HDMI 1.4 required for 3D. In that case it is HDMI1 directly to the display and HDMI2 to the receiver.

Sometimes people with difficult HDMI handshaking issues improve matters by splitting audio and video into two paths.

There is one audiophile consideration for HDMI2: it will pass DSD from SACD discs directly. With HDMI1 PCM must be used. Results should be the same, but...everything in audio seems to be contentious.

-Bill

I found less HDMI problems when doing the duel HDMI on my oppo 93.

Jacob

Actually, I have it set up as cc999 mentions.

I found out that DSD will not pass through on HDMI1.

So, I have the Oppo using both outputs to the receiver. When I want to listen to SACDs, I use the input attached to HDMI2.

I like it.

Jack

OK I have :

Oppo 103 > Emotiva UMC-200 pre amp > Emotiva XPA-5 Amp > 5.1 speaker setup
SACD set up to send PCM on the Oppo 103

The UMC-200 does NOTsupport DSD so I am good with the HDMI 1 for everything setup.
Everything does sound unbelievable! Just wanted to make sure I had it hooked up correctly.

CC

Just wanted to add that my isp is now part of netflix's open connect network. So I should be able to receive super hd streams now (opp netflix app shows the super hd stream option). But of course, I'm only receiving x-high streams even though my connection is perfectly capable of the super hd streams (I get consistent 20mb down via hard wired connection). Is there any way to reset the netflix app or the player or change the network settings to ensure that I will get the better super hd streams? It's as if the oppo netlifx app doesn't recognize the super hd streams and just tops out at x-high instead of super quality. This is extremely annoying. I know I have the bandwidth do support the super hd streams via numerous network tests that I have conducted.

It could be you simply haven't selected any titles which include the Super/HD file format in their streaming package yet.
--Bob

Yes, the 103 can accept 5.1 input on the HDMI inputs as traditional DD 5.1, DTS 5.1 or LPCM 5.1. And that will be output to the multi-channel Analog outputs just like any other 5.1 content you might play.

While viewing 5.1 content from your Dish box, press the Info button on the 103's remote (upper right of the Arrow buttons) and the OPPO's on-screen Info display will show you exactly what is coming in as the audio input format. If that's not 5.1 then there's a setting in your Dish that is incorrect. Typically the setting will let you choose whether digital audio output is LPCM or Bitstream (which may be identified as Dolby Digital). It is the Bitstream (or Dolby Digital) choice that you want. It is quite possible that the Dish box has separate settings for HDMI digital audio output and Optical digital audio output.

The LPCM setting from such boxes will typically force a stereo down-mix -- intended for direct connection to TVs that don't know how to handle 5.1 input.
--Bob

I didn't have time to go through all 5,700 posts, so if this has been asked and answered, I'm sorry.

I'm looking for info on a Dish STB going through the 103. Is there a noticeable increase in PQ? Are there any handshake or audio issues? Is the STB set to 720p or 1080i?

Thanks.

As I understand it if you're seeing "X-High HD" on the stream, then you have to be getting the Super HD. Everyone else is limited to the "High-HD" streams under the newest Netflix configuration. But its also good to note that there's no reason to assume that a "Super HD" stream will actually look any better than anything else. But "X-High" no longer exists for the unwashed masses.

I use my 103 to feed my Panny 65VT50 in 1080p resolution, upconverting my TWC/LA cable-provided HDTV which of course is 720p or 1080i. Output from the 103 is via HDMI-1 where the QDEO video processing is, and the picture on the 65VT50 from HDTV is superb.

I suspect that you, too, will notice a visible improvement in 720p/1080i source program picture quality coming through the 103 when processed and upconverted to 1080p by the 103 via HDMI-1.

There appears to be a lip-sync issue with external HDMI input, which Oppo is aware of but so far has not resolved. The exact conditions producing the symptom are also not entirely clear or precise (adding to the difficulty of solving the problem).

For me, the lip-sync problem only occurs when I feed both downmixed-to-stereo audio out on HDMI-1 along with video, feeding my AVR which supports my 2.0 speakers as well as delivering video to my HDTV. But if I send "LPCM multi-channel" audio-only out via HDMI-2 (to my external multi-channel headphone system) and video-only out via HDMI-1 to my AVR and then out to my HDTV, there is no lip-sync problem.

Recently I accidentally discovered that if I changed the video output on the 103 to specify YCbCr 4:2:2 (from AUTO or 4:4:4) that the lip-sync problem seems to disappear. It's been two days now running this way, and no lip-sync has returned. I know this appears completely irrelevant to the audio lip-sync issue, but for me it seems to work... so that's how I've continued to operate. Fingers crossed.

Nevertheless, Oppo is aware of the lip-sync problem tied to using external HDMI input.

You want to keep the number of conversions, interlace/de-interlace, and format changes to a minimum for best image results.

If your HDTV (on the other side of your 103, either fed directly via HDMI from the 103 or through an AVR) is 1080p then you would like the 103 to do the upconversion of source resolution to 1080p output resolution. It will do the best possible job if you feed it "native source resolution" of the HDTV program, i.e. converting 720p to 1080p or converting/deinterlacing 1080i to 1080p. That's necessary, but minimal, and your results will be optimal.

You do not want a 720p program to be upconverted (and interlaced) to 1080i by the Dish receiver, and then feed that interlaced 1080i from the Dish receiver to the 103 for a second upconversion and deinterlacing to 1080p.

So if the Dish receiver has a "native" setting, where it automatically just passes through 720p source as 720p output, and 1080i source as 1080i output, so that the 103 will do the one-and-only conversion to 1080p, that will give you the best results. Otherwise my recommendation (which is what I do) is to manually change the output resolution on the Dish receiver to either 720p or 1080i depending on the source resolution of the particular program I'm watching, so that as with "native" no unnecessary and unwanted conversions take place in the Dish receiver but only once in the 103. That's my recommendation.

Has anybody tried the CinemaNow app on the Oppo 103? I tried to use it and it never finds any content. I get to the screen that shows the selection wheels but no matter what I select it never finds anything. I wanted to try it out because renting movies just is not that easy any more with all the places that rent them closing. I did a search an all I can find are posts that show it as a feature.

I do believe I am running latest firmware version.

Other than this I have no issues yet with my Oppo.

Thanks,

Rheal.

Thanks D,

My STB only has 480p, 720p, and 1080i output, so I'll use 720p and if it looks bad on a 1080i, source, I'll switch it to 1080i. I'll try the 4:2:2 first and see if I have any lip sync problems.

Tom

new remote screen for future oppo 103

Just got the Oppo 103 and suddenly I'm getting an audible noise floor when using 7.1 analog outs to my Denon AVR-4306 (EXT. IN)! I re-attached the analog connects (Blue Jeans cables) from my Denon DVD-3910 and it's dead silent. I was going to get rid of my 3910 but now I'm not so sure. What gives? I was really looking forward to this unit but this noise is a royal pain! Any feedback greatly appreciated.