Official OPPO BDP-103 Owner's Thread - Page 206

You can probably find a 93 in the resale market.

 

They probably relocated it to different part of the board. It seems to be in the top mid-right corner northof the heat sink. Look at the silkscreen text of the connector in the older board. It should match this one shown above. I'm sure the connector is needed to download some info into the Qdeo chip during test as it seems to be close to the chip itself. It makes sense that you'd send a few command bytes directly to the chip to disable region codes as well.

First time poster to this OPPO thread. I picked up the OPPO BDP103 a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't be happier! Fantastic Bluray player.

A couple comments and questions:

1. Cinemascope and the ability to "Zoom" some Bluray discs. I have a 65" Samsung LCD/LED TV. One of the features I really enjoy on the OPPO player is the "Zoom" function - - but I only use 1.2X - - when a 2.40:1 movie will allow it. I find very little (like zero?) picture degradation. Instead of four inch black bars on top and bottom - - they are cut in half - only two inches top and bottom - - and I enjoy the extra real estate. I do like to watch movies and appreciate the purists who want to see the movie as the director intended. I also like to see as big a picture as possible.

2. Some movies do not allow you to use the "Zoom" function. Argo is one of them (I'm finishing that up tonight - after this post). So, in order to watch 2.40:1 movies in all their glory, I just pulled the trigger on a BenQ W1080ST (short throw) projector with a 100" Diagonal (16 X 9) screen - which for movies, will translate into ten extra inches of vertical height (factoring in the black bars) and 29 extra inches in width in native 2.40:1 aspect ratio. That should satisfy my larger picture requirements for letterbox movies.

Quick question - - I'm running everything through my Pioneer SC65 receiver. I'll use "HDMI2 Out" so everything will be available to the Projector - - my OPPO player, DirecTv and Media Player.

Any changes I should make to my OPPO player for the Projector setup? I pretty much have default settings with "Auto" on most of the OPPO choices. The TV is the same - 16 X 9.

I believe my Pioneer SC65 will retain "Video" settings (upscaled Marvell QDEO) for each "HDMI Out" connection in case I want to sharpen or tweak the projector picture via my SC65 AVR. Otherwise, I'd like to keep all settings as is on the OPPO to make things as clean as I can.

Thx,
Rico

I agree to what you are writing, but need a confirmation from the manufacturer. I don't want to 'fry' my Oppo player.

Also same for me on "Ted". When I restarted after the player froze on the screen saver.

Did you try pressing the red button?

No. Seriously!

Can someone please let me know how well the video processing works through the HDMI input? Like for a cable box? My HD cable service (through Bright House) always seems so-so for picture quality. Right now I'm using my Onkyo TX-NR809 on the "through" setting for video processing. Would the 103's video processing look notably different than what the Onkyo can currently do (if I switch the Onkyo to direct)? I already have an Oppo 93 as well.

Joe - I looked at the description on your Onkyo receiver and it says the following:

"The sophisticated HQV® Vida VHD1900 processor enhances the quality of both standard-definition and high-def video sources. The chip employs multicadence tracking, expanded 12-bit color processing, and four-field motion-adaptive de-interlacing to optimize video quality and detail. Two new HQV technologies are at work here: Auto HQV® - which automatically enhances the incoming image, and HQV StreamClean™ cleans up compressed video in real time by eliminating mosquito and block noise from lower-quality sources such as online video sites."

Having a previous receiver with video upsscaling (Yamaha - HQV Vida (different version)) - - i personally found that it helped with picture quality. The best way to test is to run your cable HDMI connection to your AVR (make sure you are getting a "Native" signal from your Cable box. Then, invoke your video processing via your Onkyo receiver. You can toggle it on and off to see if their is a difference in the picture.

I now have a Pioneer receiver (SC65) and run everything, including my OPPO BDP-103 player through my Pioneer receiver. I initially thought that the extra processing (OPPO has Marvel QDEO upscaling) combined with my Pioneer's Marvell QDEO processing would be overkill and would negatively affect the picture. To my surprise - - I get a better picture with BOTH enabled. Go figure.

Try it - - see if you can tell a difference, which might be subtle. Also remember - - if it's a lousy signal, i.e., not HD - - nothing will really improve that.

Hope this helps.

htwaits

Thanks for the advice. I have watched more movies in the last 3 weeks than I have in the last 3 decades. One thing about it, I have many to choose from .I just wish I knew which ones are good. I'm kind of spoiled already with Blu-Rays, so we will go down that road first.Thanks to you guys for taking it easy on this rookie.
Our first race is the last of April in Indianapolis Ind so from that point on the movies will have to go back on the back burner. I already have a M&Kspeaker system (5 B-1600s) with two subs, but I would like to update it as it was a cheaper M&K system and its 6 or 7 years old.The music end of it is kind of disapointing and I will look into something with a little more impact. I'm an old rock and roller at heart. I'm hoping they make something that does both well.

P.S . We run NHRA Superstock Class (Straight Line)
As you can see, I use all the aspect ratio I can.The first 100 feet is kind of hard to see where you are going.....



Edited by ss3740 - 3/1/13 at 2:44pm

I was a head projectionist (back when those prominently existed still) and manager for a couple Regal Cinemas in the mid-90s. For all of my theatres the screen masking was moveable and mechanical, with the cue to open or close the masking being a metal tape that was placed onto the sprocket holes on one side of the 35mm film. When that part of the film would hit a particular section of the projector, the lens would automagically be switched from 1.85 (FLAT) to 2.35 (SCOPE), and the masking opened to match. This really only needed to be done when all you had to splice on the head were FLAT trailers (as opposed to SCOPE). But at any time, FLAT or SCOPE, if a projector was off-quilter, or there was simply bleed-over into the masking area, there would be very noticeable light over the top of the masking.

The masking around movie theatre screens is to neatly box in the light, not cover up what may be displayed in that area. (Wasn’t sure if this also is what you were meaning, but thought I’d throw in a bit extra for AVSF viewing pleasure...)

Me personally, I've watched Jaws letterboxed on an old 13" b&w TV. I much prefer ME to suffer then the movie, so I can completely agree with your points in regards to widescreen. The only time I would use the OPPO for zoom is just to compensate for non-widescreen enhanced DVDs (which really should all have been recalled by now, right?)

We had a Corvair when I was a kid. Dad used it to help us deliver papers( my brother and I had paper routes) in the snow. We got a couple feet of snow a couple times and dad must have felt sorry for us,,,That car would go ANYWHERE with a set of snow tires on the back...

I really like, what you wrote. That reminds me of the times when there were people in cinemas, working and doing their best for a good experience in the cinemas.

I will not forget the day, when I watched my first Cinemascope film in a 1600 seats cinema. This was just amazing, when the black masking fully opened after the ads. I think, then I was infected with the home cinema virus...

Thank you

PS: Today, I watched this Indi film 'Iron Sky' in the cinema and the picture was cut or even shown outside the screen. We should really think about having less and less people doing things.

Hi guys,

I'm about to hit the 'buy' button and get this thing shipped, but I noticed that Amazon has two players listed, one standalone, and another coupled with a Roku Streaming Stick for $49 more.

If I buy the Oppo BDP-103 by itself now and decide to later buy a Roku Streaming Stick, can I still buy the Roku at half-price somehow? Or must I buy the Oppo BDP-103 and the Roku Steaming Stick bundled together at the same time in order to get the Roku Steaming Stick at half-price?

If I can buy the Roku later at half-price, do I need to purchase from a particular retailer using a serial number, etc. or is there at rebate card included for Oppo owners?

Thanks in advance!
Einskaldir

Same here. Had it all set up. Used it for Netflix a coupe of times. Turned player off, came back later and turned on and roku logo is gone from the home screen and the input button options says HDMI/MHL not Roku.

You can buy the stick later with your serial number. That's what I did. IMO this is Oppos way of appeasing the Netflix users because the 103 is flawed as a Netflix device. Turns out the stick has it's own issues too.

Thanks so much for the reply! Do you know if you have to purchase the stick through a particular retailer to use the serial number or did it just prompt you when you were buying it via Amazon or wherever? Also, do you happen to know if the serial number only works as a discount with the Streaming Stick or with all Roku devices?

Lastly, do you mind quickly summarizing the Netflix issues with the 103 and the stick if that's possible? I'm unfortunately at work and have a ton to do before I can leave so I can't spend a lot of time looking into this myself and I'd like to hit buy it before I leave today, but I just want to make sure I know what those issues might be before I do.

I have been playing around with my OPPO settings and found that this problem goes away if I turn off Internet in the Network Setup. I connect my OPPO using Ethernet and not wireless. I haven't tried wireless to see if it makes a difference.

Not to open a can of worms yet why do you think the 103 is flawed in regards to Netflix? I ask because we stream Netflix on both the 93 and a 103 without issue. All of my gear is on wired LAN and I don't fret over GUIs or a fluctuation in bandwidth now and then but really, Im fairly picky but Netflix and the family get along great..

Cheers

I bought mine directly from Oppo. Pretty sure that's the only avenue and it only applies to the stick.

As for the issues I posted a few times about them here and I was pretty much ridiculed so I'm not going down that road again. Between you and me, they don't take kindly to negative reviews here. You can search for my posts or message me if you'd like. The longer I have the 103 the more I think I have a defective unit. Latest issue was loss of sound. Had to shut down, unplug, reboot. Not exactly ideal in the middle of a movie.

I don't think that personally. I was asking electricmanscott who responded to my first post. I hadn't read about any Netflix issues yet so his response was news to me so I was hoping he could clarify tha t for me. Glad to hear you're not having problems although I'm still curious as to what issues elictricmanscott is having.

I'll search your posts as that should be quicker than anything else. That's unfortunate about the loss of sound and as a prospective buyer, I can only hope you do have a defective unit (sorry, but I do hope it's covered by warranty still as well!). Thanks again for your time - I appreciate it!

Sorry about that Einskaldir,
Working off my iPad and managed to quote the wrong post. But yes, streaming either via Internet or via home network attached storage has worked well on my gear (IMHO). Vudo and Netflix quite often etc.

Cheers

I'm literally sitting here right now trying to figure out what the problems are. Have a brand new top quality router and have it set up properly so that's out of the equation. Trying to use the Roku stick and the player is locked up, again. Has to be a bum machine, as there are just too many glitches in too many different applications. I'm going to have to see what Oppo will do.

Right, but can a 103 doing anything so great paired with an X95 that the 93 can't? I guess thats the question.

Glad it spoke to you. Not only were the films magical experiences in their own right, but setting the right environment: the auto-cueing for the aperture, masking, light timing, and even light brightness (I would always program my cues so the theatre went completely dark after the trailers and for the movie, I figured the lights on the isle way was all people needed to see) felt like being a conductor for an orchestra. But even better, because I could be the hermit that hid upstairs away from the contact of people. Until I became a manager, that is.

I stopped going to movies for a long time, as subpar projections were nearly impossible for me to PAY to sit through. The worst are the so called "luxury" theatres that charge a pretty penny but can't seem to afford to fix the knocking vent fan above my head. But this is one of the greatest aspects of home theater, the fact that we control the environment and equipment, only limited by our imagination, and budget. And, bringing my point back ON point to the forum, the 103 is a great component for the avid cinema lover.

...and to veer off point just a tad for one more point--or pointer--to help enhance your movie going experience, most theatres (all the ones I ran and most I go to today) have a specified number of ceiling tiles unique to each room. If you want to make sure you are in the true middle of the movie screen, just look up and count the ceiling tiles that spread across the top of the screen, then sit yourself down in the middle of that count and 90% of the time you’re dead-on in the center.

Thanks for letting me go off course a bit. No annoying vent noise while I sit and watch my 103.

Just an update on my oppo issue. Sent it in last Friday as the player was frozen on the oppo logo screen. Landed at oppo yesterday. Just got my shipping email today that it was fixed and sent back to me today. Should get here next week. Oppo service rocks.

Darn, I have the same problem with our 2000 Toyota Avalon.

Yes it was.
We run into them once in a great while. I just leave the black bars all around on our 60" screen. When we had a 50" screen I would zoom.

"The King and I" knocked my socks off with the opening credits way back long ago. That was like the opening to Star Wars when we took our little boy all the way to San Francisco to see it. Now he is 42 and very hard to impress.