Official OPPO BDP-103 Owner's Thread - Page 209

With HDMI 1 or HDMI 2?

So, if the choices for hooking it up are:

A) HDMI 1 with sharpness at +1 (but the image looks processed)

OR

B) HDMI 2 with sharpness at 0 (but the colors are different)


I have to ask, how noticeable are these differences? Does HDMI 1 look so processed that it's like Vivid mode accidentally got turned on on the TV? Does HDMI 2 make blue look like teal, or is it just something that a calibration tool might pick up, but your naked eye would not? Has anyone found any screenshot comparisons of the two outputs playing the same material?

Still eagerly waiting for my unit to arrive. Only 18-23 hours to go.

Soon you'll be able to test it yourself and tell us.

-Bill

Anyone notice a worthwhile improvement in playing SD DVD's vs Rips played down on an Atv or media device?

I recently picked up a SD DVD TV box set.
I burned the first episode to itunes from Handbrake at the highest setting.

First- I played the File on the Atv. It looked fine.
Then I played the disc coming out HDMI 1 of the Oppo. It did not really look any different. Maybe a touch sharper and a tad brighter, but the audio was slightly out of sync.
I then switched the Oppo output to HDMI 2 and the sync was fine.
I realized i had Deep Color set to ON on HDMI 1.
I set Deep Color off on HDMI 1 and now the sync appears to be OK.

(Since no discs contain deep color- Deep Color setting should be off anyway- correct?)


So with the sync issue figured out- I'm still debating the image.
Most of my old SD DVD are ripped to a hard drive.
I assumed with the Oppo I would dig out the original discs when needed and play back from the Oppo for a better quality.
But I'm not sure i need to go through the bother....?
Anyone else feel this way?

Perhaps I would have to view them side by side, but
I also did not notice any image difference between HDMI 1 or 2.

Sorry, they didn't say it's non-fixable, but they didn't say it was fixable either. They have been "not sure" for at least a month now:

It may have been in another thread but one customer was even told the softness (NR) was intentional due to Netflix concerns. Wish I could find that post

RIGHT HERE:

My pro calibration guy told me that there actually isn't even any such thing as "sharpness" with digital video, that its a throwback to analog TV days. TV makers (and their marketing departments) leave it in there to satisfy consumers.
What the TV might or might not be doing with that adjustment is anyone's guess, and the same can be said of the player's adjustment. By default, any sharpness adjustment in a TV or player should be set to "0" unless there is credible evidence to support the notion that some other setting actually represents "off".

I found a small problem when playing m2ts files containing subtitles, they are always on, when playing the files. However, they can be switched off, when you set a subtitle track and then turn it off afterwards. Seems to be a small glitch in the program code.
I don't know, if this was already mentioned here. If yes, sorry for cross posting.

BTW for my missing connector problem on the board, I didn't get an answer from Bluraychip.dk up to now. Nothing. I send an e-mail today to Oppo UK asking the question if there was a change in the board layout. Let's see if they answer.

Strange that has not been fixed. Same thing on the 93 - I know it was brought up yet can't remember the discussion. I just stopped including subtitles on my rips a few years back. Figured if I needed them it was time to bring out that shinie disk thingy...

I have a problem with my oppo 103, I'm using hdmi 1 for video, hdmi 2 for audio connect to my yamaha receiver, when watching blu-ray movie, every few minutes the sound always drop out 1 second and go back to normal (no problem with the video part), it happens on most of the movie, I have try to switch few different hdmi cable but no help to solve the problem, I have to unplug the power cord and the problem solve but only for few hours, the problem come back again.
I want to know if anyone have the same problem with me or any software update can solve this problem(now my software is up to date)? Or I am bad luck getting a defective machine?
Should I send it back to fix or wait for their software update? I have been using 93 and 95 before without any problem.

Does switching between LPCM and Bitstream make a difference?

Have you asked about this in the Yamaha forum?

-Bill

This is for anyone interested in my post #6146, with regards to my Oppo 103 decoding hybrid SACDs sometimes as CDs. I have a fix and thought I should report back here, although according to Oppo I've been the only one afflicted with this dilemna since the latest firmware version was issued. Though I had narrowed things down to one bad actor disc (Brothers In Arms) and would have been content to blame the disc, Oppo went further and issued a new loader version initially made for the 105. The version is 7B0900 for those interested, that I assume may be included in the next 103 firmware version, though that wasn't discussed in our email exchange. I've done lots of testing since the install with no issues to report, so I'm going to say problem solved. Their genuine interest and patience in getting this resolved is truely unique for this industry. I'm 57 and it takes a lot to impress me today, but this does.

+1?.. Did I miss something?

How does OPPO compare to a HTPC when playing a blu-ray movie ??

This is using a HDMI cable for bit streaming and using latest video card like GTX 680 (I know GTX 680 is overkill for HTPC but I'm planning on building a HTPC / Gaming PC).

With network player features that 103 has my HTPC is just PC now with no HT usage.

Just another fine effort in the Standing Conclusion Jump. We are still waiting for the judges to post the Style points.
--Bob

while I do not own an oppo 103. I do own the 93. I tried out the sharpness + 1 and noticed a big difference as well. for both 2d and with 3d movies. thanks for the tip. I highly recommend checking out the 3d with the sharpness +1. i am using a panasonic gt25 HDTV.

Jacob

Thanks for posting that. * Saw bug, sank same. *
--Bob

Can the 103 play mkv over the network ?

How does 103 compare to HTPC when playing blu ray movies ?

Is this happening with 3D movies? If so, go into Setup > Video Setup > 3D Setting and set Blank HDMI 2 YES.

This is likely a problem with the Yamaha. If the above setting doesn't fix it, try disconnecting the (unused) HDMI cable between the Yamaha and your display. If THAT fixes it, send an email with what you've found to OPPO Tech Support. They may have some history with your model of Yamaha.

The fact that you can get several hours of GOOD signal is unusual. That may take some more head scratching to figure out.
--Bob

Yes to MKV. Compares favorably to HTPC. Never liked any of the software BD players that much+ all those video card settings to mess with just to get as close to original unaltered picture as possible.

Don't assume its the HDMI cable from the player to the AVR. Any HDMI cable in the chain can cause this.

I have been dealing with Oppo on another issue but asked about the HDMI1 sharpness issue. Here is what I was told: they are evaluating customer observations, there will not be any adjustments to the default HDMI1 settings on the next firmware release and there are no guarantees they will find anything wrong with the default settings in the future. I believe they have the ability to adjust the noise reduction the QDEO chip provides if they so choose to. It does not sound like they have arrived at any conclusions yet as to whether a change to the default HDMI1 settings is warranted.

I then asked about what I am giving up by watching through HDMI2. They replied that HDMI1 and HDMI2 produce a similar quality image but there are currently chroma sampling issues with HDMI2 which will be fixed on a future firmware release.

Here, these are the posts I read about Oppo's "stance" just two days ago, and I had just joined the whole 103 discussion so I didn't know any better:

I am streaming 24bit @ 48kHz WAV and @96kHz FLAC audio files my laptop to my BDP105. But i have no idea how to tell the Oppo to show me the bit depth and sampling rate to confirm these specs. Neither can i seem to do it on my Anthem D2v processor. Can the Oppo display this kind of info? The usual info buttons on the remote do not work when streaming to the Oppo.

Just to be clear - in my various exchanges with with Oppo, they indicated that;

a) having NR always on on HDMI 1 was intentional, but they believed it should not visibly impact BR playback.

b) They were still evaluating complaints about sharpness and may or may not make changes in the future.

c) The way the QEDO chip works they cannot make the jump in sharpness between 0 and +1 smaller. This seemed
to be the only thing they were saying could not be 'fixed' should they ultimately agree with those of us who think the unit
at 0 is a bit soft. That, though, is not to say they couldn't make other adjustments to deal with the problem.

d) I will say that their tone seemed to be 'we don't believe there is a problem, and unless we find one we
will not be changing things' - which did indicate a leaning in their thinking, but not a firm conclusion. That's
why I urge those who are seeing the same effect communicate with Oppo customer service. But I never perceived
the door to be closed or a final decision made.

 

This is where i feel video reviewers really let us down. They gave so many glowing reviews based off visual tests but failed to put it through the ringer of tests to flesh out any possible bugs, such as this CUE bug. Back in the DVD days, CUE was a common problem and all reviewers seemed to praise or damn a player depending on how it dealt with the CUE bug.

 

Since my processor has has a CUE correction, i hope this will suffice until Oppo corrects it ...

I'm VERY glad to hear they are acknowledging and addressing the chroma sampling issues with HDMI 2. This is the first I've
heard of their responding to claims there is such a problem.

If they do fix that, then there really is no fault with the unit. Those of us who want as pure an image as possible could use HDMI 2. Those who
like the look of HDMI 1 could use that.

Thanks for clarifying. It is pretty much what I feared - both sides waiting for each other. It shouldn't be that hard for the engineers with test equipment to figure out if the 103 is altering the signal. Unless they've already done that check, Why rely on the user community to tell them? However I wouldn't expect the default (user) settings to change - those should always default to the middle or neutral value - rather something under the hood needs to be changed, as you said. Maybe that's what tech support was getting at, although being overly optimistic gets us nowhere in these situations.

Good news about HDMI2 though!

Impressions of a first time OPPO user on the sharpness issue:

I just got a Panasonic VT50, so I wanted to upgrade my 2010 non-3D Panasonic player to 3D. I decided to go with my first ever OPPO - a 103 model. I was expecting some improvement over the 2010 Panasonic, but I quickly noticed the Panasonic was sharper on DVD up-scaling, so set the sharpness to +1. It seemed to help make the OPPO 103 closer to the Panasonic.

At the time, I did not think much of it, since I just assumed the Panasonic was probably defaulting to a higher sharpness level. The OPPO being a "reference" player must be doing it right, or so I assumed. By setting the sharpness higher, I assume that I just more or less had normalized the picture setting of the OPPO to the Panasonic non-reference settings. After reading the owner's manual and the unofficial FAQ, I reset it back to the "0" level- the recommended level. I figured overtime I would learn to live with the "correct" picture setting.. And having a VT50, I assumed I did not need anything but reference settings anyway.

However, as I watched more of my BR discs, I noticed the picture was just quite up to the Panasonic PQ sharpness level, so I set the sharpness to "+1" again. It just seemed too soft of a picture to use the default level. Unfortunately on some discs, the picture just has a very over processed at the "+1" level. And I never could get the picture just right. It was really starting to bother me- either too soft or too sharp/over processed look.

Needless to say, I was somewhat disappointed and surprised at the results. Like other, I wished for a more granular sharpness setting. After about a week of viewing, I just decide the only real advantage of the OPPO was streaming and media file support not the better PQ. I sent the unit back to OPPO and went with a Panasonic BDT-220. It seems to give a much better picture on DVDs and the BRs look good at the default settings. Of course, its media support is almost nothing compared to the OPPO- but it is less than 1/5 the price too.

Just my experience- I posted since I noticed others are seeing something similar on the forums. And as noted, this was my first OPPO. I was really surprised how quickly I noticed this issue. At the time, I had not read the issues on the forums, so I was not looking for this issue.
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