Quote:
Originally Posted by
billymerritt 
Anyone have any problem with the Eagles farewell BD disk that came out yesterday?
Here is what I sent to Oppo support to see if they have suggestion for me:
I have had very positive results with my BDP-103 until yesterday. I received the new Blu-ray of The Eagles farewell tour Melbourne and when I try to access the disk pop-up menu it is very erratic and sometimes skips from point to point, and makes it hard to navigate to different songs and features via the menu. I also tried the same disk in my BDP-93 & PS3, and they do not exhibit this problem. This is first disk with problem for me on the 103 and wonder if any of you folks at Oppo have any suggestions for a fix?
I've had pretty much the same experience, except that my own experience with my BDP-93 vs. my BDP-103 is only somewhat improved.
There's something odd about this disk's navigation and preparation. For example, I have no sound from the main title after inserting the disc. Sound only appears once you begin playing the movie (or navigate to a specific song and start playing).
It's also a bit strange navigating through the popup menu with the keyboard using CyberLink PowerDVD12 on my PC. You kind of want it to respond and close when you push the ENTER key on a selection (e.g. audio mode selection) , but it doesn't. After you push ENTER you still need to continue to use the arrow key to navigate down until you get past the last item on the popup list and then the popup list disappears and the selected main sub-menu item is highlighted on the popup menu bar, and only now can you use left/right arrow to navigate on those sub-menu categories on the popu menu bar.
But I would have to point the source of the problem at the disc itself, with both of my Oppo players falling victim to it. And PowerDVD is only a bit easier to work with, but also I (as human) find the disc's user interface as implemented more than bothersome, as you do.
No question, however, that the 103 seems to be the most troubled of all of these alternatives for me, and does seem at times to "get stuck" and be unresponsive.
You're not alone.
More importantly to me, however, on an artistic level this is the BluRay of the HDTV show of that same tour-closing 2004 Melbourne concert (edited down to just 1 hour I think, can't recall exactly) they had on NBC back a few years ago. That's why it is 1080p/30, and certainly looks great.
Also, the sound of course is stunning, being DTS-HD MA.
However I actually saw this same concert (at Staples Center, where the sound quality is JUST AWFUL, HORRIBLE, AND ATROCIOUS!!... can't imagine they still hold the Grammy's there all these years rather than at the Nokia next door where the acoustics are superior, but I guess it's an audience capacity issue) when they came through LA earlier that year. Being a longtime Eagles lover (I saw them from the first row back at Irvine Meadows in 1994 during "Hell Freezes Over") I was extremely disappointed with their "updated" musical styling for 100% of their classics during this 2004 tour.
In 1994, what made that 30-song set so remarkable was that their onstage performance of these memorable songs was IDENTICAL to the studio/recorded versions we'd all grown to know and love. They were IDENTICAL live, as our minds remembered them, and it was like being in heaven. Of course in 1994 they still had Don Felder with them. But the live performance was musically identical to their pre-tour "dress rehearsal" which was indoors and onstage at an MTV studio concert, while they each sat on stools. That indoor MTV concert made it to the "Hell Freezes Over" DVD, which also had astounding DTS sound, although it was only shot in 4:3 non-HD. And all of these musical versions were IDENTICAL to the studio/recorded versions our minds wanted to hear performed live by them.
And that's why the 1994 concert was so memorable.
In contrast, 10 years later, these guys decided it was time to (a) go on tour again... even though Don Felder had long-since split. They used one of the studio guitarists/arrangers they'd worked with for years (forget his name, but I saw it on the recent Showtime 3-hour 2-part documentary on The Eagles) who simply was not Don Felder. Yes, he tried to mimic the licks Don Felder famously created (e.g. "Hotel California") but it was like the whole group was just TIRED, TIRED, TIRED!!! They seemed to have no energy, and their musical work reflected that attitude. "Give us the money already, and take these songs any way we now give them to you" they seemed to be saying.
So every single classic (e.g. "New Kid In Town") was "dumbed down" and "simplified" and "tweaked just to be different, I suppose", as if that was "good". Well in my mind, it was NOT GOOD. That isn't what I wanted to see or hear.
Now comes this 1080p/30 BluRay with DTS-HD MA audio which is technically wonderful. However this is the same exactly concert from 2004 that I was so heartbroken about after I left Staples that night. Not only was the audio TERRIBLE (so much overdone bass and audio echo in the arena you couldn't clearly hear the music or singing) that night, but I once again was reminded of my exact subjective reaction to their awful musical re-arrangements and stylings that night, and how much I didn't like the new 5th onstage guitarist they'd gone on the road with to replace Felder.
And missing from the new 30-song set? "Pretty Maids All In A Row", so memorably done by Joe Walsh back in 1994 where even he had to cry out as they started the intro "this song is SOOO BEAUTIFUL!". It is, and it was, and thankfully I have it on the 1994 "Hell Freezes Over" SD-DVD in glorious DTS audio.
I would rate this 2004 concert tour "terribly unsatisfying for me artistically and subjectively", although technically this BluRay may be excellent.
I probably will NOT be playing it ever again, so its navigation issues on the Oppo are probably behind me.
Other than calibrating your volume levels manually or using Audyssey, volume on the subwoofers should be controlled by the master volume on your receiver. Yes, there's a volume control on your subwoofers used for calibration purposes, but you shouldn't be routinely adjusting that along with the main volume control on the receiver. If you do what you're suggesting, you'll need to turn the volume up and down on the Oppo to keep in sync with the main volume on your receiver. At best, it's a nuisance and at worst it'll be a PITA to keep the relative volume levels matched so that the "height" speakers aren't louder or quieter than they should be compared to the channels you're using in your receiver. It's your system, so do what you want, but you asked for opinions and mine is that it's a bad idea. Especially if you don't already have an extra amp and pair of speakers lying around, I think the money would be MUCH better spent on other upgrades to your system or put aside towards an eventual upgrade to a new receiver.
