Review Of The Oppo BDP-83 Blu Ray Player
Consumer Electronics — on October 1, 2009 at 4:25 am | 3 CommentsSum ‘n’ Substance:
Thumbs up: Amazing picture quality on Dvds as well as blu rays; universal disc player capable of playing DVD, Blu-ray, SACD, DVD-Audio and CD; outstanding performance in terms of speed and functionality; onboard memory of 1GB; two USB ports; Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding; profile 2.0-compliant; backlit remote; HDMI cable included.
Thumbs down: No streaming features like Pandora and Netflix; no Wi-fi features; costly.
Inside the trunk: Table- top Blu-ray-DVD player; progressive scanning; media format: NTSC and PAL; backlit infrared remote; surround sound with SNR of 110 dB. Price range: $499- $599.
The whiz-kid speaks: Oppo has a history of making world class DVD’s and the BDP-83 is nothing short of world-class. It has picture-quality that would blow your mind. The performance of the player is fast and reliable too. But the BDP-83 is not gonna satisfy everyone’s needs, because the player lacks wi-fi connectivity, and does not feature streaming options like Pandora and Netflix. Additionally it is more expensive than the PS3 slim. Lets dig deeper to uncover the rest of the BDP-83.
Razzle-dazzle: As the Blu ray players continue to shed size and weight, the BDP-83 is no exception. measuring a 16.9 inches wide by 13.2 inches deep by 3 inches in height but it still weighs twice as much as a normal Blu-ray player. Construction is quite rugged and gives the feeling of strength to it; the surfaces are polished with brushed metal. The front end looks barren with a thin blue LED that indicates the power on the right hand side the center spot consists of the CD tray and just under it there is the large LCD screen on the extreme right there is the USB port covered with a plastic cover and just adjacent to it is the navigational pad with all the basic controls. The infrared remote is impressive too with its large, well- arranged and back- lit buttons.
Inside dope:
The oppo BDP-83 is a universal player and can support all formats that include DVD, Blu-ray, SACD, DVD-Audio and CD. It even plays the PAL- encoded DVD accurately, so you can pull- out all your old favorite CD’s and watch them in new light. the BDP-83 has one of the best user-interfaces in the market. On setup, the menu system presents you with unwilted text where you cab adjust the audio and video settings. Every basic aspect has been covered by the BDP-83, it is profile2.0 compliant and also features an on board decoder for Dolby True HD and DTS-HD master audio. It also features 1 GB of Ram onboard and storage can be increased by the USB ports.
But what was a real disappointing surprise was that the player lacked a Wi-Fi system which the other manufacturers like LG and PS3 have. The company blamed the exclusion on the processor that could not handle the wi-fi capabilities. Moreover, the BDP-83 also lacked any additional streaming media services, like Pandora and Netflix.
Besides the HDMI output, there is a component video output and the audio output include both coaxial digital audio outputs and optical outputs, additionally, there is a 7.1 analog audio output and a separate stereo analog output. The connectivity is included on a USB port and an Ethernet jack.
The performance of the Blu ray and the DVD player were outstanding. The picture quality was vivid and natural looking while the resolution was sharp and noise- free. It also processed the data from the CD’s quickly. It shows no slack no matter what format the CD was recorded in.
Nitty-Gritty: The Oppo BDP-83 is a great overall performer, it has excellent picture and video quality, the performance was outstanding too but it lacks in the feature to price ratio. So, if you are more interested in video quality and are not interested with wi-fi tech or you’re not well-versed with it, then go ahead and get yourself one of these.
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3 Comments
The majority of blu-ray players lack Wifi, but as long as you have a Ethernet port you can use a Ethernet to WiFI bridge, or a USB Wifi dongle. Oppo does offer probably the best support out there, either if you have a hardware/software issue, and by providing frequent firmware updates to address Blu-ray media issues. The player also uses a greatly improved graphic interface for setup that wowed me when I first saw it. The remote is a huge improvement, as it is backlit.
You mention as a negative the inability to stream movies from Netflix and such. To me, this is important now-a-days as it adds so much to the experience!
.-= Chris´s last blog ..Christmas Gadgets: The LG BD 390 Network Blu-ray Disc Player =-.
The Oppo BDP-83 is an outstanding universal disc player with excellent performance on Blu-rays and DVDs and lightning-fast operational speed, but most home theater fans will balk at the high price.