OPPO BDP-93
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Oppo has created quite a name for itself with their Blu-ray players for home theater devotees. Priced between extraordinarily high end equipment and players that you can buy at warehouse clubs, the Oppo units have wowed users by truly being worth the extra dollars while providing a high-end experience. So here we have Oppo's brand new BDP-93. There were some minor glitches that were solved with the first firmware upgrade, already included on the release units. Firmware upgrades take place wirelessly using the included wifi dongle, assuming, of course, that you have a wifi network at home. You can alternatively plug into your network using an ethernet cable.
First thoughts: This is a well packaged machine with subdued highlights on the front panel, clearly labeled inputs and outputs on the back panel, and an informative and useful display. Drop in a DVD-A disc, for instance, such as the one within the Lord Of The Rings complete soundtrack sets, and the front panel informs you that you're listening to a DVD-A. There's no confusion, as there can be with other components, as to whether you might be mistakenly listening to the standard stereo track and creating surround from that. The intuitive setup panels, accessed via the well designed and internally lit remote, quickly allow you to adjust your playback desires - you can listen to the multi-speaker output from the DVD-A or the mixed-down stereo version at the touch of a button.
And I've started out with audio discussion for a reason. Many of us with high end CD players still have an extra box in our audio stack; finding a DVD player, Bluray or otherwise, that can play back a standard CD with sufficient quality to allow removal of the CD player has been a difficult task. Most reviewers of DVD players seem to ignore the stereo audio component entirely. Here, you not only have the ability to listen to DVD-A versions of audio sources when available, but you have a real reason to disconnect your CD player for good. I have one of Sony's wonderful ES models from years ago which until now has been unparalleled by any reasonably priced component. The staging of the audio, though, is really improved on the Oppo over other DVD players and is at least on a par with the Sony ES CD player, if not somewhat better. Taking, for example, "Blackbirds" from the new remastered Beatles White Album, Paul is clearly staged just to the left of my right speaker. His vocals are pure and clear to an exquisite extent (sometimes to a fault as you can now clearly hear a sibilant s in the lyric - a fault of the microphones of the era - that is somewhat muffled on other equipment). Orchestral and pop music alike are impressive and clear. Of course, now you can listen not only to standard commercial CD's, but also to CD's containing .mp3 or .flac libraries (among other alternatives). In those latter situations, your TV will function as a display, showing the titles of the entire disc's content and allowing you to easily pick your desired track.
The Oppo's front drawer operates smoothly, quickly, and quietly, and the entire unit itself is inaudible in operation unless you're hovering a few inches above the component. Playback of DVD-A's and CD's are quick and straightforward. No delays in loading were apparent. Unlike many alternative models, the Oppo responds quickly. Turn it on by pushing the eject button and the unit will immediately come alive and open the drawer. There's been no time when I found myself standing next to the component and waiting for a response - as I have with many earlier Bluray players.
After testing audio, I moved to streaming. Getting my Netflix account set up to stream to my BDP-93 took all of one minute. Seriously, this was far faster than I thought possible. Click the Home key on the remote, then move the cursor to select Netflix, click Select, and you're given a code. Type the code in at the Netflix website and in a few seconds you'll see your Netflix Instant Viewing menu loading. I quickly and easily watched the first few minutes of a movie and a TV series, both in HD. Mind you, Netflix doesn't stream 5.1 or 7.1 audio nor is their HD of the same quality that you're used to from Bluray. Streaming is NOT a replacement for Bluray discs (and isn't really a replacement for DVD's if it's quality that you're after), BUT it's a great way to quickly watch a movie with the family that you don't have available in your home library.
I didn't test Blockbuster on Demand, but that's available as well.
As we move to video, I should point out that I utilized a direct HDMI 1.4 connection between my Oppo and a 53" Sony XBR6 (last year's model, not 3D). 1080p Video was selected for my first test disc - the JJ Abrams Bluray of Star Trek. This disc was one of the tougher discs for my previous player (a Sony BDPS550) to handle, and I would wait and watch the Enterprise spin for quite some time while the player loaded the disc. No more. By the time I walked back to the couch to get comfortable, the first preview was starting. I quickly skipped to the main attraction - no delays in doing so, by the way - and was floored by the audio difference between the Oppo and my earlier Sony player. Now I should point out that I haven't tested the 7.1 capabilities, as my system is set up as a 5.1; I took the time to set up the 5.1 downmix in the setup menu (again, an intuitive and straightforward few steps). I felt enveloped in the soundstage and drawn in to the picture, which looked remarkably film-like and free of artifact. Just before the movie presents the "Star Trek" title, there's a fadeout which glowed as it would on a movie screen. The title card is presented in black, gray, and silver, a tricky combination of "color" that is difficult to see on many systems without at least some banding. None here that I saw, however. And any problems with bright red that you've seen on older DVD players are entirely absent as well.
The Oppo has a secondary HDMI output that can be routed to your processor. For those with, say, the newest Anthem processor, that's a reasonable way to go. I have an older Sunfire TGP-V, however, so ran the 6 analog cables into my direct inputs and utilized the Oppo's internal decoding. This is perhaps the greatest advance over my older Sony which has the same decoding capabilities but with far less resulting quality. With the Oppo, dialog remains pure and pristine, easily understood over the sound effects bouncing from speaker to speaker, with the low bass routed appropriately to the Sub. The two HDMI outputs allow you to utilize a direct connection to a new 3D TV while using the other connection to go to an HDMI 1.1-1.3 processor without losing the 1.4 capabilities in the interconnect over to the TV. What does that mean? It means you don't have to upgrade your processor! You get everything you could possibly want with a 3D-capable TV and your old processor. Let the Oppo handle the sound decoding and the TV handle the video with a direct HDMI feed. (And those with a non-3D TV shouldn't feel badly at all. The picture quality is so perfect, you won't notice 3D's absence).
I have lots left to try: the Oppo has two USB ports and an eSATA drive port. Bring on your FLAC files, your AVCHD files, your Kodak Picture CDs, your SACD's, and multiple other formats. Connect to your network and access your music files from your networked computers. The Oppo will handle it all. And yes, I ran a few non-Blu DVD's just to see how those work. There's up-conversion, of course, and you'll find the quality to be far better than you've seen before. I'd still get the Blu-ray when available, but it's nice to know that my DVD library won't go unused.
One tiny nit has been raised by folks on the web: the eject button on the face of the unit is difficult to find in a darkened home theater. True. However, there is an open/close button on the remote, which has an internal light, so I'm not going to nit-pick there. I'll raise one of my own: push a button on the remote and the internal light comes on. It stays on for a couple of seconds, then turns off. That's annoying in a dark room and I'd rather see the light stay off unless I ask for it by pushing the button for the light. I'd also like to be able to turn the light off as well as on but the remote light button works only to turn the light on; you then have to wait a few seconds for the light to automatically extinguish. That's about the toughest criticism I can offer on a splendid follow-up to the BDP-83.
As I mentioned earlier, Oppo distributes firmware updates online directly to the BDP-93, so that, plus the very sound pre-release firmware leads to my strong recommendation for this Bluray player as a worthy addition to your home theater - now, as opposed to waiting several months (my usual recommendation for a new product like this). Finally, the manual. Clearly written by those familiar with the language, the manual is both entertaining and informative. There are numerous technical points made with the reader clearly informed as to which choice and which selection is likely to be the most useful. We're at an incredibly complicated stage of home theater development. There are numerous potential sound outputs, video outputs, and connector possibilities, and everything has to talk together just right...the TV, the remotes, the processor, the player...Oppo makes this very easy, even to the point of having a "wizard" guide you through the basics on initial start-up. I was up and running in a few minutes, and it was a while before I returned to the Setup menu for a full and final set of adjustments. No gripes at all and kudos to those at Oppo for a well designed and implemented component.
Those like me who are using the BDP-93's internal digital to analog converter may wish to consider the more expensive BDP-95, due out in another few months. The -95 will have an improved analog section which will likely produce improved sound. I suspect that you'd need to have a substantial audio system and truly impressive speakers to detect the differences between the -93 and -95, but then I haven't heard the -95 yet. If, on the other hand, you plan to use the HDMI cable for audio, letting your processor do all the decoding, then you'll have no audio difference between the -93 and -95 and may as well save your cash.
