Oppo launches $279 BD80 blu-ray player

hey Venkat, I couldn't spot the comparison to the Pioneer, could you show me where it is? I must have clicked on the wrong link or not read properly or something, but I'd appreciate the help. thanks.

The link I provided has a comparison to the Pioneer 320. For more comparisons, you will have to wait for some time. The product has been released just 2 days ago!!!

Cheers
 
This really does create a dilemma for me when I am picking up my BDP (or having it picked up) in the US in June-July.....plonk down 25k for the BD83? or pay a far more reasonable 13k and get the BD80.....the things weighing in favour of the BD83 are the fact that i will still mostly be watching DVDs.....decisions decisions....

The advantages the BD 83 will give is excellent upscaling of DVD and excellent audio for both two channel and multi channel. Unless you are very finicky, the BD83 can also double up as a audio player.

Even with the 983, I can see a easily perceptible difference between that and other players when playing DVD. I think 12K is well worth the advantages the BD83 provides.

Cheers
 
hey Venkat, I couldn't spot the comparison to the Pioneer, could you show me where it is? I must have clicked on the wrong link or not read properly or something, but I'd appreciate the help. thanks.

Sorry, the comparison is to Panasonic DMP-BD30; I have corrected the original post also. My mistake.

Cheers
 
oh damn....comparison to the 320 would have been really useful because that's one of the best consumer level BDPs at the moment....i guess i just have to be patient and wait for the reviews and comparisons to come out.

I also wonder how it will compare to the JVC model (the XV BP1) that everyone has been referring to as the "poor man's Oppo"


Sorry, the comparison is to Panasonic DMP-BD30; I have corrected the original post also. My mistake.

Cheers
 
Sorry, the comparison is to Panasonic DMP-BD30; I have corrected the original post also. My mistake.

Cheers

Still Panasonic BD-80 will be cheaper than BD83.
US price BD80- 10k+5k(reg free mod)+ converter = <18k will work as good CDp too.
 
The ever-reliable winston on avsforum has compared it to the BDP320 of Pioneer and he says that the Oppo is at least as good....he likes them roughly equally....the Pioneer is about 60 dollars cheaper, but much slower and does not have DVD-A, SACD or the ability to play mkv files off your USB hard drive.

I suppose if speed is not an issue and you have no DVD-As or SACDs (and have no plans of getting them), then the Pioneer might be a compelling proposition.

Oh ya for us Indians the Oppo's 110-240 power supply will also be a useful thing to keep in mind.

Anyway, just for people who are considering these two players, let me list the pros and cons as per what I have read:

Pioneer pros/Oppo cons

  • Costs roughly 2800 rupees less (dollar price converted)...but if Oppo sticks with tradition and throws in a free HDMI cable, this advantage is partially neutralised, and then you throw in a step-down transformer and it is even more neutralised
  • Looks sexier than the BDP-80

Oppo pros/Pioneer cons

  • Fast
  • Plays SACD and DVD-A
  • Plays MKVs off your USB HDD (but restricted to FAT32)
  • 110-240V power supply
  • I am also guessing that this player will have a snap-on mod, rather than a solder-on mod like the Pioneer.....but this is still a guess.....but if it turns out to be true, then that's another small advantage as well.

Hmmm, must say it looks like the Oppo wins.....you also have the snob value of having an Oppo in your house rather than a Pioneer :)
 
.....you also have the snob value of having an Oppo in your house rather than a Pioneer :)

Hey, I have three Pioneers and a lone Oppo. I am very snobbish about the Pioneer. You don't have to treat them with a kids glove like you have to do with the Oppo.

Cheers
 
FYI, Oppo is throwing in the free HDMI cable

The backlit remote (part of BDP 83) is available for 10 USD more than std. price.
 
I am assuming you will need to do a mod too for around 100 USD (70 plus shipping). So at 380 USD, primarily using a BD player as a transport and a relatively lightweight Mediatek chip does it make sense?

I am asking this, as I too am tempted by the new Oppo, but just thinking aloud whether the hype is making me do this.

So, wouldnt it make sense to let the AVR do the upscaling like the Denon 1910 with the ABT chip and use a cheaper solution that delivers the A/V through HDMI.

I think the deciding factor is if one needs to play DVD-A and SACD plus the quality of upscaling the player can do by itself.

The other factor is what would be the cheaper player? Probably a Pioneer BDP60 with a mod chip to make it universal. What do you think?
 
So, wouldnt it make sense to let the AVR do the upscaling like the Denon 1910 with the ABT chip and use a cheaper solution that delivers the A/V through HDMI............

The other factor is what would be the cheaper player? Probably a Pioneer BDP60 with a mod chip to make it universal. What do you think?

A lot depends on what player and AVR you have currently. Yes, if you have a good upscaling AVR, you can use any player with HDMI output and let the DVD output be upscaled by the AVR. If you already have something like the Oppo 983, the BD80 makes tremendous sense as the DVD (and SACD, DVD-A, and Redbook CD) can be played through the 983 and just the BDs through the BD80.

The most important issue will be the capability of the BD player to decode and /or transfer HD Audio well. That, in my opinion, is the critical factor. As long as the player passes BD images without any processing, you will get full 1080P, but, what about the audio?

Though Pioneer and Panasonic make excellent players, they never gave too much importance to audio processing, particularly two channel, in their players. And, for multi channel they always assumed that the AVR audio processing will see them through. Their image processing, though, is excellent.

Because of it's legacy in 980, 983, BD83, Oppo has perfected it's audio circuits for both two channel and multi channel playback. As long as it's maintains the same quality of audio delivery in the BD80, the player will be tough to crack.

The modding cost is common to all players, and should be not be considered as a additional cost for one player. For us in India, we always have to add 100 odd dollars to any player we look at.

Cheers
 
I have got some more comparisons wrt other BD players.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1156535

So, I have to eat my words on the Pio models, looks like there are a lot of features and performance that the BD80 seems to beat it on.

I am still not certain as to the other components in the chain would it require to give a good HT/music experience esp. for the video part.
 
Interesting. The Panasonic 80 has less overall marks as compared to the 60 and it is a more expensive player. The Pioneer 320 seems to fare well. I do hope Pioneer tweaks the player a bit more and makes it comparable to the Oppo 80. If they do that, leaving aside US and people who know Oppo, they can rule the world.

It will interesting to see how the Ayre and Lexicon versions of the Oppo 83 fare. Since they seem to have played around with the audio rather than the video, their VFM will be extremely low for playing BR discs.

Cheers
 
Looks like it. But dont expect tracking and quick shipping as I think they ship using regular post so use paypal for safety.

BTW, another forum member has bought it from a site called jvbdigital.com but its much more expensive.
 
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Hi,

I havethe Oppo BDP83 and the DVD upconversion is quite stunning. In some cases one can hardly figure out that its a DVD. Considering the quality difference, I would think that it could be better to buy the BD83 if budget is not big a concern. Or save a bit and buy the BD83 later
 
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